April 12 - Lagos de Montebello and El Chiflón

Boats at Lago Pojol

We start the day with an ample breakfast at a sidewalk café - Cafe Quiptic, run by indigenous, organic coffee growers.  It is located beneath the stone arches and next to the yellow-stuccoed Santo Domingo church.  Next, we check out of Hotel Los Faroles and leave our bags at the Hacienda de los Ángeles. 

I had seen an advertisement in one of the brochure/maps – given out by the tourist office – for radio taxis that can be hired to go to the outlying sights.  Our Spanish is not proficient enough to navigate the details of our proposed tour over the phone.  So, we end up back at the tour office to ask their help.

They arrange a taxi to take us to Los Lagos de Montebello and El Chiflón – both in the same day.  Our taxi driver turns out to be one of the tourist policemen who is on his day off.  Perfect.

We leave at 10:00 am.  Lagos de Montebello is our first destination.  The road south – partially along the Pan-American Highway - is surprisingly flat, straight and deforested.  The scenery passes by as a dull, brown blur.

Lago Tziscao

 It is a little over an hour before we reach the first lakes – Lago Tziscao – which borders Guatemala and the smaller Laguna Internacional, which the split in half between Mexico and Guatemala.  The lakes are surrounded by lush pine forests; their waters reflect the wondrous blue/green color – similar in Agua Azul. 

As we leave Lago Tziscao and backtrack towards Comitán, we stop at Lago Pojol, Cinco Lagunas and Laguna Montebello.  The most scenic is Cinco Lagunas:  pale blue (almost glacial-colored) water encased by dramatically, plunging verdant hills that leave no room for a lakeside walkway.  Flat, wood-planked boats manned by an oarsman ferry tourists around the lake.  We just opt for the scenic overlook. 

Cinco Lagunas

About an hour after we arrive at the lakes, we depart for El Chilflón.  We have to go back along much of the same highway before turning off and descending to the parched plains to the west.  We approach El Chiflón about an hour and a half after we left the Lakes. 

The region’s arid's landscape yields no evidence of the lushness of El Chiflón’s gorge.  It appears like a miracle from its thirsty surroundings.  Unlike Agua Azul, there are no unauthorized refreshment stands or eating establishments.  It is a well controlled park with none of the frenzy of Agua Azul.  There is one stone pathway leading the tallest falls, a few well-kept cabanas along the trail and just a couple of restaurants.  We have lunch at one and then start walking towards the falls.

Each waterfall gets progressively larger.  But nothing prepares you for the awesome visual onslaught of the final and highest cascade - Velo de Novia.  The view from the final viewing area - where we welcome the drenching mist of the falls on a 90F+ degree day – can only be inadequately described as spectacular.  It has to be one of the highlights of our entire trip.

Cascada Velo de Novia - El Chiflon

There is a zip line across the falls.  Unfortunately, it is not working this week.  We later heard that it is often not working.  Not a good sign.

Viewing area beneath Velo de Novia - El Chiflon

After two hours at El Chiflón, we start back to Comitán.  It takes less than an hour to reach the zocalo.  It is now about 5:00 pm.  We pay our driver – the entire day cost 1100 pesos – and shore up at our hotel for a few hours.

Our first floor room at the Los Ángeles but has a funky odor emanating from the embarassing spacious handicapped bathroom.  There is no other room available at this hotel or anywhere else in the town.  We have to deal with it.  I have an idea.

At a nearby supermarket, we hunt down a small bottle of Fabuloso, bring it back to the hotel and puddle it around strategic spots in the bathroom.   We leave to go out for evening, hoping that by the time we return the smell is gone.

Folkloric dancers are scheduled to begin the free concert at the zocalo tonight, followed by the marimba band again.  We decide to dine at Matisse (1a Av. Pte Nte 16) – one of the recommended Italian restaurants in town.  It has a stylish décor – chic for Comitán – and a creative menu.  Some of the pasta dishes didn’t quite hit the mark but their salad was robust.  Still, a good choice for this town.

Back at the zócalo, the marimba band has not roused the crowd as much as last night.  They are playing more traditional numbers.  No contagion of dancing is going to infect this crowd.  No way.  Not tonight.  

We return to our hotel.  Is the smell gone?  You bet.  Fabuloso is fabuloso.

April 13 - Return to San Cristóbal

We return to San Cristóbal by bus on Friday morning.  And Room 25 at the Hotel Rincón awaits us.  We think it is the best room in the place:  spacious, in the old section on the second floor with a view of the Templo de Guadelupe and the only one with a tiny balcony.  Private and quiet.

Room 25

Common room at Hotel Rincon del Arco

Fountain Courtyard in Hotel Rincon

It still puzzles us that this hotel has been omitted from the guidebooks we consulted before we left: Lonely Planet, Moon, Fodor’s and even Frommer’s (the guidebook that originally recommended it in its 1995 edition). 

Maybe because the hotel has been expanded and often houses tour groups; possibly because it is located a little further away from the action than most hotels.  But neither should stop independent travelers from staying here.  Even when tour groups descend, we never felt overwhelmed by them.  The personal attention remains consistently high.  And its distance from the main square – along with their spacious garden - insures an air of tranquility than more centrally located hotels lack. 

Upon our return, the maid at Hotel Rincón has surprised us again.  She has created a pair of swans from two large towels and placed it the bed.  A flower made from toilet paper accompanies it.

Towel swan creation

The rest of the day we fill by shopping and wandering the town.  We have lunch a superb little spot - Anabanana on the pedestrian street of Av. Miguel Hidalgo.  Great organic and vegetarian fare in a cozy (only 5 tables) little spot.  (If you go, check out the poster -"La Gorda" - hanging in the bathroom.)

We also stop in to the bookstore/craft shop "La Pared", also located on Av. Miguel Hidalgo - near Anabanana.  (It moved from its location closer to the zocalo - as indicated in several guidebooks.)  The owner, Debra, has lived in San Cristóbal for many years - since the 1980's.  She first began working at Na Bolom.  Now, she teaches teachers in San Cristóbal schools and runs La Pared. 

We tell her we were here many years ago and have been amazed by the changes.  She says that many people say that the town has been "gringoized" with pedestrian walking streets, tourist-oriented craft shops and more upscale restaurants.  But according to her, the gringos are not responsible for the changes; the Mexicans have pushed for these changes.  Chiapas has been heavily promoted in Mexico as a Mexican tourist destination.

We finish up our shopping and rush back to the hotel just as it begins to pour.  We wait out the rains before heading out for dinner.  And where will we go?  Back to two of our favorite spots:  El Punto restaurant for a pizza and salad, and top off the evening with a cup on homemade gelato (two scoops, naturally) from Via Vai on Av. 20 de Noviembre (near the cathedral).  We couldn't have had a better end to our stay.
 

 

April 14 - San Cristóbal to Tuxtla Gutiérrez

Graham Greene writes, "It was a lovely town to wake to in the early morning light... - low single-storey houses with brown tile roofs and little flowery patios, the mountains crouched all around like large and friendly dogs..."  How true.  The day may begin foggy and damp.  But slowly the dampness evaporates and its mountain clarity returns. 

Breakfast begins on at the Restaurante Italiano - housed in the Hotel Posada Tepeyac on Calle de Gaudelupe No. 40.  Best breakfast of the trip.  Creative, delicious and reasonable.

Restaurante Italiano

 

Then, off to Tuxtla by public bus.  Only 70 minutes away but a world apart from San Cristóbal.  Tuxtla is a modern city of over a half million residents.  It spreads across a lowland valley with its suburbs lapping up against the surrounding hillsides.   The cool mountain air is a memory; thick heat greets us as we exit the bus.   

Like San Cristóbal, the changes in Tuxtla during the intervening years of our visits is unbelievable.  Again, nothing is recognizable.  The bus station is new and no longer located in the unappealing city center; the hotel - where we previously stayed (the Flamboyant, now a Holiday Inn) - had felt marginally tethered to the rest of the town.  Now, it is just one of many businesses (malls, hotels, restaurants) strung across the city's main roadway.

We choose to stay at the Crowne Plaza.  The high life.  Well, actually the nearby Camino Real would have cost us a small mortgage for the night.  The Crowne Plaza is a little more plush and quieter than the adjoining Holiday Inn.  And it is only $10US more expensive.  For our last night, it's worth it.  (BTW:  Book on-line to get the best rate.  No discounts are given to walk-ins.  Believe us, we tried.  But they let us use the hotel's wi-fi to connect to the Crowne Plaza website and make an instant reservation at the discounted rate.)

The hotel is also located across the street from the Plaza Crystal and the Galleria - two large shopping malls that contain a supermarket, a branch of Sanborn's (with its signature restaurant) and a better-than-expected (though noisy) food court in the Galleria.

We still have time that afternoon to take a quick tour of Tuxtla's renown zoo - informally known as ZOOMAT.  A 50 peso cab ride delivers us from our hotel to its entrance.  The zoo is known for its animal-friendly, spacious, open-air fenced-in "cages".  We are able to see the elusive queztal as well as a jaguar, a puma and a number of local birds called guans.  (The guan with the red-horned head cap is the emblem of the zoo.)

After an hour and half we leave the zoo at closing time - 5:00 pm - and take a cab back.  (The trip back costs 60 pesos.  Go figure.)

Dinner at Sanborn's that night and back to the hotel for an early turn-in.  Incredibly comfortable beds help us get a good night sleep before our early morning - 7:30 am - flight back to the States.

April 15 - Tuxtla Gutiérrez and back to the U.S.

The alarm goes off an 5:00 am.  It is dark.  It is still night.  Because we showered and packed the night before, we have very little left to do.  The hotel had pre-arranged the taxi to the airport.  The cost - 250 pesos. We meet the taxi at the hotel entrance at 5:30 am.  It takes about a half hour to 40 minutes to reach the airport.  The taxi flies.  There is no traffic.  It is still dark when we arrive at the airport.

Departures are handled on the second floor.  We proceed quickly through the short line to check-in.  The restaurant/cafe is open.  There are few small souvenir shops also open.  But about half are still closed.  There is no duty-free in this airport.  There appears to be no cambio - money exchange.  So we buy a couple of packages of organic coffee and a small jaguar mask to use up the last of our pesos.  We are short one peso.  Just one.  The shopkeeper lets it pass.

The plane - to our astonishment - is going to be taking off early.  They are rushing to get us through security.  We take off ten minutes early.

Naturally, we arrive early to Houston.  No lines at customs.  We have nearly three hours to wait for our flight to LaGuardia.  There is an earlier flight but I had thought there may not be enough time for the connection.  We eat some breakfast and then wait.

Our flight to LaGuardia arrives on-time.  But my bag is not on the baggage carousel.  Only Ross's.  The baggage claim area at LaGuardia is only a few feet from the entrance to the building.  There is no one checking the baggage tickets to make sure passengers are taking the right bags.  Anyone could walk off with a bag and be out the door in seconds.  It is alarming but it is common at all three NYC airports:  No one checks the baggage claim tickets.

We go to the United baggage claim office.  They say my bag is here but arrived on the earlier flight.  It is at the carousel at the other end of the terminal.   We run over to the other baggage area.  My bag is there along with several unclaimed bags.  No one is guarding them.  I take mine. 

We run out to catch the bus to Grand Central.  It is $12 one way per person.  We wait only about 10 minutes before the bus arrives.  And we arrive at Grand Central only 15 minutes later.  No traffic; no hassles. 
We have missed the Metro North train by only a few minutes.  The next train departs in about 45 minutes.  We have enough time to grab something to eat in the food court on the lower level.  By about 7:00 pm on a Sunday night, many of the concession stands are already cleaning up and ready to close.  We find some sandwiches to eat and settle down to eat.

As I sit there, I am aware of how dirty the floors, how unclean the tables are and how many homeless persons seem to have claimed their spot for the evening in the food court area.  This was startling contrast to the regions we had just visited in Mexico: the public areas were spotless.  Most Americans would have a hard time wrapping their heads around this observation.  They believe the opposite - that any place in the U.S. is cleaner than any place in Mexico.  How untrue.

The floors were gleaming at the bus stations and airports in Mexico; the sidewalks were always being washed down by the shop owners or residents; large bottles of hand sanitizers were prominent at the entrance to most restaurants, hotels and public restrooms.

Not here.  The floors at LaGuardia wore a coat of grime, thick from years of neglect; the sidewalks of New York collected wrappers and other debris along their edges; and the bathrooms in Grand Central were a place to endure - not an example of cleanliness.  Welcome home.

Final Thoughts