San Cristobal ... traditional and tequilla

Stepping off the overnight bus in San Cristobal at 7 am I was hit by a wall of cold. This town is at high altitude which means it is bloody freezing at night and early morning. But my concerns about the cold were soon forgotten as I walked through the cobble stoned streets filled with interesting people ... this place is so very charming. Even better, I found a place that has amazing coffee so all was good with the world.

 

San Cristobal is nestled in a higland valley and is surrounded by pine forests. It sits within a very indigenous area with Tzotzil and Tzeltal villages all around. These traditional people sell their wares at the many market stalls making for some fun and interesting shopping.

(Mum, hope you like the colourful wall hangings as you are now the proud owner of one.)

The area has a lot of Zapatista sympathisers, a few of which we came across on a drive to a nearby town. I did want to stop for a chat but thought it probably wasn't such a great idea.

We decided to visit the small town of Chamula, about 15 minutes from San Cristobal which is home to the Tzotzil people who believe strongly in tradition. The men wear tunics of homespun wool but many mix up their look with a cowboy hat.

They worship at Templo de San Juan. A simple white church that dominates the town square. Tourists are permitted to visit the church but are strictly forbidden to take photographs as the locals believe the camera removes the spirit from the body. Interesting.

 The floor of the church is covered with a thick layer of pine needles and there are thousands of candles set up in rows all over the floor. Worshippers kneel amongst the pine needles and quietly chant while others are blessed by what I assume are holy people. I've been into some of the grandest cathedrals in the world but none of them has been as amazing as this simple but powerful place of prayer.

But life isn't all about churches, I am in Mexico so there is always some tequila thrown in. We had a fun afternoon on the rooftop terrace of our hotel downing a tequila shot or three before hitting a local bar. Well, what's a night out without a bit of bar dancing and a singalong.

Yes, I know, some things will never change!


Photos from San Cristobal

Mexico - San Christobal

Taking to the kitchen in Oaxaca

For those of you who know me well, you would have heard me say many times 'I can cook but I choose not to'. And its true. I don't get the buzz out of cooking that some people do, I don't get that at all.

So why then would I choose to spend my time and money on cooking school you may ask. Well the thing is, food in Mexico is awesome, super awesome in fact. The fact that I can't speak or read spanish has me ordering all sorts of dishes that I have no idea about, but they are all good. And spicy.


So off to cooking school it was for me and my buddies Olga, Jemma and Ryan. Well it wasn't really school, more a family home with people who taught us gringos about Mexican food. But whatevs.

We started the day at the local markets. We had loads of fun checking out where the locals do their shopping.

The flowers were beautiful but I must try and stay focussed. I'm here for food shopping today,

We bought all the produce we needed then headed to the kitchen to cook up a storm.

On the menu was a mole, that yummy sauce that is famous in this area. It has loads of ingredients, lots of kick and a big handful of chocolate. It is perfect. Oaxaca has seven different types of mole but we were making just one kind today.

We also whipped up stuffed peppers (chilli's not capsicums). The peppers were stuffed with a chicken dish that had to simmer forever. This dish was really, really hot. Poor Jemma nearly went purple when she tried it. Maybe because I left most of the seeds in perhap??

Oh, I may have needed a little rest before taking to the kitchen. The mum of the house was kind enough to rock me for a bit. Very nice of her really.

 Olga and Jemma shred some chicken. Please note, this is not the chicken you saw with legs in the air in the market. We're not that crazy!

Ryan is a dab hand with the tomatoes.

 What a picture of concentration I am whilst stuffing the peppers. Shame I didn't focus that much when I was supposedly seeding them.

This dish was so very good.....

 And these are the peppers that nearly brought an end to poor Jemma....

It was a fun day and the best part was that the food we made was edible. Well actually it was delicious. We relaxed with a magarita or two then took our tired bodies off for a massage. Well being in the kitchen is rather stressful!

Puebla ... a Mexican gem

Leaving Mexico City, it was time to check out some of the other areas of this fabulous country that is Mexico. We jumped on the local bus and mmmmm luxury. This was no chicken bus, this was comfy seat, air con first class luxury kinda bus. I could sure get used to this.


Puebla was the first stop. This city is the fifth largest in the country, but has a relaxed vibe and smaller town feel.


The centre of the town is dominated by the cathedral and the large square where the locals congregate and random street performers are not fussy about who joins in on the act.


Yes that's right, if you look closely you can see that I joined in a clown act. It was quite fun for a while.

The town is spotlessly clean and there is some amazing architecture. What is it with me and buildings ... seems I've developed a fetish for cool or weird buildings along my travels.

 

We wandered through the local markets......

Had a quick snack ...

Then headed across town to the wrestling. This mexican wrestling lark is a scream. The dudes dress up and wear the coolest masks. While it was very obvious each fight was well rehearsed, the drama and flair along with the food trucks and cold beer made for a good night.

After a leisurely breakfast overlooking the square, we jumped on the local bus to the town of Cholula. This town is packed with churches and we were planning to visit the church on the hill with views to an active volcano .... but things started to go a bit wrong on the bus.

Check out the smoke coming out of the volcano ... it was very cool.

Without giving you all the gory details, it seems that the dude who made my morning coffee didn't boil the water. My tummy was gurgling and I only just made it off the bus in time.

While I did get to see a bit of the town and local festival I also saw a whole lot of the local toilets. But you will be pleased to know I made it home on the bus without incident (but with imodium)!

Mexico - Puebla