Two Perspectives: San Cristobal De Las Casas

Written by Kyle and Bessie about Mexico. Feelin' happy

I´m sure there is something bad about San Cristobal and if we stayed even longer maybe we would find it. As it is, I can´t really think of anything that I did not like.

San Cristobal, oh how I love you. Let me count the ways:

1. You have a brewery

Granted it´s not the best brewery in the world, but I´m sure it is the best in San Cristobal. Well, it´s the only in San Cristobal, but whatever. The fact is, most Latin American countries have one type of beer and if you don´t like it, what are you going to do? While Mexico does have several different national beers, I honestly think that most of them taste like piss water. I also never expected to see a brewery in our travels AT ALL, so it was a pleasant surprise. Not only did it brew kick-ass beer, it also had kick-ass music. Can´t go wrong with that.

2. You have style

This is really hard to describe, but there is a certain style to this town. There are a lot of young people and they seem to be knowledgeable about the past and issues while being hip about what's going on today. Everyone was also super amicable and happy...of course, I would be too if I owned a VW Beetle and lived in such a cool town. People we so nice, in fact, that they would stop to let us cross the street, which is virtually unheard of in this part of the world!

I also like the way people speak here. It might just be a Mexican thing, but they use the imperative a lot more (Leave, Go, Tell me.,etc) but it's not in a rude way. They just want to get to the point and I find it refreshing after the nicities of Guatemalan Spanish. There is also quite a bit of slang (some of which I don't understand) that I find cool as a part-time student of Spanish.

The town itself is hard to beat, with brightly colored colonial buildings, old cars, and cobble-stone streets. We took a lot of pictures, mostly because everytime we turned a corner there was something picture worthy. Of course, the pictures give you an idea of the town, but it just feels so much more special than these pictures can convey.

3. You cured my foot!

Well, I don't know if it's the town or not, but this will be the place that I will remember as ridding my foot of bacteria. I'm not ready to go on a battleship and say "I've won" in front of a Mission Accomplished banner (who would do that?), but I'm definately tons better than when I arrived. In fact, I can walk without pain, which is a major accomplishment. I guess I can also credit the Berkley trained doctor that correctly diagnosed it, but I would rather beleive that it is the magic of the city.

4. You have scooters

Not much to say here. Scooters are awesome and they are always the most fun way to see a city. If you don't like scooters, you must be a Communist (or a biker, which means you probably have more nerve than I do).

5. You make me laugh

San Cristobal 60

If the rest of Mexico turns out to be anything like San Cristobal, we are surely going to be happy for the next month. Stay classy, San Cristobal!

Two Perspectives: San Cristobal De Las Casas

Written by Kyle and Bessie about Mexico. Feelin' normal

I really dig San Cristobal de las Casas. For those of you that know Chicago, this town has a Wicker Park feel. It´s edgy, it´s hip, and it´s young. I could easily live in a town like this here´s why:

People are with it and real
Maybe it´s the change from being in Guatemala to being here, but the people here are very different and cool. In general, Mexico is pretty developed and there´s a lot less extreme poverty. Even more so, there´s an sense of openness and love for life that is every where. Part of the reason for this is that this city and it´s state of Chiapas was taken over by extremely poor indigenous people looking to finally be heard and given rights (you may know them as the Zapatistas). Although the Zapatista movement didn´t garner what they were looking for, I get the sense that the indigenous people are less over-looked than in Guatemala, and have more respect from a large nation of Mexican people where they could easily be forgotten about.

This revolutionary attitude still hangs in the air in San Cristobal, and it´s tangible. The fact that we found a brewery here (amongst countries that stand by their national beers) shows they think outside the box and that life more than the watered-down beer you´re usually given. Oh, and they make cute wool things.

They´ve got culture and places to enjoy
There´s a theater here with some crazy mayan dance group; the town orchestra is way better than the average town band; and restaurants offer fare from pretty far flung places for a hispanic country, like Isreal, India, and Thailand. There´s a very well regarded Mayan Medicine Museum, and shops and bars reflect the diverse and multi-faceted views of the people. It´s hard to put it all into words, but this seems to be a canvas for many to explore and enjoy life.

We splurged and explored via Scooters, which worked well to accomodate Kyle´s bum foot, and was reminiscent of our honeymoon scooter riding 6 months ago. Here´s a taste of the town:

And of course, 1 in 5 people drive a Beetle
I know most of you were expecting to see this here, and for me it´s a cool, hip environmentally nice thing, and just makes the scenery so mch more enjoyable. My Beetle blog explains more, but I´ll let the photos say it for me. (Oh, and I totally made up that statistic.)
4 Beetles in One Picture!

Left: 3 red Beetles and 1 green in the distance; Right: I don´t have words for how cool this is.

« Wastin' away again in Zipolite

A Bug´s Life, VW Beetle that is »

March 05, 2008 Uncle Bob: It sounds like a great place to enjoy an ice cold brew!

March 05, 2008 lauren: okay ron burgundy and what is san cristobal spanish for? i'm sure not the same things san diego is spanish for...

March 05, 2008 Kyle: Scholors maintain that the name San Cristobal is so old, no one knows exactly what it means.

March 07, 2008 Bessie: Uh huh, so we brought two movies with us. One of them being Anchorman... I´m sure you could have guessed that though. We definitely saty on our balcony quoting the movie for about 20 minutes yesterday. Awesome.

March 05, 2008 Linda: Piss water! Kyle, I can't believe you expressed succinctly my long held descriptive view of beer! Ah, the validation!

March 07, 2008 Kyle: Maybe you just haven't had enough. After a couple, you don't really care what you are tasting...

March 05, 2008 Mumsie: You sound relaxed -- and happy to be putting your best foot forward! Well, BOTH of your feet. Viva San Cristobal! (Did I leave anything out there? It works for Las Vegas!) The next time you meet up with a good-tasting brewskie, chug one for me!

March 07, 2008 Kyle: You really are a child of the South Side, using words like "brewskie".

March 05, 2008 Mumsie: Bessie! (Kyle, yours was the other one...) You make me laugh, lady! Your post got me giggling - What FUN you're having! And your Video cracked me up even more! Good Job on that one! (You didnt get THAT one from a Pro or the Internet, didja? ha! ha!) Keep enjoying yourselves and nourishing your spirits! (And drinking some, too!)

March 07, 2008 Bessie: That one was pretty fun to make! Oh, and Kyle´s southside means to say. I love and respect your southside brewskie remarks and we´ll definitly drink a couple for you. ;)

March 05, 2008 Poppa: So many Volkswagens! Hey, there's Kyle! And look! There's Besseeeeeeeeee!!! The fruits and vegetables: Beautiful - and a dime a dozen! And the streets and buildings - Everything's so CLEAN! Wow!!

March 07, 2008 Bessie: HI POPPA! The fruits and veggies really are a dime a dozen! We bought carrots, green beans, an onion, small potatoes (still with dirt on them), and tomatoes smaller than cherry tomatoes all for less than $2 and made a yummy veggies soup. Oh yeah, we also got mangoes for that $2. Very tastey!

Where are the Mexican neighbors from? We were in the state of Chiapas, and now at the beach in the state of Oaxaca. We could say hi to their family. :) Love you!

March 06, 2008 Genevieve: Bessie, I'm a little concerned about you taking pictures of you an Kyle while driving a scooter . Looks like you guys are having an amazing time!

March 07, 2008 Bessie: Haa haaaa - I like that you were worried, and my mom didn´t say anything... Kyle was a bit scared too. I´m a thrill seeker, I can´t help it.

March 07, 2008 Kyle: Ya, I'm a little concerned, too. Maybe the mountain air has gotten to her.

March 06, 2008 Uncle Bob: I enjoyed your pics and video. Ya know, that's a colorful city, literally and figuratively!

March 06, 2008 Dad: I also have enjoyed your pictures and videos. As a matter of fact, I have found a little program that works with Firefox that will down load the videos; hopefully I can compile all into a full file when your journey ever ends.

Sorry to not respond earlier, but Jean and I are following every exciting step and know that what you are absorbing is invaluable experience.

March 07, 2008 Kyle: I hope invaluable means it's more than valuable...kind of like infamous means more than famous :) At the very least, I will be able to get by in Spanish pretty well. Thanks for downloading the videos for us!

March 07, 2008 Bessie: Glad you and Jean are following our steps. It's no Italy here, but you two might like coming down here. :) Hope you had a great birthday!