San Cristobal de Las Casas
Hi there,
We have just spent three nights in San Cristobal de Las Casas. Nice city up at 2000 meters above sea level where winter is for real.
We spent the first day wandering through the streets. The 16th was my dad´s arrival. So we went to a cyber cafe not far from his hotel and at 7:30pm we realised the group of Frenchies had arrived. We headed directly to his bedroom, knocked at his door... and ... surprise!! It was good to see him. We had dinner together with the group (40 people) and then had a margarita in a nice bar. They even played Buena Vista Social Club and some salsa. Good times, really enjoyable, all the more with people you love.
At midnight it was already bedtime as guided tours have very tight schedules and the group had been up since half five. We greeted goodnight, went to our hostel but never managed to open the damn door. It just wouldn´t get in. We didn´t want to force it and end up breaking the key inside. So here we were at 12:30am shouting in the street and banging on the door to try and wake up some of the hosts. Unfortunately no one came and the best option was to go to my dad´s hotel. So we rushed, only to find the main gate locked, banged at the door and managed to convince the door keeper to let us through as I had some urgent things to tell my father. Luckily my dad had two double beds in his room. We woke him up and spent the night there. Reminded us of Belfast where we had to share a room too as prices were too high for our budget.
At 7am, it was already time to get up. We went back to the hostel and .... waited.... we weren´t the only ones in this situation. Another couple had to spend the night in another hostel as they couldn´t get in either. Great! That was the only day with my dad so David stayed outside the hostel (we had everything in, passport, visa card, camera, etc..) and I joined the French group at 8:00am as they were going for a city tour. When the hostel manager finally arrived, he couldn´t get in either and had to get a locksmith. In the meantime, my father and I wandered through some markets and went back to the hostel at 10:00am. They had just managed to open the door. David had been waiting outside for 3 hours!!! The manager compensated us with the second night for free. We had a big breakfast and then went back to the market. The French guide offered us to stay along for the day which was very nice of him as there are always insurance problems that would prevent anyone from joining a set group.
So from backpackers, we became well-off tourists eating in very nice and expensive restaurants. Thank 
you daddy!!! In the afternoon, we went to the heart place of the Tzotziles Indians which is called San Juan Chamula. There are only 10% of Mexicans in the Chipias State. People are not allowed to take any pic as this is like offending them. We visited their church and it was kind of a weird feeling to be there surrounded by Indians. The atmosphere was heavy with incense and traditional music. There were candles lit everywhere and people sitting on pine needles. I enjoyed being there and feeling the energy. You can´t look at people´s eye as it is like stealing away their inner light. That´s why you can´t take any pic either. However some of them make a living of weaving and get groups to come over to their houses and look at the different work of arts. In this particular case, I could take some pics (the two wee girls).
In late afternoon, we had some free time so the three of us went for a hot chocolate in a very trendy place. It felt like Europe being with my dad talking about our future plans, etc. It felt good. We went for a last meal, drank some red Chilean wine (concha y toro) and wished a nice trip to my dad. He is now going North and will spend some time in Cancun. Poor him!!!
We managed to open the main gate of our hostel and could go to bed. Today we took a bus to visit a zoo. There were only 10 cages but it was in the middle of the forest and you could get really close to the animals. Had a disguting lunch willing to try local food and ended up ordering a sandwich. Spent the rest of the day walking in San Cristobal and within an hour, we will be on the bus to the Oaxacan Coast. We should reach Mazunte (known beach resort among backpackers) around 7am. Hopefully we won´t have to sleep in hammocks again.... Cheerio.