Oasis in the Desert

Saturday, February 7, 2009

San Cristobal (continued)

Herb and Thomas with an Australian couple ready to shop
Street Scene in Chumala (a chilly day)

An Indiginous Indian Preparing Comida


Na Bolom Research Garden



Na Bolom Hotel


We visited three museums, the Na Bolom museum and research center, Museo De La Medicina Maya, and the Museo Del Ambar De Chiapas. Amber is the yellow stone as we know it. It is created from the resin of the pine tree formed under pressure over thousands of years.

We took a day trip to two small villages outside of San Cristobal, Chamula and Zincantan, where we mixed with the indigenous Indian tribes. There were so many tourists in the villages it was difficult to spot the locals, except that each village had a distinctive way of wearing their clothing. The villages were high in the Mountains and it was rainy and cold the day we visited. Our Guide had been raised in one of the villages and he had very strong opinions for the case of the Indigenous Indians keeping their traditions.

2 comments:

Lynne said...

Are those quilts behind you where your sitting with the Australian couple. They are beautiful.

Life and times of Lord Herbert said...

Lynne,
The weaving behind us are tablecloths, shawls, and various weaving made here in the village. It was rumored that some of the quilts in the marketplace were imported from China. Perhaps some were -- it was difficult to determine, but most of the products were made here.

The same was true for the amber. Some street vendors would sell plastic jewelry and claim it to be amber.