San Cristobal de las Casas,
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Having arrived here, in the epi-centre of the 1994 Zapatista revolt, we have found an enclave in the mountains, a seducingly cool climate, the friendliness of the mountain indians, and some interesting sites. Admitedly it's a bit of a Gringo town, at times there seem to be more tourists than locals, but somehow it remains a relaing and interesting place.
Unfortunately it seems to me, that it isoften the case that as long as we all use the same guide-books, and have a somewhat similar idea of our dream travelspot, the tourists will always crowd the nicest places. Only rarely do you find a true paradise, or relaxing spot, where there are few tourist. This is oly partially due to the 'guidebook syndrome', but also stems from the fact that many of us travelling, have a slight moral problem with our own travels, for while we enjoy visiting remote cultures, seeing beautiful nature spots, and experiencing that which we haven't got at home, we also know we are contributing to the destruction of many of those places, by merely visting and adding our influence to that of everyone else. For that reason, as well as for reasons of security and comfort, we often do not go to the remotest parts, in fear of our influence being too big to justify. At least if we stick to the Gringo Trail, our influence will be a drop in the can....
The travellers experience will not be made void by Virtual Reality, by the fact that we can experience it all from the comfort of our lounge, for that humankind is too nomadic. It will be made void by three efining forces of the last few decades: Globalization, Commercialization and Environmental Damage. Globalization slowly erodes the details of those exotic cultures we so wish to feel under our kin, it smoothes the edges, minimizing differences, making the feeling ever less exotic, leaving us at last to onder i where we come from is so much different to where we are. Commercialization, slowly removes the differences in available products, prices and local specialities. It removes the differences in price that makes back-packing such a popular pass-time, it ensures that wherever we go, we will be paying the same price for the same service, regional differences minimal, it makes sure again, that the experience of vacation in Mexico, Spain, Morocco or Australia is widely homogenous. And environmental damage, removes the natural wonder of foreign countries, as we witnesed today at the Sumidero Canyon, here in Chiapas. A beautiful, natural wonder, of almost 1000 m cliff-drops down to the tropical river flowing through. Sitting in a motor launch with about 39 other tourists, we were right to expect something special, as we sped through the Canyon, stopping to see birds, Crocodiles, Caves full of bats and waterfalls. Unfortunately, the experience was slightly tainted by the literally thousands of plastic bottles littering the river, by the exhaust from at least 25 similar launches encountered during the 2 hour trip and especially by the critical thoughts that kind of exprience starts in you mind. While th Canyon is still beautiful, it tells a tale of a region over extended by the tourists like ourselves, as well as by the excess population brought in, in part, by the blooming tourist economy. Are we right to even be here? I have no answer, but the question will not o away.....
Well, I was about to tell a little bit about our trip, when I sidetracked. As you have gathered today was spent with the authentic Tourist Experience of the quite fabulous Sumidero Canyon, followed by the, in my humble opinion, a little less enchanting tourist experience of the oldest Spanish settlement in Chiapas, at Chiapas de Corzo. A town of approx. 50,000 souls, it seems to breathe in part due to the tourist tours (like ours) that stop here for an hour on the way to or from the Canyon.... Not my idea of back-packing, but it came ith the tour.
Last night, apart from taking an early night in bed, due to the previous nights strenuous bus journey and th 2400 m altitue change, we visited the local museum Na Bolom (House of the Jaguar). Formerly the house of Danish Explorer Frans Blom, and his Swiss wife Trudy Blom, surveyors, Archeologists, Anthropologists, Photografers, and protectors of the Lacandon Indians, they spent half a life time, fascinated by the region, and especially the Mayan tribe of the near-by rain-forest, the Lacandons. It was a great museum, with a mission, not only to show the world how the indians lived before the spanish (and to some extent still do) but also with a continuous mission to aid research, reforestation and organic farming in the area. Fascinating, and well worth a visit, if you should ever pass through San Cristobal de Las Casas....
