| Hernan Cortes
created the Plaza in the 1520’s. He used material from the temples and
palaces of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec city he demolished. After demolishing
Tenochtitlan, Mexico City was built on it. In case you feel like reading
a historical novel on the time when the Spanish and Amerindian cultures
clashed and eventually started to melt, do give “Aztec Autumn” by Gary
Jennings a go. It tells the story from the angle of an Indian teenager.
Worth sussing
out is also Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan was Mexico’s largest ancient city.
It was the capital of Mexico’s largest pre – Hispanic empire. It is located
on the outskirts of Mexico City. Do have a look at the Quetzalcoatl Temple
and other ancient buildings. The experience is quite impressive. In a nutshell,
however, it is beyond my limited ability to comprehend why anybody should
have the desire to live in Mexico City. The place is a circus.
Oaxaca
As pointed
out above, Mexico City served primarily as a stopover on the way to Oaxaca
and Chiapas. The state of Oaxaca is situated north of Chiapas, in the South
of Mexico. The city of Oaxaca is the capital of the state Oaxaca. The population
of Oaxaca Ciudad may be more or less half the population of Colima.
Oaxaca radiates
a very special atmosphere. The atmosphere of Oaxaca is relaxed and energetic
as well as cosmopolitan at the same time. The atmosphere there is cosmopolitan
because quite a few Europeans live in Oaxaca. Many of them live there because
they were looking for an alternative lifestyle. They have found it in Oaxaca.
There also also a bunch of tourists staggering around, which is virtually
the only feature I was not amused with while being in Oaxaca. I do not
like to be where heaps of Joe Sixpacks and Johnny Paychecks are.
However, a
significant portion of the population in Oaxaca – possibly the majority
of the population there – are Indians. The Indian population adds to the
special flavour of Oaxaca. It makes Oaxaca completely different to Colima
and most other places in Mexico.
Similar to
most Mexican cities, the centre of Oaxaca is the zocalo. The zocalo is
a public square in the heart of the city. It is often shady. In Oaxaca
the zocalo is also arcaded. I spent hours there doing not much except reading
and inhaling the extraordinary atmosphere. There are also several quite
good cafes and restaurants near the zocalo. Like in Colima, it did not
take me a bunch of time to find my favourite restaurant for extensive breakfasts.
While my favourite restaurant in Colima is “Los Naranjos Campestre”, it
is in Oaxaca “Del Jardin Café”.
Watch the sky
and the light in Oaxaca, together with the indigenous population and the
colonial architecture – and you understand what I mean by special atmosphere.
Even though I have been to quite a bunch of places throughout the world,
Oaxaca does stand out. It is one of a kind and very fascinating.
San Cristobal
de las Casas
San Cristobal
de las Casas does stand out as well. But the reasons are different, which
make it stand out. San Cristobal is situated in Chiapas. Chiapas is Mexico’s
Southern Most and poorest state. The first glance around tells you already
that San Cristobal and Chiapas are poorer than the rest of Mexico. The
proximity to the border of Guatemala is apparent. Like Oaxaca, San Cristobal
is touristy. But it is by far not as touristy as Oaxaca. When places are
not touristy or less touristy, I feel more drawn to them. It is probably
another feature of my trait that crowds are not my cup of tea.
San Cristobal
is situated in the pine – clad Valle de Jovel and is surrounded by Mayan
villages of the highlands of Chiapas. There are various indigenous Indian
groups living in the highlands of Chiapas – e.g. the Tzootzils and Tzeltals.
These tribes speak languages that derive from the Mayan language. Only
the Zoques in the north of Chiapas speak a language that does not derive
from Mayan. Their language is rather related to the Mixes tribe in Oaxaca
and the Popolucas tribe in Veracruz.
On the one
hand, San Cristobal radiates quite a relaxed and a little bohemian atmosphere
with its bars, cafes and restaurants including the music scene there. On
the other hand, the city centre is usually packed out with army and police.
The reason is the Zapatista uprising that started in 1994.
The Zapatista
National Liberation Army (EZLN) derives its name from Emiliano Zapata.
Emiliano Zapata fought in the Mexican revolution in 1910. The Zapatistas
fight or claim to fight on behalf of oppressed people, predominantly Indians
in Chiapas. They demand education and jobs, respect for indigenous peoples
and cultures. Even though I do not deserve to be called an expert on revolutionary
groups in Latin America, there appear to be a few differences between the
Zapatistas on the one hand and the Shining Path in Peru and FARC in Colombia
on the other hand. A main difference seems to be that the former are not
involved in drug trafficking to finance their activities.s
However, nothing
out of the ordinary occurred during my stay in San Cristobal. The only
thing that came more or less close to danger were the many holes in the
streets. Looking at it in hindsight, I am more than a little surprised
that I did not fall into any of them. Do not worry about Zapatista uprisings
in Chiapas. San Cristobal and Chiapas are worth sussing out.
Laguna La
Maria
Every now and
then, I have to get away from it all. The purpose of the exercise is to
enjoy peace and quiet in nature. The place to be for me in South Africa
for this sort of exercise was Rustler’s valley, near the border to Lesotho.
In New Zealand, Waiheke Island was the place for me to enjoy peace and
quiet in nature. In Mexico, I do this sort of thing at Laguna La Maria.
Laguna La Maria
is situated in the state of Colima near the town San Antonio. It is a lagoon
virtually right in the middle of nowhere. You can rent there what New Zealanders
in the North Island call a bach. New Zealanders in the South Island call
it a crib. Gringos probably call it a cottage, some sort of little house
for weekends. You can fix your own meals there. Or you can cut a deal with
the manager and he does it for you. As I am a little huevon (Spanish slang
for lazy), I usually prefer the latter.
The altitude
there is a little higher than in the city of Colima. So it is pleasantly
cool there in winter. There is only nature, nothing but nature. When I
returned from Laguna La Maria to Colima, the noise in a shopping mall almost
drove me nuts.
Very close
to Laguna La Maria, there is the Hacienda de San Antonio, which belongs
to the AMAN resorts. However, I very much doubt that a hotel room is worth
eight hundred US – dollars per night. But that is subject to debate.
Summary
When living
overseas for the long term, you settle in after a while and start feeling
at home. It usually dawns on you that you feel at home where you live when
you look forward to returning to that place after a holiday/vacation for
example. I have had this sort of experience a few times already – when
returning to Miami after a week in San Francisco, when returning to Johannesburg
after a week in Zimbabwe and when returning to Auckland after being a little
more than a week out of town. It has been similar in Colima. After an extensive
trip to the deep South of Mexico, my soul almost jumped for joy when I
returned to the quiet and peaceful place that is currently my home turf.
On the other
hand, a change of scenery is necessary on a regular basis, no matter where
you are, no matter what you do. The change of scenery serves various purposes.
It recharges your batteries. It broadens your horizon. It makes you feel
young and fresh again, no longer ruco and huevon. A change of scenery….The
world in the twenty first century is a village. However, the village is
big enough for quite a heap of changes of scenery. Go for it.
Jurgen Klemann |
