Breakfast was included at the hostel so we settled down for cereal, toast and coffee at the outside table. One of the cats was not afraid to chance it's luck on the table, in the hope of some milk from a bowl. After being put on the floor for the umpteenth time, it settled onto Maria's lap.

We took a colectivo to San Juan Chamula, a small village 10km away and even further up the mountains at around 2200 metres above sea level. Templo de San Juan Bautista was the number one attraction here. It looked like a church from the outside but there was an entry fee for tourists and a strict ban on photography. The reasons behind this became apparent as soon as we walked through the door. This was where the locals carried out their religious ceremonies & offerings.

Immediately on the right was a huge queue of parents with babies in white dresses and blankets waiting to be baptised. The men were in furry, white cloaks and cowboy hats while the women were in black, furry skirts with colourful shirts and cardigans. On each side of the temple, there were tables with thousands of votive candles in glasses devoted to Saints. The smell of insence was in the air mixing with the aroma of the pine tree needles scattered across the floor and the fresh flowers on the tables.

There were small groups, probably families, kneeling on the floor in front of a cleared space of pine needles. Dozens of candles would be lined up and lit in the cleared space on the floor. Chants and prayers would commence whilst offerings were placed before the candles - these ranged from bottles of Coca-Cola, beer, some clear liquid, chicken eggs and even live chickens. One family group had a woman's blood pressure checked by the chanter as part of the ceremony, the live chicken was then waved over the candle flames and then swiped around the woman's body (we suspect she was pregnant and having blood pressure problems) - it's spiritual duty done, the chicken then had it's neck snapped. It took a good while to go through the prayers/thanksgiving and another set of candles had to be set up. The clear liquid was offered next with some thrown around the candles before being drunk. David was offered some to taste and that should have been the warning that it wasn't water. It wasn't a nice tequila either, it must have been some locally brewed spirit and it had a kick to it (the Coke was probably to help it stay down). It tasted bad but not bad enough for David not to have a second mouthful. Maria, probably more sensibly, politely turned down the offer.

It was also a Market Day for the villagers with stalls full of fruit, vegetables, flowers, chili and dried flattened fish. The locals were enjoying family time out on the church yard with some refreshments and live band playing around their tables.

We took a colectivo back to San Cristóbal to have a walk round the town centre. In the main pedestrian street there was a Pastiseria and it seemed like a good idea to try some local cakes - bad move, they tasted like ****!! The first time we have had disappointing food in Mexico - we will stick to the savoury food in future. We threw the remains of the pastry in a bin in Real Guadalupe, a street leading up to a church on the hill. Close to the bottom of stairs leading up to the church was a very busy restaurant cooking whole chickens on a spit over a wood fire...it looked very tempting after the pastry disaster. Could so many locals be buying lousy food? We decided they couldn't and ended up with a plate of gorgeous chicken, roasted onion and chillies, salsa, rice & tortillas. We rolled out the place thinking we would not have to eat for another week.

On our way back to the hostel we walked through a cathedral with golden walls and then an Artisan market. If there is two things they love in San Cristóbal, it's markets and churches.