Hey guys,
Time for another update. Sorry I haven't written much lately but it was hard keeping the same pace I started with. Actually it's mainly because on the second leg of the tour we've been spending more time in the individual cities and less time on the bus. I usually write on the bus. Understandably, I feel guilty sitting in my hotel room writing a blog when there's a whole new city outside waiting to be explored. Mind-you, today is a crappy day in San Cristobal. It's been raining and it's cold, so here I am! :)
And so it begins. We arrived here on what... Thursday was it? No Friday! And we got the standard tour of the city, ei: we were shown the two main streets.
The two main streets in San Cristobal are for pedestrians only and they crisscross at the center of the city and meet in central park. They are filled with people, (locals mostly from what I can tell) markets and cute little Mayan sellers who will not take "no" for an answer :P
Anyway on my first night, I was getting to a point where the people on my tour group (not all but some) were really pissing me off. I wrote a little blurb about it on my facebook so some of you know what I'm talking about already. Well anyway because of that i decided to ditch my group and go out on my own.
I'm glad I did cuz I ended up seeing the city and appreciating it's beauty a little more. I got some video of some of that randomness right here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXw-ia_PhTM

After that I found myself a little bar with no name that was playing 'The Doors' so I thought, "Hey.. this seems like a good spot!" I'm glad I stopped-in cuz I met what seemed to be the only english speaking bar tender in town who even looked a bit like Jim Morisson lol We got to chitchat. He was cool.. we talked about music, like the bands we liked and how he had learned english when he was in Vancouver. He's Mexican but explained that he went to Canada on a tourist visa but ended-up getting a job (yes illegally) and worked there for a year.
A little later a lady walked-in who spoke English! Turns-out she was from Alaska!! From Sarah Palin's home town! In her defense she was ashamed of it lol Anyway we talked for a bit till things started to get awkward. While she and I were getting along and talking up a storm, I got the vibe that my new bar tender buddy was getting agitated/aggravated by it. She had obviously been there before as the knew each other by name and I think he was interested in her.
I took my queue and decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel. It was a really good night tho :) and I was glad to have met them both!
The next day, bright and early we departed to visit two Mayan villages! This was my first real view of the daily lives of the mayans. We were lucky as well because through-out the villages they were celebrating and holding festivities. For example, I saw many marches of Mayans dressed in costumes parading down the streets, singing and chanting. We also sat in one of the Leader's homes where they were honoring a spirit and burning incense and playing guitars, harps and drums while the two tribal leaders where singing/chanting! All the while fireworks were going off in the distance. We were told that they fired these works for the sound it made, not for the light display.
We were also given some kind of alcohol that no one drank till it was my turn... yup, I was the first!! Some people after me might have tried some, but man.. I really wanted to try it! Plus all the tribal leaders where looking to see who would drink it and I'll be dammed if I was going to pass this up. Oh and btw it tasted like nothing I've ever tried before. It was very strong and looked like water.
Now one thing that I've notices consistently through-out central America but more obviously in these Mayan villages is that there are always a ton of kids playing outside! It's refreshing to see kids play rather then in front of a computer lol I do it, but I'm old! So it's ok ;P
Yea it's true many of the children are busy working or trying to sell you stuff instead of being in a classroom! I bring that up because a lot of people will scream "child labour! child labour!" But that's not the sense I got. First of all, they have a very different culture then we do. Women make crafts and sell those crafts, and the women keep the money... the men don't get any of it. So it's their source of income. And women are also responsible for many many many things (ei: children, pets, cooking, cleaning, getting water, etc...) and as such it's often seen as a waste of time for them to go to school. Men work the fields and have a more spiritual role within the communities.
There is balance in these villages.. and women do have rights! Women can chose to have a divorce and when they do, the woman keeps the house and all belongings.. the man loses everything! Among other rights which only apply within their own culture and is difficult for outsides to understand. Though, we were explained that whereas Westerners often look upon these cultures and think that they are uncivilized they (the Mayans) in fact feel that we are the ones who are uncivilized! Interesting isn't it?
One thing for sure is that tolerance of each other is key. We could both learn from each other but as far as I can tell they are too busy rejecting all that western cultures have to offer due to negative past experiences with the church and Spain, in essence they refuse to evolve. On the other hand, western culture is too high on themselves to see that these people have something that we do not, namely... a connection to mother earth that we could only dream of!
After my enlightening experience at the Mayan villages the group got together and had a bit of a put luck in our hotel. I brought wine :) We also had bread and sliced meat and mini hotdogs, olives and stuff lol it was cool. Best of all... I regained tolerance for those in the group that were pissing me off a few days back :))
Today, is a new day in many many ways. I've changed my outlook on things and I hope that I'll be back on track when I get home.
Did I find myself, you ask?? I don't think that exist so much... so no, I don't think I "found myself". But hopefully I'm on track. Traveling is important... being alone and allowing yourself time to think about what's important to you is, is important. Remembering to follow your instinct is important. Often, your mind will run for miles and miles, yet your instinct is already there. It's important to remember that.
That's it. That's all I got for today. I hope my touchy feely blogs aren't boring u :)
Peace!
Mike