Days 114 Through 119: Chiapa De Corzo To San Cristóbal De Las Casas

The road from Chiapa de Corzo to San Cristóbal de las Casas was our first time back on the Pan-American highway since Baja California.  Once we peel ourselves away from the warm embrace of San Cristóbal, we will leave the Pan-American highway for good to head north towards Palanque.  For all I say about staying off the main roads, I was glad to be able to cycle this bit of the Pan-American highway for all the iconic misty dreamy imagery of Chiapas it offers.  It's a good thing the views were, indeed, magical because we basically spent those 70 km climbing into the Sierra Madre of Chiapas.

Long winding picturesque switchbacks...

Beautiful green Chiapas and a surprisingly non-stressful Pan-American highway thanks to the much shorter and more trafficked toll road running parallel to this one.

Towns pop out of nowhere on hillsides tucked in between cornfields planted in the edge of the steepest hills.

Climbing, climbing, and more climbing... straight into that cloud and into a huge deluge of rain.

After the storm, the clouds became pure art and I stopped every five minutes to soak in the views.

Wisps of mist arise out of the lush green landscape.

Mountaintops peek through the mysterious post-storm haze.

53 km and 2000 meters of climbing later we finally set up camp!  We found the only uninhabited flat spot tucked away off the road about 15 km before San Cristóbal... we probably could have made it all the way, but decided it was best to stop to camp before it got dark. 

View just outside my tent.

And what a beauuuutiful morning it was... view from my "bathroom."

Once we finally made it to San Cristóbal de las Casas, we set off to do a massive tour of the museums that interested us the most because it was Sunday, and we did not want to repeat our errors of the past and try to visit museums on Monday when they all close.  Luckily, the Jade Museum, the Bug and Insect Museum, the Amber Museum, and the Kakaw Museum were all quite small and easily done in a single day without burning ourselves out.  

Traditional Mayan hot chocolate done up the old school way at the Kakaw Museum... this museum was a freebie with our entrance to the Jade Museum.  We learned all sorts of interesting things like how cocoa was used as currency back in the day and why the production of cocoa in Mexico is being endangered by some crazy fungus.

We had originally planned on checking out the touristy cavern at Rancho Nuevo, but on the good advice of Erick, the owner of Hostal Akumal, we decided to "hike" out to Acrotete to check out a cavern there.  It was about a 1.5 hour walk straight up and out of town on a mix of regular pavement and dirt road.  This would make a strenuous but pretty awesome bike ride for those who don't feel like they climbed enough just to get to San Cristóbal.

San Cristobal peeks out as we hiked up to Arcotete.

A quick look back makes me wish for just a second that we had ridden our bikes.  We also saw a few scattered signs for mountain bike trails up here.

The main attraction... the "gruta" or cavern.

For just 10 pesos, you can climb up into this cavern and explore a bit... Gonzalo and I agreed this cavern would make the best "bat cave" ever.

Gonzalo takes in the view.

What began as a two-day stay in San Cristóbal morphed into a much longer stay.  Even if Gonzalo didn't have to get some work done, this place enveloped us in a big warm hug and refused to let us go.   And it's not like we were really trying to get away either, especially when we had found a temporary home in Hostal Akumal, quite possibly the best hostal I have ever stayed in over my many years of travel.

Recently seen around San Cristóbal... I kind of want to come back here just to watch this race... or to participate in it.

Chandra... the resident dog at Hostal Akumal... hours of fun with big brown eyes.

Temporary home for our bikes... Chandra stands guard.

Sunset as seen from the rooftop of Hostal Akumal.

Absolutely fabulous... Luise and Ana Laura from Mexico City! 

Erick gets really creative with his breakfasts, which he cooks every morning for everyone at the hostal... dense nutty whole grain sourdough toast and "fancy" eggs this particular morning.

Sometimes, it's a luxury to curl up with a warm dog, a good book, and a fresh cup of locally grown and roasted coffee.

I've been rocking the "I've been bike touring for nearly four months and I don't give a crap about my hair" look for well... nearly four months.  Over breakfast one morning, I mentioned that I was thinking about cutting my hair at the hostel, when Luise and Ana Laura said they had a friend from high school who would give me a free haircut.  I'm not a fancy salon kind of gal, but my hair had gotten just long enough it was bugging me and hey, who was I to turn down a free haircut?  So off I went to for a girly day off the bike... and ended up stumbling into a mini-photo shoot for an exhibition by an up-and-coming local photographer.

My haircut "design" with an asymmetrical radial pattern sketched by Aldo, Ximena's mentor and boss.

Aldo went a bit nuts with my camera while Ximena worked on my hair.  She did a great job under Aldo's guidance and I ended up making sure she got paid a lil something for all her hard work.

Aldo making art.

A few travel trips for cyclists:

• The ride from Chiapa de Corzo to San Cristóbal via the free road is basically one massive climb until about 10 km before San Cristóbal.  We got a late start getting out of Chiapa de Corzo... it's totally doable in a single day and perhaps advisable because we were told there were no rooms to rent in the one biggish town we passed and the terrain is so steep that it's nearly impossible to find wild camping unless you descend into one of the towns set away from the road.  Stock up before leaving Chiapa de Corzo, because aside from an early tourist attraction, there are very few amenities for the first 30 km of the climb.  For an easy access wild camping spot, look for a grassy double track off to the left around 15 km before San Cristóbal that is miraculously flat and out of sight of any little houses.

• I cannot say enough good things about Hostal Akumal (16 de Septiembre #23), owned by the gregarious and talented photographer Erick.  This hostal oozes warmth and homeyness because this is Erick's home.  He has just one dorm with eight beds and one private room with two beds.  That's it.  He lives upstairs and makes everyone breakfast every morning... not your crappy continental breakfast, but coffee, milk, fresh baked whole grain bread made from a sourdough starter, eggs, sometimes fruit, or whatever else he decides to whip up, ranging from huevos rancheros atop crispy corn tortillas and ham to a potato/squash/egg scramble.  Not only is he a font of information, but he gives everyone free reign of the house, the terrance, and the rooftop and takes a true interest in each guest.