Oh, just an update...

To be honest, I´m kinda tired and spacey and don`t feel like I can write with as much detail and creativity as I´m capable of, but the longer I wait to update the less I´ll remember.

I left Xela and Guatemala in general on Teus., Feb. 3rd and arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. Crossing the border was a cheaper, simpler process than I was expecting. You simply go to the immigration office on the Guatemala side and they stamp you out, then you go to the office on the Mexico side and they stamp you in.

Riding through Mexico on the way to San Cristobal, we passed three heavily fortified army bases. For those of you who don´t know, 15 years ago an indigenous army called the Zapatistas (named after Emiliano Zapata, an indigenous leader during the Mexican Revolution from Chiapas) rose up in Chiapas in response to Neo-Liberal policies (specifically NAFTA) that took away land that was gauranteed to them in the Mexican Constitution. They took over a four cities in Chiapas including San Cristobal, but werer driven out after a few days and 150 deaths (mostly Zapatista) my the federal army. However, they still hold a few strongholds in the rural areas of Chiapas, and a lot of general support in the region, as well as internationally. Guess where my support lies.

San Cristobal is absolutely beautiful. It´s by far the prettiest, cleanest, most progressive and bohemian place I´ve been to yet. And, inexplicably, it´s also cheaper than most places in Guatemala, despite the large presence of turists. I´ve more or less fallen in love with this place.

Someone else is waiting to use this communal computer, so more updates to come soon...