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Travel to Chiapas


Ajijicer2

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Planning a trip to Chiapas Jan 31 for 8 days. Picked it because it seemed relatively safer than other destinations. Many outdoor activities and Im sure outdoor restaurants as I remember from several years back. Are we crazy? Of course we're vaccinated and boosted and wear masks but trying to get a feel for omicron there. Since very little English spoken there looking for private driver/guide.  

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  I live there 6 to 8 months of the year  and have done so for 15 years. I can recommend the driver I use. He is nice, drives well and is a   neighbor . His name is Alvaro Gutierrez and he uses whatsapp his number is  967 1118114

San Cristobal is a little better off as far as covid as the lower parts of Chiapas like Tuxtla or Chiapa de Corzo but it is not without covid, many of my neighbors got it although they were vaccinated. 

The majority of the indigenous in the villages wear no masks , they only will wear one if they have to wear one in stores or banks etc..  The figures are on covid are way off because there are very few tests done and people who get sick stay home and die at home so covid is not reported , it is not even referred as covid and many indigenous believe that drinking POSH, their hard liquor , which by the way  has the same name as medecine) will cure them and they will tell you all kinds of stories how they do not get sick and on and on.

You will have a tendency not to wear a  mask there because very few people wear one. Good luck when omicron hits the area.. Many families I know in the villages got covid last May and June ad  few are vaccinated. That is the story in the villages.

In town  people wear masks but many do not and no one does in the markets. There are quite a few tourists and who knows if they are vaccinated and they do come from all over Europe, Israel and mostly Mexico City, and other Mexican states. 

In a nutshell , do not trust the figures or what the papers are saying , if you do not want to get sick wear a mask and eat in restaurants outside . It is pretty cold usually in January in San Cristobal and not pleasant to travel to the villages as we get a lot of fog in the mountains. .. 

I am going down at the end of January  so I do not feel more in danger there than here but I do not eat out  and know who is sick and who is not in the villages so that is a little safer,, but no guaranty. 

The big San Sebastian fiesta in Chiapa de Corzo was cancelled  inside  the church but I am sure the parachicos will be on the street  dancing like they were last year. 

I lost several friends in their 40`s in Tuxtla and Chiapa de Corzo so be careful if you go into fiestas and crowds in the low lands.

The doctors and hospitals down there are not  great.

If you go have a good time i and buy from the artisans , they need the money, some of them are in a pretty bad economic situation. The poorest municipalites where they have extreme poverty are San Juan Cancuc. Chenalho, Chachilhuitan, Chanal and Aldama.. Going toward Palenque the Ocosingo area is also very poor.

Enjoy and take warm clothes if you stay in the mountains. February is still cold and can be foggy..

If you enjoy the outdoors I can recommend a good guide. He is from Santa Marta and married to a friend of mine in San Andres Larrainzar. He can take you to some great outdoor spots all over the state and some great hikes. His name is Juan Gomez also known as Xun Gomez.. If interested lt me know I will send you his number.

who knows if omicron made it down there or not. People really o not much about delta or omicron.. it is already a feat to say covid..rather than " the enfermidad."

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Wow thank you so much! A friend told me there is someone on chapala.com who lives also in Chiapas so great you responded so I dont have to track you down. Yes, would like contact with driver/ guides. We are 4 single women. Booked at Casa Familia .  The weather says 75 during the day but I know it gets cold at night. The hotel has real heaters in the wall. But you are saying cold during the day too?

I have a place in El Dorado but I live in San Diego but visit Ajijic a few times a year, in between renters.

Arlena

alh92103@gmail.com

 

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757 is a heat wave.. Ha ha..  It may reach 75 some day but it certainly does not stay there very long. I have never seen the thermometer in the kitchen hit 70 and I have heaters in the house and a fireplace.. The probleme is that the temperature and weather fluctuate a lot within the same day so it stars in the low forties in early morning  warms up to noon or so and then starts cooling off when the cloud move in around 3 or 3.. and then back down.. It can be foggy up to 11 or so o longer depending and the cold as a rule is a wet cold  although we get dry cold where you can see your breath and the sun is shinning and those days are great but you need sweatshiirts for sure 

That is the highlands in the hills high up , as you go to places that are lower the weather warm up.. and can be hot in the low lands. so you get a bit of everything. within the same day usually. If you go and see the ruins in the jungle, the weather will probably be great.

I will email you the details on Juan and Alvaro. Alvaro is more of a driver .. and I have used him many times  when I do not have a car to take me to work in some of the villages so he knows some of the people in the indigenous villages where I go.

Juan / xun is indigenous and speaks tzotzil and is a tour guide , His wife  is a fabulous weaver  and works with a group of women so He knows many weavers.. He can take you hiking up a volcano Tacana or organize something just for your group if you tell him what ou are interested in.

Keep in mind that for exemple Palenque is 6 hours from Saan Cristobal and Yaxchilan another 3 housrs so if you want to visit the jungle take 3 or 4 days.   Not sure if he knows a whole lot about the religius fiestas as he is not catholic .. but if you want to go hiking in beautiful country  or visiting artisans  , he is the guy,  Also  keep in mind that we have a lot of social unrest so do not hace a tight schedule to get to the airport and go with the flow.  

 

In October I had planned to go to the Ithmus to visit artisans before heading for Oaxaca and we left early on MOnday morning for Tehuantepec but  he took me 7 hours to get to the other side of Tuxtla which usually takes 1h to 1h 30 minutes , which blew the day and the visit,,, It isthe way it is down there.. Many roads get blocked for one reason or another and you can easily  blow a day..

 

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The guide to hire if you like hiking or go out in nature or see good artisans is Juan also known as Xun also pronounced shun which is Juan in Tztotzil  Gomez his nuemail is shuntours2015@gmail.com Xun is indigenous and speaks Tzotzil. He is from Santa Marta, CHenalho and his wife from San Andres Larrainzar. They live in San Andres

Robert Murphy is also good. He and his brother Parick who passed away were the nephew of Bishop Samuel Ruiz and is a big advocate for indigenous. His mother was the sister of Bishop or Tatik RUiz and his father was Irish.

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  • 3 weeks later...
23 hours ago, oregontochapala said:

This has ben happening with increasing frequency in Chiapas- https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/tourists-detained-chiapas-protesters/

You have to know where to go. This was in oxchuc between San Cristobal  and Palenque  . OXCHUC  is a town with lots of conflicts and the villages around are sick of it and a dirt road is being upgraded to bypass the area.

There have been a lot of problems in this town but there are many other places that are fine. 

These ladies are planning to go visiting with a driver I know and they will be fine.

I

 

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On 1/13/2022 at 4:52 PM, Karin Morgan said:

bmh,

Hi, I’m one of the four going to Chiapas with Arlene the end of the month.  I hope you are still in town, would love to meet with you for coffee, and connect with your driver and tour tour guide.   I live here at Birds of Paradise year round.  Let me know if that would be possible.

I delayed my trip because I want tl be here for my husband 80th.. I will be driving down between the 3rd and 8th of february.

i am sending you a pm

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Karin.... posting your email address like this on a public forum is not a really good idea.... from a scam point of view. BOTS comb sites like this looking for email addresses than they can exploit.  As you are new here you may not know that you can just send a Private Mail (PM) to someone here... bmh for example.... and she will be able to read your message in more or less privacy.  If you don't know how, just ask.....

 

 

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24 minutes ago, RickS said:

Karin.... posting your email address like this on a public forum is not a really good idea.... from a scam point of view.

I'm always surprised by how many people do this. Post their personal email address or phone number on a public forum, seemingly not understanding that the entire worldwide web can see it. 

This is how people get their online accounts hacked and start receiving spam emails and phone calls.

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