Beautiful San Cristobal de las Casas

Dusk light on the main cathedral.
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Arriving at San Cristobal de las Casas at about 7am after the dreadful overnight bus trip from Oaxaca was like arriving into a fairyland. Our taxi took us the short distance from the bus station to Belas B&B, and Bela, despite being on crutches and with a full house of guests, arranged for us to sit in the dining room by the fire and enjoy a full breakfast.

San Cristobal is ringed by pine forest covered mountains and the town is really beautiful. It is a lot cooler here than in most parts of Mexico, but as soon as the morning mist clears the days are warm and sunny. There is a fabulous handicrafts market at Santo Domingo church and a pedestrian walkway that links both ends of the town to the Zocalo.  Walking along here, past the pretty shops and cafes, there is a great buzz. Its a really enjoyable place to spend time.

Arriving at San Cristobal de las Casas at about 7am after the dreadful overnight bus trip from Oaxaca was like arriving into a fairyland

The Zinacantan market day (Sunday). The locals are characterised by their clothes featuring flowers.
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While in San Cristobal we learnt of the local Mayan culture with a visit on Sunday (market day) to Chamula and Zinacantan. This trip was fascinating for the insight into two local villages, one of which is very traditional, the other with more links to modernity. The people of Chamula have a unique religious practise which blends Catholicism and traditional Mayan rituals and practises. The church is where they make their sacrifices with  the help of local shamans. The thousands of candles in the church make it a beautiful sight.

Taylor on the scary big concrete slide at Las Grutas. He loved it!!
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From San Cristobal we caught a collectivo to Tuxtla for a boat trip up the Canyon del Sumero, with stunning limestone canyons and a crocodile filled waterway below. We loved being on the water again, after a long absence and the boat drivers love to go and stop fast!

Whilst in the area, we also visited the Tuxtla zoo - a wonderful natural home to the local indigenous Chiapas animals and birdlife. The most unzoo like zoo we have been to, which we all enjoyed immensely.

On our last day in San Cristobal, we took the boys to the Las Grutas, limestone caves about 10 mins out of town. This self guided cave is well worth a visit...it could be improved by better lighting, but there are some stunning formations.Very long polished concrete slides outside the caves also gave the boys a lot of fun, sliding down on cardbord boxes.

San Cristobal consistently provided the best food we have enjoyed in all of Mexico. For Mexican we loved the tacos (soft) and especialities and quesadillas at Salsa de Verde, and for other cuisines we relished Thai and greek and indian at Mayambe. Emilianos Moustache - great decor and ambience - also provided a great meal for our last night in San Cristobal.

At the markets we bought pretty embroidered blouses here and beautiful woven and embroidered flower table runners and wall hangings in gorgeous colours, that we will convert to cushion covers.

By far, San Cristobal is our favourite Mexican town.