Saturday, February 10

Rita and I took an excursion to Tuxtla Gutierrez today, along with Peggy and James.

We took a combi to Tuxtla that was so comfortable and air conditioned it didn't seem like we were in Mexico. The drive was just too pleasant. We go off, the last stop, at the Jaime Sabines cultural centre and looked around. The display area was closed but the bookstore was interesting, and I took a picture of a mural from1998 that is supposed to represent the Indigenous populations.

We then went to the state museum of Chiapas, beginning with the archaeological display. At the entrance is a sculpture that I have loved for more than 35 years (one of the pieces I featured in my masters thesis and an article taken from it). The last time I saw this sculpture it was lying on the jungle floor at Yaxchilan. It is a door lintel from structure 13, numbered lintel 33.
The first display area focuses on early remains in Chiapas and particularly Paso de la Amada, a site on the coast for which Michael Blake of UBC Anthropology is one of the major excavators. The display continues on chronologically, much of it disappointing especially in terms of the information applied. Many beautiful ceramics though, and three of the spectacular Palenque incensario stands. Also noteworthy for me was the display of painted textiles in the international style of the late postclassic, found in a dry cave in Chiapas. These are apparently the most extensive textile fragments known from pre-hispanic times.

I next went upstairs with Peggy to see the historical exhibit, Rita having already been through it. This exhibit seemed more extensive but I'm biased and to me it was far less interesting. Indigenous presence after conquest was barely noted except for battles.

When we came out of the exhibit we found James and Rita watching a children's show led by a clown. We stayed and watched a very funny routine using members of the audience to depict furnishings in a man's hall and bathroom, including a toilet!

James and Peggy then continued on to the soccer game while Rita and I headed downtown and to the other side to see the Marimba Museum. We walked in, prepared to pay the 10 peso adult fee, but were told that the entrance fee for foreigners is 50 pesos. "No vale" we said as we walked out in a huff. Three blocks beyond was something described on the tourist map as the mural depicting the history of Chiapas. I like to search out mural representations of Indigenous peoples so we headed there. But what we found was a grand staircase with a few sculptured dates and a monument at the top. Wasn't even worth climbing so we just headed back to the combi stand, a half hour away.

Hundreds of combis passed but not one for San Cristobal. Then a second class (probably third class) bus stopped and the cobrador kept saying "San Cristobal" and encouraging us to get in . We made a snap judgment and then piled on, but as it creeped along the Avenida Central we thought we had made a big mistake. Would this take the old route and get us there in three hours of non-stop stops? I should have read the sign on the front which said "Autopista" and known that we would not be so delayed. In fact the ride was comfortable (no air conditioning but the windows opened) and felt much more like the way I've always traveled in Mexico. Very satisfying.

That's the highlight. When we got back, Rita went to call her mother and I went to do the shopping at the market. C'est tout.