Cañon del Sumidero

Yes, we have been too busy...or too lazy...to update the blog.  Our days have been full of practicing Spanish and walking "las calles" of San Cristóbal. We discover new places and better ways to say things every day. Last Saturday we went on a little excursion around Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Tuxtla Gutiérrez is down the mountain, so you know what that means? Pam and Dramamine, with Ruth as the chaperone. This day involved many forms of transportation - combi (small bus), to taxi, to another taxi, to an antique volkswagen bus without doors, to a lancha (boat), to another combi, to another bus, then a walk in the POURING rain, rescued by yet another taxi and home again. We love drugs (Dramamine).

Our goal was to see the highly praised Zoo as well as visit Cañon del Sumidero. First stop - the Zoo. It is known as one of the best zoos in Latin America and houses only animals from Chiapas. (Click HERE to see some images from the web, as we didn't take very many). Next stop - Chiapa de Corzo for a boat ride to see El Cañon del Sumidero. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride in an open air boat with 30 of our new best friends.  We slathered on the sun screen, secured our hats, and hoped for the best - wondering if we had made a mistake when we realized how long we might be on the water, and in the sun during the heat of the day.

But as with all days here in Chipas, the weather changed quickly. Clouds appeared from nowhere, sheltering us from the heat and sun.

Ruth and I luckily were seated in the very front! ¡Que suerte!" We had the best seat in the house and once again were the only "gringas"  on the river. The canyon reminded Ruth of the river shots from the Lord of the Rings movie. It was that spectacular and beautiful. 

Half way through the trip it started to rain. Our "lancha" found a shallow cave-like enclosure to protect us from the downpour and we were soon joined by 5 other boats, tucked into the cove and touching each other.  It finally stopped and we set off again. As we neared the end of the journey, the rain came again, and this time we had no cove for protection. The captain threw us all a huge plastic tarp to hold onto overhead while he high tailed it home. Ruth and I had a very important job up front holding it down, protecting ourselves and the others.  

We took tons of pictures but none really compare to what you can find online HERE. See our Cañon del Sumidero slide show to the right. And that Ginormous Crocodile you see above was one of two we saw that day.