El Caballo

Well, we've been spotty on internet on the last few days, so we're going to play a little catch up in the next few.

I'm going to tell you about a fun excursion we made in the first few days of being in Mexico.

Last Sunday, I saw three Chickens die right in front of my own eyes. Yup, I'm just going to throw that out there right away. Now I'll tell you how we got to that.

The day started as most of our days in San Cristobal did, we had a nice breakfast with Meta and Uri. Then, we were off to go for a horseback ride.

A short bus ride(minibus actually) took us to a very small ranch on the outskirts of town that was maybe an acre or two large. Our plan was to ride the horses a couple of kilometers to a neighboring town, San Juan Chamula.

It was a slow uphill ride along a nicely paved road. Even though we wanted the horses to run or even trot, it was very apparent that we had no control over them and they went at their own pace. Meta's horse(we think was younger and more energized) led the way, followed by my horse and Uri's horse. They kept close to each other, and traded the lead between the two of them. Uri kept trying to "inspire" his horse to go faster, but no dice. Same with mine.

Laura brought up the rear with our cowboy guide, Juan, as she was told her horse needed to be kept away from the others because she likes to bite!

Well after about an hour, we arrived at the town, tied the horses up by the side of the road in some shade, and ventured into town. There was a very large market in the central plaza, as is the case on Sundays. You could find all sorts of interesting fruits, vegetables, trinkets, ice cream, native foods/treats, chickens, hand-woven mayan textiles and lamb's wool garments.

I couldn't believe these wool tunics and wool skirts that the men and women were wearing on such a hot day!

So next, we ventured into the Church were we encountered some very interesting methods of worship and prayer. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the Church, so I'm going to try to paint you a picture. It was a narrow Church with no seating. Locals brought in many candles, anywhere from 10 to 100, and created a small altar on the floor in front of themselves as they knelt. Then as the candles burned, they recited prayers. Some of these people were alone, some had their family with them. Then came the real shocker. I noticed some people had brought live chickens into the church with them. Well, these chickens didn't leave alive. I only watched this three times, but we were only inside the Church for 20 minutes, so I imagine there were quite a few more fatalities. They were suffocated, and once they were done trembling and kicking, they were waved above the heads of each family member as a cleansing ritual. Next, they all took a drink of "Posh" which is basically a clear moonshine that they mix with Pepsi or Coke. The idea is to drink enough until you throw up as a way to cleanse your body. Before we ventured out from the ranch, we were actually given a sample of posh, and it isn't very good, but tastes a little like vodka.

Well, that's about all I needed for one day. We strolled around the market some more afterwards, then headed back to the horses. Again, they went at their own pace, which was quite slow. It was still a lot of fun anyways.

When we got back, we noticed some other little critters on the ranch, like tiny puppies, kittens, and this one dog that just wanted to play. Well, his style of play was extremely aggressive as he kept jumping up on me, and trying to bite me. At one point, he actually latched on to my ankle with a pretty good grip. I had to basically kick him off of me. After that, he played nicer and followed us to the bus stop. What a jerk. I really wanted to hate him.

That seemed like a pretty full day, but it wasn't over. The four of us took a walk into the central plaza of San Cristobal, and there was a huge stage set up. It was a bit of a rock concert. Band wasn't very good, but fun regardless.

Our next stop was to have some coffee in a nearby cafe. Well, we had our coffee and were about ready to leave, when in walked a Mariachi band in full gear.

They were really good and played for half an hour. It turns out that the owner hired them to come in because they were celebrating their one year anniversary as a business, as well as the addition of new bathrooms! What a fun treat! I've always wanted to see a real, authentic Mariachi band. Check!