The Heart of the Mayan World

After my time spent with Ling in Playa Del Carmen, I had to then work out how I was going to get from México to Guatemala, Antigua “The Heart of the Mayan World”. I decided the best route (and to avoid the entry fees to Belize) was to go back to San Cristobel, México, and then take an ADO night bus straight to Antigua. Ok, it may sound like a troublesome backwards journey, but it really wasn’t so bad. On the bus to San Cristobal I met an Australian guy called Robbie. Robbie was also travelling alone and was the only ‘gringo’ in sight, so I decided to talk to him. Both Robbie and I were going to Antigua so we decided to stick together and hang out. Our second day together in San Cristobal we decided to go to a native village up in the hillside. Rather than walking we got there via horse, I had missed horse riding so much that I was very pleased we were not walking and riding instead.

From this village members of the Tzotzil and Tzeltal groupings. Within these groups are the Tenejapans who wear black knee-length tunics, the Chamulans who wear white wool tunics and the Zinacantecoswho wear multi-coloured outfits. I also learnt that they were ribbons on their hats to signify how many children they have. We had to very much respect the people there and be cautious of taking photos as individuals do not wish to be photographed. Within this small village was a traditional Mayan church, one that survived the Spanish Roman Catholic invasion. I found visiting the church very interesting. Looking around the church you could mistake it for Roman Catholic church due to the paintings and saint statues. According to what I have since read, the churches showed the Roman Catholic saints to disguise the church of still worshiping the Mayan religions. One ceremony that did throw me was the sacrifice of the chicken on the tiled floor, I have never seen this before - let alone inside a church! I would recommend going on this trip, after all, how long will this be available for with times changing rapidly...