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BOCHIL AND SIMOJOVEL |
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Just beyond Chiapa de Corzo, the road to Villahermosa - a
spectacular wind down to the Gulf plain - cuts off to the north. Few
tourists take this route, since the Pan-American Highway continues to
the far more enticing destination of San Cristóbal. The road climbs at
first through mountains wreathed in cloud to BOCHIL , some 60km from
Tuxtla, where some buses pull over for a rest stop. It's a pleasant
small town, a centre for the Tzotzil Maya , and a good base from which
to explore the surrounding hills and villages. Most people still wear
the traditional dress, or traje : the women in white huipiles with red
embroidery, pink ribbons in their hair and dark blue skirts, and maybe a
few men in the white smock and trousers rolled up to the knee. You'll be
stared at, usually covertly, and, as always, should be very wary of
taking photographs , not merely out of simple courtesy but because you
may be taken for a government agent - these towns protested very
strongly at the election result in August 1994, and in December 1994
were briefly occupied by the Zapatistas, who destroyed public records.
There are a couple of simple places to stay , including the Posada San
Pedro (US$5-10), whose basic rooms are set out around a courtyard on 1
Pte Nte, a block from the plaza: head for Banamex at the top of the
plaza and turn right. Bochil has a frequent second-class bus service to
Tuxtla, with Autotransportes Tuxtla-Bochil. Five kilometres beyond
Bochil, at Puerto Cate , a side road to the right leads down to San
Andrés Larráinzar , a Tzotzil village 23km along the road. Trucks ply
the route, and from San Andrés you can reach San Juan Chamula , 18km
away, which is well connected by combis to San Cristóbal. This makes for
an interesting route to or from San Cristóbal - but you'll need to check
the current political situation and set off fairly early.
Combis run regularly up the minor road to SIMOJOVEL , 40km away at the
head of a spectacular valley, the source of most of the amber you'll
find sold in local markets. Should you want a place to stay , the Casa
de Huéspedes Simojovel (US$5-10) on Independencia, a block south of the
plaza, has basic rooms round a flower-filled courtyard.
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