|
| |
| |
|
COMITAN |
| |
An attractive town in its own right, COMITÁN is spectacularly poised
on a rocky hillside and surrounded by country in which wild orchids
bloom freely. Once a major Maya centre of population (Bonampak and
Yaxchilán, even Palenque, are not far away as the parrot flies across
the jungle), Comitán was originally a Maya town known as Balún Canán (Nine
Stars, or Guardians), renamed Comitlán (Place of Potters in Nauhatl)
when it came under Aztec control. The final place of any note before the
border (Ciudad Cuauhtémoc is no more than a customs and immigration post
with a collection of shacks), today Comitán is a market and supply
centre for the surrounding agricultural area. There's a Guatemalan
consulate in addition to a collection of reasonable hotels , and it's a
good place to rest if you've some hard travelling through the Lacandón
forest or into Guatemala ahead of you.
The Town
Comitán's spacious plaza, on several levels and with plenty of shady
places to rest, is surrounded by the municipal buildings, the Santo
Domingo church, shops, restaurants and the theatre. The portales on the
west side and several other |
|
