A pretty city of many churches - San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
My time in the highland city of San Cristobal de Las Casas passed by swiftly and largely idly! After a lot of long journeys and one nights stays, it was a luxury to spend two nights in one place, so I made the most of the rather tranquil city. The city itself sits in a valley, surrounded by hills and the thing I noted first whilst wandering the cobbled streets, was the large number of churches; from the impressive blue and white Iglesia Santa Lucia, which I glimpsed from my taxi upon arrival; to the beautifully baroque Iglesia Santo Domingo, which I passed whilst shopping in the market. There are many more, both in and overlooking the city and these often had stalls set up with snacks and fairground rides nearby, to feed and amuse the large numbers which visit the churches during the period of advent. I met up again with Anna and also another friend from school in Antigua, who'd I'd bumped into at Misol-Ha waterfall. We visited a local wine bar with our hostel owner and sampled some of the local cafes and restaurants. I continued my tequila challenge too, this time with awesome sombreros. Friendly faces therefore accompanied me and with colonial building, a chillier climate and loads of Spanish schools, it was easy to draw comparisons to life in Antigua. Whilst the cities themselves are clearly different, there are a lot of similarities too. Having spent almost a month in Antigua however, it definitely still holds my heart. I then hopped on another overnight bus, this time to the Yucatan region of Mexico and the bustling market town of Merida.