Canyons, Cobblestones & Crossing Plans

Days 19, 20, 21, & 22 Pines 2 Patagonia log

Salinas Cruz - San Cristobal de Las Casas (7,200’ elevation)

We have been blessed with the freedom to explore Mexico and continue to learn more about this beautiful land and its culture.

We departed Salinas Cruz and headed East once again, back up into the mountains. This time to a vibrant town called San Cristobal de Las Casas.

Cristóbal was the capital of the state until 1892, and is still considered the cultural capital of Chiapas. It was founded in 1528 and several building and churches from the 16th century are still here today and as beautiful as ever. The lack of traffic lights over the cobblestone streets, red tile roofs, brilliant building colors decorated with graffiti artwork make you forget it is 2026.

We had planned on staying Thursday night and taking a rest day Friday then crossing into Guatemala on Saturday. This plan seemed great until our research led us to discover that one of the four offices we need to visit in order to be able to cross is closed on the weekend.

So we extended our accommodations and began to explore Cristobal.

We are certainly not looking for sympathy about being stuck in this amazing city for a few extra days, but keeping a schedule is the only way we can finish “on time.” Once we made peace with the delay, we explored the countless bakeries, vendors, open air markets and restaurants in old town known as El Centro. Absolutely amazing. We have become regulars at a Jazz Bar called Jules and make it our last stop each night. They have an amazing selection of handcrafted beers, cocktails and delicious food all provided by a cheerful staff in a very special atmosphere.

On Saturday we mounted the bikes for a short ride out of town to an Eco park, “PARQUE ECOTURISTICO EL ARCOTETE” for some sightseeing, cave exploration and zip lining. The river cuts through a piece of the mountain leaving a hundred foot tall arch above it where birds and bats have taken up residence.

After exploring the river banks on ground level, we paid the 20 pesos each ($1.17) and hiked up into an elevated cave system. The route up was narrow, short and Keebler and Red seemed to use their heads to deal the way up. At the peak, technically still under ground we had views of the river below, caverns and even watched hundreds of butterflies depart trees adjacent us as the wind picked up.

After the caves we hit the ZIPLINES for a little adrenaline boost. With just two lines we hiked up the mountain a ways and were given a safety briefing in Spanish that we all got a kick out of.

Keebler went first, GoPro in one hand and makeshift Mexican breaking system in the other… he kinda failed to utilize the brake as needed and got his money’s worth when he hit the stop after sailing 1/4 of a mile across a canyon. Lots of giggles though!

Matt was next. He made it look easy and with no camera took in the sights and sounds of the buzz of the rigging and the river below. His landing was by for the most graceful of the 3.

Last was Red. Camera in one hand secured with a lanyard and “brake” in the other, he dove off the platform and zipped over the valley. The body language and hand signed for “hey gringo you are going way too fast” apparently are the same in English and Spanish… however my arrival gave Adam’s a run for the money and jolted my camera from my hand. Awesome.

The second line was a little for chill for all of us with Matt scoring a 9.9 for his dismount and sticking the landing. After grabbing a bite to eat at the park we headed into town and secured some needed provisions.

We spent the rest of Saturday wandering the streets eating and sampling a local drink called Pox. It’s tasty and has a kick. We agreed it’s Mexican White Lightning and regulated our intake accordingly.

Sunday breakfast was in an awesome little Cafe offering dozens of fresh homemade pastries and great fresh ground espresso. The rest of the day was spent packing our bags, refining our boarder crossing procedures and planning out the next week.

It will be bittersweet leaving San Cristobal as we all have enjoyed our time here, but the Patagonia mountains are calling our name and we have lots of amazing towns and roads to explore over the next 65-75 days!