San Cristobal

Unfortunately the trip to the villages didn´'t take place. instead i spent the day wandering around S.C and admiring the myriad churches. each barrio or area has its own church. I visited the temple of Guadelupe which is high on the hilltop to the east. From here was a good view of the city - it's in a valley surrounded by mountains. The road leading down, which becomes Real de Guadelup was decorated with bunting in green, white and red. A lot of the churches are festooned in ribbons/bunting and the main streets have Christmas lights. Nativity scenes abound and vary in size and complexity. There are lots of tourists here and the main area,below the square, is alwys buzzing with activity. One of the main markets is in front of Santo Domingo church. I visted the museum here which used to be a San Franciscan monastery. Most of the info here was about the conquest and colonial times - how san cristobal was established - with only a few references to pre-colombic history. They did have a few mayan artefacts.
You probably know that San Cristobal is home to the Zapatistas. I did admire the Zapatista dolls in the market but couldn't bring myself to buy a doll with a gun!
I have had an interesting stay here and have enjoyed learning about San Cristobal and chiapas.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g150802-w3-San_Cristobal_de_las_Casas_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html
Will get a DVD made soon and put up my photos!