We left Playa Bamba and went via Salina Cruz which had a security issue in town with army and cops on all streets with half the town's streets closed. We decided not to see what was happening and keep going. We stayed over night in Puerto Arista and decided to head to San Christobal, according to fellow travelers it is a great pits stop before you cross to Guatemala.
We got to Tuxtla Gutierrez and were told that the highway, which was the short way to San Christobal was closed, we didn't understand why. Everyone except truck drivers were going the old untolled route. It would take an extra hour, but that was fine.
A truck driver waiting for the road to reopen.
We arrived in San Chrsitobal an hour off of sunset, on schedule, 10 minutes away from our destination. We just had to drive through town and we could relax!
We ran into some traffic at the town edge, then we realised this traffic wasn't moving. Hundreds of cars were left in the middle of the road with their concerned owners walking about sometimes talking to other motorists. Some cars were doing u turns........That's when we noticed huge plumes of black smoke pouring out of the city. In the twilight of the diminishing evening we could then see the cause of the smoke. Massive rows of burning tires lined every way in and out of the city...... no one seemed to be rushing about in reaction to this bizarre and unexpected spectacle....this was no accident ......It was a protest.
They had blocked the main route through the city. We got out our map and saw three other smaller routes through town, it became increasingly clear after trying all other routes with throngs of other cars doing the same as us, we were not getting through. Our frustration was increasing as options were dwindling. It was not an option to drive at night with topes, potholes, no one does it. The previous town was two winding hours away through the mountains, not an option. It was then that it dawned on us why the highway had been closed to us in Tuxtla as the protesters disruption of all routes through San Cristobal were thorough and complete.
There was no parking options for us as we winded through the backstreets trying to work out our next move.
We visited one hotel who sensed everyone's desperation offered basic rooms for $200usd and no secure parking.
With roving protesters in balaklavas and an ever increasing army and police presence the non secure parking at the hotel was not an option.
We briefly spoke to three young men in a delivery truck who were taking refuge next to the hotel. They warned us to stay clear of the lower city as we would be likely be inadvertently involved in the encroaching police and army presence who they said would not differentiate between tourist and protester dealing with them with truncheons in a 'mucho fuerte' manner.
We found a sleepy backstreet 3 streets back from the protests to collect our thoughts. A kind looking man rode up to a house right next to us, clearly getting home just before things really got serious. The kind man and his wife looked concern for our plight, immediately understanding the seriousness of the situation. They kept a constant vigil over us from their barred house frequently coming out to ask passers by for updates and relaying them to us. We were sure that if things escalated we would be invited in. So we waited. We waited out the now inevitable clash between army and protestors that would bringing the situation to its conclusion.
We learnt from talking to local shop owners that the protesters could be potentially bought off at each check point. Unfortunately there is no guarantee the final cost if you choose this route. Each check point could ask any amount and if you decided not to go further you could be stranded in this strange conflict. So here we were, sitting in our car. Our penultimate night in Mexico was to be spent being serenaded to sleep by the gunshots, explosions and protesters cries issuing forth from the old colonial city.
Early the next morning we drove the 10 minutes through the now cleared checkpoints to our campground, exhausted. The charred roads seemingly the only witness to the activities of the night before. Everything else was as you would expect a bustling city to be like. Owners opening their stores. Restaurants buying fresh produce for the day ahead. Builder's building and hawkers hawking. After parking we decided to walk into town and grab some much needed coffee. What a beautiful city! Colorful buildings lined the streets with many wearing the brightly colored traditional clothing indigenous to the region. As we weaved through the narrow market streets near the main square we were amazed by the luminescent dyes and intricate designs on display.
Kids everywhere love a box!
Throughout the day we were able to piece together the reason for the previous nights protests. It turns out there is a scumbag politician landlord that owns the majority of the market stalls charging exorbitant rent. He recently started a black market taxi ring severely undermining the already limited options for income sought by legitimate taxi drivers. In hearing this we felt a solidarity with the protesters, the very ones that only moments ago we were cursing.
Next stop: Guatemala and the start of our Central American adventures...
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