Final Days on the Road - Misol-Ha

We drove two hours north from the tiny, fairly isolated pueblo of Lacanja in the low-lying rainforests of eastern Mexico to Misol-Ha, a little tourist depot where we stayed two nights.

It was a decent road - the protected biosphere jungle accompanied us to the west, though the road itself was bordered by tiny communities, clusters of buildings, maize fields cut out of rainforest almost the whole way. Not many people. not many cars. A few military security outposts on the road, mostly looking for U.S.-bound Guatamalans that had snuck over the border by crossing the Usimacinta River. We encountered a majestic crested caracara and a few vultures scavenging roadkill from the highway (the usual - two lane road with absolutely no shoulder).

Speedbumps come with every community - to slow traffic and, I think, to generate a little local income. Kids and women wait patiently at many of them to sell food - cups of sliced coconut, jicama, and mango (with chili sauce sprinkled on top!), bags of elote (cooked corn) or avocados, etc. These are very poor people, isolated in a far reach of Mexico, seeking a little income however they can manage it.

Along the road, we also passed boys and men singly or in pairs - dragging planks of hardwood, on mountain bikes with machetes, hoisting backpack sprayers for their crops, or waiting roadside for a collectivo to drive by to take them to or from work.

As we traveled north, poblados grew in size and traffic on the road increased, though we are still in a very rural, remote section of the country.

We arrived as Misol-Ha - a tiny Mexican tourist destination sequestered in the mountains (we are back in northern Chiapas, in the mountains, just 4 hours from San Cristobal de Las Casas to the west), centered around a 30 meter waterfall - it pours off a cliff into a huge rock bowl. We swam at the base of the falls in the afternoon, watched Spain beat France in the quarterfinals of the European Cup (Yeah!), had a late dinner at the only restaurant (yet another meal of fried chicken, beans, quesadillas, Fanta and Corona with lime), and headed to bed.

The falls at Misol Ha. Much of Chiapas consists of water and the color green.

Walking behind the falls.

Another view of the falls.

Looking downstream

Grasshopper studies map of Chiapas.

This couple (mid-twenties) on the right were in the midst of a 3.5 year bike trip around the world. See the custom-built german bikes in the background. They started 1.5 years ago - Germany to Scandanavia to Iceland to Canada to U.S. to Mexico. From here to Central and South America, to Africa and Asia. 50 - 60 km a day. Very nice, very adventurous. Amazing undertaking.