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The Journals from the Road
March 22: The Zoo-Me-Dero Adventure Chiapas de Corzo, Chiapas Today, I got up and out early and took a colectivo (or mini van taxi) to the Chiapas Zoo. I got a chance to meet a number of new animals like the armadillo which I had previously only seen in the dead and tarred mode. They are much more interesting when alive and they seem to be pretty fast. They are nocturnal so I couldn´t take any pictures of them in the nocturnal house. I did get some photos of some other animals like the black puma. It is a bit unnerving to know that all the animals in this zoo, including the pumas, scorpions, and very large spiders all call Chiapas home. I guess that is fine as long as they don´t call the PeaceBike tent home. That afternoon I took a bus about 15 km to Chiapa De Corzo to go to the Canon de Sumidero! My guidebook said that I could hang out at the docks and join other tourists for a speed boat ride along the river, running through the canyon. It was not quite that easy, being late in the day, I guess. I tried unsuccessfully for about an hour to round up other tourists to go on a ride with me. We needed 12 to fill a boat. Finally, after just about giving up, a large family joined me and few others and off we went. This canyon is an absolute must see and I would highly recommend a trip if anyone one of you ever come to Chiapas. The Canyon is 1000 meters high on either side of the river and our tour included crocodile sightings, the Cave of Silence (where all the curves of the cave create an echoless chamber), the Mask of the Maya (a rock formation), and the Christmas Tree (a mineralized rock formation similar to Hierve el Agua) which looks like a pine tree made of rock. We also, sadly went through lagoon de la Plastic Bottle. It reminds me that our trash always goes somewhere, sometimes coming back to haunt that which is most dear to us, our drinking water, our backyard. Finding and buying products that can be easily recycled or biodegraded should be my priority on this trip. I am now trying to buy as few canned and bottled foods as possible because recycling is very difficult to do here. I will be including two photos for your fun. One is a large FIND THE PARROTS game and the other is a shot of the Sumidero Canyon. More pictures will be put up by the Hometeam later. Tonight, saw Milagros Inseperados (Inseperable Miracles, I think) which is The Green Mile in English. I was deeply moved. It was a zapping reminder of that which is beyond us. What is our mission here? It confirmed my own call to work for peace and against hate? It is difficult and requires humility. I just had some guys chuck some fruits at me as they passed in a truck and my first reaction was anger and hostile words. Two minutes later it hit hard that those guys were my teachers and they showed me where my ´learning edge´ really was. But live and learn and grow, right! TAD |