So What is Amber, Anyway? And That Mine is WAY too dark!

OK, so you might be thinking, what is amber, anyway?  Amber is actually fossilized tree resin, and is highly valued as a gemstone.  In Mexico, it is mined in and around the town of Simojovel, Chiapas, and can be found in a variety of colors including yellow,

red,

brown, orange and green, with the most expensive being red and the very rare green.

Even more highly prized than color is the amber that has "inclusions" of either insects or plant matter.

In Simojovel, it seems just about everyone sells and wears amber.  Indigenous women in bright beautiful clothes approach you with small bags, whispering "Want to buy some amber"?  They are particularly proud to let you know when they have amber "con insectos" (with insects).

The saints in the church wear amber,

and the babies wear amber.

There are stores near the town square where local craftspeople can be found creating jewelry,

and there are vendors lining the town square,

There is an Amber Museum,

with a video explaining the mining process, great reference books, beautiful specimens both finished and in the rough, including this carved piece in the shape of a mermaid,

this gorgeous ring,

and a fabulous director named Jorge Balcazar, who we met on day one, and became a great friend to us for the rest of our stay. 

Also on day one, we met some people at breakfast who helped us arrange a tour of a mine, with plans to meet at our hotel at 9 am on day two.  Our guide Winclen arrived on time, and we took a fifteen minute taxi ride up the hill to one of the mining parts of town,

where we paid a nominal fee to the miners, asked the taxi driver to come back for us in an hour and a half, and then started the twenty minute walk to the entrance to the mine.

It was hot and humid, and we walked up and down several hills, then crossed over a stream on a small bridge where I saw these mushrooms.

 As we got close to the entrance, there was a spectacular view of the valley,

and this large pile of rocks.

Nearly at the entrance now, we were joined by a miner who announced that we needed to pay him another small fee in order to enter the mine.  Did I mention he was carrying a machete?  This is a common tool here, but I found it a little unnerving.  We paid him the fee and advanced to the entrance, trying to avoid sloshing through the puddle that was at the opening.

Once we passed the puddle, we realized that none of us was carrying a lamp, and it was then that I lost my nerve.

The passageway was extremely narrow, pitch black, and hot, hot, hot!  I told Eduardo that I would wait at the entrance, and he and Winclen should go ahead and advance.  I realized this was a bad idea when the miner returned and sweetly asked me if I could give him more money.  I called for Eduardo and Winclen, and Eduardo decided it was best to abandon the project!

I actually gained a lot of respect that day for the miners and the difficult conditions they must endure to get the amber.  Their job is so much harder than the sellers in town.  I was told that this passageway that we visited was actually considered large compared to some others, where the miners have to crawl in because the hole is too small to stand.  Yikes!

For the rest of our stay, we met with various people in the town, trading for amber, and exposing the locals to other types of stones, such as Ethiopian Opals.  Eduardo seemed to attract a crowd wherever he went.  Here he is with a mother and her two daughters who work in amber,

here he attracted attention in the town square,

and here he got more attention at the Amber Museum, including from the local policewoman who also became both a friend and an opal lover.

On our final morning in town, we discovered a gem of a chef at the food market near our hotel.  Working alone in this tiny space,

he served us this delicious and beautifully presented breakfast, made with pride and an obvious love for his work.

We decided this is the kind of guy that gets discovered in a tiny town, and ends up as a chef in New York.

On Friday we bid farewell to our new friends and got back on the road, dropping our policewoman friend off in the next town on the way.  We were assured by several townspeople that the road that we would be taking out of town was much newer and nicer than the one we took from San Cristobal, so we had high hopes for an easy ride to our next destination of Villahermosa in Tabasco.

Was the road newer and nicer?  You'll have to wait for that answer, because it's almost 2 am here now and I'm too tired to tell you any more tonight.  Will I ever try entering an amber mine again?  Maybe, if you can find me one with a bigger hole and give me one of those hardhats with a great big light!

I wish you all the sweetest of dreams, and Buenas Noches.

xoxo Linda

A Challenging Drive to Simojovel, the Land of Amber

Early Tuesday afternoon we were back on the road, undertaking the difficult three hour mountain drive to Simojovel, the town of amber.  Shortly outside of San Cristobal, we made a stop in San Juan Chomula, which is a municipality whose inhabitants are Tzotzil Mayan.  The town has a unique autonomous status and even has its own police force.  Taking photos in the town is extremely difficult, and strictly prohibited inside the church, but I had the good fortune to be able to snap this photo of the exterior of the church, which was in the process of being painted.

I was allowed to enter the church for a fee of 20 pesos, and was moved to tears by this profoundly spiritual experience.  There are no pews, and the floor is covered with pine boughs, being strewn about by men in white sheepskin vests.  The smell of resin incense is in the air and there were hundreds of candles.  There were many people kneeling and rhythmically chanting to the statues of their saints that lined the walls in glass enclosed cases.  It was unforgettable.

We got back in the car and continued our trip to Simojovel, navigating what we decided was the road with the most curves we have yet to experience (overtaking the road in Guerrero that led to Olinala, and the road in Baja that led to Cuidad Constitution, our previous top two curvy roads).

What made this road particularly challenging was the abundance of deep potholes, which were especially teeth rattling when we inadvertently hit one a little too fast from time to time.

We passed small villages of indigenous people, and saw women outside weaving,

and many people of all ages both gathering and carrying wood.

Some of the men were dressed in sheep skin coats, using the same fur that we saw the women use for skirts in San Cristobal and San Juan Chomula.

This woman was doing her laundry out on the front porch.

We could tell that we were finally getting close to Simojovel when we started seeing small shacks with signs proclaiming "We sell amber here". 

I wanted to sing "Oh happy day" when we finally saw the entrance to the town.  We made it!  Simojovel, Tierra Del Ambar, Land of the Amber.

Tired and stressed from the long winding drive and countless potholes, we parked the car, grabbed a bite to eat and then walked to find a room, deciding on the Hotel San Antonio, located on the zocalo.  It was then that it began to rain.  Hard.  Really hard.  And thunder and lightning.  We decided to wait to go get the car until the rain let up, and instead went to the internet cafe next to the hotel so I could write the kids and let them know we were ok.  I got as far as logging in, and starting to type "Dear", when the power went out.  We waited a few minutes, and then decided to buy a bottle of water and go to our room to wait out the rain.  It's now about 10 PM.  The owner of the little convenience store that sold us the water was very resourceful, running her store by candlelight.

Back at the hotel, we followed the candles placed strategically on the stairwells to find our way to our room, and we soon fell sound asleep, lulled by the sound of the pouring rain.  We stayed that way until morning, when the rain had stopped and we could go get the car and our suitcases!  The view after the rain was beautiful from our hotel window.

Now Wednesday morning, we ventured out to learn about the amber business.  We stopped in the zocalo and drank Pozol, a prehispanic drink made from corn dough, chocolate and water, served chilled in plastic bowls, and found only in Chiapas and Tabasco.  Pozol is know for its energetic and disease fighting properties, and it's delicious!

Next we started to meet the townspeople, and it is here that I will leave the story for tonight.  Since we ended up spending four nights in this very interesting town, I have more to tell, so I will pick up the story tomorrow!  I wish you all sweet dreams and Buenas Noches.

xoxo Linda

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, the Most Magical of the Pueblos Magicos

After leaving Agua Azul, we started the 132 mile mountain drive to San Cristobal de las Casas.  Here's one more look at beautiful Agua Azul.

The water seemed even more blue in the morning light.

The drive out of town was gorgeous, and it was fun to see the kids out playing in the water as we drove over bridges.  Imagine what it would be like to be a kid growing up in all this natural beauty.

There is a large indigenous population in this area, and most of the women we saw along the road were wearing the local dress.

This woman was at a small shop along the road selling, among other things, gasoline, since you won't find any gas stations for quite a while in these parts.

The mountain road was two lanes, curvy, and full of green,

and the homes were mostly made of wood.

When we passed through the town of Ocosingo, the statue welcoming us displayed the native dress that we had been seeing along the road.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the Pemex station, where we could all finally get gas!  The other thing I noticed in Ocosingo was the first opportunity to buy amber, as we are now entering the land of the amber mines.  We visited one store there to take a look,

and then arrived just before sunset in San Cristobal de las Casas, where we spent two nights.

There is a unique mix of people in San Cristobal, combining indigenous people, Europeans from Italy, German and France, South Americans, "Average Joe" tourists, and hipsters clad in Guatemalan style clothes.  It was designated as a Pueblo Magico in 2002, and then proclaimed to be the most magic of all the Pueblos Magicos in 2010. 

The indigenous ladies walk the streets both wearing and selling beautiful textiles from Chiapas,

and for many, selling is a family affair.

These ladies are wearing skirts made of sheep's wool.

Here are a few more examples of the textiles from the area.

There are colorful houses,

and unique architectural details reminiscent of the type you see in San Miguel de Allende,

Because of the European influence here and the number of Italians settled in the area, I was delighted to be able to get an amazing pizza, something I've been craving!  We ate at the same restaurant both nights, first enjoying the veggie pizza,

and then the mushroom pizza.  Heavenly!

You will also find many "hippies" wandering the streets here, either passing through on the way to Guatemala,

or making San Cristobal their home.  Here are some of the locals observing gem stones we brought with us.

Since San Cristobal is situated in the mountains, the climate is quite a bit cooler and the weather was a surprise after being in hot, humid Palenque!  But the town is enchanting and totally unique is a must see if you are visiting Chiapas.  After spending Sunday and Monday night there, we left the town on Tuesday morning and began the challenging three hour mountain drive to Simojovel, the town of the amber mines, and it is here that I will leave the story.

We send you all our best wishes, and hope you all make the most of this glorious Sunday.

xoxo Linda