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DAY 1 Saturday, March 15 Fly to Mexico City. Change planes and go on to Tuxtla Gutierrez. Meet your traveling companions over a welcome cocktail and dinner at Hotel La Ceiba in Chiapa de Corzo, just a short drive from Tuxtla Gutierrez. D.
DAY 2 Sunday, March 16 This morning, explore Sumidero Canyon. Drive to the top of the canyon to catch the breathtaking jungle view from above. Then, on a boat trip up the Grijalva River, see the majestic canyon walls rise from both sides of the wide river. Lunch is in the Los Azulejos restaurant in Tuxtla Gutierrez. Visit the unique Manuel Alvarez del Toro Zoo where all the animals are native to Chiapas, and can be seen in settings resembling their natural jungle habitat. In Chiapa de Corzo, visit Museo de Laca, a lovely lacquer-ware museum in the Ex Convento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The museum has an outstanding collection of painted gourds. In Plaza Angel Albino Corzo see La Pila, a Mudejar Moorish fountain built in 1562, which once supplied the town with water. Visit the Santo Domingo Temple, built in 1554. B, L.
DAY 3 Monday, March 17 Drive to the beautiful colonial city of San Cristobal de las Casas. On a walking tour, stop at Café Museo Café, a coffee museum where you can learn all about coffee and, try a cup of café Chiapaneco. Chiapas is Mexico’s biggest producer of coffee. See Arco de Carmen and visit the Mercado Municipal and the Museo de la Medicina Maya where you’ll learn about the medical traditions of the region’s indigenous cultures. Have lunch at La Casa del Pan, where you can try tamales Chapanecos. Visit the creative workshop of Taller Leñateros to see how they make their paper, paper creations, silk screens, bindings and woodcuts. Check into the Na Bolom Hotel. Learn about the region when you take the fascinating Na Bolom tour which includes a 50 minute film about: anthropologists Frans and Trudi Blom, great friends of the Lacandón-Maya tribes; the ways of the Lacandón Indians; and the history of Na Bolom. Enjoy cocktails and a delicious dinner at Na Bolom’s international long table in the colorful dining room. Chef Rick Bayless cooked in Na Bolom’s kitchen when he visited San Cristobal. B, D.
DAY 4 Tuesday, March 18 In the Tzotzil Maya village of Chamula visit the unorthodox Iglesia de San Juan Bautista with its candle-lit interior and pine needle strewn floor, where fascinating ancient Mayan healing rituals mingle with Catholicism. The Chamulan women are known as the best wool weavers in Chiapas and the men for their distinctive attire. Visit San Cristobal’s Amber Museum. Chiapas is the world’s third largest producer of amber, and one of the few places in the world that has amber mines. Also, visit the Jade Museum. We have lunch to day at Café el Puente. Visit Templo de Santo Domingo and its small museum with changing exhibits. Sna Jolobil, a women’s weaving and textile co-op with truly beautiful museum-quality goods is next. In the late afternoon visit the fabulous Museo Sergio Castro, where Mr. Castro will talk to us about the ceremonial costumes displayed in the museum and the lives of the various indigenous tribes that live in the villages surrounding San Cristobal. B, L.
DAY 5 Wednesday, March 19 This morning, Don Sergio Castro will accompany us to three villages: the Tzotzil-Maya village of Zinacantan, where the men and women are known for their beautiful embroidered and woven attire - Pazcuala Vasquez Hernandez will demonstrate for us her loom weaving; the beautiful Tzeltal-Maya village of Tenejapa where you will see the exceptional weavings of the co-op artisans; and the village of Amatenango del Valle, known for its elegant ceramic tigers and it’s women potters who produce exceptional hand-built, pit-fired pottery – here you’ll visit the workshops of several ceramists. Return to San Cristobal for lunch. The afternoon and evening are free. B, D.
DAY 6 Thursday, March 20 This morning, depart for Palenque, On the way, make several stops. The first stop is at the waterfalls of Agua Azul, a series of beautiful waterfalls that cascade into the wide river. The second stop is at Misol Há Waterfall. See the tallest of the Maya ruins, Toniná, and have lunch in the town of Ocosingo. Check into the resort-like hotel, the Chan-Kah Ruinas. B, D.
DAY 7 Friday, March 21 Spend a long morning exploring the ruins of Palenque, one of the grand archaeological sites of Mexico, and certainly the most mysterious, in its lush jungle setting. Pottery shards show that people lived here as early as 300 B.C. This ancient Mayan City peaked around 600 to 700 A.D. See the Temple of the Inscriptions, Temple 13, the Palace, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Foliated Cross and Temple 14. Also, see the majestic Ball Court, the Temple of the Count and the Cascada Montiepa - a beautiful waterfall that creates a series of pools. Visit Palenque’s museum. Serious excavations of the Maya ruin began in 1923 under the direction of Franz Blom. After lunch, have a free afternoon to further explore Palenque or to relax in the gardens of Chan-Kah Ruinas or at their laguna-like swimming pool. B, D.
DAY 8 Saturday, March 22 Drive north-east to Villahermosa, Mexico’s oil capital, to visit the jungle park and museum, Parque-Museo La Venta, where you can see the ruins of Mexico’s oldest civilization, the Olmec, including several Olmec heads that peer through the trees. The high civilization of the Olmec dates back to 1,200 BC. The Olmec heads, each with its own enigmatic features, are Intricately carved and massive in size, and are a stunning example of the sophisticated artistry employed by the ancient Olmec. The heads are evidence that there were many migrations from Europe, The Middle East, Asia, and Africa more than 10,000 years ago. After lunch you may take a City tour and visit the Museo Carlos Pellicer, a regional museum with the remnants of the jaguar cult. This evening we have our going-away happy hour and dinner. B, L.
DAY 9 Sunday, March 23 Fly to Mexico City and home. B.
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