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C H I A P A S
The Beating Heart of Mexico

We all know what Mexico is all about, don't we? Tacos, cacti, and that little man taking a siesta in an adobe doorway, buried under his big sombrero. Right?
Wrong. And most Mexican's will tell you so. In the same way that many foreigners see England as a land of John Cleese clones in bowler hats saying pip, pip, cheerio!', the majority of Brits look at the burning heart of the North American continent in the same stereotyped way. Blame TV and the word of the guy down the pub who's never been anywhere near Mexico, but by all means go there.

While northern Mexico does have its cacti, you might be surprised to learn that they do not cover the entire country. The further south one travels the more tropical it becomes. In fact, in places like the state of Chiapas you will be hard pushed to find a land so green, lush, and picturesque. Not only that the further south you go in Mexico, the cheaper things are. Not just food, but hotels, tours, just about everything.
While more and more Brits are making Mexico their holiday destination of choice they never get any further than the coastal resort of Cancun or the dance-the-night-away streets of Acapulco. Sun, sand, the hotel pooland that's about it. What lay in Chiapas will invigorate the senses in a unique way, and will never be forgotten.
The capital city, Tuxtla Gutierrez, is a good starting point. A bustling city, Tuxtla at first seems like only worth passing through. But there are many interesting restaurants here, and food of every variety is sold almost everywhere from the ubiquitous food stands. Empanadas are a Chiapanecan favourite fried tortillas filled with shredded chicken and vegetables. If you are in need of a cool drink (which will be often, especially in the summer months where a 30C day is common) enjoy traditional Pozol, a beverage made of corn and cacao. You won't find much that isn't made of corn, from soup to candies, it is everywhere.
Zoomat is an absorbing diversion, being more wildlife preserve than zoo. Exotic animals such as jaguars, toucans, and many varieties of monkeys can be seen as one walks its paths.
At night, visit the Central Park and take a bench as the nightly Marimba concert hammers out its rhythms from the bandstand and candy and balloon sellers swirl about you. You will always see plenty of couples getting up to dance the peculiarly entertaining Marimba dances, which looks amusingly like power walking in place.
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