by Alexander Van Terheyden

Created on: October 25, 2007   Last Updated: November 24, 2008

San Cristobal - would be my first destination in Mexico so I shall start here where I orginally started. Arriving in San Cristobal you are immediately thrown into shock by how friendly everyone is. Maybe it has something to do with the large Gay population living in San Cristobal that leads everyone to be over the top friendly - but if this friendly nature was to be found in all of Mexico then Mexico could be voted the friendliest country on the planet. Alas - I was later to find this wouldn't be the case for all of Mexico.

San Cristobal's cobbled grid streets resting a couple of thousand feet above sea level, centered in the region of Chiapas is a place to get lost on a warm sunny day. San Cristobal reminds me of the quaint sections that you will find hidden away in Barcelona. It's buildings are beautifully random some with colonial features and others hitting you with the feel of the wild west, everyone once in a while as you walk from street to street you have Clint Eastwood memories hitting you. Due to the elevation of the city you find yourself getting very cold at night - the jumpers come back out of the bag (last seen in the elevated regions of Costa Rica) - yet during the day the sun will bake down on Cristobal's streets frying those tourists insane enough like myself to be out in the midday sun.

As mentioned before San Cristobal has created it's wealth from the Amber trade it has an abundance of. Amber shops litter the expensive streets - just like the Diamond shops you will find along London's Hatton Garden. As fate would have it my Mother's birthday was coming up - so I took it upon myself to acquire a nice piece of Amber that had been channeled into a pretty necklace - this would be a test for the Mexican postal system. I have now found out that the present made it home - it took its time - but with good fortune it made it through customs.

Mexican food is something that isn't nearly as popular in the UK as it is in the USA - where as we have an Indian restaurant on every high street in the UK, the USA has a Mexican restaurant instead. Hence, while I was traveling in the US - I had sampled a fair share of Mexican food. I might add it's not my favorite food in the world - but when you are hungry it sure does hit the spot nicely. However, while in San Cristobal my estimation of Mexican food went up - when I ate at a very smart but simple restaurant - twice it was so good as well as cheap. Unfortunately - the delights of this simple restaurant weren't

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