living the great life in chiapas

Hola! So after four airports and three bag searches, I made it to Villahermosa. One of the main health workers, Leonel, a very friendly man with a big mustache met me with a sign that said "David, Clinica de Amatan" and we drove for 3 hours through the banana plantations of Tabasco and around the curves of the mountains of Chiapas to Amatan. The clinic is very simple and the unfinished "church" where the bathroom sits has only two walls. Indeed, you can look through the windowless windows up at the stars while sitting among the weeds where the floor may oneday be. Maria, a very sympathetic Mexican medical student serving a mandatory year at the clinic gave me cinco peso tour and the next morning at 4 am, Leonel and I (along with 2 others in the front of Leonel´s pick-up) left for San Cristobal de las Casas.

The highway between Amatan and San Cristobal has not been completed so it is a 6-7 hour drive along the winding mountainous carreteras to San Cristobal. Along the way, wild dogs line the roadside, little girls holding babies and many people can be seen in the various towns and countryside. The mountains are a lush green, incredibly beautiful with the clouds settling among them, and speckled with corn and coffee bean crops along steep hillsides. Buzzards circle above us and we watch for big boulders that actually do sit in the road here and there.

San Cristobal is a very pleasant city. I am staying at the office here, sleeping on a mound of rugs, and have really enjoyed the hospitality of Leonel and Dagmar, another healthworker. So far, I have been eating over there and I don´t know how to thank them enough. Today, however, I played tourist to as a necessary prophylaxis against culture shock and went with a group of germans to Canyon del Sumidero. There we rode in a boat between 1000 foot high canyon walls and saw many pelicans, crocodiles, and other birds.

There is no phone in Amatan, but there is internet, and i will be in San Cristobal with phone and internet until the 21st. I am really going to enjoy my stay here. Although there is no hot water or amenities that i am used to, it is a beautiful town with many museums and of course, many tourists that allow me to feel more like a backpacker at times than a new resident.

I will post pictures when i return to amatan because, yeah, i forgot the cable. Ay! My address here for letters or algo mas is:
Ryan David
Calle Francisco Leon #76
Barrio de Guadalupe
C.P. 29250
San Cristobal de las Casas
Chiapas Mexico

Vale, ciao!