Palenque, Chiapas and the Zapatistas

I just got back from a long weekend in Chiapas, a state in Mexico very close to the Guatemalan border (Long weekends due to holidays are called puentes in Mexico and are, happily, quite common). Palenque is a small town in Chiapas were there are a series of Mayan ruins in the jungle, the majority of which are still unexcavated. The first picture is of me in front of some of the excavated ruins. I went for a hike in the unexcavated part where I was swallowed up by the vastness of the jungle and reproached by howler monkeys.

Equally interesting to me was the area just south of Palenque, were there are a series of Zapatista villages. The Zapatistas are a group of socialist rebels concentrated in Chiapas who are opposed to what they believe is the government sanctioned (or at least ignored) repression of the Mexican people by big corporations and land barons. They have been around for nearly a hundred years, and conflicts between the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government are common, and often bloody. Currently there are areas in Chiapas that are not under the control of the Mexican Government. I was in such an area when I went south from Palenque to Aqua Azul, a series of stunning waterfalls in the middle of the jungle. To the left is a picture of Agua Azul. After Aqua Azul, I went to another area, Ocosingo, where there is a large waterfall, Misol-Ha, where one can hike around and even behind the falls. The second picture is of Misol-Ha. On my way back to Campeche, I hit the beach in Sabancuy for a couple of hours. All told the trip was a bit of a whirlwind, covering over 600 miles of the Mexican landscape in under three days.

At the clinic, my day typically consists of work until about 3, at which time my Spanish speaking is all but over. This weekend, however, I had to think in Spanish every waking hour, which I found mentally exhausting. I am at the point were I have a collection of canned phrases down pat, and can work outside of them with halting Spanish. In addition, I am able to conjure up more words and conjugate (even correctly on occasion) more verbs on the run. Don't get the wrong idea though, I'm certian my Spanish continues to be a source of amusement to Aldo and others.

On the therapy side of things, things are going well, I continue to help with patient treatment. I find it sad that a typical therapist here in Mexico makes the equivalent of only about $10,000 a year! And, after they are done with their 5 years of study, they "owe" the government of Mexico a year of servicio social, which is only reimbursed at about 1/2 the usual salary (even if they went to a private school!). I have enclosed a picture of a patient being treated by Alejandro, one of the therapists in our clinic, (Cree), and another of a group of PT students and "servicios sociales".

The Carnaval is almost over here in Campeche, it seems to go on forever (it is two weeks long). Yesterday was a large desfile, or parade, with floats and costumes. Today is the last day, the Martes de Pintadera. Evidently, on this day, people stand in wait to attack each other with balloons filled with dyed water, or even oil. I think I'm going to lie low. Tomorrow is back to normal, clinic all day. More later!