Adios Antigua
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008All together I spent about 2 weeks in Antigua. I am glad I spent a day there after semana santa celebrations ended so I was reminded of what it’s like during mellower times. It is a bit of a Spanish colonial Disneyworld, but as I said, to a somewhat weary traveler it is a good place to recharge.
I also needed that last day in Antigua to get rid of my traveler trots. Sorry to be indelicate ☺. After a 3.5 months on the road I had my first stomach problems. If anything I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner since I eat all kinds of veggies – whether they or cooked or peeled or not – and I brush my teeth with the water and take ice. I think I almost started testing how far I could go. Kinda silly. Anyhoo – I was fortunate once more that my illness was not bi-directional. I tried to let it “clear” on it’s own but broke into my cipro stash after a week. Overnight it was better so I guess I had some houseguests.
I had been considering how to get to san cristobal do las casas for a few days. I was ready to get into mexico and san cristobal sounds like a good base for day-trips throughout Chiapas so my best option was a shuttle since the trip is 8 hours if you have no complications (I add that last caveat after experience ☺). Travel agencies seemed to have one of 2 prices posted: $45 or $65. Both said they had a shuttle direct to san cristobal so I went for the $45 one. I think the difference is that with the $45 shuttle you switch transport at the border which I really don’t mind and I think can make things faster. Maybe the $65 one processes your paperwork but I can tell you there is VERY little hassle at this border crossing and (sacrebleu!) there is no fee to get into MX.
The only complication (other than the german couple – she had sinus problems and couldn’t have any moving air on her and he had a panic attack when we moved to the smaller van) was that there was an accident or landslide or something that required a detour and made our trip longer. 10 hours to be exact. But now I’m in stunning san cristobal and I have a suspicion: it’s better than Antigua!
Peggy Rehm