Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

Well, here it is January 29th and in the beautiful Jovel Valley and San Cristóbal de Las Casas, high mountain summer is in the air. While the weather here is almost always pleasant at least some of each day if a bit chilly at times, summer in the valley begins in late January and lasts until late April with splendid, warm weather, crystal clear air, an impossibly blue sky and cool nights as only Alpine valleys can boast. San Cristóbal is in an ideal location to enjoy this wonderful season at 7,000 feet and is surrounded by mountainous indigenous villages with some settlements as high as 11,000 to 12,000 feet. Even at the height of the region´s summer, the weather is seldom really what one would characterize as unpleasantly hot and even when the afternoon temperatures approach the high 80sF, the low humidity assures comfort among humans lucky enough to live here.

May brings the rainy season and copious rains and street inundations which tend to last generally through September and, perhaps, into October. The rains here usually commence in the afternoon around 2:00 to 4:00PM after sunny and mild mornings and those rains at this altitude can be coolish to chilly. For those unfamiliar with the valley, the summer rainy season may seem a good time to visit but, except for folks who enjoy the coolish and wet weather the rainy season is the least favorable time to be here and not only are street inundations common in San Cristóbal but many rural highways leading to archeoligical sites experience seasonal temporary closures . Beginning in October, the rains taper off and the winter season, which can be quite pleasant normally to occasionally chilly, commences. Any time in the winter is a good time to visit but be prepared to dress warmly during November to January.

Now through April is the time to visit this magical place.

Bubba.
You moon-lighting.
For the S.C. de L.C. Chamber of Commerce?

I finally looked at a map. I didn't realize that you are that far south, near Guatemala. How long does it take to drive to Chapala and is it a safe drive?

Bubba.
You moon-lighting.
For the S.C. de L.C. Chamber of Commerce?

Wen:

I am shameless when touting Highland Chiapas but I must say that my apparent adulation of this beautiful region had a practical side as well. Most people don´t realize that, in the Highlands down here, February through April, or what I refer to as our summer, is the best time to visit the region whereas the summer rainy season, from about May to October, is a bit coolish and damp. In other words, many come here during the less preferable summer season.

This is also a mistake made by tourists from the U.S. East Coast choosing to visit San Francisco during its cold and foggy summer season from about June to mid-September when, in fact, the best weather in the city usually comes in the fall and spring rather than the summer or dead of winter. When I lived for a number of years in San Francisco´s North Beach area, we used to like to stroll down to Fisherman´s Wharf to watch the Eastern tourists freeze their asses off in their summer shorts and "Alcatraz" T-shirts when that icy Pacific fog blew in through the Golden Gate. When we strolled down to watch this spectacle in our appropriate cold weather attire, we liked to observe the knee-knocking scene from a bar stool at the Buena Vista Cafe across from Aquatic Oark over a hot Irish Coffeee to keep us warm.


I finally looked at a map. I didn't realize that you are that far south, near Guatemala. How long does it take to drive to Chapala and is it a safe drive?


Pamela:

It is right at 1,450 kilometers from Ajijic to the Jovel Valley. The trip takes us two days. The first day we stop in Fortin de Las Flores, Veracruz between Orizaba abd Córdoba and the second day we arrive at our home in San Cristóbal. The drive from Ajijic to Fortin is about eleven hours and the drive from Fortin to San Cristóbal is about seven hours.The route is almost all toll autopistas mostly in good condition with the worst section of road being that between the Chapala-Guadalajara carretera and Ocotlan where one joins the Guadalajara-Mexico autopista.

The route the first day takes one from Ajijic through Toluca and Mexico City and then to Puebla City and into Fortin in Veracruz State. The second day takes one from Fortin south through Manititlan to Tuxtla Gutierrez and up the new autopista to San Cristóbal. There are other ways we sometimes go but this is the most direct route. I will be happy to supply more details upon request.

The road tripis quite safe but one should exercise caution when driving through Mexico City to avoid unpleasantness with the local crooked cops.

Dawg....are you there? You and mini-me? You are supposed to check in here at least once a week, you know !

Dawg....are you there? You and mini-me? You are supposed to check in here at least once a week, you know !

Ah, Gringal:

I am touched that you care about The Dawg´s weekly check in. It just happens that, today, 40 days after a surgical team at The Colonial Hospital in San Cristóbal de Las Casas´ centro unceremoniously ripped out my gall bladder with the lame excuse that otherwise my next stop would be the local pantheon, the head of that team removed the last appurtenance I had attached to my body ostensibly to drain the excess bilirubin that was frying what´s left of my brain. That removal attests to the fact that my bilirubin level is now on a par with that of normal folks so I can continue my rehabilitation with the goal of returning to Lake Chapala later this year but only when I have recovered sufficiently to meander up the Chiapas and Oaxaca coasts and then on to inland Guerrero and Cuernavaca, Morelos, a city I have long intended to visit. Hopefully, I will be leaving Mini-Me in Chiapas along with any spent tequila bottles he loved to drain with abandon.

The doctor is allowing me one glass of red wine per day at a meal for my heart so don´t forget our luncheon date in Ajijic where I plan to bore you to tears with my Chiapas hospital adventure. You needn´t worry that I will become maudlin on one glass of wine so don´t try to back out and, anyway, you may find yourself in need of emergency medical care in the Chiapas Highlands some day and The Dawg knows every medical specialist in San Cristóbal by now. I know the saints and I know the butchers. That might be useful information.

they let ya keep yer liver, fat boy? and are ya svelt now?

That would be "svelte" you ignorant Alberta hillbilly. Svelte means "graceful" or "slender". While I´ll admit to being graceful, slender is a stretch. The Dawg is "buff" and a splendid specimen. Pedro is a "scrawny pipsqueak", a flaco tundra crawler whose athletic skills are more suited to curling with local geezers than his beloved street hockey pickup games with Chapala hooligans.

As for my liver, watch your tongue, boy. My liver can whip your liver even with its gall bladder in a Chiapas landfill.

That reminds me, have you seen any "Hospital Waste" dumped on waste ground (not a landfill) around San Cristóbal de Las Casas?

No lily-livers, today!

That reminds me, have you seen any "Hospital Waste" dumped on waste ground (not a landfill) around San Cristóbal de Las Casas?

Not yet, Arbon.

I don´t think the San Cristóbal hospital I was in was guilty of dumping hospital waste since, as best I could tell, they never threw anything away.