Monday, July 24, 2006

Chiapas, Here We Come!

A while back I wrote a World of Good post about a group of medical professionals from New Jersey that travel annually to Chiapas to provide free medical care to the people living there too poor to afford it. It was wonderful to research and was a heartwarming story. A few days ago, I received this anonymous comment on that post.

THAT'S TRUE, BUT HERE IN CHIAPAS ARE NOT ONLY A PLACE TO MAKE A "ADVENTURE TRIP TO HELP POOR PEOPLE", U CAN COME TO VISIT AND TO MAKE ECOTURISMO, EN MUCHOS LUGARES, IN A LOT OF PLACES. THANKS FOR THEY HELP, BUT WRITE A BOUT THAT BEAUTIFULL PLACES, Y VERAS QUE ESTAN PADRISIMOS.
It occurred to me that I had treated the people of Chiapas like housepets instead of people. Poor things, let's put out a bowl of water for them and take them to the vet if they're sick. That was entirely the wrong attitude. When I tagged along with the Love on a Leash crowd or when I went to the Special Olympics I saw that acts of kindness like this aren't done to inanimate objects, but instead to real people.

I did some research on Chiapas. Thanks to this anonymous commenter, I found a place that is now in my top 10 places to go. It has some absolutely stunning scenery and spectacular Mayan ruins. Here are my favorite photos from my Internet search.

Chiapas has some blue water rivers that look like they were colored by a happy 4 year old. It comes from mineral deposits that dissolve into the water. Unreal.


You want rainforests? We got rainforests.


Mayan ruins humble the visitor with their grandeur.


It's got everything I love in a vacation spot. Heat, beaches, jungles, rivers and ruins. I can't wait to go!

Here are some cool links for Chiapas.

Virtual Tourist photo album from Chiapas. You just have to see it to believe it. Spectacular pictures. If you don't visit any other link on this post, go here.

Andale Mexico! Travel agency information about Chiapas.

A group of women visited Chiapas and offer this travelogue. Great stuff!

Thanks, Anon. Come back any time.

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2 comments:

Justin said...

Hey... we've got all of these around here!!!

Heat - Feels like 93 right now.... and that's cool for this time of year.
Beaches - Take a trip to Galveston. Just avoid the ferry on the weekends.
Jungles - The Big Thicket is less than an hour away.
Rivers - Just don't swim in it.
Ruins - I'm sure there are a few places around here that still aren't fixed up from Rita.

And you could make the trip to Houston and have a beer with Mr. Crap, something I haven't done..... and probably won't.

Southern Girl said...

Wow, what a gorgeous place. I wouldn't have guessed it would be that lush.