Mountain High HI: We are in San Cristobal. It is Sunday. We took the long route. We got mixed reports about safety, for a single bike, on 199 MX. 199 MX is suppose to be a well maintained paved road. Not knowing what to do, we came back to Villahermosa and went south on 195. I would have rather taken 199 MX and probably should have.
We spent 8 hours in the mountains. It was like the Dragon´s Tail for 175 miles. EXHAUSTING. Average speed was 20-25 mph, at best. The topes were murder. A significant amount of the road was under construction, and in one place one lane of the road was missing. Construction was large fist size rocks for a road. There were several military and police road blocks. However, they were very nice to us.

This route did provide the opportunity to see Chiapas. The native people work under very difficult and hard conditions. Watching men, women and children carrying their daily wood supply up steep mountain hillsides got my respect. They were doing all their farming on the hillsides.
We are coming out of the moutains into San Cristobal.

The town is very colorful. This is their main Cathedral.

While heading to Cristobal thru a small town, a group of girls set up a rope couta. They get out in the streets with a rope and stop you and collect money. Under normal conditions, I might have stopped but I was not in the mood. They were kind enough to just drop the rope as I approached. From that point on we carried some 10 peso coins in our coat pockets for easy access. In the next town, it was a group of adults. We stopped gave them 10 pesos. They were very nice. They were collecting, according to the can, for the local church. This was the only experience we had with this type of activity. Others had described more harsher experiences. If you are traveling alone, as we were, just be observant. I felt comfortable in my situations and didn't take evasive action.
By the route we took, you come into San Cristobal out of the mountains. Very curvey roads or as they say ¨Curva Peligrosa¨ every 50 to 60 feet. It was a beautiful sight. The town is very pretty. All the buildings are painted different colors, in the historic center.
We attended mass at the Catedral built in the 1560s. The population in Chiapas is heavily influenced by the indian population as Palenque.
Monday we head to Puerto Escondido. We will be heading up the GOLD COAST. Another word for the tourist area. See ya!