TONINA near OCOSINGO: Several tourist buses arrive at AGUAS AZUL just before lunchtime so we evacuate the area quickly. We decide to venture further south towards SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS in accordance with our initial itinerary as things seem to be relatively quiet. The road continues to be beautiful, as we gain more and more altitude and cross several villages. The locals are dressed in colourful clothes. Within two hours we descend from the highlands and reach OCOSINGO, bordering on the lowlands. This is where the "trouble" had started a few weeks before. The access road to the ranch we were going to stay in had been closed down by the Zapatistas because the American owners of the ranch wanted to establish a Macadamia nut farm in addition to the eco-tourist ranch-resort they opened back in 1994. This form of "western capitalism" was just too much for the locals and the Zapatistas decided to shut them down. The ranch is within walking distance of TONINA, one of the archaeological jewels of CHIAPAS. This is why we wanted to visit this area. We stopped at a local police station in OCOSINGO and asked if it was safe to visit TONINA. At first the policeman denied there had been any trouble at all. When I referred to the ranch speaking Spanish with a Mexican accent, he figured he could tell me the whole story. He also added that the Mexican government had decided to intervene recently, and was going to buy out the American owners and close down the ranch to avoid further unrest. The whole issue was just an unfortunate clash of cultures, in which the "foreign guests" were not particularly respectful of local sensitivities… The policeman confirmed we could proceed to TONINA without concern as long as we did not try to reach the ranch. TONINA: What a site! Every sites in Mexico is awesome, and this one exceeds the tradition. This city is built on a hillside. It is believed that the neighbouring hillside that you can see on some of the photos hides the second half of the city. The city was most active around 500AD and boasts the highest pyramid of Yucatan, standing at 80 meters (245 feet). For the first time in several centuries, the Mc Cormick family allow a friendly, and seemingly very poor guide, to accompany them through the site. That is a good choice. At first glance, the temptation is to climb to the top of the hill, up the seven levels of stairs glancing left and right occasionally. In fact, it is important to take time at each level, climbing up from the right, visiting tunnels and chambers, as well as remains of what once was housing for the inhabitants. Again the entire site was originally covered in stuco carvings. Many of them are still visible. Download some of the pictures and zoom into the carvings. They are stunning and well worth the trip! Hpim329 is a must. Take a look at the skeleton God of Death holding a sneak in his hand…  

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Watch a movie of the Christine Working her way down the steep steps:

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