San Cristobal de las Casas

I am not quite sure what I want or what there is to write about... so I'll just look around the room while I'm eating breakfast and see if it inspires me.

1 1/2 pieces of toasted pan au levain (wonderful French bakery around the corner complete with unutterably cute French baker), with avocado, lime and coriander (thanks sis). 2nd cup of coffee, with what looks like about 6 more to go. Andy is doing 3 hours of Spanish school in the mornings and very sweetly puts the coffee on for me before he goes.

On the kitchen bench - a bowl of eggs (with feathers and poo, 10 pesos), a bowl of limes (10 pesos), a bowl of tomatoes (10 pesos), 3 avocados (10 pesos), 1/2 a bottle of tequila and some roquefort cheese I should go and put in the fridge. There are wonderful fruit/veg/meat markets, blocks and blocks of them, twice weekly organic (read 'hippy') markets and a divine dairy shop with the most delicious milk in the world.

Gym timetable on the fridge. Streets are too cobbled (too cobbled!) to run but there is a gym 2 blocks away. The aerobics classes are great for learning words for body parts, motivational phrases and counting repeatedly up to eight. I imagine the moves would also be very useful if I ever found myself in a gay latino nightclub. Am very grateful to the Spinn instructor for doing the whole class to 'Eye of the Tiger' on repeat. It lets me imagine I am in a Rocky montage, which gets me through it. Otherwise there is only so much fun you can have on an exercise bike.

Artie and LuLu are dancing to 'Angel of Harlem' on repeat. They'll have to exhaust themselves soon, I think this is at least round 5. Art is going through her Dianne Keaton phase already. I found her a clip-on tie at an op-shop and she and it are inseparable. Both kids astound me everyday with their complete gorgeousness.

Have ripped off a bit of the rolled oats bag as a bookmark. Reading Milan Kundera's "Life is Elsewhere". It was here at the house, we came with over 4kg of books and have read them all.

I can see a jar of sourdough starter warming by the remnants of last night's fire. It has just begun to bubble. Maybe I will share some with the cute French baker.

If I look out into the garden of this adorable late 17th century house within 5 minutes I will have seen a pair of White-eared hummingbirds, a Townsends warbler, a Cinnamon-bellied flowerpiercer and an as yet unidentified LBJ (little brown jobbie - perhaps just the female of the flowerpiercer, I will look it up). All seem to be happily resident in this what can only be described as a rambling English country garden. There are tiny wild violets poking through the cracks in the stone steps, sprawling vines and miniature roses, lavender in great big pots. It is the only garden I've known where geraniums look pretty. There are big windows onto the garden from the bathroom, and in the late afternoon I can lie in the bath with a glass of Argentinean Malbec and birdwatch. Heaven.

If I were to go into the garden I would see the clouds and piney mountains surrounding San Cristobal de las Casas. If I were to leave the eerie quiet of our home and open the heavy wooden gates to go into the street I would see a mass of colour - baskets, fabrics, ribbons, cathedrals, fruit - completely breathtaking.  I can hear church bells. We come across at least two acts of random music every day.

This is a very, very beautiful city. They will have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.

xx

ps - and let me just add - excellent chocolateria and uber-funky wine bar. Let's all move here!

Palenque y El Panchan

I find it so difficult to photograph jungles and rainforests - I can never quite capture the light and dark, the greens, the moisture and coolness all at once. So you will just have to imagine how lush and mystical were the Mayan ruins of Palenque and the village of El Panchan.

Following jungle paths criss-crossed by mountain streams, the ruins were there for you to discover as if you were the first. And they're full of tunnels and winding passages, windows and little rooms, all great fun to climb about. And the birds were spectacular. Royal flycatcher has an incredible crest, but no matter how hard I tried to sound like a sexy female Royal flycatcher he didn't give us a look (google it - amazing). What we did see, however, enough to make me die a happy woman (which I almost did), was a KEEL-BILLED TOUCAN! It flew across the stream not 5m from us. So you all don't care and think I'm a boring idiot to go on about birds but I very nearly fell over I was so excited. So was Andy by the way, which proves this bird stuff is rubbing off on him (bru-ha-ha! 'Bruja' is Spanish word for witch. Interesting). It was like being in a dream. Luckily there is no way of mistaking the Keel-billed toucan, so I have confidently ticked him off in my book. Locals said they are unlikely to see more than one every 10 years, so we do feel very lucky.

The village of El Panchan is an equally remarkable place, a kind of driveway of cabanas through the jungle. And in the middle of it is the most wonderful, sprawling, and not at all incongruous Italian restaurant. The village is full of hippies and fire-twirlers but we managed not to step on any.

I'll leave you with these photos. Then soon I'll write about the beautiful town of San Cristobal de las Casas, where we are now, and which we may never leave.

xx