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11aug05-14aug05
The road to Miramar
After Palenque, we got back in the car for 3 hour windy mountain pass road to Ocosingo where we'd stay a night before beginning a long off-road excursion though the Lacedonian jungle to the remote Laguna Miramar. However, the drive took longer than predicted as chris repeatedly revisited Tequila and Chilli Surprise by the roadside. New to mexican cuisine, leaks soon sprung amongst Chris' other orifices and we spent an extra day in the charming Ocosingo while Chris slept and drank camomile tea.
"El camino al Laguna Miramar tarda 9 horas", the lady from our guesthouse warned. We checked the maps. "Pero solo es 130km!", we retorted. "La caretera no es muy buena". It can't be that bad we thought, especially in our off-road supremo.
The road was terrible. We averaged 20kmh and made it in just over six hours. Not bad considering this was a 'seasonal road' and we were two weeks from the end of the season. This was our first taste of real off-roading and despite being thrown around the whole way, we loved it! Safe in the knowledge that our combined gadgetry of sat phone and gps would save us if we got stranded, the occasional deep puddle and ominous crunch from under the car simply added to the excitement. The road passed by remote villages where women and children came out to stare at our strange vehicle with the steering wheel on the wrong side. Children were particularly fascinated and within seconds of us appearing, there would be dozens of them running circles around the car. These indigenous people believe photos take away a piece of their soul and so hide at the sight of a camera, so pictures were tricky, but certain scenes will remain permanently in our minds. For example, turning one sharp corner we were suddenly confronted with a hundred men slowly walking towards us, all carrying large machetes. Returning to their homes from clearing some fields, somewhat nervous smiles from us were returned with a mixture of nods, whistles and blank stares. The Lacedonian jungle area is also home to the left-wing guerrila army, the Zapatistas, who are strongly opposed to the Government and fight to improve the living standards of indigenous peoples in the area. Despite a bloody uprising 10 years ago, the situation has now stabilised but parts of the countryside remain tense and the Zapatistas have a stronghold over most of the are. Throughout our drive in the area we saw grafitti on the sides of buildings and houses where zapatista villages show their support and their opposition to the government...
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A last military checkpoint, and we arrived at Emiliano Zapata, the gateway village to Laguna Miramar. After meeting the president of the town who permits tourists to the lake, we were shown our hut for the night. A broken night's sleep due to a voilently loud thunderstorm amplified by corrugated tiled roof, we were up at dawn to begin the two and a half hour walk to the lake. After much faffing around deciding what to take - camping gear, water, food and cooking equipment we put our welly boots and rucksacks on and followed our guide. It was soon clear this was going to be no walk in the park. August is rainy season and the previous night's storm worsened the path.... from start to finish, the journey was a trudge through knee deep mud under a punishing sun. Smiles, jokes and posing for photos was soon replaced by grumbles and then silence. EJ's boots were too big and lifting legs out of deep mud often left the boots behind. Blisters on Hicks' feet took a turn for the worse and we began to wonder whether this two day journey was worth it. We passed by a man on a horse and begged him to collect us the next day with horses for the return journey. In his weakening state, MG was preparing to pay 1000 pesos. The man asked for only 300. We settled on 500.
Laguna Miramar
Somehow we reached the lake - it was stunning. Untouched and unpolluted, the water was warm, crystal clear and full of tropical freshwater fish. Our camping spot for the night was right by the shore and to protect us from rain there was a small palapa roof as well as a makeshift cooking area. For lunch we made pasta and tuna sauce. For dinner we made rice and tuna sauce. The evening was spent swinging in hammocks by candlelight and chatting with an english couple who were spending the summer travelling through Mexico.
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