Our first activity, after we ate lunch, was a visit to some ruins. You would think that as an anthropology major, I would be thrilled every time we got to go visit some pyramids, but honestly, I have seen more pyramids in the past two months than any person ever should in such a time span. So the ruins weren't exactly thrilling, though I'm sure they should have been.
But after the ruins, we visited an indigenous women's coop, which was much more interesting to me. Here is a good place for me to stop and justify my lack of interest in the ruins although I am an anthropology major: When I say I am interested in anthropology, people assume that means I am interested in ancient civilizations and digging them up. While I do find them probably just about as interesting as the next person, what I am really interested in is living people, hence my lack of enthusiasm for the ruins and excitement for the coop. It was especially interesting after having taken "the anthropology of development" last semester and learning about alternative development strategies and then seeing them in action this weekend. The coop is this group of women, living very much in the traditional way, but also adjusting to modern times. They make a lot of traditional textiles like blouses and scarves, but they are also branching out and making things like embroidered towels and bed sheets in order to appeal to the tastes of western culture. They also have a restaurant where they make indigenous meals. We ate some delicious tortilla with salsa. It was very interesting and very inspiring. In the upper left is a picture of it that Max took which I stole off facebook.
That night we went to a nearby small town because they were having a festival. It had the atmosphere of a town fair, except that everyone was dressed in indigenous clothing. We saw some dances inside the church and then we waiting for a long time for "the burning castle." We didn't know exactly what to expect, but as we waited, they started to construct this giant wire type structure which they then hoisted upright so it was about as high as the church. I don't think everyone would agree, but in my opinion, it was well worth the hour and a half or so we waited, mostly because of how ridiculously unsafe it was. This giant wire tower had all these wheel type things on it, and when the flame reached them, they would start to burn like a firework and spin. There were two factors that made this much more dangerous than it needed to be. Number one, sometimes the wheels would fall of the tower, burning and spinning into the crowd. At one point, one didn't just fall, it launched and flew right between two spectators heads. Number two, this wasn't behind a fenced off area or anything, it was just in this plaza in front of the church, so people were free to get as close as they wanted, and one drunk guy did. He walked right up to the structure and started bathing himself in the sparks. He kept crossing himself and then making motions as if he was in a shower, but instead of water, it was fire. Luckily, there was another drunk guy, who must have been just a hair less drunk than the guy in the fire because he shoved him out of the way and made him sit down in the crowd, right next to our group pretty much on top of Max. All in all, a dangerously comical experience and a good example of the total lack of regulations on anything here.
The next morning, was the hike to the waterfall. Patricia had stressed how miserable this hike was going to be- mud everywhere, bugs, steep inclines, hiking for hours at fast paces- so it was a very nice surprise when it wasn't that bad at all! The trail we took is one that is used by the local people to come to and from Cuetzalan from even smaller towns. The first part of the hike was through rolling hills of farm land, and then as we got closer to the waterfalls, it was more jungle like. I'll include some pictures below instead of trying to describe how beautiful it was myself:
Another thing that was really fun about this trip was the transportation we used throughout cueztzalan. It was like a cross between a mini bus and a truck. It was really great for seeing views as we wound along the side of the mountain.
That afternoon we spent in the center of town doing lots of shopping (too much shopping!). I love the blouses that all the women in cuetzalan wear- they're white with colorfully embroidered collars so I got myself one of those. I was also very proud of myself because I was actually able to do some bargaining there. I was buying something and the women said it was 100 pesos, so I asked if I could get it for 80, and she said she would give it to me for 90. Only a dollar, I know, but still an accomplishment. This worked a few more times, and sometimes they wouldn't budge on the price, but it is a skill I am still looking to fine tune.
After some shopping, we got to see the "voladores" (translated as "flyers" more or less). It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It's a religious ceremony where, first, five men climb to the top of this ridiculoulsy high pole. I have a picture of it next to a church to show just how tall. At the top of the pole, four ropes are attached to something that spins. After some prayers and music, four of the men ( who are attached to the rope at the waist) jump off the top of the pole and slowly spin around it until the reach the ground. The guy at the top (not attached to any rope!) stays at the top until about halfway through when he slides down on someone's rope. One guys was even drumming and playing the 
flute the whole way down. The whole thing was really very awe-inspiring.
That night, we went to a local restaurant for dinner. Cassie's birthday was the next day so we had a cake at the restaurant, which was really fun. Patricia is great about celebrating birthdays here- there is always a cake and a gift and general warm feelings all around.
Sunday was a free day, and possibly my favorite. Patricia said she would be hiking to the other close by waterfalls with a guide at 8am and that we were welcome to join her. Although it was very early, I decided to go, and am so happy I did. It was a smaller group of us, only five of us and the guide and patricia, which was nice for talking with people. The 
morning light was absolutely gorgeous and the falls even more beautiful the the ones from the day before. These falls had a big pool at the bottom where we were able to swim around. The water was freezing, but I still felt like I was in a jungle paradise. The whole thing was very peaceful and made me very grateful that we had this chance to get away from the city for a little bit.
Afterwards, another small group of us went horseback riding. The ride was about an hour in total and we had guides walking with us to show us where to go. At first I was a little skeptical because the first part of the trip was through a dump, complete with stray dogs and what looked like vultures. But once we got past the dump, we got to see the most beautiful views. I didn't have my camera, but here some pictures that christina took.
Overall a fabulous weekend in mexico!
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