Puerto Chiapas - Mexico - Port 3 Day 8

This was one of the first big ports where we would get to see Myan ruins and we were looking forward to seeing Izapa and the Museum.  This was another port we had no idea how to pronounce so its pronounced CHEEARPAS and the word Puerto is simply Port (see how much we learnt in 5 weeks).

The port itself is lively and very welcoming, and probably to be honest it was one where you could just have stayed at the port and gone nowhere to soak up some great atmosphere, shopping, entertainment etc and it even had a pool, it was a fun port in itself and instantly gave you that carnival feeling. 

We elected the Chiapas through the ages tour which took us the archaeological site of Izapa and then into Tapachula - a town square area.  Once again our bus and guide was fantastic, all the buses were extremely comfortable, and the guides were easy to understand and where keen to share their local area information - this is why we like taking excursions as you cover a good part of the countryside, learn a lot about the local conditions and see really interesting places.

So Izapa - given this was the first lot of Myan ruins I suppose it was pretty cool at the time, but after several weeks of seeing these types of things, the photos don't reflect how we felt at that point in time.  They are in the back yard of someone house and the family come to greet you which seemed quite strange and unusual, however it is a fairly large site but the ruins/pyramids themselves are quite small and basic - but do age back to 500BC the property however was extremely well maintained - but watch out for ants as there is lot of them in the grass and they are pretty mean.  The museum provided a significantly greater insight into the Myan life in this area so you probably need to ensure you do both of these together.

After visiting Izapa we headed to Tapachula - to visit the museum, the cultural center and have a shop around in the Tapachula main square - it was pretty packed given it was Sunday and again full of great Mexican music and color - something these areas do not lack, so it provides a great atmosphere not experienced in our neck of the woods. There was plenty of shopping in this village area and no shortage of things to do and see.

So back to the lively port to enjoy the entertainment - check out the video Video of Puerto Chiapas.  All in all a great port, with lots to see and do and as travel should be also to learn about new and ancient cultures.