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cphaslanger · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 13

I will be in Oaxaca for a month or a little longer, studying Spanish. After that, I will travel southern Mexico in search of a place I could settle in to for a while, hopefully to teach in.

I'm looking for advice for two things:
- places to see for simply the touristic nature of life
- places one might want to settle into to live for a while

Although I'm interested in ALL of Mexico, of course, I'm nost interested in finding out about places within a few days travel of the city of Oaxaca... as far as the Guatemala/Costa Rica border to the south, and up to, I don't know??? You tell me.

MELEE · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 10:47 pm Post subject:

As far as visiting places I think you shouldn't miss Chiapas. Especially if you like natural places.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

cphaslanger · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Posts: 13

by "touristic nature of life" I simply meant the self-indulgent aspect of travel... that I want to SEE Mexico. But I don't like "touristy" places... in fact I will avoid Cancun, knowing it is crowded with hotels and stuff. I hate that in the US, let alone another country! Thanks for the advice. I would like to see Tulum. It looks pretty spectacular! Shocked

MixtecaMike · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 643 Location: Guatebad

I went to Tulum once, in 1995, and personally I think it looks better in books than for real. The ruins were squat and all roped off and unimpressive, the only thing good is that they overlook the sea.

The nicest Mayan ruins I ever saw were Tikal, Peten, Guatemala. Impressive ruins in the forest, if you are early enough there are monkeys, tucans, and some sort of possumy looking animal to see.

I love visiting Tapachula, Chiapas, a small modern Mexican city with a VERY hot sweaty climate. It's not particularly cheap but it has a great vibe to it. And an ideal start point for short trips to Guatemala.

There are several high schools there that would probably be interested in hiring a native teacher, as no gringos seem to go there except de paso to/from Guatemala.

saraswati · Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 200

Tapachula?? Well...you're the first who's ever recommended it. I agree that it's a jumping off point to Guatemala but IMHO, that's about it. The climate's REALLY steamy, the ocean's dangerous and the town's dumpy.

Upside, yep, there are schools looking for teachers.

MixtecaMike · Joined: 19 Nov 2003 Posts: 643 Location: Guatebad

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Tapachula is much worse than a dump; it is also a singularly dangerous place--like the bordertowns in the north of Mexico but much much worse. With the Salvatruchas gangs robbing and killing other folks from Central America who try to get on the trains there to cross Mexico, the Mexican government has recently reduced its number of border agents, rather than increasing their number. The agents simply don't want to be there because several of them have also been killed.

The propaganda about sealing off Mexico's southern borderand tackling the problems of prostitution and violence is just that--propaganda. The government has effectively washed its hands of the border problems, and the Chiapas/Guatemala border has become a no-man's land of "s�lvese quien pueda": dangerous for everybody, and extremely so for a woman traveling alone. Avoid Tapachula like the plague.

saraswati · Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 200

Ok...MixtecaMike, I'll give you the zocalo. Thing is, though, many towns in Mexico have a beautiful zocalo.

As far as illegal crossings go, immigrants have more to worry about than just the gangs. Once they get past them, they still have to get ON the moving trains. Hundreds lose appendages or their lives every year.