Day 1. Oct 31.  THE DOORWAY TO MAYAN HEAVAN
            Today we head to Chamula. This is the most tourist visited village in the highlands. There's a reason for it, Chamula is deeply Maya. But most people only have the opportunity to skim the surface. We'll go deeper. On that far side of the village, above the  sacred plaza of the spring of San Juan is shrine of  the Yahval Balumil, the Lord of the Earth. Water and the fertility of the earth are under the domain of the Earthlord, but so is death and disease so one must be careful in dealing with him. Here is found the cave of Angel, the lighting bolt, which is one of the avatars of the Earthlord. We will visit his cave shrine and the house next door which is for the Passion, the leader of Carnival and Easter Ceremonies.
            We'll also visit the shrine room of a saint and meet the couple who have made a commitment to care for that saint for a year. The room and saint image is adorned with hanging bromiliads, laurel and oak branches, there are clay bulls with burning candles and incense, lights and flowers. Though Catholic, is possible that 1,500 years ago the altar rooms on top of the Mayan pyramids were adorned just like this.
            We'll also enter the church of Chamula, the doorway to Mayan heaven, one of the most powerful religious centers in the Western Hemisphere. Tourists are allowed to visit...and they are totally ignored by the people worshiping in the church. Yet the shamans, praying on a bed of pine needles over rows of candles, are normally quite happy to speak to someone in Tzotzil Maya, share a round of posh, and speak proudly of their  traditions.
            From Chamula we return to San Cristobal and travel into the depths of the Mayan maket, from the over-flowing flower stalls stocked for Day of the Dead, the alley way where copal insence, pottery and candles of all colors are sold to all the stalls of Maya selling to Maya; hand made tortillas and tamales, woolen skirts, hair ties and much more.
            Evening in San Cristobal.

Day 2. Nov 1st.  WHERE THE DEAD COME TO PARTY
             Twenty towering blue crosses adorned with pine boughs and marigolds top a low hill of cropped grass covered with simple graves. This graveyard is where the Chamula nation comes out in force and in style to remember and celebrate with their ancestors. It is a party for the dead that shouldn't be missed in this lifetime! Mayas dressed to the T in beautifully woven clothing, be-ribboned musicians playing accordions and 12- stringed Mayan guitars, pink cotton candy, red balloons and orange flower petals. This morning we become part of this very Mexican and uniquely Mayan festival.
            When our senses have had  their fill we travel onward, finding lunch in Teopisca, famous for its it's fresh corn sweet tamales,sausages and pickled palm heart and a favorite Sunday brunch retreat for locals. Then we head to a quiet graveyard surrounded by corn on a hill overlooking the village of Amatenango and soak up the presence of this Mayan valley, so very different from boisterous fiesta on the cross-topped hill this morning.  Evening in San Cristobal.

Day 3. Nov 2nd.  WHISPERING FLOWERS
            Day of the Dead is a celebration adorned with blossoms. The Mayan village of Zinacantan is famous for flowers, both the cultivated ones  from their fields and the embroidered ones on their clothing. Imagine then walking into their cemetery on a crag above the village to find every man, woman and child dressed in their floral best and each tomb covered with grand bouquets. Today you won't have to imagine it. But unlike the party atmosphere of Chamula yesterday, Zinacantan is almost somber. On this wind brushed mountain top one can almost hear the flowers whispering. 
            From here we leave the deep Mayan world and head into the graveyard of San Cristobal, a grand, almost fortress-like, walled city of  miniature with littleGothic chapels and tiny modern houses for the deceased.