What's up guys! Hello Tangerineys! If you're new to our channel, my name is Maddie, and I'm
Jordan, and we are Tangerine Travels. And those are still our names even if you're
not new to our channel. [Laughter] Our Tangerine Travels have taken us
To the Pueblo Mágico San Cristobal de Las Casas.
One of the most recommended places for
us travel on our channel. In fact, the former President of Mexico called this
the most magical of all the Pueblo Magicos or Pueblos Mágicos! Before we
dive into our adventures here, we're going to tell you a little bit about how
we got here. Because often well no, pretty much always, we never tell you how
we got from one city to the next. We usually just show up at a place and you
have no idea whether we took a plane there or drove there. We almost always
drive because Tangerine Travels, it's our car, the reason we're called that in the
first place. Yesterday morning, we woke up in Heroica Veracruz, at 5 in the
morning. Ahead of us was about a seven hour drive
according to Google Maps, but it never takes seven hours if it says it will. It
ended up taking ten hours. We wanted to wake up super early so that we could
have as much daylight as possible. Because we were told in Facebook groups,
and comments, and private messages, and in emails, the drive into and around Chiapas
is really dangerous. Because people will set up roadblocks. Try to extort money
out of you. And like other questionable things like that.
Extortion is a thing that happens. It's common. "Just pay it" and like all this stuff.
And not only is this a dangerous drive, but it's also raining like crazy!
[Sound of the car driving through puddles] Woah! We have not really been
scared of driving since the initial crossing the border and going into
Mexico. At which point we were scared of literally everything!
Every little bump in the road and every strange sign.
Topes and everything, which we called topes at the time.
[Laughter] This drive through
Chiapas is gorgeous! So many rolling hills and mountains just covered in green!
But it's not all trees either, a lot of it like grass covered hills. On the way
up here, it's super pretty near the end of this drive to San Cristobal!
Looking over the edge you can just see for miles. And it's also sort of scary
because the drop-off you can see for miles as well. It has a really cool red
sand all over the place.
Not to say that any of this wouldn't happen but nothing
did happen. It was a super uneventful drive, except for getting caught in
delays due to construction, where it was down to one lane for 2 ways of traffic.
Well, and this....
[Sirens and honking]
So, do you want to explain what this is?
I have no idea! It's like a bunch of clown taxis.
There's balloons, sirens, people drinking champagne in some of them.
[Sirens and Maddie mimicking the sirens]
But yeah, so far we're absolutely loving this Pueblo Magico! Really feeling the culture
And the magic of it! So in our excitement we did tons of
research about Chiapas and San Cristobal de Las Casas! Okay, maybe not tons of research
but we did do a lot of research! And we still have a lot to learn.
Jordan is mandating that I tell you that we did not do a lot of research. We did
research. Leave the amount that we did up to your imagination, but just know
we know things! [Laughter] We've seen things! [Laughter]
We're in Chiapas for the very first time.
It is the southernmost state in Mexico. The name of the state of Chiapas is
thought to have come from the ancient city of Chiapan.
This area is well known
for its tamales. Very unique spices, some of which I've never heard of before or
tried. And also amber!
One part of the state gets 120 inches
of rain per year. Comparing that to where I'm from, Arizona, we get like three. Three
inches. That's insane! And San Cristobal was actually the first Spanish city in
the state. Founded in the early 1500s. So this area actually has one of the
largest native populations in all of Mexico, so a lot of the people here don't
speak Spanish at all, or just very limited words to sell the products that
they make. I've actually never heard people talking between themselves in Nahuatl or other native languages before, ever.
In my life. It's very interesting. But we are going to explore around this city, and see what exactly
makes this so special. Why is it the most magical of the Pueblos Magicos?
So come along! For our first breakfast in San Cristobal de Las Casas, we
Went to this place called Carajillo where they prepare coffee at your table.
I've never even had coffee prepared, in like the drip style, in the US. So this was
A totally new experience. And make sure you go to Carajillo Cafe because there's
another Carajillo in town. There's 2 right down the street.
But that one isn't called cafe (on Google Maps)
So they mix it all up. They have the burner heating it.
Explaining the whole process along the way.
This coffee is a mixtrue of three grains.
For Cafe de Olla we use pinoncillo (type of sugar) and cinnamon.
That was so cool!
And this is - He told me before that this is dark coffee.
It has cardamom and honey.
Wow, that's dark! This is dark coffee!
[Laughter] It looks like darker than espresso. Yeah. [Laughter]
And both of these were 45 pesos, so I mean, maybe a
little bit more expensive than your average cup of coffee. But your average
Cup of coffee doesn't come with all that cool stuff! Turco is what this one is called.
And I got cafe de olla.
We've been having all sorts of cool coffee experience lately, because back in Veracruz.
Wow! [Laughter]
This drink I ordered, it's a "Lechero."
It's espresso, they pour milk on it from
way up high, and it's always served in a glass glass (like made of glass).
But it's very typical of
Veracruz. And when you want a refill, you take your spoon.
And tap on the glass glass. [Sounds of Tapping]
I don't know how many times I'm supposed to tap.
[More tapping, Laughter]
This is what I heard. I don't know if it actually works. [Laughter]
[More tapping] I'm done tapping.
Should I leave this on?
What's going to happen? [Laughter]
You ended up getting it like a million times after that.
That was a really really
cool experience as well!
So adding to the growing list of firsts this morning, I
Tried Huevos Estrellados bit it was - No, Huevos Divorciados. Usually I
can't because salsas have onion in them, or at least one of the red or the green has
it. But this plate was amazing!
It was sopes. And a sope is like made with corn or masa, kind
of like pressed into a thick tortilla-like thing.
Yeah. With black beans. Then huevos estrellados.
And then both sauces, the green sauce salsa had cilantro in it.
The red salsa had Epazote. Epazote which is a
Herb. I've never, to my knowledge tried before.
Very popular in Latin American cooking
apparently. And it has a petroleum-like smell, which would make one not
Want to use it for cooking. But when you combine it to make tea or sauces
It gives a nice earthy, delicious flavor. But
That was awesome! 90 pesos.
Totally getting that again!
Do you guys want corn bread?
Corn bread. Do you want some?
Very delicious corn bread.
Is just corn? Yes, pure corn.
No wheat flour?
No, no, pure corn.
And how much is it? 15 pesos each or 2 for 25.
15 pesos, okay.
If you want, I can give you 2 for 25. No, just one is fine.
Thank you.
Have a nice day.
Cornbread! [Laughter]
Any city that has elote or any form of it
Is my favorite city, so this is my favorite city!
[Laughter] She's not even kidding, she gets
seriously depressed if a city doesn't have her elote, or corn, or pan de elote.
Or something. 100%. [Laughter]
Although there's a big amber industry here, we read that most of
the amber sold here is actually fake. So if you're looking to buy some, make
sure you do your research so you know how to tell the real stuff from the Amber-posters (imposters/amber word play)
We've been meandering around Mercado Santa Domingo. And at first, it doesn't
look like it's that big. But the more you walk around here, the more you realize
that, it's a giant maze, and huge, and confusing, and you can easily get lost.
Normally Maddie likes looking at this stuff a lot more than I do. And I'm not
typically someone who can look at things like this for a long time. But this
market is really cool! So many colors, and not to mention you see things similar
to this all throughout Mexico. But here, they're more elaborate, more colorful, and
a lot more complex. After walking around for a little while today, this place has
a really, as far as appearance goes, a very Tapalpa meets Ajijic vibe.
Right now, it is especially loud because I think some type of virgin, is it Guadalupe?
I've no idea. Mary? I need to look that up. [Laughter]
Man oh man, I can already hear people
being like "Oh my gosh! You've been in Mexico for almost a year and you
don't know this!" Well, I will be the first to tell you that I don't know everything.
As much as I would like to think I do. And the more I learn, the more I realize
I do not know.
There's fireworks, rockets, and then a band
that's right now coming this way. I don't know what this is about.
I bet this has something
to do with those clown taxis that we saw. Yeah.
[Sounds of the band playing]
[The loud bang of a rocket being shot off]
["Bang" of a rocket.] Ahh!!
[Car alarms]
Setting car alarms off everywhere!
That guy lighting those off had such a pleased look on his face. But especially
When it made the loud boom. I hate that guy! [Laughter]
I'm just kidding, I don't hate random strangers.
But I do scare very easily and those are freaking loud!
[Laughter] And they sound way too
close to gunshots. How about you hate him for doing that? I hate him for doing
that! Very good! Or you hate that he's doing that?'
I hate that he's doing that! Very good! [Laughter]
Oh here's another one. Great. [The loud bang of a rocket going off]
[Laughter] Okay, but anyway.
What else about San Cristobal de Las Casas?
This place surprised me in that there are so many people here from all over
the world! So in tourist places you would expect that, but you have backpackers, the
hippie type, the European type in general.
For once, I'm not the only white girl
with green eyes or blue eyes in the city. There's a lot of digital nomads here. And
it's surprisingly young. As far as the travelers go - very, very young! A lot of
people our age. So it's almost been a full day, what do you think of san
cristobal de las casas? It's a mouthful to say. Agreed.
I don't really understand the name - San cristobal de las casas. Saint Christopher
of the houses?
The pretty, colorful houses, with red roofs, that the city has. I'm just kidding, I don't know.
[Laughter] But what do I think of it? This is a really cool place! Super cheap! I know
that breakfast place we showed earlier wasn't the cheapest prices. But man, you
can get a glass of wine for 27 pesos. Coffee, or a cappuccino with Bailey's, a
large one, for 35 pesos. Some of the cheapest prices we've seen in all of
Mexico! Super-unique, lots of stuff going
on. Very culturally,
Some adjectives that I can't think of right now... Rich?
It's super rich in culture! And just to butt in,
I think it's partly because this is such a
melting pot of cultures from all over the place! There's people speaking French,
and German, and Spanish, and the native languages. All of these people are
bringing pieces of their own culture here. So it's kind of become this like hyper
diverse cultural mountain town. I love it!
Love it, love it, love it! And also, walking through the
streets, they're not too busy right now, but I couldn't believe how many people
are here! And people driving down the street. Like even walking streets, and you
have to like weave through everyone when you have the whole street and both sidewalks. And not
only that, with all these people, everyone's just like "oh pretty things to
look at!" Including myself. So no one's looking where they're going. No one will
move out of the way for you. It's a crash collision situation all the time! [Laughter] And a
couple interesting things - Before coming here, we had read "hey if you thought that
beggars were bad in this city, just wait till you get to San Cristobal" or "If you
thought the vendors were pushy in this city just wait till you get here!" Well, so
we came here with that expectation. But in reality, yes there's lots and lots of
vendors here! But are they pushy?
99 percent of them, not at all. I think
they're actually pretty respectful. Yeah, very much so!
I appreciate cities where there are a lot of vendors, and even if people are
selling like dumb trinkets or whatever it is, they're at least working. And
they're trying to work hard, and they're not begging. In my book
That makes a good city. Because you have hardworking people. There is some
begging but for every 99 vendors, there's one beggar.
Good ratio. Yeah.
So final first impressions?
For day number one? Final first impressions, that doesn't make sense to me, but I'll go for it. [Laughter]
Well, considering this is as far south as we've been in Mexico. This is like almost
as far south as it gets. It's fricken cold here!
Oh yeah! It is really cold up in the mountains! But we're at
7,200 feet above sea level. So we're really really high! But something else
that's cool, there's lots of nature here. I really like that like! Like surrounded by
trees and pretty rolling hills. You said it's cold though, how cold? In the night and
in the day? High 60s in the day if you're lucky.
And then at night, something like 45?
Brr! But thankfully, we have the most comfortable bed with so many warm
blankets on top of us, it's amazing!
It's like sleeping in the clouds! [Laughter] It is.
Two questions for you: Do you have any final first impressions?
And what are you excited to do here, or around here, coming up? Okay final first
impressions. I am astonished, for how many languages, cultures, food, and different
people from all over the world, including like the native population, which is
very ingrained in this culture. I'm surprised how well everyone gets along!
Like the energy, the vibe is really, just nice! It feels good to be here. So I'm
excited to be spending now, like a little bit over a week after this. For what I'm
excited about, there is a ton of nature around here! We're really hoping to see
another gruta or cave. Go do some hiking up in these beautiful mountains
that are surrounding the entire city! And I do believe there's a water ball.
Water ball? Water ball! Does is rhyme with schmatterschmall?
It rhymes with schmatterschmall. [Laughter] A waterfall around here too!
Which as you know, we love!
So what do you guys think of san cristobal de las casas? Does it have a
nickname? Can we call something shorter, first of all? I'm just kidding. But thank
you guys for watching! If you did enjoy this video, please share it with someone
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upcoming videos here in this Pueblo Magico. And our travels in the world,
right now, Mexico. And one more thing.
GONG THAT BELL!
So you get notified the next time we put out a new video!
[Laughter] And we will see you in the next one!