Posted on by tompellegrini

Sumptuous San Cristobal

After traveling through Campeche, Pelenque and a quick stop at the unremarkable city of Villahermosa, I arrived at San Cristobal on Tuesday night. It’s nestled within a bowl of surrounding mountains at about 2,000 meters high and is one of the most picturesque cities of it’s size I’ve been to. It also has a rich history. This site has the most succint description of it I’ve read so far: https://www.avalontravelbooks.com/travel/trip-ideas/san-cristobal-de-las-casas-in-chiapas-mexico/

As you can see in the pictures below, I’m staying at a wonderful Airbnb apartment this month.

The street view of the 4 unit apartment building I’m in.
The living room from one direction.
The living room from the other direction.
The bedroom
The view out the bedroom window
Facing the front of the building from the front door.
Facing the other direction from the front door.
The nice shared rooftop area.

I’ll be studying Spanish at the Instituto de Lenguas Jovel starting on Monday, which has numerous classrooms surrounding a sublime courtyard and garden.

A few of the classrooms at Instituto Jovel looking down on the garden.
The main courtyard in Instituto Jovel.
My fantastic Spanish teachers for this month, Paco and Gloria.
A potluck lunch with some of the other teachers and students.

Finally, below are some random pictures I took my first couple of days wandering around the streets of San Cristobal.

The view from the bus window coming into San Cristobal
The view up the steps of the Temple de Guadalupe, which bookends the east side of the colonial city.
The view down from the top of the Temple of Guadalupe
The view up to the top of the Temple de San Cristobal which bookends the west end of the colonial city.
The view down from the top of the Temple de San Cristobal. You can see the dome of the Temple de Guadalupe in the top left.
The square at the historical center of the city, called Plaza de 31 de Marzo
The Catedral de San Cristobal at the main square
The Plaza de la Paz
Just outside town, the beautiful high altitude woods of Moxviquil
There are scores of nondescript doorways that look into beautiful courtyards throughout the city. This one is for a restaurant.
And finally, what would a good mezcal be without dried grasshoppers as part of the tasting? They are actually incredibly tasty with the spices that are put on them!

San Cristobal Restauarants

As a personal reference, I’ve updated this blog below with some of my favorite restaurants in San Cristobal:

  • Cardamomo – Calle Real de Guadalupe 170 – great Indian food
  • TRATTORIA CATANZARO – great homemade pasta
  • Peruano – wonderful Peruvian ceviche
  • Tierradentro – good basic Oaxaca food
  • EL CALDERO – nice restaurant for large bowls of hot soup
  • ACHIOTE COCHINITA PIBIL – Cochinita pibil is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. It was really tasty.
  • CASA DE AHN – fantastic Korean food. The owner is Korean
  • Los Ches – Real de Guadalupe 12 – all you can eat empanada buffet for 125 pesos.
  • Nostalgia Sabor Istmeño – fantastci Oaxacan meal. The place I had grasshoppers served as a side with my mezcal
  • DELY QUESADILLA – incredibly fresh quesadillas. The make the tortillas minutes before they serve them to you.
  • Belil sabores de Chiapas – great local Chiapan food. The chile rellano was amazing
  • El Bony – incredible fish and shrimp tacos
  • Kokono – Great pork dish and amazing banana flambe for dessert
  • Comida Thai San Cristobal – world class Thai food by a Thai-Mexcian couple
  • Mesa Madre – incredible Spanish seafood. The chef is Spanish and was trained in Salamanca.