Cuetzalan, Mexico

The manager of the Neptuno RV Park, where we were staying, arranged a trip by bus to this small, market town in the mountains. 

The town was built at the bottom of a narrow valley.  All the streets are on a steep slope.  This is one of the main streets leading to the town center and the marketplace.  The 40-passenger bus we arrived on was parked only a few yards behind where this picture was taken.  When we left, the bus driver had to back about a quarter of a mile to find a crossroad wide enough to turn around.

This was a native marketplace, not just one set up for tourists.  Every Sunday, these people carried their goods to market, usually by foot.  Some of them walked for as much as two days to get there.

The food was quite good and very cheap.  We bought some coffee which was locally grown.  It was only about two dollars per pound and has a great flavor.  I think we will get some more before we leave this area.

Some of the more affluent buyers travel to the market in these strange looking buses called "colectivos".  This one was relatively empty.  Most of the colectivos we saw were full with even the aisle filled with people standing.

This is a local entertainment group.  They are called "Voladores" or flyers.

The flyers climb to the top of a pole.  One stands on top of the pole and plays a flute and drum.  You can see him here doing a dance on a pole that can't be more that 18 inches in diameter.  The other four tie a rope around their waists and prepare to jump off.

Each rope is wound around the top of the pole so that the flyers swing around the pole as the descend.

As the four flyers descend, the fifth member slides down one of the ropes; stopping occasionally to play a tune on his flute and drum.

The flyers are nearly down now.  Note that the pole is a real tree trunk and about 150 feet high.