Water in San Cristobal de las Casas

Coming to San Cristobal de las Casas i felt like in paradise. The city lies in 2000 m and has very nice climate all year around. It is surrounded by mountains and forests similar to those we have in Czech republic. The valley used to be a big lake and swamp. The spanish came here already in the early 16th century and started to build a city. The  city has small streets and old homes and nice architecture dominated by Santo Domingo church and the cathedral. A good weather and relatively inexpensive housing and food makes the city a favourite tourist destination for a short visit or as a base for exploring Chiapas. I felt very good here and I decided to stay longer to experience and understand more how sustainable the life is. 

It did not take me too long to find out that the city that  also has a big problems with water. In the last 20 years 50% of surrounding forests have been cut down for building more homes and selling the wood. This means that here is now much less water than before. I met one farmer who stared to plant trees in order to get more water to his land. Locals told me that in some parts of the city they have water shutting due to water scarcity. At the same time the water is still very cheap and many homes do not use water meters. Currently there is more than 200.000 people living in the city - valley and it is one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico. In 1975 there were only 25.000 inhabitants. Half of the city population are native indians who moved from the high lands of Chiapas. As most of the cities and villages in Mexico there is not any water treatment facility and all sewage is disposed directly to the two small rivers. I have visited the beautiful river spring which comes from the cave in the mountains and I have seen the polluted river (sewage) leaving the city. I have also seen the last remaining parts of the swamp (13 ha left) that still provides 60 % of city tap water. My friends showed me how this very unique ecosystem and source of water is being reclaimed in order to build more houses and there are plans to build a big petrol station next to the swamp. 

In the eighties the biggest mexican Coca Cola plant was build in the city and it is using the water from the richest aquifer under the national reserve to create the most popular mexican soft drink and sell bottled water. In 2004, the Coca Cola plant in San Cristóbal de las Casas used more than hundred million liters of water.

Mexicans are the biggest drinkers of Coca Cola in the world. It is hard to believe that the Coca Cola in stores is cheaper than bottled water. I see how popular this unhealthy drink is among the native indians. It has been more than 15 years when the tap water in the city became polluted and undrinkable. Since than the bottled water home delivery became a very good business for a dozen local companies. More than 200.000 litters of battled water from local springs is sold daily. This might be one of the reasons why the government officials are not taking any steps to protect the local water resources. It is sad to see that cities like San Cristobal de las Casas have the same problems as I have experienced in India - over population, water scarcity and pollution. It is difficult for me to see a good future of San Cristobal de las Casas unless more action is directed toward the protection of local environment.

The day of the death

Im Mexico and Central america the day of the death is a very important christian celebration. There are three days of celebration. People here believe that during these days the souls of the death people come back. They bring them food and their favorite things and eat the food on the graveyards with them. On Sunday I went to the Chamula village that is 10 km from San Cristobal. Here I visited a small cemetery. The graveyard very very simple - only a cross and pile of soil covered with flowers. It was interesting to see how the locals eat their food and drink a lot of very popular Coca Cola. The cemetery in San Cristobal de las Casas was very different. It looked like a small city. There were many big thumbs build as a small houses crowded next to each other. On Monday morning I went to see the Zinacantan cemetery in the mountains. The whole cemetery was covered by many flowers and people. The misty weather created a special atmosphere. There were no tourist. I was observing how they are siting on the graveyard and enjoying the feasts with their death relatives. Taking close photos was not very easy but I was quite lucky to get some good shots.