My odyssey to Lagos de Montebello in the lush, beautiful state of Chiapas began on a Monday night in Puebla.
A 15+ hour road trip, mostly on a comfyish ADO bus that departed almost two hours late, would end with yours truly so deep into southern Mexico that one morning I walked over to Guatemala in about 5 minutes.
Despite the plush, reclining seats and the fact that I had no neighboring passenger, the constant braking and swaying on curvy roads kept waking me up (and hoping we would not roll off the road, exactly how I feel right now, as I type this aboard another overnight ADO bus. Ever since I rolled my first car – a sweet, soft-top Suzuki Sidekick, don’t laugh – off I-15 in 2001, tight curves and braking in high-riding vehicles make me sweat).
Nonetheless, I arrived in Tziscao, Chiapas (a town within the National Park where the Lagos de Montebello are) on a surprisingly foggy and chilly evening, which required the use of my two warm tops and a stop for some local, organic coffee (and pan dulce) brewed over an open flame in a shack on the main road in town. For 10 pesos!
As usual on this trip, I had information, but no reservation. This was a tiny, tiny lakeside town – not even a stoplight…or a paved road – with very few places to stay, but I had faith I could do better than the $30+ USD I’d been quoted for a lakeside cabin.
I walked a mile past the actual town to Cabañas Paraíso Tziscao on a hunch after seeing a couple of signs for them, and I’m glad I did. For $250 pesos, I got my own little rustic cabin with two beds (my backpack and belongings loved spreading out on one) and a fireplace right on the Lake Tziscao, which is one of the lakes that comprise Lagos de Montebello National Park. No insulation, so the fire and the blankets from the second bed definitely came in handy. The staff were great and I was one of a few guests.
On a recommendation, I ventured all the way there to see the group of pristine, turquoise lakes in a beautiful, forested setting, with a potential dip or a wooden raft ride, as well.
With the fellas on the moto-taxis trying to take me for a $350 peso ride (the cabin manager told me to expect to pay around $150 for a tour of the accessible Lagos de Montebello), I took option b, which was to walk along the side of the 2-lane road and get to the lakes on my own. I’m in good health, stubborn, and on a budget…no way I’m getting ripped off.
The 20 kilometers I ended up walking on hilly roads – well past the lakes and to a random archeological site, Chinkultic, where workers far outnumbered visitors (3 of us) – served as good exercise.
The close call and very real scare I got from a pair of angry dogs with fierce teeth charging at me from two sides and making me dance in the middle of the street late that afternoon served as a good reminder that I didn’t get a rabies shot ($900? F that s!) and that I should call my brother for advice on what I should do when faced with such a situation.
I’m sure Vic heard my heart pounding through my nervous laughter for sure. Shout-out to the people who threw rocks at the dogs when I was about to throw my phone at ’em, as a last resort. Whew.
Instead of beautiful blue, I got garrish gray on an unusually frigid and foggy day, so I honestly didn’t see more than a few feet of any of the Lagos de Montebello, but made the most of it and enjoyed hiking through the forest with such cool weather, being the only tourist at all the lakes, and getting some cool pics. I felt like a hobbit with a camera in such a setting.
The beauty of not rushing through the Lagos de Montebello in a van with other tourists was that I could stay another night, hope for better weather, and give it another shot the next day, which I did…but since I checked out, I did it with my 50 L backpack in tow. This resulted in a nice local unexpectedly pulling over and hooking me up with a ride from one lake to another, where I was the only tourist once again and enjoyed a cool, rewarding dip before heading to Comitán.
I’d picked up hitchhikers in South Africa and Seattle before, but had never hitchhiked myself, so that was cool. Better late than never.
So, although the weather wasn’t perfect, it was much warmer and the fog cleared, revealing the truly gorgeous lakes – albeit they weren’t as blue as advertised since it was pretty cloudy. Worth the trip.