Our final day in Chiapas involved a flurry of last minute shopping and exploring. At the Casa de Artesanias Frank bought a Mayan relief sculpture. We bought some coffee beans at the Cafe Museo. I managed to find an amber pendant at the Expo Ambar, at last. For Lunch we tried a delicious Lebanese place. On our way to class we stopped in the Museo de Jade and saw crazy ancient masks as well as a to scale reproduction of Pacal's tomb in Palenque (which we did not see).
The last Spanish class was fascinating and disturbing, and also sad because we had to leave! Our discussions centered on the corruption of local politics and the police, including a story about a student of the school who was raped. The officer on duty nearby accused her of lying, and she was unable to get any help from the police. The school staff did their own investigating and ultimately were able to grease the wheels after threatening to bring U.S. lawyers from a human rights organization.
After class we partook in another museum tour organized by the school, this time to the Museum of Indigenous Medicine - quite interesting, but the guide was difficult to understand. They had a large garden of medicinal plants outside, and I bought a pair of jade earrings in the gift shop, where I had my first translating experience, helping a student from Germany understand the woman in the shop. Starved, we sought out a highly recommended pizza place and stuffed our faces. We picked up our laundry and went back to the hostel to get our bags and say goodbye.
Setting off with all our stuff, we picked up a few popsicles and sat in the Zocalo. I bought a traditional shirt from a wandering vendor. We headed to the Cafe Museo Cafe to pass the time over an espresso before heading to the bus station. Next stop - the beach!