This is why I love having my own transportation while traveling, especially if it’s a motorcycle. For the price of a packaged tour to a couple of villages outside of San Cristobal, we were able to rent a 150cc motorcycle and explore on our own. Which means that we got to stop at this charming hillside graveyard while the bus drove right by.

To view all of the photos at full size, click HERE.

I’ve really been missing SE Asia’s cheap scooter and motorbike rentals. There you can rent a reliable scooter for as little as $6 but here in Central America I rarely see anything under $25/day. So when my friend Candy suggested we rent a bike and split the cost, I jumped at the chance.

To view all 10 photos at full size, click HERE.

Mexico’s San Cristobal de las Casas is often compared to Antigua, Guatemala. Both are stunning colonial cities and are wonderful places to wander for hours. I think I prefer San Cristobal of the two — it isn’t a World Heritage site and still feels ‘real’ and alive. It’s certainly a major tourist destination but that’s more for Mexicans than Westerners — highly recommended.

To view at full size, click HERE.

To view at full size, click HERE.

My 90 day limit is fast approaching and I’ve heard bad, expensive things happen to travelers who overstay their welcome in Guatemala. I’ve bought my ticket to San Cristobal in Mexico and can’t really say I’m excited about the 10+ hour bus journey that starts at 5am. It’s Sunday. I leave tomorrow.

I was here for the processions last Sunday — during the 40 days of Cuaresma (Lent), the whole city celebrates the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, culminating each week in a procession from a nearby village. Eighty cucuruchos (carriers) haul a massive wooden platform called an anda through the streets as penance for past sins.

And when I say massive, I mean it — some weigh up to 7,000 pounds. God knows what that is in metric numbers. After the main anda passes, a smaller one rolls buy, carried by women and supporting a statue of the Virgin Mary. The town was full of thousands of penitents, dress in purple satin robes. Pretty cool.

I thought I had seen it all by now and was worried about my passport issues, so I made plans to get out of the country. Room prices doubled during Semana Santa (Holy Week) and I wasn’t too excited about that either — Antigua isn’t exactly cheap to start with.

Then Sunday happened. Expecting more of the same, I step into the street this morning to find the cobblestones covered by large ‘carpets’ of dyed wood shavings, grass and flowers. Several people work on each, carefully creating intricate designs via the use of large plywood stencils.

Speaking to the hotel owner I learn that these designs are traditional, handed down through the family. Every carpet is different. They’re a fleeting form of art, though, as each will be trampled over by the incoming procession in just a few hours. While we carefully step around them to avoid damage, hundreds of penitents’ feet will soon walk right through.

I spend the day running about, taking photos of the colorful carpets and the various processions of revelers. Every eye I meet is followed by a smile and a nod. The vibe is electric. After 9 hours, 18 gigs of photos and 2 batteries, I head home.

The manager tells me that the peak is Thursday, when no one sleeps and processions roam the streets through the night. I also learn that the penalty for over-staying your 90 days is –she claims– only “ten quetzals a day”. Roughly $1.50 a day. I wish I’d known.

So the one reasonably cheap room I was staying in has been rented out. All that is left is their honeymoon suite which is now going for $46 US a night. My daily budget is $30. Dammit.

But after thinking about it, I decide screw it. This is a once in a lifetime chance. Four days over budget isn’t going to kill me — it’s so easy to get caught up in the budget mentality that you miss things you regret. And in the end, it works out even better. I mention my website to the owner and we work out a discount.

For a mention on my site, they’ll trade me my fare to Mexico and a midnight tour of the most well-done carpets on Thursday night — about one night’s rent overall. And I’ve stayed here twice now for over two weeks in total — obviously I approve of the place and think it’s a good value. It’s the first time I’ve worked a trade like this and I don’t feel like a prostitute. Score.

I change my ticket to Saturday, giving me Friday to sleep and recover after a night of wandering the streets. As I write this, the hotel owner is spreading dyed sawdust in the sun to dry.

It should be an amazing night.