Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico

We went to Chiapa de Corzo to wander around the square and to take a boat tour of Sumidero Canyon. We also took some time to go into the market and eat some delicious food. Choose any stall that is busy but know that a) most stalls only serve one kind of food (tacos, tamales, caldos, etc.) and that b) Spanish is a must. But you'll save yourself a lot of money by eating in the market than going to the restaurants near the river. A plate of three tacos cost about $20 MXN whereas the menu del dia at the restaurants on the river cost about $65 MXN.

Sumidero Canyon

The tour of the canyon is well worth the $160 MXN and takes about two hours but know that information is only given in Spanish. It seems as though there is only one tour company that runs these tours. We found a booth on the square but you can also go directly to the river to purchase tickets.

While in town, we saw a ruin of some sort up on a hill near the church (which is on another hill) overlooking Chiapa de Corzo. It's well worth the short walk uphill for the ruin and the views of the area.

Hilltop ruins

To get to Chiapa de Corzo from Tuxtla, you must take an autobus to an area called Soriano (I think it's one of the bus depots but I'm not sure). At Soriano, on the roadside, there will be colectivo drivers hollering for passengers going to different destinations that are close-by. The cost was $12 MXN each way.

Barcelona, Spain

Recently, my friend Katie and I traveled to Barcelona. When we travel together, we tend to focus mostly on wandering around, eating, and drinking. Here are some of our finds and a few tips.

We stumbled across a great little tapas bar in Barri Gotic called La Cala del Vermut, Carrer de les Magdalenes, 6. It's not far from the Cathedral de Barcelona, but it's tucked away enough that the tourist crowds can't find it. We had a small lunch of a few tapas and a drink which cost about €6 per person. The staff was very friendly, answered our questions, and tolerated my poor Spanish.

La Bodegueta, Rambla de Catalunya, 100 is a delightful little tapas place usually full with patrons. It's too small for standing so grab a table and order something wonderful from the menu. We really liked the Manchego cheese, the tiny pimientos de Padrón (grilled peppers) and the pa amb tomàquet (bread rubbed with tomato and garlic, then drizzled with olive oil). We ate here twice and both times the bill was under €10 a person.

Taktika Berri, Carrer de Valencia, 169 is a great pinxtos bar. At €1.45 per pinxtos, it can get expensive if you eat a lot but you can also try a handful of great items and keep it under budget. The general rule is to let the bartenders serve you unless its very crowded; then you can take what you'd like for yourself. Also, remember that when you are ready to pay, your toothpicks will be counted (usually at the register) and you will need to tell the bartender who many drinks you had. It will all be tallied up. Side note: It seemed that most people did not tip at pintxos bars. I'm not sure if it was because you kind of serve yourself, although they are filling your drinks and bringing around new pinxtos. We decided to tip when we felt that the service was exceptional.

We didn't only eat and drink, if that's what you are thinking so far. We also took a bike tour of the city (bad idea), went into the Cathedral de Barcelona (which is free before 12:45 p.m. and supposedly free after 5:00 p.m.), and we made the pilgrimage to La Sagrada Familia. Do not wait in line to get into Gaudi's church. Tickets are available online via Ticketmaster (for a fee) or you can buy them at one of the many yellow ServiCaixa ATMs and skip the fee. The machines are tricky and don't seem to work with all credit and debit cards, so try more than one card, pick a date and time, and skip the line at La Sagrada Familia.

We also made more than one trip to La Boqueria, the large market just off La Rambla. It's a good place to buy produce, cheeses, and ready made snacks, but it is also over-run. Watch your bags while you are there.