January 15, 2026

If you wanted to know where your morning cup of coffee or those bunch of bananas sitting on your kitchen counter came from this area of Mexico would have been a good guess. Not so much anymore. In this part of the world Brazil, Colombia and Honduras dominate the coffee market. Globally Viet Nam, Indonesia and Ethiopia rank #2, #4 and #5 respectively. Bananas: India produces 30% of all bananas globally and Ecuador is the largest banana exporter in the world. (Not the biggest grower, but the biggest seller globally.)

As the above map shows, Puerto Chiapas is the entry port to the southernmost part of Mexico. Puerto Chiapas was overlooked because the lack of any mineral wealth kept the Spanish away from any substantial settlement. Little did the Spanish know that a little coffee bean would prove to be a precious commodity. German immigrants began cultivating coffee in the region’s rich lowlands and foothills. In the 1800’s Puerto Chiapas had grown into a major port town handling the export of coffee. That is now ancient history.

As you enter the port you see many fishing boats. These are not commercial boats but used by local residents to catch fish for family consumption. The Welcome Center is the largest building in town and was constructed for the sole purpose of welcoming the cruise ships which dock here. The region has always been relatively isolated protected from the rest of Mexico by the mountains of the continental divide. (Sierra Madre del Sur) It was not until the 1950’s that Puerto Chiapas became modernized. This is in stark contrast to the 1200’s when the Maya moved from their home in Guatemala to Mexico bringing cacao with them. So highly prized was cacao that when the Aztecs began to rule this area, they demanded payments in the form of taxes be made with cacao beans. But like coffee and bananas, Côte d’Ivoire on the Ivory Coast now grows 40% of the world’s cocoa followed by Ghana and Indonesia.

Yet, from my observation, these are still a proud people. On display in the Welcome Center was a replica of a mask carved of fuchsite with shell inlaid teeth and eyes made from obsidian for the pupils. On the head band was a trifloral badge which served to show that this was a Mexican Noble from this area. And children of all ages were more than proud to display their traditional clothing with their parents standing by encouraging them to ask for a tip. I was reminded of the “peanut boys” in Maputo, Mozambique whose parents would load them up with peanuts to sell to tourists at the Feima Market a big, busy well-known “flea market” known for its array of items crafted by local artisans. It was a Saturday when I was at the Feima Market, but I was told the boys were there every day instead of being in school.

It was Thursday today in Puerto Chiapas, Mexico.

You think about that.

Thanks for traveling with us…