Movin', Movin', Movin'

If any of you have seen the movie Madagascar, there is a theme song titled the same as this blog.

My grandkids and I always dance, or sashay as we say in Texas, out of the theater with that music in our ears.

So, I'm "movin', movin', movin," down the road for the Month of May and possibly some of June.

Heck, I might leave even sooner and hang out at South Padre for a week before I roll into Houston and Galveston. I DO need some beach time and walking time on the sand. Time for reflection, which is always best near the water.

I'm going to hang out in Houston and Galveston with the gang and the family. Then I'm going to fly to Denver and onward to Ft. Collins to hug and snuggle with Matilda Isabella. It sure will be better this time and I pray the temperatures will be significantly higher then the 8 degrees when I was there in December.

THEN I'm flying to Albuquerque to hook up with outsider art collectors for an Eyeopener Tour of New Mexico. All kinds of wild and wacky things planned with that bunch of friends. It was meant to be - one seat left, just for me! I've traveled with these people many times and what fun it is...........

I'll then fly back to Houston and I have no idea what my plans will be by then, because it will be the end of May. Hopefully in all of that time I can sail. I have a GREAT need to be on the water - GREAT NEED.

Doesn't that all sound like fun? It will be. I'm not letting any grass grow on these gypsy feet!

The White Knuckled Drive - Through Morelia!

Now I must tell you it is a simple and beautiful drive from San Miguel to Morelia. Ten years ago there was not nearly as much signage as today, nor was there a cuota. But still, it was pretty simple, even then. Until you try to go to a specific destination in the city! In this case it was the Via Montana Resort up on a hill overlooking the city, in a residential area. I could not begin to count the number of times we passed the sign that was no larger then an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper back then. We figured that no one drives there. Therefore no need for a visible sign. I presume they all take taxis. Ahh, therein was our difference.

Kay was driving. I had the cell phone and the receptionist on the phone, who DID speak some English. It didn't matter. We just had a heck of a time finding the turn off. When we finally did and began to wind up the hill into the residential area, what would you believe? A horse walked out of someone's garage. Kay and I laughed. We did finally arrive and thoroughly enjoyed the property, the views, and the food. We spent a few days there since I was doing "research" for a resort I was working on in Arizona. Well, that was MY excuse.

Then we ventured forth to Patzcauro, Ihautzio to see my great friend Arminda, and ultimately over to Janitzio, early one morning. I think Kay and I were the only gringas on the island. It was very early - maybe 7:30AM. A fisherman started talking to us and Kay was deep in conversation with him as I dropped back to take this photo. It's a favorite - my dear Hippy Dippy friend, Kay and this teeny tiny fisherman.

As we came around the corner, we heard a tuba band and little drums. So, we sat on a step and waited to see what was going to happen. No one other then food vendors around. They seemed all atwitter. And with that, a group of fishermen and their wives came around another corner. The normally quiet and staid women were flipping their ever present aprons up and the women were dipping and dancing. It turned out to be a holy day in honor of the fishermen.

What a treat that was to see! Riding back on the ponga to Patzcauro, Kay and I just had these contented smiles on our faces.

We spent a week in Patzcauro at some great friends' house - Meg and Fred - who have some of the most beautifully manufactured furniture to wholesale in all of Mexico.

Great memories and adventures. Patzcauro continues to be one of my favorite places in Mexico.

The White Knuckled Drive Through The Mountains

Kay Cox in her comments about "Sarah" Bernhardt mentioned my drama on the white knuckled drive through the mountains. I had pretty much forgotten this adventure so I think, for a little laughter, I'll share it with you. It's funny now - not so much ten years ago!

Kay and I had traveled quite a bit in Mexico together as her husband was too busy keeping all the astronauts in place at NASA and the Space Station aloft or whatever the heck he was in charge of. He was waaaaay too busy back then to travel to Mexico - so we took off on several trips. Kay was with me here in San Miguel when I finally "got" what San Miguel was about - after three visits - and thought I might enjoy living here. I certainly didn't "get it" before that on other trips.

So, we came down, rented a house for a month, I think, while she took watercolor classes with a well known instructor at Bellas Artes and I did what I do best - nothing but wander the streets and meet people. Locals. You have to get to the "locals" before you can get San Miguel - preferably someone who had been here since the 50's and was very eccentric. My kind of people.

Ah, but I digress. So, when we got ready to head back to Texas I made the silly statement, "Aw heck, let's not go back the way we know, let's try a new route, a little adventure!" YIKES.

So someone, who will remain nameless, assured us that the way back OVER the Sierra Madres going Northeast was as fast as going up through Laredo. LIAR! But, heck what did we know? So off we went in Kay's "hippie van" that had plastic grass and fir trees and nodding heads all glued on the dashboard with fuzzy dice (I think) hanging from the mirror. I KNOW something was hanging from the mirror. Kay driving............

We got near San Luis Potosi and took the exit. It headed toward Ciudad Victoria. Well, that's what the sign said. What it didn't say was that we were going to hit at least 1000 switchbacks (NO I'm not being dramatic) and climb and descend and then climb and descend and at one point have hawks and buzzards flying beneath us.

OK, that wouldn't have been so bad except there was absolutely no shoulder. The bus flying over the cliff and down into the ravine not more then five minutes before we got there didn't help either. Add to that that I needed a bano, bad - really, really bad - and there was no place to pull over.

I don't know how long this went on. It was like a Chinese water torture test. Me squealing as the hippie van took the curves - holding on for dear life to the door handle as Kay drove..........

Of course, on a two lane road, there are zillions of buses and trucks. Not to mention the occasional cart pulled by mules. I needed a bano.

Ah, finally, finally, there was a little expansion of soil and a place to stop. A woman was cooking with a pit. I yelled for Kay to stop and before she could turn the motor off, I was out of the van yelling, "Bano, bano" and obviously, this had happened before because the woman pointed to a curtain............no commode, just a hole..........who cares? Relief.

I came out from behind the curtain and noticed smoke surrounding the van with Kay still in it. A trucker came over and told us it was the brakes cause we didn't know to downshift...........

There are no words to tell you how happy we were when we saw the outskirts of Ciudad Victoria. It was flat land - just about as flat as Flatonia Texas - if not more so. We marveled at the flatness and the shoulder on the road from Ciudad Victoria all the way to the border. Just wonderful boring grass flatlands..........

People tell me there is now a bypass and new cuota through Ciudad Victoria and that it is faster then going up to Laredo. There is no way in this world I'm ever, ever going to believe them. I'll take the same simple nonadventurous drive through the Columbia Bridge exit and never look for "adventure" while driving again. I promise.

Other "adventures" with Kay have come to mind while I was writing this - I'll share them in the future........all hilarious.

What's in season?

As I sat at the traffic light this morning in Celaya, I looked over and saw this pickup truck loaded with strawberries. The way the sun was shining on them it looked like a truckload of rubies. I was on my way out of town, back to San Miguel, so I managed to get across a couple of lanes and follow them. All the while I was getting my camera ready and then I just starting taking photos. I'm sure the driver was wondering what the heck I was doing. This is the only shot that didn't come out blurry. As I passed the truck, the driver was really, really looking at me to see why I had been so close behind him.

Ah, but the luscious berries! They were packed in so delicately and so beautifully. I presume they were either going to a roadside stand with a big sign to say "Fresas con cream" - Strawberries with cream - or to San Miguel to be sold in all the little neighborhood tiendas. Can you imagine how long it took to pick and pack this many berries? NOT as long to eat them, for sure.

Farther on down the road was a brocolli truck and farm workers in the fields picking asparagus. Yum. It's that time of year. I love this drive looking at the fields that feed so much of this part of Mexico. Really, really beautiful.

Sea of Cortez

I think it's ironic that I wanted so much to get to the beach this year and had given up hope after two failed attempts............and now it appears, that I'll be heading to San Carlos and the Sea of Cortez for the month of April. Life works in mysterious ways, to put it mildly.

So, about four or five months ago I saw a small article on the World Heritage designation of that area and the magnificent wildlife and plant life. I didn't save the article, darn. BUT I have read as much as I could find on the net, which isn't much, and I'm blown away at what I have read.
Who knew? Probably all of you and not me, ha. The multiple species of whale that spend time in that area and the size of the sea - over 800 miles long and over 100 miles wide is all mind boggling.

There are two books by Steinbeck that I went to the library (bibiliotecha) to see if they had - Sea of Cortez, A Literary Journal and The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Well they didn't have them so I went on Amazon and one of the books used is over $800US! Yikes - guess I won't be reading those books. Actually I didn't find very many books dedicated to the area, surprisingly.

So, another adventure will begin.........I'll report back and if you have explored that area, let me know all about it. First hand accounts are always THE BEST.

Short Trip - Looooong Story

I won't bore you with the details but I never got to the beach. Again, there have been obstacles, and for once I realized the Universe is trying to tell me somthing - Melaque is NOT in the cards for this year. Accept it. This time a month ago, I was just getting out of the hospital and determined to get to the beach and then that faded. This too will fade....

I'm back in San Miguel. I'm not at the beach. I've put the Capt Morgan's back on the shelf and the cocktail mixer too. Another time, another place.

Great and I hear it's going to be 32 tonight. Oy vey.

I do have to tell you that I so love driving the roads of Mexico - really, well the cuotas. I saw two trucks of pigs going to market and recited the nursery rhyme to myself. I saw a shepherd with a herd of white sheep - so fluffy in Jalisco state. And wonder of wonders, I saw about forty people on the side of the road cleaning up the trash from the huge pilgrimage to San Juan de Lagos recently. They had trucks stationed over a long swath of road to put all the trash in - first time I've ever seen that. And the vistas always mesmerize me.

So, although I didn't get the BIG prize of the beach, I still had a nice drive along the way. So be it.

SURPRISE! I'm off again............

I know, I know I just got back, but the opportunity has arrived to head to the beach! My gypsy soul said, "Of course, get going!" I'm not totally well - still coughing some at night - but I think that the sea air, pina coladas and a lobster or two will heal alllllllllll that ails me.

I'm also going to try to hook up with First Mate and the Captain in Barra de Navidad or Melaque, if possible. We'll see.

I have no idea how long I'll be gone but I'll keep you posted from down the road. Oh, and of course, I'm not forgetting my new cocktail mixer - so I can shake it on the beach.

Life IS a beach!

The villages of Oaxaca

On the day before I left to do the reverse trip home to San Miguel - we had a driver to go into the countryside to the villages. I could hardly wait to get to the villages and I so regret that I didn't get to any markets in these villages - my favorite thing to do. First we went to Monte Alban where Tom and Moira trekked around and I waited for them..........and then we headed off to the artesan villages of Arrazola to the home of Jimenez; to Ocatlan de Morales to the homes of the Aguilar sisters; and then to Santo Tomas Jalieza which is famous for weavers with back strap looms.
I had started in 1988 reading about Jimenez and the Aguilar sisters. Jimenez is the man who started carving brightly colored "otherworldly" animals. He truly started an industry with his work because he received such accolades and honors and taught so many people in his village this art. Jimenez has since passed on but his grandson was at his house when we arrived unannounced. We were greeted warmly and brought into the house to see his work. I presented him with the newspaper article I had saved since 1988 that appeared in the Houston Chronicle about his grandfather. He was thrilled and could speak English so he began to read the article that also had pictures. I couldn't afford to buy any of his work but it was such an honor to see it in person and to meet part of his family - most of the men were in the fields working.
We then drove directly to Ocatlan de Morales, a Zapotec village, to the home of the Aguilar sisters who create wonderful ceramic pieces of the native women and men and events in their community. I again had saved an article from the Houston Chronicle to give to the family from 1988 and again, a grandson who spoke English received it and quickly went to get his father and mother who were the son-in-law and daughter of the orginal Josefina Aguilar who has since passed on. I met all of the daughters of the woman I had read about 20 years ago and who now create her work. What an honor! I was able to buy some of their work. Onward we went into this village to see the museum that Rodolfo Morales, the great impressionistic Mexican artist had restored. Much of his work is in this building in this tiny village and we were the only people there! Wow, what a treat! The Artes de Mexico magazine #21 has many of his works and great writings about Oaxaca if you're interested.
By now, it was late, we were tired and hungry so we didn't go on to all of the villages we thought we would, but we did stop in Santo Tomas Jalieza. Sooooooooo glad we did. Again we were the only people there to watch the women weaving and then saw the beautiful weavings they had made and had to sell. One table runner takes at least a day to weave - the intricacy is awe inspiring. I was told they start teaching their daughters to weave as early as four years old. That is so wonderful because it would be so terrible to lose this beautiful tradition.
So, from all you have read you can tell that we did a LOT - but there was so much we didn't get to do........another trip HAS to be made! It will probably be at least a year and a half - for Guelaguetza in July - before I return, but afterall, it took me twenty years to get there the first time - I WILL be back!

Oaxaca

Getting to Oaxaca is NOT easy! I had done all kinds of research, decided NOT to drive because I didn't want to make the wrong turn and end up in Mexico City (population 20 million) - have a nervous breakdown and never get there, ha! I wanted to fly but it was over $500 round trip - so I opted for the bus. Four hours to Mexico City on ETN (not bad) - then a death defying ride to the TAPO bus terminal on the south side of the city with the "AJFOYT" of taxi drivers - one hour from door to door with screeching, cursing and honking........ok, THAT was an adventure.! Aah, but a nice place to wait at the TAPO station for the bus to Oaxaca. I'm such a "people watcher" that that was fine. Then the 6.5 hour (supposedly) trip to Oaxaca......and it was! So, I left San Miguel at 7AM and arrived in Oaxaca at 11PM. Note to self, don't EVER do that again - go to Mexico City - spend the night - and catch the bus the next day. I admit it - 16 hours is TOO much for me. But the next day I woke and had breakfast with one of the guests at the hotel I was staying at and she had lived literally all over the world............and then I headed off on an exploration journey until my friends Tom and Moira arrived later that day. Aaah, smooth sidewalks - no cobblestones - aaah, no steep hills and most of all aaah, warm weather and 1500 ft altitude lower then San Miguel, so no breathlessness. Wow what a joy!
The zocalo with its huge trees and people enjoying it and sauntering around is a beautiful sight. I visited the cathedral and later that week went to Mass in that beautiful place.
All of the meals we had and restaurants we dined in were delicious. From the tiny French bistro that had great pate to the fabulous Chrismtas Eve dinner we had at the Camino Real, all were very enjoyable and even inexpensive. My favorite was Casa Oaxaca which I had heard about and where I had the most delicious corn and squash blossom soup I have ever eaten along with grouper prepared with clams and I know not what else.............I have to admit, I DID NOT eat the fried grasshoppers - I just couldn't...............killed too many on my bedroom floor to think about eating them.
We traipsed through art galleries (the best art I've seen in Mexico, bar none), museums - Tamayo's incredible collection of Pre-Columbian relics - equal to many large museums - msuems more then I can list - and of course, we made it to four of the five mercados - more then once! Oops and churches. We saw a quinceanaro one evening as we were walking to dinner - wow what an event and we saw lots of weddings!
I was enchanted with all of the indigenous women dressed in their native dress - the Yalags, Mixtecos, Tehuanas, just to name a few - I would just stop and watch them and marvel at the regalness or tinyness of these women. The Triques must be decendents of Mayans because they are of that stature - teeny, tiny people. I did notice that many of the people were taller then I am used to seeing in San Miguel. Beautiful faces.
From the terrace of my hotel while eating breakfast each morning, I was looking out on a view of a church that looked very austere. But the night we went there to see the Oaxaca Symphony playing, I couldn't believe my eyes when we walked in - the church built by the Dominicans - well actually built by the Indians - was COVERED with carved wood scenes with gold gilding and the altar was so ornate! When you look at Tom's photos and see the closeups of the ceilings, you'll see what I'm talking about. The only other church I've seen in Mexico detailed like that is in a village outside of Puebla - it equally "blew me away" with the incredible artistic ability of these natives of Mexico.
If I had to explain Oaxaca I would say - color, color, color and architecture and art equal to anyplace I've been in the world (including Paris) BUT the most memorable is the gentleness of the people and their welcoming smiles. GO, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

Noche de Rabanos - Night of the Radishes - Oaxaca

There is so much to write about this trip to Oaxaca that I decided that I need to break it up into segments with the first, obviously, needing to be the Night of the Radishes! It was so wonderful that I found myself giggling as I walked along and photographed each scene. At one point I choked up because I realized I had waited twenty years for this and I was HERE! It is pure, naive and whimsical folkart - No it isn't for sale - No it isn't eaten - it just IS - by the next morning you could not tell in the zocalo that any such thing had been held. Amazing. This first photo is a "Tree of Life" of radishes. Click on it to see it enlarged. If any of you have ever been in a Mexican mercado, I'm sure you have marveled at their displays of fruit and vegetables - they are merchandising geniuses. If we "eat with our eyes" as they say, then you can't ignore the displays. THAT is how the radish festival began - one vendor started carving in order to sell his radishes, another copied and outdid him and it GREW to this incredible feast for the eyes. If I remember correctly, it started about 80 years ago. They carve what they are familiar with, village scenes and festivals, farm scenes, and of course the Virgen of Guadalupe. There were three categories - all organic - radishes, dried flowers and corn husks. The next photo is a farm scene which is just so wonderful. . While we were walking along looking at this, they were "spritzing" the displays with a water bottle. That is how perishable these are.

The next photo was of teensy weensy star flowers and other dried flowers. Exquisite. There were several "virgens" but I so loved the gentleness of this one.

The corn husk displays were colored with food coloring (I presume), or they could have been colored with the bugs they use to dye the rugs - I actually don't really know............but they were huge displays and intricately detailed as well. Fiestas are so much a part of the Mexican life and so this one depicts a festival.

I loved all of it but I must say I loved the radishes the most. It seemed so surreal that they could take an edible food products and create so much...............I took over 200 photos, so for me to narrow this down to 4 was ridiculously hard. If you would like to see all of Oaxaca - the churches and museums, the artisans and mercados and the radish fetival, my friend Tom LaFaver has it ALL on Flickr. He and his wife Moira were my traveling buddies. This is the fourth folkart trip we have taken together and each one has been a blast. Go to www.flickr.com/photos/tomlafaver/ It is worth taking the time to see Tom's photos which so richly depict all that we saw.................(note to me, GET A DIGITAL CAMERA!) Enjoy!

Noche de Rabanos - "Night of the Radishes

I'm off on the bus to Oaxaca on Thursday and today I've been reading again all the articles I started saving in 1988 for this trip I am going to take. Even thought I exported out of Mexico for 20 years, I never made it to Oaxaca because artisans always met me in Guadalajara with goods for sale for shipment. So, now here I go. I'm so excited.....I LOVE to be places where the people are still indigenous and dress so. Oaxaca is the largest indigenous area in Mexico. So, off I go with bus tickets in hand and when I return I'll have more photos then I could possibly post and more memories then I could blog - but I'll give it a try!
I hope that whatever your plans are and wherever you're going to be for Christmas that you have a day of tranquility and joy. Feliz Navidad!

Sierra Gorda - Favorite photos

These are an assortment of photos that I took that I like - not for their artistry but for the subject matter. The first is a house in Landa de Matamoros that when I saw it it reminded me of the houses in the countryside of England near Stratford-on-Avon. The undulating roof looks like the thatched roofs that were so prevalent in that part of the world. My curiosity made me want to open the door and see what was behind it................but of course, I didn't! I stood in the plaza in front of the church at Jalpan and watched this old woman deliberately sweep each and every leaf into the corner with her "trusty" broom. She was totally unaware of me and totally focused on her task. I think she is so beautiful!

Aah, and lest you think these brooms leaning up against this wall in Conca are just for show, look up at the picture of the woman and you will see that these are REALLY used. I took this photo a couple of days after seeing the woman and didn't get the connection until I was sorting through
the many photos I took! Darn I wish I had bought these brooms.................aren't they wonderful?

And the last photo of the Huichol Indian was taken because he is so out of his element here. The Huichols live in the highlands of Nayarit which is on the Pacific coast and they make a pilgrimage each year at Easter to Real de Catorce which is probably 12 hours by car apart.......they walk.......to smoke peyote, have ancient ceremonies and create the beautiful bead and wax creations of Jaguar masks and jewelry. He was in Las Pozas to sell his creations and probably to make money for his family on the other side of Mexico. It used to be VERY rare to see a Huichol but now they do come to the villages to sell their wares.

Las Pozas - The "surreal" world of Edward James

Have you ever been somewhere and wanted to share it with friends through words and photos but both were inadequate to describe what you have seen? Well that is my feeling about Las Pozas. Living in this surreal country of Mexico - this is the ultimate in surrealness! My photos don't do it justice - check out Billie Mercer's site - www.pbase.com/billie_mercer/xilitla and you will see PURE ARTISTRY of this place. Or, if you decide you want to know more, just put into your search engine - Edward James or Las Pozas Mexico or go to www.junglegossip.com Ok, now on to my attempt to share this incredible place with you. Edward James was an eccentric, extremely wealthy Englishman who discovered Xilitla and declared it the most beautiful place on earth after he had traveled extensively all over the world - I tend to agree with him. It has wild parrots, wild orchids, waterfalls, bromeliads almost the size of cars and zillions of butterflies among other things and luckily, it is still there! Edward wanted to be a surrealist and mentored and supported many surrealist, Dali, Millet, Leonora Carrington (who is still alive in Mexico) and many, many others. There was recently an exhibit at the Tate in London of his works and many other surrealists. Today Edward would also be known as an "outsider" artist.

He spent 30 years and close to $30 million US dollars creating this world that we now get to enjoy. His intention was to create places so wild animals could live on the grounds and to create concrete structures that looked like giant flowers so they would never die - a simplistic explanation. Smithsonian magazine did a fabulous article on Las Pozas and Edward James about 15 years ago which is much deeper in explanation...........Las Pozas was not finished at the time of Edward's death in the late 1980's but it HAS held up well to the encroachment of the jungle.

This was my second visit to Las Pozas and again, as I climbed around and through these structures and grounds, I felt like Alice in Wonderland. I must admit that 10 years ago I scampered, this time I walked VERY carefully. It is hard from the photos to get the scale of these structures so I have included this one picture that shows the people climbing on it. It must be close to forty feet high, if not more.

As you are walking through the jungle of Las Pozas, the sound of the waterfall is everpresent and adds another dimension to the experience. If this place were easier to get to and more readily accessible to the public, as Watts Tower is in LA, it would be probably have been destroyed by tourists.

So, Edward James was looking for paradise, and in my estimation found and enhanced it! I hope you've enjoyed coming along with me on this journey of discover and surrealism.

Missions of The Sierra Gorda

The Missions of The Sierra Gorda are a testament to one man's vision, Fr. Junipero Serra who landed in Veracruz and went to Mexico City where he was charged with evangelizing in the indigenous area of the State of Queretaro. The Indians in this area were referred to as Chichimecas, which is another term for semi-nomadic and warring tribes. The tribes were actually made up of Pames, Otomis, Huastecans, among others. The five missions were built in a period of ten years in the 1700's - which I find beyond amazing. All of the labor, including the carving and masonry work was done by the indigenous people. Remember, the ancient tribes of Mexico were creating incredibly beautiful pottery, jewelry and pyramids before Christ.................they might have been "unlearned" but they were the premier artisans of the world! The indigenoius were very skeptical of Fr. Serra and the Franciscans because prior to this order they were mistreated (that's a mild understatement) by the Spanish. However, supposedly the Franciscans treated them fairly and taught them crops to grow, provided housing and set up schools.
In this region, especially around Mission Conca, there are miles and miles of tomato, orange, and banana plantations. When you get over near Xilitla in the more tropical area, there are many, many coffee plantations. You can smell the fragrance in the air! I bought a few coffee bean bracelets.
As you can see the exterior of the Missions are extremely elaborate with all kinds of symbology carved on the front of each mission. I have read extensively about the churches of Mexico and in my readings it states that the Indians would include many symbols (hidden in the carvings) of their gods..............Often these churches were built on top of their holy grounds and I guess they were bringing forth what they were able to, to keep their beliefs alive!
The first photo is of the Mission at Jalpan which is a town of 5000 people. Note the difference in the sky color in Jalpan from the sky color as we went into the more remote areas. This color is not "touched up" but is actually the color of the sky - it was magnificent. This next mission is Tilaco. You know the old saying "It's the journey and not necessarily the destination" - well that is ABSOLUTELY the case in getting to Tilaco. Once you leave the highway and get on the road to Tilaco it winds around the mountains for about 45 minutes with vistas that take your breath away. You see villages nestled in the valleys of the mountains (Sierra Madres). Upon arriving in Tilaco which is made up of about six streets, it seems like a mirage to see this magnificent Mission. The teenage girls were in the tiny jardine making altars for Dia de los Muertos out of wild orchids and banana leaves - another blog on altars to follow!

When I was here almost ten years ago there was a Franciscan priest who was in charge of this mission. His name was Padre Miracle, truly. He lived from 1927 until 2004 and spent over 50 years in this village. He was responsible for having the road built that we traversed on to get to the village. There are photos of him in Rome with the Pope and all kinds of cool things in a little building across from the mission.

The above photo is Mission Landa de Matamoros. I thought as we arrived that I wish that all the politicians and media and people that talk about how illiterate and ugly Mexico is could experience the beauty of this civilization! In this village as I sat on a stone wall in the sun waiting for the group to finish looking at everything a Mexican man in his pickup truck stopped in the middle of the street and came over to talk to me. He wanted to practice his English. He was delightful and welcomed me to "his" village and wanted to know if I liked the church. He then proudly talked in English - it soon became apparent that he knew key phrases (like me in Spanish) and if you strayed from that - we both became quiet. It was really sweet. He is a butcher and has two children. He said he learned English in the State of Tamaulipas-not sure of that spelling-and wanted to speak it more. There is always such a naivete and innocence in these people.........it so touches my heart. I must admit, there is talk in the media about the machismo of Mexico but I truly have NEVER experienced that or seen it. Another "urban myth" perhaps?

This is the Mission Tancoyol which is REALLY remote also. It took us three days traveling to see all these missions! Can you imagine without paved roads, and traveling by foot or burro? Wow! It is said that Fr. Serra walked from Mexico City to the Sierra Gorda and then when finished there he WALKED to California. It boggles my mind.

The streamers you see and the wrapped wreaths on the cross are from past celebrations, probably from the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel which is celebrated ALL over Mexico. The wreaths are made initially and covered with flowers which are held on with orchid paste.

Notice on the churches the geometric patterns painted on the towers on each side of the decorative entrances. I found that fascinating because I have never seen that in any other part of Mexico or anywhere else. You also probably notice that many of the heads are missing from the statuary. It is said that this occurred during the Cristeros War in the 1930's when the true separation of church and state occurred in Mexico. A LONG story.

As elaborate as the exteriors of the missions are, here is an interior view of the Mission at Conca. Actually these missions are really village churches that are used on a daily basis. In one mission, they were preparing for a Quincenario and the women and children were sweeping and arranging flowers in pink and candles everywhere. In another mission they were chanting the rosary. It was very touching to see the daily life of these humble people. I feel honored to be allowed this glimpse....................

"The Zone of Peace" - The Sierra Gorda

It had been almost ten years since I had traveled to this area, and then, I had approached from Tampico and not from San Miguel. I wanted to experience the road through the mountains which I now know has 850 curves, according to someone on the bus.

I wanted to see if this Huastecan region was still as untouched as it was previously and I also wanted to see the Missions built by Fr. Serra as well as to visit Edward James surreal scupture gardens known world-wide as Las Pozas.

The bus ride was exquisite - you travel through semi-arid desert land until you reach the village of Vizarron, which is a marble carving village. We stopped there and saw amazingly beautiful statuary, tables, chess sets and zillions of other things. Now this town is about 4 streets and yet the craftsmanship of the products they export to the USA were of the highest quality. Also in Vizarron we saw a small flower market set up for the locals so they could make their altars that day for Dia de los Muertos. This scene was replicated in every village we traveled through. Even if we didn't see the flower market, we would see women and children walking along the side of the road with armloads of flowers to take to the cemetary or home for their celebrations.

As we left Vizarron we began to climb into the mountains and for the next couple of hours it was twisting and turning. At one point we traveled under a sign that said "La Puerta de Cielo" which translates to the Gate to Heaven - (I was hoping we weren't actually going there that day) And then all of a sudden, we were in pine forests and green lush vegetation. It was so surreal and the beginning of the surrealness of the Sierra Gorda.

This biosphere area was declared a "Protected Zone" by the Mexican government in 1996. The rainfall goes from 1500 meters in one area to only 350 in another so you can see the difference in the topography. The ecodiversity holds six different kinds of forests as well as 360 different types of birds, 71 reptiles and 23 amphibious species. I saw butterflies like I have never seen before along with a group that were lime green and huge. Spectacular.

We arrived in Jalpan, which is the first village to have one of the five missions bult by Fr. Serra in 10 years in the 1750's before he moved on and WALKED to California and built nine of the missions in California! We were here for four days and ventured out to the other villages in the next few days to see the other missions. I took so many photos that I'll post tomorrow with the story of the missions. And, in subsequent days on other things we saw.

Sadly I must confess that the area is no longer "undiscovered" and Jalpan and Xilitla have more then quadrupled in size. One of the treasures of my last visit was seeing the Huastecan women walking and dressed indigenously. They piled their hair high with red fabric woven through.......no more. It has become Westernized and I did not see one person dressed indigenously.

Aaah, but it was delightful to experience the warm, humid weather (not too humid) and to see hibiscus, crotons, bromeliads and other tropical flowers that we don't get to see in the high sierras of San Miguel. I am so NOT a shoe person so to have my sandals back on was BLISS.

Dia de los Muertos

There is a scurry of activity going on in town in preparation for the time of Dia de los Muertos. The tents have been assembled and an array of sugar skulls, lambs, pigs, sugar food and more then I could begin to mention are for sale for use in decorating the altars for the returning spirits on Dia de los Muertos. Think of it as "Thanksgiving for the spirits".......The belief is that the spirits of the departed come home once a year for their favorite foods and to see their families. Many, many living Mexicans travel back home also to be with their families for this incredible tradition. The orange marigolds and red flowers have started showing up in street vendors' booths which are some of the traditional flowers of this season. And, one of the things I love are the papel picado (cut paper) decorations that are hand cut out of tissue paper. They are usually very colorful in oranges, turquoise, fuscia, and yellow. The one illustrated above is by Margarita Fick and she is renown for her work. If you look closely (you can click on the image to enlarge it) you will see not only butterflies but scorpions, crickets, monkeys, mice, cats, lizards and other assorted creatures. It is hard to believe that something this delicate is cut out of tissue paper! Margarita's pieces are expensive, in the $150US to $300 US range. When hung in strings from the ceiling, the least little breeze causes them to flutter like the prayer flags in Nepal. Perhaps there is a connection, I don't know.
I have traveled to Patzcauro to the villages around the lake for Dia de los Muertos (a life altering experience); to Puebla and the villages around like Huaquechula to see the satin altars for children; of course here in San Miguel and now I'm off to a region that has almost no tourism to see what an area not colored by tourism does for its celebration. I promise I'll take lots of photos! So, I've got my "travelin' shoes on" and I'm ready to hit the road next week!.

Driving to Texas

Twice a year I gas up the car and head north to Texas and hang out with friends and hug grandkids (I guess they are no longer grandbabies) buy the things I can't find here and generally get my "Texas fix".
Ironically in the six years I've lived here the list of things I can't find in Mexico gets smaller and smaller but I still need things like cornmeal, cream-style corn, small cans of tomato paste, lemon oil for furniture, Captain Morgan's and fabric for furniture - it seems I'm always recovering something and the fabric here is NOT that great or available. Since I have so much furniture outside I'm always buying outdoor fabric which is relatively expensive down here. Oh and my favorite perfume and body lotion...........yes, I have a Houston list and as I think of something I add it to the list.
But most of all, my "Texas fix" is about seeing good friends and spending time with them as well as family and of course those precious grandchildren.
The grandchildren always go through their closets and have bags of toys for me to bring back for the children down here......and I always sneak in a few things for the "kids on the block" like little hot wheels and kites and bubbles............oh and of course BOOKS for the school library across from my house. It's a busy but happy time............Happy Trails!

Driving in Mexico

I have no fear driving in Mexico. I've done it for so many years that I just get in the car and go. If I miss a turn I don't always wait for a retorno, I check out the ditch or curbs and make a u-turn (isn't that what all Texas women do?) I always check carefully that a federali is not around or another car that will think I'm crazy and I'm always safe and have never had any problems. In fact, I missed the turn into the US Customs lane last fall when driving to Texas and I saw them over there waiting for me at the border and so I looked out, noticed the esplanade and just drove over it. It's safer then backing down the road, I reasoned. The US Customs guys were laughing when I pulled in - a first in all the years I've crossed the border. One muttered and asked me if I had ever driven the Indy 500 and I grinned and said no. THEN when they wanted to check the back of the Pathfinder and I showed them that I had 30 stone angels in the back of the car, they just shook their heads and told me to go on. I was taking the angels to a woman in Houston. I love incongruous things like that that happen in my life. Actually I had a grin on my face for about 5 miles at the looks on the Customs guy's faces. I added a little humor to their boring day.

Atrip to Mineral de Pozos

Pozos is a semi-abandoned mining town about 45 minutes from San Miguel. The articles in the San Miguel newspaper tout it as "the next San Miguel", it probably has 1000 inhabitants or maybe a few more or less. In it's "heyday" it had over 70,000 occupants! The walls of many of the homes, mining offices and schools are still standing. It is quite interesting and amazing. Pozos is at 7800 ft. so it is always cooler then San Miguel which is at 6200 ft. elevation. It was a lovely day and we explored the little shops (3) that had geodes and minerals for sale as well as ancient musical instruments. Then we drove up into the mountains "exploring" and John got out of the car to photograph some century plants. Hence this photo. John is over 6 ft tall and I want you to notice the size of these century plants! They must be more then a century old for heaven's sake. A fun Sunday afternoon in the country!

Easter (Semana Santa) 2007

As usual, I swore that I wasn't going to take any pictures after the box full of shots I have from all the years past, but alas, what's one more roll..........so I did and I got some interesting shots of the procession but I LOVE this little boy - pure innocence! Don't you just love his feather wings?