Christmas in Oaxaca

Hard to believe it's come and gone already.
Of course, things are done a little differently here in Mexico than in the States
One of the really nice things is the lack of commercialism! Christmas here is not about all the things you need to buy for your loved ones. It's more about religious and family and friends.
They definitely have their own traditions here. On the 23rd of Dec., in the Zocalo( the square in the center of town) is the Radish Festival. People come from all over and spend the day carving radishes into all sorts of scenes. Some are very intricate, talk about food art. They are then judged and put on display. We went early so we could see them because it gets extremely crowded. I took a bunch of pictures but only a few came out, so sad!
On Christmas Eve, we also went to the Zocalo to watch the parade. The churches in the area build floats and each float has their statue of the baby Jesus. The children dress up and of course, you have your Mary and Joseph and all the attendants. At midnight the baby Jesus is taken back to the church and I'm sure some very tired children put to bed!
As you stand and watch the parade, there are fireworks going off right over your head and under your feet. There are also people selling egg shells stuffed with confetti which you smash on each other heads. There were bits of eggshell on my pillow the next morning. Fun was had by all!
Christmas day was not very Mexican, Mary Jane keeps her heritage alive by cooking a traditional Canadian Christmas turkey complete with stuffing. Very yummy, we even had cranberry sauce, which is hard to find here!
All in all, a wonderful way to spend Christmas, though I did miss my family and old friends.
I'm off to the coast to celebrate New Years, let you know how it goes when I get back.

Back to the Mountains

I'm really not spending all my time in the mountains, but it's so beautiful it's hard not to blog about my trips up there.
Last weekend we took a horse tour up into the mountains. I didn't ride, my job was supply crew. Mary Jane took 2 riders up to a small village called El Carrizal. First we loaded the horses into the trailer and I drove them to a village called Diaz Ordaz. The three riders saddled up and off they went for a 6 hour ride up into the hills. I drove the trailer to the village of Llano Grande, about two hours of driving over the mountains. Gorgeous views! I dropped off the trailer in Llano Grande then drove the van down to El Carrizal to meet the riders. The village is very picturesque, perch on the side of the mountains.
Eco tourism is trying to take hold and most of the villages are building lovely little cabins. Each with fireplaces and private bathrooms. Really very nice. The village also had a small shed, where they set up a makeshift stable for the horses.
I brought the food for the horses and the riders luggage and breakfast. When Mary Jane, Ellen and Mario arrived we fed the horses and then went to the local trout farm and had lovely fresh trout for dinner. Umm!
I got the fires going in everyone's cabin, gets cold up there at night. Once everyone was warm and toasty, we drank some Mezcal and they told me of the day's ride. I'm hopefully going to be able to do the ride soon.
Next morning we were up bright and early. A lot of the folks from the village came to watch us feed and take care of the horses. They also had lots of questions for Mary Jane about how to get more tourists up to the village.
The villagers provided us with a local guide, who showed up on a little mountain pony complete with a foal at her side. Off went my riders, with their guide, further up the mountain to where I had left the trailer. I met them with lunch for the horses and we humans had lunch at a local comida.
We then loaded up the horses and headed home. It was a great way to spend a few days and get to know new people. Ellen is from Northern California and owns a racing stable there. You'd think she wouldn't want to spend her vacation with horses. She told us she never has time to pleasure ride at home, so she really enjoys her horses vacations. She has seen alot of the world from horseback. Mario is from Malta, he and I have a lot in common, as he has owned and worked in pubs most of his life. He now works on pleasure yachts in the Med, not a bad way to make a living!
I having a hard time believing Christmas is just down the road. I haven't been bombarded with ads, which is very nice. Hope everyone is have a great X-mas season. Drink some eggnog for me!

Capulalpam

Say that three times fast!
Last Sunday found us heading up into the mountains again, this time to Capulalpam. Capulalpam is in the Sierra Norte but quite a drive from Bonito Juarez. Both villages are part of the Pueblos Mancomunidos, which consists of 7 villages, within 200km of each other, that pool their resources. Capulalpam is beautiful, perched on the side of the mountains and dominated by a Dominican church. I have been told that Mexico was divided up between the Dominican and the Jesuits, when the Spanish came calling. At least, this part of Mexico.
The cast of characters on this trip consisted of me, Shoshanna, Alejandro, Anya, a lovely Dutch lady spending a few days at Casa Sagrada, Daniel, who owns a massage studio in Oaxaca and Omar, the rock star. Ok, so he's not a rock star, he is actually a masseuse, but he does play in a band. One of the reasons for the trip was to look for river rocks for the hot stone massages they do at the studio. If you've never had one I highly recommend it.
It's almost a 2 hour trip up and down the mountain switchbacks with postings every now and then about "curva peligrosa". For my non-Spanish speaking friends that's dangerous curve. Well, let me tell you they should put signs on all of them! Alejandro is a great driver so we made it to the village with no problems.
Of course once there we had to eat. There were ladies cooking all sorts of wonderful food in the square behind the church, so we sat down and dug in. Those of us less stout of heart ordered the chili rellenos, stuffed with pollo(chicken) and wrapped in a tortilla. Spicy!!!!!!!!!! Omar on the other hand, ordered a soup made with cow(maybe, I think it was goat) stomach, he said it was good but even he didn't eat all the strange pieces floating around in his bowl! See picture above. When one of the ladies heard it was my birthday, I got a great big hug and a wish for many great years to come.
We then headed for the Traditional Medicine clinic to have a look around. When the clinic was opened, quite a few years ago, they had 45 healers. Many of them have passed on but they handed their knowledge down to the next generation. Lucky for us! Some of us got traditional massages, quick but very relaxing!
We found a great place to look for rocks, pretty little waterfalls and a dammed off area that the local puebla(village) uses for swimming.
On the way home we almost got creamed by a bus coming round one of the curva pelagrosas but Alejandro's quick thinking saved us. It was really close, could see the white of the bus driver's eyes!
When we got back to the valley we headed to Shoshanna and Alejandro's casa . A wonderful dinner, beers, a few shots of mezcal and the next thing you know we were sitting around the firepit in the back yard singing songs and listening to the boys play guitar. A great day and a nice way to celebrate my getting younger!

Turkey Day

I know I'm a couple days late, but Happy Thanksgiving to my American family and friends.
As I'm sure everyone realizes they don't celebrate T-day here in Mexico, but this afternoon I'm going to the house of an expat to eat turkey and stuffing. I'm beginning to think I need to go on a diet the food here at Casa Sagrada is wonderful and bountiful!
Tomorrow I'm heading up to the mountains to help the masseuses look for river rocks for the hot rock massages. I'll post pictures when I get back.
Started Spanish lessons on Wednesday, so hopefully I can communicate a little better. Wish me luck!

Sierra Norte

On Thursday, I went up to the Sierra Norte, which is the mountain range that rises up behind Casa Sagrada. I went up with Shoshanna, Alejandro and their friend Willie, who had just ridden his motorbike from Homer, Alaska. You guys think I'm adventurous.
We drove the main road, dirt with lots of ruts, to the village of Benito Juarez. As we made our way slowly up the switchbacks the vegetation changed from cactus to pine forest. Really incredible how the ecosystem changes so fast. Benito Juarez sits at about 8,500 feet and is the gateway to a lot of smaller villages in the mountains. Incredible views from up there, I took picture and will try to post them.
When we got to the village we left the car and hiked up the trail. If you think you are in shape try walking up a trail at 8,500 feet. Wow!
When we came back down we stopped in the village to watch some of the Independence day fiesta. All the children were dressed up and dancing in native dress. Very cute.
While we were there, we met Shoshanna's friend's Elizabeth, Juan and their son Chai. Chai is 4 years old and one of the boys dancing in the square.
Elizabeth has just started the children's library in the village and doing it all on donations. If you know anyone who can donate Spanish Children's books let me know!
At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon we headed back down to Teotitlan, felt like we were back at sea level. Going up 3,000 feet from 5,000 to 8,000 and back down again in 6 hour can be kind of hard on the body, especially when you've spent all summer at 6 feet.
On Friday I went into Oaxaca city to hear Alejandro's band play. Alejandro is the shaman here at Casa Sagrada, he runs the Temascal, the Mexican equivalent of the sweat lodge and he also practices native and eastern medicine. He plays with a couple of different bands, usually percussion. The band we heard on Fri. night is very good, unfortunately the sound system wasn't!
Back to the Casa on Sat. to take some folks riding. 3 adults and 3 adolescent boys! Everyone had a great time and the horses were wonderful as always.
Hey, I got some photo's posted, I'm a computer geek now:-) Three of the views are from the top of the Sierra Norte, the top one is looking down on Benito Juarez with Teotitlan way down in the valley, the 2nd, a view down the other side of the mountain,then Shoshanna, Willie and Misha, t some of the kids and the last is the view from my room at Casa Sagrada. Not a bad place to hang out for a couple months!

Tuesday

Just finished a great 2 hour walk, on horseback, of course. Had 3 people, who are staying in Oaxaca, come out for a ride. Only one of them knew anything about horses, but they all had a great time. We took them by the dam and around the lake which is just behind the village and then up through the back country. I promise to take picture soon, not the best day today because it's rather cloudy and a little chilly. Ok, so it's in the 60's.
On a totally different note, I just finished reading a book called "Three Cups of Tea". It's about a man who has been building schools in Pakistan and Afganistan, I highly reccomend it to everyone. Really shows you that 1 person can make a difference.

The rest of the week

Must say things got a little easier as the week progressed. Sarah and I packed my luggage and hers and, of course Mehnu, into her Mini Cooper and set out for Oaxaca the next morning. It's a long but beautiful drive from Mex. City to Oaxaca. You wind your way up into the Sierra mountains to about 8,000 feet and then back to about 5,000, which is the altitude of the Oaxacan valley. Spectacular scenery that reminds me a little of southern Utah.
We arrived in the village of Teotitlan at about 5:30pm and were met by Mary Jane Gagnier at the village market. She led us through the back streets so we could find the easiest way to get the Mini up the steep and rough roads that lead to Casa Sagrada.
Mary Jane is the owner and operator of Casa Sagrada and the woman who will be providing me with a roof over my head for the next few months. She is originally from Canada, but has been living in Oaxaca for 25 years.
Sarah, Mehnu and I gladly found our rooms, dumped our bags and made ourselves at home. Mehnu met the resident labs, Choco and Luciena, and acted liked he couldn't be bothered. Walked right under their noses with a look on his face that said, if I pretend they are not there they wont see me. Priceless moment! Choco and Luciena are used to cats, so they quickly lost interest.
Sarah's boyfriend, Leo took the overnight bus down, so Sarah would have company on the way home. They stayed til Sunday and made sure I was settled in.
On Sat. we all got on the horses and went for a great ride through the valley, if you didn't realize horses are the big reason I'm here. I thought I was in pretty good shape but 3 hours in the saddle showed me the errors of my ways. Man was I sore!
Also riding with us were a couple from Northern CA, Cynthia and Forrest. They are endurance riders, who have ridden all over the world. Forrest is a retired wine maker and Cynthia owns a couple of restaurants, as you can imagine, we had a lot in common. They were at Casa Sagrada for a week long equestrian vacation, giving us plenty of time to get acquainted.
A couple from Vancouver arrived on Sunday. Jamie and Alise were also here for a riding vacation. Jamie is a ship builder and Alise is retired from working as an administrator at an art college, where she was instrumental at producing educational TV shows. They have also traveled a lot and have seen much of the world.
I've spent most of the week either riding with these fine folks or ferrying them and the horses to different parts of the valley so they could see some of the many sight to be seen here.
Got to get to my Spanish homework or I'll never learn. Bye for now!

Arriving in Mexico

At 7:15, on Nov 6th, my cat, Mehnu and I got on a USAir flight from Washington DC to Mexico City. We were heading to a small village, called Teotitlan, in the state of Oaxaca to start the next chapter in our lives. I knew it was not going to be an easy trip for either of us, but I don't think either of us was quite prepared.
My dear cat has traveled with me quite a bit but not on an international flight. He didn't complain too much, even though he did spend 12 hours in his carrier. As you can imagine not a happy cat! Everyone was very nice to him, especially the lady who sat next to us on the flight to Charlotte. She even reached in his carrier to give him a scratch!
The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Mex. City at 12:30pm Mex. time. That's when things bogged down, I stood in the immigration line, with a 15 lbs cat on my shoulder, for a little over an hour. Then to the Mexican Agriculture Dept to get Mehnu's papers checked. The gentleman was very nice,but his computer kept freezing up. We were with him for another 30 minutes. Finally all was said and done and we set off to find our bags and my friend Sarah. One good thing about hanging with the Argo guy, was that my bags were waiting for me and everyone else had already cleared customs. No more lines, Woohoo!!!!!!!!!
Sarah had been waiting at the airport for almost 2 hour, what a friend! Off we went to find a taxi and head to her place in the Polanco district of Mexico City. To my friends in DC, don't ever gripe about the traffic, until you have been to Mexico City. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to Sarah's, averaging about 15 mph.
Sarah lives in a huge, lovely apartment in one of the nicer neighborhoods in Mex City and she was soon getting me some food and tea as I got Mehnu settled in the guest room. Was he glad to get out of his carrier! He really is a calm old fellow and he made himself right at home.
After some grub and a couple of cups of good strong tea, I curled up with the kitty for a short nap. I had probably been asleep for about 20 minutes when Sarah knocked on my door to tell me we were being evacuated from the building. Seriously!!!!!!!!!! There was a gas leak and all the buildings in a 10 block area were being emptied out. Sarah and I had to leave the cats, hers and mine, and get the ---- out. We again crawled though traffic and found a restaurant a safe distance away to have some wine and wait it out. Talk about adding insult to injury, my poor cat, sitting in a carrier for 12 hours then getting blown up in a gas explosion but it turned out to be nothing A tanker carrying the stuff they put in natural gas, to make it smell had, sprung a leak. So it was the smell of gas not the gas itself. Anyway we made it back to the apartment, hugged the cats and went to bed. Thus ended my first day in Mexico!