Thursday, February 13, 2014

Conflict Avocados and Other Issues




A Marvelous Road Trip

We're back  All in one piece and had a great time.  Now, we know that you worry when we journey forth into the outback of Mexico but let me tell you two things:  1)  Nobody is interested in killing old, befuddled gringos on the road (it's a little insulting actually) and;  2)  you never have clarity here about what is going on at any time or why.  So... here we go.  While planning the trip we had decided to go to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve because they are beautiful and they are declining at a horrific rate. This is largely because people insist on having manicured lawns and will not allow milk weed and other less orderly plants to overtake their yards and as the butterflies migrate from north to south they are starving. Reform North America!  Be the first on your block to plow up your meticulously tended, expensive lawn and reseed with milk weed.  Please.  Probably few takers, so we will move on.   Luzma (our friend on the trip with husband Stanley) talked to folks about the Monarchs who told her "Ayee, Luzma, maybe not now.  It is not so safe off the toll roads (Cuotas).  So, like good, reasonable people we agreed.  But EVERYBODY agreed that Morelia (the Capitol of Michoacan) was safe so off we trotted to bask in the wonders of Morelia --which is gorgeous.

We checked into this boutique hotel (yes, they have intruded on Mexico where they used to be just  hotelitos) and it was grand.  Central courtyard, beautiful rooms, nice breakfast ($100 USD/night -- can't resist the price thing) and one block from the Plaza where life hums 24/7.  We enjoyed 24 hours in Morelia and moved on to Puebla.  Shortly after arriving in Puebla we caught on the news that they had arrested one of the top honchos of the Knights Templar Cartel in MORELIA where they apprehended him while he hid in a closet.  Michael turned to me and said "We never unpacked.  Did you check the closet?" See point two.  There is never clarity.  They didn't catch him frolicking in the Butterfly Reserve did they?

The courtyard of our hotel.
The inner courtyard as viewed from outside our room.

The sitting area outside our room. Notice the solution to handicap access to the floor above.

How many pigeons can fit on a fountain?


Normally Deirdre runs from clowns, but she found this one entertaining & fascinating...



as did the many people gathered in the plaza...


especially when he started juggling the machetes.

Puebla is about an hour away from Mexico City so we had shed the lawlessness of Michoacan for the warm bosom of the Distrito Federal.  Nobody tolerates bad behavior here it seems, so all is cool.  We got a guide (very nice young history major) who took us to Cholula which is about 25 minutes outside of Puebla.  It is an archeological site with pyramids.  Now, you may remember we just scaled pyramids in Mexico City a scant month ago.  Well, now there were more.  "More PYRAMIDS?"  Deirdre moans. This means climbing and heights -- two of Deirdre's least favorite things.  But no.  Not just that. These feature tunnels.  Tunnels into the pyramids.  Dark, close, clastrophobic (Phobia #3) tunnels in an area beset by seismic activity.  Oh, God, numerous phobias erupt as if in a rash.  I am heartened that Luzma opines about 300 yards into the tunnels that she thinks that they are wonderful, but could they be over now. But no.  They go on for way too long.  The guide points to a  smaller tunnel off the main tunnel and speaks for too long about what it is,  then another one, then another one.....  Luzma and I exchange glances that bespeak "If we killed her and made a run for it would it be better?"  But, having been raised by good mothers we stifle our desires and endure until we see....


An interesting mosaic in a restaurant in Puebla.

A colorful monument at the glorieta (roundabout) in Puebla.


The church of San Francisco in Puebla
The colorful tile wall of the Palacio Federal.

Puebla had some very interesting architecture, like this building...

with an iron facade on the side.

The tile work & mosaics on this building were also very interesting.

This model shows how pyramids were built on top of older pyramids, with the Spanish building a church on the topmost pyramid at Cholula.

The light at the end of the tunnel inside the pyramid of Cholula.

The artist is demonstrating how he takes colored straw & places it on a board with a sticky substance to produce...

a picture like this... 

or pictures like this.

The church at the very top of the pyramids at Cholula.

Deirdre on the long ascent to the very top.

Even more steps to reach the church at the very top.

We finally reached the church at the top.

The view from the top was worth the long climb.

We stopped at another church with a very colorful entry way into the courtyard of the church.

From left to right, our guide, Stanley, Luzma and Deirdre.

The tile work on this church was spectacular. There are 365 churches in Puebla, so you can visit one church every day of the year. 



The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Thank God.  Now we can shop.  One of the most fascinating parts about traveling around Mexico is the artisans that you encounter at every turn.  In Morelia there were amazing copper smiths and beautiful textiles and ceramics.  In Puebla, they do exquisite Talavera ceramics and needle work.  In Oaxaca it is hand woven rugs, intricately painted wooden animals, jewelry and again, excellent textiles.
We had a great guide in Oxaca who took us to the Monte Alban archeological site.  Please don't make me talk about it.  More pyramids.  More whining and fear from Deirdre.  She sees a blind woman and mentally compromised girl being led down the pyramid steps and she STILL cannot summon the resources to stop sniveling about walking off a cliff face on steps the size of an infant's instep.  She rationalizes that the blind woman can't see what she is up against and the other person may not comprehend it, but she knows these are lame, lame, lame excuses.  She does it but hates it.

Oh, but back to shopping!  In Oaxaca only five families are certified by the state because they use only natural, locally obtained dyes for their rugs.  So, we sauntered on over to the workshop of Nelson Perez Mendoza who numbers among the five.  This workshop supports his entire extended family and, I suspect, handsomely. The photos  will tell most of the tale.  His wool (and alpaca) was exceptionally soft and fine.  If you've seen Mexican sheep you know that they are rather rough and gnarly.  He revealed sheepishly (sorry) that he obtains his Merino wool from Australia and New Zealand.  But the dyes are Mexican and that  is what counts.  Each rug is hand loomed and must be loomed by the same person start to finish (well, with his standards anyway) because each person's tension on the loom is different and it will show.  Maybe to some eyes.  Probably not to mine.  On a 9X12 rug they can accomplish 4 centimeters in an 8 hour day.  Thus, one rug takes months. Thus they are not cheap. Thus, we bought a very small rug.  But very fetching.

The pyramids at Mitla.

The designs you see in the photo above are made by carving and interlacing the stones.

More pyramids at Monte Alban which were more numerous & impressive than Mitla in size.

Sellers at Monte Alban trying to sell Deirdre objet d'art --- she wasn't buying.

Our guide Apolo exhibiting one of the objects for sale.

The tallest pyramid and the steps leading to the top.

The name Monte Alban (White Mountain) came from the white flowers on the trees around the site.

Deirdre, Stanley our guide & Luzma resting in the shade, while Michael climbed the pyramid.

The view of the many other pyramids from the top of the highest pyramid.

Some of the colorful Oaxacan rugs for sale, displayed outside the wall of this store.
The Church of Santo Domingo in Oaxaca (a UNESCO World Heritage site).


The interior of the church is what makes it so special...

because it is hand carved and coated with gold leaf.

The photograph hardly does justice to the ornateness of this church.

A woman on the street in native Oaxacan dress selling her wares.

Nelson Perez Mendoza in front of the many items used to create the natural dyes for the wool. In the background are many of the wools which have been dyed.

Deirdre demonstrating the cochineal dye (this comes from female insects which are found on a specific type of cactus).

When lime juice (an acid) is added to this dye it turns orange.

When lime water (a base) is added it turns purple.

An example of the hand woven rug ...

and another example ...

and yet another. Amazing workmanship all done by hand with all natural dyes.

Oaxaca is also famous for its mole --- complex sauces, with some having over 30 ingredients. This shows three different types of mole.


We witnessed an organized demonstration while we were in Oaxaca.

A ceiling in the museum next to the church of Santo Domingo.

A cactus garden next to the museum with an amazing variety of cactus.

A very unusual cactus at the museum.

Oaxaca is known for a delicacy unique to the area --- fried grasshoppers (shown above on the far right).

One of the great advantages of living in Mexico is the readily available supply of fresh vegetables year round.


Luzma and Stanley are starting a cooking school/tableware store in Ajijic this spring so we spent some time investigating items for their store which was diverting.  Normally, we are not big shoppers but the combination of their shop, really intriguing craftsmanship, and a new house spurred us on.

We concluded the trip with an overnight stop in Queretaro on our way back to Ajijic.  We met up with Luzma's daughter, finance and niece and they took us to a Oaxacan bar/restaurant which was more Oaxaca than Oaxaca was-- which was strange.  We drank Mezcal margaritas out of bowls.  Mezcal is like tequilla but, I sensed, stronger and is distilled from the heart of the maguey plant (a type of agave).  While Tequila is distilled from the heart of the blue agave plant. There is a saying attributed to Oaxacans regarding mezcal: "para toda mal, mezcal, y para todo bien tambien" (for everything bad, mezcal, for everything good, the same). Once sobered up the following day, we headed home.  The GPS once more subverted us and sent us into one of those zones that you are not supposed to go into but we emerged in one piece so it was all OK.  I am beginning to think that the GPS is trying to kill us, however.

Finally: Conflict Avocados

You have, no doubt, heard about conflict diamonds.  You know, in Africa.  Very bad stuff.  Well, Mexico, it turns out has conflict Avocados (Oro de Verde).  For months we have been hearing about vigilantes in Michoacan who are fighting the cartels to regain control of their villages.  They are headed by a Doctor who is very articulate and clearly has more than the average bear's dose of bravery.  I mean these cartel folks are rather easy to provoke.  Well, it turns out that the vigilantes are doing a far better job of getting rid of the cartel guys than the government (read  Municipal Police, State Police, Federales, Marines and Army).  So the local police ask the vigilantes to give up their weapons and  to trust them for protection and the vigilantes say: "Are you crazy?  You people are incompetent -- if not on the payroll of the cartels-- and no way, Jose, are we giving up the gats."  The vigilantes then go on to retake several towns and scoot the cartels on their way.  All this time, we have assumed that the cartels are running the villagers out of their towns so they can have free access to move their drugs, grow their drugs etc.  But Non!  Well, in part.  But it turns out that Michoacan is a huge grower of avocados -- orchards everywhere.  And the cartels want the avocados.  I mean how strange is all of this? Very.  So, just contemplate the origin and the conflict involved with the avocado you ate as guacamole while enjoying (or not) the Super Bowl.  Whole new slant on things, eh?

Onward!

The next two months are the months of visitors, Mardi Gras and Semana Santa.  Our pals flee the North, which has been particularly inhospitable this year, to join us in the celebration of Mardi Gras, Lent and Easter but MOSTLY warmth. We love the chance to introduce them to our world and, by and large, (actually 100 %) they have said that they truly have enjoyed it.  So, we wish you a less brutal winter, a beautiful spring and, if not, consider coming to see us.  Take care.

P.S.  Sorry this is so late but didn't get it out before our guests started arriving.   Will do better and update soon (maybe).  Happy almost Valentine's Day to one and all.