Down by the bay, Where the watermelons grow...

Ale went to a place called Huejutla in Hidalgo to see some farmers organization there about selling produce in "fair trade" sales near Mexico City Churches. I don't have a lot of new photos to show anyone, so I figure these nice countryside shots she took of rural Mexico on her drive to Hidalgo would be just as nice.



Here you can see how the terrain changes. The drier land around Mexico City slowly gives way to a mountainous landscape.





Now it's getting greener, lusher, hotter and moister. I know lusher is wrong, but it sounds right.



Check out this photo she took of a fighting cock farm. Fighting cocks is popular in Mexico, but I've never seen it in progress.





Here's my favorite photo. Sandias o plenty. Watermelon is popular here too, more popular than fighting cocks I think, but why make everything a competition? Mexico has so many farmers that there's always fresh fruit and veggies even in the most remote places and the quality of most things is usually really good.

Woah.

Uh, remember in my last post when I talked about the slightly sleazy vibe I got from Laredo? Well it seems I just slipped "under the wire" as it were before some pretty sticky stuff hit the fan in the sheriff's office. IE: all hell broke lose. Drugs, gangs, guns, assassinations, and lawlessness seem to be the flavor of the day on the spicy side of the line in Nuevo Laredo since last tuesday. I guess it's not so easy to keep the peace when there's so much drug money at stake or in your pocket. The new police chief was assassinated hours after accepting his former job. High turnover. Apparently the army are now patrolling the streets and tons of cops are in jail. Grim. And to cap it all off the US dept. of whatever is advising everyone to stay away from the bordertown, of course, because- they had nothing to do with it. All I can say is I really hope they catch these guys. Anyway, enough glibness. "El Norte" seems to have it's problems right now and as Yoda would say, "deep seated, they are..." Geez, what a crappy post! If you want the real goods- google it, read up from the news that's been fitted to print, briefly raise your eyebrows and say "woah" to yourself and then check out what's happening to MJ, like we all do. Uh, bye.

It's getting hot in here...

It's been quite hot lately. There's been a lot of hot stuff going on:



No, it is not a reverse angle detail of me on the toilet after a night of tequila and street tacos but the volcano in Colima is looking like it might erupt in a big way. They have evacuated the surrounding area. Sometimes you forget that there are several active volcanoes in central Mexico and one is quite close to Mexico City. Nothing like rivers of bubbling lava and searing pyroclastic flows to remind you. It's common to see Popocatépetl smoking away in the distance on a clear day. I guess that's one reason the soil around here is so rich. The land giveth the land taketh away to quote old time speak of some kind. Ah Geez, I just hope no one gets hurt!

Speaking of hot I also went to the US border over the weekend to resolve a, visa issue. It's a long haul to Monterrey (13 hrs on bus), but an interesting ride through some of the country's northern desert-like lands. Here's some a those desert like lands out the bus window.



I like the desert. It's so huge and hot and scary. It's hot in the Monterrey area this time of year. I think it was around 40 degrees or so.



Monterrey is a fairly modern and industrial city near the American border. I think it's the third largest city in Mexico and it felt pretty big city to me. It didn't seem like much of a tourist destination but there are some nice mountains immediately surrounding the city and it didn't seem as bad as the cultural, industrial wasteland that many southerners make it out to be, but I wouldn't totally know either. That's a massive Mexican flag flapping on top of that small mountain in the background. They seem to have many of these all over the country and often on top of hills and mountains.

A friend in Monterrey drove us to the border-town of Laredo Texas which we also visited. Laredo is sort of a poorer Bellingham in the desert. Lots of outlet stores, lots of big-assed t-shirts, big assed stores and, well, big assed people too. There are a lot of big assed things in Texas and I believe many Texans take pride in the "big assed" stereo-type. Texas doughnuts, Texas mickeys, Texas chainsaw massacres... It seems as if somethings bigger than it should be to extreme proportions- then it's Texan. There is a Mexican side and an American side to Laredo so it's a weird and interesting place. It felt a little sleazy to me actually; car dealerships and stereo wholesalers everywhere. Everyone on both sides speaks mainly Spanish, but in the US, everything's in English. I realized that I hadn't heard English for awhile and in the Starbucks lineup to boot. It sounded strange and foreign to hear so many people speaking it along with that Starbucks Jazz sampler kind of muzak that I know so well from Vancouver. I guess that's how it is when you cross borders though.



Then we went to this strip of strip malls and did a little cross-border shopping. By the time we went back to Mexico I was pretty exhausted and the experience of the full bore weekend (bus rides, fluorescent night shopping at Wal Mart etc. on the hot strip) was so tiring that I was actually relieved to get back into Mexico! I was like, "oh, thank god. Back in safe Mexico; taco stands, stray dogs, window-side money changers and squeegee washers- thank god! And of course the difference is that extreme the second you cross over.



... and here it is. This is on the Mexican side looking to the US. Many of the people walking back to Mexico appeared to be getting off work. I guess a lot of people are american "guest workers" or whatever that new-fangled green card legislation calls them.

Also I learnt that there are mosquitos in Mexico City. I've been getting bitten by them nightly. I don't know how they survive here as I don't know of many cities that have mosquitos, but they are here and they are crafty too. They hide like cockroaches when you turn on the lights and then come back when you're in bed. Gotta put in some screens up or something. Well- till next time. Keep bakin in the sunshine if you have it-

Ice Cream

Hi again. Here's some more dirt on DF and some stuff to keep you here and let you know that I still post to this blog. It's hotter here now and much the same. I saw the new Star Wars the other day. It was better than the last two, but still fell short of the older versions in my opinion. R2D2 was way too animated. I blame crappy acting. Just put a midget or a kid in there. I've been keeping busy and I'm starting to get more ESL clients. Unfortunately most of the classes are at night or in the very early morning before and after work so it's kinda a weird schedule.





Helados (ice creams) are popular in Mexico and are really good. I think I posted a picture of a neveria in an older blog entry, but here's another great one just down the street. Both were founded in the 50's or something and have changed little since. They don't have the 100 flavors like the newer places in Vancouver but they do have tables, chairs, waiters, chrome trim and those green milkshake makers. You can get your ice cream in a steel cup which is cool. Both places were founded by Italian immigrant families so the quality's there. Hmmm... I could go for some now.





check out the menus. These are the originals as you can see. Those drawings don't even look appetizing. One of the rare occasions where the real thing is better than the picture on the menu.

Mi amigos en Mexico

My bestest friends from fair Canada came to Mexico for a visit and I think it's fair to say that a good time was had by all. I guess it's pretty easy to lure friends and family to Mexico as opposed to uh, well... other places that are not luring. My friends came to see the sights and see them they did. Fresh juices, Mezcal, tacos, fishes, fruit, dancing, and long second class bus rides in which you have to push start your own bus and be sat upon were all enjoyed/endured. One unique thing was that we went to a protest in support of the newly ousted Mayor of DF, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. This guy seems to be loved by many of the regular folk here and despised by the few industializers who don't like his "liberal" politics. He's seen as a man of the people and to his credit he's seen fit to spend scads of money on social services and infrastructure during his tenure. Right wingers don't like him because he wastes too much money, doesn't give enough to private enterprise blah blah... but it seems as if he's a lot more concerned about what Chilangos (Mexico Cityites) think than many politicians of years gone by. IE: he hasn't gunned down any student protests etc. Anyway, there were apparently hundreds of thousands people at this protest and some colorful displays of political unity and drive. Mis amigos spent the a week drinking and partying and generally seeing the sights and braving the street food and metro system. They would come home tired every day with sore feet and burbling stomaches, but who doesn't? I think, diarrhea notwithstanding, they had a good time. There's a phrase you don't hear so often.







As we walked toward the centre of the Zocalo the crowds increased. By the time we arrived, it was impossible to enter the Zocalo. All the streets leading to it were packed and people were pouring out as there was no more room. Here's a picture of one of the many intricate floats in the parade. I'm not totally sure what the Trojan Horse made of apple crates was saying, but it's pretty cool.





We journeyed to Oaxaca city once again and met more friends there and we all headed to the coast to Mazunte where we had rented a palapa for the rest of the week. We then proceeded to drink, eat, sunburn in the intense heat and generally laze around on the beach. This is near Puerto Escondido which is a popular surf and tourist destination. The climate is very hot and dry for most of the year and the coast is dotted with great swimming and surfing spots. We saw sea turtles, dolphins, numerous dogs and drunken euro-hippie types. The food was delicious and the hospitality great.





If you don't use sunscreen here you are insane, nonetheless, we all got burned. We went to a mangrove where we saw a croc repopulating farm and some dolphins again. Anyway, I'm still kinda angry I didn't get more and better photos of this trip but it was fun and everyone got a chance to relax. I hope we can do the same again soon....

Wedding in Oaxaca

Our friends had a wedding in Oaxaca which was fun and amazingly well appointed. It was a relatively small affair I'm told as many Mexican weddings have a reputation for being huge and even lasting into the next day. It was one of the most swank weddings I've ever been to that's for sure. First of all this is the "Church" the ceremony took place in- not bad. And in case you have your doubts-


check out the inside... Are there enough gilded, encrustations for you?


Also, outside after the ceremony they had some traditional Oaxacan musicians and dancers who celebrate the marriage with these giant puppets (bckgrnd).


The bride and groom enjoy their first dance at the reception on a terrace in one of Oaxaca's more high gloss hotels. The globes of light were a nice touch me thought. Ahhh... weddings: the food, the people, the hosted booze. Everyone goes home happy.

No Rabbits No Eggs

I'm back from the long weekend and my mother's visit to Mexico. We all had a great time rockin out in Michoacan. Which is about 3 hours drive from DF west and a beautiful place. Michoacan is a very green state for Mexico and has lakes, forest, mountains and a coastline. A friend of Ale lent us their summer home for the weekend so we rallied some friends and drove to a beautiful little town called Patsquaro for Easter religious processions, market shopping, and general lazing around. As with most areas of Mexico, many indigenous people with a rich culture live and work around here. There are many small picturesque towns in this area with some nice markets for buying trinkets, eathenware, clothing and art. It was interesting to go somewhere where there were many tourists, but mostly Mexican tourists. My only criticism is maybe that people were burning their garbage too close to where they live. Burning plastic smells gross, but what else are you gonna do when the plastic just keeps piling and your city has no dinero for fancy dumps recycling, incinerators etc...? Now I know.



My friend was having a b-day and his girlfriend gave him a pinata. The other place is Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. Colonial buildings and churches galore. We drank Tequila and danced the night away.


This is the isle of Janitzio. Apparently during the "Day of the Dead" celebration Mexicans come from far and wide to see this place lit up with candles and processions of boats carrying altars on the lake. This place is really neat. The entire island is covered in a carless little town with mazes of streets leading up to the large statue on the top who is Morelos holding up a revolutionary fist salute to the sky.


These guys fish for the tiny fish that are eaten deep fried here with salsa, kind of like french fries.



This is the small town of Zirahuen, which is on a beautiful lake in the mountains. Lots of shacks and burros and tourists, but the vibe here is pretty small town which was relaxing after the craziness of DF. Here we are outside a small store and I'm not sure if that is a burro or a mule, but you get the idea.


A procession of effigies and candles went through the town to the church for their Easter vigil. It was solemn and quiet but it was pretty interesting for a guy like me to see people getting so serious about their religion. I felt kind of touristy and uninvolved, but it would've been much worse if I'd tried to involve myself I think. Much much worse. Many people were lugging crosses and effigies and holding small red candles which looked beautiful in the full moonlight. God was the flavor of the day and being served up in big portions as people had come from far and wide to participate in Easter masses, processions and vigils- no rabbits no eggs, just the real Easter deal. Down here when most people say Feliz Navidad or Semana Santa, they're talking about JC no funny stuff- no "happy Holidays" no "X-mas" Ukrainian egg multicultural blah blah. Fortunately, Mexicans still seem to like to party on all holidays, so it's not like everyone's crying and praying the whole time. Just don't think that because she's drunk on tequila and screaming at the top of her lungs that she doesn't have a cross over her bed.