Economics With A Face

October 15, 2005

Mexican Avocados and Chinese Shoes: Free-Trade in the 21st Century

In the summer of 2000, picking up my morning copy of The Wall Street Journal a front page article caught my eye. "Bitter Fruit: Spat Persists Despite Nafta” was its title and it covered the U.S. avocado market. Specifically, it dealt with restrictions on the importation of Mexican avocados and the correspondingly higher prices in San Diego compared to Tijuana. This quote in particular stood out:

" 'The California growers want to control all of the supply -- that way they get the best prices,' complains Ricardo Salgado, who raises avocados on 25 acres outside Uruapan, Michoacan, which has some of the world's lushest groves. 'We'd love to have a bigger selling season, but right now we have to wait for the U.S. Congress to give us permission.' "

California growers claimed, at the time, that weevils and fruit flies in Mexican avocados could destroy Californian crops. Thus, lawmakers had restricted importation to a handful of Northeastern states for only a few months out of the year. The argument behind the law sounded like a dubious claim to me with Tijuana much closer to some California orchards than even Nevada. On the other hand, Salgado’s quote made perfect sense: California growers wanted to restrict the supply so they could sell at monopoly prices.

It got me thinking. A degree in economics, working for an economic consulting firm headed by a University of Chicago economist, and plowing through books by authors such as Milton Friedman and Russell Roberts had all giving me a strong basis in the benefits of free trade. Yet couldn’t all this theory be summed up into one simple question: Where was the justice in the fact that I was able to buy an avocado from someone named Richard in Fallbrook, California, but I could go to jail if I bought an avocado from Ricardo simply because he lived in Uruapan, Mexico? Should the random chance of being born on the opposite side of a border restrict our association in that way?

Put in these terms it seemed much clearer. Yes, any economist can tell you that free trade is efficient, but there was also a strong moral argument to be made. Individuals, I felt, could identify with someone trying to better their life, not by theft or fraud, but through the simple act of voluntary exchange. I, living in San Diego, want guacamole and Ricardo, living in Uruapan, wants to sell me his avocados. Why should anyone have the power to stop such a transaction?

This past August, some five years after I first read the article, I found myself in Uruapan attempting to track down the man who had inspired this thought. Arriving in the small city with only his name I quickly learned a bit more about Ricardo Salgado. It turns out that he was not only an avocado farmer with a small orchard, but he was also the head of APEAM, the group that has been leading the charge to help Mexican avocados gain entry into the U.S. markets. While he was initially a little thrown off when I called his office out of the blue, he agreed to meet with me the following day at 5:00pm.

With time to kill before my meeting with Mr. Salgado, I hired a taxi the next day and spent time touring both avocado packing houses and the orchards that supplied them. In the time since the WSJ article had been published quite a bit had changed with regards to the importation of Mexican avocados. As of January 31st of this year the Mexican fruit is now allowed to enter 47 states year-around and in 2007 importation will expand to all 50 states.

At the San Lorenzo packing house they were clearly taking full advantage of this opportunity. My wife and I toured the facility as workers were getting ready for the arrival of thousands of avocados that would shortly be on their way to Texas. In both the plant, and touring nearby orchards, it was made clear to us that the increased business had boosted their business and the local economy.

More proof of this point was the fact that while the San Lorenzo Empacadora was the largest Mexican owned plant, they were not the largest exporter. Anticipating a change in the law, U.S. companies such as Calavo Growers, Inc. entered the city, bringing with them state-of-the-art technology and jobs to boot. Clearly, Uruapan was benefiting.

Back in California, to many people’s surprise, competition from Mexico was not having the dire effects on growers that many had predicted. This past July, regarding the increased competition from Mexico, the owner of the Del Ray Avocado Packing House in Fallbrook, CA was quoted in the North County Times saying: "It's gone amazingly well… The U.S. market is more developed than we thought. Avocado lovers are eating more of the fruit, and we're getting new consumers."

So, in summary, the Uruapan economy is getting a shot in the arm, California growers are surviving better than expected, and U.S. consumers are now able to enjoy some of the best avocados the world has to offer. It makes you wonder, why didn’t all this come about sooner?

About this same time Mexican newspapers proudly displayed a major bust by the Mexico City police. Two hundred and eighty tons of contraband had been seized in Tepito, an area of the capital known as a market for guns, drugs, and an assortment of stolen merchandise. So what was this illegal merchandise that the papers displayed? Actually, it was none of the previously mentioned items. Instead, the illegal goods were Chinese shoes.

The city of Leon, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico is dependent on the sale of locally produced shoes like Uruapan is dependent on the sale of avocados. When the importation of inexpensive shoes from China made it very tough for local shops in the last few years, politicians passed laws practically prohibiting the sale of Chinese shoes in Mexico. According to one local I spoke to about the matter getting caught with just one pair of illegally imported Chinese shoes could land you in prison.

Was there not a parallel here to the avocado trade between Mexico and the U.S.?

When I told people I met in my travels across Mexico that during my current trip I’d be writing on economics I often got confused looks in return. Statistics on job creation? GDP? What exactly was I going to be writing about?

When I explained that I wanted to write about how economics affects real people and gave the example of how avocados from Uruapan cannot be sold in my home state of California, not only did the confused looks leave their faces but it generally changed into one of enthusiasm. Residents from Sonora to Chiapas would say “That’s a great thing to write about. Why aren’t Mexicans allowed to sell their avocados in California?” It was easy for many to relate with growers in Michoacan and see the injustice in our laws.

Alas, I did not receive a similar reaction when talking about Chinese shoes. Even after pointing out the similarities between California growers lobbying politicians to ban the import of Mexican avocados and shoe makers in Leon lobbying politicians to ban the import of Chinese shoes, many still were not convinced. “It’s different though,” I would hear people say, “We need those laws. The Chinese can make everything so cheap.”

But it isn’t different.

Lost in this government policy designed to protect shoe producers is the fact that the balance of payments must equal zero. If someone in Mexico wants to buy a pair of shoes made in China then there has to be a corresponding person in China that wants to buy something in Mexico. In short, the protection afforded to the shoe producers means less money going to other sectors of the Mexican economy. Why should shoe makers be protected at others’ expense? In addition, no one seems to be looking out for the interests of Mexican consumers who would prefer less expensive footwear.

What's more, the same basic principle of voluntary exchange among two parties applies. But again, despite these arguments, it was harder to evoke the same enthusiasm for people in China that had been displayed for people in Uruapan. But to my pleasure, one noteworthy person did see eye-to-eye with me on these principles: Ricardo Saldago.

After a long talk about all the work he and his organization had put into gaining access to the U.S. markets, I asked him about China. I noticed that one of their recent publications had “Ahora China” written on the front cover along with a picture of a boat outside Shanghai. Earlier in the day, I relayed to Ricardo, some had expressed a concern that China might start producing avocados itself and run Uruapan growers out of business. What did he think of the issue?

“Well,” he replied, “the world is changing. I can’t stop that.” But he continued to say that the way he looked at it he didn’t see China as some sort of enemy. He saw them instead as a billion potential customers. “If I could just get each person in China to buy one avocado a week, wouldn’t that be great for business?”

It was an admirable attitude and Ricardo’s words hit the nail on the head. The world is in fact changing and the truth is that change can be horribly tough. No one wants to make less money, struggle to keep customers, or even change professions altogether. But challenges are a part of life and are not restricted to producers.

Consumers face challenges as well. People have limited incomes and have to pick and choose what they spend their money on. More earnings going to avocados from California or shoes from Leon means less money to spend on other items. It should also go without saying that consumers and producers are not two groups at odds with one another. In real life they are one and the same people.

And while a world with increased trade can make life tumultuous, there is no denying that there are huge benefits to a dynamic economy that is the product of international commerce. Changes in the structure of the economy also create new opportunities. Think if there had been laws protecting all the agricultural jobs that once made up 80% of the U.S. economy? Desirable professions in computer programming, engineering, finance, biotechnology, and loads of other industries might never have been created.

As our meeting came to an end I expressed to Ricardo that, for me, the issue of international trade came down to the belief that individuals should be free to trade with whomever they want, even if that someone lived on the opposite side of a border. He replied that this was how he too viewed the world.

I believe it is here that one the most convincing argument in favor of trade is found. Whether Chinese shoes or Mexican avocados, we must remember that these are goods that are being purchased from another human being. They are individuals who have families, desire better lives, face challenges, yet they happen to live in a different country. What difference should that really make?

In that sense, Ricardo Salgado, by helping to knock down trade barriers, accomplished a noble goal. Back home in California I will soon be able to enjoy Mexican avocados just as I now enjoy my New Balance tennis shoes that happen to have been made in China. Not only does my freedom to buy such products lead to a more efficient economy, but it also leads to a more just one as well. That is an important point for people from the U.S, Mexico, and the rest of the world to remember as we debate globalization in the years to come.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:43 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 15, 2005

Wal-Mart in Teotihuacán

In a recent post over at the Wal-Mart Watch website, a leading critic of the retailer, the topic of Wal-Mart’s disregard for historical preservation sites came up. Among the many examples that were listed, one was of the Wal-Mart store built near the Teotihuacán pyramids outside of Mexico City. Specifically, they cited a Knight Ridder article from October 2004 that stated:

Wal-Mart Built Store on Traditional Mayan Grounds. “A Wal-Mart store rising near the 2,000-year-old pyramids of the Teotihuacan Empire has ignited the wrath of Mexican conservationists and nationalists, who say the U.S. retailer is destroying their culture at the foot of one of Mexico’s greatest treasures… Last week, 63 prestigious artists and intellectuals, in a letter published in Mexican newspapers, asked President Vicente Fox to stop the structure. They see it as a battle pitting Mexico’s heritage against encroaching U.S. influence. Wal-Mart is already Mexico’s largest retailer, with 664 stores in 66 cities, with sales of $12 billion.”

In the comment section Kevin Brancato made the point that the Teotihuacán example was overblown. To back up this claim he quoted my travelogue from our trip to the site.

This drew the response of another reader who posted a link to some photos of the pyramids. He claimed the photos “put it in better perspective” and they demonstrated that putting a store within 1 kilometer of the pyramids would clearly “have quite an effect.”

I thought I would take the opportunity to repost some of the photos and my response to the comments.

Here are a few of the photos that were linked to:

And here is my reply:

The photos in the link you provide do not provide a better perspective. The photo on the top right [the first photo in this post], taken from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon, is particularly deceiving as to how close the town of San Juan and various businesses are located.

The photo is taken looking directly down the Avenue of the Dead, a 2 kilometer stretch that will never be developed. If the photo were to be extended to the right you would see rows of small shops about 200 meters from the base of the pyramid that sell everything from clothing to Coca-cola.

Another kilometer past these shops is the town of San Juan de Teotihuacán. In the town, closer to the pyramids than the Wal-Mart, you will find every kind of shop you would expect to find in a small town. There are internet cafes, small grocery shops, pharmacies, and restaurants that line the plaza when you first drive in.

Following the street off the plaza towards the Wal-Mart (it is actually called “Bodega Aurrera”) you’ll see a huge “Elektra” electronics store pained bright red and yellow. Continue another couple blocks and turn to the right and you will find the Wal-Mart, tucked away in what used to be a vacant lot and further away from the pyramids than any of these businesses. A hotel located next door is similar size and color. The only difference is that the hotel has a large sign outside advertising its presence. The Wal-Mart on the other hand is one of the simpler buildings in town and looks more like a small warehouse with a parking lot.

Here is a picture of the store:

Here is a picture of the town (all businesses pictured are closer to the pyramids than the Wal-Mart):

More interesting to me was the reaction of some people we talked to in the town. We were told that the international press wanted to make it sound like the Wal-Mart was going to be put right next to the pyramids when nothing could be further from the truth. According to people we spoke with, the majority of protesters in San Juan were not residents who thought Wal-Mart was destroying culture, but store owners who did not want to face the increased competition.

Anyone that travels to San Juan and sees where the Wal-Mart is located is going to be hard pressed to come to a different conclusion.

Peter Mork in Antigua, Guatemala Monday, September 12 at 04:34 PM

If anyone is interested in reading the full account of our trip to the pyramids it can be found here.

Posted by Peter Mork at 10:11 AM | Comments | TrackBack

September 6, 2005

Cañon del Sumidero

We woke up early and headed to the town square where we were to catch the shuttle to the Cañon del Sumidero. Naively I thought we might be one of the few people on the trip but the bus ended up full of other backpacking tourists.

After an hour or so of windy roads we reached the river that flowed through the canyon and were soon on a boat. This excursion came into existance when a hydroelectric dam was built in the 70’s, flooding the river and allowing boats to travel up and down the river easily. The lush surroundings have been declared a national park.

It was an impressive journey. There were several crocodiles on the banks of the river, birds, waterfalls, and of course the impressive sheer cliffs that create the canyon. At one point we also had to make our way though a huge backup of driftwood and trash in the river that had collected due to recent rains washing garbage down from the hills. A few men in boats were gathering the trash in bags and hauling it away but they had an enormous task in front of them.

Once back in San Cristobal we made plans to meet Bob, a Londoner who was also on the canyon trip, for dinner. We had a good time drinking a few beers and sharing some traveling stories. Having traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, he gave us some ideas and advice. On this trip, before entering Mexico, he had traveled through the United State’s southwest. In Vegas, he actually won a Texas Hold’em poker tournament at the Sahara. Just as remarkable but much more devestating was his story of being in Phuket, Thailand last December during the tsunami.

Tomorrow it is off to Guatemala so it is our last night in Mexico.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:54 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 5, 2005

Immigration Office

We started our day at the immigration office in San Cristobal. It was shockingly easy. The immigration official that looked at our cards told us it looked like 90 days to her, and she typed it out on the card so we wouldn’t have any problems at the border. Like I said we left the office 10 minutes after we entered both surprised how painless the experience had been.

The day was now free as we had assumed we would be trapped in the immigration office for a good part of the it. We decided to head to the café where Nicolas worked to catch up on some writing and reading. He was there again and we talked with him and another co-worker about everything from Pemex (the state-owned oil company), to languages, to the Zapatistas between coffees and scribbling down posts for the website.

That night, we headed over to a small movie theater and watched a documentary on the recent Zapatista movement. It really left with me with more questions than it gave me answers. Where the general demands were made clear: justice, liberty, democracy for the indigenous people of Mexico, who do indeed face discrimination, the film was short on specifics. Days later I would read that some of Sub-Comandante Marcos’ more recent, specific goals are to unite the political left to fight neo-liberalism. My message to the indigenous groups would be less Marcos and more De Soto (one of my favorite economists who shows the importance of the combination of justice, liberty, democracy, and property rights), which would be the clearest path to better lives.

Tomorrow we’re off on a boat tour of the Cañon del Sumidero. It should be fun.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:50 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 4, 2005

San Juan Chamula and San Lorenzo Zinacantan

We woke up and headed to the north end of town to catch a colectivo to the town of Chamula. The driver absolutely packed the VW bus with anyone looking for a ride to the town; kids sat on parents laps; a man sat in the very back of the van with the supplies people were transporting. And soon we were off. On the way I talked Gerardo, a 17 year old resident of Chamula who worked as a carpenter in San Cristobal. We spoke Spanish, but he admitted that he was still learning, as his native language was Tzotzil . He was a friendly guy and gave us some pointers about the area. San Juan Chamula is a gathering place for a Mayan community of 40,000 Tzotzile people.

The market was in the main square where Tzotzil speaking Mayans were gathered around selling various goods. My first impression was that it was clearly one of the poorest places we had seen in Mexico. Most markets we’ve visited vendors have their own stalls, here many people just laid their goods out across the ground. Chickens and dogs roamed the plaza. Children were approaching us more frequently than in other markets, asking for change or if we could buy them sandals as they were barefoot.

We had to buy tickets to visit the Church that sat just off the main square. We had to promise on our lives that we would not take photos inside. The scene was an interesting mix of Catholicism and traditional Mayan religion. Entering the church, there were no pews nor was there a traditional alter; people sat on the floor. The floor itself was covered with pine needles and rows of burning candles, with thick incense in the air. It was a very unique scene, but you’ll have to head to Chamula yourself to get a look.

We walked around the market. A girl and her little sister approached us trying to sell us woven bracelets. We bought one, but they continued to ask “Cinco peeeeessooos. Poooor favooor.” The older girl talked us into buying her barefoot sister a pair of sandals at a nearby stand. As we walked away, they continued to haggle with the sandal seller (another young girl), perhaps trying to sell the sandals back.

After another hour of touring the small market and the surrounding streets talking to people where we could, we caught another colectivo towards San Lorenzo Zinacantan and were dropped off at a fork in the road about halfway back to San Cristobal. It was peaceful waiting alongside the rural road. It took about 20 minutes to catch a cab (all the colectivos passing were full and would not stop to pick us up), but soon we were in the small town of Zinacantan which is in the middle of a beautiful valley. The Tzotzile community of Zinacantan is known for its flower growing, and it was possible to see the greenhouses dotting the valley.

We took a look at inside the town’s church, which was similar to Chamula’s, although from appearances seemed a bit more traditionally Catholic. Upon exiting we decided to accept the invitation of a young girl named Maria Elena to see her family’s textile shop. She was dressed in traditional Mayan clothing specific to the Zinacantan community that we had seen in San Cristobal as well (evidence that they were from this community) as along the road into town: an embroidered black, blue and purple cape with a dark skirt. We followed her down the dirt road and we asked her where she learned her excellent Spanish, as it was not her native language. “In school,” she replied proudly. Her family’s shop was actually an open air patio in front of their home a few blocks away. Her mother and a few other women came out to show us their goods that were all of excellent quality. Em ended up buying a small scarf (she had given away the one she had to a 6 year old girl who was admiring it in Chamula so it worked out well). We were about to head out and explore some more of the town when they invited us into their home to try some corn tortillas. We accepted, and walked through the house to the kitchen, an open-air, covered structure in the back of the house. Soon were watching Maria Elena cook fresh corn tortillas over an open fire, behind her were the family’s corn fields. We sampled the hot tortillas with queso fresco, pepper, and salsa. They were delicious. Her mother sat down to chat with us.

When we were getting ready to leave I offered them some money for the food but they absolutely refused. I persisted a bit, saying we would have had to pay for a meal elsewhere, but the mother continued to say no and even turned to Maria Elena and told her daughter it was her decision. Maria Elena smiled, but also refused, saying it was their treat. We said good-bye, first giving Maria Elena our contact card. We’re not sure if she has access to the internet anywhere, but maybe someday she’ll be able to contact us.

We rode back into town in another collectivo and called it a night after dinner.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:49 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 3, 2005

USA – 2, Mexico – 0

The day started searching for the post office to buy some stamps and send off some postcards to friends back home. Unfortunately, the lonely planet map was incorrect and put us on the opposite side of town. Eventually we found it though and afterwards headed to a café across the street.

At the café we helped out our waiter, Nicolas, with some Gwen Stephani lyrics he was trying to translate. We made some progress it was tough finding a counterpart in Spanish to the word “Hollaback” since I wasn’t sure what it even meant in English.

Next it was up a switch back trail to take a look at a church that sat atop a hill that overlooked San Cristobal. It was a great view and Em got some pictures of a baby pig on the way up. On the way back down we stopped by a travel agency to make plans to head into Guatemala. Looking at our tourist cards the lady at the front desk thought we should head over to the local immigration office as the number of days we were allowed to travel in Mexico was unclear. It was true. Thanks to the sloppy handwriting of the immigration officer at the airport in Cancun, you couldn’t tell if the number was 20, 30, 80, or 90 days. We had originally asked for 90. If it turned out to be 20 or 30 we would have overstayed our visas and at the minimum would have to pay a fine. The last thing we want to do is to spend all day Monday dealing with immigration officials, or have to pay a steep fine, but I guess it will be better than getting sent back here or to Mexico City from the Guatemalan border if there is a problem.

The Na Bolom museum was interesting. It was actually the former house of a anthropologist/archeologist European couple that had come to San Cristobal in the 40’s and decided to stay to document the way of life of the Lancodon people who lived in the Lancodon Jungle of southeastern Chiapas. The displays did a decent job of portraying the struggle between the desires of some in the community to keep the traditions of old, while others desired more contact with the outside world.

Leaving the museum at about 5:00pm it was still a little too early for the game so we stopped off at another bar/restaurant to get a snack and to kill some time. An hour later, leaving the restaurant, I asked the waiter huddled around the television watching pro-wrestling if they were going to watch the game. “What do you think we are waiting for?” was the reply. I shook my head as they told us Mexico was going to win.

At Café Tuloc the owner wasn’t present but we got a table right in front of the TV. The waiters were glad to see us as we were an excuse to turn the game on in the restaurant. I had to suppress my joy as the U.S. dominated the game. The waiters equally tried to suppress their disappointment. Another patron from San Cristobal left at half-time telling me that he was sure the U.S. was going to win the way Mexico was playing despite the score being 0-0 at the time.

His prediction came true as the U.S. scored twice in the second half to get the victory. Leaving the restaurant I told the disheartened waiters that we would have the rematch in Germany.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:46 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 2, 2005

San Cristobal

Since our Lonely Planet guide is from 2002, in Oaxaca I looked in a bookstore at the just released edition for Mexico. It recommended a great new hotel in San Cristobal at rock bottom prices. I plugged the name and the number into my cell phone so we’d have a good option when we got into town.

Getting off the bus there was yet another sign that this was a popular backpackers’ destination. As we all stumbled off the bus at 9 in the morning, all the passengers were greeted by a throng of salesmen and women with pictures of their hotels and hostels. We took the a pamphlet for what looked to be a decent hostel, but told the guy we already had a place in mind.

Unfortunately, the number I had didn’t work and the taxi driver had never hear of the place. So we instead headed to the hostel whose information we had just received. After checking the place out we actually decided to stay at a nicer place right across the street with a private bathroom that worked out fine.

After getting settled we headed out to get some breakfast. A few blocks off the main square we found a place called Café Toluc. Em was happy as she got a huge plate of fresh fruit. During the breakfast we talked with the owner who gave us some information about the town, some villages around the outskirts, and he also wanted to make sure we came back for the US v. Mexico game tomorrow. We said we probably would and set out to explore.

We located the street that the colectivos left for San Juan Chamula, a nearby village, and explored the market in the center of town over the next few hours. This was the first city we’ve seen where some of the men and women walking around town are dressed in traditional embroidered clothing alongside others who are dressed just as we are. After making our way back to the hotel and relaxing a bit we had a great dinner at a restaurant called El Fogon de Jovel . I had the parrillada chiapaneco , an assortment of grilled meats, chorizo, vegetables and queso fresco that came sizzling over hot coals. It was one of our favorites of the trip.

After dinner we made it back to the hotel where we were once again horrified by the news coming out of New Orleans on CNN. Truly depressing stuff and it was strange watching it from so far away.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:31 PM | Comments | TrackBack

September 1, 2005

My Birthday

Today I turned 29. What did we do to celebrate? Play video games and drink beer? Nope, I’m married. We started the day at a botanical garden.

We showed up at 11:00 for the 2 hour plus tour of the botanical garden in Oaxaca that featured flora and fauna from across the state. It was actually very interesting. Oaxaca is one of the most diverse places on the face of the earth for flora and fauna. By the time it got close to 2:00 we had seen a good deal of it.

After the garden we headed over to another plaza on the north end of town and found a good place to have a nice birthday lunch. It was a seafood restaurant that Em had read about and we both had excellent meals and pretty much stuffed ourselves.

For the rest of the afternoon we finished uploading photos at an internet café. We then picked up our bags at the hostel and caught a taxi to the bus station right as a torrential downpour started. By nine we were on the bus and off to San Cristobal. Nearly everyone on the bus were backpackers just like us which was a new experience. Before long the windy road put us to sleep and so ended my 29th b-day.

Posted by Peter Mork at 6:28 PM | Comments | TrackBack

Heading South

Since our last update, we've visited avocado growers in Uruapan, relaxed with friends in Puerto Vallarta, celebrated a wedding back in Guanajuato, hit up the pyramids in Mexico City (and the Wal-Mart "next-door"), and have now made our way south to Oaxaca (photos to be posted soon). Scroll down to read all about it.

I've also put up my last piece on Cuba. It's really a condensed version of my daily notes with some new commentary. Hope you enjoy it.

We have a few more days in Mexico and then we are off to Guatemala . We'll be posting again soon. Thanks for keeping up with our travels.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:45 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 31, 2005

Blessing of the Animals

Today we adventured around the city of Oaxaca , ran some errands, and tried some more good food. We also finally made it to the post office to buy stamps to get some postcards off.

At 4:00 in the afternoon we headed to the east side of town to La Iglesia de Merced. Today was the annual blessing of the animals at the church. Truthfully, it was hilarious. Dogs, cats, parrots, roosters, horses, and more all dressed up and ready to be blessed. The ceremony lasted about 2 hours and we made sure to get a ton of pictures.

Over dinner, we were approached by a young man that wanted to know if we wanted to be extras in a Jack Black movie called "Nacho Libre" that is going to be directed by the same guy who directed Napoleon Dynamite. Unfortunately, filming isn't for another three weeks so, reluctantly, we had to decline. It's due out in 2007 to 2008 and he said the name would probably change, but it sounds like it will be a funny flick.

Tomorrow is our last day in Oaxaca as we will be catching a night bus to San Cristòbal. We just keep on moving.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:33 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 30, 2005

Reading Material

Today, after breakfast, we dropped off our dirty clothes at a laundry mat on the corner and then found a hostel for some cheaper accommodations. The place we found is only a few blocks farther from the main plaza but considerably cheaper.

Once we were settled we set out to explore the town. We found a fantastic bookstore and loaded up on quite a few new books that should only add about 20 plus lbs to the weight of my backpack. Hey, at least I'm staying in shape.

We went to an internet café to upload photos and to update the site, but when we were about halfway through a rainstorm slowed the internet connection to a snails pace.

The hostel we are in is a bit noisy but sleeping in bunk beds in our tiny room is fun. Tomorrow we'll be exploring more of the city.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:30 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 29, 2005

Oaxaca

We got up, had some breakfast, packed our bags, and then taxied it to the bus station to head to Oaxaca and southern Mexico. Another successful Mexico City taxi ride. All in all I felt that we saw a lot of Mexico City. Our legs and feet are sore but it was worth it.

The bus ride to Oaxaca was beautiful. The majority of the road was atop high mountains looking down into deep valleys bellow where white goats were making their way along the mountainside. Even better there was only one other person on the bus besides ourselves so it was like we had chartered the trip ourselves.

Once in Oaxaca we ran into one of our friends Jonathan, a 23 year-old from Isreal who took classes with us in Guanajuato. He was on his way to San Cristobal, our next stop as well, and he gave us some pointers on what to do in Oaxaca before his bus departed.

We were unable to locate a hostel that had a room available so we settled for a mid-range hotel near the city center. Tonight we splurged on dinner at a great restaurant across the street from the hotel. Mole Negro is the specialty down here so I made it my main course; Em had a chile relleno stuffed with corn and shredded pork.

After dinner we walked around the town a bit and then headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:26 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 28, 2005

San Angel and Coyoacan

Today we set out early to head down south via metro to the San Angel and Coyoacan neighborhoods of Mexico City. Before we left we went to investigate all the cheering that was coming from the main plaza near our hotel. The streets were also absolutely empty of traffic. It turns out there was a marathon going on that was concluding in the Zocalo. Having run the San Diego marathon this past June, I was impressed how well people were running here with the altitude and the pollution. Luckily, it was a beautiful, clear day.

Due to our Lonely Plane induced fears of catching a taxi off the street we've literally been walking all around the city. It's been a great way to get to really know the area but it is taking a bit of a toll on our feet. Heading to Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's house we got a bit turned around in a neighborhood that featured some of the most beautiful homes we have seen in the city. Luckily a security guard for one of the houses, decked out in a bulletproof vest, helped us get back on track from behind a gated entrance. We thought, maybe Vicente Fox´s neighborhood?

We finally reached Diego and Frida's home, which was quite impressive and different, and in a great part of town. Diego´s studio itself was quite a site to see: a huge open room with lofts. He and Frida were socialists; supporters of Trotsky and then of Stalin. It is always ironic to me how people like this tend to continue living in the lap of luxury.

We next walked another hour plus across town to Coyoacan to see the house in which Frida Kahlo grew up in and where she eventually died; now it is a museum devoted to her. There was a good deal of her art here, but I was more interested in checking out the titles on her bookshelf which had not been disturbed since her death. This neighborhood of the city has the feeling of a small town which made the walk all the more enjoyable. Mexico City natives were everywhere enjoying the Sunday afternoon with music and a huge craft fair.

After the museum, we ate at a great Uruguayan restaurant in one of the plazas before catching the metro home. Once in the historic center of the city, Em broke down and had a 30-cent McDonalds ice-cream cone. Somehow I had a horrible headache that wouldn't go away so I went to bed pretty early. Tomorrow we are leaving for Oaxaca.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:22 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 27, 2005

Teotihuacán, Wal-Mart, and more…

Today we woke up and after breakfast caught the metro out to the Northern bus terminal to catch a ride to Teotihuacán, site of the famous Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world and the entire site is described as one of the must-see attractions in Mexico City. Once we were aboard the bus it took about an hour to travel the 50km. It went by quick though as two guitar players boarded the bus to play for tips and kept us entertained throughout the ride.

The Pyramid of the Sun was visible from quite a distance away as we approached on the highway. The bus pulled up to the outskirts of the ancient city and although it was full of people we were the only two to get off. The rest were continuing on to San Juan Teotihuacán. We made our way through the parking lot and past a cluster of shops to enter the grounds.

It is simply amazing that these structures and complex cities were built nearly 2000 years ago. Teotihuacán clearly had an economy that incorporated a good deal of division of labor (although the means might be suspect). Yet despite its greatness in many regards, as we all know, it would eventually collapse for reasons that are still debated today.

Standing atop the Pyramid of the Sun all these thoughts were passing through my head as I also observed today's civilization that was clearly visible from the vantage point. At each entrance to the site there were various small shops. To the southwest there was a large power plant, a starting point for electrical wires and polls that made their way throughout the large valley. Directly to the west lay the center of San Juan, although in any direction you looked houses and businesses could be seen. In spite of all this development there was one structure I was unable to locate, a new Wal-Mart that had drawn quite a bit of international attention just this last year.

"Wal-Mart to Open Near Mexican Pyramids" cried AP headlines last November. It was the ultimate symbol of a corporation intruding on a culture symbol, and not surprisingly this enraged many across the world. But as I noted at the time not everyone thought this was a bad idea.

After the long decent down the face of the pyramid, we jumped in a taxi to take a look at the town and grab some lunch. I asked the driver where the Wal-Mart was located (to be clear it's actually not even a Wal-Mart, it is a Bodega Aurrera, a subsidiary of the firm). It was south of the main square he told me. When I inquired about the protests that surrounded its opening, he confirmed that there was quite a commotion at the time.

"What do you think about it?" Emily asked.

"Truthfully," he replied in passionate Spanish, "I think the protesters are all nuts."

He went on to say how half of the protesters were store owners that didn't want the competition, how the jobs were better at the new store, and that while the protesters wanted the world to believe the store was being built a stone´s throw from the pyramids, nothing could be further from the truth. To get his point across he threw in quite a few expletives that had me and Em laughing in the backseat. By the end of our ride there was no mistaking his point of view: Wal-Mart was a good thing for their small community.

Once we had eaten lunch we set off on foot to take a look at the store ourselves. Passing by various shops selling an assortment of products along the way made it look like other businesses were doing reasonably well. I'm sure that the increased competition hurt, but we were not walking through a ghost town of empty storefronts where thriving businesses once existed.

The Bodega Aurrera was on the outskirts of the business section, nowhere near the pyramids, and in many ways not what I had expected. Not only was it much smaller than the Wal-Marts back home (or even in other parts of Mexico), there were no obvious signs on the building or elsewhere advertising the store's name. Yet I guess there was no need for such direct advertising, as people seemed to know exactly what was inside. Shoppers flooding in and out showed that the business was clearly busy. Em took a picture of the outside of the store in the parking lot, but a security guard quickly asked us to put the camera away. He told us that If we would like, we could ask management for permission, but due to all the negative publicity the store had received we would need their ok first.

Inside it was just like any well run department store or market you could find anywhere in the world. Clothes, beauty products, fresh fruit and vegetables… you name it. I've heard complaints throughout the trip how expensive electronics are in Mexico compared to the U.S. but in this store the prices seemed very comparable. A 5-disc DVD player went for a little over $600 pesos (around $60 USD). Everywhere you looked there seemed to be happy customers filling their shopping carts. We joined in and bought some basic supplies we needed for the trip.

I talked with a few employees about the store but for the most part they seemed to be tight lipped and downplayed any tension between the local business community and the location near the pyramids. Yes, they said, there were some protests at first but everyone seemed to like the store now. It seemed they had orders to keep quiet about all these issues so I just went about finishing my shopping.

We caught a taxi back to the pyramids and were soon heading back to Mexico City on the bus. We actually passed the Wal-Mart on the way out and it was ironic to see a large hotel right next to the store. It was painted a similar color and was a similar size but I don´t remember reading an uproar around the world about hotel corporations invading this sacred land. Wonder why?

Back in the city we stopped by an internet café to check email before heading back to our room. Quite appropriately Radley had this post on a new Wal-Mart that went up yesterday in Oakland:

August 26, 2005
WalMart Comes to Oakland
And Oakland rejoices.
11,000 people applied for the 400 available positions, and shoppers swarmed the store on its opening day. The store received no city subsidies, and still pays its employees an average above the city's (moronic) "living wage" law, even though it isn't required to.
It wasn't without a fight. Only one member of the Oakland city council attended the opening-day festivities. Others fought to keep the store ought, including passing an ordinance prohibiting retail stores of more than 200,000 square feet from opening shop in the city. That ordinance basically meant WalMart couldn't open one of its "superstores." WalMart Superstores also host a grocery store, with fresh produce at low prices. Keep the Oakland city council's ordinance in mind the next time some leftist public health activist complains about how urban populations don't have access to fresh fruit and vegetables.

Read the whole thing.

Walking back to the hotel we stopped for a few more licuados and then called it a night.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:16 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 26, 2005

The Stock Exchange, The Zoo, and Art Galore

Today it felt like we walked all over the city. We started off by walking down to the Zona Rosa where we got to go inside the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, or in English, Mexico's Stock Exchange. It is all electronic now so there was not as much action as I had hoped for, but it was still fun to look around the place.

We then made our way down the Paseo de la Reforma to a park called Bosque de Chapultepec. There we saw the Museum of Modern Art, the famous Museum of Anthropology, and we got a glimpse of the Chapultepec Zoo. Luckily, we made it in time to see the giant pandas before the exhibit closed. I could tell that Em was missing the San Diego Zoo.

For dinner we headed south of the park to a lively zone called Condesa. We ate sushi tonight (we are definitely taking advantage of all that the big city has to offer). We caught the metro back to the hotel as the sun was setting and prepared for our day tomorrow at Teotihuacán, first grabbing a Liquado con leche y mango at the smoothie place next to our hotel.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:13 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 25, 2005

Surviving el D.F.

The combo of our Lonely Planet book's Dangers and Annoyances sections, along with horror stories and advice to avoid the Districto Federal altogether from residents of Northern Mexico, had us a little on edge as we pulled into the bus station in still-dark Mexico city at 6:30 in the morning.

Things didn't seem any more secure when I found out the hostel we planned to stay in, which had a shuttle service from the bus station, had gone out of business. So in its place we found a decent priced hotel in the Centro Historico that had a room available. We got a ticket from the authorized taxi stand inside the terminal and after warily checking out our taxi driver and matching the license plate number to the one painted on the side, we were soon off to the hotel. The ride, of course, was perfectly fine, and so was our nice taxi driver.

The hotel is perfect and they put us on the top floor so we have a bit of a view. Since neither of us slept that well on the bus we crashed for a few hours in the room. Once up we grabbed a bite to eat in Chinatown, which wasn't too far from the hotel. We walked around the city a bit and went to the Diego Rivera mural museum located in the city park, Alamada Central across the way. Rivera´s mural "Sueño de una tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central" or "A Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Alameda Central," housed in the museum depicts all sorts of figures from Mexico´s history.

Instead of dinner tonight we headed to a place that serves churros and chocolate, one of my favorites in Spain. It definitely lived up to expectations.

All in all it was a good day and we've definitely gotten a little more comfortable in the city.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:08 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 24, 2005

From Beach Bums to Chilangos

We spent today at another beach to the north. After a good lunch, some jewelry bardering, and boogie boarding (Em and Jill were completely taken out by a few waves), we strolled through a time-share where various families were enjoying their vacations in a pretty elaborate pool. Em and Jill jumped in quickly to cool off. It's incredible how much quality development has been built north of Puerto Vallarta, but it still has maintained a small Mexican coastal town feel.
After heading back to the house and packing up we set off to pick up our business cards before catching our bus. On the way, the rain started to come down in buckets. By this time we were also running late, so Joanne had to do her best impression of an Indy Car driver to get us to the bus station on time. Needless to say, we are completely impressed with her driving ability in Mexico . We made it with no less than a few minutes to spare. We said goodbye and thanked them for the wonderful, relaxing time. It was just what we needed before taking on the metropolis of Mexico City.

Once on the night bus we were asleep pretty quickly, and the twelve hours went by in a flash.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:06 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 23, 2005

Relaxing in Nayarit

Today we drove out to a little beach about 20 minutes north of the house called Sayulita. We ate fish tacos under a palapa at the beach and spent the afternoon enjoying the weather and watching the surfers. At about 4:00 we headed back into town to take a look at the proofs they had put together for our business cards. We picked one out and they look like they are going to be great.

For dinner Joanne drove us out to Punta Mita for dinner. The waiter set up a table for us on the beach with tiki torches. It felt like we were back in Baja having lobster on the beach. During dinner a huge lightening storm started off in the distance. I got a few pictures.

I drove us home in the rent-a-car and although the road was pretty rough we made it home safe and sound. We sat out in the back yard watching the lightning until it started to rain. We headed in and called it a night.

Posted by Peter Mork at 5:03 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 22, 2005

Doctor's Visit

I woke up this morning and with my throat still killing me I took Joanne up on her offer to go see a doctor. When she called the property manager to get the name of a physician, we were informed that one could come to the house if we would like. Even better.

The doctor was here about a half hour later and diagnosed me with strep throat, which explained why I wasn't improving. Em and I both stocked up with antibiotics and hopefully this will put an end to our week of sickness.

We spent the day mostly relaxing which is exactly what we needed. The girls took a walk along the beach and had cocktails. One trip we did take was into PV to have business cards made with our contact information so we´ll have something to give to people we meet on our trip. At the shopping center, as we waited for the printer to open after the siesta, we snacked at a great little restaurant run by a couple from Guadalajara . The restaurant was appropriately named Tortas Ahogadas because that is what we ate.

For dinner, after an informal driving tour de Joanne around the center of Puerto Vallarta, we headed out for some good pizza. It was a nice change of pace from Mexican food. Now we're off to bed with full stomachs and drugged up on antibiotics.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:59 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 21, 2005

El Pacifico y Las Amigas

We woke up early to head to the bus station to make our way to Puerto Vallarta to meet up with our friend Jill. Door to door it was an all-day trip which included a stopover in Guadalajara. We arrived in Puerto Vallarta at about 7:30 pm and after talking with Jill and her mom, Joanne, we took a taxi to the airport where they picked us up.

Their flight had arrived a few hours earlier. It was great to see friendly faces from home. Joanne owns a rental house in a community on the beach in a little town north of Puerto Vallarta called La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. She had lived down here for seven months a year or so ago. Practically a local, she was ready to take the three of us to all the hidden, fun places she knew of. After we dropped our backpacks off at the house and Jill loaded up her purse with Coronas, Joanne took us into La Cruz to "Tacos on the Street", a restaurant that is only open Saturdays and Sundays. We ate carne asada tacos and quesadillas at a table literally set up in the street. They were delicious and just what we needed. Afterwards, it was back to the house to get some sleep after a long day of traveling.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:18 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 20, 2005

La Boda de Claudia y Ulises

“¡Qué padre sería si vuelvan ustedes para la boda!” said Claudia on our last night in Guanajuato over an intense game of Mexican Monopoly and a few beers. Maybe she was just trying to distract me strategically as I was winning the game, but when she said it again, that was all it took to convince Peter and I to backtrack through central Mexico the following weekend to attend her and Ulises’ wedding. Right away, we knew we wouldn’t miss it for the world. While at our language school, we had spent a lively and fun two weeks living with the Prado family. We were thrilled at the notion of coming back to see this wonderful family and touched that they would give us such a special reason to do so.

The head of the household Maria Elena, her three daughters, Claudia, Myra, and Haydeé, and her son Alex kept us well fed and speaking Spanish and always laughing. Their house never stops flowing with activity and people. The four siblings, all university students, would zip off to class all in different directions at different times driving their car or on Claudia´s scooter through the winding streets and tunnels of town. When we arrived to stay with them, the family was hosting another student Ryan from Alaska who had just begun his year-long stay in Guanajuato with the family. Eldest sister Flavia would visit from Leon with the little star of the family, four-year-old Jorge Alexander. Neighbors/siblings/comedians Barbara and Fernando would drop by almost everyday for a laugh. Sam, novia de Alex, Reynaldo, novio de Maria Elena, and Ulisis, novio and fiancé de Claudia would stay for long evenings of comida and conversation. The family had made great friends (¿amigos o amigovios, Haydeé?) with former students Sebastián and Jamie, who were in town visiting for the wedding. It was amazing that amid all of this melee, and with a wedding about to take place, they still had room for us and made us feel at home. We felt incredibly lucky.

The following Saturday with much anticipation, we returned to our new hometown of Guanajuato, dressed ourselves up as best we could, and caught a taxi up to the Templo La Valenciana, a dazzling ancient church perched on a hill overlooking the city. Claudia had told us that the ceremony was to start at 1:30 in the afternoon even though 1 pm was printed on the invitations. We arrived at 1:15, and to our dismay, a ceremony was already occurring inside. We snuck into the church, and after scrutinizing the bride and groom for a few minutes, we realized that this was not Claudia and Ulises’ wedding. Hoping that we had our information right, we quietly tip-toed out of the church to look for someone we knew. With relief, we spotted Ulises outside looking sharp in his tails and shiny new shoes from León. Happy and ready to be married, he gave us hugs and began to greet his other guests that had begun to arrive. We saw the sisters and Alex, and ran over to see them. Their little cousins and nephew Jorge Alexander arrived all dressed up and full of energy. The courtyard outside the church was full of guests. It was to be expected that pastors in especially important churches would perform more than one wedding in a day, and so we waited. Claudia and her entourage arrived in the polished Escalade that Ulises had borrowed from GM, but she stayed out of sight. Suddenly the church emptied, we entered, and the ceremony began. Claudia, looking fabulous and happy, walked up the aisle with her uncle. The golden façade of the church glimmered in the candlelight throughout the ceremony and mass.

Templo La Valenciana is named for La Mina Valenciana, a famous colonial mine of Guanajuato. After the ceremony, we made our way down the street to the grounds of La Mina for the reception, and were greeted with tequila shots served in roma tomatoes. The party had begun! Bright colors swirled (maybe an effect of the tequila), little kids ran around on the grass in their nice clothes and threw themselves onto the inflatable trampoline that was set up for them, a lively band began to play, and Ulisis and Claudia entered in the Escalade to cheers and toasts. Dinner was served, and the dancing began.

The newlyweds danced the first dance. As Ulises skillfully swung her around the dance floor, I remembered that Claudia had mentioned that Ulises and his family loved loved loved to dance salsa. Next the couples danced with their parents and then the rest of their family joined them. Las solteras (single ladies) were called to the dance floor for the legendary bouquet toss, but first they joined hands and danced around the newlyweds and then around the entire reception. It began to rain and thunder, but under the tent no one seemed to notice. Everyone got up to dance. As the night went on, the music changed from salsa to ranchero to brazilian carnival to popular latin music. The band played their last song, a line dance, said goodbye and left the reception.

By this time it was around 9 pm, and Peter and I were convinced that the night must be coming to an end. But…nobody got up to leave. Everyone mingled and kept on talking in the candlelight. The newlyweds circled the room laughing and talking. The bar was still serving drinks. And suddenly, out of the darkness a full mariachi band entered. The dancing and serenading continued. Beautiful and exhausting, exhilarating and drunkenly happy, the wedding continued after midnight. Claudia and Ulisis visited and talked with guests until everyone but the families had left—unbelievable, because they had a five o’clock A.M. flight to New York to catch to begin their honeymoon. At the night´s end, we thanked them and said our goodbyes to the fun-loving, generous and kind Prado family. Alex and Fernando dropped us off at our little hotel, and we said goodnight to Guanajuato and the gorgeous night.

Querida familia:

Muchísimas gracias para todos. ¡Qué familia y boda increíble! Ojalá que le disfruten las fotos. Nos vemos. Muchas felicidades y mucha suerte,

Peter y Emily

Posted by Emily Marie Stremel Mork at 4:21 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 19, 2005

Back to Our Home Away From Home

Today we woke up and after breakfast headed to the bus station to make our way back to Guanajuato. The bus ride was non eventful but it is always relaxing and fun to watch the Mexican countryside pass by outside the windows.

We got to Guanajuato and checked into Hostel Cantarranas in our same little comfy room that we had when we first came to this little town. Originally we planned to head up to visit the Prados, but after dinner we were both still feeling under the weather. Instead we called them on the telephone to let them know that made it to Guanajuato intact, and said we would see them tomorrow at the wedding.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:12 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 18, 2005

Sickness Strikes

Well, both Em and I are coming down with nasty illnesses. My throat is starting to kill me. Luckily, Em brought some vitamin c drops with Echinacea and zinc which are helping me to fight off this cold. Em is getting hit with a double-whammy. Not only does she have a fever and a sore throat but sheｴs having stomach problems. We knew this would happen eventually.

We switched hotels to a place on the plaza, which will hopefully be a bit more quiet than the little place we were in last night where the night watchman had a special love for ranchero music. Today we rested as we are trying to recover before the wedding on Saturday. Pátzcuaro is beautiful. Very different looking from colorful little Guanajuato, though. Here, all the buildings in town look exactly the same from the outside. All are whitewashed with a stripe of brick red along the bottom. From the outside the only way you can tell a butcher's shop from a florist is their business name written in small red and black letters above the door.

Tonight for dinner I ate about 200 little fish called charales. Not sure they were the best thing for my sore throat but they were the regional specialty and rather tasty.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:09 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 17, 2005

Off to Pátzcuaro

After a successful trip to Uruapan, we decided to catch a bus to Pátzcuaro today to see some more of Michoacan. We spent the morning exploring more of downtown Uruapan, walking through the street market, the tianguis.. It's interesting, a good deal of the stands near the plaza have signs declaring the importance of the informal economy to poor families in Mexico. When I asked Armando about it yesterday he said that there is a plan to move these informal shops to another location further from the city center. Obviously many are not happy with this plan.

After lunch we caught the one hour bus to Pázcuaro. I spent the ride with the window wide open just taking in the scenery. Beautiful pines and fresh air. Once in Pátzcuaro we found hotel a couple blocks off the plaza. As soon as we were settled we made our way into the center of town to explore around and get some dinner. While we were at a café it started to absolutely pour rain, the hardest we have seen it come down on the trip. The streets began to flood.

To wait out the rain, we found an internet café and checked our email. Waiting in my inbox was an email saying that the CFA Level 3 results were out. Unfortunately, I failed the test. I was so mad about it I ended up not being able to get to sleep until about 4 in the morning. During my many hours of staring at the ceiling I've decided that I'm going to take it again next year in Cape Town, South Africa . Studying should prove to be difficult while traveling but if I wait another two years to take the test I'm going to lose too much of the material I learned this last year in my many hours of studying. If nothing else it will be a good practice exam, and if I do end up passing it would be great to say that I took and passed the L3 in Africa.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:05 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 16, 2005

Oro Verde

This morning we woke up, headed down to our new favorite caf・for some breakfast, and returned to the hotel to get ready and to arrange our taxi. Armando arrived ten minutes later and we were off to look for an empacadora that might be able to show us "journalists" around.

The guard at the first packing warehouse we stopped at informed us that there was nobody currently on grounds and that we should try the San Lorenzo warehouse around the corner. On the way to San Lorenzo , Armando told us that Fox had visited this particular business a month ago. After talking with the guard at the gate and a few calls we were allowed to head into the main offices.

Everyone was friendly, but I realized I have to come up with a quicker reply when people ask me what company I'm with. "I'm an economist with Economics with a Face" doesn't quite roll of the tongue, nor is it a company. Free-lance journalist is probably a decent reply but it also doesn't seem like a response that will open many doors. But despite my fumbling around searching for a job title, we were soon in Rosangel Ruiz' office, the manager of outside sales, talking about avocados.

She was extremely helpful and we scribbled down notes as she showed us around the warehouse that was designated for export to the United States. Since January 31st of this year, Mexico, for the first time in 80 years has been able to export avocados to 47 states in the U.S. year-round. San Lorenzo, the biggest Mexican owned packing plant, was taking full advantage. A USDA inspector is on grounds daily to break the special seals on the incoming avocados trucks (the trucks are sealed after avocados have been picked at a USDA-approved huerta), randomly inspecting a percentage of the avocados for weevils, and making sure the quarantine areas are in compliance. Rosangel made clear that in her 15 years working at this plant she had never heard of even one weevil found in even one avocado in their or any of the surrounding warehouses.

Unfortunately there wasn't much going on in the plant as the avocados normally arrived later in the day. We saw the processing and packing line, and Rosangel explained how the process worked. We were able to get a good feel for how the place has been working since the law change earlier in the year. After the tour and back in her office we asked if it would be possible if she could help us arrange a visit to one of the many growers that the company buys from. She said she could make some calls but admitted that while she drives by them everyday, she herself had only been out to an avocado grove once or twice as she was in the sales department.

She tracked down a manager, Antonio, who said he would be more than happy to take us out to an orchard. We all piled into the taxi and headed out to get a first hand look.

Antonio was a wealth of information. This particular huerta was a large one; he told us that the company works with a whole range of growers of different sizes. We walked around the orchards overflowing with hanging fruit, got to see the irrigation system, a nursery of young trees, picking machines, and as a bonus, a trout farm and roosters bred for cock-fighting (!). One thing I hadn't realized is that avocados originated in central Mexico. This particular area of Michoacan is known for exceptional avocados. Chefs around the world prefer the unique taste of avocados produced here because of the volcanic ground in which they grow.

We dropped off Antonio and thanked for the great tour of the orchards. Armando, who had asked a lot of interesting questions himself during the tour, asked if we wanted to go see a beautiful church in San Juan Nuevo, a near-by town. We thought it was a great idea as we still had some time before we had to meet with Ricardo at 5:00 .

The church was beautiful. Inside was a special figure of a madonna that had originally been in the cathedral in the town of San Juan Viejo. People now visited this figure from far and wide because she was thought to create miracles. A volcano erupted in the 1950s and lava engulfed the town of Viejo all except for the cathedral. All of the townspeople escaped alive. To this day, the cathedral in Viejo stands alone amid the lava rock. San Juan Nuevo was built a few miles away, the miracle madonna was moved to its cathedral and now sheｴs famous.

Afterwards, Armando bought us all a few tunas, the sweet prickly-pear fruit from a cactus, which neither of us had tried before. After the excursion to San Juan Nuevo we decided to head back to the hotel to get a little rest before our meeting.

At 5:00 we headed over to the APEAM offices to meet with Ricardo Salgado. It was funny, all these years I thought Ricardo was simply the owner of a small orchard outside of Uruapan. While indeed he is, he is also the person who has been leading the charge to get Mexican avocados legally imported within the United States.

The details of our talk will most likely be a topic of an upcoming essay but I'll just say it was a great meeting. It was an especially relevant time to talk with him about my book and the avocado trade between Mexico and the U.S. since they had just recently accomplished their goal of securing importation rights for their products. He loaded us up with a good deal more information and we took a picture together before we left. As his story had been an inspiration to me, I promised him that if I ever get my book published he will be one of the first people to get a signed copy.

We next walked across town and had one of the best dinners of the trip at a tiny restaurant that specialized in arrancheras. Now we're back at the hotel and planning on getting some sleep (but only after practicing our salsa, Em insists).

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:01 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 15, 2005

Uruapan

We made a specific point of coming to Uruapan in order to learn a bit more about the Mexican avocado market. This morning we put that goal on hold in order to get some of our writing up on the website. After breakfast and a walk around town we headed to an internet café where we camped out for about 3.5 hours while we uploaded the rest of our pictures and gave our work one final proofread before we put it up.

In the afternoon I gave Ricardo Salgado a call and actually got a hold of him. He was a little thrown off when I first called as he had not received my email due to a problem with his computer, but after a short talk we decided to meet tomorrow at 5:00 so we could talk face to face.

Em and I walked along the huge city park (it is actually a national park) to the other side of town for dinner. We made it to the restaurant we were looking for right before it really started to rain. It was a nice place that overlooked the north end of the park and the rushing river and it specialized in a variety of trout dishes, which we both had as a main course.

After dinner the rain was coming down even harder, so we decided against walking the mile or so back into town. Across the street we were able to grab a cab. Although this was more expensive it was well worth it. The driver mentioned that we could pay him by the hour if we wanted to head out to a volcano that was a tourist attraction outside of the city. I let him know that we were really interested in taking a look at the avocado industry, but did not have a meeting with our contact in town until 5:00. He said there are several avocado packers in town as well as avocado ranches, huertas, on the outskirts he could take us to, so as of now that is the plan. He seemed like a friendly guy so we're going to give him a ring tomorrow morning and just pay him by the hour to take us around the outskirts of town.

He dropped us off at a café famous for its coffee and teas where we tasted uruapanesa coffee and a banana split. Eventually we walked back to the hotel. After paying at the front desk, we noticed that our laundry bill was about three times what we usually spend, so Em practiced her new and improved Spanish skills figuring out what was wrong. To prove weｴd been overcharged, Em brought the bellhop to our room to count our belongings. The woman at the front desk was skeptical and so finally they brought all the clothes back downstairs so that the boss could count everything. Returning with money in hand, Em entered our room with a smile.

We practiced salsa to Ruben Blades Pedro Navaja. Now it's off to bed. Tomorrow should be a fun day.

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August 14, 2005

Making our way to Uruapan

Today we woke up early and although we really were not expecting it, Maria had some breakfast ready for us. She also gave us two coin purses as a going away gift that we’re both already using. If that were not enough she gave us a ride to the bus station to make sure that we made it on time. We let her know we planned on making it back next week for the wedding so it made it an easy goodbye.

The bus ride to Uruapan was gorgeous. It feels more like we are going through Oregon than Mexico to me. Everywhere you look is lush green hills, lakes, and forests. Once we arrived we found a perfect hotel not too far off the town square.

After getting some dinner we made our way over to an internet café. I was able to locate the phone number and email of Ricardo Posada, who is the avocado grower mentioned in the about section of this web page. Tomorrow I’m going to give him a ring and see if we can meet up while we are in the area. Hopefully, he is not out of town, but considering the amount of avocado trees we saw driving into the city it shouldn’t be hard finding someone to talk to about the industry.

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August 13, 2005

Our last weekend in Guanajuato

Today we woke up, had some breakfast with the family, and then headed into town. Once there we bought our bus tickets to Uruapan at the travel agency in the center of town so we are all set to leave on tomorrow morning.

After some coffee we started the arduous task of uploading the photos from the last 2 weeks. Unfortunately, we had so many pictures that we didn’t have time to get them all up. At 4:00 we headed back up to the house and on the way bought some flowers for Claudia for her despedida which was scheduled for tonight. Shortly after we were back at the house Ulysses swung by to pick us and Ryan up and we all headed over to see the church where they are going to be married next week.

The Templo La Valenciana was magnificent and is one of the oldest churches in Mexico. We also swung by the mine where they are going to have the reception about a half mile away. It was a gorgeous place as well.

Afterwards we headed over to Ulysses (and soon to be Claudia’s) home. It’s a great place with an incredible view of the city. Some friends and the sisters arrived a bit later and we all had fun watching soccer, listening to music, playing some card games, and drinking some beer. Before we left Ulysses gave us a CD with a ton of salsa music on it. This made Em’s day as now we can continue practicing what we learned in classes this last week. We’ll see how long it lasts. We also decided to head back for their wedding next week. They are both so nice and really want us to come if we can make it, so next Saturday we’ll be back in Guanajuato. We’re both really looking forward to it.

Now we’re off to bed and tomorrow it’s off to Uruapan.

Posted by Peter Mork at 12:23 PM | Comments | TrackBack

August 12, 2005

The Last Day of School

Today was our last day of classes and they went very well. Em got some more pictures of all the teachers and of the school. We watched two interesting short films in my practical spanish class with Hugo, and during salsa class we spent a half hour watching professional salsa dancers on DVD. Basically there was a good deal of watching TV today in class, which made for a relaxing end to the week.

Tonight, we were planning on heading down to La Dama again to see how much I had learned during the dance classes during the week. Unfortunately, a major thunderstorm hit and by the time it cleared up it was already late and Em was feeling a little bit under the weather. We took advantage of the time though, planning out our next leg of the journey and getting advice from Ulysses on his home town Mexico City.

Tomorrow, we should get some stuff up on the internet and also plan on heading over to Ulysses house in the evening. Should be fun.

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August 11, 2005

Gorditas con Pollo en Mole

School is really winding down as it was our second to last day. I really feel though that both of us have taken our Spanish to another level with the classes. Emily is especially talking a lot more. I think taking one private class with Esme has really helped her out. As for me, I find the pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo is rolling off my tongue a bit easier.

Today trying a new street taco stand between classes I discovered gorditas con pollo en mole. I’ll definitly be heading back tomorrow. They were delicious. The more I think about it maybe we should just scrap this economics with a face book idea and just start keeping track of our favorite foods for a recipe book. It would probably sell more copies.

Back at the house everyone was out, so while Em took a nap, I watched some TV for the first time in quite a while. It was just like being back in San Diego. When I turned it on the Chargers were playing the Packers in a preseason game live.

Once everyone arrived home about 8:00 we had dinner, stayed up talking for a bit, did some homework, and then it was off to bed. Tomorrow is our last day of school.

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August 10, 2005

Writing, writing, and more writing

Classes didn’t start until 1:00 today for me so I spent the morning working on the computer and putting together several of the essays I have in the works. In truth, I’m hoping my writing not only gets better during the trip but that also I’ll be able to pick up the pace a bit.

It was a relaxing day of classes and we finished it off with another salsa lesson. Today my brain hit overload with the dancing. I was forgetting the easy stuff just as we moved onto the more complicated moves. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Back at the house it was a lively scene as a former student, Jamie, who stayed with the family last year has come to visit for a few weeks and to attend Claudia’s wedding. She was handing out gifts to everyone when we got back so not surprisingly everyone was in an extra good mood. We stayed up and talked for a while before eventually heading to bed.

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August 9, 2005

Suffering through Salsa

This morning Em left early for school as she has class at nine, while my class doesn’t start until eleven. After hanging up some clothes on the laundry line I headed down to school. There was a large procession making its way toward the main cathedral that held me up a bit, but I used the opportunity to snap a few pictures.

Cuba came up in class again, but this time with a different teacher. Hugo, my teacher, gave me the names of a few more movies and novels written by Cubans he thought I might enjoy, and went through a bit of the history between Cuba and Mexico.

This afternoon we took our first salsa class, which I guess went alright but truthfully I just don’t think I have the natural rhythm to do this stuff. Luckily I’ve got a patient wife so I should be able to make it though the week.

Tonight we went and saw War of the Worlds with Yelena (originally from Russia) and her son Greg from school. I wasn’t expecting much so I actually liked the movie. Greg was not as happy with it as I was. It was a nice break though watching a movie in English.

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August 8, 2005

Starting the Second Week of School

We made it down to school at about 9:00am and took a look at our new schedules which were posted in the front office. Classes went well. I dropped one grammar class and added a salsa class, while Em added the salsa class and changed one of her classes to a private lesson. During my conversation class the topic of Cuba came up and it was interesting discussing our recent experience in Cuba with a friend in the class who had lived in Soviet Union until it collapsed when she was 27 years old. Overall, I’m sure it will be a good last week to polish up on our Spanish.

Upon returning home after a day full of classes we watched Azucar Amarga , a Cuban film that Ulysses had brought over after our discussions about the island. It was unbelievable good and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in life in Cuba. I’m still not sure how they were able to film so many scenes of Havana, but it was interesting to see so many of the areas we had just visited. On top of that it is a movie with a powerful message.

We stayed up for a bit afterwards discussing the film with Myra, Claudia, and Haydeé. Before bed we did some laundry and some writing, and then it was off to bed.

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August 7, 2005

Braceros in the Plaza

Looking out at the plaza this morning from our balcony we noticed about 100 men and some women gathered below. All looked elderly and nearly all wore cowboy hats. After getting ready we headed down and Em was taking a few pictures of the plaza when she struck up a conversation with one of the men. It turns out that they were former Braceros, those that had worked in the infamous workers program in parts of the U.S. during the 1950s and afterwards. They were gathered in the plaza for a meeting with some government officials. The meeting had to do with wages that were withheld for them for retirement years ago by their U.S. employers yet they had never seen. The head representative of the group made his way over to talk to us as at first some of the men thought we were the ones there to negotiate. According to him the U.S. had sent the money to the Mexican government but they still had never seen a dime of it. The government officials had still not arrived.

We talked for about 20 minutes and took some pictures, then headed off to breakfast at a restaurant we had spotted the night before. It was a great breakfast and Em took some excellent photos of the place. We had our first taste of Mexican coffee, which to date we had not yet discovered.

Next we were off to the Posada Museum. Passing the plaza I could see that the representatives from the government had arrived and all the men were crowded around them. We walked for about 10 minutes, eventually finding the museum at the other end of town. It was truly amazing. Below each of Posada’s prints were his original metal lithographs. The precision and mind it took to create these works of art was something to observe. If you´re interested, take a look at some of our pictures which will do his work much more justice than I can in words.

After the museum, we headed back to the hotel as we had to check out at 1:00 and catch our bus at 2:00. On the way we had some time to talk with a few more of the Braceros, who were still negotiating with the government officials (4 or 5 women who looked to be taking their names). The men were very disgruntled. Again, there would be no money for them today. They had planned a meeting for the 15th to continue the negotiations and one man told me that if something wasn’t resolved then they might take the congressional building by force.

It was a sad sight seeing these men in their 70’s and 80’s who still had the mentality of the young strong men they once were, yet you could tell were not being taken very seriously by the women from the government who were taking down their information. One man told me that a month ago the riot police had come with shields and horses to drive them out of the plaza. I’m going to see if I can find an article on it. It seems insane though as some of these old men can only walk at a snail’s pace.

We continued talking about Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers, current proposals in the U.S. to reestablish a Bracero type program, and working conditions they faced in the United States. It was an interesting conversation and yet another topic for an upcoming essay.

We got back to Guanajuato just fine and after checking email in town we headed up for dinner. After telling everyone about our trip, we talked to the girls and Alejandro about how they were starting classes at the University tomorrow. Haydeé had still not decided which university she was going to attend while Claudia told us about the internship she had just completed with a mining company. After that it was off to bed.

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August 6, 2005

Arriving in Aguascalienties

We caught our bus at 12:30 and about an hour later were in Leon. Unfortunately, although we had tickets on the 2:00 bus to Aguascalienties from Leon, they had accidentally overbooked it. Em and I along with about 10 other people had to wait another hour and a half for the next bus. It wasn’t that big of a deal to us as we wanted some food and were not really in a rush. One thing that stood out about the Leon bus station was that every other person seemed to be carrying at least 15 shoe boxes. Some even seemed to have hundreds which they were loading under the buses. No doubt they were heading to their home towns where they could sell them for a profit. We had heard from several people and our guidebook how Leon is known world-wide for it´s shoe production.

We arrived in Aguascalienties a few hours later and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. The driver informed us, as we had previously read, that the city was famous for both its cleanliness and for its kind people. He lived up to that standard giving us a brief tour of the town and chitchatting with us the whole way.

We paid an extra $4 to get a room with a balcony, which was well worth the cost. After getting settled in our room we set out to find some food and walk around the city. The streets designated for pedestrians were lined with various stores and packed with people strolling around like us, or doing their weekly shopping. We stumbled upon a parade of a local worker´s union, and later found a city park where a group of local dancers was giving a performance. Em as usual took some good pictures.

We ate at a good Mexican restaurant and watch a few soccer games over dinner and drinks. We’re now back at the hotel and are ready to get some sleep after our day of traveling.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:50 AM | Comments | TrackBack

August 5, 2005

Starting the Weekend

It was a typical morning for us. The only thing out of the ordinary was that I tripped during my run this morning and fell flat on my face right in front of a group of people. I’ve been running for 15 years on and off but that was a first for me. I scraped up my hands but other than that luckily I’m fine.

After school we decided that we wanted to head to Aguascalientes this weekend, specifically to see the Jose Guadalupe Posada museum, the only one we know of in Mexico. It’s about a 4 hour trip on the bus but we figure we will leave mid-day tomorrow, get there in the evening for dinner, and then head over to the museum on Sunday morning before we have to head back.

Tonight we decided to head over to a Cuban bar named Las Damas y Las Camelias to watch some salsa.

When we arrived at 11:15 the place was empty except for two other tables, one of which the owner and some friends were sitting. By 12:30 the place was packed and everyone was dancing. It is truly amazing to see how well some of the men approaching their 70s can dance. One older man gave me the 3rd degree why I was not dancing, while my wife was out there at least trying. “It’s not in my blood,” I explained. “Nor your feet I suspect” he replied. In response I’ve promised Em that next week I’ll take some classes that the school offers to see if I can get out there next Friday or Saturday, and a least not look like a complete fool. We’ll see how it goes.

On the way home we called Josephine and Calle on my cell phone to see if they had made it back to Sweden alright. They indeed had, and told us a bit about the rest of their trip in Cuba. After the call which lasted no more than 4 minutes, I checked how much money was remaining on my card and to my surprise the call had cost nearly $10. As I started to complain Em reminded me that we were calling from a narrow alley in the hills of Guanajuato while they actually picked up their cell phone on their sailboat off the coast of Sweden. Maybe that’s not such a bad deal after all.

Now it’s off to bed and tomorrow off to Aguascalienties.

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August 4, 2005

More School and an Intercambio

I woke up today and decided to skip the run as my hip was sore and my class started even earlier today. Today, I had two conversation courses to make up for the one we missed on Monday. Miguel, our teacher, introduced some interesting topics that got us all involved in some lively discussions. They’ve ranged from global warming, to our work back home, to Mexican politics and the upcoming presidential election.

The rest of the day went equally well. I’ve got subjunctive tenses coming out my ears at this point, which makes me think that next week I’m going to drop one of my grammar classes. But as for my other class, in practical Spanish my teacher Rolando brought some interesting material. He had a recent interview with Steve Forbes recorded on tape. He’d play Forbes’ responses to various questions in English, we would then translate them, and then he would start the tape again so that we could compare our translation to that of the host.

Many in the class were scoffing when Forbes was talking up the benefits of free trade, and all of us were laughing (the host of the program included) when Forbes said in his very dry manner of speaking that “The IMF is like a doctor that wants to harm or kill its patients”. Scoffs continued by some the students throughout the interview but most of it had to do with Forbes manner of speaking and not the topics, which mainly covered Mexico achieving currency stability. Still it was a fun exercise, but I would have liked to talked about the content of the interview, something we did not do.

That night we headed back down to the school to have an intercambio with students from the local university who were learning English. I was paired with a chemistry student named Crispin who was from Oaxaca. It was a fun discussion that covered Cuba, his home city, and university life in Guanaguato.

On the way home we stopped to see a production company load a bunch of bulls back into a trailer after filming a commercial depicting a Spanish “Running of the Bulls” festival in one of the plazas. We’re told that there are constantly foreign commercials being filmed here due to the uniqueness of the city and because the cost of filming in Mexico is much less than in other places. After dinner we stayed up for a while doing homework and reading and then went to bed.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:42 AM | Comments | TrackBack

August 3, 2005

Halfway through the Week

Up early again, I decided to go on the same run as the day before. It was a little easier today and it’s a good way to get myself going in the morning even though I’m out of shape. Classes again went well. I’m starting to remember the pluscuamperfecto and antepasado tenses that I haven’t been using so far on the trip.

After class we headed up for lunch but then headed back into town to visit a Diego Rivera museum, which is actually located in the house in which he was born, and houses a private collection of his artwork. It was interesting to see how his style had changed from his early twenties up until his death.

Tonight, over dinner with the family, we talked a good deal about immigration between Mexico and the United States, how many of the laws just didn’t make sense. They gave some examples of how criminals are given amnesty, while poor people that are just heading up to work in the fields are arrested. Yet another essay topic I need to write about…

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:39 AM | Comments | TrackBack

August 2, 2005

Getting Settled in Guanajuato

I woke up early and decided I was going to go for a run. I made my way downstairs where Maria and Claudia were getting breakfast ready. They said I should head towards the mountains, to La Mina de Reyes which was a common route for joggers. After leaving the house I picked up a good size stone to carry just in case the many loose dogs we saw around the streets decided to go after me.

The run was perfect. It was hilly but there were lots of people running. On the way to the mine only one dog posed any threat. A doberman-like mutt was in the middle of the road and started barking as I got close. He didn’t look too mean and sure enough, after I stopped and gave him a pet, he decided to follow me for a couple hundred yards jumping all over me trying to get me to play with him. Finally he decided he’d have better luck with some walkers that were heading in the other direction.

Once I got to the mine the view was beautiful so I stopped for few minutes to take it in and to catch my breath. Twenty minutes later I was back at the house. After breakfast we headed down to school and after all our classes we headed back up for lunch at about 3:00.

After some reading and homework, we talked with the family a little bit about my plans for a book and I used the example of how Mexican avocados for were banned from the California. We also talked about the recent importation of cheap Chinese shoes, which have hurt shoemakers in a neighboring city Leon. There were some interesting analogies I plan on writing about at a later date.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:35 AM | Comments | TrackBack

August 1, 2005

The First Day of School

We woke up, had some breakfast and then made our way to Casa Mexicana the school where we planned on brushing up on our Spanish for a few weeks. They gave us an entrance exam and placed us in classes this morning. So far, the school seems great. I’ll be taking two grammar classes, a conversation class, and a practical Spanish class. Em will be doing about the same, just substituting one grammar class for a class describing the history of Mexico.

The school has set us up with a family to stay with while in Guanajuato. After classes we picked up our backpacks from the hostel and headed back to the school where a member of the family was going to pick us up. Alejandro, who is 19, picked us up and after a few failed attempts to find a taxi we decided just to trek it up to his house which he told us was up in the hills above the city.

Just when I thought we had to be getting close, after quite an accent up stone stairways in narrow alleys, Alejandro turned around and said that this is where the climb got tough. Em reluctantly let him carry her backpack as she was trying to be tough, but in the end she was grateful he did. After another 10 minutes of climbing we made it to his house. We met his mother Maria and sisters Claudia and Myra and they showed us to our room and around the house. From the top floor/roof there is an incredible view of Guanajuato.

Also in the house are three other Americans, two from Texas and one from Alaska. All are studying at different schools. After getting to know everyone, some neighbors included, we made our way back down into town to explore a bit more. It is quite a trek down the steep and narrow alleys but it really does give the town character.

That night over dinner we met Ulysses, the fiancée of Claudia. Their wedding is in three weeks! We had a long discussion about his employer GM, the problems the company faces, and the differences between factories in the U.S. and those in Mexico. They are heading to New York for their honeymoon and they told us how they were married civilly last month so that it would be easier to get visas to the U.S. It was an interesting conversation and I could have kept going but he needed to get up for work in the morning, so we said we would continue the discussion later.

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July 31, 2005

Our Anniversary

We woke up and headed down for some coffee at the café below our hostel. After some caffeine, we decided to head up to Pipilo, a large statue in Guanajuato that sits atop one of the hills where we got a good view of the city. Far below we saw at least 100 men on horses pass by the main plaza, part of a yearly celebration of the Dia de la Cueva.

The rest of the day we explored Guanajuato, planned out some more of our trip while sitting at cafes, and in the end had a great dinner at a restaurant calledEl Gallo Pitagórico to celebrate our one year of marriage. It’s hard to believe how much we’ve done in the last year and what a good time it’s been. We’re looking forward to another 70+.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:19 AM | Comments | TrackBack

July 30, 2005

Arriving in Guanajuato

We caught a 9:15 bus to Guanajuato and arrived a little after one. After stopping in Leon, the bus picked up two Americans and a couple from England, the first time we have ridden on a bus with other foreigners in Mexico. Once we arrived in Guanajuato I tried to call the school we were thinking about attending but no one picked up. While I was on the phone I noticed several men with maps trying to book tourists getting off the buses in various hotels. I figured they probably added a fee if you used them so I called a hostel from our guide book that looked reasonable. They had one room available so we decided to take it.

The room here is great. We have a small kitchen, a loft that serves as a bedroom, lots of colorful furniture, and windows that open up to a view of a beautiful Guanajuato hillside. After some lunch Em came back to the room to rest and I set out looking for the schools we might attend. I found one about 30 minute walk from where we were staying, but the others were not listed on the map we had. I luckily stumbled upon another one though, which is only about 2 blocks away from where we are staying and looks pretty good. We’re going to check it out Monday morning and they’re going to put us up with a local family.

Overall Guanajuato is very prosperous. Lots of tourism and restaurants, but also other businesses that seem to be doing well. With it’s narrow alleyways and climbing hills it’s very unique and you can see why people flock here to visit. With the huge university, there are many students around.

We ate dinner on the balcony of a restaurant that overlooks one of the main squares. Below groups of student musicians played songs and then would make their way off through the town, followed by throngs of people enjoying the music and jugs of wine that were being handed out. We´ve heard that this happens every weekend.

We explored a bit more of the town and then made our way back to the hostel. We discovered our roof has panoramic views of the city with chairs and tables so you can enjoy coffee in the morning. Sounds like a plan to start the day tomorrow.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:15 AM | Comments | TrackBack

July 29, 2005

A Quick Visit to Guadalajara

We arrived at the bus station at 6:00am and got a hotel right across the street from the bus station. Over breakfast in the hotel’s lobby we me a woman from Houston who owned a small factory in Guadalajara that made belt buckles and jewelry. She was in town straightening out a few things with her business and told us about how she got the place started, her customers, and her employees. Surprisingly she told me she had to pay fairly high taxes to import her products into the states. When I asked about NAFTA, she didn’t seem to know why she was not included under this free trade agreement, but she assured me she wasn’t.

Following a nap in our tiny hotel room, we caught a taxi into the center of the city. Walking around the main Plaza de Armas we noticed several large banners protesting Fox, the G-8, or commenting on other causes. This was the first big city we had been in since Havana so it was interesting comparing the two. It will also be interesting when we visit Mexico City in a few weeks to compare the two capitals.

It was a fun day visiting museums, restaurants, a huge market (where I bought a baseball cap since I forgot mine at home), and finishing the day in a town in the outskirts of the city called Tlaquepaque. Of note in Guadalajara were various murals by Jose Clemente Orozco, who had an interesting take on Communism, Fascism, and religion tied into his work. We have some photos posted on our other site of his murals that we saw.

We retired to our hotel and got a good night’s sleep before our trip to Guanajuato.

Posted by Peter Mork at 11:11 AM | Comments | TrackBack

July 28, 2005

Off to Guadalajara

This morning Em made an executive decision that we should take the night bus to Guadalajara. It has a few plusses: First, we can sleep on the bus which saves us the money we would have spent on a hotel. Second, today we were able to get our site up-to-date. After a relaxing breakfast, during which we didn’t have to worry about rushing up to pack our bags and make the morning bus, we both decided it was the right decision.

We also enjoyed a good lunch, spent a good deal of time in an internet café, and now plan on catching the 10:35pm bus to Guadalajara. We’ll arrive at 7:00am tomorrow morning and start exploring yet another town.

We’re looking forward to it.

Continued...

Before leaving for Guadalajara, Em and I had dinner at Puerto Viejo once more. During the dinner we tipped some mariachi musicians to play Huapango, a song Miguel introduced us to and that both Em and I have enjoyed during the trip. This song had even the waitresses in the place dancing. After our song was complete the owner requested another to keep the fiesta going.

We ended up taking the 9:45 bus and we both slept through most of the ride. In the middle of the night Em had to use all her strength to rip open the bathroom door to get out, which was missing its handle. But other than that it was smooth sailing to Guadalajara.

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July 27, 2005

La Isla de Pierda

Early this morning we woke up to dolphins jumping in the cove in front of our hotel. After breakfast, we searched around town for an internet café with a fast connection so we could get some photos up on the site, and luckily found one. Exploring afterwards, Em saw that there was a ballet folklorico performance that she wanted to attend, in a newly restored but old theater. We planned to return at 8 pm to catch the show.

Next, we jumped in a open-air taxi, called a pulmonia, that are common around town, to head over to La Puntilla, a restaurant on the marina. At this restaurant, I had one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve ever had in my life Camaron Molcajete. When we were leaving the restaurant the hostess told us where we could catch a boat across the way to the beach at Isla de Pierda. $1 round trip was hard to beat.

Once over on the island, Em bought a mango peeled and sliced to look like a rosebud, covered with lime juice and hot pepper (it was actually very good), and the guy that sold it to her gave me a quick Spanish lesson to correctly pronounce Guanajuato. He didn’t have much luck. We grabbed a table at one of the beach-side palapa restaurants and I headed off for a swim in the ocean.

An interesting feature of Mazatlan right now is that while there are many tourists visiting, 95% of the vacationers are from other parts of Mexico. For example, at the beach over at the Isla de Pierda today I didn’t see one other family that wasn’t speaking Spanish. We found the same to be true in the Copper Canyon. It is a relief, as I had feared we’d be coming in to a town filled with a bunch of U.S. college kids acting like they were on spring break.

Tonight we saw the Ballet Folklorico Sinaloense perform at the Teatro Angela Peralta. It was an interesting and lively event with dancing, singing, and cultural displays. The orchestra and dance company were made up of teenagers and students, yet it was a top-notch professional show. The performance featured various dances, dress, and songs from all across Mexico and lasted about an hour and a half.

Now we’re off to bed. We called the bus station and our bus leaves at 11:00am tomorrow morning, putting us in Guadalajara at 8:30pm their time. Should be a long day but I plan to get a lot of reading done.

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July 26, 2005

A Relaxing Day Near the Beach

Today was a fairly uneventful day, which is probably just what we needed. We woke up, headed down for some breakfast, and then set off walking towards a lighthouse located about a mile south of our hotel. On the way we stopped to take some pictures of both the ocean and a man hacking up coconuts with a machete before he’d sell them to those strolling by. He´d sell the coconuts with an opening just big enough for a straw so that the customer could drink the coconut water. Next he would crack open the coconut, slice out the meat and cover it with lime juice and chili powder for the customer to eat.

The hike up to the top of the mountain was a little long, and it was humid and hot, but after the hike to the Mirador Hotel at 12,000 feet of altitude this sea level stuff seemed very easy. We got some pictures and then headed back to the hotel. We relaxed on the balcony, explored the town a bit more, and then headed off to dinner at the town square which is a few blocks away.

Not much to report, but as I said early it’s nice to have one of those days.

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July 25, 2005

Off to Mazatlan

We were up in the morning and packing our bags when Regina knocked on the door and told us that breakfast was ready. She and her sister Margot had made us quite a feast, which was perfect before the long ride to Mazatlan by bus. The eldest daughter Carmen Sophia soon came down and we were ready for her to drop us off at the bus station.

We said our goodbyes and we made them promise to come and see us up in California once we return. It was fun just to see them all interact over the last couple days, making us feel like we were home with our own siblings. One thing I´ve learned in the last few days is that if Em and I end up having three girls, it will be a lot of work, and a lot of worrying, but it will also be a lot of fun.

The 10:00am bus we hopped arrived in Mazatlan by 4:15pm. The bus originally had started from Tijuana and had been driving all night from the border town. It was strange to think that after all this traveling we are still only a day’s bus ride away from our former home in San Diego.

We found a great little hotel called La Siesta and our room has a balcony overlooking the malecon and the beach. Couldn’t ask for anything better. After dinner at a restaurant down the street we headed off towards the plaza in Old Mazatlan, stopping off in a bookstore where we spoke with a local teacher about Cuba and Mexico. I bought a book on drug trafficking in Mexico. We also were invited into an art studio that was having a class to look around. I was able to help one artist who was replicating a photo of Johnny Damon of the Red Sox’s getting a broken bat single against the Giants. The artist wanted to know what team the catcher was on, as he though the team’s name was written across his chest protection in cursive that was too small to read. While the team was the Giants, I told him, it actually said “Rawlings” the brand name of the gear. He was happy as it allowed him to accurately finish his picture.

A quick side note: I’m amazed at how popular baseball is in both Sinaloa and Sonora. It seems all major towns have a baseball stadium with a professional league, and we´ve been told that soccer is an afterthought for most sports fans in northern Mexico.

We’re now heading off to bed and hope to have another great day here tomorrow. We’re looking forward to it.

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July 24, 2005

A Trip to Isla El Farallόn

All seven of us packed into their car at about 8:30am and were off to Topolobambo, a small city 25 km away where Nalo’s boat was docked. I was lucky and got the front seat to myself, while Carmen Sophia, Emily, and the three girls all had to cram in the back seat.

Soon we were on the boat and headed out to sea with a boat full of people. Roberto Balderrama was there with his son, and, of course so was Nalo, whose son also made the trip. After about an hour, we reached Isla El Farallόn, a huge rock emerging from the depths of the Sea of Cortez. On the journey out the water turned from a dull greenish blue to a crystal clear blue where you could see the rays of the sun shining down through the water. We circled the island once, taking a look at the many sea lions who where its sole inhabitants, and then let out the anchor so we all could do some swimming.

The water was perfect. The only glitch of the day was when an aguamala (a jellyfish type creature) stung Regina with its long blue tail as she was just getting back on the boat after a swim. We had another great meal on the boat, fresh fish grilled to perfection. As I said earlier, it’s going to be tough to go back to backpacking after the life we are living here.

In the late afternoon, another boat pulled up carrying another son of Nalo’s and his son-in-law Carlos. They were coming from La Paz and earlier that morning, had caught two huge sail fish which they had aboard. Once they anchored, we called Em’s parents from Carlos’ cell phone to say hi. Technology is certainly amazing when you can call home to Northern California from the middle of the Sea of Cortez.

As the day wound down we headed back to port catching two small tuna on the way. I talked with one of the workers on the boat, Gerard, who had been working for Nalo for five months. He was a great guy: we talked about the Topolobampo economy, and places he recommended visiting in Mexico.

Once back, we thanked everyone for the extraordinary day and headed back to Los Mochis. That night we went out for tacos at a restaurant called El Bachomo, so we could compare the best tacos Los Mochis had to offer against those from Navajoa. Both were excellent, so I’ll call it a draw.

Carmen Sophia and Miguel were going to be leaving early in the morning so we said our goodbyes tonight. They are such a wonderful and fun family and were so kind to put up with us and help us out so much during the last few days. Hopefully they’ll make it to California again once we are back in the States.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:47 PM | Comments | TrackBack

July 23, 2005

A Day in Los Mochis

We woke up and had breakfast with Carmen Sophia. We particularly liked her homemade yogurt with fruit and honey so she showed us just how she made it. Later on in the day she and her youngest daughter Regina took us for a tour around Los Mochis.

First we headed to Parque Sinaloa, which had formerly been the private garden of the Johnston family who had owned the sugar mill in town. They explained that Los Mochis was only 100 years old, founded by an American family, the Johnstons. We took some pictures in the park and then headed up atop the towns only mountain to get a birds eye view of Los Mochis and to take a few more pictures. After that it was back to their home to try tortas ahogadas, another recipe we are going to have to write down.

As we were sitting and talking after lunch there was a knock on the door that led to the garage. Two small kids, a boy and a girl, probably ages five and seven, stood smiling at the door. Carmen Sophia asked “What do you want? Some food?” as they stood inside the garage whose door was open. They nodded yes and Carmen Sophia told them to wait and she would get them some sandwiches. They goofed around in the garage having a good time and Em took some picture of them. They both had some of the biggest smiles you ever will see.

After they got their sandwiches and were on their way I asked Carmen Sophia if that happens a lot. “Yes, it’s typical,” she told us “we’re a poorer country.” I initially thought they might have been neighbors’ kids she knew, but no, they were just two random children asking if they could have a bite to eat. She didn’t think much of her generosity; it was just a typical event. When I mentioned that as a kid in the U.S., I’d be a little scared to walk through somebody’s garage I didn’t know and knock on their door, she said, again, it was more common in Mexico. We swapped some stories about how Americans are a little more closed off in their homes, something my former boss Victor, who’s originally from the Dominican Republic, had discussed with me a while back as well.

We relaxed around the house the rest of the day. At about 6:00 Miguel, Carmen Sophia’s husband, who we have met before, got home from work in Navajoa. All of his girls were happy to see him. Later on that night he and Carmen Sophia took us out to dinner at El Farallόn , a great seafood and sushi restaurant in town where we met another friend of the family.

We’re now back at their place and about to get some sleep as were up early tomorrow for a trip on Nalo’s (Carmen Sophia’s uncle) boat. Should be another fun day. Em and I are getting spoiled with all this generous hospitality.

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July 22, 2005

From Posada Barrancas to Los Mochis

When we awoke it was overcast but the view was still incredible. After breakfast we took a hike around the hotel. Just a five minute hike from the lobby we found some great lookout points off sheer cliffs. Never one comfortable with heights, I got close to the edge for a few pictures but that was enough for me. We headed back to the hotel and packed up our backpacks before heading back to the lobby to check out and then on for some lunch.

It was another good meal. When we had finished we still had another 30 minutes before the bus left to get us to the train so I decided to order a margarita and enjoy the view from the deck one last time. An 8 year old boy, whose mother sold goods with other Tarahumara Indian women out front, sheepishly watched us as we enjoyed the view. I asked his name and we began to talk a bit. Em asked if she could take a picture of the two of us together to which he agreed.

The discussion continued and he informed us that he lived in a village down below. He pointed to the group of houses far below that we had visited the previous day and encountered the drunk older men. I asked if he would like an apple granola bar in our bag and he immediately said yes. After finishing it though he crumpled up the wrapper in this hand and ran to the edge of the deck and tossed it off the side. I was shocked but luckily the wrapper blew back onto the deck due to a strong gust of wind. I picked it up before he could heave it over again. I told him, “It would be better if we threw this in the trash, don’t you think? That way we won’t get the hillside dirty.” But he didn’t really respond except for a slight shrug of his shoulders, as if to say: why take the time to throw it in the trash when the hillside below is so much closer?

We headed out to the front and waited for the bus. We were informed it would be arriving a little late but decided to stay outside among the Tarahumara women selling their goods. Ten minutes later the dark clouds above finally started shower us with water. We moved under the veranda as the women began to cover their goods with plastic. Another young Tarahumara boy, wearing a baseball cap, probably 4 years old, stood on a step in the rain about 10 feet in front of us starring off into the distance. I looked at Em with a confused look and she replied “Why is he standing in the rain?”

He had his cap pulled down tight and had on what looked to be a warm jacket, but I had no idea why he didn’t just take a few steps back under the balcony to get out of the rain. The Tarahumara women didn’t seem to be too concerned as they passed him, but it still was odd. Then a minute or two passed and we began to hear, quietly at first, moans and sniffles as he began to sob. It was heartbreaking.

A man behind us called to him that he shouldn’t worry, that his mom would be back soon. Another tourist approached him and asked if he would like to come back under the terrace but he paid her no attention. Another minute passed as Tarahumara women walked past him paying him no heed. It was bizarre. As his cries intensified I decided to walk over and carry him back a few yards to get him under some cover. I was worried at first that he might throw a tantrum if I touched him, but he remained stiff as a board as moved him back a few yards, telling him he would feel better out of the rain. I patted him on the back trying to comfort him, but he just stared off into the distance continuing to cry.

Finally, a Tarahumara woman passed him and dragged him off aggressively by the arm to a small house near the hotel. He wasn’t too keen on going, nor entering the house once she got him over there. Who knows, maybe it was just a 4-year-old that was mad it was raining. Still it was a sad scene for a bit.

The bus finally took us down to the train stop and in another half hour we were on the train to Los Mochis. Between the cars, I enjoyed hanging out the side of the opening as the train sped down the mountains. It was a relaxing experience watching the countryside pass by with the wind in your face. Unfortunately, this is the only passenger train in Mexico, so it is not an experience I’ll be enjoying again anytime soon.

After 8 and a half hours in the train we were back in Los Mochis. During the trip Em finished reading “The Motorcycle Diaries,” and she and I had an interesting conversation about Che Guevara. At the station Carmen Sophia came to pick us up with her 15 year old daughter Margot driving for practice. Once back at their place we told them about our trip and headed off to bed. Tomorrow should be another fun day.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:36 PM | Comments | TrackBack

July 21, 2005

Hiking Down to the Wakajipare Village

Well rested, we awoke and had some breakfast looking out over the dramatic view. Next, we caught part of a performance put on by some of the Tarahumara Indians outside the hotel for tips. The presentation included dancing, a traditional running race between men in the tribe, and a traditional race between women in the tribe. A little of the traditional aura of the race was lost given that the marker for the halfway mark was a line between a new Toyota and the hotel bus, but it was still interesting. At the end of the show all were laughing, Tarahumara and tourists alike, when two Mexican tourists from the audience were chosen to race against each other for the closing act.

We headed off down a trail near the hotel with the plans of making the 1500 meter decent to the river that lay 6 miles below. We first stopped off at a small village near the hotel. A 10 year old girl let us know the prices of some of the crafts her family was selling outside her home. While soft spoken, she was a good saleswoman, and we walked away with a few small dolls.

A man from Guadalajara who was walking alongside us commented “Look, they have the most beautiful view world but sadly they are living like animals.” While harsh, there was a good deal of truth in the comment. The tiny shacks dug into the cliff had neither electricity nor running water, let alone any of the other comforts many of us take for granted. I was glad to see though that one of the kids had a BMX bike for transportation and entertainment, and a gas powered chainsaw in one of the sheds showed that the 20th century had not completely passed them by.

We met up with another family from Mexico City looking for the Wakajipare Village as well, a halfway point between the hotel and the river. We made our way down another trail towards some shacks we spotted on another plateau. When we approached, a man emerged from one of the huts. He was visibly drunk, while his face and shirt were covered with dry blood. Despite the first impression he was nice and stumbled through a few sentences informing me that we’d have to return to back from where we came in order to reach Wakajipare.

We took some pictures of their view and their donkeys which were tied to some nearby trees. Looking off the ledge I noticed the hillside was littered with trash. Meanwhile, the family from Mexico City bought some crystallized rocks that were laid our across a stump for their two daughters. The mother of the family had no compunction showing her distaste for the men in this little village, commenting to me that if she were their wives she would drag them up to work above with the rest of the women selling goods, instead of letting them drink all day.

After leaving this small village we took a different route from the family. We were getting a little lost when I decided to scale a small rock cliff to get a view from above, but once I reached the top I saw yet another village, this one a bit bigger. Em made her way up right behind me and we emerged behind a small cemetery amongst the small houses. We made our way through and saw a young man standing in the doorway of a house. He was the first Tarahumara male I’d seen over 8 years old and less than 40. I suspected this was because many able body young men jump on the train to head to bigger cities in search of work and a better life.

The young man was very nice and walked us down to make sure we got on the right trail to the village. After about a half-mile of walking we came upon another settlement. A man made his way up a hillside on a donkey, pursued by a newborn donkey. After briefly talking with his wife and young son we continued down the mountain. It was also nice to see here that Tarahamara were constructing new houses that looked much more solid than the ones we had previously seen. It was a sign that for some there was some progress towards improving living conditions. There were no other tourists in sight, clearly because this was a pretty rough hike. Another 2 miles of switch backs over quite a descent led us to the Wakajipaje Village, most notable for the large sections of hillsides covered with cornrows.

We made our way to the bottom of the village and ate our lunch on a large rock near a creek. Up above two young girls, probably 7 or 8 threw rocks to the sides of several sheep in order to herd them to the valley below. One lamb made a break back up the hill and one of the girls had to drag it back down after unsuccessfully being able to scare it down with the rocks.

I wanted to head down to the river but Em’s knee was really starting to bother her and truthfully we had quite a task in front of us in the climb back up to the hotel. I decided to run down a bit further, as Em finished her lunch, just to see what was around the bend. There were a few more houses and the two young girls were sitting atop a rock looking over the sheep. I asked how far to the river but they were both very shy and one only timidly nodded when I asked if it was lejos. I asked if they wanted some pan dulce, which Mama Elisa had given us, and one of the girls shyly nodded yes.

I ran back around the corner and signaled for Emily to come down. We tried to talk to them; one mainly smiled and nodded to our questions, while the other didn’t want much to do with us at all. By the end though she was shyly smiling a bit as well. We let them both choose one of the pan dulces and a granola bar. They nodded when we asked if we could take a few pictures, but after that we told them goodbye and were off back up the hill.

The climb was tough. We stopped several times along the way and finished off the water that we carried. At about 2:50 with the hotel in sight I decided to run back in order to make sure we got a lunch, which the hotel stopped serving at 3:00. I made it just in time and Em arrived 10 minutes later. A cold Coca-Cola never tasted so good. Following lunch we returned to the room and relaxed before dinner.

After dinner we headed back to the room to read and then it was off to bed. Tomorrow we plan on doing some hiking in the morning before the long but scenic train ride back to Los Mochis.

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July 20, 2005

The Train to Copper Canyon

Carmen Sophia dropped us off at the train station at about 5:30am and came in to make sure that everything was squared away with out tickets. We said we would call her Friday to let her know the exact time that we were heading back.

Once aboard we both fell asleep pretty quickly as it was too dark to see outside and we both needed some rest. When we awoke around 9:30 we were beginning our assent up into the Copper Canyon, but we still had quite a bit of ground to cover. They told us we would hit our stop, Posada Barrancas, at about 3:00pm. During the ride we snacked on some sandwiches that Carmen Sophia had given us, as well as some pan dulce that Mama Elisa had sent along. The ride was gorgeous as we made our way through huge mountains that abruptly climbed into the sky. Soon there was a roaring river on the right side of the train, and pine trees began to appear as we climbed higher and higher into the mountains.

We reached our stop at about 3:30 and made our way to the Mirador Hotel, where rooms had been reserved for us by the owner Roberto Balderrama, a friend of the Salidos, who I talked to yesterday to set up the details for the hotel. It was clear that we were being well taken care of; everyone was making sure that we were enjoying northern Mexico to the fullest, and we were.

When we entered the hotel my jaw dropped as I took in the view from the lobby and restaurant. I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, but from the pictures I’ve seen this is equally spectacular if not more so. In fact, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is only one-fourth the size of the Barranca de Cobre, the Copper Canyon. Best of all, every room in the hotel was perched over the canyon with a view. Take a look at our pictures to get an idea of how stunning it is.

Entering the hotel we got our first view of some of the Tarahumara Indians, who were selling crafts outside. Over 50,000 live in this area and are known for their long distance running ability. The Raramuri, as they are also called, literally means “the people of the swiftly running feet.” My good friend Hector Delgado had told me about them over 10 years ago when we both worked cutting and selling firewood during our summer breaks. As I remember his story, he told me that years and years ago a group came from Mexico City looking for a runner to compete in the marathon for the Olympics. When they asked for the best runner, the tribe brought forward a woman, I believe at a time when only men were competing in the event. I’ll try to find out how much truth there is to this story as I was 16 when Hector told it to me and my memory might have mangled it over the years.

The brochures told us that many of the Tarahumara still live in caves as their ancestors did some 400 years ago. I tend to find this fact somewhat depressing rather than a highlight for a brochure; we definitely wanted to find out more about this community.

After a nap we headed off to dinner. It was a good meal and afterwards we took a few pictures of the view and of the many hummingbirds that swarm the feeders outside at dusk. Still weary from our trip we called it an early night and headed off to bed.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:20 PM | Comments | TrackBack

July 19, 2005

Off to Los Mochis

We woke up and headed off to Hacienda Cazadores, owned by Polo Acosta, who I knew from hunting doves earlier in the year. He and his wife were happy to see us. They treated us to a delicious breakfast, and Polo gave me his phone number in case of any emergency as we headed south through Mexico. As we left, we were greeted by the brother of Emily’s new yellow lab back in Saint Helena, Palomo. We got an idea of how much her puppy Claudia must have grown since we left.

At about 1 o’clock Angel picked us up to drive us to Los Mochis. We told Mama Elisa goodbye and said we’d make sure to keep in touch. It should be easy to do since I bought my cell phone in Navajoa and her home phone is a local call for us.

We started off to Los Mochis and during the hour and a half drive had a great conversation with Angel. We talked about his love for music, his kids, how close he came to playing professional baseball before a career ending injury, and how Fernando Valenzuela was originally from Navajoa, something I had not realized. When he dropped us off at Miguel and Carmen Sophia’s house we exchanged addresses so we could stay in touch.

Carmen Sophia was happy to see us. We met one of her daughters and then she brought us into town to make reservations for the train to the Copper Canyon, which was leaving at 6:00am the next morning and where we would be staying for a few days. After a little maneuvering with the tickets, we were all set, and headed back to her house.

We came down for dinner around 8 pm and met two more of her daughters and a few of their friends. Her husband Miguel was in Navajoa working, and her son, who I had met a few weeks prior in St. Helena, lived in Las Vegas where he was starting a distribution business from the ground up. The dinner was yet another excellent meal, tostadas with hot caldo.

After dinner Em and I were back on the internet uploading photos and getting more of our travelogue ready to post. Em finally went to bed well after midnight and I just ended up staying up all night working on the site, figuring I could sleep on the train.

At 4:30am the phone rang for the alarm service we had called the night before and we were ready to start another day.

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July 18, 2005

A Haircut and a Tour of Navajoa

After breakfast with Mama Elisa and her sister Marta, we piled in the Suburban again for a trip to the barber so I could get my haircut. With the hot weather I really needed it. Em got some pictures as the barber cut my hair at El Pio, but in the end it was just what I wanted.

Leaving in the Suburban we saw Mama Elisa’s niece, Georgis with her daughter. They jumped in the Suburban with us, and Mama Elisa’s niece took the wheel for the tour. We drove around to some of the newer neighborhoods in Navajoa, then off to old Navajoa and the river where local kids were doing acrobatic jumps off of a tree into the water. Towards the end of the day we headed to another side of town and to a small farm where we bought some homemade cheese to snack on and for dinner.

Once back at Mama Elisa’s, Em worked on the computer and I watched a little bit of the Tour de France and then was amazed when Real Madrid vs the Los Angeles Galaxy came on live. I could only imagine the glee my friend Cristain in Barcelona would exhibit if Madrid were to lose to a team from a league he considers once of the worst in the world. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and the Galaxy lost 2-0, but they still had a decent showing against one of the biggest powerhouses in soccer.

That night, Marcelo and Rosi picked us up again to head over to the town’s new bowling alley where their son was competing in a tournament. It was fun and I was surprised by the caliber of the players. Two different people came very close to throwing perfect games, one only missed it by one strike after throwing 8 straight. After the bowling we said our goodbyes and Marcelo said that he would have a driver take us down to Los Mochis tomorrow. They were both so kind during our short stay here and really added a lot to our experience.

Later on Mama Elisa took us out to another taqueria, a one room restaurant built alongside a family’s kitchen: a very popular place with great Sonoran food. The owner was preparing the food in the kitchen and his teen-aged son was waiting tables. Once back at home, I poured some shots of some mescal that a friend of Mama Elisa’s had brought for her in a 2 liter Coke bottle. I had never tried mescal before. After the first drop hitting my lips I realized it was way too much for this gringo. It was so powerful I asked Mama Elisa if it was going to make me blind if I finished the whole thing, to which she laughed. In the end we ended up transferring the shots to a small bottle for her employee Cheque, who she said would not let it go to waste. After that we called it a night.

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July 17, 2005

Exploring Alamos and a Trip to Las Bocas

After waking up, having some breakfast, and catching up on some email, Marcelo and Rosi gave us a tour around Alamos in their car. We stopped off at the town’s cemetery that had some tombstones dating from the 1700’s and at a new building on the outskirts of town where artists could rent stalls and sell their goods. At the end of the tour they dropped us off at the central Plaza so we could quickly tour the town’s museum.

Walking back to the hotel Em and I stopped off for a beer due to the 100 degree plus heat. All the architecture here is stunning. Once you enter, most of the buildings have small courtyards surrounded by large terraces for shade. Perfect for the summertime weather.

Once back at the hotel we had another good lunch with Marcelo and Rosi. Marcelo and I had an interesting talk about the United States’ war on drugs and how it is affecting Mexico. The northern states of Sinaloa and Sonora are particularly hard hit as these are the places where many of the drugs are smuggled on their way up north. Law enforcement doesn’t do much good as once one drug lord is taken down, another will rise in his place. There is so much money involved, the incentives are too great, and with them of course comes corruption. Marcelo stressed that it is a “war” that we are not winning and wondered why politicians with some common sense refuse to realize this. While I support this position, we conceded to Marcelo that unfortunately, reforming the anti-drug agenda is a taboo subject for both parties in the U.S. I hope to write more about the issue in the near future.

Toward the end of the lunch we were joined by the hotel owners Jim and Nancy, a fun and sweet couple. They told us about a recent visit by various Russian oligarchs, “Los Russos,” who were rowdy guests at the hotel, and filled us in on a reality show from the Netherlands that was going to be filmed at the hotel and the surrounding area. The entire hotel was rented by the film crew for 6 weeks later this summer. It will be fun to see it if we could get our hands on a copy. It’s a European version of “The Bachelor,” the producers were also thinking about using Marcelo’s beach house in Las Bocas, which was our next stop after leaving Alamos.

We arrived in Las Bocas around 6:00 and chatted with their son Marcelo and his wife Cheri, who had been at the beach for the day. The grandkids were playing in the sand as we relaxed and enjoyed a beer. As the sun was setting, we drove back to Navajoa and we were dropped off at Mama Elisa’s house. We said goodbye, and thanked them for the excellent time.

Mama Elisa greeted us by pouring the three of us shots of tequila. We snacked on chips as she pulled out photos for us to look at from various stages of her life. It was a lot of fun. I also talked on the phone with her daughter Elisa and son-in-law Walt about our upcoming plans for the week, which they were graciously helping with.

Finally, with all of us ready for some food she drove us across town to one of her favorite taquerias. On the way we stopped for some gas and we were all laughing after a little chaos getting to a pump that worked. Everyone we pulled up to was out of service. It almost took longer maneuvering that big suburban around from to pump after pump than it took to fill up the tank.

After that little adventure we made it to the taco stand that was next door to the office of the local ganadaria that bore Mama Elisa late husband’s name. Next door, the tacos were excellent. I had three of carne asada and tried one of tripas, which I had never had before. Mama Elisa told me they were delicious and, true to her word, they were. During the meal Em had to conquer her fear of insects as they literally rained down upon our food and heads, attracted by the bright lights in the outdoor seating. I was laughing as both her and Mama Elisa were pulling small beetles out of their hair and tacos during the meal, but the food was well worth it, and Emily agreed.

Now we’re off to bed. Tomorrow should be another interesting day.

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July 16, 2005

Arriving in Navajoa

We got off our bus at 4:00am and made our way inside to give “Mama” Elisa, a good friend of Emily’s family and native of Navajoa, a call. We use the “Mama” before her name to distinguish her from her daughter Elisa. To my surprise she picked up the phone immediately and when I asked if we should walk down to her place, she forbid it and said she would be right down to pick us up. It was a welcome sight to see her familiar face when she pulled up outside the bus station in her huge white Suburban. Soon she had us back to her house and we were off to bed. It was great to be in a familiar environment.

The next morning I was up at 8:30 and talking with Mama Elisa about our trip. She pulled out a globe and I pulled out our travel book on Mexico to show what Emily and I had planned so far. At about 11:30 Mama Elisa officially dubbed Emily “Sleeping Beauty” after I had two unsuccessful attempts of waking her up. She obviously needed the rest after the long night of traveling.

As we began breakfast, Rosi Fernandez, another friend of the family’s who we had met when they visited Napa a few weeks back, joined us. She asked if Em and I would like to stop by there place for lunch later in the day and then join her and her husband Marcelo in a trip to the colonial town, Alamos, where they planned to spend the night. It sounded great to us.

About 2 o’clock we all loaded back into the Suburban and Mama Elisa gave us a quick tour of Navajoa. She dropped us off at the Fernandez’s house which was only a few blocks away from her home. We met their son and daughter-in-law, Marcelo and Cheri, as well their two children. Their home was beautiful and the lunch was delicious. Afterwards we were off to Alamos.

Em had been to Alamos last January but for me it was my first time in the city. Formerly the capital of Sonora, it’s a small mining town that has maintained most of its original charm. We stayed in a beautiful hotel run by two Americans that originally came to Alamos to retire. The hotel was called Hacienda de Los Santos and the owners, Jim and Nancy, had restored it beautifully.

We had dinner with Marcelo and Rosi at about 8:00 after exploring the hotel for a few hours. It was yet another delicious meal. After we were finished Marcelo asked the bartender what the most expensive tequila was out of their 500 bottles that they proudly displayed in the bar. Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio was the name and they sold it for $300 a shot (yes, a shot… not a bottle). The waiter carefully brought out the bottle so we could take a look and take a picture, but needless to say we decided it was best not to indulge in a taste.

It’s now late and we’re about to get some sleep in our gorgeous room. This is quite a treat. We know this will be one of the few occasions we’ll be able to stay in a hotel of this caliber over the next year. Once we’re back in Sonoma County we hope Marcelo and Rosi will visit the area so that Em and I will be able to reciprocate some of their generosity.

Posted by Peter Mork at 4:02 PM | Comments | TrackBack

July 15, 2005

Back to Traveling

After uploading another batch of pictures from Cuba to our website, we were off to the airport to catch our flight to Hermosillo through Mexico City. I think the Cancun airport will always remind me of that first day heading to Cuba. We picked up our boarding passes for this flight right next to where we picked up our tickets to Cuba a week before.

We arrived in Mexico City and had an overpriced meal at a restaurant called Wings that did not live up to expectations. Not a surprise considering we were eating in an airport but, after a similar experience in Cancun, this was the second time we’d had bad airport food in the last 6 hours and we were ready for some good food. We made a rule: no more wasting money on overpriced and awful airport food.

We landed in Hermosillo around 10:10pm and were happy to see our bags make it onto the carousel. We grabbed a taxi in a rush to catch the bus to Navajoa that departed at 11:00pm. We felt like we were in the middle of the Amazing Race when our taxi driver pulled over to fill up his gas tank. We got to the station with 15 minutes to spare and bought 2 of the remaining 3 seats on the bus. Once aboard, I put the seat back and tried to get some sleep, which was a difficult task with the movie “Alien vs. Predator” blasting for the first hour and a half of the ride. Eventually though I fell asleep, putting an end to the day.

Posted by Peter Mork at 3:57 PM | Comments | TrackBack

July 14, 2005

Getting Ourselves Together

Today was a day of picking up the pieces. I woke up early to start getting all that we had written in Cuba into the computer. After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel and took turns with the computer to continue either organizing our pictures or typing out our travelogue.

At about 3:30 we headed across the street for a drink and some lunch, the best margaritas and guacamole in Cancun the waiter assured us. The waiter warned us to be careful in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, where we were headed for the next leg of the trip. After the quick meal it was around the corner to an internet place I saw when dropping off our laundry the previous day. “Banda Ancha” read the sign (broadband) which was exactly what we needed to get our pictures up on our site.

Even with the fast internet connection, the pictures still took forever to upload. We stayed until the owner closed his shop at 8:00pm, and told him we would be back tomorrow to finish the job. That night we tried another restaurant downtown, Carrillo’s, which again was a great meal. The same musicians from the night before were making their rounds at this place when we entered. They saw us as we entered and gave us a smile.

Soon after we greeted each other they played us another tune, and talked we all talked about our plans for the trip. Emily asked if she could take a picture of them, but they suggested we get one together. Then before we knew it they had decked us out in sombreros and colorful Mexican blankets for the picture. There was no doubt we were in Cancun, the tourist haven. The lead singer gave us his card with his address and asked if we could send him the photograph if we have time. Both were so nice.

It rained on and off during the dinner but Hurricane Emily was still far away. We made our way back to the hotel and called it an early night.

Posted by Peter Mork at 3:46 PM | Comments | TrackBack