Marilyn in Mexico 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

I've eaten some interesting foods while here, ones that I don't normally tend to consume at home. Actually, to admit it, they're mostly foods I've never tried. So for breakfast this morning we had lentils, made with pork, beef, chorizo, tomatoes, garlic, onion, and banana. At lunch we had nopales (cactus) with chayote (a green vegetable), and a side of chepiche and berro - some green leafy herbs that I've never seen, and guava water. We eat tortillas or tlayudas at every meal and use them practically like spoons to scoop up our food. This is a tlayuda stuffed with black beans and squash blossom and "epazote" leaves, which I have absolutely NO IDEA what they are!

We bought 8 eggs today (for $1 US) and tossed them in the nopales dish. Eggs are often bought in quantities of 4 or 8 or even 1 and don't have the benefit of riding in a carton on the way home - they are just sold loose, and carried carefully in the shopping bag. I love buying fresh prepared mango and watermelon and other fruits on the street from portable vending booths. They offer to put chili powder on them (which I always decline) and/or lime juice (which I readily accept) - the cost is usually 80 cents or a dollar.

One can easily spot violations of safety codes here - at least according to US standards, like the exposed gas water heaters and propane tanks on our rooftop, the horrendous potholes at the bus station, the teensy-tiny sidewalks next to extremely busy streets, and the lack of concern for access to unsafe conditions. This street was torn up in at least 3 big sections, just far enough apart to block off traffic for at least 3 blocks. But there was no restriction for this little boy to find a spot to play amidst the broken-up stone.

After a lengthy walk (of course!) we boarded a bus to the central bus station to board another bus to go out to Mitla. It's a town about an hour from here, and it was the Sacred City of the Mixteca and Zapoteca tribes about 1500 years ago. The ruins include underground chambers and palaces, and lots of geometric decorations in the rock work. The designs are so notable that they are always associated with Mitla and appear in almost all the handiwork from that region. We spent a few minutes in the shops and watched a gentleman working a loom to make the cloth that is later made into clothing and household fabric pieces.

Our bus got a flat tire while traveling between Mitla and Tlacolula but, instead of stopping to change it then or even at the next station, we just kept driving. Finally we drove by a tire shop out in the middle of nowhere on the highway and we stopped. We all just stayed on the bus while it got changed - kind of a fun experience!


Legend has it that if a person wraps his arms around this column, depending on how far he can reach around, it tells how long he will live. It was such a popular legend that the curators of this site finally blocked off access to the column. Or maybe it was blocked off because all the short-armed people started vandalizing in there because they were upset to learn that only long-armed people lead long lives!

I paid 2 pesos today to use a public restroom at the ruins in Mitla. This afforded me exactly 10 squares of toilet paper that the attendant handed me, no paper towel, and no toilet seat. But at least there was running water today and even a real sink with a partial bar of soap.

There are fields and fields of maguey plants around here. Evidently the state of Oaxaca is famous for its mezcal and, more refined, tequila.

At different bus stops on the way to Mitla, various venders boarded the bus to sell their wares. Ladies came on to sell tamales and turnovers, and a man got on to sell pirated DVD's for only $1 (US) - of course I had to check it out, so I bought "Ironman".

We spent some time at a couple's home this evening (waiting out the thunder shower and the resulting lack of electricity) to walk home with about 50 pounds of rice for Cecilia's kitchen and storage program. The husband, Francisco Magro Villaraus, was celebrating his 87th birthday today and we had the pleasure of listening to him recite some awesome and lengthy poems that he has memorized over the years. He has even written some that he shared with us, and we were all quite impressed. It reminded me of my father, Rod McRae now age 84, who impresses all of us each time he recites the famous poems of Robert W. Service, like "The Cremation of Sam McGee" or "Bessie's Boil".

Remember that I mentioned the house windows have no screens? Just above the landing of our front door there is a bee hive that looks pretty dangerous. If I step out and look up about 10 feet, there are about 500 bees buzzing to their hearts' content. The only 3 windows for this apartment are directly below the hive, and I'm just hoping that they never find their way in here.