Yesterday, Jacque and I went with Jacque's brother and friend to San Juan Raya, which is an archeological site up in the mountains. Her brother's friend drove us there in his nice car, and on the smooth roads, we both felt like we could've been in Arizona, except that the mountains here were green instead of brown. We listened to the song "Angels" about five times, and since it was the only one we sort of knew (thanks to David Archuleta's cover), we tried to sing along. Once we got there and failed at negotiating our entrance fee, we got our tour guide and headed off. The first thing we came to was a really shady bridge that reminded me of Indiana Jones. Jacque's brother made sure to rock it so that we had a really difficult time walking across.
The tour guide showed us a lot of cactus and told us about the fruits that it produced, medicinal uses, and other interesting facts that I tried to pick up. This tree is called una pata de elefante, or an elephants foot. They were all over the place, but this one was just the right size to allow us to express our inner tree-huggers.
A lot of the tour was also looking at fossils, but the coolest part was the dinosaur footprint at the end of the tour, preserved in the riverbed. Why I forgot to take a picture, I don't know. It was huge though--three big toes in the dried mud. Supposedly there were more, but that was a different tour and we would have to pay more.
On our way back, we stopped in the city of Zapotitlan and walked up to this strange park. It was up at the top of a hill, and there was a dirty, green pool and "gardens". It was weird because no one was there, except the tadpoles in the pool and a gardener. What we didn't understand was what he was gardening. There were trees, but that was about it as far as plants went. The trees were pretty cool though, all twisted and growing crooked.
By now we were pretty hungry, so we went to this really nice looking restaurant that Jacque's brother's friend knew of. Again, it was deserted, and it looked like they weren't even expecting people. They had to set that table after we sat at it, and they didn't bring us a menu. The hostess was really nice, and I think the restaurant is famous for one thing, so that's what they gave us. There was one plate of palmitas, which are a cactus flower that we learned about on our tour earlier, and another plate of some bigger looking plantish things, but I forget what they were called. We ate them on yummy homemade tortillas like tacos. But, before they brought any of that, they brought us a plate of toasted, roasted, crispy caterpillars.
Anything's good with some salt and lime juice, right?
Last Thursday, the Discovery Primary and Kinder had a Carnival to celebrate the end of their school year. Our kids performed a Peter Pan skit that we have been trying to practice for a few weeks. Some of them knew their lines really well, but some needed a little bit of help.
We got a bigger, better one a little later one, but this was what we started with. As we all were bashing this mockery of a grill, Teo pointed out that even this tiny thing was an American product. It was a fun party though. Hot dogs with cheese,"spicy" cheetoes, fruit, popcorn with salsa, soda, and most importantly, cheesecake.
A lot of the tour was also looking at fossils, but the coolest part was the dinosaur footprint at the end of the tour, preserved in the riverbed. Why I forgot to take a picture, I don't know. It was huge though--three big toes in the dried mud. Supposedly there were more, but that was a different tour and we would have to pay more.
By now we were pretty hungry, so we went to this really nice looking restaurant that Jacque's brother's friend knew of. Again, it was deserted, and it looked like they weren't even expecting people. They had to set that table after we sat at it, and they didn't bring us a menu. The hostess was really nice, and I think the restaurant is famous for one thing, so that's what they gave us. There was one plate of palmitas, which are a cactus flower that we learned about on our tour earlier, and another plate of some bigger looking plantish things, but I forget what they were called. We ate them on yummy homemade tortillas like tacos. But, before they brought any of that, they brought us a plate of toasted, roasted, crispy caterpillars.
The availability of water is the reason we are on this planet. Of all the molecules that make up our amazing human bodies, 50-80% of us is water.
Behind the waterfall, I watched water drip down onto the rocks below and I could tell how that constant drip had over time changed the shape of the rocks. They were smooth and curved and had a path for the water to continue on its course downstream. Think of all the breath-taking canyons and caves that have been formed by flowing water.
Water can be one of the most powerful forces on earth--destructive and devastating, but my mind never wanders to these thoughts when I'm observing a cascading waterfall, a serene pond, or a peacefully flowing river. I can only see the beauty.
It just happened to be the Day of the Virgins, and there were lots of festivities. Various dancing groups of men in ornate clothing and hats danced to drums and flutes in the streets. These voladroes climb up this huge pole right infront of a big, old cathedral and do some ritualistic movements on top of the pole. After a parade came through of the dancers and musicians, they started swinging from the pole by their feet. They just go around in circles upside down until their rope unravels and they end up on the ground. It was awesome to watch, and it looked like lots of fun.
Our favorite part about the day, however, were the awesome waterfalls we went to, and especially the one we swam around in. It was something I thought I would never get the chance to do, and there we were, swimming around in this awesome little cove and river. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
It was absolutely worth sleeping on the floor, waking up at 3 am, a 300 peso bus ride, feeling car sick and weird for most of the day, and being wet on the bus afterwards. Totally amazing.
