Our neighbor, Sabroso, gladly eats any food scraps and loves to have his belly rubbed.

Burros by the ocean.

Sure is nice to be on the west coast.

One of the many interesting birds in our backyard.

Our little home.

Sneaking banana leaves from our backyard.

Naming mystery finally resolved:  Navi wrote each of her family members names out for us.  Each child is given their fathers last name followed by their mothers last name (which is really the childs grandfathers last name), so that the very last name is actually the same as the mothers last name.  Navi (named Navidad, or Christmas, because she was born on Christmas Day) is really:  Ariandad Navidad Cirino Martinez, and yes, her forearm hurt after writing all that. 

 

Happy Day of Love and Friendship!

...I just love the way that translates.  That´s what Valentine´s Day is called here.  It´s really just another day to have a party and spend time with both friends and family.  Some people even use it as an excuse to start with tequila at 8:00 in the morning.  The school children all came down to the beach with heart shaped balloons and had a play day.  We surfed, read, and joined another couple from Canada for some shrimp enchiladas that evening, complete with beer.  We continue to love it here and are excited that one of our friends, Jessica, from Durango will be joining us for a week at the end of the month! 

A few people have said that they can´t find Ticla on the map.  It´s true, both Google Map and even the best atlas´s have little to say about the Michoacan coastal communities.  Before heading down here we were actually warned by some other travellers and given a printed copy of a map that a guy from the U.S. created after hiking the entire Michoacan coastline.  Ironically, he found our last blog posting and posted a link to the map!  So here is the map that we have been traveling by (thank you ¨Alpine Lakes¨!):

http://home.comcast.net/~alpinelakes//Coast_of_Michoacan/coast_of_michoacan_map.html

He also shared this fantastic link on the history and religious practices of the area:

http://jg.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/Ostula/index.html

Another Amazing Story of Determination...

While sitting on the beach a few days ago an adorable, curly-headed little girl came bounding along the sand, walked directly up to me, put her hands on my knees and asked, ¨What´s your name?¨ in a very adult-like spanish.  I was surprised to learn as our conversation progressed that she is only 4 years old.  When I told her that I was from the United States she simply explained that she was born there and would like to go back when she is older.  Her mother was sitting a little ways away, under a palapa with some other ladies.  They motioned for me to join them, so Stephanie, the precocious 4 year old, and I walked over to sit and chat with the gals sipping cokes in the heat of the day.   They were curious about me, asking a variety of questions, until one by one they had to go, leaving only Stephanie, her mother Diana and myself. 

Diana is a laid back, soft-spoken women with tired eyes.    I was surprised to learn that Stephanie is her only daughter, as most women have at least 3, some as many as 10 in this area.  I was also surprised that she had Stephanie when she was 23, an above average age (15 is the legal age for marrying and many in this area do, and lots have kids as early as 16).  I asked her about having Stephanie in the U.S. and she slowly told me her story, all the while casting loving eyes on her beautiful daughter playing in the sand.

While it has been common throughout our travels in Mexico to meet children who were born in the U.S., it has been less common in these parts.  Many people have shared their stories about illegally crossing the border and they never cease to amaze me.  Generally it costs them an extremely large sum, considering wages here, and often involves a 3-day walk through the desert with no food and very little water.  Some have crossed over crammed in car trunks with four others, praying they won´t be discovered.  Others have even made the journey with children in tow.  While all the stories are intense, none have astounded me as much as Diana´s. 

Essentially, the father of Stephanie didn´t take responsibility, leaving Diana a pregnant, single woman in Mexico and consequentially, a child with a very challenging future.  Determined to create opportunity for her child, Diana scrounged up enough money (presumably relying on family) to pay for the travel to the border and to pay for the coyote (the person who guides illegals across the border). 

By the time she made it there she was 7 months pregnant.  Her first attempt failed, as it was cold and sleeting and she fell during the crossing.  Concerned that the fall had hurt her baby she returned to the Mexico side to have an examination.  Having discovered that the baby was fine, she attemped once more.  This time she successfully completed the 3 day journey across the desert, all while 7 months pregnant, with no food and a small amount of water.  Stephanie was born on American soil and lived her first two years in the states.  I didn´t ask if they were deported and Diana didn´t volunteer that information.  At the end of her story, Diana looked up and asked again, ¨How old are you?¨.  Hearing that I am only 1 year older than her, she sighed, smiled and said, ¨I feel so much older than 27.¨

Diana explained to me that Stephanie is both a child and a friend and goes everywhere with her.  When I asked her if she wanted to have any more children she responded, no, that she wanted to do everything she could to see that this child has a good life.  Stephanie is now learning Nagua, the regional language, Spanish and as much English as she can come into contact with.  The three of us practiced counting in English together and they attempted to share some Nagua with me.   Diana wishes she could send Stephanie to the U.S. for school but it would involve another illegal entry for her and she expressed concern about the present dangers on the border.  Then, casually, she got up, telling Stephanie it was time to go, and said, ¨It was nice to meet you.¨ Stephanie flashed a big smile and waved her hand as she trailed behind her mother, curls bouncing.

Griffin learns how to throw the fishing net that so many folks use here.  His kind mentor, Angel, looks on.

Sunset down river with surfers coming in from an evening session.

The sink and washing machine.  The left side is at a slant to let water drain.  The cement bottom is rough for scrubbing, but not so rough it tears material.

A roadside shrine to the Virgin de Guadalupe, complete with girl´s braids laid at the base of her feet and many a burning candle.

Griff lounging after a long surf session.

Ticla for a Month...

After a little bit of hopping around the coast of Michoacan, we have decided to stay in Ticla for the month of February.  It is a lovely community with some fun and challenging waves.  The family that we are renting a palapa from is very sweet and even invited us to attend some festivities at their church on the 3rd.

After an admittedly short google search, I still have no idea what we were celebrating.  It seems that this is the feastday of St. Blase, when Catholics go to mass to recieve the blessing of the throats.   But I´m pretty sure St. Blase wasn´t brought up.  As usual it seemed centered around the Virgin, with some side discussion on Christ (lots of emphasis on the Virgin here).  But the general theme was feasting, celebrating, and taking time out to be together, and we felt honored to be invited.  I even got to try my hand at making tortillas with the ladies (which indeed added a bit of comic relief to everyone´s dining experience).  I bumbled around like some of the younger girls (ages 8) who were learning as well.  It is amazing how fast some of the older women can whip out a hand made tortilla in mere seconds with perfect shape. 

A word on the food here in Ticla... It is delightfully fresh.  Almost all the other places we have been rely on the tortillerias for their tortillas.  In Morelos there were at least 4 to a town of only a couple thousand people.  While they are good, they are produced with a machine, using dry masa (or corn flour) to make the thin small tortillas.  Here, the tortillas are hand made (although many women use a hand press) and most use fresh corn. First it is soaked in water and then ground that very day into masa (there is a mill here to grind corn).  A milpa (or stone hand grinder) may be used to get a finer consistency.  Then a thin layer of lime (collected in the limestone hills around) is tossed on the pan to keep the tortillas from sticking.  The result is a large, thick corn tortilla that opens like a pita.  They are wonderful.

One morning we went out for juevos rancheros and were asked if we wanted eggs from the cook´s chicken (of course!).  Ticla is a country town, with lots of people employed by agriculture (papayas are the other main income, aside from surf tourists).  Chickens roam the streets, pigs are tied up alongside roads, and occasionally a young boy can be spotted hunting iguanas, or climbing coconut trees.  It has a very laid back feel and no one ever seems to be in a hurry.... the perfect place to hang out for a month.

Whales and Butterflies

¨What´s your favorite season?¨ Griffin asked our Mexican friend Eric.

To which, much to my amuzement, Eric responded, ¨I like them both!¨ 

I had momentarily forgotten that there are indeed only two seasons: the rainy and the dry, and this is especially true south of the Tropic of Cancer.  Right now we are in the dry season.  It is cooler, less humid, and, as is implied by it´s name, doesn´t produce any rain.  It´s also the time to plant tomatoes and peppers, which seemed to be going in the ground shortly after Christmas.  Citrus season is still in full swing.  And so are papayas and pineapples (although these might fruit year round, like coconut trees?).  Mangos are mere buds ready to burst.  They fruit in the rainy season.  And, while they are really only categorized as two seasons, it seems that spring is in the air.  February is a month of flowers.  New blossoms seem to be poking out of the otherwise disguised, dry looking jungle.  And increasingly more butterflies seem to be showing up, like the whales in migration.   Especially since we entered Michoacan.

Soon after having crossed the state line between Colima and Michoacan, the mountains moved closer and closer to the coast until they met, creating a dramatic coastline, beautifully rugged and less inhabited.  First stop:  La Ticla, a large but slow wave and very uncrowded, despite the fact that the economy here revolves around surfers. 

The town is an indigenous village with it´s own language (spanish is a second language that everyone speaks) and sits pretty much on the edge of the ocean (and mountains).  A river runs through the town, shallow this time of year, creating a sanctuary for many different species of birds (also probably migratory).  We are camped right on the river, under a lush palapa surrounded by papaya trees, birds of paradise flowers and expansive green leaves.  The surf is a short walk down the shallow river, or down the cobblestone road, although the river is certainly the scenic route.

Cuixtemotl, or something like that, is how you say burro in this village´s language (I have yet to remember the language´s name), and often, as we walk down the river for a morning surf, a herd of donkeys meet us at the riverbank for their morning drink. Lounging in hammocks later in the afternoon we can hear the donkeys he-hawing on the other side of the river.  Roosters crow in the morning, followed by the tortilla man, delivering fresh, hot corn tortillas early in the morning and proudly anouncing his arrival through an intercom.   It is in every way, quintessentially Mexico here.

No pics this time... it hasn´t been as appropriate to pull out the camera yet here, but soon to come!

Arrollo Seco

Griffin on one of the smaller waves at Arrollo Seco.

I love my new molcajete!  Or, as one man at the market put it, the ¨mexican blender¨. 

Paradise.

Just a few kilometers off the main highway, and down a small windy dirt road, sits the sleepy, yet sweet town of Arrollo Seco.  Home to only a few hundred folks, including one ex-pat American surfer who has lived in mexico for 25 years and one young French man, who has been coming here for 8 years (also a surfer)... all very kind and welcoming people. 

Just on the other side of the town square, another even smaller dirt road winds further and doubles back on itself before reaching the final stretch that cuts through a beautifully landscaped hacienda.  Mango trees, lime trees, papayas, agave and boganvias line the road, ending at the coconut trees and mangrove patch that provide the only shade for the beach-- and a fantastic place for hammocks in the afternoon sun.  The man who looks after this amazing hacienda welcomed us to pick limes and cocos.

The beach itself meets open ocean:  a sand bar and point that abruptly drop off, creating a giant, fast wave for the ¨expert¨ or ¨advanced¨ surfer (neither of which describes me).  The beauty of this feature delights many adrenaline seeking surfers (Griffin included) as well as the more timid and cautious observers (myself) who can admire the whales and dolphins that cruise by at impressively close distances (from a safe perch on the beach).  The dolphins seem eager to attract attention, swimming close to the surfers, causing only a few scares when they first appeared with their dorsal fins protruding.  The surfers are indeed grateful the whales are a bit more conservative. 

We stayed here a week and were hesitant to leave as it has that slow, uncrowded paradise feel.  But a swell arrived producing some rather intimidating waves (at least 15 feet).  While it was fun to watch the more advanced surfers indulge themselves, it was obvious we were out of our league (especially me; Griffin´s boundaries are seemingly nonexistent).  Two days ago a doctor from California was surfing during a particularly large swell and broke his nose.  Nonchalantly, he kept surfing, despite the new profile the wave had bestowed on him.  ¨I can get it fixed later!¨ he exclaimed, a smile below his newly crooked nose.

We are now in Melaque where we have randomly run into friends from Durango!  We are enjoying connecting with Chester and Shannon and their two lovely kids, Addie and Jack Henry, before we start to head south for new, and hopefully beginner friendly waves.