MeXscape

Day 5 on the road. We're hot. We're tired. We're out of ice. We decide to stop at a Pemex to use the facilities and add some ice to the cooler. The facilities are no problem. They are easily accessible from outside, stocked with soap and toilet paper, and clean. Small favors.

When I volunteered my time to help Conrehabit expand their reality, I really had no idea what I was getting into, nor any clue as to where it would lead. Now, with more than 9 months into this relationship with nature, I am truly overwhelmed by the shear volume of encounter and adventure I have experienced in such a short time, everything from Bramadors to very big snakes.

When Martha told me she was returning to the village of the Bramador I immediately volunteered my truck and my time, for this was clearly going to be a high quality adventure. Not being real sure just what a Bramador was or did, added to my sense of participatory anxiety, which is requisite for any decent adventure. This impromptu trip would go from Mazatlan to San Ignacio for a late lunch and then on to the village of Tacuitapa, where we would spend the night out among the folks and experience the unique talents of the Bramador. I asked Martha about the accommodations and with a wave of her hand told me “The people in the village will take care of us. I’ll let them know we are coming.” In the face of her overwhelming confidence, I thought to myself “Well, this is certainly the easiest B&B I have ever booked.” Martha went on to elaborate about how this place is not on any tourist itinerary and that the people were ready to share some of their natural treasures. Well, so far this looked to be a trip as charmingly spontaneous and unpredictable as the woman herself.

Last month, the perpetually churning cogs of nature’s celestial time clock flipped the switch that propelled us into winter. It was as though the weather gods were timing their moves to correlate closely with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. As the lunatic fringe that lives above 60 degrees north were experiencing over 20 hours of night, we here in Mazatlan were dragged, kicking and screaming, into the first days of this frigid season. As if somewhat precisely cued, on December 20th the sky became overcast and the daytime temperatures plunged into the mid seventies. Sporadic showers of 71 degree rain hounded the natives and drove the sun seekers to cover; winter was upon us.

Chuck and I actually had nowhere to be today. No getting up early to get dressed and drive across the county to be at either of our parents' houses for Christmas breakfast. I love our families. I love Christmas with our families. But sometimes all the schedules and obligations and rushing around feel a lot more like work than a holiday. So we lazed our way through the morning. I did a little work. I made a late brunch. Then we decided a nap would be divine. Out of habit, I stopped to check my email before crawling into bed.