December 8, 2010

December 8, 2010

Yikes is it cold in our room this morning. We were both snug in our beds but out from under the blankets is another story and I won’t even tell you what it feels like to sit on the toilet seat!!!

After a quick dash to the bathroom it was back under the covers. Critical learning from this morning’s dash to the toilet included: DO NOT put bare feet on the frozen tile floors, DO NOT linger anywhere AND be sure to turn on the hot water in the shower before returning to bed. It’s a bit like winter camping and fortunately we’re well prepared with appropriate clothing and scarves….it’s just the in between bits that are either very very good or very very bad for the heart.

While waiting for the hot water to arrive (at least 10 minutes this morning) one of the features of our room that support the 6 year old boy theme became apparent. Our curtains are made from a set of little boys sheets. The part that covers the window is quite faded so the pictures don’t show up very well but the bits that hang below the window are still like new and show off the wagon wheels, spinning tops, bowling balls and pins, wagons filled with bunny rabbits, and tugboats. Yep….we’re in Mexico alright and loving it.

Breakfast this morning looks a bit like cookies and ice water (I think there is actually chunks of ice in the bottle!!) but if we ever get dressed and out of here….I’m sure we’ll find something a little more appropriate.

Well…..we found breakfast alright…..and what a special breakfast it was! Went to the internet café to check email, hoping to have heard from a tripadvisor connection here about possible private tour guide, but no reply so…..headed off to see if we could find Norberto on our own after breakfast. En route Jonathan from Tennessee came up behind us and said “Hi y’all” and from there a conversation that would last for some time began.

Jonathan has been living in Batopilas (I think my spelling might be wrong but it is a small Taramuhara village about a 5 hour bus ride from Creel) for the past 10 years (since he was 20). He is married to a Taramuhara woman, Martha, and they have 3 gorgeous little kids. How do we know they’re gorgeous you ask? Well…..it’s because Martha made breakfast for us while Lynda showed the kids the ‘two little dickie birds’ game (with paper on her fingers). Jonathan had never seen it either and I’m sure that there will be many Taramuhara children who will see the game when he gets back to their village.

The reason that they’re living in Creel at the moment is because he and Martha are living in and looking after a home for young women attending school here in Creel. 3 of the young women in the home are from his village in the mountains and he and Martha have been living here since September – they leave for home the end of December when someone else will come in from the States to take over the home for the girls.

Jonathan’s generosity didn’t stop with the invitation to breakfast in their home…he also offered their laundry facilities, sweet tea to drink (he still has that as his preference left over from his southern USA roots), actually…..we could have moved in with them if we wanted and that would have been just fine.

Jonathan is definitely more Taramuhara than he is American now. He speaks of the village ways as though they were the only way he’s ever known. He doesn’t speak much Spanish…only Taramuhara and English so having people to speak English with was a real treat for him and he didn’t stop talking the whole time we were there.

In addition to his familial responsibilities (ie: farming, economic stability, building and moving houses, etc) he volunteers as a medic in his village and the hospital that is about 3 hours from there. Speaking with Jonathan was such a gift….it was as though we were able to speak directly with the Taramuhara but in perfect English. We learned so much from this young man and applaud his generous spirit and authenticity. This is one of those times that there is nothing to say except how being in the right place at the right time is all anyone has to do to have an unforgettable experience! A few of the things we learned from Jonathan include: about ½ of the children die in infancy, the tribes are nomadic and move their homes into the valley floor during the winter where it is warmer and then up into the mountains for the summer, TB and other similar disease is not unusual, children (both boys and girls) usually marry by 12 years old and have children right away, there are ants with bulbous yellow bums that the kids (and others) eat live straight from the ant hill for sweets/candy, Jonathan travels by horse for 11 hours (round trip) to get groceries every 2 weeks, there are many problems with government support – they support the schools but there is no heat or food for the children attending, some elders live into their 70’s and beyond…in fact we saw one of Jonathan’s kids in a photo with his great great grandmother who is about 75 and who looks in excellent health. It sounds like there are some households in the villages that are very clean and take good care of their kids and others who are exactly the opposite….just like every other community in the world.

Jonathan wears the traditional Taramuhara footwear (simple sandals that are just one leather strap wrapped around the foot and the leg with a rubber sole) and grey flannel pants with suspenders while Martha wears the colourful traditional Tarahumara dress.

Jonathan is Mennonite and although practices his faith here did not in any way impose any of his beliefs on us in our conversations…..he is just a good man doing good work and taking good care of his family in a very simple and traditional way. He has helped so many children (and we saw pictures of them all!) and it was interesting to hear how he could be so connected in their lives during their health care and recovery (sometimes over a period of years) and then have no attachment to what has become of them after they left his village. He simply says….”we can’t follow them once they leave the area”. This was such a gift and when Jonathan offered for us to stay in their home while they went to the grocery store or to come and go as we pleased we knew we had received all that we wanted from our visit to Creel so with that in mind decided right then and there that we would not look further for Norberto or go on any tours of the area….this is what we wanted to remember of this community.

So now we’re sitting in a little coffee shop enjoying toast and café mochas while waiting for our train and catching up on the day’s events. Creel turned out to be a good stop along the tracks but I don’t know that I’d come back to this town again.

Next stop Chihuahua,

L & L

p.s.

Just when we thought our blog was finished for the day….so much more presented itself that needed to be included so here we are back again…....

While waiting at the station in Creel we met Klemens and Susi Rottweiler, travellers from Germany, who were also en route to Chihuahua so we enjoyed some conversation with them that helped to pass the time as in true Mexican fashion our 3:30 train didn’t arrive to pick us up until shortly after 4:00. Klemens and Susi are also planning to spend a few days in the Zihuatanejo area so we may see them again in Troncones.

Have now arrived in Chihuahua and what a great trip we had from Creel to here on El Chepe. We’re so glad that we didn’t take the advice someone gave us along the way to just take the train as far as Creel and then switch over the bus as the bus is a shorter amount of time for that last leg of the journey and because by the time you reach Creel you’re out of the most scenic parts of the trip. We actually thought the scenery was great (until it got dark) and loved the fact that we were on the train and able to move about freely for the 5 ½ hour trip. In fact…. very shortly after the train was underway we found our way to the bar car and ordered two of the best margarita’s we’ve had on the entire trip to date. Our bartender gave us his full attention (we were his only customers) and free poured our drinks, used freshly squeezed lime juice and did it all with a flourish you rarely see a bartender use any more. About 1 ½ hours after the train was underway the canyons began to change into rolling hills and virtual prairie with mountains as their backdrop and creeks with ice along their shores meandered along our route.

We sat in the bar car and played cards while we sipped our margs and enjoyed the view out the window while listening to the music that was playing in the bar car. While there….the security guards came by again and this time we got them to pose for even more pictures with us….one of them even sat down and put Flor on his rifle for the photo! In another, Lynda is on the floor pleading for mercy as two of the armed guards keep a watchful eye on her. I’m sure we made their trip as enjoyable as they helped to make ours.

After our drinks we decided to move into the dining car for dinner and ordered hamburgers with fries that were not only delicious but served with more of the same flair that our bartender had displayed. After our dinner we gave our waiter a Canada pin and before we knew it they were coming out of the kitchen in the hope of receiving one too. In the end there were at least seven of them lined up wearing their pins for a photo. Security guards have also added the Canadian pin to their uniforms so if you're riding El Chepe at some point and notice Canadian pins on any of the staff....be sure to say that Lynda and Lorrie say "hola". Shortly after that the waiter even agreed to take Flor to the guys driving the train in the engine room (along with pins for them as well) where no passengers are allowed and took a photo of Flor driving El Chepe! This flower gets around!! Soon afterward we met two men, Alfredo and Martin (whom we had seen earlier at Possado del Barrancas Mirador Hotel). They recognized us right away (no surprise as there aren’t too many travellers that match our description around here!) so said hello and introduced themselves. They’re both tour guides from Chihuahua and were returning home from having accompanied a tour of 140 people from Chihuahua to the Mirador Hotel. We’ve made arrangements with Alfredo for a private city tour tomorrow morning and nice guys that they are….they also gave us a ride to our hotel from the train station as they had a van waiting for them when we arrived. We also learned that the best way to say how lucky we are is “suertudas” which basically means that we’re super lucky all of the time – and we are!!!

We’ve checked in to the San Fransico Hotel in the heart of the Centro Historico (historical centre) of Chihuahua and it turns out that we’re not aspiring Taramuharas after all as our hotel room is anything but a cave!!! We’re back into the lap of luxury and will enjoy 2 nights here while we make some plane reservations and explore this city.

Till next time,

L & L