Night life in Smalltown, Mexico

Night life for Mexicans centers around the town square, called a plaza.   This is where outdoor concerts are held, vendors display their wares, old men sit around, and teen stroll around showing off.  

After our day of adventure in Mezcala, we stopped for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant with some of our new friends, Eddie and Betty.  

Then we decided to return to Mezcala for the music concert and activities that evening.   Even though it was a Wednesday, the music did not start up until 9:00.   Aug 6-17 was the festival for the patron saint of Mezcala, so there would be festivities every night.   Across the street from where we parked, we saw "roof dogs" doing their guard jobs.

 

At 9:00, the square was sparsely populated.   The church had been completely redecorated during the afternoon, presumably for a wedding.

We had spotted the musicians earlier in the day, and of course, they started up their concert somewhat later than the scheduled 9:00.   Then the crowd gathered. 

  

There were activities set up for the children, such as this jumping cage, which cost about $1 for 20 minutes. 

Vendors strolled the area with flowers, cotton candy, balloons, and glowing toys.    

 

We were surprised at the number of small children present at that time of evening, as well as their calm and respectful demeanor.  Some worked along side their parents, while others collected cans, ate ice cream or enjoyed the show.

The music made up in volume for whatever was missing in quality.    

Although the setup for the fireworks was quite impressive, we stayed for about an hour and a half of ear-bleeding music, and decided to leave at about 11:30, before the fireworks display.   

Voyage aboard the Minnow

About 5 miles from where we live is a historic town called Mezcala.   The population of this town is mostly indigenous people, with a very interesting history.   When the Spanish conquistadors came in, the people of this village fled by boat to a nearby island called Mezcala, where they held off the Spanish for 4 years, in spite of severe hardship and shortage of food.   Finally, they negotiated a peace agreement and were allowed to return to their homes unmolested.  Many credit this group with being the inspiration for the Mexican war of independence, which eventually threw off the Spanish rule.  On the island, the Spanish constructed a fort, which was later used by the Mexicans as a prison.

Enough, history!  On Wednesday, we decided to explore the town of Mezcala.   We started at the church in the town square.

Inside, it was all decorated in pink and white.  A large, party approached, and it became clear that this was a 15 year old birthday party.  "Quinci años" parties for girls represent a milestone in maturity and are celebrated much like weddings.   Although this is a very poor town, we were amazed at the formal dress, that was all coordinated in color.   

 We were also surprised that the event was marked by a full mass in the church, and lots of ringing of bells.   A large band of musicians played and sang music that reminded me of scenes from the Godfather movie.   I know, that is the wrong country, but that is what came to mind!

When the mass was over, the party paraded down the street, accompanied by the musicians, to a private residence. ..The townspeople who were not involved in the event, enjoyed the music from the plaza.

 Since we watched for a long time, we were hungry and venders were now set up around the square.   We sat down and enjoyed some tacos and quesadillas for lunch, then walked through a museum which housed lots of pottery that had been found in the area that dated back to 500 B.C. 

We headed down the 4 blocks to the pier of the lake to see about catching a boat to the island.   We were met by a boy that appeared to be about 12 years old, who asked us if we wanted to go to the island.   He quoted a price and we said yes, assuming he would take us to where we could buy tickets.   Not so!   He took us to his boat, and brought it around to the warehouse pallet that served as a dock.  Yes, Reynaldo was the Capitán!   On the way to the boat he grabbed the hand of a toddler playing near by and loaded him onto the boat (to serve as first mate?)

Fortunately we did not have to row, and the trip was pleasant.  When we arrived, Reynaldo replaced his Capitàn hat with a tour guide hat, and accompanied us around the island.  Of course, the first mate, who I learned was a nephew, came along as well.   I have never seen a more well-behaved child!  There was no whining or complaining on the hour walk which included a lot of climbing, and he stayed right with us.

There were ruins of two churches, on the island.   One was in the process of being restored.   But the more interesting feature was the fort-turned-prison.   At one point 400 prisoners were housed here.   Outside the fort was a structure used for punishment of prisoners.   There were also ruins of the housing used for the soldiers.

As a part of the restoration, several enormous stone tablets honoring indigenous heroes were being erected.   For some reason, there was a desire to get them to the base of the hill.   The Mexican way of accomplishing this was quite entertaining to watch.

On our return trip, we made a stop at a tilapia nursery and also stopped to snag some floating liria (water lillies) from the lake to take home to the pond in our garden.  And the Minnow made a safe return!

Journey into the Past

Yesterday we took a day trip out to a group of pyramids that date back to about 2000 B.C.   They are called Guachimontones, and are unique because of being constructed in concentric circles.   They are located about an hour drive west of Guadalajara, near a town called Teuchitlán.  We found the site rather easily, with the aid of our Garmin.   The interpretive center was only 2 years old and was designed in a circular shape to complement the pyramids.    

We were greeted by a guide who spoke English and were shown a 30 minute film in English, telling the history of the site.   It was interesting and quite well made.  There were artifacts on display in the center which were found in the area of the pyramids, and descriptions of what was known of the people who lived there.   

Our guide in the center was named Sagrario, and she decided to hike up to the pyramids with us.   The hike was about 300 meters -- straight up!   It was warm and we stopped to rest in every patch of shade.   When we looked back from the top, it was quite surprising how far we had climbed.   (The white building in the lower right corner of the photo is the interpretive center, and the town of Teuchitlán is in the background.)

But the payoff for the hike was the sight of several huge pyramids that rose to sight as we topped the hill.   They had 13 layers with a plateau, followed by 4 more layers used for sacrifices.  Each was surrounded by 13 platforms which once had held temples.  Originally the entire structure was covered in ornately decorated clay, which had been made with cactus slime to make it strong.   The size and scale is difficult to describe.   That is the edge of one of the surrounding platforms in the foreground.

Even more interesting than the pyramids were rectangular structures the size of football fields which were used for a game which resembled soccer.   The ball was made of hard rubber and weighed as much as a bowling ball.   Teams tried to move the ball by only hitting it with their hips toward the opposing end of the field.  The interesting part was that this was used to settle territorial disputes among tribes.   The game began at dawn and continued to the death.  Death came from broken bones from being struck with the heavy ball.   The winning team (i.e. last ones breathing), and those they represented, were allowed the land.   And the surviving members of the team were "allowed" to sacrifice themselves to the gods.  (Really!)   So no one survived the game.  And I thought Razorbacks took their ballgames seriously!!

Here is the ball field, viewed from one end.   The tiny man in the distance is standing at the far end.  (Yes, there is really a man in the photo in front of the distant rock wall!)

We really enjoyed our guide Sagrario.

We had lunch in the town of Teuchitlán for $5 total, and headed back.  It was well worth the drive!

Car Wash

Driving to Mexico involved lots of dirt roads, rain, and mud.   Both cars arrived dirtier than anything I've ever ridden in.   We drive my little Fiesta most of the time, so the first time we went to Walmart we allowed the guys with buckets and rags in the parking lot to wash it.   Because it was so bad, we paid them the $8 they asked.   They did a pretty good job, and it was done while we shopped for groceries.   They even got a big layer of grime off the tires.

When the plumber was here one day, Dan was trying to learn as much as possible about the area.   The plumber spoke a little English, so Dan asked him what "the places where they wash your car" are called.    He carefully spelled out  "C A R   W A S H".    Sure enough, we noticed several "Car wash" signs in town after that.   Duh!

A friend recommended a particular one, so today we took the Explorer in.   They wash the outside, and vacuum and wipe down the inside for about $5.   So we waited in the adjoining outdoor palapa covered café and drank coffee as we watched.   They first pressure washed the whole car, paying particular attention to the tires.   Then they opened each door and the hatch and pressure washed around the doors.   I about had to restrain Dan when he saw them spraying water INSIDE the car.

Yes, that is water spraying in and through the open door!   The worker opened all 4 doors and the hatch in succession and then made another pass around the car with soap.   After this, he moved the car down, so we never saw what he did on the inside.   About the time the car was moved, another patron came in and we nervously asked him if he had used this car wash before.   He said "Yes.   They always do a great job!"  So we waited and visited with our new friend.  (We now have his name and phone number.)   And after another half hour or so, the worker signalled that our car was ready.   We paid the waitress/cashier for our coffee and the carwash and went to survey the work.

It looked awesome!   The seats were not wet.   The inside looked like it had been Armor-All'ed.   OK, the headliner was slightly damp.   But we will definitely be back!   And I hear the palapa café serves a great taco.   So we have now found a "Car Wash and Lunch" spot!