Pyramids

I had a full weekend.

GUANAJUATO

Amanda and I went to Guanajuato, a city nearby that has been holding an art festival dedicated to Cervantes for the last couple weeks. We only went for the day so we missed a lot of the music performances that were held in the evening, but we saw a couple street entertainers and a Mexican reggae band. If you asked me, I'd say the band was decent. If you asked the dreadlocked, hemp-wearing, staff-wielding stoner dancing and yelling in the back of the crowd, they were otherworldly. The city itself was awesome. There is no real center of town, which means the people (which are especially numerous during the festival) were absolutely everywhere. There are several gardens and plazas outside of museums that provide good staging areas for venders and performers, but those who couldn't claim those prime locations simply took over the sidewalks and roads. In terms of the buildings and houses Guanajuato is easily the most colorful city I've ever seen. Greens, yellows, reds, oranges, blues, all right next to each other or practically stacked on top of each other on the steep hillsides. They also have a big university, which means more young people romping around. Apparently they have a fairly prestigious medical school... I wonder if that reputation extends to the nursing program...

We also went to see el Cristo Rey (King Jesus... Amanda's idea), a big Jesus statue on the top of a hill. We had heard the bus ride was 20 minutes. After being on the bus for an hour Amanda worried that we missed the stop. Another 20 minutes later, we arrived. There was a service going on in the chapel Jesus was standing on and the entire hilltop was packed with high school groups and families. Having been to the enormous Jesus in Rio de Janeiro, I was less than impressed... especially considering the four hours the trip took. However I have to admit... even as a gentile... there is something kinda cool about giant Jesi.

THE PYRAMIDS

This was the highlight of el fin de semana. We had been hearing about these recently excavated pyramids for a few weeks so we were excited to finally be going. Not much is known about the history of the pyramids, or at least not being shared with the public yet. They suspect they were constructed by either the Chichimecas or Olmecas, but I couldn't get any concrete answers. The route there wasn't quite as I expected. I assumed a well-known archaeological site would be a major tourist destination, drawing enough money to build roads and a parking lot. Of course I was expecting too much. And so the adventure began. We pulled off the freeway onto an unmarked, narrow dirt road. We had to pass through two or three gates that appeared to be property markers. This involved one passenger jumping out, inspecting the gates for locks, and opening them if there were no locks. Eventually, one of the gates was unpassable, so we parked outside of it. Amanda, Miguel, and I were joined by Miguel's son, Josue; the two guides from the first hike, Ricardo and Fortino; Pati, who also hiked Los Picachos with us; and Ricardo's daughter and her boyfriend. While we stood outside the cars contemplating our path, Miguel asked Ricardo if he brought his pistol. He did. The pyramids are surrounded on all sides by canyons, and typical defense measure, so we had to explore for a while looking for a way across. We found one, and we reached the site in just over an hour. I noticed that Ricardo, Miguel, and Fortino all kept looking off to the left just above a tiny dammed lake, but I couldn't figure out why until I heard Miguel say something about the area being a federal reserve. As we neared the pyramids, Fortino told us to be quiet, and said we'd go up just over the last hill to take pictures. This sounded lame to me, as I had imagined climbing the ancient ruins. Momentarily, when we saw that the entire dig site was surrounded by barbed wire fencing, I worried my dream would be crushed. Luckily Mexican laws don't intimidate everyone. I followed the lead of Fortino, Miguel, and Josue, and hopped the fence. Admittedly I was nervous as we tiptoed through the brush, guerilla-style, pausing every 20 or 30 feet to look around and listen for any activity from, I suppose, some federal guards? We came up on a camp with a tarp shelter, some cooking supplies, and an outdoor stove. Somehow we concluded that nobody was around, so we broke from there to the pyramid. We ran around frantically climbing the steps, running across the walled field, and taking as many pictures as possible. We spent maybe 20 minutes enjoying the adrenaline-infused glimpse into ancient history, but the others were waiting for us so we had to go. Walking toward what will someday be the public entrance to the reserve we noticed a small building with bathrooms, what looks to be a future taco stand, and a trailer where a guard probably stays... except for Sundays I guess. We conquered some more barbed wire on the way out, and seconds after we had all cleared it we heard a popping sound. It sounded close, but not that loud, like it came from just inside the fence. It sounded to me like a smaller firecracker, but I heard Florentino say something about a 22. He could have been talking about anything, and there were no more bangs, so we shrugged it off. Only after leaving did we see the sign that warned trespassers of a fine and up to 10 years in jail.

Finally, at around noon, we ventured off to find our lunch spot. This, not surprisingly, was also somewhat of an ordeal, but entirely worth it. We passed through a few farms and by some solitary houses (more gates), and waited while Miguel and Florentino stole part of our lunch from somebody's corn field and put it in my backpack, for some reason. We settled on a scenic, rocky river bank as our dining room. Like at Los Picachos, everyone brought some comestible to share. I was prepared this time, armed with a bottle of tequila. The peaceful, tranquil riverbed was the location for my scariest moment. After finishing my corn, I was standing near the fire spacing out, and realized I was getting dizzy. I tried to look up to shake it off, but my vision started closing in from all sides like Hal was closing the pod bay doors on my eyes. Before I felt like I was going to pass out I made myself sit down on some uncomfortable fallen tree branches. I regained my vision and my head stopped spinning, but I was a dazed for a little while trying to figure out what just happened. Probably some combination of dehydration, altitude, hunger, and maybe standing in the smoke trail of the fire for too long (which is practically unavoidable with these looks). Anyway I had no further incidents and decided I better gorge myself in case hunger was the cause. I ate a disgusting amount of food and felt like tossing my cookies (which I had seven of) until I woke up this morning.

Coming soon:

We have a new volunteer arriving this Friday. Her name is Jan, she's from Wisconsin, and she is 58 years old. I don't know what she's expecting, but the only private room left in the volunteer house smells like crap because it leads to the small patio where we keep the garbage. I don't expect her to last too long in the house, but she's only scheduled to be here for a week or two anyway.

This Sunday is some important soccer game between Chivas and América in Mexico City, and I'm planning on going with Miguel and Donna, so that should be exciting.

BERG'S EYE VIEW

- Slovenians make the most delicious treat. Thin apple slices (across the diameter, shaped like donuts after the core is removed), dipped in flour, then egg, deep fried, and covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar. They're like bite-sized apple pies. Delectable.

- I stand corrected about the VW Bug observation. The most popular vehicle here is the ATV... then the VW Bug.

- The Mexicans I hike with never like to retrace their steps. I guess they adhere to the John Horn philosophy that taking different routes as often as possible exercises the brain.

- Stu has bought his ticket to Mexico for November 28th. Anyone else smart enough to join us for two weeks of sheer elation should contact me about it relatively soon. I know some of you will need a vacation.

- Mexicans don't really eat dinner. They eat breakfast, a big lunch between 2 and 4 in the afternoon, then just have a small snack later on. I can get down with the big lunch, but skipping dinner is one practice this gringo won't be adopting while in Mexico.