The Gringos Tuesday Hiking group met at the second class bus station this morning. Destination: Teotitlan del Valle. Teotitlan is a wool rug weaving village about 20 miles out of the city. The work is perfectly done, and every family in the village is involved in the weaving process in some way. Teotitlan is not, however close to the city it might be, easy for many people to get to. You can take a taxi, which is pretty cheap compared to US taxi trips, but for here is pricey: 200 pesos or more. Most buses do go in that direction, but don't go all the way to the village. There is one bus that makes the curcuit, not the usual 'bus every few minutes' schedule, though. The village is about 4 km from the highway, not a bad walk if you like to walk. Colectivos are hard to find. We've been there several times over the years, always taking the bus. Each time, when we got off the bus and began walking, someone would drive by and offer us a ride. No problem! But, today, about 20 gringos showed up for the walk around the resevoir above the city. We eventually got everyone in a cab, down to Joy, Rick and Stuart and me. We found a bus to Tlacolula, we'll walk in from the highway. Or, I pointed out to Joy that when we get off the bus, there will be a truck waiting to offer us a ride. I just know it. And, just like magic, when the bus dropped us at the road to Teotitlan, there was a colectivo waiting for us.
The resevoir, the pedra, was built in 1968, by the village, for the village. Until then, water had to be hauled from the river. I'm not sure how it's delivered now, but I'm sure they don't drink it. The day was perfect: cool and sunny. Stuart and I took the "stitches and britches" trail at one point, crossing the cow pasture to cut off the boring walk on the dirt road, and separating ourselves from the group. We had to cross a couple of little creeks, but we didn't get wet. The mountains around us are gorgeous, and the air is clear and clean. The hikers had broken into 6 or more small groups, walking at a pace that worked for everyone.
Back in the village, Stuart and I visited the church. The last time we were here, the church was under renovation. It was built in 1751. The ceilings and walls are painted in tromp l'oell (I can't spell that!), and all the side altars were covered with fresh flowers. It smelled so good in there! All the side altars had signs identifying the saints, along with the normal small, locked boxes for you to drop in your money. The floor was pasta tiles...those tiles that came from Italy as ballast, and were salvaged once in Mexcio and used for flooring. They are seen everywhere in Yucatan, not so much this far from the Atlantic coast.
Yet another fence, this one to keep the cows in. I don't think they'd wander far, however. There isn't much water away from this little river and the resevoir. We found this shady spot the perfect place for a little snack. This is recycling at the most perfect level. When the bed is no longer comfortable for sleeping, the inards are used for fencing in many places. Free and available!
Stuart and I found a courtyard restaurant back in Teotitlan, where there aren't many restaurants. Soon, a few of the other hikers returned from the hike, and shortly the entire group had reassembled for lunch. Serendipity! Just about the time we finished eating, the bus came through town. We had about 10 minutes to pay our bills, while the driver turned around.
On the bus, I sat down beside two local women who were wide-eyed at the group of gringos. Three women almost missed the bus, and as they got on, I looked at my seat mate and said, "too many gringos", in spanish of course. They broke up with laughter, and we chatted during the trip back to the city. Another day, another conversation in spanish...
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