I spent last week in the Sierra Norte, about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Oaxaca. Eight tiny and remote Zapotec villages, known as the Pueblos Mancomunados (Commonwealth of Villages), lie within this incredibly beautiful, forested and mountainous area that ranges in altitude from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. For centuries these villages have worked together and pooled their natural resources, including about 70,000 acres of pine and oak forests. The village members share all profits from forestry and other endeavors from these resources. In order to continue the sustainable uses of these resources, the villages have developed a wonderful ecotourism program over the last four or five years. The program includes approximately 70 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails; simple, but comfortable cabañas at each village; and comedors that serve tasty food to replenish all the energy spent exploring the region.
I took a local bus from Oaxaca City to Cuajimoloyas (say that fast three times!), and checked in at the local oficina de turismo. Unfortunately, the cabañas were all taken for the night, and I was put up in a little hostel room about the size of a Sub-Zero refrigerator. Thankfully, I had had only small breakfast that morning, and was able to fit quite comfortably. Daniela, my guide for the day was about 16 years old, and weighed, I'm guessing, only a few pounds more than my backpack. However, she proved to be quite knowledgeable about the area, and took me along some lovely trails with miradors (view points) abound. Not surprisingly, at 10,000 feet I found myself out of breath several times during the four hours on the trail.
The following morning I woke up to the sounds of a couple of burros flirting, and a rooster who seemed to be stuck in the morning scene from the movie 'Groundhog Day', and kept crowing every 10 minutes or so. After breakfast at the local IHOF (International House of Frijoles) and stocking up on water and snacks for the hike, I moseyed over to meet my guide for the day, who turned out to be Daniela once again. As luck would have it, I was not the lone turista either. I was joined by a young couple from The Netherlands (Eva and Boke) and a lovely lady from Germany (Susanna). These three were with me for the next two days, and we had a blast sharing stories, joking around, and enjoying our beautiful surroundings.
We covered about 15 miles the first day. Daniela took us half way, where we were met by Javier, a guide from the next village (Latuvi) who took us the rest of the way. Javier came up to about my shoulder height, and for a few minutes I dreamt my childhood dream of playing for the Celtics. Then I stood next to Eva, and those dreams were shattered once again. ;) Javier was an amazing guide, with an astounding knowledge of every plant, flower, tree and creature in the woods. Like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, we sniffed, snorted, licked and munched leaves and flowers that tasted like lemons, anise, mint, and cheesecake that could cure everything from upset tummies, to toothaches, to stomach ulcers, to floppy male organs. Javier carried no more than a bottle of water to keep himself going for the six-hour hike. I, on the other hand, carried enough food and water to feed a small Indian village for a month. About three miles from Latuvi, we stopped at a trucha (trout) farm, where a Señor Ignacio caught and cleaned a few fish for us to take to the village for dinner. It turned out to be one of the tastiest meals I've had since arriving in Mexico, as the comedora in Latuvi stuffed the fish with cheese, chipotle, onions and herbs, grilled them, and then served them over a bed of rice and salad. Hmmmmmm...my mouth is watering just writing about it!
The next day we hiked another 15 or 18 miles on trails of soft pine leaves to the village of Amatlàn. Moss called barba de viejo (old man´s beard) hung low from the trees. We saw numerous geckos in an assortment of colors, and took a dip in a freezing river whose name now escapes me. Ecuador and Mexico were playing a World Cup football match that night, so we attempted to watch it at a local restaurant. But we were exhausted and did not get very far into the first half. Mexico did win though!! And we said our farewells, as I was hiking without the group early the next morning to the village of Llano Grande. Eva and Boke, and Susanna were catching the bus back to Oaxaca instead, and then continuing their travels separately.
I learned an interesting fact about squatting in Holland. It turns out, and I'm not sure of the details here, that residents have the right to squat any public land that has not been occupied for at least a year. By 'squat', I mean occupy - thought I should clarify this for my Indian friends who might read this. ;) Boke and his friends have taken over several abandoned tank hangars at a former army base, in which they have built little shelters. Reportedly, their legal limit of five marijuana plants each do not grow too well due to the ground contamination from the army's former activities. Boke has been digging around a fair bit, but has yet to come across any unexploded ordnance. I don't think I will be visiting Boke anytime soon!
Due to the limited work opportunities in the Pueblos Mancomunados, a lot of male residents end up as undocumented workers in the U.S. I met two men during my time in the mountains who had been undocumented workers for several years. They paid coyotes fees ranging from U.S. $300 to $2000 to get them into the U.S. One went through Tijuana, and ended up working for a Pakistani man at a Dollar Store in Los Angeles. The other got through the border somewhere in Arizona, and worked the fields in the Mid-West for a couple of years. After the horror stories I've heard about crossing the border, and watching the documentary 'Wetback' (which I highly recommend), it was fascinating to hear these two men talk so nonchalantly about their border crossings and downplay the difficult experiences they endured. But, like most, if not all the 12 million undocumented workers in the U.S., they were able to send some good money back to their families in Mexico. Señor Obama - can we get a little immigration reform here, please?
