Thursday, July 15, 2010

Every little thing is gonna be alright....

This morning we awoke at 6:30 am and, to our delight and amazement it was NOT raining. We had arranged for a lagoon tour with a young man named Javier. At a little before 7, Javier arrived and we loaded into his old VW bug. It is green, a little rusty and has some trouble starting. Javier speaks pretty good English because he spent 3 years in Nashville, working and learning the language. All we know about this tour is that we will go on a boat and have a lunch. The cost is 400 pesos or about 40 American dollars. We drive for about 30 minutes and Javier tells us stories of working in the United States and how no one in mexico wants to pay him more just because he can speak English. He turns on a CD and the familiar lyrics ..."don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright..." stream out at us. As we swerve around potholes, honk at friends of Javier and pass teh lush green vegetation we all sing along to the music. We stop for ice at a place that does not appear to be a store. javier explains that where we are going, Puerto Puelo does not have electricity and his Mama, who is cooking our lunch sometimes has fish adn needs ice. We eventually arrive at a place where the boat is begin a 10 minut hike down to the lagoon. Our hike is somewhat muddy because of the rains we've had on the previous days but the sky is blue and butterlies of various colors flit around us. When we reach the boat a driver, who does not speak English, is working on his boat, that appears in a little disrepair. He soon gets teh motor going and we all pile in. As we motor along at a slow speed we see SO many kinds of birds. Blue heron, white heron, a bird that is apparently called something like a dark snake bird that swims under water and occcasionally sticks its head out, spoon bills, coramant, pelicans of many colors and sizes and much= otres. Javier shares his passion and love for the lagoon and the driver slows for us to look at various plants adn animals of interest. Occaionally the driver says something in Spanish that Javier translates to us, giving more detail of certain areas. Both men are delighted to share their knowledge, culture and beloved land. We entually see the ocean just as the boat turns to enter a river. The water color changes some as we navigate past sandbars and vegetation. Soon we pull over and Javier helps us to disembark. We have no idea why we are getting out of the boat but we step into mud and climb up a small embankment. What awaits us is Puerto Suelo. It is a very small village where Javier, and 14 others live. The houses are huts made of bamboo with palm leaf roofs. The ground is sand, the ocean roars nearby and a woman in a dress and apron greets us, welcoming us to Puerto Suelo. She introduces herself, in Spanish, as Juania. She is Javier's mother and she is cooking us lunch. His father reclines in a hammock nearby. His dog, Palbo, greets us as well. We settle our things nearby and walk towards the ocean. It roars loud and is muy bonito. Javier brings us coconuts with the tops cut off and we sip coconut milk from straws. I feel so much awe at this place. I also feel humbled and honored to be invited to share in this bit of paradise. While our lunch is cooking I stroll the beach, Angela naps in a hammock and Tina works on homework for her Spanish class. This village has only fifteen people, including a few children. It is quiet and peaceful. There is no electricity and the water is pumped up from the river and filtered into a storage tank. I feel as if I have stepped back in time. Soon, lunch is served. We eat on pretty plates with forks but Javier says he will eat with his family because he likes to eat with his hands. We try to convince him that we can eat with our hands too but he just laughs and goes off. I feel a little sad that I am an outsider but the lunch is amazing! We have fish, cooked over the fire, frijoles, a salad of cactus, onion and red peppers, quesadillas and salsa. It is one of the best meals I have ever had and it was produced in a small hut, over a fire by a woman who beams with pride as we compliment her on the way out. Today I learned something. Mexicans do not take pride in the things they own such as their cars or boats. They take pride in what is important... family, home, treating people well. Our trip back is shorter than on the way in because the driver hurries to get us back to our Spanish class on time. The breeze blows our hair, the sun is on our face and we are mostly silent and content. I tell Javier that this is the best day I have had in Mexico so far and he seems humbled and grateful. I am also humble and grateful.

4 comments:

  1. Awesome- I love reading these from your different perspectives- and your pics are awesome!

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  2. I am so glad you are writing about all of this. I will be forever envious of your adventure. But I am thrilled that you are still sharing part of it with me. (I know it's not just me. :-) ) You always seem to have a great outlook on it all.

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  3. If you ever get a chance to come here, I highly advise it!

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  4. You weave a beautiful story! Expanding your horizons indeed.

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