Pachuga to Tampico, Mountains to the Sea

Markos and Tarn join the men fishing on Laguna Meztitlan.

Flowing water...finally, and green, "Mom, is this a forest? It smells like moss." Our days in the desert have been replaced by a very different ecosystem.

A view out the window of comedor "Pesca Ilde", "Si! Yes, I am Ilde and you may camp on that island there, if anyone asks, tell them Ilde said it is okay. Have the girls in the kitchen fill up your water bottles."

A tree emerges from a rock on the valley floor near Meztitlan.

Sampson dries out, the sunny morning after a stay in a 500 year old church.

Morning studies next to 200 year old murals.

Snack break in the rain - how is it that this crew is oblivious to the fact that it's rained all day?

A change in climate,
A change in scene.

Mountain roads, granny gears or tight on the brakes.
An occasional tractor. Valley floors patchworked with fields of green and turned red soil.
Cactus walls. Grinding climbs.

Dense dripping forests, waterfalls and twittering birds.

Fushia bouganvilla, scarlet poinsetta, ancient root buttressed trees.
Adobe towns, local seniors walk down the road, old women with cardigan sweaters, old men carrying a sack, a machete.
Burros munch tall grass, staked by a long lead.

Old churches, claining bells.
Murals, barrel vaults, stonework. Ancient yet continuous. Local inhabitants filter in and out of the sanctury. Still, these buildings remain part of daily life.

Why did we leave the beaches and the sunshine? Change is good, there are roads to explore.

My favourite local reaction to the journey so far: "Que valiente!"


Markos' journal
Feb. 1 (leaving Mexico City) Today we had cereal and yogurt for breakfast. After breakfast we got a ride in a minivan to a big bus station and we got on a bus for an hour and a half and we got to another big bus station. I got a Hawaiian empanada and mom and Sampson got a meat and potato one.

Feb. 3 Yesterday it was raining. The rain was falling from the foggy clouds. Yesterday I saw lots of mud because it was raining the whole day. Yesterday we biked up lots of switch backs and on the otherside we went down a long down hill.


Sampson's journal
Feb. 7 Today we woke up and dad made oatmeal with dates and cinnamon and sugar on top. After breakfast we packed up and we got out of the fence and got riding to Molango. I heard cows running around our tents this morning. An hour later we had a fruit bar for a snack. We saw water falls and jungle all morning long. After a snack there was a fork in the road and they both went to the same place but one was muddy. We went on the other road. Later we got to Molango and dad bought some tamales and empanadas from an old lady for lunch, they were really good. I had two. After lunch we went down and then back up through the jungle. In towns there were people dressed up in costumes and asking for money for a carnival. I gave them a peso. It was a long, long afternoon because we had lunch at eleven thirty. Later we got to a trail to a big leafy, sluggy wet flat spot where we camped. We had vegetable scramble for dinner.

Feb. 11 Today we woke up and I read a chapter and got dressed before Tarn and Markos were awake. Lanier and I set up the stove and lit it for coffee. Later dad made oatmeal with raisins and granola in it. After breakfast we did school and played at the park a little bit and then we packed up and went. Later we had a snack bar. At that break there was a little road border where you pay for road improvements but we didn't have to pay. Later we had lunch at a river. We had avocado on tostidas for lunch and a candy after. After lunch we rode to Tampico. In Tampico we found a hotel that had one room with three queen size beds and another with two. I slept with Lanier in the two bed room and the others slept in the other. We're going out tonight and we might get some churros.

Tarn is reading ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH
His journal reads: hook, cook, book, nook ...ink, pink, wink, drink, think, yink