Things I Did Not Expect About Mexico

Okay, everyone thinks they know a lot about Mexico, and often, they are correct.  For example, almost everyone loves Mexican food.  And to travel in Mexico, you are not disappointed in this respect, the food is terrific. 

But what about things you did not expect?  Let's take a look at five things that were unexpected and rather surprising:

I apologize in advance if I offend anyone by being surprised ...

1.  It's a pretty modern place.  

I don't know, maybe I expected to see a bunch of adobe structures and broken down taxis and dirt roads, and cactus and burros (donkeys) wandering around?  And there was a bit of that.  

But the airports and bus stations and shops and restaurants were very modern and fairly new.  It wouldn't be completely out of line to say that everything is up-to-date in Mexico.  

Everyone has smartphones.  And cell service was good even in some remote places where we went.  Computers are everywhere, and the internet is widely used, almost every restaurant - and certainly every hotel - has free high speed WiFi.

I realize that we didn't cover the whole country, but we did cross several hundred miles on buses and went from the coast to high up in the mountains.  We saw a lot of the place, and it was all modern.   

2.  The roads are really good.  

We like to use public transportation when we travel, it's the best way to get to know someplace.   
There was a high level American government advisory to not travel in Michoacan, because it was unsafe.  That didn't stop us, and we took a bus from Ixtapa all the way to Morelia, a six hour bus ride.  

And the roads were terrific.  Better than many roads at home.  Our travel was occasionally interrupted by modern gleaming toll booths, and all the vehicles had those little electronic emitters that opened the barrier arm, and we whistled right through.    

And the buses had all the newest gadgets, like free Wifi and movies and music and A/C and everything you could want.  And it was so inexpensive!   At one point, we went on a hundred mile modern new bus ride and it cost $4.00!

And in town the roads were good, with proper functioning traffic lights and lanes and speed limits.   

However, the driving habits of some of the locals were rather dubious at times!  Ha! Ha!
And the historic old towns and cities where we went had the most narrow winding streets you could imagine. 

3.   They eat a lot of seafood and fish.  

So the food is great.  We made a point to eat local and experience the variety of flavors and spices that are often regional specialties (we didn't play it safe and eat pizza).  This included street food and some stuff we couldn't pronounce, and often a surprise or two. 

But one thing of sustained excellence was the seafood and fish.  We love fish and would probably eat it almost every day if we had the choice, and that's what we did in Mexico.  

I guess I didn't appreciate the fact that the country has two very long coast lines, both Atlantic and Pacific, in warm semi-tropical waters.  And naturally the ocean is a rich source of food.  


The fish - often "Dorado" (also Red Snapper and Talapia) - is outstanding, especially when combined with other elements of Mexican cooking.   The meals were well prepared, healthy, delicious, and filling.   


And the shrimp and other seafood was equally, if not more, delightful -  such a variety of ways to enjoy!  


I think most people would expect Mexican food to be good, but it was outstanding!

4. They love Americans. 

Okay, I didn't anticipate hostility, but what we found were happy, eager-to-engage, friendly, cheerful citizens.   And they were peaceful.
In light of the way they are sometimes treated in our country (and some of the words used to describe them), you might think they would be ... I don't know, resentful?

But they were all very nice, and we did not encounter even one instance of bad behavior toward us.  The opposite was true, they were happy to see us there visiting and often asked us how we like Mexico. 


And they simple fact is - there are a lot of Americans visiting Mexico, and an amazing amount who actually live there!  

I have some reasonably good Spanish and can make my way around okay (I even received an occasional compliment!), and they were always receptive and helpful.  They were often quite talkative and many had been to the States.  

In the smaller towns, there was not much English spoken but in the bigger cities, it was quite common to be able to communicate in English - or more accurately Spanglish, a combination of the two languages. 

They always wanted to know where we were from, and conversed well with a knowledge of the U.S.   I would say that Mexicans are for the most part well educated and everyone can read and write.  

5. Much of the country is high in the mountains

My image of Mexico is one of flat desert-like terrain, with maybe rolling hills and endless horizons.   Not so.

I was constantly surprised by how much of the country is comprised of fairly high-altitude cities and settlements.  Once we left the coast, we went up and up, and stayed there.

Morelia was the our first town high in the central Sierra Madre range.  And from there we went higher into Guanajuato and over a 9,000 foot pass into San Miguel.  

Much of our travel was above 6,500 feet and we stayed for about a week at 7,200 feet.  It took some getting used to, and I might have mentioned that we were huffing and puffing just going up a flight of stairs.  

We eventually got acclimated, and the weather was nice and cool at night in the mountains.  But I did not expect such lofty altitudes where we spent most of our time. 

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In another blog post, I pointed out the amazing strength of the nation of Mexico in respect to other world nations.  Frankly, we are lucky to have Mexico as a neighbor.  It's a great country. 

Don't Know Much About History ... learning about Mexico. A Short Lesson in a Nutshell.

We’ve been in Mexico for a couple weeks now and have really learned a lot about the place.  Unfortunately, I started out in a hole and didn't know a whole lot about the history of Mexico, and now we find ourselves smack dab in the heart of where history has been made.

In doing some research into the history of Mexico, I have come to realize that, well, it’s complicated.  The story of this country since the early days is not linear, in other words, it kinds jumps around a bit, it has not been a direct line.  One step did now follow another, and often it was one step forward and two steps back.

Going way back to 1492 - most people would recognize the year when Christopher Columbus landed in the New World.  He was representing Spain at the time, although he was an Italian.  He claimed everything he saw for the King of Spain. 

Not long after that, Cortes showed up in Mexico and began wreaking havoc.  He “conquered” the Aztec empire of that time (most of Mexico), and that begat the modern day history of the country.


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This building below, now part of a University, was originally built in 1560.

 

 

 

How far back is "Old"?

We spent the last few days in San Miguel de Allende and were surprised to see that there was a large, rather magnificent church there in which construction was started in 1511, less than 20 years after Christopher showed up!  That church just celebrated its 500th anniversary.  How’s that for some history?

Spain ruled this part of the world for three hundred years.  Mexico achieved its independence in 1821, but it was not easy.  It took almost eleven years of war with the Spanish.   And from that point it was a rocky road for quite a while.  

Just two years later, in 1823, all of Central America broke away from Mexico.  So Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (part of which became Belize) all broke away and achieved independence -  leaving Mexico a much smaller nation.  

Mexico was a young nation and not particularly strong as it struggled to unify the vast territory it controlled, including the remote north.  Before too long, another rough patch hit when Mexico got into a war provoked by the United States.  They lost that war and a fair bit of northern Mexico, which eventually became Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.  

Much of what we know as the modern nation of Mexico was basically formed by the year 1848.  

 

 

 

Well, it gets worse ...

In 1860 or so, the Europeans, led by Napoleon the 3rd, wanted to re-establish themselves in Mexico and decided to plant a monarch there.  Hunh?  What kind of foreign policy is that?   They picked a guy named Maximilian and appointed him as king/emperor.  

The Mexicans didn’t take too kindly to this and when Napoleon's army arrived they promptly defeated them on May 5, 1862.  This was a big deal.  The French Army was reputed to the be the best in the world, and a much smaller Mexican army crushed the invaders.  

If you pay much attention to dates, you know that May 5 has particular significance to Mexico - Cinco de Mayo!

Nevertheless, Maximilian eventually prevailed, but struggled to rule the country.  It was a turbulent time, and after four short years he was eventually overthrown and executed by firing squad.  

Ever since then, Mexico has been under self rule. 

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Today's Mexico 

At this stage of world history, Mexico is a very significant country based on size, population, and economy.  It is the 15th largest country in the world by size and the 11th by population.  

The economy - which rates as 12th in the world - has grown by leaps and bounds and they have massive reserves of oil and other natural resources.  There is also a vibrant manufacturing component to the Mexican economy.  It consumes the second most United States exports in the world, and is the USA's third largest trading partner.   

I was amazed on our travels here to see a massive Mazda plant by the freeway, and and even bigger GM plant.  They love Chevy's in Mexico!

Mexico also has a thriving tourism industry.  It ranks 8th in the world with 38 million visitors a year! (personally, we have helped in a small way to contribute to that).  


When you see the colonial structures and travel on ancient roads, you realize what a rich past Mexico has.  And a promising future.  It’s really a rather amazing place. 

Why are Skeletons so Popular in Mexico? Warning! Bright Colors Ahead!

We've been in Guanajuato for a few days now and have seen many very interesting things, not altogether pleasant, some rather gruesome in fact. 

You see lots of this type of thing, even the skeletons are colorful.

But before we start on the morbid stuff, let's take another look at the color that depicts this country.  Everywhere you look is a color bomb.

This amazing flower pot was at the Mine Display, about three feet in diameter.

Shopping comes with a dazzling display of colors, more skeleton cups!  Be the first one on your block to own one!

Hey, a little natural color here, too

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First let's take a look at a particular Mexican fascination - with skeletons and dead people and other things that we found somewhat disturbing. 

We went on a local tour, thinking it might cover some highlights of cool things to look at and discover.  Instead, we were treated to a steady diet of torture, death, dismemberment, and other sobering sights. 

For example, the first place we went was called the "Museo de Los Lamentos".  Roughly translated, that means Museum of The Wailing.  It turned out to be a kind of amateur Haunted House.

It showed pictures, images, and models of people before and after misfortune, and they looked like skeletons in the "after" picture.  Pretty grim.  There were even a couple of mummies, supposedly well preserved, but really horrible looking.   

There were several displays of weapons and disease, and war and famine and terror and ghosts, and ... you get the picture.  Not the way you might choose to start the day.  And this was the light stuff, it got a lot worse.  

From there we went to "The Mines" - a restoration of the mines that were operated in this area back in the days of the settlers.  At one time, Guanajuato, the town where we are staying, was a mining capital, with gold, silver, copper and other metals being extracted to great profit.  Our hotel is called the Silver House Hotel.   

There were also some more mummies of dead miners and other folks, also pretty gross.  And we went down into the mine pretty deep and very steep, and were warned ahead of time to be careful, don't slip, and don't get claustrophobic.  Sounds like fun!  

Then to cap it off, we went to another museum called the History of the Inquisition.  If you know anything about that lovely period of time, it was the wonderful Spaniards again, who brutally applied religious standards, and used torture to achieve "compliance".  

It was super weird with hideous life-like replicas of torture devices and dead bodies and skeletons and suffering and horrible treatment of fellow human beings.  And there were little kids on this tour!  Frankly we were horrified by the recreated scenes, and I would never want a little kid to see this.  Man, it was sick!

I didn't even want to include any pictures in this post, it was so disturbing.  It was freakin' ungodly. Man's ability to mistreat man runs pretty deep.  And of course, there were more mummies, preserved in the disgusting manner in which they died.  

We were glad to get out of there.  Can't we see something nice?  How about a good Cathedral? 
Can we stop by an ice cream stand?  Maybe a nice spicy Burrito?  Anything but more dead tortured skeletons?  

And you would never guess what the last stop on the tour was - a visit to the Mummy Museum.   Are you kidding me?  We drew the line and bailed on the tour.  And it was promoted as a taste of the local flavor and sites of Guanajuato!

What does a Country glorify?  Mexico builds statues to Musicians.

Oh well, it is not all bad here.  There are plenty of cool things to look at.   I mentioned earlier that it seems like everyone in Mexico is a musician.  They honor musicians here with statues like the one below.

We also saw another museum and went to the tomb (shown below) of a very famous Mexican singer/songwriter, named José Alfredo Jiménez.  They love this guy, "especially when there's a lot of Tequila around".  (not my words) 

 

And they honor their writers.   In fact one curious thing around here is the way they love Don Quixote (Key-hoe-tay), you know, the guy who charged at windmills.  There are numerous statues of him, and also Cervantes, the famed author who wrote the book (who was a Spaniard). 

I came across a statue of Don Quixote (they're everywhere)  and did my best to imitate his pose.  Not bad, eh?

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Skeletons?

But to circle back to the skeleton thing, Mexicans seem to really enjoy images of the dead.  Not really sure why.   Mexicanos are fun loving and full of life and enjoy music and great food ... and dead people.  

To be fair, they treat it with humor and whimsy.  They have fun with skeletons.  Skulls make popular and colorful art.  Hey, death is part of life, right?  pardon the pun ... 

After looking into this:  It started about a hundred years ago as satire toward the rich upper class.  It expanded to apply to all classes, with an almost friendly, joking approach to death, and the acceptance that we are all going to die, rich or poor.  Mexicans love their skeletons, they have fun with it.  

They also honor their dead, with the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where they celebrate their deceased family members and embrace the afterlife.   

Hey you gotta love these guys.  What a culture!  They celebrate their musicians, and writers, and artists - and they look death in the face and laugh!  

Mexico = Color - and a whole lotta shakin' goin on! Earthquake!

Mexico is so beautiful - and colorful

We've had a chance to move around in the last few days and experience some of what you might describe as "Old Mexico".  This is the region that has deep history and many colonial buildings and has helped formulate the history of this country.

For example, we spent three days in Morelia (a town I was completely unaware of) up in the mountains in the center of Mexico.  There are many amazing structures, one of which is the Aqueduct.  

This still strong structure was built in the late 1700's (about the time America achieved independence) and stands proud and tall today.

 
The purpose was to conduct water from the nearby hills to the center of Morelia, a function it served for two hundred years.  

 
It now bisects the city with parks all around.  In fact, both the city of Morelia, and now Guanajuato, where we are tonight, are full of parks. 


The geography around here is warm and dry with lots of sunshine, and just enough water to grow almost anything.  The numerous parks are green and lush, and these guys love water fountains. 

 
The cathedral shown below in Morelia is one of the biggest in Latin America and provides a rich backdrop to some of the history that has taken place in that area.  

  



The Spaniards brought their Catholic religion, and along with it, they developed numerous Universities - the city of Morelia is still known as a center of higher learning.   And along with this learning came revolution to throw off the chains of Spanish domination and establish their own independence. 

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On our last night in Morelia, there was a big earthquake, we definitely felt it.  Excitement, but not the kind you're looking for.   It was somewhere over 7.2 on the scale.  There was devastation near the coast, about 140 miles away, near the epicenter.  

They view the world through color 

And we have now made our way to the city of Guanajuato, also in the mountains.   It's a vibrant city, full of life.  The colors here are evident in the picture above.  And music is everywhere.  It seems like every Mexican is a musician of some kind (we even saw bagpipes!) and they all love to sing.   

But this place is high up.  Our room here is over 7,200 feet, and you can feel the elevation.  

This is another history filled area.  Indeed the first battle of the Mexican revolutionary war was fought here.   It's built on hills, and you really get huffin' and puffin' walking around. 

 
One way to get to the top of the hills is to take a funicular, a cable car built into the hill to take you up or down.   The views from the top are spectacular. 
And of course, more churches, and more color. 

And as we walked downtown, there was some kind of race going on, with lots of people everywhere.   I run a lot, but this altitude takes a lot out of you, and I'm glad I wasn't participating in this high altitude run!

And we'll leave here with one last picture in Guanajuato, with another beautiful fountain nestled in the downtown district.  So pleasant. 

Is Mexico Safe? Compared to What?

We've never spent a lot of time in Mexico.  With a lot of journeys all over the world, we somehow bypassed this country to a large extent.  

Mexico is a great place.  We have been here a few days now and already love the people and the land.  There are so many things that are impressive and noteworthy about our southern neighbor.

This is a surprisingly popular place for foreigners to visit.  I've never seen so many Canadians outside of Canada.  And the Americans are thick down here.  

Is it safe here?  Many people ask that question about Mexico.  There are a lot of stories about drugs and violence here.  But we have never felt unsafe for a moment.  The people are wonderful and cheerful and very friendly. 

Like anywhere, you have to use common sense.  Don't go down a dark street late at night.  The same holds true for Chicago, or Portland for that matter.  The people here want a peaceful life.

Of course there is an element of trouble makers like any place.  But that element generally fights among themselves.   We have found the place to be clean and organized and the buses run on time.  Sure, a taxi ride can be a little adventurous, but that's part of the fun. 

It might be a fair question to ask the people here "Is America Safe?"  When we arrived here and stepped off the plane, there was news of yet another hideous shooting at a school in Florida.  The news out of America would frighten many foreigners.  

Yesterday we rode on a five hour bus ride across the outback of Mexico.  It was a modern bus and the roads were good.  My wife and I have been to some pretty dangerous places in our travels, but this is not one of them. 

 

There are a lot of visitors to Mexico

One big plus is the weather.  It's the middle of February and the temperature is mid 80's with bright sunshine.  Doesn't feel like winter down here.  Although Oregon weather is generally quite mild compared to other places, people from other places want to get away from the snow and cold and enjoy some warmth. 

 
The economy here seems fairly healthy.  There is a lot of commerce and business taking place, and construction seems to be pretty active.  

We've been in Ixtapa, on the coast, which is a tourist destination with lots of activities and beaches and hotels and restaurants.  And today traveled to the central highlands of Mexico, to Morelia - we are now in Old Mexico.  

There was a serious elevation gain getting here.  From sea level we climbed up and over an 8,000 foot pass, and settled in at around 6,200 feet altitude.  You find yourself a little out of breath.  But the temperature is still in the 70's with bright sunny days and clear blue skies.

Morelia is a colonial town, with many historic buildings from the days of the Spanish "occupation".   In fact, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There is a magnificent church cathedral on every corner (at least it seems like it). 

What have we been doing?

Looking back at the last week in Ixtapa, we stayed with friends Ken & Mary and others in a nice deluxe beach side condo.  That is not exactly the way we travel a lot of the time.   Generally we tend to rough it, heading to out-of-the-way places. 
But hey, it sure was nice for a few days. 

Our activities included snorkeling, deep sea fishing, boat rides, fine dining every night, numerous dips in the ocean, observing lots of wildlife (Crocodiles and huge Iguanas), parachute hang gliding, whale watching, acrobats swinging in the air 100 feet off the ground - and playing blues harmonica with the local entertainment at the fancy Valentines Dinner. 

And there was a bit of relaxing in there too.  It's almost like a vacation.  We don't often use that word when are moving around.  We like to say we are travelers on a journey.  But chilling on the beach has its value too!

In Morelia we will spend three days and then travel to Guanajuato, San Miguel, and Leon.  We will be taking public transport.  We like to see how the locals live and get off the beaten path.  

Of primary note - the food here is outstanding.  While near the coast, we feasted on seafood and fish everyday.  Everybody loves Mexican food, and this is the heart of it.  

Never Underestimate the Value of a Good Road

We have been blessed to travel a lot in our lives.  We have also made it a priority, meaning that we value travel over many other things.  The operative word is "things".  We try not to accumulate too many things or possessions - we instead focus on the experience of travel and accumulating memories. 

There are a few places we've been to many times over the years.  Chile is one of them.  We've probably been there thirty times since our first trip in 1985.   Another place is Senegal in West Africa.  We have taken on average two trips a year for 23 years.

This gives a vantage point that can track changes over a long period of time.  If you visit a place repeatedly over years and years, you can see the difference taking place. 

In reference to Senegal, where I am writing this blog post, the changes have been enormous.  It's like watching time pass, with barely perceptible developments  

Let's start with Roads:

It's impossible to overstate the importance of proper roads.  With decent roads you have transportation of people and goods.  It makes the economy better, and allows movement of products and services.  Things expand with better roads. 

Senegal has made a commitment to invest in better highways and it has paid off.  The transformation is almost hard to believe.  There are four lane super highways across the desert landscape.  A trip that used to take all day can be made in just a few hours.  

This means farmers can get produce and livestock to distant markets.  You have access to more places, jobs, opportunities, education, and medicine.  You can move around much more easily than ever before.   Good roads make everything a whole lot more efficient. 

As a small example, you can get spare parts for all the machinery that breaks down frequently, and keep the economy running.  Another example of that same concept is that vehicles don't break down as much because of poor roads.  When you say "help is on the way" it means something now. 

If you want to get your economy going and raise the prospects for your people, build better roads.  

Another big change - phone service - meaning cell phones. 

The citizens of Senegal, in West Africa, made a rather big leap in a fairly short time in the last few years.  Almost everyone has a cell phone here these days, and many of them have a smart phone. 

In the past, you had to wait years (or forever) for a land line wire to be strung to your house in a remote area.  Now they have put cell towers all over the country and there is very good coverage in most places.  

They bypassed the entire telephone circuitry system and everything is done wireless these days.  It is not unusual now to see a guy crossing the bush on a donkey cart, talking on his cell phone.  

It can often be rather hilarious.   We were walking through the outback with an old guy in traditional attire, loose clothing, and we heard a sound.  It was his cell phone ringing, and he reached into the fold of his clothes, pulled out his phone and had a conversation, out in the middle of nowhere.   

And they have internet too, which goes hand in hand with the wireless networks.  And because many of the companies here are European or African, the prices are lower and the services are better.  (that's a not too subtle dig at the American carriers, who keep raising their prices and cutting their service)

So it's safe to say that in comparison, they have better cell service in Senegal that in the United States.   This has transformed society in many ways, and people can get in touch with others easily - and keep in touch.  They can send money easily on their cell phones, another area that is more advanced and widespread than the US.

And if you've never had access to the internet and now you well, the possibilities are endless.  That can be both good and bad, but in this case, it's really good.   

There are many other ways that change has come to these developing countries, and we can take a look at more in the future. 

What's Up Doc? Actually, They Don't Have Doctors Around Here ....

 
Imagine a place where there are no doctors within 50 miles.  And no medicine, and no emergency services.  And no options available to employ against easily preventable diseases. Or basic care to enable babies to be born to healthy mothers and thrive. We have just described rural Senegal in West Africa.


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In the last few days, we’ve taken a look at how to help those without resources begin to improve their lives. This is the mission of The Andando Foundation. With a few relatively simple solutions, you can put people on the path to healthy lives (and prosperity?).


Initially, it was all about getting water to those who need it. The Andando logo is comprised of ladies carrying water on their head. This strenuous task took as much as two hours a day, to go fetch water from a far away source and carry it all the way back to your house.


That led to the process of where we looked to help them grow food and dramatically improve their nutrition - along with all the benefits that come with it. It might be over simplified to say, but in this sunny land, all you need is water and good seeds and otherwise fundamental instruction to succeed.


Then we looked at how to help them learn and teach their children. If you can feed them at school, you ensure their attendance and enhance the learning environment, and then you can provide them with low cost and efficient classroom facilities.


These are important first steps. There is another big factor in quality of life that is in short supply in much of Africa - proper medical care.


Once you start to meet basic needs, you can proceed up the ladder to something a bit more sophisticated. Health care is often a challenge - look at the hurdles and high cost in our own country of America. But just getting started is a big step, and there are feasible things that can be done, often at low cost. 

 

For example, in these remote villages, you need a facility to offer clean, hygienic care, and keep medicine secure, and put this in easy walking distance for the local citizens. If the best place (or only place) to birth a baby is a five hour donkey cart ride, then you are going to have problems.


For a few years now, through Andando, we have built what are called Health Posts in far off villages in the bush. A better description for an outside audience would be Health Clinic. Again, for a small fraction of what a medical facilty would cost in the “modern” world, you can offer life saving medical care.


The best way to treat a disease if prevent it from ever starting. With proper pre-natal care for expecting mothers, and proper care for babies once they are born, you can solve a whole lot of problems before they happen.


And running water and proper sanitary facilities makes a huge difference. You need to teach people that proper health means keeping clean and washing your hands and avoiding contact with germs.

And even having simple medicines on hand can eradicate persistent problems like diarrhea, or rural parasites and other nagging problems. So much of medical care means educating people of what causes illness and how to treat it, or better yet, prevent it.


But you have to get a facility established. One of the challenges is getting qualified staff a place to practice medicine. Once a Health Clinic is built, the government and local authorities are much more like to provide a proper nurse or medical professional. And medicine, drugs, and even proper things like bandages follow.


We have made solid strides to get health facilities in place. There is a lot more to do. 

One of our own crew, demonstrating the weight scale ...

 

A positive success story:

These local folks are rather fertile, and there are a lot of babies born around here. But there have always been problems and challenges. Now those problems can be addressed. 

Since we have gained a lot of ground (pardon the pun) with our gardens, nutrition and food security has sky rocketed. People are eating much more healthy organic food. The result of this has seen an increase in twin babies being born. In fact, there has been a noticeable “boom” in twins!


In the past, underweight babies have struggled to survive.  But now, the babies are born to healthy mothers and are maintaining good weight gain.  We know this because we measure their weight, (picture above) and they are thriving, even as they come two at a time!