There was more to our day yesterday, but an editor definitely would have said that the horseback riding story had to stand alone.
After stopping off at the pharmacy to find something to reduce the swelling in my arms and legs from the mosquitoes and mesquite scratches (Note: Being able to walk into a pharmacy and get drugs is a huge selling point for this country), we headed to the Feast of Atotonilco, which is a Fiesta in honor of the Virgin of Carmen. We had read that pilgrims came from far and wide--some in indigenous dress--to attend the fiesta. We took a cab there and the approach was unrecognizable. What had seemed such a dusty, deserted and depressed town when we visited the Sixteen Chapel of the Americas two weeks ago was now absolutely alive. There were cars parked for blocks and blocks and the streets were filled with people coming and going and dogs and police on horses and vendors all leading up to the square in front of the church.
The entrance to the church had been draped in an archway of fabric, calling attention to its otherwise unremarkable facade and huge banners were erected in the square, made from palm leaves and flower petals: they were stunning. Also in the square were two structures raised at least four stories that looked exactly like gigantic Tinker Toys constructions. They were made of thin woods, ropes, cardboard tubes and paper. They spun in the breeze and rocked back and forth and at one point, one of them lost its hold on the metal pole to which it was afixed and the entire construction dropped a foot. There were ropes tied at various levels and men on the ground used those ropes to set these constructions just so and Chris and I looked and looked at it and it was some time before we realized that the bits of paper and tubes of cardboard were all fireworks. There must have been thousands of explosives between the two structures and the bottom of each was just about at the eye level of a grown man. In regards to public safety, one of the poles did have a fire extinguisher lashed to the bottom of it, but I had to think to myself: is the center of the fire the best place to store the fire extinguisher? What do I know.
There were groups of indigenous dancers--some in full regalia and others who had clearly been told to at least wear a read tee shirt but who didn't have a red tee shirt that didn't say something like: You + Me = Us--who performed exhaustively and in some cases beautifully. There is apparently a tradition where young couples begin a dance something like the Pollanaise and then instead just whip hard candy at the crowd. The children in the crowd, and some of their fathers, too, are rather aggressive about jumping up into the air to catch the candy or scurry between the legs of others to grab it off the ground. After my horseback riding surface injuries, I didn't really love being beaned in the face with jamaica-flavored hard candy, so we moved on.
There were temporary "booths" full of what Chris accurately described as dollar-store fare sold at a quarter of the price: plastic colanders, tortilla presses, purses, CDs, flatware, umbrellas, hot pants, pastel-painted ceramic dogs, saints medals, almost anything you could think of and the booths ran for at least a mile along the highway which they shut down for the festival. In between these booths, were food tents and again there was almost anything you could imagine: carnitas stirred with three-foot long spoons in huge drums, roasted papas and zanahorias, tacos, carne asada, enchiladas, tortas, chicken, pork, pork rinds, fresa y crema (this is a very good idea: they take a half pint container of frozen strawberries, top it off with heavy whipping cream, add some sprinkles and a chocolate wafer). And there was also the unrecognizable food. We ate well.
We talked about what it would be like to be a public health worker here during this festival where everything is cooked outside, there are no bathrooms or trash bins. Everything is thrown on the ground, and there are flies and bees everywhere and dogs running all around and police horses waltzing through it all and pooping as they do. (What would Eric think?!)
I have no doubt I would have caught on fire somehow during the fireworks had we stayed for what would surely have been a spectacular and dangerous show (it wasn't lost on us that at dusk the town flooded with pickup trucks full of heavily armed police in the back) so after walking up and down the fairway, as it were, several times and stopping for taste treats along the way, we found a bus and headed home.
At 10 a.m. this morning I was back at Sol Y Luna. Chris stopped to get money along the way so I was several blocks ahead of him and had time for a nice chat with Ray. The first thing he did was pull up my shirt sleeves to check my bites and scratches from yesterday and then tell me the hot springs would cure my psoriasis. It was all a little intimate but then it made sense because he told me he would like it if we moved to San Miguel and he has a great business opportunity for us to join him in: ATV engine repair. It's good to spend time with people who really, really know you, you know? In the time between my arrival and Chris's arrival, Scott & Maria from Texas arrived and wanted to rent a moped. Ray was sure we wouldn't mind waiting while he showed Scott how a moped works and then realized the battery on the moped was dead and then charged it and then let Scott go for a test run and then showed Maria how to use a map. We left for the hot springs about a half hour after we arrived and after Ray explained that 10 a.m. doesn't mean 10 a.m., a lesson I think we had already learned before his verbal tutorial, but all that and I would still recommend Sol Y Luna to others.
There are many hot springs in the area and we went to La Gruta, where there are
several pools connected one to the next that ultimately lead into a cave where the water is its most warm. The waters are heated by volcanic activity and are tepid and then warm and then hot as you move farther along. You reach the cave through a dark tunnel (darker still if you don't realize until halfway through that you still have your sunglasses on) and the cave is lit from small holes above that the sunlight filters through. It is eerie and beautiful and by the time you are in the cave, you are in the water and also sweating from the heat. Bizarre. There are sundecks and lawns and a restaurant and pool side bar service so we enjoyed several hours there before Ray returned to take us home. All travelers to SMA should go to the springs.
This afternoon we did some small preparations for Susan's arrival tomorrow and we got caught in a rainstorm that drove me home but Chris is hot on the trail of another salsa recipe so he went blocks and blocks to find the ingredients he needed. We'll dine in this evening and look forward to further adventures tomorrow.
P.S. As long as we're sharing, you should know: Ray's had a vasectomy.
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