Tacuitapa

After gathering up our generous donations from our Paraiso neighbors Steve and I met up with our travel group and group organizers (Conrehabit) at the Office Depot in town.  After introductions we loaded the van and started out for the village of Tauitapa. Interesting group: we had a 2 Lawyers, 1 Geologist, 2 IT people, an ex-military, A gentleman who has sailed around the world numerous times in his 38 ft. catamaran, a health care specialist, our driver, trip organizers, and Steve and I. 

The first stop was in the colonial town of San Ignacio; it's a beautiful rural Sinaloa town of nearly 5,000 located on the edge of the Los Frailes Range in the Sierra Madre Mountains about 60 miles north of Mazatlan.

San Ignacio was founded by Jesuit Missionaries in the 1600's. We visited the lovely walled Catholic Church on Constitution Square in the heart of town where you can also see views of the giant Christ Sculpture poised majestically on the top of a hill.There is also a monastery at the base of the sculpture, but
we will have to wait for another trip to actually visit it.

We met back up with our group at Taco Richardo just off the town square and had lunch and then were surprised with a tour of a beautiful historic home just off Constitution Square. The ornate beams were fantastic, all made from local wood. We also noted how thick the concrete walls were, probably why the house was so cool inside.

Following the home tour we reloaded the van and headed southeast into the foothills of the Sierra Madres to our final destination, the village of Tacuitapa.

Tacuitapa is home to about 70 people and has been lived in for several hundred years.  The name of the village means "cover your tacos" , because the Spanish would raid the local villages for food.  Conrehabit (the group we were with) first became involved with the people of Tacuitapa because of the local bramador; the jaguar caller.  The jaguars would be called in close and then shot to protect the cattle and goats.  Over the past 7 years Conrehabit has worked with the people of Tacuitapa to change their attitudes toward wildlife, especially the jaguar.  For the last 4 years no jaguars have been killed around Tacuitapa and several of the villagers have become government sanctioned wildlife rangers working to protect the area (and getting a small salary).  Our trip to the village was to serve two purposes; provide income to the village from tourism and a help to build a greater awareness of the unique ecology. According to our group leaders, Bodie & Martha the self esteem and confidence of the people of the village have showed great improvement since they have gotten involved.  They are becoming more and more proud of their village and what it and the surrounding areas has to offer. They no longer have garbage in town and have become aware of recycling.  I guess that is what it means when they say "One Village at a time".

After arriving in the village we drove directly to a home in the village which has a large veranda and acts as the village community center.  We were greeted by a number of the village women, men & children.
The excitement & anticipation of what we brought for them was like the feeling we had as kids on Christmas morning.  They waited patiently; the women on the porch, the men outside.  We laid out clothes, food, staples (flour, oatmeal, oil, etc), tooth brushes & tooth paste, soap, cosmetics, and dozens of pairs of brand new shoes donated by our next door neighbors, Shawn & Vic.

The process of choosing their items was slow & controlled. Looking over the items, holding them up to each other, and trying on the shoes and clothing for size. I must mention that it was interesting to see that the men remained on the outside of the porch the entire time and just pointed to the items they wanted.

Not sure if they were too proud to come on to the porch or if that is just a universal guy thing. However,the joy you saw in their eyes when they received something was priceless and something I personally will never forget.  The children's favorite items seemed to be the tooth brushes, tooth paste, and a brand new pair of shoes.
 They held them close and were thrilled with their new treasures.

Once everything had been distributed and bags were full, much to our surprise one of the village woman brought us fresh made pumpkin filled empanadas. Yummy! And a wonderful surprise.  Another village woman brought us fresh made cheese to go with our homemade tortillas at dinner.

We then ventured on to the Hacienda where where we would stay overnight, we were not sure what to expect.  Much to our surprise we had running water, a bed or a cot, (we of course bee-lined our way to the bed and stacked claim), and indoor and outdoor kitchen, and a very large veranda.  After a walk along the river bed the veranda is where we spent the late afternoon and evening swapping stories and getting to know our new found friends, rocking on the leather chairs, sipping on a few adult beverages, and  enjoying beef tacos, homemade corn tortillas, and Gorditas de Harina (a sweet warm dessert tortilla).

The evening finished up by watching the night vision motion camera screen for a glimpse of the famous Jaguar.  We saw a number of different animals including Mexican Bob Cats.   We ventured outside for a little star gazing and then turned in for the night hoping that the serenade of the dozen folks with us would snore in symphony.

The morning came for me personally with minimal sleep but enough to take on the day with excitement.  Around 6:00 am we heard this grinding noise outside our bedroom window, not sure what it was, we went to investigate.  It was our cook, the Bramedors wife (her husband had passed away recently and she now supports herself by cooking for visitors at the Hacienda), in the outdoor kitchen actually milling and grinding the blue corn for this mornings breakfast.

I proceeded to ask her in my finest hand gestures if she would teach me to make the tortillas, she said "Si" and motioned me over to the grinding stone. I proceeded to grind away by pressing the corn against the stone with this large rectangular stone.

Then taking a small amount of the dough, I put it on a wood tortilla press brought the handle over, pressing the dough out to form this perfectly shaped tortilla. You then peel the dough away and slap it on the steel cooking pan over the wood fire.  Sounds easy right? Not so easy, she was very patient with me and after a few failed attempts my friend and I were sharing a taste of my first homemade fresh roasted blue corn tortilla.

Following breakfast the group gathered up and we set off for a hike through the Sierra Madre mountains, starting off following a beautiful river bed with incredible foliage.  We were being guided by one of the gentlemen from the village, he would point out things to us along the way, such as wild boar droppings, luckily we didn't see one. Also one of the gentleman that was with us was a Geologist so that was interesting having him point out some different features to us as we moved through the undercover.

Once we crossed the riverbed for the final time we started to climb in elevation and the temperatures started to rise but we had plenty of water and everyone did great.  The views of the Sierra Madres Vistas were beautiful and well worth the hike.  We ended in the village of San Juan where lunch and Ice cold Cerveza's were waiting for us.

A quick trip back to the Hacienda to pick up our bags and then back to Mazatlan and civilization.  We are thankful for blessing we have, the new friendships we have made, and the memories of this trip that we will have for a life time.

We want to thank our neighbors and friends here in Mazatlan for being so generous and helping us with the donations for the Village of Tacuitapa.

  

Aguama Fruit at the Market

Today was Market Day and we already posted on our favorite spots that we like to go to but today on our way out of the market we saw this very interesting truck parked on the street with this interesting fruit hanging off of it and a great photo op.  Out of respect I always like to ask the farmer/merchant if it’s OK if I take a picture.  Not only was it OK, but he explained to us what the fruit was and how to prepare it and gave us a sample.  He explained that the fruit can either be roasted or brewed to make a tea. 

He proceeded to unhook a bunch and insisted on giving it to us.  We offered to pay him for it but he refused multiple times.  We said thank you and went on our way feeling pleased and anxious to get home so that we could Google our new treasure.

When we got to our gate, our guard, Sebastian saw the large bunch of fruit sticking out of my market bag and instantly said “Aguama”.  I said yes we got it from the farmer at the market.  He proceeded to ask if he could show me something to do with it and took out his knife and peeled the skin back, almost like a fig, to reveal the meaty flesh and seeds inside. He sprinkled it with sugar and told me to taste.  I found it to be a little bitter, so I liked it better roasted like the sample at the market.

 

Now at home we Googled Aguama:

Aguama, Golden Clusters, a Medicinal plant with various healing properties to fight respiratory diseases such as bronchial cough and flu, and parasites and gastrointestinal ailments. It’s considered to be an exquisite fruit that can be found wild during the end of the year in Sinaloa.

It is best to roast it or to boil it in water with cinnamon and piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar).  I can’t wait to try it both ways and post the results in a future blog post.

Cooking Demo and Chilling in the Old City

What a great day today.  Starting out by taking the bus to the old city and going to the Organic market at Zargoza Park at then walking to Chef Hector's Culinary Market for a Class/Demo on Homemade Tagliatelle Pesto.
I have made Pesto

a hundred times and thought I was going to the Demonstration for fun, little did I know I would once again pick up more tips.  Can't wait to share with my friends at home (perhaps at Farmers Creek School House). 

While we were waiting for our class we ran into our new friends that we met at the Farm to Table event Steve Acres and his lovely wife Susan Church.  This is what is so wonderful about coming back to Mazatlan every year, we are meeting more and more people and love running into them every where around the city. 

While I was at the Demonstration Steve was relaxing at Krema's street side cafe, part of the Culinary Market, enjoying the best Blended Ice Mocha (with chocolate chips no whip) that he has ever had. 

After class, we stopped at the Cathedral to do a little people watching, internet, and then on to the fabric store to explore.  (Note to quilting friends: incredible fabrics)Then on to the Oriental store, butcher shop, and then bus to home and a relaxing afternoon on the beach, scrabble match, and beautiful sunset.


Life is good!

Mazatlan Adventure Begins

On Jan 3 Steve and I escaped Michigan for our 7th year adventure to sunny Mexico. (From the sounds of it looks like we picked a good time to get out of Dodge).We once again have rented a condo right on Cerritos Beach off Av. Sabalo Cerritos called Paraiso II Costa Bonita.  It's the same condo we have rented for the last 4 years so we have a lot of friends and great neighbors.

The first few days are spent getting organized, grocery shopping, etc.  Which takes a little longer cause we use public transportation to go everywhere and we shop in multiple places, including the Mexican Market (Juarez) on Sunday for our fruits and vegetables.  It was so nice going back this year and having our favorite vendors recognize us and greet us with hugs and handshakes.  From the taco stand where you can find owners Oulitte and Rafalle,
the strawberry vendor (Cayetano Coranado),

Emma's vegetable stand (Vanessa), to the Chirro vendor, it's always an adventure for us and has become part of our regular routine.

We have been to the Angela Peralta Theater located on Carnaval, in Centro City to see the performance of "HELP" (The Beatles) and also to on of our favorite restaurant's Water's Edge to listen to Jazz singer Shannon Wolfe.  The entertainment here in Mazatlan is never ending including one of the worlds largest Carnavals, starting Feb. 27 and topic for another blog.  Last Weekend we took some of our friends with us to another one of our favorite places (Puerto Vjejo) to sit by the ocean, watch the sunset, have a few cervezas, listen to great music, and have some of the best Red Snapper in MZT all for 95 paesos (under $10).

We continue to explore the city, exercise daily, golf, swim, read on the beach, play scrabble, enjoy life, sunshine, and sunsets.
We are so grateful that we are able to spend another winter in Paradise.  I will continue to add to this blog as our adventures continue.

Visit with Violet

Today was once again a day of adventure.  One of the beach vendors, Violet (does massages on the beach), and our friend, invited us to her home for a visit and lunch.

 She met us outside our condo with her daughter, niece, and sister-in-law, and we rode the Toreo bus to her home in the Insurrengents Neighbor of Mazatlan.  We went there a couple of years ago so it was somewhat familiar but a little different this time because her sister-in-law spoke fluent English
and was able to help us with the language gap.  Violets mom was there to greet us as well as her two sons, sister, husband Louis, and brother, Freddy.  Like Freddy Kruger he told us.

It was wonderful sitting at the kitchen table talking with them, answering their questions about what life is like in Michigan, what we did for work, and questions about our children. We were served a pasta dish and fresh tortillas with Marlin.  Everyone taking turns around the table since seating was limited and we were guests in their home.  I brought a loaf of Banana Bread, homemade chocolate chip cookies, a homemade caramel corn, a treat for everyone and something they don't seem to have here.  It was a real compliment when Violet asked for me to teach her the recipes so that perhaps she could sell it on the beach when the massage business was slow.

We ended the afternoon outside their home where the street was closed due to their next door
neighbors celebrating their one year old birthday and christening. They had a bouncy house, balloons, pinata,
tables going up, and excitement everywhere especially in the children's eyes.  Perfect ending to a great day!

Farm to Table Event 2014

On Sunday Feb. 2 (Yes Superbowl Sunday) Steve and I attended the "Farm to Table Event 2014"—the very first event of its kind in Mazatlán and, from what we understand the first in Mexico.

An absolutely beautiful setting, a gorgeously perfect day, a multicultural, integrated group of very interesting, and fun-loving, intelligent people, amidst healthy, organic and delicious food, were all ours for leisurely enjoyment this afternoon. Every course, every single drink (from tequila to two wines to coffee), and the outdoor setting were beautiful! Kudos, kudos and more kudos to the organizers, chefs and servers!!!

About 100 people, including the mayor and his beautiful first lady, were seated in a field on Chuy Lizárraga’s farm at kilometer 21, just north of town.
It was an absolutely perfect day—sunny, clear, yet cool enough to be enjoyable. No bugs, nothing uncomfortable, just pure unadulterated enjoyment!
Chefs from seven restaurants dedicated seven long days of menus this past week to the "Farm to Table".


We were seated at long tables in the middle of a Poblano pepper/corn field,
Italian style, decked out with fresh sunflowers, white linens, and all the wine and excellently prepared organic food the discriminating palate might desire. To top it all off, it was all in benefit of Avicultores Pérez Vidaña, an award-winning non-profit organization in Sinaloa that assists low-income families with severely handicapped children by teaching them to raise chickens and eggs for food. Proceeds from the event also support the Mercado Orgánico de Mazatlán’s educational programs.

 Dinner (or lunch, if you prefer) consisted of eight different dishes, all prepared with organic ingredients and served family style: green salad, tabouleh, grilled veggies,

chicken, quail, risotto, a dessert selection, and coffee with organic, artesanal ice cream. It was soooo wonderful to have so many vegetables, to eat one’s fill, and still feel healthy rather than weighted down! The sun was shining yet it wasn’t hot, the conversation flowed in several languages fluidly, and an excellent time was had by all.

I sat next to Jorge Luis Sanchez, a professor of Argriculture at UAS who also owns and operates his own organic farm. We had great discussions with him and thoroughly enjoyed his company.
Across from us was Steve Acres and his lovely wife Suzzane.  They own and operate the Tequila factory in the Golden Zone in Mazatlan.  Next to them was Tracey Grantham, Owner along with husband Alastair Porteous of the restaurant Water's Edge in Centro. Also across from us was a lovely Mexican couple that have an organic Yuca farm outside of Mazatlan.  I have bought some of their Yucca products in the past and they are wonderful and all natural. 

It was an amazing day and an amazing experience.  We made it back in time to see Bruno Mars halftime show and the puppy and the Budweiser horse commercial.