Mazatlan

So we are about a week and half behind with updating this thing but that`s ok. After we left El Chuzo, we went to Durango. Durango was a nice smallish city with lots of students where we ate lunch at a vegetarian restaurant called Samadhi. There was not that much for us to do though so we were fine leaving after a day. Then we got to Mazatlan!

The drive to Mazatlan is beautiful. There are only 2 routes in Mexico over the Sierra Madre Oriental which run all the way down from California. We took one of them to get to Mazatlan. It`s a 7 hour 2 lane bus ride that takes you through beautiful forests and valleys and starting with scenery similar to Tahoe and ending with tropical rainforest.

Our first day in Mazatlan we tried to find a hostel we had seen on the internet. We took a boat to an isolated beach (Isla de la Piedras) and walked all along trying to find the hostel. For those of you who have never been to Mazatlan, it is hot and humid. We were sweating profusely as we wandered with our big backpacks along this beach. We were also supposed to call Birthright Israel so we could have our interview and after a mad search for a phone, we found that the number didn`t work. So now we were sweaty, tired, and had no hostel or interview. We walked about half a mile to another phone which also didn`t work and then a third. We finally called the operator and found out you have to dial a different number than it says on the phone for 1-800 numbers in the US so we finally got through after our interview slots were over. We talked to birthright for 2 minutes before realizing the phone was charging us 15 pesos ($1.50) per minute rather than the posted 5 pesos ($.50). So we basically had to tell birthright that we were sorry and we couldn`t do the interview. We`re scheduled for next weekend in Chicago so hopefully it will work out.

So it turns out the hostel shut down 10 months ago. We ended up staying in a cabana right on the beach for $10. Unfortunately the $10 didn`t include screens and we got eaten by mosquitoes. We ate a big dinner and ended up watching the moon and ocean until it got late. The next day we jumped in the ocean again and then took off for a hotel in the historic center. Air conditioning! Yes! We went to a flute concert and walked around the tourist zone. After only seeing 1 or 2 travellers the whole time we have been in Mexico it was kind of strange to see all the gringos, mostly old people with big hats and cameras. The beach was pretty nice after being in the desert for 3 weeks so we stayed in Mazatlan for 4 nights before heading down the coast.

(Almost) 20 things that we learned at El Chuzo:

• When you work hard all day long, it doesnt matter how hard your mattress is.
• It´s ok to wear the same clothes several days in a row.
• Salt tastes good.
• Cutting tall grass by hand is a lot of work. Watch out for black widows!
• Pigs are really not nice to each other. They just want food. Even a mother pig will aggressively shove her small babies out of the way to get it. Watch out when you feed them; shoes (not sandals) are highly recommended. Also, don`t try to fix a pig fence before you`ve given them pig food because otherwise they might try to eat the buttons on your pants.
• If the situation arises to camp on a farm, near the chickens and roosters is not ideal if you wish to sleep past sunrise.
• Baño seco: poop isn´t so gross once it has reached its second birthday
• Red ant bites hurt. In times of panic due to red ant attack, frantic removal of pants might be necessary.
• 40 kilos = 90 pound of pig meat!
• Grinding spices by hand is really tiring!
• Huitlacoche is a type of fungus that grows on ears of corn. Its pretty tasty when sauteed with chiles and onion (it turns into a black paste) and put into uncooked tortilla masa then fried into empanadas.
• You should turn off more lights! You don´t need them as much as you think!
• Nopales cactus will grow if you stick a piece of it in the ground with the spikes down. Scorpions are hard to catch in a cup to put outside. And it´s best they not be in your bedroom.
• Food doesn´t require as much refrigeration as you think.
• Potatoes are much easier to harvest when the above-ground part of the plant is still there.
• When giving people advice, it`s better to say "It works better for me when I..." than "You should...". Then they don`t have to feel bad if it doesn`t work for them.
• It`s ok to let your 2 yr old child walk around without a diaper or pants on. Don`t be surprised if they pee and/or poo unexpectedly.
• Eating real food is better than many of the food-like substances you find in stores. (Thanks Michael Pollan!)
• Farming in the desert means that the soil is rock-hard. Watering before helps when you´re turning over a garden bed. Unfortunately, water is also scarce in the desert so we didn`t get this luxury.
• You don´t need to shower as much as you think! You´ll just get sweaty and gross again tomorrow.

Baño Seco (Dry Bathroom aka Composting Toilet)

The Baño Seco was an interesting part of El Chuzo. Rather than poop into a regular toilet and use however many gallons per flush to put it into a septic tank that then needs to be drained, we recycle our poop at El Chuzo! Basically you poop into a hole and then cover it with straw. When it`s full, you let it sit for 10 months and it turns into compost! We had the pleasure of removing the poo-compost (it smelled like good dirt) and putting it into a hole to sit for another 2 years to be completely sure there are no pathogens. After that, it is good fertilizer for the fruit trees, but it`s not used for vegetables. Although this one was a good distance from the house, they can be built as additions to regular bathrooms in houses. Watch below as we demonstrate the process!

We Survived!

We are getting ready to leave on Sunday for Durango and then Mazatlan. The beach sounds pretty fantastic after being on a desert farm for 3 weeks. Regular showers! Yes! Anyways we have had a really good time at El Chuzo and have more pictures and stories but right now have to go back to get up early and clean the house and make mole! Holey Moley! Or is it Olé Mole?! ¿Who knows?

Animals at El Chuzo

Petroglyphs at Gavillero

Pictures of the House at El Chuzo

Here´s the house we´ve been living in. The pictures are from the front of the house, in the dining room, and in the kitchen. Our room is at the right side of the house but we forgot to take a picture of it. This is pretty much the whole house except for the 3 bedrooms and the inside bathroom (which we don´t really use)