Antonio Ojeda and his Daughter Susanah both have a smile that reels you in. Antonio, an ex-Mining Engineer (Guanajuato is a silver and gold mining mecca) knows every inch of the rural backcountry in and around Guanajuato, Mexico in his company named Cacomixtle Group. They offer tours of Guanajuato Mexico and the surrounding area. Both speak excellent English or Spanish and their vehicles were clean and well maintained. We visited terrific overlooks and beautiful little villages. I would have not seen this stuff without his help. Most tourists stay in town their whole trip. But that, I’ve learned is a mistake.

There are large wetlands for the observation of aquatic birds , such as the dams of the region : La Esperanza, La Soledad; Mata, La Purísima and others . As a cultural manifestation , Guanajuato as a famous national and international mining center has historic mining towns in the same mountain range like : La luz , El Monte de San Nicolas , El Cubo , Pere grina , Calderones , ect. Without exception , the [most] famous one [is] Veta Madre which gave life to big emporiums like : Valenciana , Cata , Mellado, Tepeyac , Sirena , etc, just to name a few , which will invite you to meditate about the greatness of our Mexico and why Guanajuato was named a “ World Heritage Zone “ Our Mexico nature tours coexist with the locals and their customs, discovering beautiful spots , abandoned towns and mines , animals , birds , vegetation and mineral.

While we took a 4-wheel variety of vehicle, the “fire roads” we traveled were incredible mountain biking routes and I found myself wishing I had my Cannondale with me. You’ll want to bring water but you can go from village to village and there will be food available at just about any of them in small storefronts - Antonio can also give you a map showing where you can find meals along the way. I’m told that September is the greenest time to go, but Antonio says that every season has good qualities. (more…)

A black and white photo essay I did during my holiday visit to Guanajuato and outings into Rural Central Mexico. What a mind-clearing place this is. I hope you enjoy the photos. (want to see full size? click here)

While walking through an area above Guanajuato Mexico today I came across the sign you see at the right. It caught my eye as the sign said “Casa el purgatoria - conosca algo diferente” (House of Torture - something different) and the sign showed a poor chap having himself dunked for some unknown insurrection.  It appeared to be a form of waterboarding - the controversial form of torture now at issue in the US and probably for the next presidential election. Given international (UN) conventions on this, I’m hoping at least one candidate takes a stand on the issue.

20 Pesos later and I’m walking amidst all forms of implements you see below.

While chatting this up, I learned the only way acceptable in the 17th-18th century to convict someone was to have at least 2 witnesses or to get a confession. And so, people became very creative in extracting such confessions for all manner of crimes both serious and minor.   Some of those methods are pictured below

I found the sewing machine pedal-powered wrist-breaker to be the oddest of them all.

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One of our bags had been diverted to North Andros Island (might as well be Hawaii) which threatened to limit our wardrobe to two changes. But our hosts made calls to friends, favors were returned and arrangements made to send the bag with the ex Bahamian Prime minister in his private plane. Nice. I met one of his entourage who was excellent company for the short run to the airport airstrip to pick up the bag. I engaged him on the ride about their election (May 2nd) and campaign (the purpose, it seems for Mr. Prime Minister’s visit.) He told me of struggles against government corruption, for improved education and opportunities for people throughout the commonwealth especially for those on the outer islands. The Bahamas is a Constitutional parliamentary democracy, and elections will put officials in office for five years. There is great hope for improvements. The Free National Movement was the most active while we were there.

This party seemed very popular…for as we made our way down the roadway, locals sitting on porches and pickup beds made special efforts to holler out with warm waves. I’ve noticed in South Andros at least, the “double toot” of the car horn seems a universal gesture of greeting.

We arrived to find the closed, but a knock on a side door drew out a drowsy customs official opened the door (I think we interrupted checkers and beer.) He quickly “screened” my bag, so with a wave we were off. Ah… fresh clothes. At dinner, the staff at the restaurant were clearly excited about the arrival of such famous politicians. We planned our meal early so to hopefully avoid the madness given our distinctly non-celebrity status. The kids had great fun capturing geckos and crabs, engaging in great civil engineering projects on doomed sandcastles that didn’t last the night. Freckles are emerging, hair is bleaching and we’re all adjusting to this pace quite well.

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From Nassau we flew in a tiny plane towards Congo City - a place that, from the Satellite map looks like a blurry line (airstrip) in the center of a forest of mangroves and palms. Watching out the front of the plane as we approached this tiny brownish runway was among the most intense of air travel experiences I’ve ever had.

Once down, we met Ms. Lloyd - and her warm smile and reliable diesel taxi snagged us up and took us to a local market for some groceries. We met our first locals who offered more of the smiles that seem to be easy currency on this place. We arrived a day before the supply boat, so the store’s inventory was limited, but we managed to grab some basics. I think we’ll make our way over there today for some milk and so on.

So now, oceanside, I’m watching rays meander by in the aquamarine water and hanging on a hammock beneath palms. A few hundred paces from the cabin one can easily pretend you are stranded, Castaway-style as all signs of civilization vanish. Everyone asks me if we’re going to “Atlantis“…. no, this is quite the opposite. The moon is full which rises just after sunset tonight. Good luck? Let us hope.

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