Mountains and Stars

Yesterday I got back from an unplanned and quite lovely trip to the mountains around Oaxaca, the Sierra Norte. I was supposed to start language classes on Tuesday, however, somehow I overslept and missed the registration. It actually reminded me quite a bit of college, when I would wake up late and dazed and swear I set the alarm. (I swear I set the alarm...) I was bothered by this for about a half hour, until this really funny gay Indian man I had met the night before asked me if I wanted to come with him for a day hiking up in the mountains. I had been reading about this area, and all of the different butterflies, birds and trees, and so I packed my bag and quickly headed out with him. We took a bus for about 2 hours up into this very small village, which is part of a chain of (I think) 7 villages. All of them have joined together to some degree, pooling their resources, and now promote a kind of ecotourism up there, where you can hike from village to village, and camp or stay at cabanas. Each village is actually communally owned too, with everyone pooling their crops, and each putting in a certain amount of time and money for the whole of the village. It was very interesting.

Anyways, my new friend Gilo and I got there got kind of late, so we ended up eating and then negotiating this interesting bungalow in the middle of the woods. He has a heavy Indian accent, and then speaks barely passable Spanish, but he was doing all the talking, and it was really funny to watch people listen to him. He would say ¨Senooooora, senoooooora, pooor favorrrrrr¨and the people would listen to him and start laughing. So we ended up in this rustic ¨cabin¨ in the middle of nowhere, that had a very nice fireplace and lots of blankets, because it is FREEZING up there. Literally. That night, there were more stars than I have seen in years, since last time I went for a real hike with my Dad and brothers. I braved the cold to stand outside with my head back for way too long, taking it all in. The sky was on fire with them.

The next day we went for a really great (and challenging) hike up and down through the mountains. It almost looks like you´re in northern California, or some parts of Washington, except that when you get up close everything is like a cactus on a stick. Prickles everywhere. We climbed this really high rock and could look out over more mountains than I knew there were in this area. The sweet kids we were hiking with played a little flute and we ate some fruit. The whole hike, our guide would point out different plants and trees and what they´re used for here. There were lots of trees that are supposed to have medicinal qualities, and there were gouges in the trees where all of the local people come to take what they need for whatever is going on with them.

Today I am back in Oaxaca, and having missed the Spanish class I was going to take here, I think I am going to head to San Cristobal de la Casa (spelling?) and take a class there instead. It´s supposed to be a beautiful town in Chiapas, and I´m looking forward to it. I think after that I might stay out of the cities for a little while. I like them a lot, but getting up into the mountains reminded me how much I like some quiet, and especially being out in nature when I travel. And even in the middle of this teensy town, we still met some really fun and interesting people.

I am off to nurse my insane sunburn I got, somehow forgetting that 10,000 feet up, I might need some sunscreen...

Warmly,

Kira