Al Agua Patos!

Today is Larissa's 17th Birthday! To celebrate we spent the day at Las Huertas which are natural sulphorous springs that are open for swimming. They are about an hour south of Cuernavaca (about a kilometer before the state line between Morelos and Guerrero), so we piled into the car in the morning and headed out. On the way we picked up enough junk food to last us through the day - gansitos, cacahuates enchilados, and jalepeno chips.

The springs are beautiful - shaded by trees and filled with fish. They run down the mountain creating small waterfalls and natural jacuzzi-like pools. The deeper pools are nice and cool and the shallower pools are quickly warmed by the sun. We had a blast swimming and splashing and getting some sun. Mostly it was Larissa, Nick and I fooling around in the water, but even mom and dad got in on the fun.

It was a great day - but a long one in the sun, so by the time 5 pm rolled around we were exhausted and hungry. We piled back into the car and headed to get some tacos (al pastor y de suadero) and agua de jamaica. Once we ate we were pretty much ready to call it a day - so now we are home relaxing and making plans for tomorrow.

Cuentepec

Yesterday we went to small town in Morelos called Cuentepec. Cuentepec is very small, traditional, indiginous town near the Xochicalco pyramids where Larissa has been going every Friday through her school to help the people record their history and do community service. When we headed out there early in the morning the mountains were so foggy we could barely see the cows blocking the road. Soon the fog lifted and the amazing views from this mountaintop town were revealed. The people in Cuentepec still speak Nahuatl, but many also speak spanish. The women all wear dresses with tightly pleated skirts covered by and apron and a rebozo. The schools are taught bilingually and most signs are in both Spanish and Nahuatl. The town consists of small homes, a tiny Library, two small school houses, a new medical center, a few small stores, and the church.

The older homes are made of adobe brick with tin roofs and there are gates made from dried corn stalks. The more modern buildings and homes are made from cement block. The Library is small room containing books and a couple old word processors.Larissa and her class worked on several projects during the school year including painting this mural in the elementary school.Cuentepec is also known for it's clay figures - they make bowls and pots, but the best are the animal figurines they make. My mom and I wanted to buy some clay pieces so we asked around until someone led us to a home where the family makes clay figures. They invited us in and there were three generations of women who showed us the figures they made - and of course my mother and I bought a ton. Once we had almost cleaned them out each of them gifted us a piece - beginning with the grandmother, then the mother, and then the little four year old girl held out a little clay piece as a gift. It was so sweet. Visiting Cuentepec was like catching a glimpse of Mexico's past. I'm so glad I got to see the work Larissa's been doing this year and I'm really proud of her.

Pueblo Magico

We've spent the last couple days in Tepoztlan. On Sunday we climbed one of the mountains in Tepoz; it was an easier climb than Tepozteco but the views were still incredible. My dad was able to climb with us, which was a nice treat since usually his balance keeps him on level ground. When we got to the top it was almost like we were in the clouds.

By the time we got back down to the town we had worked up an appetite so we had quesadillas in the marketplace. Chorizo con papa, cecina con nopales, flor de calabaza... In all seriousness, I think this is the best food on the planet.

On Monday Larissa, Mom and I went back to Tepoz for massages. It was so relaxing (the best massage of my life, actually), and afterwards we walked around the town and had lunch a nice restaurant with great views. It was a nice girls' day out.

Other notable news includes that I got to see Larissa and Nick's school, accompanied my mother to Zumba (which sadly she would not let me video! She is too cute!), got to see some extended family, and have gotten in some quality time with the immediate family.

Abuelita's House 2.0

Abuelita's house is a very special place for my whole family. My mother grew up here. My father fell in love with my mother here. I spent my childhood summers here with EOC, climbed the tree out front, and generally came of age here. Muffy also spent summers here and remains close with the neighbors across the street (whose grandmother was best friends with my grandmother for forty years). And now the kids have had the opportunity to spend two whole years living here.

Needless to say, I was nervous when I heard that my mother wanted to do some remodelling. I worried that changing my grandmothers house, which has been wonderfully constant throughout my life, would be traumatic; but it looks great. I know I promised to post pictures at the begining of the trip, but for some reason uploading pictures and video is really really slow - which has put a cramp in my blogging style. But today with the help of Larissa, Nick and my dad we were able to upload two two-minute videos - and it only took six hours!

So enjoy! If you've never seen abuelita's house, you can catch a glimpse into my "other life". If you have, but haven't seen the updates (Muffy) then here is the grand unveiling. Ta da!

This little piggy went to the market

This morning my dad, Larissa and I (my mom isn't feeling well and Nicholas is in Acapulco with a friend) walked to a little cafe for breakfast. We had enchiladas verdes, huevos al albanil, molletes, cafe de olla, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The walk was about two miles each way - so we worked the meal off and I don't feel too guilty for over-indulging :)

Usually when I'm in Mexico I have someone new to the country with me, so I keep pretty busy showing them around. This time it's just me and the family, so it's been nice to have some down time. We spent time at home and then Larissa and I (don't we look like sisters?) went to the market place to pick up supplies for dinner.


For dinner we made carne enchilada (my absolute favorite) with fresh salsa, sour cream, avacado, refried beans, and tortillas. There's so much to love about Mexico, but the food is by far the most amazing part.

I'm having a good time - relaxing and spending some quality time with my family. I do miss my best girls, jb and Talula, and I so wish they could be here with me. Hopefully we'll find a way to take a family vacation soon.

South of the Border

I made it safely to Mexico. I headed out this morning at four am; flew to Houston; four hour layover; flew to DF; bus to Cuernavaca; taxi to the house. I'm beat. I almost didn't have the energy to go out for pozole and cubanas - but somehow I managed.


There's a lot of work being done on the house - which is exciting, but also a little sad to see my grandmother's house change. My resistance to change aside, it's really looking great. I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow.