Reflections about Jalcumulco

I wish that I could take each of you who reads this in my pocket for a few days so you could each experience first hand what life in this small village is like. It would feel very strange and weird at first but with in days it will have grown on you. And you might even be sad to leave the people and the beautiful place that they call home. Well at least that was our expereince and we enjoyed it so much that we plan on going back.

WILD is completed!!! It is bitter sweet ( but more of that to come another day.) We are currently in a little place called Zipolite which has a population of about 1000 people. It is on the West coast of Mexico. The "motel" where we are staying is 75 feet from the ocean and a beach ( our first and one of the most popular nude beaches in Mexico.) We spent the afternoon drinking beer in hammocks. It was amazingly relaxing.

So let´s start with a typical morning routine in Jacumulco. And this is one of the most hard to explain parts of this blog because really you need to hear this first hand. The village is probably alot like what the pioneers would have lived like, very simple and focused on survival. There are animals that live bside people´s one storey homes. Those animals include donkeys and pigs. The donkeys bray the worst sound in the world. I can´t quite figure out why they sound so awful and different than I remember donkeys sounding from home. But when you hear them at 4 or 5 in the morning or really any time of day they just seem so unsatisfied. The pigs are paraded through the town and then stay in people´s yards until they get eaten. If you live close to a butcher you may be woken by piggy squeals. The meat is then kept out for the day so people can buy it and may be cut into pieces using an axe on a stump of wood. I can´t quite figure out how I´ll be able to buy and cook meat when we get back. We might be vegetarian for a bit :0)

So on our way to breakfast we´d pass men saddling up there donkeys who would later come back carrying loads of coffee or bamboo weighing maybe between 30 to 50 pounds. The saddle was composed of a burlap bag and a wooden horn. Beside the donkeys would be cars (particularly VW beatles) that were any where from brand new to 20 years old.

The women often work out of their home. This means that all of the necessities of life are sold from someone´s home. There are paper stores, cornerstores, bakeries, and resturants that serve anything from freshly squeezed juice to sandwhiches to milkshakes to tacos to full chickens. There are an array of sights and smells as you walk down any given street. YOu holler at the door or they have a table at the side of the house on the sidewalk. One lady in town even does laundry and we were so thankful for that ( as our gear certainly was in need of some TLC.)

There are many delicacies that we have tried from street vendors. The strangest may have been corn on the cob cooked in wheel barrows and then peeled and slathered in mayo. The corn isn´t the same texture as what I´m used to so it was a bit of a surprise.

The village is on the river so there is two bridges in town. People are always sneaking jumps off the main bridge (even though it is illegal because people have died trying it). The other bridge is a suspension bridge and I have even walked across it a few times. From the bridges you can see a few small rapids one of which is surfable at this time. I can´t wait to give it a try.

Well that is a few highlights. There is certainly more but it is getting late and we are sleepy, so good night.

On the road again

Well, we ve said good bye and handed in ours keys to the family that has taken care of us for the last three weeks. For the next week we are running the show as participants, with the leaders taking a step back. We board the buses and vans in half an hour ( after we grab a home made ice cream for 5 or 10 cents) to make the last stretch of our journey to the West coast. We have been well cared for and expereienced so many things. Our program will be over in a week and that is hard to beleive because we have learned so much and sort of become like a huge extended family.

We will be rafting, kayaking, cliff jumping, cascading (rapelling down waterfalls) and visiting a turtle restoration place. Needless to say they tell us this next week is more like a vacation than the crazy and intense days we{ve recently had. We had two scenarios and one of them was at night and the other was a day long one this past week. We also learned some basics about teaching beginner kayaking.

We decided to stay in Jaculmolco for a while. How long? That is still to be determined. We sent out a few emails to other guides who are in Costa Rica and Guatamala to inquire about working there. But we have rented an apartment starting when we get back (which will probably be 2 or 3 weeks from now) and gave them half a months rent (500 pesos or $50 Canadian) to make the deal complete. It is a one bedroom place with a bed and a front room (which will become the eating area) and a rooftop patio ( the family has 3 dogs that live in that part only) and most importantly a bathroom with a toilet and shower (mini sized). We ve stashed some stuff there and look forward to having a place to call our own. We hope to get as much time on the water as possible. Jay would love to get alot of commercial whitewater expereince and we are not exactly sure how that will work out. We do know that Esprit will do their best to include us in things and give us stuff to do. We also hope to take trips from here to see new places.

Hope everyone is well. WE have enjoyed the many updates we ve received so keep it coming. When we return I will include more reflections about what we have seen, expereinced and learned over the last three weeks.

New Photos from Mexico

First days in Mexico

The white water in Mexico

I need to close your eyes for a moment and just imagine this, because I think that it is pretty spectacular.

The last three days I have been rafting while Jason was kayaking. There are several different rivers in the area with various features however they are all quite continuous ( the white water just keeps on going and going with very little flat stuff in between) and rocky. But that´s not so amazing. The scenery around it is and I´m certain that despite my best attempts to describe it I won´t do it justice. The rivers around us are all at the base of valleys and table tops mountains that were made due to a volcanic erruptions years ago. We are down paddling away in canyons, so when you look up you see walls of rock and clay. Some of the walls have hieroglyphics on them, while others have tress and cactuses. The water is very narrow is some spots and widens in others. The water is a green blue colour and it is very clear. We paddled through a cloud forest which has ferns that grow a foot in 100 years. This area in particular was awesome because the canyon is steep and rocky so people are unable to survive there, thus it is virtually untouched by people. Occasionally we come across civillization as noted by cultivated banana, corn or coffee fields. A random horse, burro ( donkey) or cows tied (or not) at the waters edge is also a good clue. The birds and butterflies that flutter overhead can be pretty colourful. We also discovered fire ants and this invisible bug (darn sand flies) that leave red marks all over my legs.

More about Mexico .....

First and foremost I need to say that being in Mexico is truly amazing. We have been so blessed and enriched while we have been in this village of Jaucamolco ( which has not even been one week!).

Where to begin .....

The Hospitality in Mexico

So first I must let you all know that we are still doing the whitewater program, however it is beginning to wrap up. There are 3 weeks left and some of that time is testing our skills, so yesterday and today we have been doing review. Some of it is water skills, while other is first aid and safety. It is crazy to see how much we have learned in such a short time.

Part of the program is a 3 week home stay with a family in this community. Each person is paired up ( Jason and I are together - imagine) and then matched with a family who provides them with a place to stay and also with breakfast and supper. Jason and I have been given an apartment that belongs to an elderly woman. Her adult daughter is out host "mom." We share the apartment with one other couple from the WILD group. We then go to the family´s home for our meals. In our family it´s the mom, dad and two early 20s kids. The son and daughter are home today and for the weekend to celebrate Day of the Dead. Both usually reside in Xalapa ( a huge city about an hour away) where they go to school.

We were a little disappointed that we weren´t actually living with a family because we thought that we might be missing something. But on the flip side we quite enjoy having our own space and a fully equipped bathroom ( soem of the other students come over to use it.) The house is large and it has a terrace on the top of it. It is an open concept which means that there isn´t really alot of doors but alot of windows and that the walls don´t go all the way up to the ceiling and so when Jason was sick a few nights ago everyone heard it.

We head over to the family for 7:30 in the morning and 7pm for dinner. We sit on the couch and watch TV if the mom doesn´t quite have supper ready. A huge plate of fruit with yogurt and granola awaits us each morning. Each meal is served with warmed corn tortillas ( wartmed in the microwave). Jason just couldn´t bring himself to eat any today because his tummy is a little upset. Breakfast usually consists of some sort of eggs with beans. She has also prepared sugared buns for us and ceral is an option. I´m still getting used to the idea of drinking warm milk out of a tetra pack. Our mom has a little shake and sandwhich business that she runs out of the house so she makes us chocolate milkshakes whenever we want( yes we are spoiled). For supper we are served raw veggies that make up a salad and chicken with other soups, pasta or rice. The idea is that the family prepare meals as they normally would but I get a sense that she isn´t.

Instead of celebrating Halloween the Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead. This celebration actually lasts several days. I´m not entirely sure what it all entails but I´ll let you know what I´ve seen so far. The family has built an altar in their how. It is an arbor made of flowers ( marigolds specifically) with a table beneath it. On the table is photographs of people who have passed away and also of dieties. They also place food and drink on the table (I´m guessing as an offering for those they rememeber.) There is water, fresh squeezed orange juice and beer, as well as 3 cups of coffee (maybe). For food there is homemade bread, a vartiety of fruit, and tamales ( like a pizza pocket but made the Mexican way with corn paste on the outside and hot spicy filling on the inside that are wrapped in banana leaves and boiled.) There is also lots of flowers around. Also the cemetary is unlike anything in Canada. It has headstones but they are adorned with photos and flowers that are most extravagant and colourful. My first impression of it was that it was celebratory rather than solemn ( I think that is spelled wrong but I can´t figure out what´s the right way)

Mexico

Well we have arrived safely into Mexico, a place that is familiar and yet so different. THe weather here is crazy - hot mostly but today out of the middle of no where we had a crazy rain storm. We were beginning to pack up camp ( which is quite an ordeal) and I was helping with the kitchen supplies. We have a trailer that is packed full with water jugs, coolers (5 or so) food, dishes, garbage stuff and well you know all the stuff you need.... It drizzled a little and before we knew it we wer all soaked and laughing at ourselves. The place where we´ve been camped is at the bottom of several hills. When it rains things get totally muddy. It is one big mud pit. The vans and bus don´t really do well as they slip and slide everywhere. One of the days we had to push the vehichles out.

The river is just a stone´s throw away - at the bottom of ravine by the campsite. It is turquois- green colour and you feel as though you are in paradise. We have put for kayaking about 8km from our campsite ( it is a luxurious spot) and we take out when we arrive back at the campsite. However to get there you need to go over 7 (I think) waterfalls/slides to get there. THEy vary in height from 10 to 25 ft. The first day was intimidating but we have done it several times since and it is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth that I have ever been.

Yesterday we had a scenario where on one of the instructors was running the third last waterfall. It is the highest watefall. She went over the waterfall and then needed to be rescued. In this situation she had a broken femur ( the big bone in your upper leg). This is a life threatening situation so we had to pretend to treat the break and then evacuated her out off the river. To get her safely to a vehicle we must carry her out on a back board. But before that is possible we must apply traction (pulling her leg and applying pressure to ensure that the broken, "fixed" bone would stay in place) and build a splint. As you can imagine this is no easy task.

I had taken the day off to rest as my shoulder was a little sore and suddenly Jon (another student) had paddled back to the campsite and explain what had happened and listed off the supplies that we´d need. We then took the supplies (mainly a raft) and one of the vans to a hotel part way down the river. As a team we try to divide into smaller groups with specific tasks. We got the raft ready, while others took care of the medical side of things and others tried to scout routes for taking her off the river. Everyone´s adrenaline is pumping. We got her off the river in about 2 hours. Everyone remained positive. Jason was complimented twice during our debrief time for being level headed and seeing the big picture really well!!! Not a surpise at all.

The gear that we had gotten used to wearing (dry suit tops, Neoprene tops and bottoms) have been stashed away for a while. And shorts and rash guards (spandexz like material that keeps the sun out and offers a little warmth)ave replaced them. We use alot more sun screen though. I got a good burn while we were in Texas.

We had no problems getting into Mexico. In fact this trip was one of the smoothest border crossings they´ve ever had. Maybe it is because of the great story they created. We were all told before hand that there were certain words that we could repeat often if asked any questions and they were Xalapa and Veracruz the two main places we´d be stying in and even then we were supposed to butcher the pronunciation. If needed we were going to explain that we were world class athletes training for the Bejing ´08 Olympics. We sure had a good laugh about that.

We´ve adjusted well to the food. It hasn´t upset our tummies too much. Probably the hardest thing is learning to drink large quantities of water because you sweat all the time. Sometimes it cools down at nights but not always - and cool is relative to the hot days. Probably most of you at home are not even feeling a little bit sorry for me now because I hear it is a little cold there.

Yesterday morning we awoke at 4:40 ( yes in the morning) to get up a see swallows fly out of the cave that they live in. The place is called Sotano de las Golonodrinas. If you are wondering if we were mad but this is a world renowned place and really it is quite spectacular. We sat in a smelly, wet van ( we use the van to transport us to the river and the afternoon before it had been raining) in the dark going up this crazy narrow, steep path. We had to get to the cave as the sun began rising. And we made it just in the nick of time. The cave is 500m deep and teh birds start near the bottom and weave there way up in circles until they fly out. IT takes over half an hour because there is thousands of birds. Some of them were swallows and others were parques(?) that were a bright green colur. We were able to look into the cave by using a rope. It was a great way to start the day.

Tonight we board the bus at 11pm and travel all night to an ancient ruins site. I can´t wait.

The Rupert River

There are a multitude of words that I can use to describe this wonderful and amazing river. Since this trip (which we took ~ a month ago) we have been rafting or in Jason's case kayaking on class v(five) rapids. The rapids and water channelling that we saw on the Rupert totally don't even compare to the biggest class v rapids that we have seen. The rapids which had initially been described as "meant for giants" are so massive and loud that you stand beside them and feel small. You are immersed in a very awesome expereince, particularly since this river way is scheduled to be damed in 4 years. The pictures that follow are a small taste ofwhat we heard and saw.

The five day trip included so much diversity in terrain, weather and activity for the day. They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Well that was the motto for this trip in particular. Each day we paddled with different people. We ate like king and queens at the end of some crazy portages. The one day we had two portages that were each ~ 2.5 km and instead of going from beginning to end we leap frogged our gear as far as we could and then went back to the last pieces of gear. We always went back until we were carrying the first aid kit. If you had the first aid kit that meant that you were the end of the trail and everyone could continue to move forward. Another day we paddled ~ 30 km against a strong wind in amazingly warm weather and sunshine. The first night we arrived at 10pm in the dark to the park where you could hear the roar of the rapids butnot see them and the temp. was close to zero that you could see your breath.

We spent one evening with a group of Cree people. They cooked us a traditional meal which included smoked fish. They included a demonstration of how they traditionally catch the fish as well. Once the meal was done we snuggled up together to sleep in a teepee or wigwam. Despite the occasional drips of rain that we felt and the skunk that wandered in during the middle of the night, this accomodation felt like a five star resort.

After I got hit with a food barrel to the mouth I was evacuated (by foot,canoe, motor boat and truck) to the local village. There I was given the most prompt medical treatment I had ever received. I had registered and before I had time to pee and check out my fat lip and gash they had called me into the room. I was stiched up by a nurse. I was kind enough to wait until after he was done to tell him that I was also a nurse. He did an excellent job. Once the freezing was in the only thing I could feel was the pressure as he tied each stich off. The wound is healing well. The medical center was new and the atmosphere that it created was one that was dedicated to thte people they served. It certainly gave me a small taste of what it would be like to nurse up north. I was very impressed and was honoured to be taken such good care of.

Rupert River Trip