On The Road Again, Stalking Knowledge in the Sierras

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and that you are out there." Yasutani Roshi

No sooner had we returned from the trip to Morelia and the pyramids, washed our clothes (with a bucket and old fashioned scrub board), taken a shower with hot water ( a recent addition to the healing centre), we were on the road again stalking knowledge in the Sierras. Travelling down the straight roads of the desert, through the endless fields of Yucca and cactus, we headed off to Zacatecas. In Zacatecas we were to meet Masauke´s companion, Linda, who lives in San Antonio. She was to accompany us to the ceremony celebrating the return of the pilgrims in Las Latas in the Sierras.

Zacatecas is a beautiful old, but very lively town, in the state of Zacatecas, about 3.5 hours drive from San Rafael across many miles of desert. Linda´s bus was delayed so we had time to visit the Museo Zacatecano, which had a permanent exhibit of the life of the Wira or Huichol people, who I had already met and who we were about to visit. On our way to the museo we passed a puppet show in a square which was an open space for cultural exhibits, stopped in on an International Women´s Day instillation "Say No to Violence Against Women", observed a political rally, passed by three marching bands, one of which was a Mariachi band accompanying a bride and groom and wedding party as they walked from the church to the nearby reception hall!! Zactecas is certainly a happening city. There is infinitely more excitement here than any of the small towns I had been hanging out in for the past few months!

When Linda arrived we headed off across the plains and around wide mountain roads towards the town of Huejuqilla al Alto. Huejuquilla is the closest town to the Sierras, a small town with a boulevard that I am told looks like Guadalajaras and the traditional old Spanish style square. It has all the typical street vendors, the pushcart selling all manner of fresh fruit with lemon, salt and chili, a delicacy for those who have never tried fruit prepared this way; down the street a stand with helote, or corn, prepared in much the same fashion with a coating of mayonnaise to wash it all down, only for those who are not feint of stomach, as the chili makes your eyes water and I am always mildly suspicious of the mayonnaise jar sitting out in the sun, but suspect that the chili will kill any potential microbes; other stands with children's toys imported from China, plastic household items and various home made sweets are the order of the day. Huejuquilla is home to a large number of Wira people who no longer live in the Sierras. Many of them are still in their traditional dress though many have also become Tewarizado [Tewari= non Wira] and dress in non-Wira fashion.

It was getting dark as we left Huejuquilla, not far out of town we turned off on the narrow road that would take us up hill and over dale to Nueva Colonia, a Wirrarica settlement, 1,300 km above sea level deep in the Sierras. It was dark so my view was mostly of the trees by the side of the narrow road which was currently being widened and reconstructed, hence the numerous detours down precarious dirt paths, or of the cliffs on the other side of the road. I could not get an idea of how high up we were or what the surroundings looked like until we were leaving 4 days later. I could tell by the vegetation that we were quite high up as the firs and evergreens reminded me more of the temperate forests in Canada than any tropical rain forest I had ever been in.

Two and a half hours later, after bumping our way up the sometimes very steep and narrow road and heading over mountain bridges barely wider than the van, passing only a few settlements along the way, we arrived at a complex of long adobe houses surrounded by stands of tall pines sheltering sleeping cattle, all barely visible in the starlight night. Three toots of a horn and several shouts of 'Yacko', the traditional Wira greeting, later, Jesus, Masauke and Linda's conpadre, appeared from one of the door, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Masauke inquired about the status of the ceremony, which we knew was already going on down the hill in the community of Las Latas. Jesus confirmed that the peyoteros or peligrinos, the pilgrims, would be dancing all night that night, Saturday, and that the ceremony would go on the following day, likely overnight the next night and end on Monday.

Tired as we were, and with only two small flashlights to illuminate what I would learn the next day was a very steep footpath down the side of the mountain to the community of Las Latas, we decided to spend the night in our usual accommodation, the van that transforms into a one and a half bedroom, no bath luxury suite. While quite workable for two, it was a very tight fit for 3, Linda sharing Masauke's usual just larger than single bed spot, while I was across the 'hall' in the just barely bigger than half bed unit. Lying with my head towards the window, the breeze from the pine forest wafting in and watching the beautiful display of night stars, I could only think how beautiful life is!

Lessons learned: 1) once again I have to reflect on how little we really need -- a few bowls of rice, clean underwear and a place to lay your head, not much to ask, 2) Life is good! 3) Life is good!

Stay tuned for part 2. Staywell and travel with Spirit, Spirit Traveller.