A re-written trip into the mountains.

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I took a new combi (minibus) to school one day, after being told about it by my host father over coffee one lunchtime. The school is in the center of town, and is pretty easy to reach by combi. Imagine my surprise when I saw the tarmac road end, and the cobbled road begin. I realised that I was heading out of town... I was in the front seat of the combi, chatting to the driver when the penny dropped. I had deliberately set out early, this being a first attempt at a different combi, and so decided to relax and enjoy the increasingly pretty and lofty view afforded to me from the window of the combi. I was not to be disappointed. The arid, pockmarked, mountainous scenery was beautiful, and as I thanked the driver and caught the same combi in the correct direction, I decided that I'd make this same trip deliberately that weekend.

Having discussed this with a few other teachers, three of us set out at lunchtime on a sunny Saturday to see what was what. We rode the combi all the way to the stop, which was in the middle of nowhere, with a couple of houses next to it. There were a few people giving us cursory looks from the doors of the houses, so we went to say hello. In the conversation in Spanish that followed, we gleaned that the area wasn't too dangerous during the day, but that foreigners shouldn't chance it at nighttime. We also found out about a couple of points of historical and natural interest in the local area, and one of the locals decided to show us to the closest of them. We swapped numbers with the other local, and strolled down the side of a steep roadside verge to be greeted by some caves in the roadside. We were told that they were used during the revolution to hide ammunition, and the evidence for this was clearly visible; black scorch marks on the ceiling of the cave. This kind of local history is something that tourists don't even get close to, and we were all very grateful to see it.

After the cave, the kind local wanted to show us the view from near his house, and we ended up in a cluster of about 10 houses with a cluster of about 12 or 15 people watching us with a little trepidation. They were all women and young children. I went over to introduce myself and to put them at ease, and soon the whole group was chatting away and taking photos on tablets. One of the ladies spoke Nahuatl, which I'm hoping to learn more of in the future, and I showed off my puny vocabulary to much giggling. There's something fabulous about speaking a colloquial language that's been around since before Europeans came here, and in the very hills and mountains where it was first spoken too... Even if it is just the words for one beer, dog, mum, dad, brother, and sister; ce chicchic, chichi, noma, nopa, nopipi, and nomimi, respectively. Perhaps in the future I'll be able to have a conversation in Nahuatl, but at the very least, I have the necessary words to order a beer for me, and a beer for each member of my family, and for my dog.

The people who lived up there were either housewives, or made clothes for a living, and I'd love to spend a day there when my Spanish is sufficient for a long, meandering conversation. We bade our new amigas farewell and continued walking, feeling very culturally satisfied. It had amused the locals that we were as curious about them as they had been about us.

A short way further, we met the most sprightly 76 year old man I've ever encountered. He spoke quickly, but was still understandable, even for me; most definitely the novice Spanish speaker of the group. He strolled with us for a few kilometers, and told us all about what the local area had been like before the conquistadors had invaded; green corn fields, no roads, and villages dotted around. He had a knack for traversing the distinct language barrier between us by using maps and dates drawn in the sand/dirt with his finger. He was fascinating, and generous too. He offered to show us a trail into the mountains, but we had to decline due to being a tad short on water. He cycled off on his bicycle after giving us a cheesy grin and telling us that next time we were in the area, he wanted to show us the place he'd been talking about.

We finished off the day with a 5km walk, and a purchase of some food at a little local food stall. Such was the warmth and curiosity of the people we'd encountered that day, that we resolved to go back again very soon. I look forward to that day with anticipation.
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