Ah, the wonders of technology. I had lost some photo’s from a recent trip to Mexico – my memory card wiped clean during an international shipment. I was so heartbroken, as photography has been a recent interest to me.
Well, miracle of miracles, I got the photo’s back – thanks to Card Recovery software.
Here are the two photo’s I mentioned in A Bittersweet Arrival
Tarahumara Girl
a Tarahumara woman weaving a basket
The Tarahumara Indians are known for their beautifully weaved baskets. Some of the women of the tribe would lay out their baskets and other crafts in various tourist destinations, then pass the day weaving.
We decided to purchase a half-finished basket from one woman. She was rather amused that we would be interested in an incomplete project – but sold it to us nonetheless. She also allowed us to take her photo as she was weaving.
Something about this unfinished basket is inspirational. It allows you to daydream about what projects you may begin. Our property is plumb full of cattails. I see some weaving in our summer days ahead.
I will frame the photo of her and place it with the basket somewhere in our new house.
Finally, it has arrived. I have been waiting for a month to get my camera back. Finally, I will have my creative assistant with me again. Finally, I will be able to get some of those images from Mexico printed, framed, and hung on the wall. There are two images in particular I am looking forward to.
1) A Tarahumara Indian girl* dressed in her traditional clothing. She was leaning against a fence post, gazing out into the forest. I caught her from the side – in a moment of peace. Her bright yellow rebozo draped over her shoulders. The yellow then gives way to the orange of her dress. The bright colors of her clothing were such a beautiful contrast to the greens and browns of the forest behind her.
2) A Tarahumara Indian woman sitting on a rock. She too, is in her traditional dress. In her hand, is the basket she is weaving, to her side - a toddler. The Tarahumara are known for their beautifully weaved baskets. I asked her if I could purchase the half completed project. Though she thought the request quite strange, she agreed in the end and sold the basket to me.
While this is not an ‘award winning photo’ I planned to display the basket on a shelf, with the framed photo of her weaving it in the background. Somehow, the half finished basket is inspirational – - a creation in the works.
I recieved notice yesterday that my camera was at the post office waiting for me. It is such a miracle to have it back! I left it in a taxi in Mexico. By the time I discovered it missing, it was one day and 800 miles later. A camera can be replaced, but those beautiful images were lost forever. My husband was optimistic that we could get it back. He called the hotel where we had stayed. MIRACLE!! The taxi driver discovered the camera and took it to the hotel! The hotel owner agreed to ship the camera to us. What a blessing.
And so this morning I tore the box open, and plugged the camera into my computer.
Nothing.
The memory card is empty.
It must have been x-rayed because it was shipped internationally.
All I have are the words from the second half of the trip – but no images to accompany them. At least I have my camera back, so that I can continue my photo journey from today forward. Maybe some day, I will visit the Tarahumara again, and I still have the half completed basket.
* If you ever visit the Tarahumara Indians near the Copper Canyon in Mexico, be sure to ask before you take a photo. Some Tarahumara believe that having a picture taken will steal their soul.
Copper canyon is, and has been for centuries, home to the Tarahumara Indian Tribe. The Tarahumara have managed to keep their way of life largely in tact through the centuries. Of course, they have been touched in some ways by the western world, but they still largely dress in their traditional clothing. Many continue to live off the land and some still live in caves. Rebozo’s are still used to cover heads and to carry babies on their backs.
We visited a few different Tarahumara communities near Creel. One was a family of twelve, eight lived in a cave and four (brother’s and their wives) lived in one room homes built just below the cave. Other caves in the area were used to pin up the animals (chickens, goats, pigs) at night. The other community consisted of half a dozen homes spread over about 100 acres. There was an old mission (with San Ignacio de Loyola at the alter), a cemetery and a community center.
As I stood overlooking the valley of mushrooms (there were rocks shaped like mushrooms) I could see people selling homemade crafts to tourists, hauling wood in a wheelbarrow, strolling across a field, herding sheep. It was a beautifully tranquil place.
The crafts made by the Tarahumara were stunning and inspiring; baskets woven from pine needles, pottery, jewelry, rebozo’s.
There is some disagreement amongst us about the quality of life of the Tarahumara Indians. Some feel badly for them. They are poor – evidenced by the children peddling crafts to tourists and asking for “un peso” if you do not buy from them. We say 2 children with a fever, laying on mom’s lap as she works on a craft.
Other’s in the party felt that they are fortunate to have a culture that is still largly in tact and respected. “Poor” is only applicable if “money” is applicable in your culture. The Tarahumara are still living off the land. Indeed, as we stood atop the canyon, we were able to see Indian trails traversing the canyon below us. In fact, far below, we were able to see and hear a man herding his goats along a trail. Yes, a small percentage seemed hungry, and of course that is sad. However, a majority of the people we saw were actually plump!
The Tarahumara are not totally immune to western influence. When the Jesuits introduced Jesus to the indigenous people of the land in the 1800’s the Tarahumara integrated Him into their existing beliefs. He became an addition rather than a replacement. While some of the men work the land or herd animals, others take a bus to the neighboring town to work. Many of the women sell their handmade crafts to tourists.
It was a wonderful experience to get to know the Tarahumara people - if only just for a few days.
Finally, after going on the bureaucratic paper chase, we made it onto the ferry that goes from La Paz in Baja to Topolobampo on the main land via the Sea of Cortes. I am excited to be leaving the peninsula. We arrived in the dark, found a hotel, woke up in the dark, and made our way to the train station – a tired bunch. We are headed to Copper Canyon – a vacation within a vacation.
As we rocked along the track (and I do mean rock…. if I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was on a sail boat) the sun started to peak out and we could finally see the landscape. To my surprise, it was FARM LAND!! I don’t know why, but I expected mountains. There were mountains – but they were only visible in the far distance. As we got closer to them, the landscape began to change. First rolling hills with cacti, then mountains and valleys with a mix of cacti and brush, and finally, amazing canyons and waterfalls. As we rose in elevation, the cacti were replaced with pine trees! I almost felt like I was back in Montana!
After a full day on the train we arrived at our destination, Creel, Mexico. The conductor set us up with Mario – tour guide and accommodation provider. Mario met us at the station and took us to his family compound/haciendas. He built us a fire and left us to rest. For the next two days, his cousin acted as our tour guide in and around Creel.
Creel is near Copper Canyon which is 4 times longer and 1 1/2 times as deep as the Grand Canyon. There are unusually shaped rocks and beautiful waterfalls in the area. Copper Canyon was absolutely breathtaking. I’m not sure if it is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. If it is not, it should be. I will defer to my husbands description (coming soon) as his words capture the canyon in a way that mine have not.
This area is – and has been for centuries – home to the Tarahumara Indians. I will write about this tribe soon.
Well, my life as a travel writer has been short lived. In the last week, we have continued our treck down the Baja Peninsula. We changed up our plans a bit and ended up going all the way down to the southern tip – Cabo San Lucas. And I’ve run out of things to say about Baja! So, I will record the southern Baja trip in pictures.
We are taking the ferry today over to the main land. In the mean time – - some pics.
Kayaking in Bahia de Concepcion
kayaking in Baja Concepcion
Snorkeling
snorkle
Bird and Boat Watching
pelican and sail boat
In the last few days of our drive through southern Baja, we noticed that the cacti are beginning to bloom.
cactus in bloom
I have seen so many birds here at the beach in the last few days – and I can only identify one of them. A pelican.
pelicans
I need a bird identification book!
These little guys go scurrying across the beach in front of the house each morning. At first, I didn’t think they flew, but this morning – they did take flight. They have the funniest little disks sticking out of their foreheads.
These little ones dive for long periods of time.
Then, there is the one that I have affectionately called, Little Red
lil red
This is important – San Ignacio Style….
The center of town in the oasis of San Ignacio, Baja Sur, Mexico is a Mision started by the Jesuits in the early 1700’s. The construction of the building was abandoned – but picked up approximately 50 years later by San Ignacio de Loyola . San Ignacio de Loyola was a man in Spain who founded a “hard line” branch of the Catholic church known as the Jesuits in response to the reformation. The Jesuits were sent to the new world with the job of converting the natives to the catholic religion. The mision in San Ignacio was dedicated to this man, and he still remains the most IMPORTANT man of the Mision.
His statue takes his place at the head of the alter. In the right wing is the Virgin Guadalupe and in the left, Jesus. At the feet of San Ignacio de Loyola, were dozens of flowers and lit candles. At the feet of the virgin were 3 or 4, and at the feet of Jesus – one.
Check out the other photohunts at http://tnchick.com
I really enjoy James Michener books – and I really enjoy reading as much as I can when I am on vacation. I don’t know why it did not occur to me to get the James Michener book “Mexico” before leaving on our trek through Mexico – but I didn’t.
So, I went to Amazon to add the book to my “wish list” so that I can order it when I get home…. better late then never, right? And I stumbled across a second book that I just can’t do without – “My Lost Mexico”
From the description on Amazon.com:
In this intermittently interesting portrait of a writer’s mind at work, Michener reconstructs the birth of his recently published novel Mexico , which he had originally abandoned in 1961. He blames the novel’s derailment on a mocking editorial suggestion by Bennett Cerf, then his publisher at Random House, which caused him to lose control of the story’s diverse strands. Misplaced for three decades, the lost manuscript turned up in 1991 and Michener completed the multigenerational saga centering on a three-day bullfighting festival. Discussing the “colossal” writer’s blocks he has faced over the years, Michener offers advice to aspiring writers as he describes his many trips to Mexico, divulges his sources of inspiration and relives the writing of Mexico with the aid of reproduced journal pages, workbook entries and photographs.
As an aspiring writer – I can’t wait to read this account.
We have settled into a beautiful solar powered beach house in Bahia de Conception. This is a little inlet on the Sea of Cortez side of Baja. I read in a Baja travel book that this bay is the most presine place on earth.
baja view
It makes sense. It is scarcely populated. There is only one highway here – connecting the south side part of Baja to the north, but traffic is very light. There are not power lines here…. the houses are all solar powered. There is no commercial fishing allowed here, and there are no commercial boats entering or leaving the area. Of the dozen boats I have seen in this inlet – all but 2 are sail boats.
The abundance of shells along the beach is staggering. There is a beautiful variety of birds – and I’m sure the ocean life is just as varied. Some people in our party stumbled upon the skeleton of a sting ray yesterday. It is a beautiful place to spend a week, and it feels good to know we are vacationing in a solar power home.
Actually, I have noticed several homes in Baja powered with solar panels. Even some of the smallest of shacks have a little solar panel or two. This is because the grid has not made it to many of the corners of the landscape here. There are actually many “earth friendly” practices in Mexico – though I am sure it has more to do with the economy then it has to do with a desire to care for the earth. (The amount of trash along the roads and beaches led be to this conclusion). To conserve energy is to save money – money many families in Mexico simply do not have. To waste anything would be unthinkable.
Now – if only something could be done with all this trash along the sides of the roads!
Homestead Mama | 
03 31st, 2008| 
