Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Walking and connecting with Chapeltepec in CDMX - Montezuma cypress, sabino, ahuehuete tree relative

 Here is my Mexican guide Juan, who stopped at the grasshopper image at one of the Baths of Montezuma, where perhaps the ancients had baths much like the Romans of the other "old world"
Toltecs named the area "grasshopper hill", which would later become "Chapultepec" according to Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapultepec  -  Early in our walk, we took off our shoes to get grounded to the land, and Juan would tell stories of his uncle and "now you can bring others here in a good way"  I did bring tobacco and corn meal to leave offerings, as I did to both the big tree here and in the cave grotto, that is another portal ---
 
Juan talked of the balance of spirit energy here in the park, "Bosque de Chapultepec", or forest of Chapultepec, starting here with the masculine, the fountain to honor temperance has a male figure, and just behind is the "Sargent" tree remains - Wiki "One dead specimen is called the Ahuehuete of Moctezuma, commonly referred to as El Sargento (The Sargeant) or as the Centinela (Sentinel). The last two names were given by cadets of the Heroic Military Academy during the 19th century. The 500-year-old tree remains as a monument to the area's history, measuring fifteen meters high, forty in circumference. Another tree of the species, still living, is El Tlatoani, which is more than 700 years old and is the oldest tree in the park. In addition to these trees, there are sequoias, cedars, palms, poplars, pines, ginkgos, and more.[
 Here is the base of that big tree ----


 Greenery from inside the cave, the feminine energy where Juan asked for prayers to bring the ancient healing teachings of the north to connect with the south,  healing for the people WAY beyond the current politicians greed for money  ----
One of the dry areas of the bosque, forest, and behind a fence looks like one of the old trails up to the top of the hill that is PC  pre columbian and pre cortez ---"Chapultepec Hill. It is a formation of volcanic rock and andesite, which is common in the Valley of Mexico and contains small caves and sand deposits.[11] "Chapultepec" in Nahuatl means "grasshopper hill" but it is not clear whether the "Chapul" (grasshopper) part refers to the shape of the hill, or the abundance of grasshoppers in the surrounding woods.[6] This hill was considered special during the pre-Hispanic period from the Toltecs in the 12th century to the Aztecs up to the time of the Conquest by the Spanish. Remains of a Toltec altar have been found at the top of the hill, a number of burials and its use was reserved only for Aztec emperors and other elite.[11][15]"



 A grasshopper sign on the circular trail we walked around the hill in the coolness of the morning


I was drawn to the two Montezuma cypress, locally called "ahuehuetes"upright drum in water"[5] or "old man of the water."[2]  drawn Very serene and relaxing here by the still waters, and watching 2 workers clear all the plastic waste from the water ---Amazing how many 2 leggeds just throw stuff on ina maka without thinking or praying  :-(

 The two Montzuma bald cypresses with their feet in the water that attracted me to this place! 
Juan, next to Another old bald cypress, very old on the trail around the Pec, Hill  "
The sabino became the national tree of Mexico in 1910.[9] The tree is sacred to the native peoples of Mexico, and is featured in the Zapotec creation myth.[10] To the Aztecs, the combined shade of an āhuēhuētl and a pōchōtl (Ceiba pentandra) metaphorically represented a ruler's authority.[11] According to legend, Hernán Cortés wept under an ahuehuete in Popotla[12] after suffering defeat during the Battle of La Noche Triste.[13]Montezuma cypresses have been used as ornamental trees since Pre-Columbian times. The Aztecs planted āhuēhuētl along processional paths in the gardens of Chapultepec because of its association with government.[14] Artificial islands called chinampas were formed in the shallow lakes of the Valley of Mexico by adding soil to rectangular areas enclosed by trees such as āhuēhuētl;[2] they also lined the region's canals prior to Spanish conquest.[9]


Living part of the old tree, and Juan gave me a small piece as a medicine to carry here. 


Old lava flows at the base of the hill, some signed pointed to some petroglyphs here, likely 1000's of years old before the European invasions  

 
Completing the circle, here is a young man, doing bici jumps by the temperance fountain-----in the bosque, forest here.  

 
After our walk and an adventure to find a coffee grinder and French coffee press pot to give to Juan for his home, he took me to a nearby more fancy restaurant, owned by friends of the family down the street, in the house he hopes to convert into some Airbnb space -----Here a taco lingua, and I found them very tasty --made of beef tongue, reminds me of the Weaver German family tradition of eating tongue as a kid, a vestige of my dad's Weaver/ Weber farming roots, to waste nothing of the cow! 

Waiter Preparing Pescado with Sal ---Fish in salt, and taking out the meat at the table side--first white table cloth dinner here in DCMX other than breakfast where the MKP Leader Group is staying here. 








 
Juan and I having a little coffee and me some vanilla ice cream to complete our comida  --finished around 5 PM when the mariahi musicians were warming up and Juan remarked, "the politicians come in later like at 6- 7 here"  Jokes about politicians and how they take money abound here as well, just like the US Bank Stadium to take a billion from the people just to make a concussion sport look good!  Sigh, funny animal the two leggeds 

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Drive to CDMX -Mexico City from Lake Chapala ---Teotihuacan on Constitution Day in Mexico

Victor sitting in his upper desk, after a pipe ceremony and sharing stories ----Sunday morning before driving to Mexico City 
Victors home in Ajijic where I stayed for two nights over the weekend -- 

Typical road, cobblestone, with tope's too, on my way out of Ajijic on Sunday morning  -- 

 
 Drove all the way, on autopista much of the way, to the Chapultepec Park area of Mexico City  ---Juan, my LKS brother who is from CDMX and wearing the LKS shirt with Grandpa Fools Crow, met me at a taco place where the Super Bowl was on TV on Feb 4th,  as we shared in a local taco feast  ---Tacos al pastor/
 

 Monday Feb 5, Quiet morning, Constitution Day Holiday,  as Juan drove the van to pick up MKP leaders for a gathering later this week --Richard from Houston Texas organized the logistics and we are looking for a Pemex station and he is leading us in circles with his GPS phone!  -I am here to support Juan, in a good way, an LKS man with MKP
Teotihuacan
Here are about 8 of the leader body men with Juan facing me, in the parking lot after we arrived at Teotihuacan in the van  - 11 of us for this adventure and my first time at the site  


Juan was led to the shade of this pepper tree to hold a cleansing circle and smudge and ask permission to come here to this site in a good way ---this was in a place between the two large pyramids, the sun and the moon.

 Juan, modeling getting grounded here in the center of the site, in a "kings chair tree", I appreciated the slowing down and getting settled here before doing any climbing --easy does it Juan!  
Juan leading us toward the temple of the moon, with some of the MKP leaders following
 Looking back at the Temple of the Sun Pyramid prior to climbing up the Temple of the Moon



Large lava rock, that had a face once on it ---not sure of the significance and it is now in front of the Temple of the Moon 

 Me with a bag of trash - basura that we collected, 1/2 way up the Temple of the Moon....


View from the Temple of the Sun toward the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent in the far distance - which we did not visit today



The pyramid of the sun, awaits us to climb and Juan encouraged us to be mindful and intentionally breathe into our chakras as the different levels to take in the healing energy --also specific mudras are suggested too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra
When we reached the top of the sun pyramid, several mariposa, butterflies, danced with some of the two leggeds ---the image of transformation and the opening to spirit was not missed by this photographer --note the children in many colours and sizes here! 







A paroramia view from the top of the Sun Pyramid




Saturday, February 3, 2018

Day of Traveling up the mountian to Ajijic, Lago de Chapala + Day by the Lake

  
Early on the trip, the road narrowed to a detour of one lane that was just gravel ---here is a jiggly shot from my front window  --
 
Lots of mountains and a variety of ecosystems, rather dry here in one of the valleys --

 
Cobblestone, bumpy roads throughout the town of Mascota ------- 
 And tricky to follow the signs, and good thing my iphone has great maps and I can follow the little blue dot --warned about the poor signage used an old fashioned paper map from AAA and my Iphone maps which had pretty good service on my way! 


Not a lot of scenic pull offs, so I just stopped and took a photo of the mountains and valley ahead. 




Curious about this red peeling tree I noticed along with way  -
-->
When I arrived at Walmart , I was hungry and my amigo Victor in Ajijic took me for Indian comida in mid afternoon around 3 PM - he joked about Topexico is a name for the topas, the speed bump driving hazards in  the country and gets a smile from the locals when he uses that word  -----One of the plants, trees that intrigued me was the red peeling bark of trees I had seen along with way, Victor said the locals call them gringo trees, as they are red all the time and peel!  Here is what  I found on line    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursera_simaruba

"Bursera simaruba, commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas from the southeasternmost United States (southern Florida) south through Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil, Jinotega and Venezuela.[1] Bursera simaruba are prevalent in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán, where it is a subdominant plant species to mangroves.[  The gumbo-limbo is comically referred to as the tourist tree because the tree's bark is red and peeling, like the skin of sunburnt tourists, who are a common sight in the plant's range.[5]"




Saturday morning, I slept in to 7:30 AM, seems like the locals stay up late, and get up late,  had coffee at Victor's on Hildalgo Street and we piled into his car, stored in a nearby garage to take in breakfast at a Fonda, on the main hiway I took to get into town Friday  ----he likes a traditional breakfast,   
-->huevos motulenos, that has fried plaintain, peas, ham pieces which I had as well with the big  glass of orange juice with the obligatory straw, soon after we sat down, a family came in escorting a 99 yr old grandma whose birthday is Feb 3, and then the Mariachi Band, very loud, with brass and stringed instruments played and sang  --> Las Manyanita, which is another traditional song  ---I did try to record on my iphone and well, a real local tradition --

Victor at breakfast sharing traditional food with the birthday group behind  


 Mariachi band playing birthday song, for breakfast






 
Bringing Linda to the HU Sing at the Center for Spiritual Living in Ajijic, in the AM after breakfast  - Love the colors!

 
The dog with a Gandhi like mantra -----
Red flowers above the yellow walls 
  
Many flowers in the center of spiritual Living where we did the HU sing, where I met Tim Schubert briefly ---


More flowers and trees inside the center 
After driving Linda back to her nursing home, I encouraged Victor to drive us over to Chapala to find the disc golf course at Christina Park I found on line  ---



Here I am at the first basket we found  -- there was no map on line, and the Christina Park location on the lake, was dominated by a lot of activity around large venues, setting up in the town of Chapala for the celebration of Carnival and the Christian celebration of this season  - for me, very noisy and not much in touch with the ecology and environment --------I had planned to give these discs away, and we were the only people on the course -----
 
These kinds of sings were all over to bring the dominant culture of Mexico's view of life  --lots of loud music  ----in my view --- this is on the fence we had to walk by to find the course  ---
 
Victor as we went on our "Walk in the Park" pointing to hole #1, on the north side of the park, as a large performance venue was being built ---note the green color to the far left ---

 
  One of the few riparian, shore line areas that I found to be more of more natural along the lake, here in the park  ---note the white pelicans and shore birds here -----
 
A panorama of Lake Chapala found the cove area by hole #1, that Victor found, as we walked down the lake, finding baskets, #3, #2 and #1, so we could play 4 holes  ---the number on top of #9 had been removed and was sitting on the top of #2 --not much maintenance of a course here ---

Friday, February 2, 2018

Arriving in Puerto Vallarta Jalisco Mexico and my Airbnb with rental car!

A month or so ago, I called to find a car rental place in Vallarta, and Avis had cars that could drive to other states, like Mexico. Puebla, Oaxaca, etc  ---Alfredo Diaz at 180cm, who volunteered that when I said 203 cm, he would find a car for me  ---checked out for any dents, and took some photos, and well has a Puebla License so a guess I will fit in  ---Drove through the streets of erratic drivers (reminds me of Italy) and safely to my first Airbnb at Maky's near the Marina Zone  -- 
Quiet side street in Pitillal Neighborhood away from the crowded beach area -----
 Side street with mountains in the background - Maky, a woman, who is bi lingual, came out and then I threw a frisbee with her son and husband for a short time, before I unloaded my car to the upstairs private room with keys  I walked about a mile to find a gringo ex-pat filled place Las Adelita's on Fluvial Vallarta
 My Table at Las Adelita's, where Freddy found me a table and I got a non alcoholic naranga ? orange jugo and salted vegies  --try to get people to drink here too!  No cervesa por favor
Finished off the salza and tortilla chips before the chili rellenos with oaxaca cheese

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Leaving the Nieve Snow for places south in Mexico - Open to learning about the language and culture of my relatives to the south

FUN GOLDEN BOOKS from 1969 & 1970 respectively giving me another open door to discovery on Turtle Island, aka North America
 A few weeks back, I was talking with my Carleton College Classmate of 1969, Craig in Nayarit Mexico - and he suggested booking a Sun Country Direct Flight to Jalisco, the state next to Nayarit --And what a great time to get out of snow country, when the Super Duper Bowl comes to the Twin Cities  -  so grateful to spirit for the wisdom as I have noticed during my courier runs, the energy is ramping up here so to speak --good self care is for me, to leave places of increased drama and the homeland insecurities belief in the "illusion of control " For me the meditation here says a lot, I am choosing love and life every day  --Mitakuye Oyasin

Elder's Meditation of the Day - January 31

"In sharing, in loving all and everything, one people naturally
found a due portion of the thing they sought, while, in fearing,
the other found need of conquest."
-- Chief Luther Standing Bear, SIOUX

There are two systems of thought that are available for us to choose from. One is
the love-thought system and the other is the fear-thought system. If we choose love,
we will see the laws, principles, and values of the Creator. If we choose fear, the
results will be so paralyzing that it willl cause us to take over and not rely on the
Great Spirit. The fear-thought system will automatically cause attack, conflict,     
need to control, fault-finding, and the need to have control over others. The
love-thought system seeks peace of mind, unity, and causes us to be love seekers. 

Great Spirit, today let me see only love.
 
Here is where I got stuck doing a delivery to Panera in Edina at a strip mall!  Some young folks helped me get unstuck and I did that same for them!   Monday Jan 22 , when we had a foot of snow and I drove for 12 1/2 hours to be in integrity for my deliveries! 

Here the GARDA is about money and this is my route delivering Einstein Bagels from 11th and Nicollet on the mall to Ridgedale Mall, Caribou coffee ----grateful to be "The Uber of Stuff"through my contract with Accellco of St Paul!  In Ireland ,the Garda are the unarmed police who are friendly and direct traffic and even have tickets for Irish Football at Croke Field in Dublin, as my friend Patrick M from Armaugh demonstrated to me when I visited that lovely green Isle on my journey 
 

And ramping up to the Superbowl, I was greeted by this, the National Guard on 10 th street last Sunday Jan 28, on my way from my PO Box by the river to St Joan of Arc and our District 10 Al Anon pot luck with Alateen --Note   a military sand colored vehicle being directed to back into a civilians' car!   I feel less safe with the military in my neighborhood and will avoid the downtown today my last day before visiting my relatives to the south in Mexico land ---------warmer hearts and loving lands to the south here I come -----