Perdona el Retraso

Okay so I know it's been a rather long time since I've written anything of import. Well I guess a long time since I've written anything at all. Well I do have an excuse -- there were several afternoon storms here consisting of torrential rain, lightening and thunder galore, and wind that managed to knock out my wireless connection. Luckily I brought plenty of movies with me to keep me company (5 hour long BBC Pride and Prejudice, anyone?). Before you worry too much though, I am back with internet at home now and ready to get some things done!

So, what happened these last ten odd days? Umm well not too terribly much. I did some volunteering with the animal clinic in Puerto Vallarta where I got to teach other new volunteers how to take care of the animals post-op. I also spent a good deal of time surfing the internet and researching a variety of things for PEACE. For instance, I compiled an excel sheet of government agencies and their various functions and contact info; I also looked into fair trade regulations and the certification process for PEACE's Manos Unidas. And I hung out in the pool. A lot!

Oh yeah, and perhaps the coolest thing was I went up to explore the old mountain mining town of San Sebastian in the much cooler Sierra Madres. I had my hand at tequila tasting (the almond flavor was by the far the best) and coffee sampling before eating the best pollo con mole I have ever had the pleasure of trying. The town of San Sebastian itself is tiny and quiet with few more than 600 residents calling it home. At one time it was a bastion of silver mining and boosted of a population close to 30,000. But then during the Mexican Revolution, the famed Pancho Villa and Emilio Zapata came to the conservative town and blew up all the mines as a show of their power against the rich Spanish owners of the mines. Ever since then, because of the lack of roads or will or what have you, they have not attempted to start the mining anew. Go figure.

Anyway, it was a charming town with little to do besides just passing the day sitting in the plaza or taking tons of picture of all of the white-waled, red roofed houses, but it was great getting out of the humidity of the coast and to see a tranquil place where everyone actually said hello to each other when they passed and where you had to go to someone's house to buy meat.

So having only seen a small bit of Mexico, I have to say I much rather enjoy the San Sebastian side. The heat and energy of the tropical coast can be a bit much at times, especially when I'm used to mild Oregon summers. The thing about Mexico is it's impossible to figure out. On the one hand you have a modern, developing country which has one of the largest economies in Latin America, but then you have the traditional side where roads don't even tread and where the internet is just becoming accessible to most. More on this contrast later -- see I'm going to save my best for last.

This week will bring some more online research, although it will be research that actually has to do with microcredit lending, and probably plenty of more pool action. And even though Mexico may have lost the game to Uruguay this morning, there's still plenty more to come from the Mexican front. Stay tuned!