La Vida Bonita y Tranquila

(See photos from Day 15)

Here is a riddle: What is joy-filled, tired and red all over? Answer: The Summervill Family after a weekend in the remote mountain town of Tapalpa, Jalisco. It is almost eleven o’clock on Sunday evening and we are just settling back into “Casa Contenta.” Once again, Pablo and Guadalupe have overwhelmed me with their hospitality and generosity. We almost declined the invitation because we have all been tired as result of all of our adventure seeking. Thankfully, Guadalupe would not take “no” for an answer.

We left on Saturday around noon. I was happy to note that once we left the metro area of Guadalajara I could use the adjective “safe” with the verb “driving” in one sentence. I try to convince myself every couple of months that we “need” to buy a minivan in order to continue to function. For the journey into the mountains, Pablo, Guadalupe, and our family of four piled into the Mexican version of a Volkswagen Rabbit, only slightly more compact. Four adults, two kids, five or six back packs, some food, and two mountain bikes. My thoughts of a minivan are forever gone.

Two and a half hours later, mas o menos, we arrived at Guadalupe’s brother’s summer vacation home. This was one of the rare weekends when it wasn’t occupied so we moved in. The home is nestled in a secluded community of summer vacation homes that each sit on at least an acre. In each direction, there is a view of lush meadows, mountainsides, and on a clear day, the volcano at Colima. We parked the car by the front gate and had to walk down about ten large stone steps to get to the front door. My first glimpse of the house launched me into a day dream where I hired a realtor, sold my house, packed my bags and moved permanently to the Tapalpa area. I immediately told Chad about my day dream and his reply was “I hope you will write?!”

We walked into the house and the best word to describe it is “tranquil.” The house was simple, clean, and peaceful. I was hugged by adobe and bathed in sunlight filtered through bamboo attached across windows in the ceiling. Soft tiles massaged our feet as we inhaled fragrant, clean air. A lovely deck overlooked a garden area filled with raised beds for vegetables, a variety of flowers, including one perfect red rose, and lots of interesting succulents. This earthy dwelling blended so perfectly with Mother Nature that it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other began. The contrast from the bustling, dirty city was stark. (Footnote: Pablo thinks Guadalajara is nearing 7 million people now) On one hand, the area resembled many of the majestic areas I have had the privilege of visiting in the northwestern United States. On the other hand, it had enough different characteristics to make an (ex) home-body, like myself feel like I was tucked in the Andes or Kilimanjaro.

We unloaded our bags and headed into town (about 5 minutes) for la comida, the 3:00 p.m. main meal of the day. As soon as we pulled into the pueblo, I knew we were going somewhere special. The town sits at nearly 7000 feet and is filled with lush, green trees and other vegetation. Agriculture seems to be the main industry. Much of the chicken, beef and lamb, is grown locally and lots of cheese is produced in the town. The town is built into a hillside and the streets are made of individually placed, random-sized rocks. There is no speeding through this town (it is one big speed bump) which is symbolic because the pace of life is about half the speed of what I have come to accept as “normal.” The streets are shared with horses, beautiful chickens, an occasional dog and lots of adorable donkeys. The center of town surrounds a beautiful Catholic Cathedral. The businesses of the town make a square around the church and a plaza. We ate a very traditional Mexican meal in a second story restaurant that overlooked the church. We topped the meal off with a cup of coffee that was better than the Starbucks I had the day before. We paid our bill, which was $560 pesos ($56 USD). The bill included a feast for six, complete with the coffees and some cookies, AND a pair of shoes for Chad. He had wondered down to the shoe store below and found a pair of Mexican soccer team shoes and was told to pay for them in the restaurant. We were all stuffed so we took a brief stroll around the shops and looked inside the Cathedral. We picked-up a few necessary items before going back to paradise.

Azlyn was exhausted. Pobrecita, Azlyn (poor Azlyn)! This is a lot of traveling for a three year old. I lied down with her and read a few pages of a book on meditation techniques until she fell asleep. Once she was asleep, the rest of us decided to play games. Pablo wanted to play “Cuban Dominos.” We hadn’t heard of it but didn’t mind learning. We soon discovered that “Cuban Dominos” is what we call “Mexican Train” in Estados Unidos and we had played it many times with Chad’s Dad. We had a very good laugh over this. We decided that in Cuba they must play “Miami Train.” We made up names for the game for several countries deciding that the only rule was that it has to be named after a country other than the one you are playing in. We ate popcorn, walnuts coated with a delicious sugary substance, tostadas and Modelas. After the games, we stood out on the deck and watched a firefly ballet before retiring to bed and falling asleep to a chorus of frogs and chicharas.

We awoke to a pot full of coffee and Guadalupe preparing a breakfast of frijoles with freshly made chili and cheese, fresh fruit and some sweet bread. Chad and Pablo rode the mountain bikes into town to the tortillería and came back with warm, fresh tortillas that were then dipped into the freshly made frijoles, filled with more frijoles, then topped with Adobera cheese and the freshly made chili. We ate breakfast on a patio right outside the kitchen. I have never had a breakfast like this and it was fabulous. Guadalupe has promised me a Mexican cooking lesson! After breakfast, Chad and Pablo took about a ten mile bike ride while the girls played ping pong, looked for exotic bugs, and Guadalupe and I talked about spirituality. (Note to Chad: Apply sunscreen.)

When Chad and Pablo returned, we decided to take another journey. Azlyn was too tired so she and Chad stayed in the house and relaxed. The rest of us went to Las Piedratos, a meadow filled with giant boulders that some believe fell from the sky. We hiked around the boulders, took a mini-siesta on one, people watched, and drank agua de coco and then ate the coconut meat coated with lime, chili and salt that we purchased from a puesta that sat at the entrance to Las Piedratos. We also bought a plate of fruit that included tuna. “Tuna” in Spanish is not fish. It is the fruit of Nopalis, a type of edible cactus. It was delicious. (Note to self: Apply sunscreen)

We returned to the house and picked-up Chad and Azlyn. We then went to another restaurant that was basically a large, covered deck with a buena vista! It was a delicious meal that began with lamb consome (soup). It began to rain during our meal. One minute, it was dumping full force, almost like a cloud burst. The next minute it would be only a trickle. It would alternate between the two as though God was sitting in contemplation with her hand on faucet not realizing that she was turning it right and left, much the same way a mortal plays with a pen while lost in thought. I think I have an idea what God was planning during the spastic rain. God must have been designing the spectacular sunset that lit our path back into Guadalajara as the six of us laughed, talked, inhaled the love put into the sunset, and then exhaled little pieces of it into one another. In just two short weeks Pablo and Guadalupe have become our family far away from home. I wonder if God planned that gift during another rainstorm? Mi corazón está lleno! My heart is full.