Hard to believe that a circle drawn around a body of water on my Mexico Map has lead to what I will try to describe to you in the following paragraphs.
One doesn't just travel to Mexico without giving it serious thought and high on my priority list when planning our first winter travel to Mexico was to get a map and circle all of the potential bass fishing lakes. Hoping that one day we might be near just such a spot. All of this thinking and circling on the map took place several years prior to the reality of our traveling for our first winter to Mexico but in the winter of 2007/2008 (one year ago) we found ourselves spending four months in La Penita Mexico and wanting to fish bass the closest circle on my map was the Agua Milpa Reservoir just North and a bit East of Tepic, Mexico. It was in November of 2007 that Kathleen and I made an exploratory trip to the Reservoir and I blogged about it at that time. See the following link.
Nov. 2007
What we discovered on the above trip but did not mention in the blog was that the Colorful Indigenous Indian tribe known as the Huichol (pronounced 'Wheatsill') Indians lived in a very remote village accessible only by boat.
Many times when our discussion and plans were in progress for our Winter of 2008/2009 Kathleen would mention that she would like to give by way of donation to the Huichol Indian people school supplies such as pencils, writing paper, erasures, etc. that she would acquire while dragging me from dollar store to dollar store when the opportunity presented itself. Also joining in with humanitarian thinking of donating, were are two son's, daughter in-laws, and especially our four grandchildren who began gathering clothing that was in excellent condition and no longer fit them. It was there efforts and our hauling in the basement of our motor home eight large bags of clothing for boys aged about 7 and girls aged about 5 that resulted in our wondering, "how are we going to get these in the hands of the people we want to receive them, the "Huichol Indians"? We in Lo de Marcos were beginning to think about our options, not for a minute, thinking that what I am about to describe would happen. But first, a few pictures.
A short time ago it was my mentioning the Reservoir, bass fishing, and the remote Indian Village to my RV neighbor Lloyd, that the fantastic trip just completed began to take shape. You see, Lloyd and Gille another neighbor like to put together "mystery trips" and with as little fan fare as possible off they go with those who want to tag along. They have led several and all who go have a great time. This trip started with small scale thinking and within the span of just a few days grew from a few car loads of folks, to a couple of 'collectivos' (van type taxi), to a full fledged bus with plush seating, A/C that worked, and a 'Banio' (bathroom) on board. The bus was as big as they get with seating for 45 and on this venture there were 43 who signed up to go. I must tell you how with the help of Stephane, our local RV park go to person, these enterprising chaps put together a full day bus trip to the boat landing, then a 45 minute boat ride to the remote village, a dinner served at the village by the locals, a cash donation to the village, tips to the 4 boat operators and our bus driver, and a stop in the down town central square area of Tepic on our return for dinner on our own, all for the cost of three hundred pesos each, or about $22.30 U.S.
I could go on and on describing in detail of the bus ride, the scenery, the boat ride, the dinner and tour of the remote village, the walk around with dinner on our own in Centro Tepic but in the end it might be best to let the pictures do the talking. You are going to see through the pictures and expression how 43 of us from North of the Mexican border come together as a diverse group, enjoying each others company on an outing of such magnitude. You are also going to see through pictures of the Indigenous people and their surroundings the most primitive, but yet, to them, adequate needs to sustain their daily lives. You may suspect that you see in some faces of the 'natives' a longing for better, but if the laughter coming from the school as we passed on our 'walk about' of the village is any indication there is much happiness in there simple way of life. We thank the 'Huichol' people of the 'El Potrero de la Palmita' village for their hospitality and sharing of their privacy. Kathleen and I especially want to thank those in our group who helped with getting the clothing and school supplies from bus, to boat, to village, and it goes without saying, that all 43 of us want to thank Lloyd, Gille, and Stephane for making it happen.
The Huichol are known for their beautiful bead work and in the following picture you will see Kathleen's treasures from the visit.
As promised I am going to let the pictures do the talking through the following three slide shows.
Slide Show 1 (the group of 43)
Slide Show 2 (the scenery)
Slide Show 3 (huichol village walk about)
One of our group fell exiting the boat on our return from the village and sustained multiple fractures to her left arm. Two of the gals in our traveling group came to her aid in a most professional manner. It is now reported that her arm has been set and casted. I am sure that in some manner more information will be coming as to her well being. We all hurt for her and wish a speedy recovery.
The following two photo's have been sent to me by Stephane. Enjoy.
