Rancho Via Organica

Rancho Via Organica is a pretty farm about 40 minutes from San Miguel de Allende.  I went there with my new friend Rosie.  It was delightful!

According to Rancho Via Organica's Web site, approximately 50% of Mexico's land is semi-arid and degraded, in part by industrial agriculture.  

Rancho Via Organica's is involved in several agroecology and regenerative reforestation projects. This includes participating in the Billion Agaves project, implemented by Regeneration International.  

Agave plants, which can grown on degraded semi-arid land, can produce up to one ton of biomass over their 8-10 year lifespan.  When chopped and fermented in closed containers, this plant material produces an excellent, inexpensive (two cents per pound) animal fodder. 

The agave plants are grown in companion with mesquite trees.  The bean pods of these trees can be used to produce nutritious mesquite flour.  

Together, these plants can produce 43 tonnes of biomass per hectare per year, reduce pressure created by livestock overgrazing, improve soil health and water retention, protect pollinating insects, and store billions of tonnes of CO2.

Pictures

1) There is a lovely restaurant at Via Organica with a pretty extensive and interesting menu.  There, I drank aguamiel and pulque, both from the sap of the agave plant.  Agualmiel (honey water) is the sap of the agave plant which is harvested by making an incision into the heart of a large growing plant. I'm not sure if the sap was mixed with water and sugar.  Maybe, maybe not.  Pulque is fermented aguamiel.  Both are considered to be very good for the digestive system and health.  Sadly, I did not enjoy either.  Though Rosie quite liked the pulque!

2) At the Via Organica restaurant, I ate rabbit meat for the first time in my life, in a hamburger.  The picture is a bit ironic...

3) Chickens!  The chickens with no feathers on their necks are not sick or being picked on.  This is their natural way of being.  Maybe it's cooler on the hot days?!  Every few months, Via Organica moves the chicken run to the other side of the coop for the benefit of the soil and the chickens. 

4)  The ruins of a temascal. 

5) The view from the mirador (look out) at Via Organica was beautiful!!

6) a Building that once was the office for Via Organica.  Now, not in use except the roof, which is used as a lookout.

7) Rosie and our guide walking down one of the many paths

8 &9 ) Via Organica has a seed bank.  Rosie took this beautiful picture of the seeds and a butterfly

10) The kale plants in the garden are so tall, they look like they belong in a Dr Seuss book!

 

San Miguel de Allende - 1542 to 1821

I finally went to the Museum about the history of San Miguel de Allende.  This is what I learned.

San Miguel was first discovered by the Spanish in 1536, when a monk named Juan de San Miguel led an expedition with a handful of indigenous kids to explore the area north of his convent. When he arrived in the valley of Rio Laja, he found a nice climate and lots of natural resources.  So he set up camp.  By 1551, the town of San Miguel had a chapel, school, hospital, inn and cattle ranches.  And rich silver mines were established nearby, including in Guanajuato.  

By 1700, San Miguel el Grande was a booming city.  It had over 2600 residents, including indigenous people, slaves, free blacks, Spanish, and Creoles- Spanish people born in Mexico.  The Umaran, Canal, Allende and other rich Creole families invested large amounts of their money to build their homes, and architectural infrastructure in the city including a parish, a central plaza, and lots of art.  It was one of the most beautiful cities in North America. 

One notable thing, is that the Jesuits in San Miguel el Grande had a lot of power at the time, and did a lot for the community. Including providing education and long term, very forgiving, loans to haciendas (farms). All was well.

But in the early 1700's, the Spanish Crown began the Bourbon reforms, named after the House of Bourbon / various kings in Spain that were descendants of Louis I de Bourbon.  The Bourbon reforms prioritized the wealth of the Crown over the well being of the residents in the colonies, including the city of San Miguel el Grande.  They imposed new taxes, created royal monopolies, expelled the Jesuits, and demanded repayment of all the Jesuit loans.  Citizens were angry and many became very poor.  

By 1800, New Spain / Mexico had been divided into 12 intendencias (states) and Crown infantry regiments had been established to defend the country against smugglers and potential attack by the British.  The infantries were largely financed by the affluent Creole families, including the Allende family.

In 1801, Ignacio Allende made his first declaration for independence.  He heard that Napoleon had invaded Spain and did not want to be ruled by the French.  

Around that time, there was also the hope of a new King in Spain, Ferdinand VII. Called  "The Desired" since he advocated for peace and better government.  Allende vowed to defend Ferdinand VII.  He gathered weapons and allies including members of the infantry, citizens, and Padre Hidalgo from a nearby town called Dolores.

On September 16, 1810, Allende and Hidalgo began an uprising that lasted about 10 years.  It ended on September 28, 1821 when Mexico was declared independent.

Allende and Hidalgo died early in the uprising.  But their names are eternally honoured.  San Miguel el Grande is now San Miguel de Allende.  And Dolores is now Dolores Hidalgo.   

Before all of this, in pre-hispanic times, some indigenous people had lived on the banks of the Rio Laja.  But mostly the indigenous people passed through and the hills just snoozed peacefully in the sunshine.

Pictures

1)The original church built in San Miguel el Grande is apparently somewhere behind the new big beautiful Parroquia.  The red lights in front of the parroquia are for a weekend long jazz festival.

2) The central plaza, across from the Parroqia, is a beautiful green space where people gather.

3) The museum is located beside the Parroquia and main square, in the house built by the Allende family, likely in the 1600s.  These old Creole family homes are so impressive and well preserved!  They usually have two floors around a courtyard.  The main floor was used for horse stables, supply storage, and street facing stores.  

4-5) The second floor, which usually has a gallery, is where the family lived. 

6) The streets in San Miguel de Allende are often narrow, and hilly.

7) One of the prettiest streets / section of a street.

8) Even the new streets in San Miguel de Allende are cobblestones.  Good shoes and lots of attention are required for safe walking 

 

Looking Back on Winter 2024 - Soccer in Playa del Carmen

What's that sound??  

Toby and I spent a couple of days in Playa del Carmen before heading home.  We got a condo on calle 34 north, just off the famous 5th avenue pedestrian mall.  We were resting after walking about 1 km with our suitcases in the mid day heat.  Then, this loud honking sound.  What???

We went to the balcony to see what we could see.  Turns out the sound was a vuvuzela.  The long loud horns fans use during soccer games to express their enthusiasm for the beautiful game :)  

Turns out, the soccer stadium was right across the street!  And we could watch the game, with partial view from our balcony, or with a great aerial view from the rooftop patio.  How fun!  

Especially fun and fortuitous since a friend went to a soccer game at the same stadium a couple of weeks before.  When she told me about it, I decided it was something I'd like to do too, if possible.  And, it was the only game scheduled for the time we were in Playa del Carmen.

Pictures 

1. The view of the soccer field from our rooftop patio
2. Toby and Dave being very serious about the soccer game
3. Toby and me
4. Our rooftop pool.  Although our condo was fairly close to the beach, we enjoyed lounging and swimming in this area.
5. 
   The Chedraui grocery store 1 block from our condo was well stocked with pastries, wine, and most anything else we could want.  They even had a kitchen and counter service that cooked and served foods you could buy there.  Tasty! And a prety good deal
6. There were several cool murals in our part of Playa del Carmen
7. It's possible to walk for about an hour down the beach.  This was an especially pretty part of it
8. 
   Toby left Playa del Carmen about 2 days before me, to go to Gibsons BC to help his cousin with house projects.  While I was alone, I went to the beach early enough to do sunrise yoga and knitting.  Delightful
9. I was fine being alone in Playa after Toby left.  But when I did feel a little sad, this "Vache qui Rit" cheese that Toby left for me made me smile

Looking back on Winter 2024 - Dinner on the Beauport

A new ish addition to Cozumel is the opportunity to dine aboard a luxury cruise ship, the Beauport.  So a bunch of us ladies did!

The Beauport has an interesting history. It was built in 1960 in Lauzon, Quebec and served as a Canadian Coast Guard ice beaker in the St Lawrence river for about 30 years.  In 1993, she was refitted as a luxury yacht, sold privately, and used for exploration by the Jacques Cousteau foundation. In 2019, the Beauport Foundation was created and the ship was again restored. The Beauport now has a private American owner.  It operates under a Panamanian flag, but calls Cozumel home. 

The dinner experience included a short ride between shore and The Beauport in a small motor boat.  And a tour of the Beauport's passenger sleeping cabins, the captains quarters, pilot house, and even a peek into the kitchen.  Before we were seated at a beautiful table on an outside deck.  The main course and dessert were crazy delicious. And the service very attentive.  All wonderful!  

The only not so wonderful part was my seasickness.  Which started during the tour.  Likely because it was hot in the rooms, and i could not / did not keep my eyes on the horizon.  Poopy!!

Despite this, it was a lovely evening, and I'm glad I went.  

Thank you Pat, for organizing us :)

Pictures

1. Pat and me, in the shuttle boat on our way to the Beauport
2. 
   Our beautiful dinner table
3. Appetizer, dinner, and dessert.  All presented beautifully and crazy delicious
4. The pilot house.  The actual functional equipment is modern, but they left this beautiful wheel in place
5. The captains quarters
6. One of the passenger cabins.  All compact but comfortable looking
7. A lounge in the Beauport

A Guided Tour at Charco Del Ingenio

I learned so many things from our lovely guide, David Tarrant, during a 2 hour tour at Charco Del Ingenio!

Charco Del Ingenio is a botanical garden and nature reserve.  (See Looking back on 2023, Charco del Ingenio) David is a volunteer there, who is 82 years old, and very good at teaching people.

Pictures

1) This is the nopales cactus, also called prickly pear. The wide, flat cactus pads (nopales) are used in many Mexican dishes and as a medicinal plant.  The prickly pear fruit, called "atun" (tuna) in Spanish, is very sweet and can be eaten raw, right off the plant. Unlike other fruits, a green prickly pear does not mean that it's unripe.The fruit is at its best when it's very plump, rotund, heavy for its size, with a perfectly smooth skin. In this picture, David is showing us how you can use leaves as a glove, to pick the fruit and rub off the prickly part.

2) As the nopales cactus ages, earlier growth becomes woody in appearance, this is called lignification. It is the fixation of lignin (wood) in plant cells.  This substance acts as cement, providing it with a hard, rigid consistency giving it greater volume and resistance to things such as fungi.  According to our guide David, the faint parallel lines in the lignified "trunk" are old pads (nopales) that have fused together.  Each parallel line indicates 10 years of growth.

3&4) The scalloped v shape pattern on these agave leaves are created when the leaves are new and tightly packed.  The inside of the leaves are fibrous.  These fibres, called sisal, can be used for all sorts of things, like rope, carpets, and paper.  If you keep the very pointy end of the leaf attached to a fibre, it can be used like a needle and thread! 

5) The white dot on this prickly pear cactus pad is the wax coating of a red soft shelled  insect called cochineal, from which a natural red dye called carmine can be made. The insects produce the carminic acid to deter predators.  Humans can make the dye by brushing the insect off the cactus,  drying them, and adding aluminium or calcium salts.   In the 16th century, during the colonial period, this dye was an important export good, used an a pigment for fabric, paint and food.  Today, carmine is primarily used as a colorant in food and in lipstick (E120 or Natural Red 4).

6) The pale v shaped lime on these cacti indicate one year of growth

7) These are desert ferns.  They look dry / dead likes this in the dry season. A few hours after rain begins, they open up into lush green ferns

8) This section of the canyon creates a natural amphitheatre. One the first weekend of spring, musicians climb down to the flat area in the rocks to perform.  Past performances have included a grand piano! 

9) Coyote poop!  They seem to really like pooping on the narrow stone walls built in the garden.  The poop is full of seeds!  Turns out coyotes are omnivores and will eat cactus fruits, mesquite beans, flowers, insects, rodents, lizards, rabbits, birds, and snakes, depending on the season and what's available.

10 & 11) Once the yellow flowers on this barrel cactus wilt, the tart fruit can be eaten and birds use the fluff, which is attached to the seeds.