Pueblas Mancomunados Trek - Day Three - Getting to Know Cuijimoloyas

Oh Hi! I thought that I would take this Blog lark a bit more seriously and continue where Wij left off and write about day three of our cloud forest trek.

After a busy night of howling wind and noisy coyote's, I was still awake to see the sun come up. The combination of high altitude and exposed camping area meant it was a very cold morning. I had slept in all my clothes, fleece, waterproof jacket and sleeping bag, so getting out of the tent to go for a wee in the field was an olympic effort of zip opening.

Our rubbish bag had gone from inside the tent door, which must have been the Coyote that I heard near my head in the night making snuffling noises. All the bulls were still tethered to sticks across the field still. A goatherder was making his way up the hill with six goats all on leads attatched to his waist. He stopped to tell us, in a really good humoured and friendly way, that we had chosen a really windy place to camp, and pointed out several other options through mime and kept saying 'Frio' meaning cold. Even he looked cold! It was a shame that our guide had supervised our camping site. The morning air was really icy and bright, making my eyes water.

Here I am in/out the tent fully wrapped up.


Check out Wiji smiling away, the sun was fully out by now and the wind had started to drop.


Near the tent was a few wooden sheds and fenced areas for the bulls. This one was watching me from the Maguey hedge. I got closer, he got closer, I got closer... took a piccy and backed off.

Oh Hi!


Wij made a cuppa on the stove, we ate some weird breakfast bars, chocolate milk and some tortillas with some edam like cheese and tomatoes. Two brothers were making their way up the dirt track from the village with a donkey and fole. We had seen them last evening and knew that they were about to go and collect fire wood. They were happy to wave at us and sneek a peek at what we were doing through the Maguey hedge. They were vaguely interested in us packing up the tent, watching from on top of the feed sacks, jumping off and hiding when I looked over. They eventually wandered up the slope having a cheerful stick fight, donkeys in tow. It was a really funny sight.


We packed up the tent and began to walk down to the village. The path was lined with Maguey (Agave) plants that make really effective hedging. Later in the day we leant form our guide Ben Himim that the Maguey takes 100 years to grow to maturity, at which point it then has an enormous flower stem. Then beautiful pom pom like succulent flowers, that are red ochre and butter yellow in colour slowly open. Here is Wij next to one to give it some scale.


Here is one that has flowered and is dying. The colours are stunning. I have only ever seen these at this scale in Kew gardens. They are fascinating and I could not get enough of them!


Walking down the track for half an hour or so into the village was breathtaking. Epic blue skys and low rolling fluffy clouds. Everything was so eye wateringly bright and fresh-still chilly as! We were greeted by villagers in their gardens and on the track with smiles and hello's.


Check out they sky over Cuijimoloyas and the cloud forests!


Cuajimoloyas sits at 3180 meters. It is a rural Zapotec village. The land is divided up in a modest manner. Families farm, using bulls to plough the slopes so that they can plant potatoes. Families are only allowed four bulls each because there is not the resources to feed more. Many of the houses are without running water or electricity. And over the course of our stay, the dirt roads were being dug up by hand to make way for water pipes. We saw lots of girls and women lugging plastic buckets up the hills to their homes, some using wheel barrows.

The houses that you can see are constructed of mud and straw bricks. Lots of people had flattened pieces of tin, from tin cans, to cover walls or to make up the space with corrigated iron roofing. Some families had used cement, steel and brick, few had houses that were painted or more that one story high. Here you can see part of the village and some ploughed land. In the background a mini mountain on the mountain!


We made our way back to the 'tourist office', opposite being a small hostel. We checked in for a much needed shower. There was hot water in the shared single shower room- a single person size concrete room, it was fantastic! We got the pick of the rooms, choosing the one with curtains and no bunk beds! What a cute little room. The metal door added a constant draft, but it was a quick invigorating skip from the welcome shower. Even Ray Mears was excited by the novelty of the pillows.

Oh hi!


The view from our hostel window.


After our showers we decided to get a guide to do a three or four hour walk. Looking at some images in the 'tourist office' I chose the Gorge walk. It looked nice, little did I know...

We hooked up with our guide Benjamin, a local who is a similar age, and Chris an American, (same age) who was visiting some of his students, who had returned to Mexico, from the dairy farm he works at in Vermont.

We had some interesting conversations with him about immigration and migrant workers in our countries. Chris translated and taught English to the Mexican workers and assisted them with social and medical issues-the workers havng no rights or representation in America. He was a very conscientious person it seemed.

Chris was happy to be our translater on the walk. Our guide Ben, described to us through Chris, the Zapotec uses for many plants. This was brilliant and we made a gentle pace through the slopes and valleys away from the village happily chatting. Our guide had made these journeys as a child when he was a goat herder, and really enjoyed being a guide. He took us up futher into the mountains and to the Gorge. The Gorge, being of course, nothing like the photos (how?) but a very steep climb of no return. 'No I can't really turn around and look down, I may fall off!'

It was a bit 'Flash Gorden' (with Peter Dunken). We had to put or hands into these holes of slimy mulch and the unknown, to pull ourselves up. Doesn't look high up here, does it?


I am loving it! It does look high here, see the trees in the background?


This is the view at the top of the Gorge... more sheer rock face. Yikes! Wij went off with Ben and Chris to climb this. (I had a Billy Elliot moment as you can imagine Fenner and Adam!)


This is the View from the top of that rock that Wij took. Wow!x He also took some 360 degree shots.

Oh hi! Here I am, as in Teotihuacan, firmly on the ground, but at 3180 meters! I was sat right on the edge of where the Gorge fell away below my feet.


An 'Air plant' that grows like an Orchid in a tree, collecting moisture on its leaves and anchoring itself to the branch with its roots. I was super excited when I spotted these on the windy bus journey to Benito Juarez. This one I spotted on the walk, flower un all! I felt like Margaret Mee!


This was another view, and another rock for Wij to climb.


And when Wij got to the top of the rock in the previous shot, here's what he saw!


I was pleased I managed to avoid joining the others 'free climb'... untill I realised that I had join them on the next rock face to get to the next bit of the path. Who let me choose the walk?!

We had to climb a very steep slope that curved around on a knife edge path. (ideal). Then at the top of the path was a rock that we had to climb over, about head height for Wij. Joy! Over the other side was a sheer drop. We had to sit astride the rock, shuffle along and then scale down a very 'bush craft' ladder that the real Ray Mears would NOT have put his name to! I tried really hard not to go into sheer terror freeze mode (after that comes I want to throw myself off mode)... and managed it. Well done. Chris and Wij thought this was quite hardcore for them too. Especially Chris, who also agreed that if he was up too high, he feels like jumping off. Mmmm. Ben pointed out that before tourist walked the paths, Eagles used to nest where we had just been. Aaahh ha ha, nervous laugh. That really does indicate, I think, how high we were!

After this it was more chilled strolling up hill and through some farmed land. Lots of yellow tiny finches could be seen flying out of the Maguey ahead of us. We also saw the Mexican blue Jay. Super blue! Wherever we went in and around Cuajimoloyas, you could here the sound of a donkey braying. Strangely both sorrowful and hilarious at the same time! Ben walked us back to the village were Chris was gong to stay with an older local couple in return for helping them plant potatoes the next day. We went back to hostel and collapsed!

Later we went into the centre of the village to look for a hot meal. There were a few open doorways with the smell of cooking. It was early evening and the skys were both Rococo pink in fluffyness, and biblical in proportions. We came apon this restaurant. (Photographed the next day).


It was totally empty apart from a lady who was cooking at a wood stove, and her two small children who eyed us with fascination. We didn't have the Spanish and she had no English. She was very warm and welcoming in her manner and promptly showed us three dishes: meatballs in tomato sauce, a chicken leg in broth and a sweet pepper with goat cheese stuffing. We jumped on these!! She had to prise them off us to heat them up, that was quite amusing for us all! She returned with these, and really tasty rice and blackbeans. It was amazing, homecooked and delicious. I had hot chocolate with water that tasted like Green and Blacks Mayan Gold. We also had some Corona's... naturally. When we had finished it was only eight o'clock ish, we were both yawning and off after many thanks and smiles into the freezing evening air, a walk up the hill and back to the hostel. (Pillows!)

What a brilliant day!