It took a visit from Mickey, Yadira, and Emily, to motivate me to write another blog. It’s been over a year. I’d started several, but because of the elections, I’d always end up addressing political issues then reading back, being uncomfortable with what I’d written, and deleting everything.

I'd also developed cataracts in both eyes which made it difficult to read and write. I've since had one eye operated on. The total cost which included a pre-consultation, a blood test, an examination by a general practitioner, the operation, and two follow up consultations was five hundred and fifty dollars. With the new lens I can actually see better that before the operation.

Since our last blog, we had a carport made to keep the truck out of the sun. We don’t actually have that many days of rain here so the roof was made out of carrizo (a bamboo like material).  Cleaning, cutting, and tying the carrizo was extremely labor intensive. I think they ended up cutting a couple thousand stalks, but only about half were usable. We received our new residency cards. They are good for three years after which we can apply for permanent residency.

Thank goodness I have a chop saw. People usually use a hacksaw to cut the carrizo which takes a long time. The three of us cut about fifteen hundred pieces in a few hours.

Even though there are gaps in between the carrizo, it's nice and cool underneath.

Mickey brought his family down for two weeks. Beth and I attended Emily’s birth last June. Seeing her again as a one year old was very special. Mickey and Yadi are wonderful parents. Emily is as sharp as a tack and very inquisitive.

We drove to the mountains one day. The roads are very similar to logging roads.

This store is in Cuajimaloyas. It was very similar to an old general store in the States. I took a taxi home so Mickey and Yadi could stay the night in one of the cabins.

It was a surprise seeing this home in Plano Grande. I thought the owners were Americans but they were Mexican.

Gotta include some photos of Emily

Our dog Coby is huge but very gentile. Can't say the same for Scooter.

Mickey bought a motorcycle when he was here in 2014. We never really got it going, so before this visit I got it running: it’s a 150 so it can be driven on the highway. We had a lot of fun on it. I’m a little afraid of it, so I don’t know how much I’ll use it.

One week we had to take Gonzo (our rooster) to have his spurs cut down. He could hardly walk without cutting the insides of his legs. His spurs also cut into the backs of the hens while mating. He’s part fighting rooster which accounts for the large spurs.

Cuajimaloyas is a little over an hour from our house. Mickey talked me into taking a ride on a zipline. The entire hike up was steep. I had to rest several times. Aside from not being in shape, I felt like the altitude was like walking around on top of Mt. Baker.

Geared up and ready to go! The gentleman who helped us said that some people change their minds once they arrive at the top. After that hike there was no way I wasn't going.

Mickey had a go-pro on his helmet. I don't know if I'll ever do it again. I think once will be enough. The trip lasts for a minute.

Mickey did a ride around here on the motorcycle. He mounted his go-pro on the front of the bike and later sped it up. It's long but the reason I posted it, is that it shows a lot of the terrain close to the house. For those of you familiar with the area, he left the house traveling towards Mitla. He crossed the highway a little past Union Zapata. Traveling back to UZ, he went past the graveyard to San Lucas then into Tlacolula and back to our house.

Mickey's ridearound

We took a drive to La Neveria and had to pass through Teotitlan. I'm guessing the population of Teotitlan to be about ten thousand. I had never noticed how large their church was.

Reyna and Ricardo are college students studying linguistics. They speak English very well; both are very bright. Ricardo also plays guitar and knows quite a bit about American rock. He turned me on to Keith Richard's style of playing in open G.

  La Neveria is hidden in the mountains. It's a beautiful little village with about eighty families. One of the men I talked to told me that if you were walking and dropped something you could be assured that when you returned, whatever you dropped, would still be there. There are no drugs in this village. This is probably the most innocent place I've ever visited. Unfortunately, there is not much work for youth, so most leave to a large Mexican city or pass to the US. I couldn't help but imagine how difficult it must be to leave and endure the challenges of the outside world.

I asked a gentleman what happens in case of a heart attack as they are so far from civilization. He replied that no one has ever had a heart attack. In the past thirty years they have had two cases of cancer. One case involved a man that had worked for years in the States and the other was a man who'd worked in Mexico City for years.

We don't see a lot of moss. It's so dry in the valley.

This little sweat lodge was built for tourists.

Beth had the chance to do a small zipline. She loved it!

We just found out that a McDonald's will be opening in the MacroPlaza in Oaxaca. This is where the closest WalMart is located and where we do most of our grocery shopping. Now we can eat American-style when we shop.