Saturday, August 7, 2010

Friends in Cholul


Thankfully, a shorter post since Monday was spent locally, regrouping after our crazy expedition the day before. Jenn took Emma out to the market to pick up food and much needed supplies. I stayed at the house to catch up on work and emails, then Lukas and I hopped in the pool for a swim. We dried off in the sunshine on the rooftop, lazing about in the hammocks for a while.

Late afternoon, we took the kids to play with Aliza's two girls at her house in Cholul. They played with toys and swam in the pool for a couple of hours, while we sipped homemade Jamaica tea and chatted until nightfall.

Aliza's story is an interesting one. She left Mexico City at 18 to study agroforestry at USC Berkeley, then crossed the states to pursue her masters in New Haven. She was a professor for a while before settling down and building her huge house in the Yucatan. There she raises free-range chickens and grows organic fruits and vegetables on a sizable parcel of land. She pointed out the difficulties of farming in the Yucatan since the terrain is mostly rocky, so she composts and creates her own soil.
It's a widely held belief that millions of years ago, the Yucatan Penninsula was submerged underwater in the gulf, and only rose up to become dry land after a huge meteor struck Earth offshore here (that's right, the one that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs). Despite the difficulties, Aliza has a love of agriculture and has made it her life's work.

After our visit, we headed back for a light dinner and relaxation at home before hitting the sack. More to do in the morning!


No comments:

Post a Comment