Notes from along the road


When we left the city we saw how people in the rural parts of Mexico live.

Driving along the road on the way to the Herrara sanctuary I realized how lucky we are in America. This is a very poor rural area where some of the things we take for granted aren't available. Water is sometimes scarce so people have to collect rainwater. Electricity isn't also really reliable. I saw a man plowing his fields using horses. When we stopped for breakfast in Toluca we ate breakfast at a nice restaurant and across the way was a store that is similar to our Walmart.

You can see from the signs that they are also trying to compete with Walmart.

The government is trying to get the people to protect the forested areas that the monarch butterflies frequent.

This sign says in the middle, "The Forest is Your Friend."

In the afternoon we reached Valle de Bravo. We went to a marketplace to do some shopping. Here it is acceptable to barter with the person on the price of an item you want. I paid 280 pesos for a shirt, 220 pesos for a tablecloth and napkins and 110 pesos for two baskets made of pine needles. See if you can figure out how much I paid for each item in US dollars.

The first photo is of the marketplace. This area of Mexico grows a lot of cut flowers for export. There are vases of fresh flowers everywhere you go.

In the evening everyone in Valle de Bravo heads to the plaza. There is a bell tower with a man up top who rings the bells every 15 minutes. There are 6 shoeshine stations and lots of vendors selling food and other items. Children kept coming up to us to try and sell us items like balls and small purses.

In the center of the plaza was a gazebo. Our tour leader decided to get his shoes washed.

There were also some restaurants and hotels along the outside of the plaza. The second photo is of the bell tower at night.

Posted: Mon - March 7, 2005 at 10:09 AM          

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