Real Mexico Millennial History In Towns And Traditions Of Colotepec

Alejandro was knowledgeable about Colotepec history, agriculture, etc.. We visited 2 towns east of Puerto Escondido: San Francisco and Santo Domingo. The town fair was tents of vendors of plastic household wares and cheap clothing. No artisanal crafts, local fruits; no food except some home-made sherbet. We drove over flowing water in the river; we saw the town meeting, 2 churches, met some local friends of the guide. In a dusty farmyard with skinny dogs and turkeys and chicks underfoot. The mother of the house served us pollo con mole con arroz for us with hibiscus drink. The son gave us each a fresh coconut with a straw for juice. The pigs (including the sow with 5-day old suckling piglets) were tied to plastic chairs. My Facebook photos prompted several animal protection friends to cry foul. It underscored the subsistence living of the people even though they owned large watermelon fields full of melons.There were no toilets for us to use. We washed our hands in a communal tub. I have traveled in Southeast Asia & southern India and shared meals in peoples' homes in all. In comparison, this visit the people seemed to have much less pride in receiving us: plastic littering the ground, clothes falling off clothesline, etc. The new dining table from the home workshop was an exception. We were promised to see the REAL Mexico. I guess this is it; however, my husband, my friend and I thought we had over paid. Alejandro is very enthusiastic and perhaps, he " over- sold" the tour.

We had a wonderful day trip that was very imformative. We learned a lot about the culture and traditions of the local area and visited villages off the beaten path. Our guide Jose was terrific and made the trip enjoyable with all his local knowledge.