Zapotecan Village Trek 1

Part 1 of the village trek.

Posted 8th September 2010 by David McGuinness

After an early start and a taxi to the bus station in the pouring rain we were on a bus to the Sierra Norte, a mountainous region of immense biodiversity north of Oaxaca city. This diversity owes to the fact that this region is a conflux of two diverse and contrasting temporal regions – neoartic and neotropical. The result is one of the planet’s 17 special zones of biodiversity and a wealth of plant life, mushrooms, ferns, orchids and cactuses. Furthermore jaguars, tapirs and spider monkey are also to be found in the area. An interesting book on the subject of biodiversity in Oaxaca which I have just finished is Oaxacan Journalby Oliver Sacks which recounts a fern tour of Oaxaca but is enlightening on many topics of science as well as the history and culture of Oaxaca today.

Anyhow our bus drove up and up into the Sierra Norte and spat us out in a small village called Llano Grande where we met with the head of the tourism project who explained the route we would be taking and the danger that if the heavy night time rains continued we might have to alter the last day of our plan as the roads to the village in which we intended to catch a bus back to Oaxaca might be impassable. We were properly out in the sticks now. We met our guide, Eduardo, who was ever attentive and very eager to please with titbits of information about the nature surrounding us and the people that live amongst it. The first thing we noticed was the conspicuous absence of mosquitoes – this was not due to the rain but to the altitude of around 3000m in Llano Grande, a village with a meagre 100 inhabitants.

Eduardo pointed out various plants and insects as we walked – various cactus species, gladiolas in various shades, numerous types of pine tree, caterpillars, blackberries and a host of mushrooms. He also explained what his people (the Zapotecs) used the plants for and it covered a bizarre spectrum from dandruff relief to fabric softener as well as the usual (and many less usual) medicinal plants (for stomach problems, kidney issues, altitude sickness, as eye drops, for headaches and even dodgy knees). Not since the Amazon had I felt this riotous explosion of life everywhere – and the industrious use of these plants by the locals. He told us that the main animals in this region were squirrels, deer and rabbits. He also pointed out a bird of prey called a “gavilan” in Spanish, which I’ve not been able to translate. Eagles also patrolled the skies. We arrived into Cuajimoloyas at lunch time and met with Maria who was to be our personal chef for the next three meals. This meal, as every subsequent meal on the trek, started with a choice of coffee (very weak coffee usually), tea or hot chocolate (the real treat) and a sweet hard bread that is a traditional Zapotec speciality. Maria also brought us over to the stove and explained our options – egg, tomato, beans and rice or a stuffed pepper with rice or some meat dish. We opted for the eggs, tomato and beans which was basic but tasty – hiking food.

After lunch Eduardo returned back to Llano Grande and we did an afternoon walk with Walter, a guide from Cuajimoloyas. We walked up for a while before descending quite sharply for a bit. The scenery was still stunning and the plants seemed to change a bit, perhaps due to the slightly lower altitude. Finally we started climbing up through Coyote canyon (and yes coyotes live around here too it seems), up again through Calvario cave and climbed up to the Mirador (or “viewpoint”). This was the first of many spectacular viewpoints. The mist only added to the mystery as distant villages and peaks appeared and disappeared from my stunning 360 degree panoramic.

Back to the village and Walter started a big fire in our lovely lodge (in the fireplace, no need for panic!) and we hung up our wet clothes to dry and headed down to Maria for a dinner of flat fried beef, rice and beans. We climbed back to our lodge and got into warm snug beds and fell asleep immediately.

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the link below to navigate through this journey.