Sacred tree of Ahuehuete, Mexico
Tuesday, February 10..........Volcan Toluca, Mexico
Two days in Cuernavaca gave us a bit of comfort, healthier food, and some of the goodies of city life. We saw an American movie and ate several times at a fine vegetarian restaurant. Early the morning of our second day we drove an hour east to the small town of Tepoztlan. A sacred hill soaring high above the town figures in the life of the historical Quetzalcoatl (as opposed to the far older, fully-mythical(?), pan-regional mesoamerican deity by the same name). The more recent, semi-historical/semi-mythical Quetzalcoatl lived during the 10th century. A great teacher, philosopher, and leader, he was born near Tepotzlan, lived at Tula for sometime before leaving for the Maya site of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, and then disappeared across the eastern oceans. Robert and I climbed the hundreds of steep stone steps leading to the hill-top shrine of Tepotzlan and then scrambled another 500 vertical feet to reach a higher vantage point for a better photograph.
Later in the afternoon we spent some hours finding the hill of Amatlan, the supposed birth place of Quetzalcoat. We met and questioned an old local shaman. He knew of the place and told us stories of Quetzalcoatl we had not heard before. He instructed his grandson and grand nephew take us on the hour and a half walk to the site. Our guides were 11 and 12 and they chattered of boyish things while we climbed hills and wound our way along forest paths. I could not have found the site on my own. There are no roads nearby and it is so little visited that the paths are indistinct. I felt grateful to have been shown the site. The birthplace of this great mesoamerican person has something of the flavor of Lumbini, a sacred site in southern Nepal where the Buddha is believed to have been born.
Sacred tree of Ahuehuete, Mexico
Pilgrimage church of Chalma, Mexico
From Cuernavaca we drove north and west into the mountains. Pausing for lunch by the ancient and towering holy tree of Ahuehuete we spent the evening at the Marian pilgrimage shrine of Chalma. This morning, after a three hours at the pre-Aztec and Aztec shrine of Malinalco we made the long drive through Toluca and up into the mountains of Nevada de Toluca. Along the way we had our first two encounters with the corruption of the Mexican police. We were stopped for silly things and threatened with large fines. The "officials" were nothing more than backwoods village boys with uniforms and pistols, and their style of intimidation was unsophisticated and ineffective. Within a few moments I was able to capture the position of negotiating power by threatening to report them to their superiors. Profusely apologizing for the "confusion", they sent us on our way.
Nevada de Toluca sacred peaks, Mexico
It is now evening and we have just cleaned up after a delicious meal in the van. Sipping good tequila, I set up my computer and begin to write. I am extravagantly happy and excited as I type these words. Night has come and a glowing full moon shines across a clear and cloudless sky. The Magic Bus sits high above tree line on the sacred mountain of Cerro Toluca. Robert and I are sitting in the bus at around 12,000 feet. Dressed in multiple layers, our body heat is enough to keep us toasty-warm inside the unheated van. Outside the windows, brilliant, almost glistening moonlight shimmers upon great valleys and ridges of snow. In the far distance, the lights of a large town sparkle like diamond dust in the ink blue sky. The moon courts the soaring peak. It a scene of sublime loveliness. We will explore the mountain tomorrow, leaving early for eight hours of difficult exertion. Rising beyond 15,000 feet, Cerro Toluca is the fourth highest mountain in Mexico. Within the volcano cone are two lakes. They have been sacred abodes of mythic gods since the dawn of human time.
I am happy now only partly because of the extraordinary beauty of where I am. My happiness is also due to other current causes. A surplus of fine things are happening for me now, each one giving as much happiness as my fine geographical situation and its stupendous view. Let me explain. I am sitting in the Magic Bus, quite comfortable on a padded perch typing away on my wonderful Toshiba laptop computer. The computer is being powered by the secondary auto battery I installed in the van. The Magic Bus is truly like a small Hobbit’s house in an enchanted kingdom. There are a hundred neat details I could tell you about its magical preparation and abilities. The Magic Bus will be my home and my transportation for a year and I have designed and outfitted it so that I will be happy, healthy, and safe.
A collection of songs by John Denver is playing on the van’s sound system. The cassette tape was made for me by a dear friend, Rio de la Vista, who traveled with me for a short time on one of my previous pilgrimages in Mexico. Some years ago Rio arranged that she and I and John Denver would have dinner together and then have a slide show of my sacred site images. After the show, John took us into the piano room in his Aspen home. He sat me next to him on the bench and sang five songs as he played the piano. That was a very wonderful moment. He played Colorado Rocky Mountain High for me then and that same song is playing in the Magic Bus as I type these words. Much of that previous wonderful moment is with me right now. Thank you John and Rio for this sweet gift.
I am happy also because Robert really grasps and understands what I am planning to do in Latin America during this next year. He understands that I am not only visiting and photographing 200 sacred sites in fourteen countries. He also envisions what I hope to accomplish by organizing a twelve city slide show tour in the autumn months (I will discuss this fun subject in a coming section of this journal)......So, there are all of these things that are making me happy. In a moment, I will turn off this computer and get into my warm sleeping bag where I will fall asleep looking out the window at stars as bright as light bulbs. To top it all off, that makes me happy too.
