Gratitude

I know...its a bit late for Thanksgiving, but back again in Banámichi I have been thinking about gratitude and good friends. Our time here has been richly blessed with wonderful people, for all of whom I am deeply grateful.

From the start there have been Dan and Tracy, who had enough adventuresome spirit to take the plunge and buy the property with us. Over the many years we have been friends, we have shared countless camping adventures, trips to the beach, and now many good times and challenging home improvement projects in Banámichi.  Engineer Dan has a great knowledge and zest for such projects, and has contributed greatly to the overall comfort and functionality of our little homestead. I can't say I always enjoy the projects, but I do always learn something from him ;-).

Tracy and Dan

Where's the turkey?

We have also shared many wonderful "family" meals and good conversations with them.  Since we started coming here, Tracy has moved into life in a wheelchair. She continues to participate enthusiastically in our activities together as much as possible and is a real trouper and an inspiration when it comes to meal preparation. The last time we were here, Dan and Tracy prepared a beautiful pre-thanksgiving feast of turkey and all the trimmings. The whole neighborhood smelled wonderful all day and later all of the local cats enjoyed the scraps!

Other good friends are Tom and Lynn at Hotel los Arcos.  Originally from Colorado, they left the 9-5 world and built a beautiful and successful hotel from a wreck of a building. They have been a great source of local information and support with our property when we are not here. Tile saws, citrus pickers, pickaxes and other supplies flow freely back and forth between us, as do packages from Amazon arriving in Tucson.  There have been several trips, wonderful parties and home made wood-fired pizzas we have enjoyed with them, and many interesting people we have met who were guests at their hotel.

Tom and Lynn

Meeting interesting people who we would not have encountered in our daily lives in Tucson has been one of the great joys of our experience here. In such a small village in the back of beyond in Mexico, I would never have imagined we would meet so many diverse and interesting people.

When we were here right before Thanksgiving, we were invited to dinner at the home of two of those interesting people: Terry and Rafael. Mexicans by origin, they lived and worked for many years in the States and now are retired and back living in Banámichi. Rafael is fondly known as the "Walmart of Banámichi" because of the eclectic assortment of "just like new" items he has for sale. Whenever some odd animal is mentioned, he will say: "You can make good tacos out of those!" Tacos aside,  he makes wonderful grilled chicken wings. His wife Terry is an amazing cook, preparing all kinds of Mexican specialties. She especially loves creating beautiful cakes. So a dinner invitation to their cozy kitchen is always a great treat!

Terry and Rafael

Terry prepared beef fajitas with Mexican rice, refried beans, and her wonderful hand made flour tortillas. Yum! Rafael made some salsa from the local wild chiltepin peppers which was basically a version of chile oil. I really like hot food, but this time, it turned out so hot that I thought I would die from one little bitty drop! Knowing my reputation, when others saw me choke on the heat, they wouldn't even try it! Cowards! But then there was Terry's cake! Oh, my!

Two Dans with Terry's dinner

 

 

Hot sauce of death!

Terry's beautiful cake

There are many others that have also been a wonderful part of our experience here. There are Beto and Vicky,  a lovely young couple who helped us buy our house here and get started. Beto is a jack of many trades. Trained as an engineer, he also runs his family's ranch and dairy farm, has taught math at a local high school, is building a new home, and of late works for a mine near the town of Cucurpe. He makes the best carne asada I have ever tasted.

Beto and Vicky

 Vicky is an accountant who was the treasurer of Banámichi under a previous administration. She is currently a manager at the Hotel Los Arcos, and the mother of 3 beautiful children. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.

Another friend,  Stevan, has appeared previously in this blog. He is a native Mexican who speaks impeccable English. He bought a piece of property out in the hinterlands of Banámichi where he is  homesteading and creating handmade adobe buildings on his property without running water or electricity. He has taught adobe construction methods in a number of areas of the world.  Highly intelligent and creative, he is a bright light in our little community. His friend Lucia (an architect) has recently joined our circle of friends.

Stevan

Also part of our community here is Gerlinde - who hates to have her picture taken. Gerlinde was born in Germany, and made her way here via Canada and the US. She was responsible for the development of the hot springs near Aconchi, where she lived on her own for several years and trained herself as a healer.

Her partner Loyda is a social worker who is currently employed at a local high school. At one point, she was the Police chief here in Banámichi, and she also had her own business producing worm casings for gardening. She is a social activist and most recently has been involved in the attempt to help the are recover from the mine spill in Cananea.

There are many other interesting folks we have met... Eddie who creates beautiful mesquite furniture with a chain saw, Ramon, Tato and Fito and all the construction workers who refurbished out house, and so many others.

So you see? Who would think you would find such an unusual community of people in a little Mexican village? Banámichi is a special place with special energy that attracts special people. My life is greatly enriched by knowing all of these folks.

To all of you: Thank you for welcoming and accepting us. Thank you for your friendship and for all of the interest, joy and good times you have brought into our lives. Thank you for all that  I constantly learn from you. Being with you here is an amazing experience.