The Journey to Old Mexico

by Charla Russell

Mexican Ecology & Culture - 2003

Destinations: Bustamante Canyon, Leon, San Blas, Nayarit, Real de Catorce.

Schedule:

March 15,2002 - We are off to Old Mexico
March 16, 2002 - We arrive at the magnificent Bustamante Canyon
March 17, 2002 - We headed out on the 18 hour drive to Matanchen Bay
March 18, 2002 - We arrived at the beautiful beach around 4:00am Mountain Time
March 19-22, 2002 - Ecological fieldwork
March 23,2002 - We went on the boat ride and last day to see Mexican friends
March 24,2002 - We arrived at Real de Catorce
March 25, 2002 - Left from Real de Catorce
March 26, 2002 -Arrived at Ardmore

In the following paragraphs are my journal entries of my experiences in Old Mexico. I had very different view of the country but after I entered the Country and found out that it was nothing like I expected. When we were passing the roadblocks, I thought in my made that they were going to strip search us but nothing like that happened. I got to see how the whole life of the people that live south of the boarder live. I changed my mind about the word I am a Mexican. What I mean is I thought they were all nasty perverted people. There were enormous culture shocks but the imaginable beauty of the landscape. Old Mexico will never be forgotten in my mind and I hope to return to explore once again.

My Journal Entries

Day ONE (Headed to Old Mexico)

I left Davis around 6:45 and headed to the town of Tishomingo where I met up with the up with the guys. We all headed to Ardmore after packing the van. We met the Kansas group at the Prairie Kitchen better know as the Prairie Chicken and ate some great food. We left the Kitchen around 11:15pm and headed South we made our first stop in West, Texas and got some great sweets there and headed out again.

Day TWO (Entering Old Mexico)

We made one more stop to switching drivers at 4:00am to Mark which I kelp up until 8:00am when we arrived in Laredo, Texas. This it where we got the Insurance and exchanged our money and headed to the boarder and got searched little. In Nuevo Laredo we saw really poor people and homeless people also. While driving down the road Matt and Clint caught a nap in the van. (We saw the river that divides the countries apart, the Rio Grande. We where driving down the road and I saw some dull shadows in the distance and I when we got closer it was huge mountains. When were passing by this huge peak Bruce told us a story about the elevation it was several 1000 feet and it name is Candela (Candle). We made a stop at a very different place a factory where they make mescal. We entered Bustamante Canyon were some of us took a bath in a spring and got refreshed. There were cichlid fishes in that spring that were small colorful fish. We had a small interaction with some local folks, and we danced and just had a good old time. While some of us were dancing others were on a reptile hunt they brought back a marine toad which produces a poison from its paratoid glands.

Day THREE (Bustamante Canyon)

When the clock struck midnight, we were dancing and having a good old time some of us were to looking for reptiles and amphibians to catch. We all crashed, but I slept in the van along with Matt, Le Ann, and Mark. We awoke to the sound of turkeys. So after eating our breakfast a few others and me went to look around in different directions I found a hydrophilidae, which is a water bug. It had a cichlid (fish) impaled with its mouthparts. After taking pictures of it, we threw it back. We all reloaded the vans and got on the 18-hour drive south to San Blas. We saw Cholla Cacti, Barrel Cacti, and Ocatio among other things. We stopped at the Tropic of Cancer. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer and the elevation was 7,800 feet we headed down the road and saw a fire sunset. After that we, headed towards Guadalajara.

Day FOUR (Mammals Night)

We entered the town of Guadalajara and saw where people live in boxes. We drove until 4:00am Mountain Time where we arrived at the camp and set up our tents. At 5:45am, I crawled into the bed and never went to sleep so I just lay there. I was too excited to sleep. The day passed fast. I got to see what an ocean looked like and saw sea birds. Eight others and I walked over to the town where we got an ice cream and looked at Brown Pelicans. We were walking back and saw a jellyfish. Then got back to camp ate lunch and headed out with mammals. We went out that evening and set traps and put out bat nets. We caught six bats north of the town of Laino. Four vampire bats, one Sturnira lilliun, one Cherniseus godmani, five fruit bats, and one nectar bat. Then I went back to camp and went to sleep.

Day FIVE (Mammals/ Herps)

We got up early and checked our traps we had caught four rice rats in the tall grass. One of the four was mine. Then we loaded back up and went track hunting at along a wet area where we found skunk and raccoon tracks. After we went track hunting we came back and stuffed the rats and the bats. We went back to camp and keyed out the bats and rats and then after eating lunch we went out with herps where we sets turtle traps and went out on a night trip my half of the group found one lizard. My light went out on me. The other half of the group caught many herps. Went back to the camp and went to bed.

Day SIX (Herps)

We got up early and went to check the traps when we arrived the traps were GONE and we all got mad so we left there. Went on a three hour hike for three and half mile and we caught a few lizards and a snake. I was very tired after that so we came back to camp where we keyed the herps out and preserved a few for the Mexican university museum. At 3:00pm we got off for the rest of the day. So we went to the beach.

Day SEVEN (The WATER)

We went down on the beach and used an 100 foot net and made swipes in the ocean and caught a lot of fish including a half beak, Agujones maroas, drum (Scianidae, Merticirrus) , and Jacks (Caranjidae, Trachinotus paitensis) . We left the ocean and went to a small creek and did some water testing and electro shocked fish. We caught a few different species and a large drum-like fish.

Day EIGHT (BIRDS)

We got up at 5:00 am and got in a truck and headed for the mountains where we watched birds like the Black-Throated Magpie-Jay. We hiked up a very nice trail and saw a huge variety of birds including Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Mealy Parrot, and Robin (Rufous- backed). The day was fun because we got to go set nets out and we caught a Cinnamon Hummingbird and I was able to hold it to let it go. When we got back we went swimming and road the huge waves that the earthquake had caused. We had fish for supper and I was unable to eat it. It was looking at me and I just was not up to eating something that is looking at me. So we went to San Blas and ate a wonderful restaurant my hair braided.

Day NINE (MANGROVES)

I woke up at 5:43am I got up and looked around and no one was awake except Mark and me. In a matter of 20 minutes everyone in the camp was up. We got on a huge bus and went to the Tovara Mangrove Swamp where we saw termite mounds, birds, and two river crocodiles on the boat ride. We went to a place where we could swim with the crocs and catfish we also swung off a rope and plunged into the water. After getting back to camp we packed up and headed toward the town of Real de Catorce. We entered the desert and saw huge cacti 20 + feet tall. I went to sleep!!!!!

Day TEN (REAL DE CATORCE)

I awoke to see a donkey and a man walking behind the van. After that I got out of the van to be shocked at the temperature change it was plan A… Cold. After that we went and parked the vans and order some breakfast which I could not eat it had apples it and headed down the streets. I had a bad encounter with a weird man and was scared the rest of the day. We finally got in to the Hotel, which was nice, and I got sick from the altitude change. It was just too high for me…. So late that night I went back to town and ate some supper and went to bed after having a little get together in a room. The Elevation was 8,783 feet high.

Day ELEVEN (LAST LEG OF OLD MEXICO)

We got up and packed up and started out of the mountains that were very ugly to me because there were no trees anywhere. We drove all day in dust devils and tumble weeds on the highway, and we arrived at the border at 7:30pm and got thought with no problem. So we were all hungry so we stopped at the WONDERFUL Denny’s and ate great food.

Day TWELVE (GETTING HOME)
We left there and just drove straight through. until we got to West, Texas were we got some of the great sweets and jumped back in to the van and headed to the Prairie Kitchen (Chicken) where they let Lee Ann and me out.