Alex Comes Home With The Hardware From Oaxaca

 Back in the spring of this year Alex qualified for Mexico's Junior National Games aka the Juegos Nacionales CONADE.  She would join other youth surf and SUP athletes from all over Mexico for a week in Oaxaca's Puerto Escondido.  Each state would send their 15-18 year old representatives to compete.  Our state of Nayarit is not all that organized especially on the SUP side of things so she would be representing a Team from the neighboring state of Jalisco.  The organization called CODE is the athletic development body for each state and Jalisco's CODE program is exceptionally strong and well funded for all athletic pursuits.  SUP is still relatively new to the CODE program so to have a paddler like Alex with her experience is definitely an asset to the program.

One last practice before traveling to Oaxaca

Alex had been practicing occasionally with the kids on the Team from the Jalisco since last April.  Alex was by far the most skilled and experienced of this group.  Her Team would be joined by another group from the interior of Jalisco who were in a developmental program for canoe.  Some of these canoe athletes were crossing over into SUP.  The crossover to SUP from canoe and kayak is exactly what the sport is currently seeing especially in Eastern Europe.  The two groups would meet up in Guadalajara and fly together to Puerto Escondido.  Alex had actually met many of these "Canoe" kids at a two day qualifying event last spring to she was happy to see them again.

The two groups of the Jalisco Team meet up in Guadalajara.

Alex and amiga, Dani.

The impressive part of all this is that CODE Jalisco would be picking up the bill for everything.  Travel, lodging, meals, uniforms for the entire week!  The Team even traveled with a doctor and physical therapist. Alex' Jalisco group would be led by the Jalisco Surf and SUP Federation president "Fiky" who has been super to Alex since she joined the Jalisco Federation last spring.

Alex and Fiky.

The Team arrived all together in Puerto Escondido and the plan was for them to get settled and to train for a couple days ahead of the SUP events, sprints and long distance.  The forecast called for waves so Alex was pretty excited.  Variable conditions were comfortable for her and she felt like demanding conditions would give her an advantage especially against those kids who trained on flat water locations like lakes or rivers.

So, while the competition turned their attention to the surfing and body boarding disciplines the SUP competitors took to getting some water time and practicing in some waves.  Alex was super happy to burn off some nervous energy and rode wave after wave into and back out of the surf and the question being asked on the beach was "who was the gringa charging the waves for the Jalisco Team"?

All was good until it wasn't.  On her last ride into the beach a wave picked her up and drove her board  nose first into the sand.  A smashed board only a day away from competition.  Nooooooo!  This was NOT news anyone wanted to hear.  All her preparations and travel just to have a broken board!?!?  Alex was already fighting a nagging injury but now she also had no useable equipment?!  Fortunately, there was a very respected repair guy nearby and he was able to get Alex board water worthy again overnight and she would be up and running by the time the sprints happened a day later.

Alex' SIC RS race board looking sad.

After practice back at the hotel.

While Alex' board was off getting repaired, the Team got ready for opening ceremonies on the beach at the event center.  This was basically a small tent city where each state had their own space to call their own during the competition.  This is where the kids were able to mingle a bit and be teenagers meeting other teenagers from other places around the country.  Some of the other team coaches actually didn't want their athletes to mix much during the competition but everyone managed to meet other teams despite the coaches efforts and make new friends.  I think this was Alex' favorite part of the event weekend and she still keeps in touch with the kids she met and hopes to see them again at the National SUP Competition in 2022 or at future Conade Games.

The event center.

Post opening ceremonies Team photo.

Day one of the competition for SUP was the sprints.  200 meters.  It sounds easy enough except that the swell that brought waves the previous couple days was still sending energy into the event area.  So, the paddlers needed to not only paddle as fast as they could but also contend with wave energy coming sideways to the way they were paddling.  Again, Alex trains in these kinds of conditions so she was unfazed by what the ocean offered that day.  Several of her Jalisco team and other competitors fell during the race since most, if not all, of their training is in protected water that is almost always flat.  This was a real disappointment for some of the kids and the coaches but if you want to win in different conditions you have to train in different conditions.  In the end, Alex advanced from her qualification heat to the final and ultimately won a sprint 15-16 year old division gold medal for her and her Jalisco Team.  

Alex headed out to her first sprint heat.

If the competition didn't see Alex practice catching and riding waves during the week then pretty much everyone saw her sprints during the competition.  Alex said kids started coming up to her for advice which she was happy to share but at the same time wondered if she should say anything that might help the competition in the distance race still to come the next day.

Alex relayed a story about how she arrived at a social event between teams a bit late and everyone was busy talking.  She stood patiently to the side until one of her team mates called her over to where they were all talking with another team from the State of Guerrero.  The Guerrero team wondered about Alex.  Blonde, blue eyed, tall girl who was probably the most skilled paddler at the competition.  Who was she?  She joined the group and they were totally surprised that she spoke Spanish at all.  They thought she was standing off to the side of the conversation because she didn't speak the language.  She had to explain that the only reason she was standing off to the side was because she didn't want to interrupt.  Another good question was when she was asked about how she felt about Mexicans.  Puzzled she asked what they meant by the question.  The kids said that "Americans don't like Mexicans" and they wondered how she felt.  She had to tell them that she has spent most of her life growing up in Mexico and has lived here since she was barely six years old.  Asking her how she felt about Mexicans as if she was a born and raised north of the border just didn't fit who she is.  She said the kids had some difficulty understanding that her upbringing was much different than what her appearance said.  After taking with her they finally understood that she was very different than what they expected.  Alex said that the kids they were speaking with do not live in a community such as Sayulita where people from all over the world live, visit here and many languages are spoken.  They just figured Alex was American and had certain opinions or views about things and never even considered that she may have grown up here and might have other feeling towards people than what they thought was the truth.

Team Jalisco girls getting ready for the long distance race.

Day two brought the long distance races.  Alex and the other 15-16 year olds would be racing 9km and the older group 12km.  A 9km is not terribly long for a distance race and Alex had been working on her conditioning before the event so she was confident going into the race.  Three 3km laps to the finish line and ocean had calmed since they first arrived so there would be no advantage there.  It had rained the night before so the hot sun made things sticky-humid but Alex went out prepared with a hat and camelback filled with electrolytes.  Alex and Trace also train in the afternoon heat so the temps did not have an effect on her like it did with many of the other kids.  During the day kids were stumbling up the beach at the finish and were provided IV fluids or were even removed from the course by jet ski.  Alex, on the other hand, ran up the beach in first place for the girls, grabbed a hydration drink and happily received congratulations from her team and coaches.  She even did a couple post race interviews.  She went out prepared and had no problems with that day's conditions.

Another gold medal for Alex and her Jalisco team.  Her good friend, Dani, finished second and the Jalisco boys did great as well.  I was actually able to see a live stream on FB of the end of the race and tuned in just as Alex was paddling her last half KM or so to the finish line.  So much fun to see her since we are always there in person to see the kids race and had to painfully live by texts and photos all week.

Such an amazing experience for Alex and her Team in Oaxaca!  The Conade Games is something she can continue to compete in for another couple years and Trace will be old enough in 2022 to try and earn a spot to go to the games as well.  Alex absolutely loved the week traveling with her Team and meeting kids from all over Mexico and we really think it was a fantastic learning experience.  She will be doing more traveling like this when she goes to Peru in March with her online high school.  Capable world citizens was Ashley's goal from the day the kids were born so this type of thing helps move that along.  SUP has provided several great opportunities to travel and a meet people inside and outside Mexico and we are grateful for that.  Looking forward to more in 2022.

Oaxaca

Easter week in Mexico lasts two weeks and it is called Semana Santa. The coastal towns become very busy with city folk from the interior, so we coastal folk head to the interior. This year was our first of such trips and it will not be the last as we want to travel more around Mexico and Semana Santa is the perfect time to do it

Oaxaca City bound.  We travelled with friends John, Amy and Ava for 8 days. We drove two hours to Tepic, spent the night and caught an early flight out on Tar Airlines. Arrived early afternoon and got to our fantastic Airbnb rental, La Callera, an old Limestone factory. There were 7-8 rooms or apartments to rent. Amy and John had one, we had one and the three amigos had their own, which they thought was pretty awesome. They all had kitchens so we could eat a home a bit but not too much as Oaxaca has wonderful food and is known for its Mole sauces. John told the kids that for each new food they tried they would get a trinket. Trace was all in, he certainly does not have the taste buds of an eight year old.

Oaxaca has many excursions in and around the city, anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours. Many times we just hopped on the bus two blocks away and others we either took a cab or got a fantastic driver named Diego.

One of our many bus experiences

Day 1:
We visited a famous Oaxaca church called Santa Domingo de Guzmán which is near the Zócalo and ate a great lunch full of Oaxacan food along with the first taste test...chapulines!!! That would be crickets to us. These were cooked and kind of shredded so you weren't eating a whole cricket. And guess who loved them? The Trace man!!

Santa Domingo de Guzman

Alex looking out the window

Day 2: Big day!!
We had a lot we wanted to see so we started at the furthest point and worked our way back to the city. Diego drove us two hours away to Hierve el Agua,  beautiful,  natural and very cold springs in the mountains.

One of the pools

We then we went to John's (different John than the one we are traveling with) beautiful and state of the art  Mazcal factory that he is building.  John lives at La Callera and met Amy and some friends in Tequila a while back.  Awesome guy with a life full of travel and experiences and the stories to boot.   Beside John's new factory is a small factory, if you can call it that, that makes Mezcal the traditional way so we were able to see the process.

Cooking the Agave leaves in an open fire pit

Next the cooked leaves are smashed with this stone wheel pulled in circles by Mules

It is then placed in large barrels, etc

Trace eating one of the cooked agaves.

Los tres amigos

Next we went to a rug maker, Bulmaro Perez Mendozo, in the town of Teotitlañ. We learned how the colors are made using local fruit, limestone and limes, how the wool is dyed and even how they hand make the rugs, which can take months. Now I know why the quality rugs are so expensive!

Our final stop was Santa María del Tule, the thickest tree in the world, where an adorable local girl walked us around the tree with a green laser and pointed out characters in the tree such as an elephant, deer, an angry face, JLo's butt and something to do with Monica Lewenski.

Day 3:
We really wanted to see true, local markets. We found them, filled with lots and lots of local food, breads, meat, chocolate, vegetables and textiles. A great way to indulge your senses and test your patience. I love markets like that but for a short time and with only myself or just a few other people. We had 10. But I had a great meal of fried Chile Relleno smothered in mole sauce. So good that I got one more for myself and one for Trace. His plain quesadilla all of a sudden wasn't very good when he tried my food.

Trace digging into a delicious fried Chile Relleno covered in Mole

Can you pick out the gringos?  I felt like we were on display

Fresh Tortas 

Fresh bread everywhere

Freshly fondled meat

Beautiful fresh vegetables

Chapulines aka crickets

Alex is thinking HELL NO while Trace is thinking OH YEAH

Trace once again digging into the goods

Alex, Kaila and Ava waiting for lunch

Ozzy navigating the market? Or running for the exit?

Day 4:
Zona Arqueologica de Monte Alban, local ruins.  They are all over in Mexico.

La Familia

Had to get a selfie

Day 5:
Day to Chill

La Calera, our Airbnb complex also hosts events and while we were there they were hosting the Mexico National Rubix Cube contest for two days. Wow! These people were fast! We were able to hang out and watch. The kids were intrigued. John bought them each a Rubix Cube. Trace was really into it and is very proud of his timing getting one side done.

La Calera was such a cool place to stay, so many neat areas to hang out, and many great photo ops.  Each of the apartments and any other design on the property was recycled and built using only materials that were found on the property, so it was very industrial but in a modern, earthy way.

Alex and Trace at a sitting area

Three of the apartments

Inside the factory

The table in the background was our social area.  Drinking and many games of Catan were played here.  We also got shushed here during the Rubix Cube contest while they were competing blindfolded.

More apartments

A section of the kids apartment

Day 6:
On Easter, the kids along with friends that were also in town enjoyed searching for candy that the Easter Bunny brought for them. La Calera is a fantastic place for hiding candy.

In line ready to hunt

 Easter evening we went on a wild goose chase on local buses to a place far away to watch Licha Libre, i.e. Mexican Wrestling. Completely entertaining and a highlight of the trip. We were the only gringos there and definitely got many looks.

Day 7:
Last day, booo

We had Diego again for the day and hit the last two places on our list. We quickly stopped in to San Bartolo Coyotepec where the famous black pottery is made.

And finally we went to the place that the girls wanted to go all week. Nothing like making them wait huh?  San Martin Tilcajete!  aka the town where Alebrijes, aka wooden painted figures, are made.

This is an Alebrije

These are awesome!   I could not believe how much work and time went into making one.  Like the rugs!  They also make their own paint using vegetables, lime and limestone.  There are about five different processes and at least one or more years that go into making one Alebrije.  And the size can range anywhere from a finger to a life sized bull and costing anywhere to $10 USD to well over $20,000+USD.  Each group of people specialized in a particular part of the process.


The carvers:

Carving the Alebrije

The process begins carving your piece out of wood.  Then comes sanding, soaking in gasoline to prevent termite infestations, drying which could take a year, fixing cracks, sanding again, etc.


The fixers:

These guys were fixing the places where the wood cracked by wedging a piece of wood into the cracks, and more sanding.

And the painters:

The intricate details of the painting was amazing.  The painters start off as apprentices working on small Alebrijes and then they become Master Painters.

Master painters at work

A master painter finishing an Alebrije.

The grounds of this particular workshop were just beautiful!

There was even an area where you could buy Mescal and it just so happened to be Ozzy's birthday so shots were on the house.

Alex ran into Tanya, her art teacher from school 

The kids each were able to paint their own Alebrije which is why they wanted to go so badly.

And while they were painting we were able to relax in the beautiful gardens.

And shop.  I bought this guy.  I had to have him!

Trace being Trace!

The kids showing their personalized Alebrijes at lunch

Trace chowing down again

And then we came home.

This was such a sensually and emotionally filling trip.  The senses where so alive the entire time with beauty, vibrant colors, and the sights, the taste buds were exploding, as well as the nose with the aromas of the food everywhere.  And then there were the usual sounds of Mexico which I love but the best was the sounds of my children laughing, playing and being so happy.
The emotion came from watching the kids so comfortable in their surroundings, taking care of themselves and their own apartment, eager to see, do, try and learn, navigate, grow.  And of course just being with them and getting hugs and kisses whenever I wanted.  I love seeing the people they are becoming and it really shows when we are traveling.