Rancho visit

Our friends Liz and Fernando (grande), parents of Bryce and Laurel's classmate Fernando (chico) and sister Romy, invited us to spend the afternoon at their ranch today. Actually it's Fernando's older brother's ranch, but they have a house there as well. After a 20 minute car ride, through a long one lane tunnel and down a dirt road, we arrived at their house. They have about 25 acres, with a creek running nearby, a tire swing, and a hill above with several unique houses in different stages of construction. The kids had already been there on Friday, so they knew their way around, but it was the first time for Sue and me. This was definitely country living, very relaxed and comfortable.


Fernando and Liz


The ranch house

Besides us, there was their nephew Ferdando (medio), their niece Lucia, Gaston and Patricia. Patricia used to be married to Fernando's older brother, but remains close to the family, and owns a restaurant in town with Gaston. Lucia is a poi spinner, and I showed her some of my gringo style for a bit. Fernando medio works at a local organic food store which is owned by one of the parents at our school. Everyone spoke more English than I expected, but I still got to use my Spanish a lot. They all were very friendly.

After grilled steaks and vegetables, the kids went down to the creek to play, and Sue, Liz and myself went to watch. They built dams and swam for about an hour, and had a great time.



Laurel and Romy playing in the creek

When we returned, Fernando's older brother arrived, and I talked to him for a bit. He's a really interesting guy - he is about 62, and builds eco-friendly houses using materials and techniques he invented himself. Some of the buildings on the property are made using bricks that are not baked, and have thatch roofs made from local reeds and a bamboo-like brace. There's also a tepee on the property, where Fernando medio lived for eight months. Apparently, the older brother also has an Indian hothouse/sauna built somewhere on the property where he does the occasional peyote ritual. (I didn't get all the details). He's also an accomplished drummer, and his two sons went to Africa to study drumming. He's probably the closest thing to Don Juan from the Carlos Castenada books I'll ever meet.

At the end of the evening, we got to borrow the older brothers car to return home, which was really nice of him. I promised to bring my fire spinning gear on our next visit, which should make for quite a party.

Update: Fernando's brother is named Cuautli. He changed it from Arnulfo. I had to ask Liz to spell it for me, since it was impossible to remember. Actually, Liz misspelled it, and Fernando had to correct her. It's pronounced "kwat-lee" I think. There will be more Cuautli blogging in the future I'm sure.