Look at the view. Wow, no? This is one of my favorite places in New Mexico.
It's an amazing place. There's no electricity or running water even, and the pueblo is very quiet.
It was hot and sunny the day we visited. As interesting as it is to see the pueblo, it was also interesting to The Brain to watch the non-local whitey tourists broiling in the relentless New Mexico sun. There were a lot of beet red people climbing onto the tour bus at the end of the two hour tour, let me tell you.
That woman in the hat and short sleeves, for example, was only about one-third of the way broiled in this photo. By the time we got to the last stop on our tour, I looked over at her and saw that she had slowly turned the color of a well-done lobster.
The one person to escape that fate was our guide.
He took off his hat so I could take that picture of him. Interesting fellow.
Later in the tour, while we were visiting the mission, someone asked him a question that I didn't hear. I could imagine what the question was though, from how he very delicately wended his way through an explanation of why he himself didn't follow certain aspects of native religion, because some require periods of relatively extreme celibacy.
The view! Still!
We bought some souvenirs, too, as we always do.
That little bit of ceramic was made by one of the potter's nine-year-old son. He told her it was an angel. We paid $3 for it. We also bought a tiny piece from the potter herself:
I bought a pair of earrings from another potter Sharlym Chino.
And I bought two pairs of beaded earrings from a young woman with some kind of developmental disability.
Similarly, this small keychain and bit of mica were purchased from a young man with, I believe, Down's syndrome.
Preying
Remember a couple of days ago when I told the story about catching a praying mantis in my underwear? What he was doing in my underwear I had no idea, but I put him outside into the rosemary near the front door and this happened:
Yes, the praying mantis at the top is eating the one at the bottom, my little underwear visitor. The little cannibal ate the whole thing, too, even though the two of them were exactly the same size. Which, can you imagine eating a whole human being your own size? That would take some effort I think.
Munch, munch.
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