Today we went on a “country” tour. Basically it’s the outer country part of the city, a long the Mexico Highway 15. Mexico Highway 15 is a huge Y shaped highway that is a straight shot to Arizona or Texas- 16-17 hours away. Before this new high way was built, it would take anywhere from 24-27 hours to hit the states.

Mazatlan was founded in the year 1531. It was discovered by Spainards but there was also Indian tribes here. They were part of the Aztecs so those from Mazatlan originate from Aztecs. Mazatlan came from the Aztecs. Mazat is from the Aztec word deer and lan means land. Naturally, that means Mazatlan means land of the deer. It’s after the white tail deer native to Mazatlan. The original language of the Aztecs was Nawat. I’m guessing on the spelling but that’s how it’s said. That has become one of the largest dialects here.

Our first stop was to see how bricks are made here in Mazatlan. As you can see from the pictures above, it’s intense labor. They mix manure, mud, water and saw dust and grass. From there the man wets his hands, grabs the mixture and puts it into the wooden frame, he pushes it all the way down to avoid air bubbles. He then even it’s out, wets his hands again to smooth the top. He removes the mold, rinses it and repeats it all over again.

He does this from 6:00 in the morning to 6:00 at night. He does not own the land, but he works the land. The land owner will come and check up on him at the end of the day, to see how many bricks he’s made. He will have to make 1,000 bricks a day to get paid $120pesos. That’s $10USD. A day. We get paid $8 an hour for not even half of the manual labor. Let that soak in.

After the bricks are made they lay out. After a few days they will flip them up so the sides will dry. After 9 days they will add them to the helm. When building the helm, the second picture, they add wood. They will add about 3 more feet in height of bricks to the top of this and more rows. When it is complete they will set the wood on fire and cook the bricks. This is an art Carlos, the guide, said. If you cook them too much they will stick together. Not enough they will fall apart. He has to know how to do it perfectly. Once they are done, they are loaded in a truck and shipped out to build the city houses and buildings. Then the process begins all over again.

The second place we stopped was a bakery. We got two things of bread for $1. I got cinnamon bread and butter with sugar! So bad for you but so delicious!! They wake up early every morning to make these delicious pastries fresh.

The next place we stopped was a tile maker and jewelry store. My papa bought me an elephant pendant with a stone native to Mexico. It is beautiful and I am planning to wear it to graduation!!

The tile maker was awesome. This is the old fashion way to make tile that most people don’t do anymore. Carlos says that this particular shop had been handed down through generations. Each father has passed the tradition down to his son and it continues today. We watched him make tiles in front of us and it was amazing!

He cleans the slate and drops color on to the the slate. He puts the mold over the slate and drops the ceramic into the mold like miniature pancakes. If he drops it all in at once, it will spread all of the color. He then takes a standard number 2 pencil eraser sticks it in to the ceramic and color and makes a design without seeing it. He then puts the backing of the tile on, and puts it under a machine. He then applies 1 ton of pressure onto the tile. He takes it out, removes it. That’s the finished product you see him holding. He makes them 1 at a time, 200 tiles a day. They sit in the shade for 16 hours and then are ready for sale!

Our next stop was a small town to see this Cathederal. This Catholic Church was built in the 1700s and survived the French invasions in the 1850s. It took 85 years to build because the priest wanted a specific tile and stone to build it. It was a beautiful church and use to be the town hall of the city. However, when their first president was instated he wanted to separate church and the people’s taxes. So now in each town you will see the church and the town hall separated by the square.

The last place we stopped was a town in the mountains of the Sierra Madres. Way way way way way way way way way up in the mountains. Population is 600. 300 people, 300 donkeys.

It is an old mine town founded in 1565. That’s old. Really old. Uneven cobblestone roads that are one car only. We ate at Daniel’s the local restaurant, absolutely delicious. The good was amazing. We had a chicken and potato taco, tamale, cheese taco, frijoles and rice. Dessert was a banana coconut pie. My stomach is pretty damn happy.

Most of the mines in this town are no longer active. We went into one mine, as you can see from the picture. A beautiful place and great last stop for the day. Now it’s back down those windy roads.

Salud and buenas noches.