 |
Every meal requires
fresh tortillas. Shucked corn is soaked overnight in lime water. The lime starts the
process of breaking down the tough outer surface of the corn. Next the corn is ground into a coarse
meal by hand - and it's hard work! |
 |
After grinding, the
corn is reduced to a meal using a mano and metate. It may not seem like
much but notice how her back and both hands are positioned - more hard
work. Finally the
corn meal is pressed into individual tortillas and cooked on a hot metal
grill. Served hot from the stove, the taste is wonderful. The one
concession to modern time is the use of a press. Tortillas used to be
patted out by hand. |
 |
Recently outside
Batopilas, we came across this operating gold mill. Powered by water, a
rotary mill grinds the ore releasing the gold particles to be settled out. |
 |
In the back country,
this escape artist is under house arrest! Most of the pigs were
unrestrained but this individual has obviously squeezed through the
confines of the pen once too often. An Elizabethan collar kept him
confined. |
 |
The time-honored
method of plowing - virtually all parts of the plow are made of wood. The plow in the
ground has a metal faceplate - the only metal used. |
 |
Without hardware,
everyone improvises. A gate was needed but hinges are not available. Hewn
from a single log using only an axe and a knife, the upright post allows
wooden bars to be slid in. This gate kept a bull from straying. |
 |
We still haven't quite
figured out what is going on here. |
 |
In the Munerachi
boarding school, the kids are separated by age. One of the teachers is
giving these girls some work assignments after the day's classes have
ended. |
 |
At the Cerro Gallegos
overlook, we frequently find some Tarahumara women patiently waiting to
make a sale. |
 |
The thorns of the
Pitaya cactus are blood-red in color at their base. |
 |
After leaving Naranjo
earlier in the day, we finally reach the Urique River. It's the low-water
season and this flow represents barely a trickle. With the summer rains,
it would be over our heads here. |
 |
In a high plateau, a
viga has been prepared for a construction project in Munerachi.
One man will tie a rop around the notch near the end of the viga then drag this single viga several miles and
several thousand feet down to where it will be used. Each viga requires a
separate trip. |
 |
Across the river from
Batopilas, most of the original buildings comprising Sheperd's operation
lie in ruins. Please |
| |
|
