oasis en mexico
i am ushered into an oasis. my large-hearted friends have built a spacious, elegant, and colorful home, whose rooftop also serves their community as a cultural center. la manzanilla sits on the edge of a bay, cupped by hills. she is sweet and small, and i fall in love with her unthinkingly. and for the next week, i abide in enchantment. in this reunion with 3 women friends, i feel showered upon, and all my cells are soaking up the nourishment. we sit in chairs on the beach, eating fresh and flavorful fish tacos, munching crisp chips and creamy guacamole. we stay up late in the night, laughing and talking. each morning there is a yoga class on the roof, a walk on the beach. i sit and write at the bakery cafe, sipping a latté. and many evenings, there is some sort of community gathering: a film, a women’s circle, a poetry reading… la manzanilla is a diverse mix of locals and transplants, and there are artists of all kinds. on friday morning we go to the market at the plaza. from many parts of mexico, vendors are there. silver work, ceramics, and textiles are interspersed with plastic utensils, colorful lingerie, and dvd’s. i buy mandala earrings carved from gourd by a mexican hipster, a silver and amber ring made by a young belgian woman, and, from a small, dignified woman, the embroidered blouse of my dreams. late one afternoon, we take a boat trip up the lagoon, into a bird sanctuary. the trees are loaded with diverse water birds and iguanas. we zoom in with binoculars. and when we head back down river at sunset, as all the birds are coming home to roost, a large crocodile swims its prehistoric way ahead of us. its ridged and scaled tail curves sinuously back and forth, propelling it forward. one night we walk down the sandy street to a close-by restaurant. there is a trio of musicians, playing a fusion of latin and african and middle-eastern music that is irresistible. they sing to us in diverse languages, and everyone is dancing with blazing smiles. and then, one morning, we go out in a boat on the bay, to find some whales. within a few minutes, we spot some movement. and for the next hour, a mother and baby humpback, gentle and majestic, rise and roll and breathe, spouting salty mist, magnanimously allowing us to float nearby. our mouths are shaped like o’s, and we sit, suspended, in wonder. ~robin~
