Cows and Palm Trees

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Hey Everyone! I'm (Emily) taking point on this one.


The theme for this post is "Cows and Palm Trees" two of the things we noticed when we first came to Manzanillo and we still enjoy.




Every year Manzanillo has an Artisan’s Fair. Artists come from all over Mexico with their regional handmade crafts.






We splurged on some of the handcrafted Mole (Pronounced Mow-lay). This was absolutely the best Mole we've tasted. It is different for every cook but it is traditionally somewhat sweet and very rich, typically with notes of chocolate and peanut butter. It is very laborious because they use 30-40 ingredients in each version.


These huge empenadas were filled with cajeta (a type of carmel).




Just like at home often the most interesting things we see are when we're out in the ministry:

This flower looked like it was coming out of a banana peel.


Most of the homes are built up against each other and very colorful like these:






This was a fun find. We were convinced that this was a zucchini plant - the flowers, squash and leaves look just like zucchini. One of the local sisters informed us that it's actually a natural loofah plant. It's an inedible plant that people dry in the sun and it ends up being a loofah.






We could tell he had something interesting on his back


We asked if we could get a picture - he had build a whole portable sound system! Did you ever feel like some moments could use a soundtrack? Well this kid made it happen!






There are a number of cow pastures among the neighborhoods




There is this fabulous band of wandering cows that travels from neighborhood to neighborhood munching in peoples front yards. We see them often when we're out in the ministry. We've never seen anyone with them - corralling them or seen any field that seems to be their home. We half suspect they are escaped and now renegade. I never cease being fascinated and amused by them.










And here are the cows IN ACTION [Musical Accompaniment Included]


One thing we love about Manzanillo is that there's no separation between worlds - you see chickens in the yard next to a car, cowboys ride their horse through the streets of town and in homes you see outdoor kitchens.





About 20 minutes from Manzanillo is the Pueblo of "La Central". It is the north boundary of our territory.








There were about 20 birds flying in and out of this big tree. A local told us that the fruit is edible so he picked one for each of us.


It was very unusual tasting. Something like pumpkin pie with a texture close to avacado.







After the ministry we headed to the beach with the Munoz family.


Frida and I explored the tide pools.


In one of the tide pools we found a neat sea creature. Someone told us it’s a “spider fish” - related to a starfish.


We put it on Dane’s hand for a few seconds. It crawled around and looked Wild!



Safely back in it's tidepool


Betty says “Ta Da!” She is so adorable!


Luis Alberto’s brother and family joined us.


Everybody brought meat and Luis Alberto grilled it up for us.



Many of the local restaurants have brick ovens and pits that they cook in, resulting in succulent, delicious food




A lot of people are only able to stay in Mexico for a short time or circumstances change and they have to move back so we have lots of going away parties.





Frida and Grecko often come upstairs after school to say "hi" and tell me about their day. They are so delightful.


These tiny geckos often come into our apartment


In the evening we sometimes take a walk on the beach:







We’ll try to do another post before we fly back to Portland. Armando Sandoval (from Hawthorne Congregation) and Damaris' wedding went well – we’ll put pics of it on the next post.


Warm Christian Love and Hugs!

Em & Dane