Columns

Thanks to a turtle, I stumbled upon yet another part of Jalisco which can only be described as “stunning” for its natural beauty.

Fifteen years ago I camped in the gorgeous Sierra de Tapalpa at a place overlooking the big salt flats of Sayula, located about 20 kilometers west of Lake Chapala. In those remote woods up above, we discovered Alfredo, a man of letters living alone in a cabin, who seemed to have taken seriously the ancient admonition, “Know thyself.” I wrote an article about this “sagacious hermit-philosopher of the tall pines” in the May 24, 1997 edition of this newspaper.

The September 2012 issue of the National Speleological Society News (United States) reports a unique archaeological find near a small town in the eastern highlands of Oaxaca. More than 40 figures sculpted from mud were found inside “a river-filled cave with over one kilometer of passages,” writes explorer Tamara Ballensky. “They varied in size from about two to eight feet in length. The majority of the figures resembled humans … One of the most detailed female figures appeared to wear a beaded necklace and had tattoo-like designs on her shoulders.”

El Diente is a huge, tooth-shaped monolith which—for as long as anyone can remember—has been the favorite hangout (literally) for Guadalajara’s rock climbers to gather and practice their skills. The Tooth is located only five kilometers north of the city’s Periférico or Ring Road and is just one rock among a veritable forest of monoliths nestled between the rustic villages of Río Blanco and San Estéban.

CNN tells me the whole world is abuzz over the imminent release of the Snapple Phone 5… or was it the Gooseberry Smellphone 9981… or maybe the Androgynous Flan 4.2? Somehow the exact name escapes me – tasty as they all sound – probably because I’m completely sold on my own, personal mobile device: the truly versatile NOkidd’n NOphone. Believe it or not, my NOphone has been serving me faithfully for 71 years, nonstop and has never gone out of range and never let me down, even in the remote and barren wastes of the Saudi desert where I once spent some time.

Representatives of many major religions joined hands in Guadalajara last week in an event that allowed them to learn about one another and even participate in the rites and rituals of different faiths.