Melina’s home was in the bottom of this valley.
Just in front of us as we rounded the crest, was a spectacular gorge. Unfortunately my state of mind wouldn’t allow me to appreciate it. Remember I was totally exhausted and any irregular terrain, in spite of its beauty, was just a pain in the butt. There was a trail leading off the road dropping down into the deep canyon. At first I kept up by taking large steps, but the jolts were about to buckle my tired legs. That turned into a despirate run. I did this sort of thing for training for skiing in my younger years. Now each wobbly step flirted with disaster. Falling downhill with a three chip digital camera could easily destroy it. I forced my weak legs to slow down, but I felt like a Mac truck with its brakes burning. Pedro and family pulled ahead and I lost sight of them among the trees. The trail was obvious most of the way , but I wasn’t certain I had made all the right choices on the way down…
Melina takes her turn carrying her little sister.
Luck was with me and I found Pedro waiting at the bottom of the valley. As I got close, Pedro greeted me with another smile and turned away while spreading his hands. I could hear his body language speaking: “and there it is!”
It was a powerful scene. The walls of the canyon shielded the valley from wind and the rest of the world as the river gently flowed by. We were at the bottom of a wide portion of the deep gorge setback a short distance from the river and the water flow was low. On the far side was an unplanted field cornfield and behind that was a rough log cabin with a hayloft. At first I didn’t realize it was Pedro’s home. The cabin was already shaded from the late afternoon sun and all I could think of was that the shadows created a lighting problem for taking video.
But it wasn’t time to be a picky artist, I needed a slam dunk and then get the hell out of here. I took some long, medium, and close shots of the family and their home.
Melina’s family in front of their one-bedroom cabin.
There were three children inside who timidly looked out. I came over and Pedro motioned for me to go inside. It was a small one-room cabin lit from the light of one window. A small round table and an old wood burning stove sat on a dirt floor.
Melina was sitting on the only bed waiting for me to videotape her. I had high expectations for my documentary, but its amazing how thoughts of basic survival shortened this video shoot. I couldn’t communicate what I needed and I didn’t have time to waste. So I shot what I found, and as it sat.
The high doorsill is added protection from when the river rises.
As Pedro’s son brought me a cup of water. Hesitantly I took the cup and looked inside. Sand particles floated at the bottom as I swirled the cup. I knew that drinking the water would result in Montezuma’s revenge, but I had no choice. I needed it to survive the return. But I did leave the sand particles in the last inch of the cup. I had hoped for an invitation to spend the night, but a lack of communication prevented that. I already knew leaving on such a long journey at this time of day would be disastrous. I had to get to the highway before dark.
Then by necessity, I invented a crude form of sign language to ask for directions to the highway. I drew a car in the dirt and motioned like I was driving. But I didn’t sense any real communication. Pedro vaguely pointed towards his cornfield across the river. I couldn’t see a road, but headed out in that direction anyway. I wandered around for ten minutes looking for a path that might lead to the road back to Guachochi. Eventually, Pedro’s son came over and pointed back up the mountain I had just come. I knew what he was trying to tell me, but I didn’t want to hear it. Reluctantly, I accepted the reality and slowly headed up the trail.
Where was this road I was told was right next to the village? There was neither anyone to complain to or argue with. I was angry about breaking the promise I made to myself about not having to walk back out and the jeopardy I had put myself in. That’s when I realized that I needed an attitude change or I would not make it. I was exhausted, but had to put out of my mind any thoughts of not being able to get out of the canyon..
