I came here to witness a way of life closer to the earth, and it is up here in these beautiful mountains, that we see an array of the most colorful fresh fruit and vegetables, all sizes and shapes and some we rarely see, like yucca.  We dared only try safe thick-skinned fruit and purchased a banana and a cantaloupe; now we're searching for a knife to cut it.

We also saw an abundance of spices and grains grown on small farms the natives own.Natives weave their own clothing, educate their own children in their traditions, and make their own sandals out of fiber from cactus.

They raise the animals they eat - which we sampled when we could not resist the aroma in the market of a freshly slaughtered pig roasted on a spit - head still on.  I believe if you are going to eat animal food, eat high quality, and face that it comes not from a neat plastic package but from killing an animal.

Our hunger had us overcome our usual preference for plant food, and our curiosity about what fresh meat would taste like overcame our fear and we ignored the warnings of getting sick if we ate food served in the street - we did not get sick - and it was incredibly tender and delicious.