Down on the farm

Down on the farm

Lest you think our lives only involve sunning on the beach, here is another adventure we had recently. Through the AllVallarta.com bulletin board, we have met many very nice and interesting people.
One couple we met recently was Sandie and Ronnie from Iowa. Sandie contacted me because they were staying at a house in Bucerias and needed a little info.
The house, Jardin del Mar, is very nice! It is beautiful and secluded, great for relaxing and getting away from it all. That’s not how their vacation ended up being, but that’s not my story to tell!
Ronnie is a farmer (yes, tractors, barns, combines, that kind of farmer). He has done work in the past for the Monsanto Corp. Well, Monsanto has a facility in the Puerto Vallarta area and he made arrangements to go visit. Harold and I planned to drive them out to the farm, but instead a Monsanto employee came and got us all.
The Monsanto farm is a station that grows corn and sunflowers. The part we visited is not a research station, but they grow seed corn for the US. After the corn company identifies a hybrid seed they want to grow and sell, they grow some plants. The seed from those plants is used to grow more seed corn. Corn is grown here in Mexico because it allows another full growing season per year. That way, research to production takes half as long.
We were picked up in a nice van. The first thing we were told in the van was to be sure to fasten our seatbelts. This was the first indication of how much attention Monsanto pays t safety. The farm is east of Mezcales near Valle de Banderas. When we got there, we all had to sign in. At the office, we were shown a safety film about chemical safety and safety around the farm. Only Ronnie had worn long pants and closed shoes, so only he could visit the fields directly.
This worked out pretty well for the rest of us, though. In the office is a kitchen. We were curious about the kitchen and the woman who worked there. We found out that Martha, the cook, prepares a morning break snack and lunch for the managers of the farm. She showed us the kitchen and offered us a bite to eat. She made fresh-squeezed orange juice for us! It was very good. She also gave us some sweet rolls.
When Ronnie and the tour guide returned, we rode around the farm in the van. Even though we never got near chemicals, we had to wear safety glasses. We saw that Monsanto provides safety gear for the employees working around chemicals. There were also emergency showers and signs cautioning proper chemical handling. Safety around equipment was also stressed. Lockers and lunch areas are provided for the workers. We even saw that they had port-a-potties around the farm. We were very impressed with how the place is run!
We saw the seed corn area and the sunflower area. Monsanto also has a Mexican seed research facility adjacent to the farm we toured. It was all very neatly kept. Altogether, there are about 150 employees at the farm. All crops are harvested by hand. There is irrigation for the crops.
After our tour, another employee gave us a ride back to Bucerias. His cell phone rang, but he told us that company regulations prohibited him from talking on the phone while driving.
We really enjoyed the tour and we enjoyed meeting and spending time with Ronnie and Sandie.

Festivals

Festivals

I am skipping over some things to try to be a little current! I will go back and get caught up later. Probably.
Every town in Mexico has a festival. Most of them are in conjunction with the church in town. Bucerias has their Fiestas Patronales for the 9 days ending on January 24th. The church here is called Nuestra Senora de la Pax, Our Lady of Peace. The festival mainly takes place in the evenings. We went several times, sometimes getting there as late as 10:30 p.m. and always leaving before the party died down. A person who lives in the vicinity of the square told us that one night the band played until 2, and on the last night, the band played until 7 the next morning!
There were lots of stands: games, bars, candy, junk sales and of course food. There were rides for the kids and many skyrockets. In the evening there was entertainment on the square. There were folkloric dancers, flamenco dancers, a beauty pageant and more. After the scheduled entertainment, the band started. It was a local band called Perla Negra and they play banda music.
We bought hamburgers from the vendors, and tacos and filled churros. About 11 in the evening was the fireworks bull. I’m sure there is a name for it, but what it consists of is a framework shaped like a bull, covered with fireworks. A person “wears” the bull frame and runs around the crowd with fireworks going off. Pretty dramatic, for sure!
The last day of the festival, fishing boats from nearby towns came to the beach to be blessed. There were many, many people watching. While waiting for the boats to come, there was a charro parade. They were accompanied by a band. As they marched in they played “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” The charros (cowboys) had their horses dancing to the music. It was great!
The last night, there were so many people in the square it was incredible. About 11 p.m., there was a fireworks tower. Called a Castillo, there were lots of spinning fireworks and flying sparks! After the fireworks, there were 2 bands playing at the same time. They were maybe 50 feet apart and were playing different songs, of course at high volume. The whole festival was very fun.