Mission of Francisco Xavier
07 December 2009
We drove a rental car from Puerto Escondido way up in the Sierra de la Giganticas to a remote mission, where the caballeros were putting on a show before a big local festival. We were the only gringos around. The drive to the mission reminded me of learning to drive our family's Peugot in Kenya. The road began with some gorgeous smooth blacktop that ended all at once and turned to a four-wheel drive track in places, fording creeks and bumping over rocks. Head for the smoothest part of the road, avoid a sharp rock cutting the tire, and avoid the high-center at all costs. On the way, we stopped at a small mountain oasis I remember from my travels with Gartly, and bought some of the sweetest oranges you can hope to taste. We hammered down the rough track with the windows down, spitting orange seeds out the window and watching the mountains go by.