Colonial Cities and big RV'S do not mix

My uncle had a big bull with a ring on his nose, I know what you mean by being stuborn to make him turn, we had to turn him to get him out of the barn stall to take him the pasture come spring, my Uncle, one cousin and I were the only males that he would allaw in the enclosure, he really hated my brother did not obey or mind the girls, were able to back him maybe a meter and a half in a semi cyrcle, untill he realized he was going out side, then he would cooperate.

navegator

(This is off-point -- but it is about oxen in Mexico, so I guess it is sort of ok.) Believe it or not, I have actually plowed in Mexico with an ox! I was an "exchange student" in 1970 in a village north of Taxco and south of Toluca. The program put me on a farm for three months, living in the farmhouse with the family. Wonderful people, and one of the greatest adventures of my life. No electricity, wood-fired gravity fed water heater, handmade tortillas every day.

And although they did not own an ox, a guy in the area did, and he would take the ox from farm to farm for plowing season, for a fee. The ox was so well trained that almost anyone could plow, if you learned a few simple commands (which I no longer remember).

It was not easy to keep up with the ox -- he walked slowly but steadily, and the clods of muddy earth were tough to walk on. This farm was up at high altitude, and the mornings were cold. The ox would get so hot that steam would come off his back.

But he was not nearly so clever as Thor -- it was a big chore to get the ox turned around at the end of the row. (I wonder if Swedish oxen might also have been more high-performance. Turbo boost, perhaps??) ;)

Best way to visit the Colonial Cities using Google Earth and maps type RV campground when you are parked on the City, it will point to the location of the park if there is one, not always dead on the spot but close, try to figure how to get there with out going in to town with the RV, and after you are settled take the toad to explore, it is advisable to go by taxi or public transport, some Cities do not have parking lots, you need to park were ever you find a spot and walk, that is the best way to see and explore the towns.

navegator

We once stayed on a Hotel parking lot near La Ventana. There was a large field next to the parking lot wall. In the morning an Ox Cart pulled up. They unhitched the cart and attached a one share plough. A young boy with a canvas bag followed the plough and he sowed seeds into the furoughs and kicked the soil over the seeds. I watched in amazement. Was like stepping back in time. We left later that morning and a half mile down the road there was a John Deere articulated tractor ploughing a multi acre field. I didn't know John Deere made that type of tractor. Could have been locally modified. From ancient to ultra modern in 1/2 a mile!!

Moisheh

Navegator, I know this message has nothing to do with this thread, but I must say that was a beautiful story, similar to a Hans Christian Andersen story but a true one. Life sounded so simple in your story, but I'm sure physically hard on the body.

Horses are very inteligent, my uncle in Sweden had potatoe patch on a hill, the tractor could not handle the slope too steep, the Clydesdale had no bridle just the collar to pull the potatoe rake, at the end of the west rows we had to lift the rake and the horse would go 90 uphill until the rake cleared the row and would back down to start the eastward uphill row, the rake had two wheels, did not need to tell him anything he did the whole operation with out having to tell him anything.

We also used the hay wagon, that one could turn on its own length the horse would walk sideways until he pointed in the direction that he came in, beautiful horse we only used verbal comands or had signals if needed.

For Christmas time we used the sleigh, the horse loved pulling the girls, they cheated my aunt would give the girls apples to bribe him, we also cut the emergency fire wood in winter, work sleigh and horse to pull the trees out, can not do it in Summer to boggy.

The horses name was Thor.

navegator

Thanks! I had no idea horses could push a wagon backward. I guess the yoke's on me! (Feeble wagon-related joke.)

Horses can be trained to back up, I do not know if oxen will, horses yes and actually depending on how the wagon or carrige is built they can have a tight turn radious, it all hinges on the front size of the tires and the hinge height under the wagon, some colonial towns in Mexico are on mountains and wide streets are impossible to construct, many of these towns are minning areas EG: Taxco old mining town, some cities in Europe are built were the houses practically touch one another, Gamla Stan (old town) in Stockholm has a street that at one end you walk side ways to clear the buildings, some bicycle handle bars will not fit trough.

navegator

When you think about it, it is sort of odd that so many old towns have such narrow streets. In the days before cars, wagons needed a lot of room to turn around, and it is impossible (I think) to get the horses or oxen to walk backwards.

Certainly, in many old towns in the Western USA, the streets are extra-wide for exactly that reason.

A little puzzling. There must be an historical explanation that I am not seeing.

Market Day

In any southern Mexico town can be a real adventure. I remember the last time through Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca.

Mex 200 passes through the center of town. Only on that day the street was jammed packed. I had to drive one half mile per hour through three blocks. People were being rubbed by the side of Quicksilver as I eased though the crowd.

I actually nudged people with the front bumper. They ambled out of the way like beachgoers avoiding a wave. Thank god for those tall front windows. When I got to Tepanatepec I checked the outside. Not the tiniest scuff. All exterior handles are recessed. They are shiny chrome and I buff them like a mirror. There wasn't a single fingerprint on any of them nor was the 10-speed hanging off the front molested.

I know the short route to Rcho Sn Nicolas in San Cristobal de Las Casas, but for folks unfamilar with the route, park at a gasolinera on the "BOOLEY" a contraction of boulevard Mex 190 and explore the route via taxi. Straight down to Fco Leon can be a real bear in a long rig.

Every hear I hear about horror stories and Sn Miguel de Allende. Taking a scouting taxi ride is well worth the cost.