Our Land

At this point we are starting our second week, Monday is vacation day number eight. We decided to go back to my tia Ofelia's house and spend the day there. It has been such an experience to visit the house where my dad grew up, to walk inside and still see those things that were there forty years ago, things I used to play with, things I still had engraved in my memory.

My grandfather owned a lot of land and before he died we decided to divide it amongst his sons and daughters. Tia Ofelia dedicated her life to take care of him and never marry. Therefore she got the best land along with the house. The more productive land was given to those that never left and my tio Eliseo and my dad being the ones that left when they were young picked the worst areas, the areas that were in the hills.

My dad and tio Eliseo were given the task of assigning the land to their siblings but ultimately my dad made the decision. So on this day my tio invited me to take a walk so that I could see the land that now belongs to us. So for the next three hours we took a walk and he showed me our land as well as his. He also showed me what he is doing with his part.

I am talking of a lot of land, back in the day land owners didn't just own a little piece of land, the owned acres and acres of it. We are talking hectares here. This is land that they live on therefore it's not very expensive. So no, selling our portion is not even a consideration as the land has been with the family for over a hundred years now.

Tio Eliseo has invested into making a road that allows them to drive in deep into the hills. One of the things they do there is make charcoal and now they can drive a pick up truck and load it once as opposed to making many trips with mules and donkeys to carry their product.

The one thing I liked is that they get up in the morning and go to work, but six hours later they call it a day. They really don't have to keep a strict 8-hour shift like we do as they all work for themselves. It's another world, another culture, a different way of living. They are poor people that seem to have everything they need while giving up the things they want. I wish we could be like that.

I will be posting a virtual tour of our three hour expedition into the woods. It was a day I really enjoyed and will remember for a long time.


My dad and uncle Eliseo made their life away from the country. When they were given the task of distributing the land they picked the worst areas for themselves. This image shows the kind of land they got.


This is another shot that shows how dense the vegetation is in this area. Believe it or not, they farm in this areas too.


This is my cousin Hector. He is cutting some of the old trees. With them he will make charcoal while at the same time he'll clear that area and leave it ready for farming.


Because of the tough terrain it took us almost two hours to walk through all the land my uncle and us own. I particularly love this image as my tio looks up as if thanking the land for being good to them. They live such simple lives there and the land sustain them and gives them what they need.


Some of the trees there are so old that if they could talk I could just imagine the stories they would tell.


My uncle had this road built. It stretches for about two miles and it allows them to drive in their trucks to load the wood and charcoal that they sell. Not too long ago this task was performed by using mules and donkeys. I think there is a significant difference in the load size that a mule can carry vs. what a mini truck can. He plans to have this small curvy road go all the way down to the river or stream.


This last image shows the contrast between the land my dad and my uncle picked for themselves as opposed to the land they gave their brothers that had made their entire life in the country and thus far have lived from the land. My tia Ofelia never married and she took care of my grandfather until his last day. She received the best land and also inherited their house. From her front yard you have a magnificent 300 degree scenic view. This is just one example of what she can see every morning.