Saltillo

Desperate to find a place to rest our heads, we pulled off the highway, drawn into it by the large sign that said "jacuzzi". For $50.00 a night Jon, Kelly, and Daniel were able to stay in an opulent suite, while the rest of us on a vow to remain faithful to our pact slept out in the bus.

Morning came, and Daniel popped his head into the bus with a proposition to climb the mountain that backed up to our hotel. It is amazing what the morning light reveals around you. I rolled up my sleeping bag and then opened the back door to brush my teeth. I am sure it was a sight to see. Here was this Gringo with a full red beard(I can´t explain why I have dirty blonde hair and a red beard)standing out of the back door of the bus in his underwear (his only pair) brushing his teeth in the parking lot of a fancy highway hotel in a 1974 Cortez Bus. I wonder what went through the heads of the staff at the hotel.

Daniel, Alex, Travis, Michael, Kelly and I began our hike to the top of a nearby mountain (hill, but I add this for dramatic effect). A few deep cacti needles in our legs, and a satisfying sweat later, we made it to the top. The view that awaited us was nothing short of spectacular. The city of Saltillo unfolded below us surounded by mountains. A piece of rock extended out into the expanse of the morning air. Travis quickly stepped out onto the ledge and entered into his own quiet, reverent, rapture. Deciding to find my own quiet perch, I set off around to the other side of the mountain. I was rewarded for my patience with an equally magnificent view, but one that contrasted the other side. Down below in the foothills of the mountains was a community of families living in obvious, extreme poverty. Here I was, witnessing them go about their daily lives from the clouds. Which is how I think most of us experience poverty. Distant. Disconnected... I was sitting on a mountain that separated the industrialized from the poor. What if we could move those mountains? What would a world look like without barriers separating us from connecting and sharing. Loving and living. Together.

Gregorio