On November 11-12 2006, Charlie, Bardo and Mica and their two children and I drove high into the Sierra del Norte mountains to Hierve el Agua, a cold water mineral springs that fall over steep cliffs forming rock-hard deposits of algae-painted slabs in level spots and accumulating into what appear to be grand frozen waterfalls…shining in the sun.
For comida, we sat next to a smoke-filled wood fire in the corner of the dirt yard of a small comedor while an older woman made fresh corn tortillas on a huge comal. The tomatoes for the fresh salsa were roasted in the wood ashes…giving it a wonderful smoky flavor. She amazingly ground the chilis on a window sill next to the fire. We devoured the avocados and cheese memelitas with the salsa and coffee…running for cover from the wood smoke whenever the woman stoked the fire.
On the way home, we stopped at a small family-run traditional mescal factory to buy jugs of Mescal. I bought a small oak barrel with a spigot at the market to keep the mescal from drawing the taste of the plastic jug. The maguay hearts are ground to a pulp in a round concrete “trough” under a huge marble “wheel” that is pulled round and round by a donkey. The mescal had been stilled and aged with four different local fruits-and chicken breasts-in addition to the maguay juice! Smooth, slightly sweet and full of flavor…40% alcohol.
