In the lands of the coffee, from the book, Searching for treasures
Temixco, Morelos, Mexico
“Now, mules and oxen were used to move the families and all their belongings during this period. Today, everywhere you look, you see motorcycles and jeeps, but animals were to be found all over the place throughout these times!”
“The bandeja was the meal for the muleteers and for the people working in the fields. It was meant for the kind of people that were already working at the crack of dawn. The muleteers were the persons who drove the mules and oxen, transporting the goods between the countryside and the cities. There were mule trains that had more than fifty beasts of burden loaded with cargo. The journey of said muleteers could last anywhere between days and weeks, my boy. Just think about it a bit. Walking and driving the overloaded animals all the way from Medellin to Manizales. They moved on foot, having to cross those steep mountain ranges you were talking about. If that weren’t enough, many a time, blazing trails with sharp machetes. Yes Sir! By the Virgin, you had to have an enormous meal to endure those hardships!”
“The Bandeja paisa, the leather pouches, and the carriers called silleteros all formed the human part of the Antioquean history. I’m referring to those times, back when complete Paisa families, elderly people, children, and even pregnant women all traveled by foot across the land. You could see them walking past, carrying all their belongings. You could think that they didn’t have much stuff to tote around, but then, that was all they owned. On they marched, behind the ox and the mules, filling up the mountains, gullies, and plains with more and more people, searching for a place to call their own.”