Mexico Hiatus

Hi Hiking Buddies:  100 Trips is about the journey back to gainful employment, and is meant to be encouraging and offer some fun pointers for saving and sanity.  It's also about the life "around the trip" and next to the search for work...so this entry is devoted to the almost two month break in "up the hill" trips...

Hiatus means a break in something where there should be continuity...so really I didn't plan on taking a break from hiking  for almost 7 weeks (I have still been applying for jobs) ...but with rain and mud and holidays and all I needed to focus on other "elements" for a bit.

The main reason I took a break in December is that we 1.  Had a string of nasty colds  2.  Went to Mexico for a week to build houses for those who could use em....and came home with some local respiratory virus that knocked us out for another two weeks -we are STILL recuperating. 

So here Life Around the Trip and Cheap Thrills:  Adventures for the unemployed all rolled into one section.

To say the trip to MX was more than I bargained for is an understatement...It was meaningful and worthwhile and I'm soooooo glad we did it and soooooo proud of what Destiny under took...but seriously folks....in 21 years of this group making the trip it was the COLDEST and RAININEST...time that anyone could remember...like can you say DELUGE? Do you have any idea of how hard it its to construct a framed home in a Monsoon?  (and sleep in an unheated building when you are sick and tired and cold....OK I'm complaining)  Would I recommend this trip to others?...well yes, but you have to go with a good attitude and Arctic Grade clothing and sleeping gear.

 Thank the Lord that I backed a good supply of skiing handwarmers and my rabbit fur hat....it kept me going. 

The good news is that 6 small framed houses and 5 "pop" or portable homes were built and finished -due to sheer sweat, prayers and really if you ask me --the miracle of the sunshine coming at the right time....

I think I would like to do this trip again in the summer-personally I'm designed to handle heat more than cold.
If you think you want to spend 5 days (3 actual days of construction) with amazing people in the El Nino area outside of Tecate...doing something with long term impact for a family who will apreciate it...like forever -then check out http://www.clubdust.org/ 

We live like Kings here in the US....

Sandy