"Eight Deer" Eco-Tourism Corridor

The "Eight Deer" (Ocho Venado) Eco-Tourism Corridor is a project that was formed by the non-profit group Ecocosta for just this purpose. Although its components include the historic county seat of Villla Tutútepec and the famed Chacahua Lagoons, it is encouraging communities and projects off the beaten track to participate as a means towards sustainable economic development and to promote awareness of environmental protection. The Ecotourist Corridor offers you close encounters with indigenous wildlife, spectacular landscapes, including crashing waterfalls, hiking, tranquil beauty and the opportunity to learn more about the region's people, traditions and history.

We begin with the best know stop on the trail, Chacahua. Barbara Schaffer visited there recently and filed this report:

Postcard from Chacahua We finally made it to Chacahua National Park. The first time we travelled to San José del Progreso, and then drove into Galera, which was a real oasis at the end of a long and rough road off the highway. From there, we took a lancha across the reflectively narrow lagoon mouth to the beautiful, long and clean main beach, where we had an excellent lunch. Afterwards, we took a small excursion around the Chacahua lagoon interior. I again went up to the lagunas in January, but this time we took a super van past Rio Grande to the turn for Zapotalito, where we hailed a taxi which took us right to the boat landing , where we departed on Pastoria lagoon for a major excursion over both the lagoons and interconnecting river. A major event was to see all the wood storks on some mangrove islands. We then visited the crocodile zoo and hatchery in Galera and also stopped for lunch on the main beach, where I saw the 900m surfing break and the most phenomenal kids, who could ride almost anything. A quick trip back to Zapotalito only took 45 minutes, so that indicates how big the lagoon system is. tu amigo B.

Lagunas de Chacahua National Park

Chacahua, Mexico's first national park (it was established by President Lazaro Cardenas in 1937), is a great get-away from the sturm unt drang of life in Puerto Escondido. The hotels are mostly shacks, or you can sleep in a hammock under a restaurant palapa, or even just camp out on the beach. The restaurants are simple. The nightlife is for the birds, of which there are many. At Christmas and Easter, the place is packed with Mexican college students having come to do some serious partying on the beach, the rest of the year you are on your own. When I went there last spring, the only other visitors were a few Australian surfers and a family from Mexico City.

The main attraction of Chacahua (besides the surf and the holiday parties) are the mangroves. Mangroves are enormous trees with external vine-like roots that only grow in salt-water lagoons. British novels about India often mention them, but until you have taken a sunset ride through them in a canoe, you cannot grasp how mysterious and even scary they are. Each mangrove is an island full of avian and crustacean life, and even in daylight, without a guide, one could get lost in this dense watery forest. (Think Venice as the urban equivalent.) If you go, and plan to spend the night, you owe it to yourself to take the 200-peso tour.

The people of Chacahua are as unusual as their setting. They are mostly Mixtec and Afro-Mexican and their wooden, windowless, thatched houses seem to proclaim their African roots. They tell you that the Africans who settled in the Costa Chica are descendents of a slave ship that sank along this coast. The villagers live mostly from fishing. They know and have seen the outside world, and are willing to forego television and all the rest modernity has to offer, for what they have and the modern world does not. The one thing I found jarring in this idyllic spot, in which the only motorized vehicle is the pickup truck that takes you to the dock at the other end of the island for the colectivo boat to the mainland (a back-breaking 40-minute trip on a dirt road I very much recommend you avoid by taking a private launch from the village), were the ubiquitous loud speakers that every half hour or so announced an upcoming church meeting (same place, same time), a personal message to Jorge to go to his aunt's house, and a happy birthday to Carmencita.

To get to Chacahua:
drive northwest on 200 and take the Zapotalito turn off 9 km after Río Grande. In Zapotalito, you will find parking and boats to Chacahua. A private launch costs a lot more than the colectivo boat, but it will take you directly to the beach and village and spare you the 40-minute pick-up truck ride on the other side. Alternatively, you can take a bus that takes you to the turn off, and then a colectivo to Zapotalito.

Barbara Schaffer is a poet and language teacher. barbaraschaffer.com

Now it was time for your intrepid editor to explore a little beyond the beaten track.

Santiago Jocotepec

She led me along a narrow, tree-shaded path, past a communal well and some massive boulders, to inspect the two rustic cabins maintained for visitors who wish to spend a night or two. There, I was introduced to her brother, Constantino, who is the president of the small group of townspeople who maintain Jocotepec's ecological projects. The cabins have running water, bunk beds, electricity and plumbing: rustic, charming and they could put some of Puerto's cabaññas to shame.

(Overnight stay is $100 pesos per person; Meals are offered for about $30. pesos in the homes of participating families. No charge for fascinating company, tales and legends and local customs.)

Next on our agenda was to visit the deer nursery, a fenced hectare of oak and brush - - the deer just love those acorns. As we sat quietly hoping to catch a close glimpse of these skittish creatures, Dona Matilde told me how as a small girl on her way to tend the family coffee plants she was scared by a deer which had suddenly broken out of shelter.

"I'd never seen one before," she told me. "And I didn't see another for fifty years." The animals were over hunted and rare in these hills. But all that is changing thanks to the efforts of Matilde, Constantino and their compañeros.

To the side of the deer enclave is a smaller enclosure, devoted to animals that are far from skittish: the small wild boar, known as jabalí. Cunning and quite aggressive, the critters show no hesitation in approaching the fence to be fed. But nobody enters this compound; You'll get a good look, but don't touch!

Other attractions here are birding - - parrots and toucans are common - - and hikes out to some magnificent waterfalls or to the ancient sacred site of Cerro de la Cometa, "Hill of the Comet", a place where villagers would pray for rain, and give thanks for it when it came. According to the locals, the rains actually arrive on the same day they ask for it. It is named for a fiery comet which grazed the hillside before falling into the ocean. The hill affords spectacular views over the town and surrounding forests. If you'd rather not walk to see these marvels, horse rentals are available.

Getting There:
From Puerto Escondido: On Highway 200, pass through the town of Rio Grande (an hour from Puerto), and after the bridge, take the first paved road on the right (the sign reads "Juquila, Zacatepec"). After 11 km, there's a turn off onto a dirt road marked "Jocotepec 10 km".

Mata De Ajo

On a 2-3 hour guided tour, visitors can learn about the organic farming practiced here. At present the produce is for local consumption, but the plan is to sell it in other markets in the future. Mata de Ajo is also recovering and using native seeds and plants (corn, watermelon, etc.) that were disappearing from the region.

"Mata de Ajo" is a vine with a garlicky aroma. It used to be abundant, but the inhabitants destroyed it because it proved toxic for some of the livestock. Now the mata de ojo is making a come back.

Getting There:
From Puerto Escondido: On the Coast Highway 200 after Rio Grande, beyond the turn offs for Chacahua and Tutútepec, just one km before you reach Santa Rosa de Lima, look for the small town of Calzada San Miguel. Take the dirt road that runs parallel to the highway (on the north or mountain side) and follow the signs for about 4 km. The place is known locally as "El Iguanario beyond Zanjón", if you need to ask directions.

Santa Ana

Getting There:
Take the turn off of Highway 200, to Tututepec (you can't miss that statue of Ocho Venado) at the first Y, stay right towards La Luz . Stay on the road to Santa Cruz and Santa Ana, about 17 km from the highway.

For more information you can call the Ecosta office at (954) 543 8284 or visit their web page at: ochovenado.wikispaces.com

Notes:

Who Was Ocho Venado?

Scholars are still deciphering the 15th century Mixtec codices in which he appears, but the story so far is of a great, but ruthless, leader who fell victim to the same tactics he used against his enemies. Power, intrigue, lust and betrayal: Shades of "I, Claudius"? Where is Robert Graves when we need him?

8 Venado was the son of a priest and named for the date of his birth. He had four brothers who also helped in his military campaigns. They and their allies conquered 94 cities which had never before been unified into one state.

Briefly, he failed in his attempt to marry his half sister, who then married his arch rival, the king Xipe's Bundle. Later he married her daughter and conquered her kingdom. There were other marriages too, all of which increased his empire. The story ends with 8 Deer conquering Xipe's Bundle in 1101 and killing his wife's father (his half sister's husband) 11 Wind. He also tortured and killed his brothers-in-law, except for the youngest, 4 Wind. In 1115, 4 Wind led an alliance of different Mixtec kingdoms against 8 Deer who was taken prisoner and sacrificed by 4 Wind (his nephew and brother-in-law).

The names of the nobles were derived from their date of birth, according to the Mixtec Calendar. He earned the Tiger's Claw part through his prowess as a warrior.