John & Susy Pint

By John Pint It seems the world is being smothered by microplastic. Our oceans are full of it. The fish are eating it. Our clothes are shedding it. Here in Mexico the ubiquitous leafblower raises huge clouds of it for us to breathe. And a little bit of it gets inside us whenever we eat or drink anything from a plastic container. Didn't they invent biodegradable bags—and paper cups—and paper plates—to get rid of this problem? Well, the truth is now out: the “paper” in those cups is actually impregnated or coated with plastic. In fact, neither the cups nor the plates are recyclable, and when they finally break down, what you get is microplastic. Not so biodegradable Most “biodegradable” bags may need over 500 years to biodegrade. Likewise those “biodegradable” bags.  A 2017 study shows that, over a year, there was no degradation seen in so-called biodegradable bags submerged in seawater at 25°C. When they’re deposited in a landfill, a US National Library of Medicine report (2021) say...

Photos by John Pint Mexico has five big ecosystems and they just happen to converge inside what I call the “ Magic Circle ”  around Guadalajara, an area that many people refer to as Western Mexico. I live in a mile-high oak and pine forest just outside Guadalajara, which puts me in the Temperate Forest Ecosystem. The many foreigners living around Lake Chapala reside in the Arid and Semi-arid Scrubland Ecosystem with flora, fauna, and weather conditions quite different from mine. Communities located northeast of Guadalajara reside in the Grasslands, consisting of mostly flat prairie land while people located along the Pacific Coast are in two other very different, Tropical Ecosystems. This means the inhabitants of Guadalajara can reach any one of Mexico’s ecosystems after only a few hours of driving. It also means that people interested in moving to Western Mexico can literally pick the climate of their choice to live in. Here I will focus on just one of these ecosystems: the Temper...

May is the hottest month of the year both in Mexico City and Guadalajara, until the heat wave comes to an abrupt halt in June with the onset of the rainy season and pleasantly cool weather throughout the summer. May is doubly rough on hikers because it’s not only the hottest month, but also the driest. Hills turn brown and la maleza (the underbrush) shrivels up. On top of that, many oak trees actually drop their leaves throughout April, leaving much of Mexico tinder-box dry in the month of May, with shade at a premium, if it can be found at all. Therefore, in May, hikers typically rise at dawn, hoping to beat the heat. In case they're not successful, many escape the worst consequences of dehydration thanks to what is popularly called suero in this country. Suero translates to “oral rehydration solution (ORS)” similar to what is found in an IV drip: an isotonic liquid that matches the salinity and electrolyte content of blood. These days, fortunately, you can find an ORS at every c...

Por John Pint Versión en inglés ¿Guajolotes con huaraches? Si suena como algo que solo podría suceder en México, ese puede ser exactamente el caso. ¿Es cierta la historia? Tú eres el juez. En primer lugar, permítanme decir que el pavo es muy mexicano y es probable que los mayas fueron los primeros en domesticarlo. La palabra guajolote proviene del náhuatl "huexólotl", que significa "monstruo viejo", refiriéndose de manera bastante poco amable a la apariencia del macho. Los mayas fueron probablemente los primeros en domesticar el pavo. Imagen de Redblakmonster, tomado del Códice Laud. En cuanto a su sabor, Bernardino de Sahagún dijo: "Tiene la mejor carne de todas las aves… Es muy sabrosa su carne, y gorda, es corpulenta...” Esa ave tan sabrosa se ha criado en grandes cantidades en México durante al menos dos milenios, lo que me lleva a una historia del arqueólogo Peter Jiménez, quien pasó muchos años estudiando y desenterrando las célebres ruinas de la Zona Arq...

    Once upon a time, hundreds of turkeys—each wearing a tiny pair of sandals—would be herded along a 100-kilometer road to Guadalajara. Image by Copilot. By John Pint Guajolotes wearing huaraches? If it sounds like something that could only happen in Mexico, that may be exactly the case. Is the story true? You be the judge. First, let me state that the turkey is very Mexican and it’s likely that the Mayans were the first to domesticate it. In Mexico, it is popularly called guajolote, which comes from the Nahuatl  “huexólotl,” meaning “old monster,” rather unkindly referring to the male’s looks. The Mayans were likely the first to domesticate the turkey. The Spaniards took them to Europe and the Turks were soon raising them and exporting them to England, where people took to calling them “Turkey birds” … and the name stuck. Image by Redblakmonster after the Laud Codex. As far as its taste goes,  Bernardino de Sahagún said: “It has the best meat of all the birds; it i...