Cool, clear water….

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We meet in the early morning hours when the temperatures are cool and take off in “the Beast”, an old Ford Explorer that has seen a lot of dust and miles. The back of the Samaritan van is loaded to the ceiling with crates of water jugs. I am going on a “water drop” with 2 Samaritan veterans of the back country.  The Samaritans have one mission:  to prevent deaths in the Sonoran desert. We will carry jugs of water to 6 water stations in Southern Arizona where migrants have been known to stop. The desert is criss-crossed with trails and paths–and there are tracks everywhere.

Fashionistas at the comedor

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Migrant journeys in the desert

NOGALES, México – Friends and neighbors have been generous in their donations to the comedor in Nogales, Sonora, with clothes, shoes, backpacks, hats–things that migrant travelers need. I smile when I sort through the high quality jackets, shirts and pants. We’re talking Land’s End, The Gap, Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, North Face, Patagonia. Some still have the price tags on them. They have never been worn.

Marigolds - Mexican gold. (Peg Bowden)

Día de los muertos

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NOGALES, México – I love contrasts and extremes: the blazing heat of the desert, and the 40 degree drop in temperature at night this time of year. Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is that kind of festival— a study of contrasts and extremes, a party of joy and sorrow, yin and yang. The Nogales cemetery, a place of sadness and grief, is today a place of singing, feasting, and marigolds everywhere. The streets are lined with booths selling bouquets of marigolds, sugar skulls, and pan dulce (sweet bread and pastries). There is the smell of roasted pork on skewers slowly dripping into the fires, and strolling guitarists and accordions are everywhere.