Exploring Mexico in our Motorhome: El Quelite

Before I go any further I want to share last night’s sunset with you.

It was one of the most vivid I’ve ever seen. Deep red, orange and purple. The pictures don’t do it justice.
Back to yesterdays adventure in El Quelite. We first went to this little town last year and we really liked it. It is very clean, pretty, friendly and interesting (think iguanas.)
This time we found the cheese factory that we were told about last time. It is just an older no color adobe building with an old blackened red tile roof. The young men working there (there are four of them) invited us in to look around. Explaining first that they had just loaded the milk so they were in the process of cleaning up spills. The milk was sitting in big blue plastic barrels on the concrete floor.
They go through 1500 liters of milk a day to make the cheese. After the first process of heating the whole cow’s milk to near boiling they add an acidifying agent then stir until the curds form.
The product is then put in these containers lined with a white paper cloth material of sorts and allowed to drain for three to five hours.
Then it is kept in a cooler wrapped with cheese cloth.
The cheese is called queso fresco. It is a soft cheese but more moist then cream cheese. It is very good. It is always served in the restaurant. With fruit for breakfast and as an appetizer for lunch.
While speaking of the restaurant we went there to day (see prior post) for lunch first we had Mexican pizza a flour tortilla covered with pork and cheese then wood fired. Very good. And we both had machaca a beef that is grilled over an open flame (it smells so good when cooking)
then shredded and cooked with tomato and onion. Bill ate his wrapped in a flour tortilla I ate mine with a fork. We both enjoyed it.

While walking around town we discovered a little shop that sold huaraches and white straw hats. Bill tried on a pair of “dress” huaraches in dark brown and fell in love with them. He has been wearing them since. He says it’s like having nothing on his feet. They are “dress” ones because they are dark leather and they have enclosed toes.

We love to walk the cobblestone streets here. Some of the houses are from the early 1600s and look it. With their wavy tile roofs that held up by forked tree branches.
And then some have been modernized with tile porches with pretty furniture and huge ferns.
And of course always the colors. This is one of the most colorful towns we've been in.
And always the animals. These guys were making a racket as we came over a small hill. Mama didn’t seem to pleased to see us stop and look at her.
I mentioned last time we were here that they raise fighting cocks here – they are caged. But lots of offspring roam the streets. She is making a hole in the dust.
We also stopped and visited with the ladies who pick the stones out of the beans. They remembered Bill. The one to his left with the mask on was embarrassed.
She is single and the others were telling Bill to bring her a nice gringo like him. His response was “I’m not married, she (pointing to me) is.” That really cracked them up. This is one of the few places in town for people to work. The only employers are the two big restaurants, the cheese factory (4 employees) and here. And the little owner operated businesses like the shoe store, bakery, meat market and other little stores in peoples front rooms.
One thing we did this time was look at houses for sale – NO – just looking and asking. This one sits on 10 acres,
living room, dining area, kitchen, 1 bath, 2 bedrooms.

That's the kitchen in the back
It was never finished as the man building it became quite ill. The wife wants to sell it but wants way too much money for it. Also looked at one right down town. It was the Padre’s house but he has passed. It was one of the first houses built in the town and has been modernized some. It was US16000 – It has been added to. But check out this ceiling – would love it.

There is no realtor in town, everything is found out by word of mouth. Do you know? Well he might know. I think if you ask her. Kind of fun and you know how shy Bill is about asking and talking to people.
By then I had to call it a day. The heat! was getting to me. So sat in the shade and had a coca cola slush – yum good. And this is winter – summers reach 120! Ugh.