Huellitas del Corazon and the Beautiful La Paz Malecon

When we first arrived in La Paz in December, I immediately knew I wanted to help with the dog rescue in our little pueblo of El Centenario.  Life in the dessert is horribly miserable for an abandoned or homeless dog.  Fresh water sources are rare and in the summer the heat is unrelenting - 110 degree days are common.  Fleas can be a problem, but ticks here can be awful for the dogs and many of them carry disease.  In the areas close to the water, like our little neighborhood of Comitan, mosquitoes are a real problem in the summer and heart worm is prevalent in untreated dogs.  In La Paz, the street dog problem doesn't appear to be too bad, but in El Centenario you see dogs wandering every where.  Some have collars so probably do have a home; their owners just allow them to wander the  busy streets.  But some are obviously homeless.  It's heart breaking.

There was a refuge for street dogs in El Centenario, that was actually started about eight years ago by the owner of our casita.  A few years ago she handed over the leadership of this shelter to a Mexican woman.  Anger and resentment over the management of this shelter is rampant in our pueblo, and now it no longer accepts street dogs. There was no place for me to volunteer, so for the past three months I've merely watched these dogs suffer.   I'd feed and water a stray when possible, but there was nothing else I knew to do.  But there is good news.

A Mexican couple, Joaquin and Yolanda Perez, have spent the last 12 years dedicating their lives to caring for street dogs, educating Mexicans about the importance of spay and neutering, and adopting abandoned animals.  There rescue effort is named Huellitas del Corazon (little footprints of the heart).  Up util a few months ago, they have operated using their own funds, which are minimal.  Recently, a group of gringos who had provided to the now closed animal rescue in El Centenario, have organized and are helping provide some donations for this shelter.

I had heard about Joaquin's shelter, and I didn't think I'd be impressed.  He used any discarded rubbish he could find to build his enclosures:  old bed springs, a car door, a piece of tin roofing.  I thought how sad that seemed; but that was before I visited.  It's all true that all the enclosures are a hodge podge of discarded material.  It is a testament of one man's ingenuity for sure, and definitely not visually appealing.  But one thing is immediately apparent, these are some happy animals.  Every enclosure is roomy.  The dessert sand makes a much better flooring than hard cement.  Joaquin has rigged some type of shade for every enclosure, usually a tarp.  And in the shade, there's always something for the dogs to lounge on:  a discarded sofa, chair or mattress.  In one pen, there is a stripped down VW van for the dogs to nap in - Joaquin calls this the penthouse.  He also has two large enclosures for cats.  He's provided plenty of places for cats to climb; there's a tree with a mini-tree house, an ironing board for them to perch on, as well as beds and chairs. Of course, for the friendly ones, the best thing to climb on is a person.  We they immediately come up for some petting and then start climbing up on your shoulder.  Everything is so clean; Joaquin works tirelessly at picking up after these dogs and cats.  He'll accept dogs with mange, even though he knows they will need to be isolated and require additional meds and baths; but he loves to watch these dogs regain their health.  The website is just getting off the ground and not yet fully functional, but here's the link:  Huellitas del Corazon.  Two weeks ago, a litter of six puppies was dumped in our neighborhood.  The yellow pup found a home (lucky girl) and the other five are now being cared for by Joaquin (they're lucky as well).

On Friday, Matt and I took our bikes to ride the La Paz malecon.  We've been intending to make this ride since we first arrived, and finally we did it!  The malecon is really beautiful as it stretches about two miles and surrounds a harbor of about a hundred anchored sailboats.  This is a gathering point for Mexican families, especially on the weekends but this day it was very quiet.  The palapas that generally provide shade for the families enjoying a beach day were mostly unoccupied.  The panga boat captains that were offering whale watching trips were for the most part idle.  It seems that traditional pay days in Mexico fall on the 15th and the 30th of the month.  Since we made our ride on the 15th, everyone in Mexico were at the end of their last paycheck.  I'm sure the activity level on the malecon picked up after everyone had a chance to get to the bank with their checks.
We took our time and enjoyed the view and the many sculptures on the malecon.  When we reached the far side we stopped at a coco frio stand.  These stands definitely cater to locals, not gringos, and we didn't know what to expect.  I ordered a coco loco (thinking there was probably alcohol involved) and Matt ordered a coke.  First, the server delivered Matt's coke and a coconut to the table.  The coconut had the top lopped off and a straw.  I drank the coconut milk....and it was definitely without alcohol.  He came back in a bit and asked if I was finished.  I indicated I was and he took the coconut.  He poured the little bit of coconut milk that remained into a plastic bag, inserted the straw and tied the bag around the straw - the Mexican version of a to go cup - and brought that back to me.  The coconut was delivered to the fruit stand where a man hacked it in half with a machete and scraped out the coconut meat.  They then mixed the coconut with chopped cucumber and jicama and a couple splashes of chili sauce.  This concoction was then topped with Japonese peanuts and strips of dried mango that were rolled in chili powder.  OK, sounds strange but it was really pretty good.  And definitely a very Mexican experience.