A Coffee Cup from memory lane

Coffee cup from 1993 working at AIM Aviation

The Cup and the Coffee

Cuzalapa

Who would have thought a coffee cup would last for 22 years but this one is in daily use. Everything else in the kitchen is plastic.

So in '93 I was working contract for AIM in Renton Washington upgrading and expanding their computer network from Arcnet to Ethernet. They had some big new contracts and with computers being added Ethernet was much faster. They did leave Arcnet out on the factory floor because it's less sensitive around heavy machinery and can go longer distances. Not only were they installing new computers and the software on them, AutoCAD, but hiring draftsmen that had never used a computer. They had to figure out the inner workings of the software but I taught them how to use the computer and how to send to the Plotter/Printer via the network.

That was also my first encounter with a very old version of Novell Netware which helped in '95 when I got the SVI school job. Printer/Plotter drivers varied with the version of Windows and the version of AutoCAD so that was a constant job chasing down the right match. 

All in all a very good experience and led into the next job of upgrading the City of Bellevue's network from mainframe terminals to PC's connected on Novell Netware.

Cafe de Mojote de Cuzalapa

We went up to Cuzalapa today since my friends hadn't been. This was about my 4th trip and I always enjoy it as the countryside is beautiful and the COOP people are nice. Today we met a young Mexican woman, helping at the COOP, studying her PHD in Switzerland and chose to do her study near her home town of Guadalajara. Beautiful young girl with very good English and she acted as our guide. I didn't really need the English but my friends Spanish is weak.

Anyway, part of the story is they sell "mojote" coffee which tastes like the real thing but is caffeine free. She showed us a large mojote tree right behind the COOP store after we each bought a 1/4 kilo bag ... roasted just like coffee.  Mojote was a staple food and beverage of the indigenous peoples of the area many years ago. I found the following quote on an Internet site where they are selling Mojote among other things.

Mojote The coffee is made from dried seeds from the mojote tree, which are roasted and ground to prepare a nutritious beverage similar to coffee.

Mojote seed is considered a highly nutritious food, containing Calcium, Potassium, Iron, Folate, Fiber , protein and vitamins A and B.

This product is made by a group of women Cuzalapa indigenous community, which is in the Biosphere Reserve of Manantlán. By purchasing this product you favor the conservation of the resources of this place and the development of the Women "Colour of the Earth"

Foto on their ad

Large mojote tree behind their drying coffee

Cuzalapa again for coffee

Took a drive up to Cuzalapa again a few days ago with neighbors. They had never been there and I needed coffee to take north to family. Except for the hundreds of large potholes between highway 80 and Cuautitlán it was a pleasant drive and a lot cooler beyond La Huerta.

I'd heard that the bridge was not repaired that collapsed with Jova but they had propped up one end of it. Large vehicles and people afraid of the bridge were still using the river level crossing.

I had called ahead the day before and they had 8 bags waiting. The Coop has a new stucco and paint job on the front and they are tiling the floors inside.  We stopped by the river for the kids and over all an enjoyable day.  I didn't even have dreams of dodging potholes that night. 

Spent more than enough time putting fotos in a "table"

What taking back roads can turn into

This we found taking an alternet route from Cuzalapa Jalisco to Santiago Colima after visiting a coffee plantation.   And no, I was not just having fun ... that was the road or river ford.



Cuzulapa coffee trip