Osprey
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Turkeys on the range
In Baja Turkeys are part of the Family
It sometimes takes us Gringos a little while to catch on to the ways of Mexicans. Here’s a little remembrance about how I learned that Mexicans adore
turkeys.
Some years ago I had a brilliant idea a few days before Thanksgiving. Sometimes when I have more than 3 Bloody Mary’s in a quick row I get these
ideas. This time it was to grab up some pesos, throw some beer in a cooler, jump in my old jeep, stop by and pick up my Mexican pal Luis, go buy a
Thanksgiving turkey on the hoof at one of our nearby Rancheros.
Lynda was at the Spa, Luis was home and ready for the adventure (cause I had beer) so off we went. On the way I explained the plan. We would buy a
nice big one, tie it up somehow, put it in the back of the jeep, take it home and prepare it for the freezer/fridge/whatever (my plans did not seem to
need much fleshing out under the circumstances).
I asked Luis about how much the turkey would cost; how much I should expect to pay, what he thought would be a fair price in pesos for a grownup, big
turkey. The peso was about 10 to one then so the math was a whiz. He said he thought the rancheros might part with a nice big bird for about 100
pesos. I liked the sound of that and I urged the little jeep to go faster.
There are two or three strings of small ranches around Santiago that are close to the highway. We tried the west one first and luck was with us –
couple hundred meters before the ranch, a small herd of big turkeys were pecking around a small stream. At the ranch I turned off the jeep but stayed
put – never get down off your horse less you’re asked. Luis smiled and waved at an ancient woman shuffling her way closer to see who it was. She
motioned for Luis to come and he joined her for some palaver about the price of turkeys. Didn’t take long and he walked back to the jeep, got in and
said the woman was a little off, said she wanted 400 pesos for a turkey. We were polite, left quietly and didn’t start to laugh and grin and howl
until we some distance from the ranch. Hell, the big frozen Butterballs at the store are probably half that much. What a joke.
Next ranch was just west of Trinidad and there we encountered only 4 big turkeys that I could see. This time we were invited to come to the shade of a
big Guaymuchil tree, I got some beers and we had a nice little chat. The rancher, Refugio said we could have a turkey for 400 pesos and his son nodded
to back him up.
No turkeys at ranch number 3 but a lot of guinea fowl. At Rancho Abundancia there were more turkeys than at all the rest. A tall teenager who Luis
knew came to the jeep and gave us a price; you guessed it. I told Luis to tell him I don’t eat turkeys made out of gold but I don’t think he really
said that to him. What he said to me was the rancher, the young man’s dad, was a friend of Luis and his family and if we could find him, we might get
our bird at a better price. On the way to Santiago to find this Ernesto guy we got lucky and found him on the highway ridin’ with flaco y gordo,
hitch-hiking to San Jose del Cabo. Imagine my disappointment when he told us that the price, shy a ride all the way south and back, would be the same.
Luis and I limped back to our patios. The more I thought about it over the next few days the more I became convinced I was wrong about some foolish,
rich gringo wandering around these parts buying up every big turkey he finds for 400 pesos a piece. I began to remember what I had learned about just
how courteous Mexicans are. I think now that they didn’t want us to think they were unfriendly by refusing to sell their turkeys. They simply could
not part with the birds, more than pets, like members of the family, so they set a price they knew people wouldn’t pay.
I guess that’s what these kinds of holidays are about – being thankful is also being respectful and courteous.
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vandenberg
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 6-21-2005
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That's why so many turkeys moved here.
Safe haven.
And I didn't mean you Jorge.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Bad Pets ?
I'm Assuming that those Turkeys in the Mexican Mercados' Cold-Cases must be pets who fell out of favor.
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
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Bet ya didn't know
Turkeys actually originated in Mexico. They were revered and had their own holidays.
Saw it on the History channel so it must be true.
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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Mood: Happy!
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The Wild Turkey that we now domesticate and eat for Thanksgiving is native to the temperate and forest zones of North America, not just Mexico
(evidently Dave hasn't been out into the woods much---even in California there's lots of wild turkeys). Perhaps though Dave meant the Ocellated
Turkey, which is native to the Yucatan forests, but which is not the turkey we use here.
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