The next morning, I’m driven to the small town
of Coxcatlan by a new friend named Lily. She’s not exactly hard on the
eyes. Our road traverses agricultural fields with multiple mountain ranges on
both sides. The top ridges are stark and knobby. Heat and humidity increase
until we reach the town turnoff at a fountain inscribed “Coxcatlan: Cradle of
Maize.”
Getting permission to visit the cave of the
oldest corn fossils means following the 5-step process required for most
authorizations in Mexico: submit to authority, make new friends, wait and wait
and wait. Confrontation and demands can get you results but more often get you
screwed.
