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Imagine this: We had left the small town of Gómez-Farías, after enjoying a local celebration, quality time spent in a local bar, and a delicious meal at a local restaurant. We were grinding our way down the mountain, when we spotted an incredible sight, a cornucopia of sculptures, mostly religious in nature, meticulously crafted out of the native rock that adorns the mountains. Being the digital photo enthusiasts that we are, we just had to stop and snap a few photos.

Left: If you look closely to the left of the photo, you can see "our guy" as he notices me taking the photo, just before he springs to action. Right: Look at these fine-crafted religious shrines. This photo was taken just before I was admonished for taking unauthorized photos, by the decree of this guy, the local photo police.

The entrance to the place features a metal large arch, and a cross is attached to the top of the arch. In the field beyond the arch, there are many intricately-carved statutes of what appear to be saints, and ready-to-transport shrines, some of which featured carved likenesses of the Virgin Mary, and baby Jesus. The carvings are absolutely beautiful, and appear to be made of the native rocks that adorn the local mountains. So when you're driving down the road and you see something like this, a mental flag goes up in one's brain that calls for a Kodak moment, right? At least, I thought so...

So after my brain had become stimulated with the view, I asked Jerry to stop the truck, so I could get out and take a few photos, as I was attracted to the wonderful carvings. Keep in mind that the field of carvings was protected by a locked gate and surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and I was no way intruding on private property and I was just snapping a few photos from the side of the road. Wrong thing to do!

As soon as I started snapping photos, a gray-haired guy appeared, dressed in a plead shirt, and started yelling at us. He was yelling so loud, and talking so fast that I couldn't understand him, so I deferred to Rodolfo for the translation. He kept yelling "No photos! No photos!" It seems that this guy had a grudge about us photographing his art, and that he felt that he should be compensated for him allowing us the privilege of photographing his works of art. Now, don't get me wrong, as his carvings are truly works of art, but we didn't step onto his land, and we were taking photos from the side of the road, which is owned by the state of Tamulipas. In other works Mexico has pretty much the same laws as found in the U.S. in regards to taking photos when you're located on public land.

Left: Check out this photo, as this guy is yelling stuff like "You can't do this! I'll break your camera! I'll call the police!" Right: Somewhat calmed down, after Rodolfo had spoken with him, this guy is still adamant that we pay for the privilege of snapping photos of his fine wares from the public road. Sorry, guy!

This guy got really agitated, and his antics provoked a laugh out of Jerry, Rodolfo and I. He evoked such epitaphs as "I'll call the police, You can't do this, and I'll break your camera," with much gusto and enthusiasm. While he was engaged in his tirade, we were anchored on the state highway, and I was merrily snapping photos.

Rodolfo went over an talked to him, and it seems this gentleman feels that by photographing his religious work, that we're mocking God in some way. He seemed to think that we wouldn't be mocking God if we prayed him for the privilege of photographing his statues. Go figure that one out...

There are moments in life that you must cherish, and this one was one of them.

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