Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The rainy season
After eleven months of dry the rains finally came. Coming from the Pacific Northwest I figured I had seen real rain and would not be impressed. I was wrong. The thunder and lightning shows over the lake are amazing! The sheer volume of rain that falls in an hour or two is unbelievable. After the two hurricanes dissipated over the mountains we had full days of non stop rain. And the mountains greened up overnight.
I am recovering from a massive computer failure so no pics to post today but hopefully soon. I had been taking pics of the mountains from my corner every week and they went from dry brown and grey to green almost overnight. The air is fresh, the nights are cool, the days hot and humid or cool and fresh, and every week it changes.
One of the nice things about having friends who know you are an idiot is when you do stupendously dumb things they are not at all surprised. And still talk to you on the phone when you have internet. I am lucky to have a very few good friends who let me cry over what an idiot I am. I don't regret moving here at all, it has been and continues to be an adventure and a life lesson. I just wish I had used better skills in evaluating some people.
So this long overdue post is all over the place. The Mexican people are a joy to discover, their logic will baffle me forever but I respect it and I respect their values and manners. A smile is always returned, help is always offered, they laugh politely when you do something stupendously dumb and they make fabulous desserts.
My house is an adventure. I love it and it makes me crazy. I get a lot of exercise walking the length of it as it resembles a train most days. Long and spread out and from the east wing to the west wing is a long hike. The views are always breathtaking and the garden is growing like crazy.
I have been blessed twice in having great next door neighbors and I think they must be cloned from the same angel. My neighbor here, owner of the roof cats and rescuer of stray dogs is the kindest man, and his gardener regularly prunes the bougainvillea so I can see the lake.
I no longer scream like a girl and run when I encounter critters in the tub like lizards, snakes or giant moths the size of bats. Luckily the season of any critter seems to be a week so the next discovery may be smaller, bigger, worse or scarier or invisible. Always an adventure.
El T is having up and down days, he is eating well and is very comfy and I know he is getting to that age but he is such a brave lil dude, and has kept me company through the long trip here, the settling in and the big storms without a whimper. He is my best buddy and my rock.
I miss talking to one of my other rocks and hope the internet, the voip phone and the wiring will cooperate after my trip NoB so I can feel part of the world again.
Karma takes care of evil and I have no worries that the evil that invaded my life will get their retribution slowly and fully.
So life is good despite the odd tear and the odd day of wondering WTF I am doing. I miss a lot of people, but not a lot of things. No tv still, I watch the odd news show online when the internet works and read the odd paper but it is nice to avoid the world.
Pictures soon, as soon as I get a real live english speaking working computer. And a big thanks and hug to those of you who have been there for me and el T.
The explorer is still going strong, a tank of gas is less than $40 US and a cold beer is under $1. The garbage truck still rings a cowbell every Monday Wednesday and Friday when they come by, the pool guy whistles and waves and teaches me new spanish words and I hear the clip clop of the horses every morning going down to the lake.
The media reports of non stop violence are nothing like life lakeside. I feel safer here than I did in White Rock. There is a healing aura around the lake and it is a great place for a new start. I am lucky I found it. Even when I am being an idiot.
Peace everyone.
I am recovering from a massive computer failure so no pics to post today but hopefully soon. I had been taking pics of the mountains from my corner every week and they went from dry brown and grey to green almost overnight. The air is fresh, the nights are cool, the days hot and humid or cool and fresh, and every week it changes.
One of the nice things about having friends who know you are an idiot is when you do stupendously dumb things they are not at all surprised. And still talk to you on the phone when you have internet. I am lucky to have a very few good friends who let me cry over what an idiot I am. I don't regret moving here at all, it has been and continues to be an adventure and a life lesson. I just wish I had used better skills in evaluating some people.
So this long overdue post is all over the place. The Mexican people are a joy to discover, their logic will baffle me forever but I respect it and I respect their values and manners. A smile is always returned, help is always offered, they laugh politely when you do something stupendously dumb and they make fabulous desserts.
My house is an adventure. I love it and it makes me crazy. I get a lot of exercise walking the length of it as it resembles a train most days. Long and spread out and from the east wing to the west wing is a long hike. The views are always breathtaking and the garden is growing like crazy.
I have been blessed twice in having great next door neighbors and I think they must be cloned from the same angel. My neighbor here, owner of the roof cats and rescuer of stray dogs is the kindest man, and his gardener regularly prunes the bougainvillea so I can see the lake.
I no longer scream like a girl and run when I encounter critters in the tub like lizards, snakes or giant moths the size of bats. Luckily the season of any critter seems to be a week so the next discovery may be smaller, bigger, worse or scarier or invisible. Always an adventure.
El T is having up and down days, he is eating well and is very comfy and I know he is getting to that age but he is such a brave lil dude, and has kept me company through the long trip here, the settling in and the big storms without a whimper. He is my best buddy and my rock.
I miss talking to one of my other rocks and hope the internet, the voip phone and the wiring will cooperate after my trip NoB so I can feel part of the world again.
Karma takes care of evil and I have no worries that the evil that invaded my life will get their retribution slowly and fully.
So life is good despite the odd tear and the odd day of wondering WTF I am doing. I miss a lot of people, but not a lot of things. No tv still, I watch the odd news show online when the internet works and read the odd paper but it is nice to avoid the world.
Pictures soon, as soon as I get a real live english speaking working computer. And a big thanks and hug to those of you who have been there for me and el T.
The explorer is still going strong, a tank of gas is less than $40 US and a cold beer is under $1. The garbage truck still rings a cowbell every Monday Wednesday and Friday when they come by, the pool guy whistles and waves and teaches me new spanish words and I hear the clip clop of the horses every morning going down to the lake.
The media reports of non stop violence are nothing like life lakeside. I feel safer here than I did in White Rock. There is a healing aura around the lake and it is a great place for a new start. I am lucky I found it. Even when I am being an idiot.
Peace everyone.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Long overdue update
There will be pictures soon. I am transitioning from using photobucket to Picassa so be patient. I have taken thousands of pictures in the 15 weeks since I arrived here and will bore you with almost all of them!
I have badly neglected this blog because it was so much easier to log on to Facebook and jot a few lines and banter about my latest adventures or misadventures with folks I have known online for so long. However a recent turn of events had made me deactivate my FB accounts for now.
In the interim, using all that free time that used to be wasted on Facebook I have decided to write a novel. Fiction, pure fiction of course but I think it is very believable and will be a best seller in some circles.
Here in a nutshell is the plot so far. Note this is all purely FICTION from my vivid imagination.
Note I name no names. I am not responsible for anyone concluding on their own if they think they know who the guilty parties are.Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidence and I certainly mean no comparisons to anyone I may or may not know in real life.
So the story begins happily as do many mystery novels, and revolves around a make believe female in her early 40's who is tall, blonde, thin and gorgeous. She decides it is time for an adventure and plans a cross country move to a new country.
When you move to a new country as a single woman alone there are a lot of details to take care of-like mail and banking and having someone who knows where you are in case you are in trouble, that kind of thing.
The heroine of the novel trusted someone whom she thought she knew well. She had known this person for several years, visited them, met their family and thought they were trustworthy given the nature of their jobs. She blithely used their address for financial information to be mailed since she erroneously assumed it would be safer than having it sent to Mexico.She also sent them copies of he ID in case of loss or robbery or accident on the long drive from Canada to Mexico. She followed very prudent advice for single women traveling alone.
The trusted friend has a dark side however, and suddenly stops talking to the heroine, unfriending her on social media sites, and unbeknowst to the heroine of the story, begins spreading stories alleging breaches of confidences such as posting pictures and rumours of her and her married boyfriend online in groups. She refuses to respond to the heroines calls, texts, emails etc.. At the exact same time the poor traveling heroine is notified by her bank of gross irregularities in her account. Money being withdrawn in a place that she was no where near at the time etc. Smoke screen to cover fraud? Coincidence? Substance abuse? OOOOOOOH you will have to wait until the plot is revealed in its full gory splendor!
Sound like a best seller? I need a name for the make believe characters and of course there are many more chapters to write but I think it has potential as a best seller.
Of course authorities in all three jurisdictions become involved, hidden secrets are uncovered and it turns into quite the spy tale. I need to watch more Nancy Grace to get the courtroom stuff realistic.
Again I make no allegations at anyone. Just outlining a book I have had the idea of writing for a while now.. Purely fiction. But aren't you dying to hear my ideas for the next chapters? I am having fun letting my imagination and writing skills go wild on this tale. I think it is very real and could very easily happen which makes it such a great idea for a novel.
So FB friends I miss you, those of you who were there for me.
For those of you who liked to copy and paste and report back to your nasty groups, those of you who didn't get raptured, well I guess you are not such great christians after all are you? God does have a way of getting you for that kind of shit doesn't she? Maybe a bit less posting about how holier than thou you are and a lot more soul searching and you will make the next rapture. Probably not though, ugly is ugly inside.
Happy Monday everyone. My next post will hopefully be on a lighter note. I am off to research death penalty states for fun.
Oh and it is a balmy 89 on my terrace in the shade, the gardener has watered the birds of paradise and the ginger plants and the pool guy has balanced the water so it is ripe for a float on the floatie. Losing 20 lbs over this book idea makes me feel a lot better about the project although I would much rather rewind and start my trip here again. So many things I would have done different.
Hasta Luego
I have badly neglected this blog because it was so much easier to log on to Facebook and jot a few lines and banter about my latest adventures or misadventures with folks I have known online for so long. However a recent turn of events had made me deactivate my FB accounts for now.
In the interim, using all that free time that used to be wasted on Facebook I have decided to write a novel. Fiction, pure fiction of course but I think it is very believable and will be a best seller in some circles.
Here in a nutshell is the plot so far. Note this is all purely FICTION from my vivid imagination.
Note I name no names. I am not responsible for anyone concluding on their own if they think they know who the guilty parties are.Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidence and I certainly mean no comparisons to anyone I may or may not know in real life.
So the story begins happily as do many mystery novels, and revolves around a make believe female in her early 40's who is tall, blonde, thin and gorgeous. She decides it is time for an adventure and plans a cross country move to a new country.
When you move to a new country as a single woman alone there are a lot of details to take care of-like mail and banking and having someone who knows where you are in case you are in trouble, that kind of thing.
The heroine of the novel trusted someone whom she thought she knew well. She had known this person for several years, visited them, met their family and thought they were trustworthy given the nature of their jobs. She blithely used their address for financial information to be mailed since she erroneously assumed it would be safer than having it sent to Mexico.She also sent them copies of he ID in case of loss or robbery or accident on the long drive from Canada to Mexico. She followed very prudent advice for single women traveling alone.
The trusted friend has a dark side however, and suddenly stops talking to the heroine, unfriending her on social media sites, and unbeknowst to the heroine of the story, begins spreading stories alleging breaches of confidences such as posting pictures and rumours of her and her married boyfriend online in groups. She refuses to respond to the heroines calls, texts, emails etc.. At the exact same time the poor traveling heroine is notified by her bank of gross irregularities in her account. Money being withdrawn in a place that she was no where near at the time etc. Smoke screen to cover fraud? Coincidence? Substance abuse? OOOOOOOH you will have to wait until the plot is revealed in its full gory splendor!
Sound like a best seller? I need a name for the make believe characters and of course there are many more chapters to write but I think it has potential as a best seller.
Of course authorities in all three jurisdictions become involved, hidden secrets are uncovered and it turns into quite the spy tale. I need to watch more Nancy Grace to get the courtroom stuff realistic.
Again I make no allegations at anyone. Just outlining a book I have had the idea of writing for a while now.. Purely fiction. But aren't you dying to hear my ideas for the next chapters? I am having fun letting my imagination and writing skills go wild on this tale. I think it is very real and could very easily happen which makes it such a great idea for a novel.
So FB friends I miss you, those of you who were there for me.
For those of you who liked to copy and paste and report back to your nasty groups, those of you who didn't get raptured, well I guess you are not such great christians after all are you? God does have a way of getting you for that kind of shit doesn't she? Maybe a bit less posting about how holier than thou you are and a lot more soul searching and you will make the next rapture. Probably not though, ugly is ugly inside.
Happy Monday everyone. My next post will hopefully be on a lighter note. I am off to research death penalty states for fun.
Oh and it is a balmy 89 on my terrace in the shade, the gardener has watered the birds of paradise and the ginger plants and the pool guy has balanced the water so it is ripe for a float on the floatie. Losing 20 lbs over this book idea makes me feel a lot better about the project although I would much rather rewind and start my trip here again. So many things I would have done different.
Hasta Luego
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Ajijic fires up for Mardi Gras romp | Guadalajara Reporter
Ajijic fires up for Mardi Gras romp | Guadalajara Reporter
Villagers customarily let loose at Los Toros, the high- testosterone confrontations between man and beast, where fearless guys show their mettle at riding bucking bulls and local charros show off their skills at rounding and roping, set to a backdrop of high decibel banda music. Toros are scheduled daily, 4 p.m., at the Lienzo Charro bullring, located on Calle Revolucion, one block below highway from turn at Salvador’s Restaurant, Plaza Bugambilias.
Ajijic fires up for Mardi Gras romp
The denizens of Ajijic will celebrate Carnaval in their own inimitable way, with traditional antics starting on Saturday, March 5 and climaxing with a lively Mardi Gras parade on Tuesday, March 8.
Ajijic’s outlandish masked Sayacos will fire up light-hearted mayhem during the traditional Mardi Gras festivities.
{reg}The build-up for each event starts with the madcap Toro de Once parades led by Los Sayacos, the outrageously costumed masked dancers made up of male pairs dressed up as bearded gents and busty broads. The cavalcade starts around 11 a.m., usually running along Calle Galeana and Guadalupe Victoria toward the central plaza, looping through the main streets and ending at the bullring where the Sayacos gather for a last interlude of hilarious hell-raising.
The Sayacos and Sayacas drive the lively Carnaval spirit as they romp through the town, dancing to the furious beat traditional tunes like the Jarabe Tapatio (Mexican hat dance) or La Jota. They generate laughter and mayhem as they charge down the streets pelting on-lookers with fistfuls of flour or confetti stashed in woven shoulder bags and over-sized purses.
Afterwards revelers wind their way back to the plaza for the Recibimiento, a courtesy reception in honor of the ranchers who are providing livestock for the afternoon’s Toros. The welcome party involves live music for dancing and free-flowing booze, held as a prelude to a private comida hosted by the Ajijic Charro Association.
Sayaco roots
According to local lore, the roots of the Sayacos date back to the pre-Hispanic era. It is said that a pair of colorfully outfitted masked dancers played an important role in the ancient rituals practiced to garner favor from the deities ruling over the four elements – earth, air, water and fire.
Sayacos are also linked to the legendary Xicantzy, a female village elder and direct descendent of the area’s ancestral tribal ruler who was distinguished for wearing extravagant clothing and lots of glittery jewelry. Some oral histories identify her as a great healer who applied her expertise in natural remedies to treat the mentally deranged.
As one story goes, Xicantzy and a pair of Sayacos stood at the gateway to the village to greet the first Spaniards who arrived as on the scene around 1531 as conquerors and Christian missionaries.
An alternate version purports that Xicantzy was prone to occasional fits of madness that drove her to chase down male inhabitants and douse them with her powdery cosmetics if they refused her amorous advances. The Sayacos and Sayacas subsequently arose as impersonators of her bizarre behavior. Their outlandish costumes, lively dances and confetti and flour pitching practices represent rejection of the Spanish overthrow of the native culture and ridicule of society’s rich and powerful.
The typical male costume features a dark wooden mask with bushy eyebrows and ample facial hair, an oversized suit jacket, baggy pants, short riding boots and a well-worn hat. Sayacas wear papier mache masks painted with rosy cheeks, bright red lips and heavily arched eyebrows, a bright skirt and blouse combo or outdated party dress filled out front and rear balloons, gaudy costume jewelry, outmoded high heel shoes and an unkempt wig held down by a kerchief or fancy hat.{/reg]
Children to show off photo skills in Ajijic | Guadalajara Reporter
Children to show off photo skills in Ajijic | Guadalajara Reporter
My wonderful talented friend here in Ajijic, Kristina Morgan has some of the most talented, beautiful amazing children I have ever met. Her daughter Maya travels to Guadalajara every Saturday to translate for Alan and to learn about photography. I cannot wait to see the exhibition here in town this weekend.
“The photographs are stunning, no-one believes they were taken by kids,” says proud Lake Chapala resident Allan MacGregor. “There’s a strange innocence and street savvy that comes through. They see the world from a different angle. They’ve been on the streets for years.”
Many of the children are from the indigenous Otomi group and the photos selected for exhibition in Ajijic are taken from a trip they made with their families back to their hometown in the state of Queretaro for the annual fiesta.
A photo exhibition with a difference is being held at the Efren Gonzalez Art Gallery in Ajijic starting from March 5.
Says photographer Juan Jose Santos: “In the evening we went to the rides at the fair. I went with Pollo to tour around that night and we rode this ride. I took the shot for the memory and because of the colors.”
Since he moved down to Lake Chapala just over a year ago, MacGregor has traveled on the bus to Guadalajara every Saturday to give photography classes at Codeni (a children’s rights collective) to children aged from to 10 and 15. But these aren’t normal photography classes.
The Codeni center is like an after-school center that approximately 150 children, who mainly work on the streets, attend twice a week for psychological, educational and general relief from their economically and socially challenged lives.
Inspired by Josh Meltzer, a Fulbright scholar who gave kids a voice through his “Listen to my Pictures” program, MacGregor decided to carry on teaching the children how to become photographers after Meltzer’s scholarship ran out.
“It gives them discipline and they can begin to appreciate art and become consumers of culture,” says Maria Zuñiga of Codeni, who worked for years in New York in an immigrant outreach center.
“I saw a New York Times article entitled ‘Truth with a Camera,’” explains MacGregor. “Then I got in contact with Josh and he put me in contact with Codeni.”
The results of the meeting between middle-class, Boston-area native MacGregor and the working-class kids has spawned quite remarkable results.
Leslie Marquez, who lives in a small apartment near downtown Guadalajara with her mom, stepfather and three half-siblings, takes a photograph in a local market. She often helps her parents sell in the streets and takes care of her two younger siblings.
The colors are vibrant and the photos document Mexican internal immigration from the country to city that is rarely reported on. While the photos can be best described as stark human reality, seeing them from the children’s point of view gives them an added dimension. For example, don’t expect to see the standard family photo shot with mom, dad, sister and brother all with accompanying false smiles that adorn many households.
“I’ve become totally engrossed with the whole thing,” admits MacGregor.
A civil rights’ activist back in the 1960s, MacGregor says the work Codeni does is amazing: “One of the most impressive programs I’ve ever seen.”
MacGregor brings his fellow Rotarians to Guadalajara to show them around the Codeni facilities.
“They are always stunned at how polite and outgoing the kids are,” says MacGregor. “They can never tell they’re street kids.”
While back in the United States, MacGregor managed to raise 600 dollars from Rotarians from the Boston area to ship down more cameras for the children. He’s even brought Codeni staff and children to meet Rotarians in Ajijic, where they sold two photographs. Afterwards, MacGregor took them to Efren Gonzalez’s gallery and the idea to hold an exhibition aimed at the expatriate community took hold.
“It gives me a good feeling in my old age,” says MacGregor. “It’s been an amazing eye-opener for me.”
The exhibition opening is on Saturday, March 5 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Some of the young lensmiths will be in attendance at the Efren Gonzalez Gallery (Marco Castellanos 7, Ajijic).
Other exhibitions of the kids’ work is on display at the Chop café in Guadalajara (Avenida Mexico 2328) and at Las Cabañas del Capitan in Guayabitos. All the photos are for sale for 1,000 pesos. The money is split between Codeni and the child who took the photograph. According to Zuñiga, it helps them learn to value their work and how to manage money.
Other exhibitions of the kids’ work is on display at the Chop café in Guadalajara (Avenida Mexico 2328) and at Las Cabañas del Capitan in Guayabitos. All the photos are for sale for 1,000 pesos. The money is split between Codeni and the child who took the photograph. According to Zuñiga, it helps them learn to value their work and how to manage money.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Mexican National Chili Cookoff!
Today was day 2 of the Chili cook off across town at Tobolandia. Yesterday was the Salsa competition (the food not the dance) and today was amateur chili competition day. The parade was fun and the morning was perfect for browsing the handicrafts at the stalls, watching the show on the big outdoor stage and sampling all kinds of great food.
Pictures here!
It was a perfect day, sunny and warm and I found a great free parking spot! The pay parking was less than $1 US but hey, free is great too!
I had some ribs for lunch and chatted with a couple who snowbird here from Toronto. They live in Los Sabinos, which is the only development I have seen here that makes me want to forget my "no gated communities ever!" rule. The units are spectacular and perfect for me and El Tigre. But we love our little Casa Granada.
The merchandise for sale was fabulous! The hand made knives really impressed me and I am sure Dexter would have approved. The wood handles were a nice flair and the blades were hand milled steel. I also loved the booth from Oaxaxa with the peacocks.
I saw a few great pieces of art that I would have loved to take home with me and the prices were good on both. Trying to show a tiny bit of restraint. If I go back tomorrow I am doomed though!
I did get a great leather purse that doubles as a backpack, perfect size and lots of zippered compartments for stuff. I also got four cotton Mexican style tops that were too great a bargain to pass up.
After watching the dancing horses and browsing some more I left for Sorianas to stock up on huge bottles of water and a few basics like Flan! Sorianas flan is way better than Mega's :)
Driving back home along the full length of the Carratarra (highway through the towns) it was bumper to bumper and lots of stops so I got to see all the shops along the way. Found the garden center Tyler told me about near the 7-Eleven and the furniture mart, the Patio Furniture place and the Bazaar with some furniture. I badly need a computer desk as this set up is not conducive to writing a lot. I have the monitor and keyboard perched on a tv stand for now.
Home and a load of laundry, then relax by the pool. El Tigre is napping on the warm terrace bricks napping and watching the hummingbird swoop in and out of the flowers.
Yesterday I went to the mud baths AKA Spa Balneario with Kristina, her wonderful children and some new and old friends here. But that adventure is for another posting.
Happy Saturday night sports fans!
Christine AKA Grizzy
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Long Overdue Update
What a whirlwind it has been for the past few months. For those of you checking in here faithfully I thank you for your patience. I hope to begin updating here regularly and chronicling my adventures in paradise.
So a quick update - there will be more details about the trip and settling in over the next few weeks.
We left BC on a rainy dreary cold Saturday at the end of January loaded to the roof and toting a Thule roof rack crammed with things. The last week of packing and sorting is a bit of a blur and that morning I must have been as foggy as the weather. I left the cooler with snacks and water in the fridge, left a few key items behind in my haste to get on the road. I thought I would feel more sadness or nostalgia driving out of the driveway that last time but really I didn't.
Crossing the Canada/USA border a few minutes later was a huge pain in the butt. I figured they would want to have a second look and they did. At least the Homeland Security officer was polite which is a change. Usually they are snarly jerks. I usually use more colourful language. Eventually I convinced him that we are not settling down as illegals in his country and were allowed to continue. I guess having a years worth of Mx car insurance, a deposit on a rental in Ajijic, the GPS programmed to "Home" in Ajijic, MX, maps of Jalisco province, info on moving to Mx etc convinced him.
I was concerned about my beloved cat Eppie, AKA the Tiger, or El Tigre Del Norte and how he would adapt to a long trip. I expected yowling, hissing, etc but he was very subdued and not a peep out of him the entire week.
The first stop was a pet friendly motel in Oregon. He headed for under the bed and remained there most of the evening and overnight. He did come up on the bed for food and cuddles. Next morning I lost an hour of driving time trying to get him out from under the king sized bed and into his crate.
The second night he was fine. Also, the bed was on a built in platform so he couldn't hide under it :) By the third night he was on to the routine and hopped up on the bed, waited for his dinner and cuddles and watched with interest as I unpacked our supplies and readied the next days maps, clothes etc.
We crossed into Mexico at Nogales at the Mariposa truck crossing. It was easy and almost boring except for me making a wrong turn because of construction and driving behind the building back over the border so I had to drive through the first entry point again. Luckily no one seemed to notice....
It is an automated system. Red light you stop and get spoken to. Green light you keep going. I got two green lights in a row thankfully.
The next customs stop is around 25 Km's later and you stop, go in, get your tourist visa, passport control etc and get your vehicle import papers and sticker. A half hour and we were on our way. I had the documents and photocopies ready which speeded things up a bit.
Last checkpoint was another red/green light stop. We got red. The customs agents were all under 25 and didn't really want to sort through all the stuff in the truck. They looked at El Tigre in his cage, said Oh look, el Gato, and waved me on. No cert of health or vaccines or any questions. Nada.
Driving the first few hours I guess I was overly cautious as I was passed on the Cuota (toll highway) by not one but two B-trains. These are trucks with dual trailers. Once it may have been going uphill.
More on the road trip soon! I am "home" now and loving it here. My house is great, the weather is perfect, even the glitches and delays you experience with moving or a new home are funny rather than aggravating. Well all except crazy Casita Lady. I need tequila to tell that tale. And I will share it.
Today my pool guy Gustavo pronounced the swimming pool officially ready for use! The weather is perfect for it and I am excited to take my first plunge. Oh, it is not heated. And despite the days that hover near 80 F the nights at an elevation of 5,000 feet surrounded by 3 mountain ranges are cool. Locals think this is winter! *snort* So the water is a bit frigid. But I will love it as summer gets here.
I adore this part of Mexico with a passion and a respect that grows each minute I am here. The food is amazing! Fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood from the Pacific Coast a few hours away, smiling people, wonderful views and always great people watching. Flowers everywhere and a rainbow of colours on the buildings that you can not begin to describe.
Tomorrow there is a Chili cook off sponsored by Corona in the afternoon, a drumming circle by the lakefront Malecon at dusk, my favorite band The Tallboys is playing at the Beergarden in Chapala, a few villages to the east and I will hear music from my terrace high above the village until late in the evening.
So to those missing my updates I am alive and well and having a wonderful time exploring my new home. More about everything soon!
Grizzy
So a quick update - there will be more details about the trip and settling in over the next few weeks.
We left BC on a rainy dreary cold Saturday at the end of January loaded to the roof and toting a Thule roof rack crammed with things. The last week of packing and sorting is a bit of a blur and that morning I must have been as foggy as the weather. I left the cooler with snacks and water in the fridge, left a few key items behind in my haste to get on the road. I thought I would feel more sadness or nostalgia driving out of the driveway that last time but really I didn't.
I was concerned about my beloved cat Eppie, AKA the Tiger, or El Tigre Del Norte and how he would adapt to a long trip. I expected yowling, hissing, etc but he was very subdued and not a peep out of him the entire week.
The first stop was a pet friendly motel in Oregon. He headed for under the bed and remained there most of the evening and overnight. He did come up on the bed for food and cuddles. Next morning I lost an hour of driving time trying to get him out from under the king sized bed and into his crate.
The second night he was fine. Also, the bed was on a built in platform so he couldn't hide under it :) By the third night he was on to the routine and hopped up on the bed, waited for his dinner and cuddles and watched with interest as I unpacked our supplies and readied the next days maps, clothes etc.
We crossed into Mexico at Nogales at the Mariposa truck crossing. It was easy and almost boring except for me making a wrong turn because of construction and driving behind the building back over the border so I had to drive through the first entry point again. Luckily no one seemed to notice....
It is an automated system. Red light you stop and get spoken to. Green light you keep going. I got two green lights in a row thankfully.
The next customs stop is around 25 Km's later and you stop, go in, get your tourist visa, passport control etc and get your vehicle import papers and sticker. A half hour and we were on our way. I had the documents and photocopies ready which speeded things up a bit.
Last checkpoint was another red/green light stop. We got red. The customs agents were all under 25 and didn't really want to sort through all the stuff in the truck. They looked at El Tigre in his cage, said Oh look, el Gato, and waved me on. No cert of health or vaccines or any questions. Nada.
Driving the first few hours I guess I was overly cautious as I was passed on the Cuota (toll highway) by not one but two B-trains. These are trucks with dual trailers. Once it may have been going uphill.
More on the road trip soon! I am "home" now and loving it here. My house is great, the weather is perfect, even the glitches and delays you experience with moving or a new home are funny rather than aggravating. Well all except crazy Casita Lady. I need tequila to tell that tale. And I will share it.
Today my pool guy Gustavo pronounced the swimming pool officially ready for use! The weather is perfect for it and I am excited to take my first plunge. Oh, it is not heated. And despite the days that hover near 80 F the nights at an elevation of 5,000 feet surrounded by 3 mountain ranges are cool. Locals think this is winter! *snort* So the water is a bit frigid. But I will love it as summer gets here.
I adore this part of Mexico with a passion and a respect that grows each minute I am here. The food is amazing! Fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood from the Pacific Coast a few hours away, smiling people, wonderful views and always great people watching. Flowers everywhere and a rainbow of colours on the buildings that you can not begin to describe.
Tomorrow there is a Chili cook off sponsored by Corona in the afternoon, a drumming circle by the lakefront Malecon at dusk, my favorite band The Tallboys is playing at the Beergarden in Chapala, a few villages to the east and I will hear music from my terrace high above the village until late in the evening.
So to those missing my updates I am alive and well and having a wonderful time exploring my new home. More about everything soon!
Grizzy
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