Road Trip, Part 3

After one last breakfast under the palms with our feet in the sand of Zihuatenejo, we headed about 3 1/2 hours north and inland to Pátzcuaro, a city that shows it's 16th century Spanish roots in its ancient tile roofs and red and white painted buildings.

The next morning we met with local guide Francisco Castilleja, who can trace his roots back to the original Conquistadors from Spain. He took us on an unforgettable tour around the lake to learn more about the history and crafts villages surrounding Lake Pátzcuaro.

First stop was in Tocuaro to the backroad home of maskmaker Felipe Horta Tera. His masks are used in holiday celebrations and fiestas throughout Mexico and are collected internationally. Unfortunately he is one of the last maskmakers in the Pátzcuaro area and hasn't found anyone to train in his craft. We couldn't resist his fierce Lucifer mask, already well used in ceremonies.


Next stop was to visit the home one of the last P'urhepecha speakers. If you think that word is difficult to master, the rest aren't easier. Francisco told us that in his village there are only 20 women who are keeping the language and traditions; after they are gone, that's it. I love this photo both for her pride in her hand embroidered tortilla cover and that it makes me look tall.
We also visited a franscican monastery, a factory producing exquisite custom-painted furniture and we ended with lunch at his home. All this was accompanied by an entertaining commentary on the political and social situation in Mexico. Thanks to Larry, Stephanie, Trish and Dick for recommending him.

Road Trip, Part 2

Look! Here is my baby turtle friend less than 2 minutes old! who erupted to the top of the sand from it's nest with 60 or so of it's brothers and sisters. Sh/e is ready to head for the ocean at this very moment but the turtle protection project where we found her will keep her for a day so they can release her tomorrow night with several hundred others at a time for a higher success rate. We were so fortunate to witness her hatching.

The short story is that during our drive down 150 mile the magical Michoacan coast we happened on a turtle ecology project. There is literally nothing on this coast and after several tries we were able to locate someone to rent us a cabana on a remote beach nearby. No hot water and only one light. Literally the middle of nowhere. We couldn't find a restaurant for lunch but met some Canadians in a bus-sized rig who took pity on us and fed us dinner in exchange for driving them to the nighttime turtle monitoring project.

Saturday night was a full moon when we witnessed a female lay about 75 eggs, bury them and then return to the ocean. The employees of the turtle project tagged her, then collected the eggs and brought them back to the station to bury them where they will emerge 45 days later.
She is a black turtle, one of up to about 60 a night who lumber out of the ocean during this season to lay their eggs. They come twice a year, leaving distinctive tracks in the night in the sand.




Today, Sunday, we left early and continued down the coast to Zihuatanejo. We fell in love with "Zihuat" and plan to stay a few more nights as we explore this laid back beach town. It is also nice to have hot water, cable TV, a cell phone, internet access and an air conditioner. So much for the simple life.

I want to take a moment to retract some of what what I said in my last post about Puerto Vallarta. The last evening we were there we happened on the southern part of the city, known as "Zona Romantica" where we finally felt at home. We would definitely come back to this area for a longer stay, avoiding the more touristy central city. We enjoyed a margarita in the sand watching the fishing boats and the sunset.

Road Trip, Part 1

We left SMA Sunday morning after breakfast with friends at Ruth's and arrived at our hotel in Tonala, a suburb of Guadalajara, in time for the tail end of the Sunday market. Monday is the day before Mexican Revolution day but that is when Tonala celebrates it. We caught the parade which this time featured the older revolutionaries. I imagine originally they were the revolutionaries but as time passes they become the children of the revolutionaries. Delightful to hear them singing, dressed up in their revolution clothes.

On Monday we checked out Ajijic, a popular gringo retirement town on Lake Chapala. We had lunch at a lovely restaurant on the lakeside; charming but no San Miguel.

On Tuesday morning we headed out for the coast, stopping in Sayulita for lunch at a palapa with our feet in the sand. This photo is for Sara and Joyce who have both been there. Looks like someone was expecting me.








That evening we arrived at our resort in Puerto Vallarta in time for a margarita and to watch the sunset. Those who know us know we aren't "big resort" people but we have recently been using Worldmark points which Bryan bought on the internet in the secondary market. We get deeply discounted rates when we book by booking Worldmark resorts with short notice, which allows them to be sure their rooms are full.
Well, we checked in for our 3 nights and they snapped on our all-inclusive bracelets! We totally didn't expect this but didn't complain. So here we sit with all the free drinks we want and 3 meals plus a snack bar; Bryan calls it a cruise ship on land.

Speaking of cruise ships, there are 3 enormous ones docked this afternoon and the town is crawling with tourists and people who want to sell them timeshares. How many ways can you say no!

We will be here through Thanksgiving and hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends. Maybe they will serve us turkey in the buffet.

San Miguel nightlife

While Melissa and Tim were here last week we went to Bella Italia restaurant to see Gil and Cartas play gypsy jazz. It was so much fun that we decided to go again last night, only with a larger group.

L-R around the table: Stephanie, Larry, Victor, Jo, Ron, Ros, and the back of Dick's head

L-R around the table: Ron, Ros, Dick, Trish, Bryan, Larry, Victor
(I took the pictures so I'm not in this)

As a special treat, Doc Severinsen, who lives in San Miguel, joined Gil and Cartas which made for an splendid evening of energetic jazz. For anyone under a certain age, Doc was Tonight Show host Johny Carson's bandleader/musical director and foil for 25 years.

Gil Gutierrez, Pedro Cartas, Doc Severinsen

But wait, the evening wasn't over after the two sets. Stephanie suggested we go hear Benjamin, an entertaining guitarist in a nearby bar who sings Mexican ballads with a folksy, sing-along style.
Bryan took this picture and it seems that he wasn't focusing on the guitarist. Oh, well, probably a camera problem. When we left at 1:30 the crowd was growing and going strong.

Little Revolutionaries

Tuesday is Revolution Day in Mexico and is celebrated with a big parade, but the Friday before is for the preschool set who are too small to march in a big parade. These were taken after the parade today in the central square. Way fun. Enjoy.

Yummy churros and chocolate

Melissa and Tim left today to return to San Diego after a week-long visit. It was such a treat to have her here; she has a special eye and a really good camera and she showed us a new way of looking at our town. And we had the opportunity to get to know Tim Selenak. They are very sweet together and laugh a lot.











One of the things she wanted to do was get churros and chocolate at San Agustín, a popular restaurant that specializes in both those treats.
Here is her photo essay.

The all-important sugaring process.

Yummy hot chocolate!

The main course :)

Our happy tummys!

Milk truck 1, Casa 0

About three weeks ago we were in a nearby town when I got a phone call from Yoli. Calls that start with "I'm standing in front of your house" don't bode well. She told me a milk delivery truck had managed to crash into the front of our house, damaging the balcony and railing and 6 sections of cantera (the hand carved stone door trim). Oops. Fortunately there was no real structural damage to the house.

We rushed back with images of major costs for repairs and other not so great scenarios. We learned that our sweet neighbor, whose husband had actually done the original work on the cantera, had been on her roof hanging laundry and witnessed the crash. She knew Yoli was my friend and rushed down the block to get her. Fortunately Yoli was home.

Thanks to Yoli's diplomacy, the honesty of the truck driver and the kindness of a neighbor, within days we were talking to an insurance agent for the milk company and two days ago a team showed up to do a professional repair job. They even repainted the entire balcony railing while they were at it.

This makes me realize two things: that I live in a real neighborhood where people care for each other. We walk here every day and are about the only gringos on the street. Others who live here, if we do see them. are in their cars. Maria Louisa, who saw the accident, has come to our house numerous times to review her English homework and we greet her, and everyone else in the bario, with every opportunity. We feel so fortunate to have chosen such a special neighborhood.

Secondly, horror stories circulate with too much enthusiasm among the foreign community about run-ins with this or that accident or lawyer or neighbor and I realize that we can't rush to assume anything. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to live in this country.

The cabinet arrived

We ordered a custom made cabinet for our living room and it arrived. The milestone is that the whole process took place in Spanish and it came out exactly what we wanted. Surprise for us.









So here is our living room as it now looks. The TV was a new addition since the cabinet was built to hold it and the chairs came from a garage sale the day the cabinet arrived. We got lucky again because those were the chairs we had in mind.


Still have to get some things to go on the wall but it seems more like home all the time.

El Día de los Muertos ofrendas

November 2nd is the Day of the Dead in Mexico but the tradition begins a week before when booths are set up in the plaza selling sugar figures and colorful cut tissue-paper flags. Bryan and I thought about what sugar figures we wanted to have in our ofrenda (or altar) we were building and decided against the skulls, opting instead for a plate of enchiladas (representing Charlotte's cooking ability and love of Mexican food), a basket of sweets (for our sweet tooth she indulged), a guitar playing skeleton in a serape (for some accompaniment) and a sheep (because we liked it.)

Each ofrenda needs to have a photograph of the deceased. Although this altar was specifically for Charlotte, I was fortunate to have wedding photos of both Charlotte and Del (Bryan's parents) and Jim and Barbara (my parents.) I bought two tin nichos (or boxes) and decorated them with paint and flowers.

We also needed to have something special Charlotte liked and since alcohol is a key part of an ofrenda we decided on tequila and limes for happy hour. Besides the above, an ofrenda also requires a candle, salt, purple flowers and marigolds, some water and a special sweet bread with dough bones in the shape of a cross which only appears in the bakeries this time of year.

When the entry was built I had asked the mason to create a niche in our entryway. This week Bryan painted it blue and I added some swirly design above it. He also installed the hummingbird faucet I found on ebay this summer to replace the more mundane faucet.

I'm including a photo of a public ofrenda we visited yesterday made to honor Diego Rivera who died this month, 50 years ago.