Grant And Gail Do Mexico

Another fun annual event is the Bunco Christmas Gift Wrapping luncheon/party. This year the 24 ladies of the SOB (South of the Border) Bunco group are helping five local families, with each member of the family (this often includes grandmothers, aunts and other extended family member) receiving gifts. One of the important prerequisites to be chosen was not only did they not have much, but they were visibly trying very hard to do something with their lives. Last month we all picked a family member and purchased a gift that was on their ‘wish list’. The wrapping party was quite a day, starting with wine & a delicious lunch, a gift show & tell, the wrapping of gifts, and finishing up with a small white elephant gift exchange. More pictures of the Bunco Christmas Event.

The following week, three vehicles were loaded up with the gifts and the delivery started. The looks on the kids faces when all the gifts were being brought in was just priceless! Each adult received at least 1 gift, each child 3 gifts, and each family member also received a goody bag of candies. In addition to the gifts, each family received a basket full of groceries and an envelope with 200 pesos to purchase additional items they might want or need for Christmas. None of the families had much and all lived in very simple homes. But all the homes were clean and very presentable. In every case the mothers of the families broke into tears. Very moving. All the family members hugged each one of us and thanked us. One family received an extra special gift when upon learning that they were three months behind in their rent, the Bunco-fund decided to pay it for them. Well, you should have seen the outpouring of gratitude. The mom immediately said she will provide a receipt to show that the rent was paid. One of the boys from that family gave us a Thank You letter which basically said that “God must have sent us and that we were angels from Heaven”. Seeing the smiles on their faces, all those happy tears, and receiving many grateful hugs gave us the kind of Christmas presents that money just can’t buy. It was truly a feel-good kind of day.

The orphanage had their Christmas Posada on December 19th. All the volunteers brought gifts for the kids, there were three piñatas for the kids, and lots of tamales and dessert were brought in for everyone. The kids were so excited with all the activities, the candy was a huge hit, and being able to keep coming back for seconds & thirds of tamales was obviously an event that doesn’t happen on a daily basis. We can only imagine how many tummy-aches the nuns had to deal with that night! The gifts were opened quickly and the showing-off of their gifts to each other and to us was fun to watch. Thankfully they all had a very special day and we got to see lots more happy faces.

During the week of Christmas we were lucky to be able to house-sit for our friends, John & Bonnie. We enjoyed many evenings on their patio & in the hot-tub and made sure we took in all the incredible sunsets over the lake. It was almost like being on a mini-vacation but better because there was no bill at check-out time!

Luckily we were able to talk to lots of our friends and family over the holidays and it almost didn’t feel like we were miles & miles away. And we weren’t alone on Christmas Day either, as our friends Joan & Steve, made sure Christmas was celebrated in style with lots and lots of friends … 27 people for a sit-down dinner! Their house is huge and they had four beautifully decorated tables to seat everyone. A traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including apple & pumpkin pie, was enjoyed by all. It was a wonderful day and I know we’ll cherish our Mexican Christmas memory in many years to come.

The first two weeks of December were busy with a few ‘work’ projects and a few opportunities for fun & games. Fortunately we didn’t have to do a lot of Christmas decorating, and thought this cute little miniature tree would suit our needs just fine! Throw in a few poinsettas on the patio and some mini-lights on the majestic palm tree, and Christmas was in the air.

We continued with the wrapping of Christmas gifts for delivery to needy families in several less developed surrounding villages. Unfortunately, Birgit (the woman responsible for creating this amazing project) fell & broke her leg the week before the gifts were to be delivered. She did ‘cowgirl up’ however and was able to at least be there to experience all the happiness. Delivery date was December 9th, and although we would have loved to have been there, we had reservations made for a mini-vacation to Puerto Vallarta. We heard that things went very well and everyone was thrilled with their gifts. Click here to see the happy faces on delivery day and some of the ‘elves’ that helped Birgit & Peter with all the wrapping, rolling and filling the candy bags.

We went to a Christmas Party with the Texas Club of Ajijic. It was at one of the member’s house and they had arranged for live music, car chaperones on the street (so parking was safe), great food and of course, a few beverages. It was interesting as well because the host combined the Texas Club party with his company Christmas Party (he owns a company in Guadalajara) so there was a mixed crowd of around 40 people. Played the infamous Gift Stealing Game (one lady knew it as the “Dirty Santa” game) and as usual, there are lots of moans, groans and laughs when someone steals your gift.

After many months of helping out with the Regalorama Event, it all came to an end on December 6th. We spent most of the day before helping to set up, and it was a full day of grunt work! The sale takes place on the grounds of the church, the entire parking lot, and parts of 2 streets are even closed off to accommodate all the tables. Some of the various departments included electronics, handyman, clothing, books, linens, collectibles, housewares and even jewellery. Tents and tables are set up, all the merchandise is hauled out from various storage facilities and then displayed, and then security guards are hired to keep watch alll night. It was really fun being a cashier, especially about an hour before closing time. That’s when all remaining merchandise is reduced to half-price … and then a bit later, reduced to All You Can Fit Into a Bag for 20 Pesos! The locals were just beaming with how much they were getting for hardly any pesos. The pictures are all taken either on the day of set-up or first thing at opening … after that we were much too busy to be taking pictures! We found out after that they did very well and raised approximately 200,000 pesos (approx. $14,675USD)! It really is a win-win-win, as we gringos clean out unwanted items from our homes, it’s all mostly sold to the Mexican community, and the profits are returned to the Mexican community through an Outreach Committee to various deserving local charities.

As our Christmas presents to each other, Grant & I decided on a short (3 day) vacation to Puerto Vallarta. Deciding to get there before high season started, we found a great rate on-line at the Golden Crown Paradise Hotel. It was all-inclusive so we didn’t even have to leave the resort. It was a bit more busy than we expected, with lots of Canadians & northern Americans already starting their winter vacations. Weather was fabulous, food & drinks were good, ok room (but great view & sunsets). One restaurant featured a special coffee drink – Poly’s Sexy Coffee – which was very delicious and quite entertaining to watch Poly make it. As usual we didn’t take as many pictures as we thought we would, but here’s a few to look at.

For those of you zooming through life trying to balance work, personal commitments, family issues, and even trying to squeeze in a small amount of socializing, you’ll be happy to know that you’re not the only ones feeling like life is speeding past you. Even for us, without all of those wonderful distractions to stress us out, time is flying by too! We can’t say we had an overly exciting month (in other words, there isn’t a lot to blog about) but we’ll share a few minor events that kept us busy.

Probably the best news we had in November was finding out that our we received approval on our immigration filing … Yippee!! Y’all might remember that’s the reason why we’re living in Mexico. It doesn’t quite get us back home to San Antonio, but it’s definitely a big step towards that goal. There’s still a few things that have to happen, but we’re hopeful that things will work out.

Maestros del Arte  We went to an annual folk & art show held in Chapala that we heard good things about. It featured 62 artists from all corners of Mexico selling their handmade crafts.

We found the most interesting booth to be pictures made by Otomí Indians, who are keeping alive the art of making amate. To look at these designs, you wouldn’t think that the paper is actually bark from a Jonote tree. It is soaked in a hot water bath with natural dyes such as flowers, ash, etc., and then the pulp strips are placed on a board in a grid form and hammered with a flat stone until the paper holds its form. The artists then somehow manages to twist and mold the paper into fantastic patterns is nothing short of amazing. Talk about a skill requiring a lot of time & patience! We finally decided on one to buy and will be getting it framed soon. I’ve already got a spot picked out to hang it at home and it’ll be a great reminder of our time here in Mexico.

Welcome Walmart Shoppers! After starting construction at the end of May, Walmart opened on November 11th, 3 weeks earlier than first planned …. just goes to show that not everything takes forever in Mexico!! Surprisingly there are many gringos who are not pleased to have a Walmart here in paradise … and of course, there are many who are very happy. What seems to get forgotten is that Walmart did not come here for us gringos, but for the locals. They have created 300 new jobs and the local people are very happy to have the convenience of Walmart here. We think it’s great too.

We went for the grand opening at 8:00am and it was fun watching all the anxious shoppers waiting for the doors to open. Then when they opened the doors, the manager gave a pair of scissors to a lady in line to cut the ribbon and everyone surged in. All the Walmart Associates were on either side of the doors, clapping, smiling and welcoming us in … kinda like a really enthusiatic receiving line! A little embarrassing but kinda fun.

Other Busy Things We were really busy with our Regalorama Price & Sort events (previous post explains Regalorama) which took up Friday mornings all this month. I also picked up an extra day each week (Tuesdays) by helping out with the clothing department. As most of you can imagine, I’m really enjoying that. We’re looking forward to the main event being held on December 6th.

We’ve been feeling a little like Santa’s elves this month, as we’ve been helping out friends of ours, Birgit & Peter. They’ve committed to being Santa Claus to an entire village just east of Ajijic, and have been busy buying presents all year for these people. Every Monday & Friday is open house at their place and there are two shifts of people coming to help with all the wrapping of these presents. It’s totally overwhelming what they have accomplished. For instance, there are 1,000 blankets (and all need to be rolled with a ribbon around them), hundreds of coloring books & crayons, hundreds of bags of dulces (candies), over 600 toothbrushes & toothpaste, bracelets, socks, clothing … gosh, I”ve probably forgotten more items than they have. It’s been so neat to help in this endeavor and we’ve gotten a lot of warm fuzzies knowing how appreciated these gifts will be.

On a closing note, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did it up right with the turkey, dressing, perogies, meatballs, potatoes, lazy cabbage rolls … yummie! We missed not having our ‘homeless soldiers’ with us this year, but hopefully we can host some next year. And with this starting the holiday season, here are some pictures (of course they don’t do the real ones justice) of poinsettas growing all over the place here (wild!).  Some are as tall as rooftops (12′ or more), some are taller, some are sprouting out of sidewalks with no leaves but all flowers … they are simply incredible to see. Hope you enjoy these!

Although not really a Mexican adventure, we did leave the country for a week’s vacation to Winnipeg (Canada). We had a great visit with family and friends, and it was quite an eye-opener to see how much our young nieces & nephews had grown-up in the two years since we’ve seen them!

Never having flown out of Guadalajara, we weren’t sure what to expect. Our flight departed at 6:30am, so we arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 4:00am, as we are 40 minutes from the airport. Luckily we had got a recommendation for a taxi driver who didn’t mind early trips as long as he had 2-3 days notice. We thought the pre-arranged fare of 250 pesos (approx. $25USD) was quite reasonable as well. We were quite impressed with the airport as it was very organized, very modern, and small enough to find your way around easily.  Our itinerary included plane changes in Houston and Minneapolis, but all went well and we arrived on time in Winnipeg at 3:15pm.

We had a fairly long day flying back, as we left Winnipeg at 11:00am and didn’t arrive back at our Ajijic casa until midnight. Fortunately though we had a long (3 hour) layover in Houston and it was great to be back in Texas again … even if it was just the airport! We snagged a couple of barstools at a Chili’s restaurant, and managed to pass the time quite comfortably with a few tasty Bud Lights.  We weren’t sure what to expect going through Immigration in Guad, but it was very easy (less than 15 seconds and we had a new Tourist Visa again), and then on to Customs.  Mexico has a green light/red light system to determine if your baggage gets thoroughly checked or not.  Well we hit the red light so we were pulled off to the side.  The officer opened our bags, moved a few items around, gave us the wave of the hand, and we were free to go.  Whew!

Other Things Keeping Us Busy

Regalorama Every year, a local church here (St. Andrew’s Anglican) has an annual Regalorama (Christmas Bazaar) on the first Saturday of December. It’s basically a huge Flea Market, with most of the donated items being items that gringos brought down with them from NOB (north of the border). Everything from electronics, furniture, linens, housewares, collectibles, clothing (all priced incredibly low!) … and as you can well imagine these items are very sought after by many of the locals.

The donations are dropped off all year long, stored, and starting in September, volunteers start the Price & Sort process. Unpacking, cleaning, checking if things work, pricing, and then packing in boxes, and moving all the boxes to storage areas until the day of the sale. Right now it’s only every 2nd Friday morning, but as we get into November, it’ll be every Friday. We’re working the day of the sale as well, and I’m really looking forward to that as I hear it’s just wild. It starts at 10am and apparently people start lining up for it at 5am! Word is out that there is great stuff at this sale and it is huge!! No pictures right now, but I’ll definitely take some soon.

And the best part about this sale is what happens with the proceeds. The Church does not keep one cent for themselves, but distributes all the money to charities in the community. Apparently Education is the top priority, because it is the best deterrent to future poverty. This is followed by Health and last, but not least, other charitable causes.

Harvest Fair ACÁ, Asociación Comunitaria de Autosuficiencia A.C., is a local non-profit agricultural education associa- tion.  They develop & teach sustainable organic farming methods. We had heard a lot of good things about this organization and decided to help out & volunteer at their annual Harvest Fair on October 18-19.  Founded by two Canadian women 10 years ago, ACÁ is a registered Mexican Non-Profit organization. ACÁ strives to successfully improve the quality of life in Mexican communities through hands-on training in practical organic farming using sustainable soil and water preservation practices. The Harvet Fair is one of their big annual fundraisers. 

We helped out doing all kinds of ‘grunt’ work for 2 days before the actual fair … things like picking lemons from the trees and cutting them up for the bar area, cutting & wrapping desserts for the bake sale, making signs, husking corn, helping wrap cabbage rolls, and even pulling weeds!  On the Saturday & Sunday, I was manning the hamburger/corn station, and Grant was on Parking & Sign Detail.  Although it was busy, we had a lot of fun working with the other volunteers and chatting with all the people attending the fair. At the end of our shift, we enjoyed sampling all the great food (there was even homemade perogies & cabbage rolls for sale), sitting at the Beer Garden area enjoying the beautiful lake & mountain view while listening to a great local band (who played mostly classic R&R from the 70′s & 80′s).  Here’s a short article on their website if you want to read more!

The Cruz Roja Golf Tournament was on October 30th at the Chapala Country Club. We had been attending meetings on this event for the last six months and we were glad to help out where we could. Due to them having many volunteers, unfortunately we felt like we didn’t contribute very much. We attended the event and our job was to monitor the ‘Hole-in-One’ competition. So I was at the tee box and Grant was at the green and all we did was watch and enjoy the day. Fortunately for the sponsor (who would have donated a brand new Toyota Yaris) no one accomplished this feat! After the golf, there was a silent auction and a wonderful buffet dinner which was enjoyed by all.

Totally Miscellaneous Things Grant is still doing his visits to the orphanage on Tuesdays, but I have decided to just go on an ‘as needed’ basis. I did surprise myself by lasting six months, but I think I’ll enjoy seeing the boys just once in awhile instead of weekly. There’s been an attempt at starting a very informal Texas Club, and we’ve been meeting once a month with them. It’s a start-up organization and no one is sure where it’ll go, but for now it’s very social and we’ve met some nice people. A Thanksgiving Dinner is being planned as well as a Christmas party, so we’ll look forward to that.

Think that covers October. We’ve got the big Grand Opening of Walmart on November 11th to look forward to … it’s pretty big conversation for this little village LOL!!

For those of you unlucky enough to be looking outside and seeing snow right now, or for those of you whose wonderful green grass & flowers have wilted and died, here’s a small sampling of some of the amazing flowers & flowering trees that have been in bloom since July (and most are still all blooming)!

I tried to get a picture of the actual tree/plant/vine and then provide a close up of the actual bloom. Some of the names I knew, and others I had to ask and do some research on. Hopefully they are correct. We hope y’all enjoy these pictures!

In addition to our beach trip at the beginning of the month, we were also house-sitting for friends of friends of ours, who were travelling for a month.  It certainly wasn’t a hardship, as their house was only a five-minute drive from us.  Although we were welcome to sleep over whenever we wanted, we would typically visit the house at different times of the day for varying amounts of time. A few fringe benefits of the ‘job’ included lazing by the pool, enjoying the hand-picked oranges, grapefruits & bananas, and enjoying their beautiful patio and yard.  It’s amazing how much better fresh, off-the-tree fruit really tastes!

A Shopping Mecca
After hearing so much about all the great shopping in Tonalá, I finally made it there. Tonalá is actually a suburb of Guadalajara, and located about 8 miles to the southeast of Guad. Luckily I went with an experienced Tonalá shopper from my Bunco group, Penny, and she showed me the ropes. Every Thursday & Sunday are Market Days, and the whole town is one big huge market, selling everything from pottery, art, glasswork, ironwork, pewter, furniture, jewellry, clothing … well, you can just about find anything there! And the really neat thing is that most of the crafts & art work are made there. 

Upon arriving on a Sunday market day, my jaw literally dropped … I figured I died and went to hog heaven!! We arrived early (9′ish) and shopped all day, finally sitting down around 4′ish for a small break to have some food & beverage … and then Penny told me we had only done 2 blocks!! So many things to look at and just not enough time to see it all. One lesson I learned quickly was if I saw something I liked, to buy it right away – instead of deciding to come back to that stall later to purchase it. The chances of finding the same stall again aren’t very good, as the market can tend to overwhelm one by its size with one main street and lots of smaller laneways running off it. For all you shoppers out there, here’s a neat website all about the stores in Tonalá.

On our way home, Penny also showed me where a KFC was in Guadalajara – yea, more junk food!! You’ve probably figured out that there will be definitely be a few trips back to Tonalá before we hit the road for San Antonio. Not sure where we’ll put everything, but I have a feeling our roof rack will be used for the first time! LOL And in case you’re all wondering, Grant was quite happy to stay at home and watch football instead of trekking through all those market stalls!

A Very Quick Trip to Puerto Vallarta
We received a phone call on a Thursday from our good friends, Mike & Cindy Jeffers from New Braunfels, Tx. They had planned a spur-of-the-moment trip to Puerto Vallarta and would be arriving on Tuesday! Never having driven to Puerto Vallarta yet, but definitely on our to-do list, we booked a room in PV and arranged to meet them on Tuesday afternoon. Due to us having to get ready for our trip to Winnipeg, Canada at the end of the week, unfortunately our time to visit with them was too short.

We mapped our route and decided to take a Toll Highway that was a great 4-lane highway for almost the whole way except for maybe the last 80 miles.  At 270 pesos one way, toll roads in Mexico are not inexpensive, but definitely well worth the money! The road is in very good condition, no slowing down for going through every small village, and we have never seen any kind of speed enforcement. The scenery was gorgeous going through the mountains, and at one point, we were actually above the clouds! There were a few slowdowns along the highway due to mini-rockslides that occurred. We’ve learned that the trick to driving in Mexico is to drive as fast as you can when the going is good, because there will definitely be parts where speed is not going to be a factor.

We left early on Tuesday and after 5 hours drive we were able to spend most of the afternoon and evening with Mike & Cindy.  Mike had arranged for a day pass at their all-inclusive hotel, so we really felt pampered.   Haven’t felt like that in a while!  LOL  We talked & laughed, enjoyed great food & perhaps one too many wonderful drinks!  Wednesday morning we drove to a local Mexican Restaurant in Marina Vallarta and had a delicious breakfast of huevos mexicanas (mexican style eggs).  All too soon it was time to drive back to Ajijic but with promises of another get-together soon.  Here’s a few more pictures.

We know that Mexicans love a Fiesta (party) but we were a little surprised to find out that Mexican Independence Day, September 16th, is a week-long celebration!  Their Independence Day is definitely the biggest, and most celebrated, holiday in Mexico.  It is said to be a combination of the 4th of July, Canada Day, the county fair and New Year’s Eve all rolled up into one!  Starting in mid-August, almost every street corner has vendors set up with lots of Mexican flags and various other patriotic items for sale.  The town square is decorated with flags, bunting & ribbons, and parade route streets are strung with hand-cut red, white & green paper garlands.  Of course we can’t forget to mention the constant bang of lots of Cohetes (sky rockets).

The Fiestas Patrias (Patriotic Celebrations) include a footrace, an exposition of gigantic tissue-paper hot air balloons (Regata de Globos), a Charro Parade, a traditional Parade of the Shawls, flag salutes, an Independencia Parade, a soccer tournament, a war of flowers, and of course, the Grito, which is a reenactment of Father Hidalgo’s famous call to arms which ends with cries of Viva Mexico! After this famous cry, there are fireworks and dancing. The Grito actually takes place at 11:00pm on September 15th and we were really looking forward to going to this. Unfortunately we didn’t go, as it was a windy, rainy night and we convinced ourselves that we wouldn’t enjoy ourselves very much in those conditions.  The parade consisted of every student from every school for miles around, walking the parade route with big, huge smiles.  There was only two ‘floats’ (decorated trucks), many horses, and of course, the Queen & her mariachi’s at the end of the parade (just like Santa Claus!). 

By far the most unique and interesting event we went to, was the Regata de Globos. The stands were packed (mostly with gringos!), cervezas were cold, and there was much excitement in the air.  Grant & I really enjoyed being able to walk around on the field and get close-up to all the action.

This year there were 12 teams set up throughout the soccer field, ready to launch their 25 balloons each. The big thing to keep in mind here, is that these are made from tissue paper. Many hours are spent designing and then glueing all the tissue paper together. It wasn’t unusual to see team members doing repairs (patching tissue paper over holes) as the balloon was being inflated. Each team has unique ways of setting up their balloons. Some use ladders, one team has a guy on stilts, and there is also a three-level scaffold for the really big balloons!

At this point, the hot air from various means (small chimineas, propane torches, sticks with the ends on fire) has inflated the balloon almost fully. Great care must be taken at this stage to avoid igniting the fragile paper sides of the balloon. We did see a few balloons go up in flames before they even got launched.

What’s really interesting is that these hot air balloons are fueled by a ring of rags soaked in kerosene. The ring of rags are suspended in a wire framework inside the open base of the balloon. The fire ring is what keeps hot air in the balloon for its travel.
As the balloon is launched, the team & spectators watch anxiously. The balloon will often tilt to one side & then the other as the wind catches it.  If it tilts too far, it will catch fire from inside!  A big ‘Ooooh’ from the crowd is a good indicator that the balloon is falling to the ground in a shower of flames.  A fire department’s nightmare, the fiery balloon can land anywhere … an empty field, on power lines, on a roof, and even on cars driving on the highway right beside the soccer field!

But if all goes right, the balloon floats ever higher up in the sky, over the mountains, and apparently goes for miles! We can attest to that as we were a few miles from the soccer field later that evening and we could still see the balloons. We’re not sure of how high they go, but if we were to guess, we’d say at least 2000′ high. Good thing Lake Chapala isn’t on a flight path for the airport!

If you’re not ballooned-out, here are a few more pictures of the Regata de Globos.

We finally made it to the Beach! Woo-hoo! Deciding on where to go was a difficult decision, because between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallerta, there are lots and lots of small, non-touristy beaches located in protected bays along the Pacific coast (map). This stretch of coastline is known as the “Costa Alegre” (translation: The Happy Coast). These small beach towns are popular on weekends and vacations for Mexicans from Guadalajara and even Mexico City.  We flipped-flopped between a few locations, but finally decided on a hotel located on Tenacatita Bay.

We also had to decide what route to drive.  We could take the 4-lane Cuota Highway (toll road) or take the libre (free) highway which is a 2-lane highway and has lots of winding roads as you cross the mountains.  The cuota route would take a similar amount of time and be easier to drive, but the mileage is a lot higher and of course, you have to pay the cuota tolls (approximately $28 one way).  We decided to be adventurous and take the scenic route and quite enjoyed it. From our door in Upper Ajijic to the resort’s door in Tenacatita Bay, the mileage was 200 miles, and took 5 hours. We really enjoyed the winding, curving road (except when getting behind a truck that could only go 15 mph!). But patience is a virtue! The highway was in good condition as well.

During the trip we traversed several mountain ranges or ridges. It seemed you were going back up shortly after you had just came down. The road was like a corkscrew, in that it zigzagged as you followed the switchbacks up and down the mountain. Often it felt like you were driving in a green tunnel with trees and vegetation hanging over the road and blocking the light. Some of the ranges were much steeper and higher altitude. At the top of Sierra Manitatlan (sub-range of Sierra Madre del Sur), we could see some lower level clouds at our level. At times you could catch spectacular glimpses down the steep cliffs to fields of corn, sugar cane, and the unmistakable blue green of agave on the valley floor below.

We decided to treat ourselves and stayed at BlueBay Los Angeles Locos http://www.bluebayresorts.com/en/hotel/bluebay-los-angeles-locos.html.  This is an all-inclusive resort, located on it’s own private beach on Tenacatita Bay.  Although rated as a 4-star (Mexican), it is really more like a north american rating of a 2-star.  As it was really off-season, it was very, very quiet there; hardly any guests.  And yes, we were the only ‘gringos’ there. Needless to say, the staff were tripping over themselves providing good service.  Our bellman knew we didn’t like the first room they put us in, and returned with at least 5 room keys to other rooms to show us. We ended up picking a room in the same ‘category’ that had been renovated, and so it was quite nice. We also looked at one of the junior suites, but the price he quoted us was quite a bit higher than what we could have got on-line, so we refused it. In thinking about it, if we had gone to the front desk and asked for the internet rate,  we might have gotten it (and would have taken it because the suite was really very nice).

Breakfast and lunch were typical buffets - food was good with lots of variety, not fancy but fresh.  They also had a pizza/pasta restaurant which was really pretty good.  The choices for drinks (as far as liquor quality) was limited.  No such thing as a ‘top shelf’ Margarita here!  We had dinner one evening in the Arrecife Restaurant (non-buffet).  Nicely decorated, great views as it ‘jutted’ over the ocean, and a nice menu selection.   (Our table was under the middle light).  We had a special treat as there was a fantastic thunder- storm that rolled in while we were dining – spectacular lightning over the ocean, sheets of driving rain, and huge booms of thunder.  You couldn’t pay for better entertainment and in such a great setting!! 

Not sure if it’s just because we are so used to the wonderful climate of Ajijic, but man, was it ever HOT at the beach. And humid! Just about everyone knows how much I love the heat, but I truly thought I was going to melt into a big, huge puddle. We went on a Mangrove/Jungle Tour which was a little interesting. Luckily I managed to pack the proper footwear for this ‘cruise’!  LOL  The foliage was quite thick in places and required lots of ducking down! Saw a few monkeys but luckily no crocodiles (and there are lots of them in the area as there is a croc refuge not too far from there).

Had a little bit of excitement on the way home as we got pulled over at a temporarily set up inspection area off the main highway (just pilons and pieces of old tires on the road to act as speed bumps to slow you down!)  For some reason, the vehicles ahead of us (all locals) didn’t get pulled over, but our Texas vehicle did ….  hmmmm.  We’re assuming it was the Mexican Army as they were wearing camo clothes and had big guns …. wanted to check the vehicle for drugs. They were very thorough with the search and had quite the serious expressions on their faces. One soldier actually spoke English so that made the experience a tad less scary as our Spanish is very broken to say the least. They were a little scary at first but started to crack some smiles towards the end when they didn’t find anything! As we were pulling away we laughingly thought about asking to take a picture (especially of the old tires on the road), but didn’t want to push our luck. LOL  

We also drove through a few of the other beach towns on our way home, namely La Manzanilla, Melaque and Barra de Navidad. All have potential for future visits. Here are a few more pics of our trip.  Needless to say, we can’t wait to get back to the beach!

Wow! SMA definitely met and exceeded our expectations. It is one very impressive City.  There is so much art, culture, architecture, people-watching, shopping, and of course, history. For those very interested in history (or too much time on your hands), here is a great link to the history of San Miguel de Allende. 

Friday morning, with our house exchange arrangements all made, a new Map Book of Mexico Highways, and a driving route planned out, we set off on our adventure.  And believe us, driving in Mexico is definitely an adventure!  We thought we had seen all the various driving behaviors on our initial drive down here, but quickly realized that like most places, driving habits change with the locale.  One example that struck us as very funny (after we picked up our dropped jaws!) was when we were driving on a 2-lane highway with approximately a ‘half’ a paved shoulder on either side.  With on-coming traffic approaching, the vehicle  behind us pulls out to pass.  While he is passing us, the vehicle behind him passes him!  So we were 3 vehicles abreast, with a vehicle coming towards us!  All this on only 2 lanes of highway!!  Of course it all happens in just seconds, and all ‘the locals’ seem to know the rules of the road.  Funny thing is that we didn’t see any accidents on our travels.  Can’t recall the last time we went on a road-trip on US highways and didn’t see an accident!  After a short time on that highway, we were on amazing 4-lane toll highways that were great.  Total cost for all tolls (there & back) was around $30 – a very good investment!  With a short 20 minute break for lunch, and losing 20 minutes when we ‘got lost’ going through one town, we arrived in SMA in just over five and a half hours. 

We found the house where we would spend the next four days and thought, “Man, how did we get so lucky?”! A very beautiful new house, located at the end of a very quiet cul-de-sac, overlooking a very deep, dry ravine, with beautiful views of the lake and mountains. It also had a very small infinity pool (almost more like a big hot tub) that was very well used by us!  Our first evening there was a wonderful distant thunderstorm going on and it was so neat to watch the lightning and listen to the distant rumbling.  Needless to say, all evening Happy Hours were spent at this location! 

We spent most of Saturday exploring the Centro Historico area with all the great churches, plazas, shopping markets, and of course, restaurants.  The picture on the left is La Parroquia de San Miguel Archangel, the famous pastel pink sandstone church and the city’s most recognizable landmark.  Built in 1683, the gothic facade was added late in the 1880′s.  It truly is a ‘Wow’ moment when you see it for the first time, or the 20th time. There are too many pictures to post them all, but click here to see some typical touristy photos!

After more sight-seeing, shopping and a few refreshment breaks, it was time for dinner.  We had our spot all picked out …. Longhorns Smokehouse (yup, Texas BBQ in SMA)!  We arrived there shortly after six, only to find that they close at 5!! Fortunately the owner, Keith, and a buddy of his (a Texan of course), were sitting around having a few cold ones. I’m sure the sheer look of disappointment on my face (and the fact that Grant was of course, wearing his UT shirt & hat!) sent Keith into the kitchen to find what was available. Can’t believe we forgot to take pictures, especially as he had a huge 2005 UT National Championship Flag prominently displayed on the wall, as well as other Texas memorabilia.  Keith even made a comment about wanting Grant’s shirt for his display wall!!  We joined them in having a cold brew and talked about Texas football, Texas in general, living in Mexico, SMA real estate prices (compared to Ajijic), and the general lifestyle differences in SMA & Ajijic. By the time we left, we had scrounged up a takeout order of a HUGE rack of delicious ribs (it lasted us 3 meals) with the meat falling off the bones, bbq beans, potato salad and coleslaw.  Carol, author of a very informative web- site www.fallinginlovewithsanmiguel.com, was kind enough to allow me to borrow her picture of those great ribs. Thanks Carol!

Other interesting things we did was go for a drive around the area; lots of walking around the historical neighborhoods;  we had to go to McDonald’s for lunch (always a treat for us!);  we took a wonderful guided walking tour on Monday morning and learned lots from our very knowledgeable guide; ate at an incredible Italian restaurant; browsed through a few art shops; hit a popular ‘New Orleans style pub’ for a drink; and of course we spent lots of time spoiling Rusty, Mischa & Bubba poolside!
 

There appears to be some sort of ‘rivalry’ (for want of a better word) between the ex-pats of SMA and the Lake Chapala area. There is no doubt that San Miguel is a world class city – as of July 2008 SMA was honored with being named a UNESCO world heritage site. It is a huge deal and all of the people of San Miguel are glowing with pride. And there’s no way in hiding the fact that the villages around Lake Chapala are what they are …. fishing villages that are growing beyond their infrastructure. In our opinion, one is no better than the other – they are just different. Not sure if we would want to live in San Miguel, as we love the quaintness of our ‘fishing village’ or, as some refer to it, Gringolandia!! For a real tongue-in-cheek read, check out this website, it’s too funny http://richland.wordpress.com/category/gangs-of-san-miguel/.  We think the funniest one is “Requirements for Gang Membership”.

So now we are planning our next little adventure – definitely to the Beach!  Pending good weather, we hope to get maybe 3 days at Tenacatita Bay during the first week of September.   Will keep you posted!  And don’t forget that we’d love to hear any comments from y’all once you’ve read an entry …. let’s us know that you’re still keeping tabs on us!!! 

A few weeks back, we had mentioned we were going to head to La Manzanilla (the Beach).  The week that we had planned to go, the weather was not good on the coast, so we postponed it.  This is also a busy travel season for the local people, as school is out and families take their summer vacations now, which also translates to higher hotel rates.  We’ve decided that as we’ve waited this long now, we’ll go shortly after the week of August 18th, as that’s when school starts again and rates go down.  Pretty smart, uh?

In the meantime, we had an offer to do a house exchange with a couple who live in San Miguel de Allende.  They used to live in Ajijic and want to come visit for 5 days.  Works out great as they have 2 cats and a dog, so we’ll just exchange pet-sitting services too!  We are really excited about this and everyone says how great SMA is.  We leave on Friday (8/8) and will return on Tuesday (8/12). 

Ajijic is not noted on this particular map, but it is approximately above the ‘e’ in Lake Chapala (the blue blob).  If you look straight across to the right and go up just a bit, you’ll find San Miguel de Allende.  San Miguel is approximately 225 miles east from Ajijic, and takes around 4.5 hours to drive there.

Here is a little bit about SMA:  Located in central Mexico, SMA sits in mountainous terrain at about 6500 feet in elevation.   Founded in 1542 by a Franciscan monk, San Miguel today boasts a rich colonial charm, with its cobblestone streets and extensive examples of Spanish architecture.  In the center of San Miguel is the public square, called El Jardín, from where you can see La Parroquia, the massive parish church built in the 1700s.  Long regarded as a tourist destination, it is a magic mix of history, culture, art, architecture and beauty.  Visitors can spend days just walking the cobblestone streets to see colorful houses, 18th century mansions, and many churches, some dating back three centuries.  Like the Lake Chapala area, SMA also has a huge ex-pat community with lots of Americans, Canadians & Europeans.

 Will have lots of pictures to post when we return.  Hasta luego!