Aguascalientes

Last Tuesday we left San Blas on a roadtrip to Aguascaliente with our friend Paty. Here you can see her in her kitchen. We took turns driving and it was my turn through Guadalahara!!!! Good grief. Paty drives a GMC suv so I just pointed it where I wanted to go and floored it. Everyone was trying to get infront of us but I was tough under Paty's guidance!!!!!

This is the wing we stayed in of Paty's gorgeous home. The city was wonderful with some awesome architecture but it was a tad cold. It felt like minus 2 according to the weather chanel. Ofcourse there is no central heating!!!! This is Mexico BUT it rained, the wind blew, the temerature soared down!!!! Yikes it was cold. Paty had warned me but I didn't think it could possibly be THAT cold. Oh yes it was!!!! We still had a fabulous time.

Friday we headed back to San Blas by bus. I thought we might be in trouble when the bus that was only to make two stops on the way to Tepic stopped at a taco stand and the driver bought four tacos with sauce and a hard boiled egg, got back into the bus, adjusted the steering wheel so he could use it as a table and off we went!!!! He was quite young and had blue eyes which is very unusual here. On the open highway he did very well. Ray saw him using cruise control but in the cities he became a mad man - The Road Rage Warrior!!!!! He followed transport trucks so close a piece of paper couldn't be passed between us and no one was getting infront of him no matter what!!!! Agressive plus. He wound his way in and out of traffic like he was in a little car not a huge bus. He kept crossing himself all during the six hour journey and more and more I began to understand. Thank you God for getting me another mile safely. By the end of the trip I was doing the same thing!!!!!

So nice to be back in San Blas!!!! It is warm and sunny.

I love to Boogie!!!!!

Ray was at the dentist. I was quietly sitting in the living room ready a good book when I suddenly heard this incredible sound from outside our house. The worst muffler noise in San Blas and it was sitting and revving outside my house. Time to check on this delinquent. It was my friend Carl and he had come to take me for a ride in his wife Joy's boogie!!!!

Let's go!!!!

My first dumb question was, "Are there and seat belts?" "Sure," says Carl, "But they don't work!" We were flying through the back streets of San Blas. Taking flight over potholes bigger than the boogie. I was hanging on to the roll bar over my head thinking to myself that this was just like being on a midway ride and I gave them up years ago!!!! What the hell were we doing!!!!! Having a blast is the answer.

Back to the house to pick up Ray. We rounded the block and there were the neighbourhood kids waving and jumping up and down with excitement in seeing their crazy Canadian neighbours driving a boogie. I got it into second and then third. Never made it into fourth. The little machine is very gutsy!!! Goes like stink!!!!

On one open stretch I flew through a puddle on Ray's side and that started the whining. "No more puddles!!!! I'm soaked" and honestly when we got back to the house it looked like he had on leopard skin shorts. It was too funny. He really was covered with mud!!!!

The whole time I was in the boogie I had this stupid inane grin on my face that I couldn't take off. It was just so much fun. Dangerous but fun and we survived yet again!!!!

Gotta love San Blas!!!!!!

El Chaco

It seems there is a rumour around town that the pool at El Chaco is dirty and I want to keep the rumour going!!! Look at it!!!! Filthy!!!! The result is that when we were there yesterday with our friends Carmen and Lawrence we had the place to ourselves!!!! Perfect!!!! What a great afternoon we had basking in the sun and swimming unencumbered by any other swimmers. I can't wait to go back. No rash today but I'm not telling anyone that!!!!

Carmen and Lawrence are our friends that we play cards with occasionally. Last week we were at their house playing cards, eating Belgum chocolate cookies and drinking tequilla!!! A gourmet feast!!! My kind of people!!!!

The Wedding

What an honour and priviledge it was to attend the wedding of Sophia and Paco on Saturday February 6th, 2010.

The wedding was held at ETC just south of San Blas. I have written about ETC before. It is the perfect place for a wedding. The staff were most attentive. I was afraid to finish my libation as another was always always imediately there to replace it but I was brave!!! The meal was great - huge shrimp, a mystery potato dish and a green salad with a balsamic dressing and a sprinkling of cranberries, walnuts and raisins.

There was a constant flow of music that started at the end of the ceremony with 4 mariache kind of musicians singing and playing. There was a traveling group that visited every table as we ate and then the serious Cuban band started with an ipod thing giving them the occasional break. Now, the Cuban band was great but they must have played tunes that lasted for at least 15 minutes each!!!! Exhausting. Two dances and you're done at our age!!!!

Did you say a cyclone????

It started raining Tuesday and didn't stop until Wednesday night. In coming to Mexico for 6 years in the winter, we have never seen any rain before. Quite the experience!!!! No water drains away until the sun comes out and evaporates it all. San Blas' highest point is 5 feet above sea level. That is what makes it such a wonderful place for bike riding but not for water drainage!!!

The excitement started about 10:30 p.m. Ray had just come to bed and woke me up changing the fan blah, blah, blah but it wasn't the fan noise that I could hear.
"Ray, are you awake?"
"No!"
"Is that the wind I can hear?"
"Yes!"
"Good grief, something is wrong. It sounds like a hurricane!!!! Get up!"
"No!"

I decided one of us had to be brave and look outside so I got up and headed to the bathroom first. Now, all of our ceilings are about 12 feet high. The window in the bathroom is at ceiling level and about 1 foot by 2 feet. As I sat on the toilet, my short hair was blowing around!!!!! Now I'm positive something is very wrong!!!

"Ray, get up!!!!"
"No, I'm asleep!!!"
I head into the living room in the dark and suddenly about 4 feet from the front window, I'm wading in water!!!!! The house is leaking!!!!

"Ray, get up right now!!!!" and Mr. Brilliant says back, "Don't get excited!!!!"
Let's have a short recap. Hurricane outside, water flooding the inside. Not a time to get excited?
"If now is not a time to get excited, then I'm not sure when a good time could possibly be!!!!"

He finally staggers out of the bedroom and exclaims, "What do you want me to do? It will be fine in the morning." Yeah right, if we live that long!!!!!
"Get a pail and mop. Start piling the furniture up!!!"

I mopped and mopped and mopped and mopped.Every room in the house was leaking between the wall and floor or coming in the window. About an hour later I was mopping the living room again when I saw a gecko leaving the house through a crack around the front door. It seems to me that when the wild life is leaving and not wanting to stay inside to be protected from the storm, it isn't a good sign!!!!!

I finally make it back to bed where Ray has been for a very long time and I'm have trouble sleeping as my thought for the day is, "I know you can die in your sleep from smoke inhilation. Can you die in your sleep from drowning?????!!!!!"

Two days later a friend who is fluent in Spanish told us that the storm had been labeled a cyclone so there you go, another Mexican adventure!!!!

Saturday Crafts at 1....

The first Saturday we met to do crafts at 1:00 p.m. in our garage, I had 3 kids. The next Saturday there were 6 and goodness knows how many will be there next time!!!! Too bad you can't drop me off some supplies but I can collect all year for next winter!!!!

In this picture we are making frames for their school pictures with magnets on the back to hang on the fridg.

Other Stuff.....

Here is Ray getting comfortable for the ride to Miramar on Wednesday for oysters with our friends Joy and Carl. Ray is a good man!!!

I went on a boat ride one afternoon about 3 to see rosietta spoonbilled something or others. There were gorgeous. Probably the most beautiful bird I have ever seen in my life. We saw lots of other birds too. San Blas is on a migratory path so many bird watchers come here to gawk!!!

I have had a nasty cold all week and haven't felt the greatest but it hasn't slowed me down too much.

We went to our neighbours house for a birthday party and another night for Navajo tacos. Very yummy!!!!

We have one gecko in the bathroom behind the toilet and I hear two, not one as I previously thought, every night in the kitchen. I have counted up to nine in the garage at night. When I scream from the kitchen at night, Ray now knows that one little critter just ran across the counter infront of me!!!!!! I'm not impressed!!!!!

The 6th Annual International Bird Festival

The Bird Festival opened with a bang like it always does. This year the dancers were imported from the state of Jalisco. For the last few years the dancers have come from our state of Nayarit. Quite honestly, I think our dancers are better but they were unavailable as they were performing in Spain. Now, what does that tell you????

These young people were just full of enthusiasm and energy. The audience loved them. The costumes were great and changed with every number. There was a number where the men danced alone with their maches, swinging them recklassly between their legs. Male dancers dancers looking macho I guess. In another number, the men had bottles on their heads. It was very entertaining. A great night!!! A great celebration to start the week.

Personally, I like my birds with salt and pepper!!!!!!!!!!!!

Proud to be Canadian!!!!!

Last weekend we were invited to a fund raiser at the new mariner. We dickered around about whether or not we wanted to go. We would have to ride our bikes home in the dark with the perils of dogs and pot holes along the way!!!! Finally our good friend Patti volunteered to drive us home so we agreed to go.

The fund raiser was put on to support a local school for special kids and here is the best part it was organized and orchestrated by a Canadian couple from Toronto, Ruth and Don. They prepared all the food for the scrumptious buffet. Now, I think it really helped that Don is in the restaurant trade!!!! He told us they were expecting about 150 people but cooked for 200 and then word got out in the community that there was a party and wow!!!! they served almost 300!!!! It was a great experience and it made us so grateful that we had attended and so proud to be Canadian too!!!!!!!!!!!!!