A Day in Chapala - March 29- 2015

March 29, 2015

     It’s always delightful when we have a guest who has never been to Mexico.  Each year we have more to share, greater enthusiasm, and more information. (but never enough!!) 

    Karen joined us 6 days ago and we have been on the “go” visiting towns, Tiangis (markets), feasting with friends, and delighting in the fruits of Mexico with renewed enthusiasm.

    We enjoyed the pool and view at the Racquet club, explored the back roads of Jocotepec and visited Montse so Karen could enjoy a hair treatment, Mexican style. This often includes Montse’s kids leaping on top of each other in the very small salon, her grandmother sitting on the couch and the local kiosk delivering food.  Yet the chaos did not compromise Montse’s skill as a stylist and the results were great!

     We’ve enjoyed delightful weather, endless interesting conversations, and the beauty of the Jacaranda trees now in bloom. These tall trees with their purple blue petals look stunning next to the still blooming brilliant yellow Primavera Trees.

     Yesterday Marta, our Mexican friend, came over and gave Karen and I a wonderful massage.  Marta is multi-talented, she does reflexology, massage and knows so much about herbal medicine.  She is always glad to answer questions and fill in our information gaps when it comes to tradition and life in Mexico.  She took us to an herbal store as Ivan’s shoulder was causing severe pain. We now have topical Peyote Cream!

      Here are a few visuals of our unusually active life between the old road in Joco, and the festive Tiangi in Chapala.

Marilyn's Party March 27 - 2015

Karen's Visit March - 2015 A Mix of Activities, Places and People, Lots of Experiences for Everyone in our Little Part of Mexico

A Photo Mix, Manzanillo (our last day) and our Return to Jocotepec March 20- 2015

We returned to our delightful daily routines in Jocotepec.

Sadly Lynda flew home on March 17. She is now reunited with cat Stella and the wild west. She is enjoying the magic of our Pacific NW Rain Forest and we talk of hikes and scouting once I'm home and settled.

We had 7 days of rain and cold weather here ( no it's not always sunny in Mexico and Global Warming has changed the climate everywhere). We are enjoying a return of sunshine, which means we can wash clothes and hang them to dry.

Mexican homes are not built for cold weather,  so wet days are uncomfortable.

We discovered the local movie theater and try and make the "less than perfect" days productive. (I got my computer fixed, saw a great dermatologist, just finished an excellent book called "Aquarium, by David Vann).  We attend to practical things if it rains, keep moving or crawl under the blankets.

They need to get solar power happening in Chapala. It's a no brainer.

My friend and colleague, Karen, is arriving next week. I look forward to showing her the area and sunshine is expected. We continue to exercise, read, write, cook and enjoy the local festivities.

Many of my photos are not things we see daily (like donkeys wandering in town) but I cherish those moments. It's a view into this area of Mexico years ago. It's great that aspects of a previous lifestyles still exist, and that daily life is sprinkled
with both modern and old ways of doing things.

Enjoying Manzanillo - March 12/ 2015

Trip to Manzanillo, A Much Nicer Place than We Expected!

Hello Everyone,

     We left Jocotepec yesterday on the Quota highway to Manzanillo. It was smooth sailing, a good road with 3 toll booths.  We arrived at our hotel on the beach in less than 4 hours.
     We were surprised how satisfying it was to sit above the sea by our infinity pool in a grassy area with several Mexican tourists. The view is pretty with small mountains rising up around the Bahai. Ivan is happy to watch the huge ships (this is the biggest port in Mexico) then dip into the infinity pool for his almost daily 40 minute swims. The hotel just has a few Mexican guests, is relaxed and comfortable.
     Lynda and I headed out to discover the downtown area. We quickly realized it was too hot to walk, jumped on a bus and became part of the multitude. There were no tourists downtown, we enjoyed watching "life as it is" in a port city. We did lots of wandering, some shopping and explored "El Centro" then caught a taxi back to our hotel.
    We found a delightful restaurant at this hotel, Mirabella, where we watched the sunset while enjoying delicious seafood.
    It's great to realize Jocotepec is less than 4 hours from the coast. The two areas are so different. Chapala has endless farmland, agava, fruit trees and vegetable farms. Here life is about the sea, fishing, and trade.

     We were planning to go to Cuyutlan but the turtle sanctuary is closed today and it's so nice here we can't see any reason to leave. The beach is deserted, the ocean much cleaner than I've seen on the Pacific side of Mexico and our room air conditioned:)  It's morning now so the sea breeze is cooling but yesterday when we hit the pavement in the afternoon it was 30 degrees and we were moving slowly.

We decided not to make plans today. The endless sandy beach is calling. Downtown is amusing, entertaining and the container ships are surprisingly colourful. The bustle of normal life appeals to me more than made up tourist towns.