February fun, politics and progress

February 25th, 2010

So many kind messages from our friends and family who seem to be enduring a winter season full of extremes have ended with some envy of the ‘relaxing’ time we must be having during our stay in Mexico. If truth be told, we are putting much effort into moving this handmade house forward out of camping under a roof to a home with an increasing number of amenities.

Jim’s big engineering project has been to correct the drainage system after we witnessed the full force of the deluge of water during the three day storm. Trial number one was digging trenches where the water had naturally run. In spite of Jim’s caution and notation of where a sewer line intersected the ditch, Julio, the gardener/worker, punctured a hole in the pipe, and so Jim decided that it was better, faster and cheaper to complete the work himself. So now we have a very un-Mexican though aesthetic and functional drain embedded along the edge of the veranda that forces humungous amounts of water to flow through two long 4 inch diameter pipes and empty into the meadow. Success!

There have been many honey-do tasks to complete to keep Susan perking along. In fact, one whole day was spent installing curtain rods into the cement walls both over the two large bedroom doors and under all the sinks and counters in the bathrooms and kitchen. It was rather like a huge dental operation with either Susan or Otto holding the vacuum where Jim was drilling lying in some contorted position on his back to hammer-drill underneath the cabinets. Amtrak safety practices kept his eyes, ears and lungs healthy. Then Susan hung curtains that she had made previously or made them custom to order We have also added toilet paper holders attached to walls so that the wind blowing the rolls off the windowsills eliminates the endless game of ‘chase the paper rolls over the floor’. Best of all both ‘wings of the house are now screened in with parota wood frames and screening tight enough to foil a majority of the mosquitoes. Alas, our lovely arched windows are now covered on the outside with rectangular frames so that the beauty of the ironwork is not revealed until you are inside of the house. So plans are in the making to add shutters which can be closed during the rains and add some detail to the exterior of the house. We have decided not to go with the eyebrow roofs over each of the seven windows, as we love the views and the ever changing light throughout the day. Otto has been building tiny control boards with a mysterious mix of capacitors and resistors which flash off and on for the alarm system as well as perfecting the lighting in the great room. He has made the “Danish Modern” reflectors from sheet metal which blend in nicely and creates soft, indirect lighting at night..

We have had several friends to dinner, and in lieu of wine or other gifts, I am now asking for cuttings of plants that will survive in this dry, thorn forested area. Imagine my delight when Zoe and Gary appeared with a truck load of four foot tall, variegated bent leaf Paloma plants. Imagine Jim’s surprise when I planted 21, and he had only the final one to do! They look grand waving in the breeze!. To plant in Mexico, we learned that one chips away at a small hole, then fills it with water and once the water is absorbed, dig again til dry earth is reached, and then add more water. Add some ‘black’ dirt, then stick the plant in, and refill with the soil making a berm around the plant to hold future waterings. I also purchased two large Mexican clay pots and planted two Sica – the dark green ever green plants that thrive in the sun. Many of the plants in the cactus garden have had ‘pups’ and the Magueys {from which mescal is made) are now up to our shoulders!

Trips into Zihautanejo proper take more time than I like, but are necessary. The most intriguing change in Zihautanejo has been many of the buildings’ color change in response to the change in political government. Buildings that were heretofore in the yellow-orange family have now been completely redone in various shades of green to honor the ‘ruling’ party. So the mustard yellow Mercado (aka farmer’s market) is now lime green, and the orange hardware store is verdant green along with many other buildings currying political favor. It is always challenging and fun to find exactly which store has the item needed. Hardware stores are notorious for having special niches of certain items. I went to purchase a floor fan/ventilador and went into three electrical stores on one block where the same fan was offered at prices ranging from 650 to 980 pesos! Much of the street construction in Zihautanjo Centro has been completed and so the ‘smells’ of Zihautanejo from the aging sewer system seem to be under control. There is a more upscale street of pricey boutique shops near Playa Municipal that now sports wooden signs and an overhang to protect one from the sun. Susan managed to visit her favorite store La Embarcadero just as the owner Christina was unpacking her new load of finds from a trip to Oaxaca. Her Mexican wardrobe is expanding. There are many enterprising ventures sprouting up here and there in spite of the sagging economy. Tourism has been down for two years, and so the streets are less crowded and the aggressiveness of the street vendors is toned down a bit.

I try to plan a trip or two into Zihaut to dovetail into picking up our nephew, Patricio, from school at 2:15. His Dad, my brother, John is in the States completing a house in northern California in order to earn the dineros needed for his family, and so Ivette appreciates the break in not having to make two trips a day in and out of town. For me, it is a ½ hour with Patricio and a close to errands. The first trip home Patricio wanted to go the ‘short way’ home along the dirt road along the Playa Blanca that connects near the airport. Apparently he thought that it would be a smoother ride in Jim’s RAV 4, but alas the accordion bumps and dips and sways were oblivious to the car model and we drove very slowly. We hear that this road will soon be paved which is will really speed up traffic through the small villages at the northern end of the Playa Blanca and change the character of the area in the name of progress

Lest all work make the Audleys dull, we have had several adventures. We visited La Chole in the tiny hamlet of Soledad de Maciel which is a small fishing village that hasn’t changed much in 3000 years except for the recent uncovering of the biggest archeological find in the state of Guerrero in Mexico. It covers 10 square kilometers and according to our guide, Lily, the paleontologist wife of the head archeologist, La Chole was a major city site in 300 BC (Tepoztecos culture), 200 AD (Cuitlatecos) and in 1300 AD (Tomiles) with populations moving in and out of this city due to changes in water availability. So far three pyramids have been discovered, one of which has five temples as well as a plaza and ball court. Most of the artifacts found to date are being catalogued in Mexico City but will return to a museum which is being built near the site.

Susan stops by El Refugio de Potosi when possible. A trip to the lookout tower when the roble (bright yellow blossomed trees) and the sister trees the magenta-pink primaveras were blooming) was spectacular – as if these brilliant Mexican colors had been splashed across the impressive landscape. An usual sight during this dry season, a bonus from the deep rains. Laurel and I also made leaf castings with several children and other curious adults, but alas though the vein patterns were terrific, the mix of cement was not, and so we will try again as we are hoping that perfecting these leaves might inspire a saleable craft in the gift shop of El Refugio for the women in Los Farallones and Los Llanitos. I also met the sanctuary veterinarian Jorge Gusman and his wife, Marta who will be the environmental educator at El Refugio and we plan to meet more frequently to flesh out a curriculum. Most of all I am inspired by the whole sanctuary setting, and am always intrigued by which animals have been rescued, released or will become permanent residents of this lovely space.

We celebrated our 42nd anniversary and had planned a low key dinner out. However, at noon when Jim was knee deep digging drainage ditches, and Susan was being a Mexican maid cleaning, sweeping, and scrubbing, suddenly through the bathroom door which currently has the fish flag from Vancouver as a door there appeared a mariachi trio of guitar players all decked out in sparkling white long pants and shoes and long sleeved red shirts to serenade us! Otto had planned this surprise and apparently there was some confusion that they thought they were singing for a wedding party—thus the special outfits. In any event, they sang their hearts/corazons out with much crooning and arching of eyebrows, while two dirty, sweaty recipients enjoyed every note! We did go to dinner on La Ropa overlooking Zihauntenjo Bay. The restaurant El Manglar, we were seeking was closed so we headed up the mountain, parked at a 25 degree angle and clamored into a huge restaurant with an enormous, funky slightly wavy deck perched on a cliff and sat at the very edge for dinner – sort of Americanized Mexican but tasty and endearing as the owner treated us to dessert and wine in honor of the occasion. Life is good!

The remaining chunk of time has been related to community. The number of delinquent crimes has slowly been inching upward in the past year and then coupled with some hold-ups near the cemetery/pantheon and in the parking lot of El Refugio as well as a reported rape on the beach, the community held an open meeting to share concerns and to find out what could be done. Tourist business at the enrammadas, the refugio, La Chole, Petatlan and even the nature trail in Ixtapa had all been effected, and high level meetings had taken place to ask for a more constant police presence as well as to put a halt to these incidents. The Gringo community was eager to learn how they could protect themselves as well as how to better support the Policia Federales assigned from both Zihatanejo and Petatlan. Much information was exchanged, and a security committee was formed to make recommendations and share the procedures to follow when endangered or concerned. Jim offered to join, and then after several other men joined in, a female point of view was desirable and so Jim and I are now learning unbelievable amounts regarding Mexican culture, bureaucracy, and who harbors what beliefs. The most fascinating member on this committee is Ali Zerriferi, a Moroccan-born, Canadian-American raised, and Mexican-wed storyteller who acts as the ‘crazy glue’ smoozing between the Mexican and the Gringo factions. So far we’ve had three meetings, published the minutes and are making good progress on creating procedures that we believe will work for everyone from a community watch group/list to how to contact help and what information will be needed in Spanish. The most interesting meeting was held with Petatlan Commandante Flores at the very public La Condesa enrramada at 4:00 in the afternoon. Four tables had been placed end to end making a long boardroom (albeit plastic) table, and the committee plus representatives from other organizations and interests attended with Ivette as translator., At about ten after 4:00, the Tourista Policia in their lime green shirts, vests and weaponry began to edge the entrances into La Condesa, and then a massive bodyguard in his navy-black uniform, bullet proof vest and very large machine gun appeared aside Commandante Flores, who also cradled a formidable weapon with a large banana clip in his lap for the entire meeting. Now the Commandante is a wiry, lean and tough hombre who smiles a Cheshire cat grin, and whose eyes constantly dart about taking in all details. He shared his plan for increased protection, the re-establishment of the manned station at the Barra (the Zihautanejo Commandante will reopen the station at the other end in Los Achotes) and explained the three levels of police in the Mexican system. When he was done, several asked questions. Jim wanted to know how to best let the police know one was in danger with minimal Spanish. The Commandante explained that by calling 066 (comparable to 911) the request would be radioed to all police on duty, and that the nearest unit would respond once a location was given. With some persistence trying to relay our isolation on rancho Loma Bonita, Jim pressed on until finally Commandante resolved the issue by declaring one should simply say the name of their location and use his last name – thus our call for help would be Loma Bonita - Flores and we could call his personal cellphone if need be! Fortunately no one came to assasinate the Commandante during our meeting (though we were prepared to dive under the table if need be) . So for now the police presence is most evident, and we drive by with waves of appreciation and occasional gifts of sabritos and refrescoes to break up our protectors’ tedium.

Ranch partners Scott Parker and James Maddox have arrived for a stay and brought additional insect repellent – though the mosquitoes seem to be abating as we return to a drier season.The Domino Pleno document signed by almost 100 of the ejido owners at the very first convening of this group (an unheard of feat in ejido transfer of land) and thus giving Ivette ownership and the ability to retitle Loma Bonita to its individual shareholders had been an incredible accomplishment. She will now push the document through the federal government to completion within the year we hope. So the partners banter about with possibilities of corporations, trusts and/or individual ownership and gather information to see what might benefit us all in the long run.

Sort of a scattered and all-too long blog entry this time around, but reflective of the many issues and interests that consume our time while here, but hopefully there will be something of interest to each reader should you make it through page four.. P.S. Pictures from 2009 are accessible on the blog, we have attached a smattering of pictures to the email notification that alerted you of this blog entry – just so you know we are alive and well!

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The Good, The Bad & The Ugly #2

February 7th, 2010

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The past two weeks or so have been spent settling in to life at Loma Bonita with a few roadblocks along the way just to make sure we are prepared for the ‘Mexican Way’ of doing or not doing things.

After 9 days of driving, Jim’s back gave out so that he was’ listing’ to the side. Our friend, Laurel, urged him to establish contact with a local, reliable doctor, and so we went to see Dr. Eliseo Serrano in Coacayul the next day. Our Mexican doctor is a very lovely man who spent a good deal of time with Jim, and finally recommended a series of three shots over four days along with muscle relaxants and pain killers. Jim agreed,, and so on Saturday and Sunday we rang Dr. Serrano’s bell and he came down to do the injections and to take note of his progress. Having found out that he loved the game of baseball, and was involved with the children’s teams in Coacayul, Susan realized that she had found the perfect recipient for the beloved traveling set of balls, bats, gloves, batter’s helmet, catcher’s mask, chest and shin guards all in a duffle bag . This baseball set had been given by Wayne Reichart from Benchmark a year ago, and it was important to find the proper home for it as it was a sentimental gift representing Wayne’s first team purchase as the sports director at Benchmark School many years ago. As Dr. Serrano gave so generously of his services, it was good to be able to give back. Dr. Serrano was visibly delighted with the used, but cherished equipment and it will probably be used to form an additional team. Jim is now upright once again. Unfortunately Susan was hit with a wicked bout of Montezuma’s Revenge just as Jim was on the mend, but with the miracles of Ciproflaxin all was soon well again. We were finally ready to start living in Mexico.

Our house is in better repair due to the presence of our caretaker, Otto; however Susan has noted that a bachelor living here with his three cats and sweeping once a week doesn’t quite hack it. So there has been much pulling out of everything to clean behind, and washing of slipcovers, and such but it is finally beginning to feel reclaimed. Otto continues to live in the guest room until his next living space is available. Jim has enjoyed Otto’s company and help with the lighting system as well as the alarm system which includes lots of outdoor lights and sirens as well as much wizardry. Susan finds that having a man who enjoys cooking has given her a sous chef of sorts, and we have gone to bed to the aromas of baking bread and apple pies. The 5:00 PM appearance of a perfect Cosmo sans flower is another bonus.

In addition, Otto’s year round presence has given us more knowledge of how the house works throughout the various extremities of the weather. It was hard to believe that his description of the leaks in the roof and through the windows were as ferocious as he described. However, we, too, experienced the phenomena over a 72 hour period this week. It has never rained more than a countable number of drops in the years that we have been coming; and in addition, the locals tell us that it hasn’t significantly rained in February in over 30 years. Our gardener and other local workers kept looking at the sky and signs of nature predicting rain, but we just scoffed until a deluge brought down an inch an hour in the first six hours and then tapered off for a total accumulation of 18 inches at Loma Bonita which also filled the roads and normally empty drainage canals of the Ixtapa/ Zihautanejo area. Happily, our house is well situated and crowned so the perimeter was dry. But, we spent the first day shifting furniture to dry spaces or covering with tarps as well as chalk marking the tejas roof tiles that became saturated and began to drip. Soon Jim realized that there was a pattern to the tiles that leaked so that future adjustments could be made. Also the waterfall of rain coming off all three sides of the roof created some exceptional gullies as it poured from the veranda and ran down hill. Jim noted the damage from last summer’s rains, but now knew that his plan for taking the water away from the house needed to be ramped up substantially.There was so much rain that as we were driving home one evening fish were jumping in the road! The great advantage of this unexpected abundance of water is that all of the plants and grasses are now a verdant green and the trees are thriving from the unexpected dry season deep watering.

The other major advantage is that the bar of sand that separates the fresh water lagoon from the ocean at the Barra (hence bar of sand) de Potosi was forced to open belatedly. The relationship between the lagoon and the ocean is a critical one for the community that lives here as there is a period where the brackish water becomes a breeding ground for the families who make their living from harvesting shrimp, and there is a time when the lagoon dries out and creates great salt flats for other families to collect and sell. It’s a delicate balance, and when the natural ebb and flow of these two bodies of water do not open, the lagoon water becomes a stagnant, mosquito haven driving customers away from the outdoor enramadas and restaurants in the village. In addition, mosquitoes breed dengue fever and other nasty diseases. So the rains helped raise the level enough to ‘open the Barra’ by 3:00 AM on Friday morning, and there was much rejoicing – as well as a huge stench from all the garbage (thrown away by the tourists from Mexico City) that had backed up over the months and now went out to sea and caused havoc with the wildlife. Life is trying to get back to normal though the breezes are still ‘backwards’ coming from the mountains in the morning (instead of late in the day).

Another huge concern has been security and safety as there has been sufficient incidents in our area to cause alarm. In our Guerrero state area which is statistically among the safest in Mexico, there has been an outbreak of sporadic crimes (e.g. the vandalism of our home and car last April, some hold-ups of tourists along the Los Achotes road for money and jewelry, and a wounding of a family from Petatlan as well as a rape of a woman on her honeymoon on the beach). All of these incidents when compounded have rallied the community and we have increased police presence along many talks and plans materializing for short and long term plans to secure our safety. We do not feel as if we are in any more danger than if we were to have a night our in Philadelphia, and indeed, the statistics are much harsher in Philly. But we are at a disadvantage in clear communications when incidents occur with language and protocol barriers. So a community meeting was held yesterday with leaders of the community, representatives of the government and police to clarify what had actually happened (from heresay), to set up stronger linkage between the community and the police and to heighten individual’s awareness of what proactive steps they could take to protect themselves. Jim and Susan are now on a committee to recommend actions for the community and further steps to be taken with the authorities to carry through on their promises.

The increased police presence has certainly been to our advantage as the propane gas truck came to make a delivery, and the gardener/worker, Julio, happened to be here and noted that our new tanks were only half filled. Susan had spontaneously gifted the gas workers with a bunch of coconuts (from Eflaco’s clearing of ten palm trees earlier that morning). When the gas truck deliverymen drove gleefully up to the gate, they were met by a truck full of armed, vested police who thought it unusual for a gas truck to be on what was once ejido land. So the police stopped the truck, the men looked very guilty and offered the police the coconuts as the police took down all of their information. Then two of the police walked in to check out their story. We were delighted with the police follow through, and that they now knew where we are. When Jim returned, he called the gas company and the workers returned with very full tanks!

We have been to the new restaurant on the beach, LaGartos, where Leo is now assisting, twice. The first time was to catch up with our friend, Laurel and her amazing venture with El Refugio de Potosi (the wild life sanctuary). The second visit was for Jim’s birthday (after the storm) and with Laurel, Tom List and his wife, Suzanne Statler (ranch partners down for the week), Ivette and Patricio…and a fine time was had by all!

It has been great fun to renew our friendship with Tom and Suzanne over dinner at our home, the birthday dinner, a tour of the progress of archeological dig at La Chola near Maciel de Sol, and a finale bonfire picnic on the beach with Patricio and Ivette last night including hotdogs, s’mores, and fireworks plus the magnificence of the myriads of stars in the sky.

We finally carved out time to tour El Refugio and were quite overwhelmed with what has so artfully been created just up the road from Loma Bonita. When we left last April the many buildings were nearing completion, the plants and animals were being gathered, but to see it altogether is remarkable. The huge viewing tower gives scale and scope to the diversity of this niche located on the Pacific ocean yet, embraced by the Sierra Madre Mountains. The welcoming building has tour guides at the ready, a lovely gift shop, a video introduction and eight large tanks displaying the various insects, snakes, and such that are commonly found in this part of the world. The guides patiently describe the good and the bad of each creature; striving to eliminate the many myths that have grown up around the creatures. E,g, the Madre de Alacran (the mother of scorpions) which is about the size of a human hand actually eats scorpions, and does not produce scorpions as many think. After this introduction, the tour ambles down the thorn forest pathways where at each turn there is yet another animal with which to interface. The macaws and parrots, that are so endangered, camp under palapa (palm frond) roosts and the many local varieties of hummingbirds feast at rows of feeders. There are spaces for other local birds, iguanas, jaguarundis (the puma like cats), coatimundi, raccoons, turtles, and butterflies- all creatures large and small. As a sanctuary, the Refugio takes in all sorts of injured or wild animals that people attempted to domesticate (but couldn’t) and seeks to get them whole enough to release. Those animals that cannot survive on their own are taken care of for life and serve as teaching examples to the many school groups and families that visit. The birds with the shot off wings, and the elegant, endangered iguanas in their habitats are gentle reminders of over hunting these creatures for food. The four month old baby raccoon that so enchanted everyone at the welcome center, will be put in with the wild raccoons on Monday to learn how to really be a wild raccoon. Of the two sea turtles that were brought in last week with some unknown infection; one has died and will be autopsied to determine what is happening to the sea turtle population, and the other seems to have slowly responded to the antibiotics. So the animal population shifts and changes each week, and the local Mexicans are learning to value those animals in their midst with whom they share this space. It has been wonderful to witness the evolution of Laurel’s dream as well as her uncanny ability to involve so many people with whatever talents they possess.

Our own animal story of the week was the unexpected arrival of a feral white cat who had hoped to become a part of Otto’s three cat family. Susan came out to start breakfast, and heard mewing from behind the stove – thus explaining the sudden ‘thump in the night’. The stove was pulled out, and the cat was freed but hung around, and tried desperately to make friends in exchange for food. The next night the cat spent the night in the trash (presumably rooting about for food, and became more bold in meowing to eat. Finally after building some trust (alas) with Otto, he put food in the back of his cat carrier, and trapped the cat. Jim and I drove it to its new destination the SPCA in Zihautanejo.

We hear that our friends on the East Coast are enduring an incredibly, snowy winter and we hope you are all taking this cold weather in your usual stride, reading lots of good books and finding ways to get togetherl We miss you all, and wish we could be in two places at once!

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Last Road Trip to Zihaut 2010

January 25th, 2010

We departed from Rose Valley on Saturday, January 9th at 2:30 PM for the absolutely, positively, no-way-another road trip to Zihautanejo. Fortunately, my sister-in-law and Jonathan graciously held dinner in their lovely home in Roanoke, Virginia until our arrival at 10:00 PM. It was a soft landing for a rigorous day; so the fine meal and extra comfy bed was doubly appreciated. In the morning, our niece Stephanie and 14 year old drop-dead, gorgeous Katie and the 7 year old whirling, dervish Star Wars affinciniado , Stephen joined us for breakfast.

The journey continued on through the eastern edge of Tennessee, and across the corner of Georgia until we found room at an inn in Fort Payne, Alabama. The softly chewed vowels of the South became the norm as the check-in counter person (originally from Horsham, PA) expounded upon the advantages of living in Alabama. Apparently the number one benefit is that the school tax is $15 per family per year. Perhaps WSSD should send a contingency down to see how they do it (or rather all the school services that they eliminate). As the clerk said, my sons went through Alabama public schools, then went onto Auburn and are now teaching in their childhood classrooms. Of course, she did add that the schools had recently been closed because of the cold snap – there is no heating system in the buildings…a big savings. Also I guess its important to note that Alabama schools consistently rank in the bottom five of the worst schools in the nation.

The next day we were off across Alabama, Mississippi and to a night on the town in New Orleans! The slow rate of recovery from the ravages of Kristina was more and more evident as we grew closer to the city. Some buildings have been completely restored, while others are boarded up and appear as if no one will ever have the time, money or motivation to tackle such renovations. Jim found a very old, boutique hotel, the Olivier House in the French Quarter, just off Bourbon Street for the night. It was originally owned by Madam Olivier who ultimately bought three adjoining residences across from the Opera House in the mid 1800’s and used it as her private home. It was converted into a hotel in the 1970’s and probably has not seen much attention since that point – so it was just a shade on the side of entering seediness. However, the rooms were clean, the staff quirky, and the service gentile…and it was only for one night .We finally got a chance to stretch our legs, and strolled the fabled streets. The bitter cold temperature had frozen most of the palms and other vegetation, so the landscape in Jackson Square was a little other worldly. Only the hardiest of street entertainers were out and about hustling the tourists; but of course, a comely clown with charm and flattery presented me with a balloon flower (that also popped as the night progressed). After much hemming and hawing, we decided to dine at the Court of Two Sisters, where an insular, and ever onward soldier-like Thomas was our waiter. Apparently he had lost everything with Kristina, and at retirement age was marching forward in his 30 year long service at this renown restaurant . It became a challenge to coax Thomas into interacting; he prepared our Caesar salad and finished off with a flaming dessert almost robotically in spite of our charms. We capped the night off at renown jazz venue, Preservation Hall. Due to light crowds, we had front row seats and closed the show which featured an awesome quintet. We especially enjoyed the trombone player, a stocky black fellow, who played with great flair and energy coaxing an amazing variety of hoots, grunts and mellifluous sounds from his instrument. He captured the stage with his alternating dipping, upward reaching, continuously gyrating extensions. Despite Susan’s “ permission” ( yeah right!) Jim restrained himself from visiting the Gentleman’s clubs and satiated with good food and outstanding jazz, we retired to the Oliver House for the night, where the bedbugs do bite. Beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde completed our whirlwind stay in the Big Easy.

The fourth day promised another soft landing if we could make it to San Antonio to stay with Jim’s sister, Barbara. So we drove and drove, and knew we were in Texas as soon as the cars started barreling past us regardless of our speed. Barbara was there to greet us in her lovely historical home in the King William neighborhood along the San Antonio River. It was a bittersweet stay (for us) as Charlie and Barbara will be moving to Houston in April, where Charlie has secured a wonderful position at the University of Texas hospital and teaching staff, and where Barbara will no doubt make her mark, yet again, in another city with her art work. One highlight of our stay in San Antonio was to stroll a bit of the Riverwalk to a restaurant where Barbara’s latest series of art work was hung. Last year, she had been captivated by the light and forms that are created along the Riverwalk, and began photographing what had always been there but yet had not been seen – and the resultant, enlarged and digitalized paintings are quite spectacular. It was great fun to walk after seeing the artwork and finding possible pieces of our own. Lucky for us, Barbara gifted us with a copy of ‘Gate 6’ – another treasure in our art collection. Lucky for me, is that after many yearly invitations to join her painting trips to Montfacon in Limoux, France and finding that the upcoming May trip would be her last, Jim offered to send me! I am still in shock that such a magnificent journey awaits me. We shared a wonderful ‘birthday’ meal (for the Aquarians, Barbara and Jim) at Boudros on the Riverwalk, and then drove to the new installation of the solar lit fish under the bridge further up the San Antonio River. It was a fine visit, and we feel fortunate that we’ve had so many good times in the heart of San Antonio with Barbara and Charlie.

The next morning we found a space for the egg incubator that our friend, Laurel had had shipped to San Antonio, gritted our teeth and headed off for the border. So many friends and relatives had expressed great concern for this particular journey heightened by the media coverage of all the border wars and desperation of the Mexicans. We had not been able to obtain Philadelphia Mexican Consulate approval for our ‘goods’, and so we had made our own list of what we were carrying (in Spanish and English). Jim had called the Consulate in San Antonio who had informed us as to the rules as to what we could take, the items that would carry a duty, and what items we could claim as personal. We arrived at Piedras Negros/ Eagle Pass around 1:00 PM and were met by four very friendly agents who quickly approved our list, charged us $26 duty (we were expecting around $350) and stamped our list; then pointed us to where to get our immigration FM3 visas stamped and we were on our way within a hour – record time!

We continued down the familiar entry road and headed toward Monclova, the nearest city that we could make by nightfall. Monclova is an industrial, primarily steel making city in the state of Coahilla with little charm or grace, but many jobs – an anomaly in Mexico.
Instead of staying at the Americanized Comfort Inn, and perhaps we were in such high spirits after completing the easiest crossing yet, we opted to drive to Centro Monclova and stayed at the very old Hotel Olympia across from the townsquare that featured a huge, rather clunky iron crucible (presumably from one of the factories) that also doubled as a fountain featured (in warmer weather). We were treated to a group of young teenagers presumably practicing their dances for an upcoming Cinquecintera, and fascinated not only with their energy, but moreso with their delight in mastering complicated, cultural dances. My favorite was the one where the boys each whipped out a machete in each hand and whirled, twirled and clashed these workman’s tools in time to the music. We walked to dinner having been assured that there were many fine restaurants on Blvd. Papas just a few blocks away. The few blocks became many blocks and as dusk was fast approaching we kept asking every 4 or 5 blocks if we were headed in the right direction, always receiving assurances that our destination was just a few blocks more. Finally as night fell, we reach the main highway, crossed its many lanes, and spotted a restaurant where we had a fine meal. We took a taxi back to the hotel. Breakfast at the hotel the next morning was a delight with many Mexicans greeting us merrily as well as our pouring over Mexican newspaper for news – mostly the horrors of the Haitian earthquake.

The very cold weather combined with the rain in the usually dry season has been interesting to note. The Mexicans in this northern area and in the mountains are really not prepared for such plunging temperatures, and the infrastructure surely could not accommodate more than a cloudburst without bringing parts of city traffic to a standstill. As we approached Zecataca , it snowed! There were parents, mostly fathers, who had driven out to the highways and stopped to show their children what snow was. Reportedly the last snow was 30 years ago! Snowballs and snow angels became the order and phenomena of the day. Some made small snowmen which were carried back to their homes on top of their cars! The TV news was appealing for blankets and warm clothes to be sent to the mountain towns as people live in houses with no heat, and were never prepared for the length of this bone chilling cold.

The drive to Zacatecas was much improved from two years ago. The country wide Ruta 2010 effort to have widened and durable roads has made driving much more pleasant – as long as one stays on cuotas/toll roads. Jim had determined that the best value for the night would be to stay in what was once a nunnery in the Centro area of Zacateca. The hard part was finding it with all of the one way streets on this very steep, mountainside colonial city. At one point we stopped and asked a police man (we could have sworn it was the same one who gave us the 900 pesos ticket two years ago for ‘not seeing the (nonexistent) sign that forbade pulling trailers on the particular section of the highway we were on at the time. In any event, he very courteously advised the torturous route making sure we should turn right at the Ban Norte sign (our bank). I finally spot the sign high in the air and we go down an alley way, make a few more turns and amazingly arrive at La Condesa – which turned out to be a great find – probably because it cannot be found. Our porter was yet another young Mexican by heritage, but born in California who was deported on his 18th birthday and came home to live with his grandmother in Zacateca to start over.

We wove our way out of the puzzling streets of Zacatecas and headed toward Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico. This route would take us into new territory and give us a chance to experience a drive down the Pacific Coast. We find that Guadalajara actually encompasses the cities of Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tonala and Tlaquepaque, and as we arrive on a Saturday afternoon the whole experience is quite overwhelming for me in terms of people, sights, and smells. I am paralyzed in making any rational decisions whatsoever. Jim has opted, once again, to head for the heart or the Centro of the city where we stay at Hotel Frances, the oldest, continuous hotel in Mexico which will celebrate 400 years in May. It was originally a place for short term traders to stay as they went to Mexico City, and where middlemen could barter reduced prices by meeting the suppliers before they reached their primary market. It was a lovely hotel in a building that reflected its heritage and historic detail as well as the many remodeling efforts by its previous owners the Oliveros brothers – one of whom has a daughter who is a Pettyt Officer in the United States Navy! It was also the on location set for the 1983 Charles Bronson movie “The Evil That Men Do”. We stayed in the penthouse suite which in true Mexican style had its peculiarity of a large, emerald green Jacuzzi IN the master bedroom with classical stained glass Venus type models surrounding the tub. The actual bathroom was three rather large compartments in a separate room behind the no-getting-around-the-fact that a giant Jacuzzi was next to your king sized bed! We took a stroll through the Centro area centerpieced by the iconic Cathedral whose twin steeples had fallen in an 1848 earthquake and were replaced with much higher ones adorned with canary yellow tiles. We stopped to admire the Rotonda de los Jaliscenses Illustres where twenty of the state’s favorite writers, architects, revolutionaries, educators, and artists are buried and honored under their life-size statues. We pass by some of the maharachi/ cowboy bands that originated in this state of Jalisco – all competing for the possibility of being hired for an event. We walk through blocks that are crammed with only shoe stores or fabric shops on the way to the much ballyhooed restaurant, La Chata, which we have been told is ‘comida tipica’. As we wait to gain a seat, I watch the many white uniformed ladies bustling about putting the dinners together, and whisper to Jim that the food looks way too tipico –but just then we are called to a table where I have perhaps one of the most mediocre of Mexican meals in my entire life. It is loud, the food is lukewarm, and my thoughts of a quiet, intimate dinner dissolve. The next morning we set out to explore Guadalajara Centro, but it is an all too quiet Sunday and the famous market at the Plaza Tapatia is closed. However, the walk from the hotel to the plaza is quite the loveliest allee of trees with gardens, fountains, and other noteworthy plazas strategically placed. We tour the regional Museo/Museum where Jim is inspired with the pre-Columbian artifacts representing daily life. We crawl through the streets and alleyways to find ‘treasures’. We engage in conversation with a buyer for a museum in Vancouver, BC who tips us off as to specific museum-gift shop quality vendors. Jim buys many ‘chachkas’ while I am thinking only of the sparse surface areas in our home and the need for many shelves as well as the dusting and cleaning of these new objects. (As of this writing they are still wrapped in their papers.) We have a wonderful lunch at an outdoor stall where all the people are friendly and happy to be a part of such a lively street fair. Alas we stay too long at the proverbial fair, and when we start to leave by 4:00 we are faced with a minimal four hour drive to our next destination of Colima, and not a clue as to how to get out of and around this part of the city which is opposite from where we really want to go. Our GPS has wonderful information while within the city limits, but does not recognize any of the new roads from Ruta 2010 and so we wander and scheme until dusk when we are headed in the right direction on the high speed road south to Colima. Unfortunately there are more mountains to cross, and the high speed road often abruptly changes to two lanes and the dreaded doble-semi remolques (two semi trucks strung together) lurk ominously and laboriously ahead just daring those Mexican drivers to pass them in the no passing zones. It is very nerve racking driving. Jim’s back is beginning to warn him that its muscles don’t like being in the same position for such a long time. We finally arrive at Colima with our first taste of the tropical climate that we have been anticipating. I have believed the travel guide’s lovely description of Hotel Buena Aventura just across from the Jardin Nunez and navigate Jim towards that place of refuge. Unfortunately it personifies seediness – but we are so tired that we can’t look any further. We dine at a local spot and have the largest torta ever, and enjoy the people watching. Finding breakfast the next day is challenging, but after we find a parking lot for the car and trailer Jim by-passes Hotel Cebollas outdoor restaurant having been put off by the Best Western sign and American prices, and we go to the other side of the square for a lousy breakfast that even charges for the milk for our coffee. Oh well, penny wise and pound foolish, we are on our way for the last day of travel for this journey.

From Colima we want to follow the Pacific Highway along the coast of the states of Michoacan and finally Guerrero (where we live). We spot our first glimpse of the Pacific, and finally can smell the saltwater and revel in the tropical plants. Its so exciting! We’re almost there! At one point we see the most amazing gated entrance ever and after several more miles see its mate. In between grows a virgin forest. The gates are purely ornamental and it is apparent that the only way in and out is by helicopter – most likely a drug lord’s retreat. Eight hours later we are still maneuvering around the mountain hair pin turns – all 1300 + of them and the glimpses of the ocean although initially spectacular are seeming rather mundane. The topes/speedbumps are becoming more frequent – one at the beginning and end of each village as we approach Lazaro Cardenas – and some villages have interspersed them throughout the distance of their town. Jim’s back and my butt are feeling each rise and fall and it is no longer any fun to s-curve over the topes so that the trailer hitch will not scrape. Finally we spot the lights of Ixtapa in the distance, and we are on familiar ground. We cross the bridge from Ixtapa to Zihautanejo then make the turn onto the east to west Acapulco Highway 200 (having just been on the north to south Acapulco Highway 200 through Coacayul, Los Almendros, Los Pozos, until we see the sign for our turn at Los Achotes to Los Llantos to Rancho Loma Bonita where we drive in to let our caretaker, Otto know that we have arrived. It is too late to unpack our bedding, and we are exhausted so we find a room at Bernie’s B & B on the Playa Blanca. (Last year, it was reported that Bernie had sold his beachfront property with its three rentable B & B spaces to a Harley Davidson dealer and his family; apparently the deal fell through and Bernie used their deposit to pay off his Zihaut house, buy a car and re-establish his business on the beach.) We had a lovely, leisurely breakfast, then headed into Zihaut to find out what papers we needed to renew our Fm3’s. The new agent at immigration was most helpful and took time to explain all the new laws that will take effect in May 2010 – most to our favor. We returned to Loma Bonita to set up our bedroom, and were treated to a lovely dinner prepared by Otto. It was wonderful to be watching the sunset at our home and to catch up on all of the changes in our nine month absence. His three cats love living in this house, and have kept it free of many mice and snakes in our absence, and even the birds are learning to co-exist with the cats – though both species keep their distance.

The time since our arrival has been a dizzying array of cleaning, sorting, screening, shopping for supplies, and quick hellos (with promises to spend time with) what seem like old friends. Jim’s back finally gave out as he was listing rather seriously to the right, and Laurel convinced him to see Dr. Serrano in Coacayul. So he has undergone a series of three shots over three days to relax his muscles along with pills to relieve the inflammation and the pain. Today, on this Sunday morning he struggled for several hours to get upright – but we went for the third shot today (what other doctor would open his doors on a Sunday, no less!) and Jim seems to be out and about this afternoon, as we write this first letter from Mexico. There is much more to share, but the saga of the journey is enough (or way too much) to let you know that we have arrived safely and that we are again impressed with the openness and cordiality of the Mexicans we have met along the way.

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The grass is greener…

April 15th, 2009

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Life on Loma Bonita

March 20th, 2009

Our time on Loma Bonita seems to be hurtling toward a finish in about ten days. Closing out the house is especially hectic as the parameters change each year. We acquire more ‘stuff’ for the house, accomplish a few projects, and make more friends to see before we leave. We still do not have screens which means that everything made from cloth has to be secured from the mice and the insects. However, we do have our lovely, newly painted security gates making it somewhat more difficult for people and larger beasts to enter the house. So we are gearing ourselves for much partying this weekend, and then the big shut down.

My sister Sarah’s friends, Lizann and Kolin, from Vancouver, Canada were persistent in tracking us down during their two week stay in the Zihautanejo area, and we enjoyed a fine dinner together at Leo’s as well as the opportunity to show them our property on the ranch. Hey explained that the reason I have heard little from Sarah is her involvement with a performance piece in Vancouver involving ice skating!

Mario Gomez and his, wife Soledad, delivered out table/mesa, six chairs/sillas and two endtables, as promised towards the end of the first week in March. Jim has spent many days, protecting the wood from insects, sealing it, staining it and then varnishing it. All of his labor has resulted in a very fine table (that exceeded our expectations), warm glowing chairs and end tables that will also store more ‘stuff’. We will post their picture soon along with Mario’s masterpiece. After a visit with us, Mario took Soledad to the Barra for her very first glimpse of the ocean! It was was four and a half hour drive from Cuanajo to here, and then again back – so we were pleased that they took some time to smell the proverbial roses.

Jim went fishing early one morning with Miguey and Guitte and brought back some very tasty fish for dinner. He caught the three largest ones for that day, but gave them to the men to sell. We certainly will miss the fresh seafood for which this region is well known.

We are slowly expanding the number and types of extraordinary people who tend to live in this area of Zihuatanejo. The Casitas de Petosi is a complex of six homes built by an architect of some renown on the Playa Blanca. We had driven by the very handsome stone wall many a time, and have met some of the residents on other occasions, Bob and Jane Nagel of Denver, Colorado invited us for cocktails which lasted four hours! The homes are almost all concrete and very organic with polished concrete sinks and counters, floors, storage spaces all interspersed with river stones woven into attractive designs to delineate one section from another. Our friend, Laurel Patrick, who once lived there designed all the gardens that weave through and give privacy to each home. Of course, there are fountains, and there is a pool abutting the beach underneath a palapa roof which shelters bans/bathrooms, showers, and a barbeque area. All very posh and luscious.
Also present at the cocktail party was Franca Fracchetti, a lovely Italian woman from Milan, who married an American engraver by the single, only name of Joseph. They had lived in Cody, Wyoming where Franca has a small, but renown restaurant, and Joseph made bronzes and did engravings for antique firearms and such. We end up at Franca and Joseph home on the Playa nother night for scrumptious dinner of lasagna (made with béchamel sauce, not ricotta) and other wonderful treats. Jim was tasked to help her with a computer problem, while I saw all of Joseph’s work in photos that were stored on his computer. Another interesting evening.

Our maestro tile layer, Rafael Galindos, his wife Alma and their three daughters, Nancy (15), Sandy (13) and Odalys (8) arrived at 10 AM on Sunday for a day of ‘tranquillity’. We had wonderful ceviche and guacamole in the morning, and then barbequed a huge sierra/mackerel and a smaller hauchinago/red snapper in the afternoon followed by flan. I was a little worried that such a tranquil day would be terribly boring for the girls. We hiked up to Rio’s house on Mango Madness where Ruffino was having a huge barbecue for his extended family. They were cooking a whole pig which had been cut into pieces, and had been boiling over an open fire in a copper pan that was at least 4 foot in diameter for house and still had several to go. So the girls hooked up with the children there for a bit, and when we returned we had games and paper with which Odalys drew pictures to hang on all of our bare walls. Although it was tranquil for the Galindos, we were exhausted from the intensity of communicating only in Spanish for the day. I am sure that I missed more than 50% of what transpired and am hoping that I gleaned enough from the remaining 50%.

That evening I had a movie date with my nephew Patricio. We had planned to watch “Whale Rider” as he was fascinated with the whales/ballenas that had come into the Playa Blanca beach for several weeks. Patricio had made numerous snacks, and set up the viewing site and we had a fine time – especially when the little girl actually rides the whale. However, Patricio did not like the grumpy grandfather and thought he was all wrong in thinking that only males could be chiefs.

We are having a fiesta on Saturday night to honor those eleven people who have helped us get our home to this livable point. Leo will cook the meal from botanas/appetizers of shrimp and quesadillas requeson (a special cheese) to the laborious, but delicious hauchinago a la talla and drunken plaintains. It should be fun!

On Sunday we will go to the Playa Association fundraiser at our friends, Toby and Claudio’s B&B Villa Don Manual. After several years of the residents along the playa and along the Los Achotes road banding together, they have elected Toby, a Mexican, as their president. A wise choice as he has the gregarious ability to bring both the Mexican and the North American communities together. His big thrust so far has been to usehis political clout to have large blue barrels dotting the road for visitors to discard their trash as well as to have regularly scheduled trash pickups. On Wednesday of this week, I went to a community trash pick up with the Playa Association. Within an hour over 75 people had bagged a garbage truckload plus had a good time working side by side gringos and Mexicanos alike.

I completed a speech screening of Leo’s younger son, four and a half year old David, this week And with the help of many have come up with a program that is intended to help him speak more clearly and correctly. Ivette translated my report and met with the parents when we shared the results. Laurel assisted me in administering the screening. At one point in the screening, I wanted David to identify the colors, He was so proud of knowing the English words for the colors that he burst forth loudly and clearly for each card, green, red, blue, etc. However, when I said “Su es Mexicana, Espanol por favor”, the words became a mumble-jumble once again.,Various other sources have advised me via e-mail. We are working under the assumption that something done to address the problem is better than nothing. The nearest speech pathologist is in Mexico City with exorbitant fees, and there is no one else within hundreds of miles to help. Apparently children with lags in speech development just limp along and parents hope that over time their speech will resolve into some form of communication. In any event, it was most interesting to me to work with a child in another language as well as to visit his Kindergarten class twice and see the wonderful, young teacher Angelina in command of this youngest of students

Jim has been putting the final pieces of the solar electric together. Figuring out how Cheque wired the house was a puzzle that is now whole. Testing the different parts of the house for electric has been magical, And today, with the remaining two pieces having arrived via DHL through Jim’s sister Barbara in San Antonio the system is complete. The four panels are gathering the sun and storing it in the twelve batteries and we will have light tonight. The occasional, whirring sound of the computerized generator makes it seem as though the house has a soul.

The days are getting progressively more warm; well into the low nineties each day. It has been an exceptionally dry season, and most leaves are tinged with brown from either lack of water or the fine film of sand-sifted dirt that covers everything. The mango crops on the surrounding farms look might slim, although the papaya ranch next to us has been irrigated and their plants are thriving. The shops in town seem to have had a very lean season most like due to the bad press urging people to stay away from Mexico. The undercurrents of the narcotico wars continue, and police are threatening to go on strike as their lives are worth more than the 200 pesos (about $16) they are paid per day. However, these are only bits and pieces of news we occasionally overhear, and not the reality of our days.

I am sending this blog from Laurel’s home amongst the clatter of her newly arrived and most beautiful parrots for the Refugio/Sanctuary. We’ve also been charged with collecting scorpions (fortunately Jim has been able to capture only one for the display so far) and snakes for her biologist to use in a display for the sanctuary.

We are enjoying our Nescafe lattes and squeezing our own juice from the enormous, but wonderful squeezer that Kat and Joseph contributed to the house. Kat also left her backgammon set, and Jim won the first four games, then I came up from behind and we are tied! No word yet when Jim will be willing to play the tie breaking game.

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Third World Family Vacation

March 5th, 2009

In spite of the fact that we have no screens, doors (between rooms) or a real shower, the house has survived its first real visitors who were able to live with us inside of the house. Fortunately, the visitors were family – our daughter, Kat and her beau, Joseph and his 6 year old daughter, Jordan joined us for nine days in the sun from Portland, Oregon. We got to know one another in whole new ways!

Mexico through the eyes of a six year old is a novel experience. Jordan’s main goal was to swim, swim, swim in her best vertical doggie paddle style which at first involved lots of clinging onto larger adults but by the midway point had her breathing with bubbles, butt up (instead of vertical) and always punctuated by lots of “look at me!” We all agree that Jim is the perfect swim teacher as under his tutelage, Jordan learned to open her eyes underwater, dive from his shoulders, belly flop, and many other water tricks. It helped also that my six year old nephew Patricio, aka Boo, abandoned his preconceptions regarding playing with girls and encouraged Jordan to try all sorts of stunts in and out of the water. When they both played rigorous made up games such as “ Darth Vader (with helmet and lit sword) meets Puppy’ (leash, hat and frontpack) marching about in all sorts of paraphernalia, and finally flung off clothes to skinny dip in the pool we knew that Jordan’s goal had been met.

However, six year old girls coming to Mexico also have to learn how to deal with bugs, and sand in crotches, and strange foods and such. And in the end, Jordan had mastered traveling in a third world country as much as one could expect. She had gone from ’ugh a spider, bee, mosquito’ to blithely noting that the pollen in the lilies would be taken on the bee’s butts to pollinate other flowers, spiders ate other bugs, and mosquito bites did eventually go away but putting on repellent was a good proactive move.
She was even pretty blasé about the tiny frog that wanted to live in the toilet.

Joseph and Kat went fishing two early mornings with Miguey and Guitte; thus providing a fresh fish meal of hauchinango/red snapper. We dined several times at Leo’s and were never disappointed…from posole to atun and tamales and botanas/appetizers and special desserts we were well fed. We made the rounds at the enrammadas at the beach, where Joseph became the guacamole expert. Kat was happy to be eating fresh food in the sun. My Mexican kitchen now has an addition of one of those professional hand juice squeezers that though imposing in size, is easily cleaned by taking out only two small pieces that actually get juicy. So we have consumed mountains of naranjas/oranges for breakfast and for screwdrivers.

We all went on a boat out to the Morros so that Jim, Kat and I could scuba dive while Joseph and Jordan snorkeled. The owner of the Zihuatanejo dive shop, a lovely French Canadian woman from Quebec named Christiane La Force, joined us with twin 17 year old ‘nephews’ from New Jersey and the dive master, Asrael. What a surprise to see what rich sea life is just off Playa Blanca – from schools and schools of tropical fish to turtles, rays, dolphins, moray eels, tiny conch shells, shrimp, and ever so much more among the coral nested into the rocks that make up the landmark in the middle of the bay we call the Morros. Afterwards, we went to the other side of the Playa Blanca to a very shallow site which was equally rich in sea life. No wonder the humpback whales are making Playa Blanca a stop on their migration north and south in the Pacific.

Jim, Jordan and I borrowed Laurel’s canoe and spent a morning investigating the lagoon that lies across the road from our property. It was really quite a magical spot with unbelieveable numbers of birds nesting there at the foot of the Refugo de Barra and a pig farm. As we glided about the lagoon, we were able to get very close to white ibis, roseate spoonbills (much like larger flamingoes but a paler pink and only about 32 inches in height), egrets of all kinds, herons both white and blue, sandhill cranes and lots and lots of woodstorks, pelicans and plovers. I am sure I have left some out, but all of the flocks tended to put on a show as we neared. Some stood at attention on poles that were in the lagoon, while others played ‘chicken’ as we got closer and closer to their nests in trees, and still others swirled about in enviable circles and formations in the sky.

In between, Jim kept plugging away at installing the solar system. With Joseph’s help, he placed the four panels in the rack that Marcos made. The master panel has been installed in the lockup room, and the conduits have been laid in a three foot trench that runs from a hole in the lockup wall about 15 feet to the pole that holds the solar panels. Batteries have been connected, and the first tests of how much electricity is generated from the panels indicates that 110 volts DC of energy is available. Now to complete the actual wiring and junction box…and maybe purchase something to actually plug in when we have electricity.

I have been working on constructing a screening test for Leo and Luis’ youngest son, four year David who appears to be lagging significantly with language skills. This is some feat to do in Spanish, so I enlisted others to help. I interviewed his parents today, and have been invited to visit the Kindergarten at the Barra on Friday so that the children can practice their English with me. So I’ll be able to observe David a bit with his classmates before I give him my screening test for sounds and words next week. Ivette, my sister-in-law, has been working with me as translator and as provider of massive amounts of Kindergarten materials which we will use as follow up for David. Also Laurel Patrick will be working with me on this project. There are so few resources for parents whose children may need extra help in specific areas, that we are forced to do the best we can with what we have.

Life IS indeed good and only becomes frustrating when one wants to be in two places at the same time which was my dilemma this week. Our oldest daughter, Jen celebrated her birthday and after several miscalls we were able to connect and hear of the many ways she was feted and celebrated. She also shared that our youngest daughter, Liz was pictured in the NY Times (albeit way in the background) in the newly reviewed production of ‘Our Town’ at the Barrow Theatre in the Village. I was very pleased to hear that the Rose Tree Gardeners placed first in the table class, as well as earned a commendation for their class entry. Oh how I wish I could have been there to be a part of that too.

We are beginning to think about how to wind down by the end of the month so that we can begin the journey home. Several people have expressed concerns for our safety as I understand the American press has focused on the drug violence in Mexico. When the new President of Mexico took office, one of his cabinet members and childhood friends, was murdered by the drug cartel in response to his platform to rid Mexico of drugs. This action served to make the President’s promise more urgent inspite of the formidable power of the ‘narcoticos’. The President ordered more police presence and checkpoints; the ‘narcoticos’ have responded by throwing grenades and such into selected checkpoints; and police presence has escalated. I understand that the new US administration has also promised three years of aid. However, we do not feel at all threatened – though I must admit that the heavy police presence on the roads, in stores, and even guarding Coca Cola deliveries is a little daunting with amount of weaponry at hand. In the end, it is much like in the States where one has to be aware of what areas to avoid, and when to travel, and have lots of luck to not be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

All in all, Kat and company’s visit was a welcome reprieve after having had worked so hard to get things ready. We’re looking forward to equal time with Jen and Liz here at some point as well as those friends and family who are willing to take the plunge

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March 2nd, 2009

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The Road Trip to Muebles and other misadventures

February 15th, 2009

Although Jim has officially become a senior citizen since our last blog entry, he does not yet have my ‘permisso’ to adopt curmudgeonly ways …though he does like to periodically test the boundaries. We know we’re both ‘senior’ now because we have these inane conversations. For example, one day we were driving back from Zihuat and as we turned LEFT (important Mexican background information: a Mexican driver can signal left meaning that he plans to turn left OR that the driver behind may pass on his left which makes for a very dicey interpretation of driver etiquette). off the main highway 200 through Zihaut onto highway 200 (as I tried to convey before all highways in this area seem to be highway 200 regardless of the direction) we had this scintillating conversation:

After a kilometer or two, Susan: Jim, your blinker is on.

Jim: Oh, which one.

Susan: Your left.

Jim: I don’t see any liquor store on my left.

We’ve been very busy trying to bring the plumbing and solar electrical systems to completion seemingly against all odds, It seems that we just get into one of these projects and there are all too many diversions as well as extraneous happenings. Jim has made three additional trips to Ixtapa to get the Mexican cell phone situation straightened out, and we now have many pages of notes of exactly how our amigo and call America plan work with all of the ifs, ands and buts. Unfortunately we neglected to call 264 after 48 hours to, yet again, initiate it – but five days later we think we can make and receive calls and messages.

We bought a queen-sized bed at the department store, Coppel, only to find out that it is not the standard 60 x 80 inch but is more like 58 x 72 I guess because most Mexicans are shorter. We asked to have it delivered on the 16^th (as we would be out of town) on the eighth day from purchase; but alas, one of the few timely deliveries was the bed which Jim had to arrange for acceptance at Ruffino’s ferreteria from Patzcauro on our iffy cellphone.

After three tries/trips we finally have the exact match of our obsolete Sherwin Williams house paint Marfil Silente which is now called Muslin. It is doing a wonderful job covering my glossy black dribbles from the repainting of the wrought iron work in the windows. At a weak moment, I agreed to repaint all of the curlicues to stave off rust; but it has turned out to be a very tedious job that is further complicated by the need to be in the shade when painting so as not to become a ‘crispy critter’ and so I proceed.

Our B & B owner and friend, Toby, arrived to take the twin mattress and the fabric into town so that his friend, Chimmy, could fabricate the sofa. We stopped at Commercial Mexicana to purchase a second mattress and to give me a chance to withdrawblog041409 the needed dineros from any of the five ATMs there. Mean time, the herreria/iron maker, Marcos came in with a better design for the covers to the concrete boxes that the mattress/sofa will rest upon. Marcos shared that he is eager for as much work as possible as his 14 year old daughter, Jessica will finish secondary school this year and the climax of this achievement is a party held at one of the hotels in Ixtapa for the graduating class. However, to rent the hotel, hire the band,, cater the food, etcetera is an astounding $3000 USD per child! In another conversation with Playa Blanco friends we learned that when a girl celebrates her cinqa cinterra on her 15^th birthday, that the gift the parents proudly present is a baby doll – signifying the last doll the daughter will have as well as, I presume, the notion that the next baby doll will be a real one that she produces.

Jim spent more than a day clearing coconuts and dead fronds. Several of our many coco trees are close to the house and falling cocos can break the tiles/tejas which form our roof as well as kill a person should he be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So Jim attached his gancho to a very long pole which was also wire to a long bamboo pole so that the whole apparatus allowed him to reach 20 or more feet over his head. He seemed to dance about avoiding the falling cocos with the long pole swaying. When he had cleared what he was able, he called in an expert. Eflaco was one of those small, wiry and very strong Mexican men who can scoot up the trunk of the palm tree, and then sit on the swaying fronds, holding on with feet that seem to have prehensile toes, and swinging about with one arm hanging on while the other arm stabs with a razor sharp machete at the bundle of cocos that has a rope tied around it and it lowered down on command to one of the two grandsons waiting below. Efloco denudes seven coco trees within an hour and a half; then leaves huge mounds of cocos for us to dispose of as ‘our are not good for drinking but for the meat’. This would have been okay except for the fact, that Jim and I have invited several friends over for cocktails. Jim spends the afternoon consolidating the piles of cocos and raking the tepetate yard; while Susan hoses out the house and makes some interesting floral arrangements from the flower of the cocos to go along with the lovely bouquet of calla lilies that Jim brought home as a surprise. We have a wonderful time with Laurel, Zoe and Gary Watson, and Barbara and Gunnar Erickson showing what we’ve accomplished in our casa at Loma Bonita. Rio and Gage Houston arrive on their dirt bike, and we agree to meet with them along with Sonya and Kindyl for enchilladas and tacos at Ros in the Barra.

Monday we secure the house, so that we can go furniture shopping. Our plan is to head to San Miguel de Allende, where we saw some reasonable antiques two years ago, and then work our way backward through Patzcuaro which is peppered with muebles/furniture making villages. We leave around noon, and arrive in San Miguel late in the afternoon. San Miguel is as inviting as ever though a little disarming as there are equally as many ex-Pats as Mexicans living there. Tuesday we are on a mission. Not only is it our 41^st anniversary, but we are determined to find some pieces that will make our house a home. But there are obstacles everywhere. We are guided toward very high end mueble stores, but that is not what we want. We find an antique store right next to our hotel, but there is nothing we can use. We drive to Fabrica de Aurora which is a factory complex where rebozos used to be made but is now a wonderful collection of the finest artisans. It was wonderful to wander through and see all of the fine craftsmen at work, We were told to check out C. Dwayne Yout’s furniture and indeed he has just the table we covet for family and friend banquets, but the cost is not only prohibitive but impossible to justify for our house which is exposed to the elements. We check out a very funky church-converted to antique shop where the owner Victor captivates us both with his entrepreneurship, imagination and zest for living. He and his son have created an enormous horse welded together from a steel water tank that once held thousands of liters of water and still will but with a more sculptural feel. Alas, though Victor has many intriguing items, there are none that meet our needs. We stop at a door shop, and purchase one-half of a 100 year + double door that will become the headboard of our new queen sized bed. And we make a ‘quick’ stop at Felipe’s antique shop on Calle Hildalgo where we ultimately purchase a large armoire with shelves and drawers (some secret) which was made in the 1880s. We dine at Tio Lucas in honor of our anniversary where many waiters tend our every whim, a good jazz group entertains us and a spectacular flaming dessert is prepared before our eyes.

Wednesday we begin our return trip hoping to find the other items we need at villages along the way. We have only the armoire in the trailer and the door/headboard tied on top of the car. Jim makes a stop at Home Depot in Morelia, and we continue on. Susan urges Jim to take a 15 minute side trip to Cuanajo, which is just before Patzcuaro. Just about every home is also a furniture showplace, of sorts. We walk for blocks and blocks until we are bleary eyed, and at the very end, we meet Mario Gomez who assures us that he can make the Dwayne Yout table …at a fraction of the cost. Jim and Mario begin a very detailed discussion of just what this table will be like, As darkness descends, we drive to Mario’s shop to see his ‘old’ wood. We make plans to return the next day to finalize the table plan. Mario has a customer, Deborah Peacock, who owns a B & B in Patzcuaro and we makes arrangements by phone to stay there. We arrive around 9:30 and Lety greets us. She assures us that there are still restaurants open, but we hike through many blocks and settle on a bag of pan dulces from the baker who is making them for the next morning as well as some yogurt and fruit.

We have a wonderful breakfast prepared by Lety, and Jim works on the drawings for the table using Yout’s concept but adding many other details from tables he has admired. Drawing every joint, and making such a detailed plan takes a long time. Susan wanders through the bazaar in the plaza in front of the Basilica FIVE times. Finally we head back to Cuanajo where Jim goes over the plan with Mario. Susan eyes six chairs/sillas that will work well with THE table. Mario assures us that he will deliver the table during the first week of March. We begin to search seriously for the other pieces we will need. Jim has determined that the antique armoire we purchased will be too fragile to serve as the cabinet for dishes as I had envisoned. So we begin to look for another hutch-sideboard arrangement as well as for a base to our bed, bedside tables, and such. We scour the shops and finally late in the day we have made our decisions. However, we need help getting our purchases back to the parked trailer in Patzcuaro. After some negotiations, Pablo gets his son to take our purchases, though we must travel the back roads as his car is not legal. We arrive at nightfall, and Pablo wants gas money and taco money (as they missed dinner) which equals the amount he had come down to entice us to purchase a second, carved armoire and a chest of drawers.

Jim has made arrangements for us to stay at a ‘more basic’, but clean hotel; I figure my eyes will be closed for the majority of the time we are there. We dine at ChaChaCha in Patzcauro, but Jim leaves for a bit to purchase my most coveted exploding winged back chair made from reed material and a charming painted shelf with two birds carved in the top. The owner if the restaurant was a Californian who suggested that I order the Cornish Game Hen which turned out to be a small chicken and also the apple-berry crumble. The next morning we need to fortify ourselves for the big packing of all this furniture on a 4 x 6 trailer, We pass up a local breakfast of a soup made from cow’s stomach, and instead have an egg breakfast and meet up with Rosi, the cheerful owner of the hotel and restaurant. By noon or so the trailer and car are packed to the hilt and we pull out Patzcauro to head back to Loma Bonita.

We drive through Zihuat and pick up our laundry, more dineros at the bank to pay for the car repairs to the lagging Honda. During our absence the 1999 Honda CRV has had its catalytic converter removed, its pipes bent and its ignition cleaned up. We now have a very peppy, Mexican car, and debate whether or not to bring a catalytic converter back from the States next year as it is running so nicely in his Mexican rendition.

We are now cleaning, preparing and repairing the furniture for its new home. Marcos arrived to install the steel lids which cover the built-in bed/settees in the living room. We now have two additional vaults for storage. Toby assures us that the upholstered mattresses, bolsters and pillows will be delivered on Monday. So now that the house is ‘furnished’ we can finally return to completing the plumbing, electrical, screening and those remaining three windows to paint.

It is great to be back on our green, restful property on Loma Bonita. However, we are very concerned about my niece, Khamoor’s husband, Tim. Having spent some time with him the week before, we receive a message that he has had a heart attack and some angioplasty work to rectify the problems. We pray that this is all that is necessary to keep this very active man operating at full speed; though we imagine that all of his children and his wife have been shaken quite a bit over this vulnerability. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the Poehlmanns.