Swine Flu update from Swisless

The world news is covering what's happening, so we won't repeat here. We are fine; no sign of anything in Ajijic area, though Guadalajara has been hit. We wear masks out, and have bought enough stuff that we don't have to go out for a few days anyway.

Beginning of the next chapter

Long time no write, I know. The first few months of the year were quite uneventful, what with readying for a trip to Canada/US and finding a new place to live. Both of these milestones were accomplished with little drama and lots of fun.

Ann's Dad's 90th birthday was on March 24, so Montreal for that date was a given. Around that we planned a drive to San Francisco from Ajijic, a few days in SF to see Garry's cardiologist and do a bit of shopping, a flight to Montreal for a 6 day visit, a flight to Vancouver for a 5-day visit and sort-through of the 40 boxes in storage from Toucan Tango, a flight to SF for another 3-day visit to review and repack our California stuff, and a drive back to Ajijic at the end. In the end we decided not to drive, so we added Guad to SF and return legs - made a total of 8 take-offs and landings. Whew - glad that part's over.

First SF visit was a good start, with a successful cardio visit and renewed scrips for Garry's heart meds. Tested purchase prices in SF, and found the key med would cost $4200 (and that was at Costco!). Decided to wait till we came back to SF to purchase.

In Montreal we had a great visit with Ann's Mum & Dad, (our hosts) sister Carol & Harry, and even a day overlap with brother Tom & Kathy in from Calgary. Walt was seriously not interested in a big party, but we managed a fabulous cream-filled cake with all of us there. Walt's not walking much these days, but he's still mostly alert, and it was truly wonderful to visit with him. We all look forward to the next visit - may next time we'll make it when it's not so COLD!

Vancouver was warmer, thank goodness, and John & Ro generously welcomed us, as always. We had a fun trip up to the Okanagan with them to see their house-building project - what a fabulous place. We all (they perhaps more than us!) look forward to seeing it completed. We also spent a day reviewing our TT boxes, trashing a few things, and readying for pickup to come to Mexico. Went faster than planned - how amazing is that. The best news was that we got Garry's meds, via a local doctor's endorsement of the scrip, for $1200. Really makes one wonder about the profit levels of US "big pharma".

Back to SF again, mainly for retail therapy, plus to review our California stuff that had been there for nearly 8 years. We tossed a few things there too, but in the end, decided to ship most of it. Added a couple of things we'd bought recently, like a TV, a bread-maker and a replacement Casio keyboard for Ann. Will be interesting to see what happens when it all comes here.

All through these travels of ours, a close friend, Eric Brown (husband of Myrna, who is sister to Rosalie), has been recovering from a massive heart attack. Each day we nervously checked our emails to see the latest. His is in fact getting better, but it's slow. At this point, he has been in the ICU in Calgary's Foothills Hospital for over 2 months. Many things went wrong with his body during the process, and they have had many challenges to overcome. They are both very upbeat about it all (as much as possible anyway), and we think about them often and admire them hugely.

Now that we are back in Ajijic, we have moved in to our newly rented home, a small single-family unit in a community of 16 homes. Much bigger than our Birds of Paradise place, and we're enjoying it very much. The slow ("rainy") season has started, though the weather here is still very hot and dry. Apparently the rain normally starts in July, though some think it might be early this year.

Our new address: Las Terrazas #14, Libramiento #101, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco 45900

The Holidays - and the end of a year of change

Christmas and New Year’s came and went in the usual manner for us this year, except that we had a Christmas tree of our own, and it was made from ROSEMARY! We didn't decorate it, but every time we touched it, a lovely aroma wafted around us.

We had an excellent Christmas dinner at Pedro’s, a local restaurant, where we ate a terrific turkey dinner, visited with some friends who were also there, and had no clean up to do later.

We attended many Christmas events, including a couple of concerts by Los Cantantes del Lago, a group of about 60 mostly gringo singers led by Timothy Ruff Welch, a Guadalajaran with an excellent reputation and a great sense of humor. It’s a group I (Ann) would like to join some time, as our travel schedule permits – our March trip to visit Canada precludes our joining this year.

New Year’s Eve was supposed to be our typical stay-at-home evening, but it turned out that we received an invite from new friends to join them for dinner. We did so, and even managed to see in the New Year. A first in many for us.

A very happy and prosperous 2009 to each and every one of you!

Visit to Tonala & Tlaquepaque

Guadalajara is home to many artists, creating in many media. As is often the case, artistic communities cluster together, and around here the center of the action is in Tonala and Tlaquepaque (T&T), two suburban areas of Guadalajara.

Tonala is an area of small factories and workshops where much of the work is done, and Tlaquepaque the more upscale retail area where more shopping takes place. A small tour company does a weekly one-day trip from Ajijic to T&T, so we signed up for a December visit.

Our guide, Rosie, picked us up in a small van along with 4 other guests, and despite a lot of early morning traffic, we arrived in Tonala at our first spot – a Papier Maché factory, about 9 am. It was essentially a large cement warehouse, divided into various stations where the mostly animal and bird sculptures were created. The initial creation is made in a rough mold, and when it has dried, various imperfections are filled with wet newsprint. Again after drying, the whole piece is coated in thin clay-like cement, thus smoothing the surfaces even more. Then comes the addition of details, such as the insertion of the eyes (see photo), and the carving of refinement such as feathers, fur or gills. Then comes the painting – brilliant base colors, extreme detail (spots, feathers, etc). Lastly the whole sculpture is glazed, most often with a shiny varnish. All of this is done completely by hand, and the purchase prices are remarkably low. One can’t buy at the factory, but we went to a small store nearby (still in Tonala) where these items are sold. In the end, we decided to wait to purchase the peacock and the toucan that we fell in love with – we’ll be going back! (It seems there are many copycats, including some in China, but these are reputedly the only ones that are done in the traditional way.)



We went on to another factory, this one at the opposite end of the spectrum. Salvador Vázquez Carmona is a well-known sculptor in Mexico whose works grace several major museums. He is generally considered to be the best artisan in Tonala. His studio is a back room of his humble home, which also doubles as a small restaurant on the street side. He creates large and small vases, plates and jugs, all from clay, and all hand-painted with traditional colors and designs. Most he also burnishes by hand using a lump of iron pyrite, which gives them a slight sheen. He is completely unprepossessing, speaks no English, but happily invites visitors to watch him work, and of course, to buy from him. We bought a small vase, with fish on it (no surprise), and it remains a happy reminder of what a single person, with essentially no money, but much skill, can create.

Our last factory visit was to a glass-blowing barn, where many of Mexico’s signature glass styles are created. The most interesting part of this visit was learning that all the pieces are made from recycled glass. This, in addition to being good for the environment, adds bubbles to the glass, which makes it quite distinctive. The shapes are quite dramatic, and not to everyone’s taste, but it was great fun to see them being made.

A short trip brought us to Tlaquepaque where we had lunch, and then wandered the retail areas afterwards. The stores are mostly magnificent old haciendas that have been renovated for retail purposes, though some still have a residential portion in the back. The prices in this area are MUCH higher than in Tonala, for essentially the same thing. The local wisdom says “Shop Tlaquepaque – Buy Tonala”. Should we be in the market for furniture eventually, that’s what we’ll do!

Ajijic - A beautiful spot for the winter

Our apologies! It has been ages since we posted on this blog. We’ll try to post more regularly despite the fact that most of what we are doing is finding our way around the local geography, culture, and language. That and, because Garry is a rabid political junkie, following every nuance of the US election campaign on Star Choice.

We are enjoying Ajijic so far. When we arrived, we stayed with Garry’s sister and her husband Lynn for two weeks while we looked for a place to lease. After two weeks of looking at places that were either too gross or too expensive, we became concerned that it was getting late in the rental cycle. We felt that if we didn’t find something soon, our choices would become fewer and fewer. So, we took a small condominium apartment in a nice but older development called Aves del Paraiso (Birds of Paradise). It's not perfect, but for lack of a better choice, we took it for 5 months. Although it is small, it does have a wonderful view of the lake. Of course, all of this took place before the full force of the economic meltdown had taken hold. Now, it seems that many regulars (Canadians and Americans alike) have cancelled plans to come to Ajijic this year and there are now quite a few nice places for rent.

As it turns out, however, Birds has not been such a bad choice for us. It is a smallish development owned by mostly Canadian snowbirds, and they all seem to have come south this year. They are a very social and friendly bunch and so we have quickly met a number of them. In addition, we also met a number of Daph and Lynn’s friends when we were staying with them in the development next door. Over time we’re confident we’ll have an interesting circle of friends here.

Ajijic is a very walkable town. Most shops and restaurants are within two or three kilometres of where we live. The streets are cobblestone and it’s all very Mexican despite the number of expats who live here. Most things one might need are available, and what is not can be readily found 45 minutes away in Guadalajara, which is itself a major adventure. Ajijic has two or three local “supermarkets” and a brand new Mexican Walmart has just opened. And, there is a local street market every Wednesday morning which has everything from fresh fish to beads and sandals. There is a movie theatre, an active and very good live theatre, many excellent restaurants and cafes of every style (a wonderful new creperie just opened and we are working our way through the menu), and dozens of fiestas celebrating every known event in Mexican history!

The western end of Lake Chapala (Mexico’s largest or second largest lake depending on who you ask) consists of a series of villages along the shore, some of which run together. In order from east to west, there is Chapala, Riberas del Pilar, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Ajijic, San Juan Cosala, and Jocotopec. Ajijic is the largest and has the largest expat population. Chapala, San Antonio and Jocotopec are smaller and mostly Mexican, so there is a lot of variety.

The whole area is very favourably situated for travel to other parts of Mexico. Puerta Vallarta is a five hour drive, Manzanillo a three hour drive, and the beautiful old colonial city of Morelia is only a three hour drive as well. Guadalajara is the closest and with a population of 8 million is the second largest city in Mexico. It has a fabulous cultural life - a State Symphony, live theatre, concerts with international stars like Sarah Brightman who just played last week, Celine Dionne who plays there next week, and this week the Lorena Ochoa LPGA Golf Tournament. It has a wonderful artistic suburb (Talapaque), another suburb where beautiful local furniture is crafted (Tonala), and one of the top two or three universities in Mexico. There is an international airport which has flights pretty much anywhere you want to go domestically or internationally. And first class bus service to anywhere in Mexico (seating pitch is better than executive class on most airlines).

Even though all of this travel infrastructure is available, we haven’t had time to utilize it much. We did, however, have the opportunity to bus it to Puerta Vallarta where we spent a wonderful week with our friends John and Rosalie in their gorgeous condominium in Conchas Chinas. We hope to explore some of the other places during the next several months.

We had a bit of excitement on our return from PV. Sunday afternoon we went to go out for a bit of shopping, and when Garry turned the car on, it started perfectly. Then, almost immediately, there was a loud clunk, followed by a horrible squealing sound which didn't stop till he turned the car off (almost immediately). A bit of research determined that a rather luckless squirrel had found a nesting place near the engine - turned out to be a fatal choice on his part. The bad news was that in the process, a couple of drive belts got destroyed, and the car became unusable. So there we were miles from a VW dealer and with no idea what to do. In the event, we decided to call Volkswagen Americas, a very large dealer in Guadalajara. After informing us that they couldn’t help us unless we could get the car to them, they suggested we try the Mexico VW roadside assistance. We tried that and were informed that it is only for cars purchased in Mexico. We really didn’t know what to do next. Then, a light bulb went on for Ann who said that she dimly recalled that our Mexican auto insurance policy covered roadside assistance and sure enough it did. So after talking to them in Mexico City at around 10 am, a truck (which they arranged) arrived at our place at about 2:30 pm. A very skilled driver loaded the little VW onto the truck's flatbed, and off we all went to Guadalajara - all at no cost to us. By 4 pm we were at Volkswagen Americas and by 5:00 we were back on the road (in a taxi) to Ajijic. Their English-speaking service attendant, Omar, showed us that the belts were in a very difficult location and informed us that it might take a day or two to complete the work. We left thinking that this would be interesting and probably expensive. But, would you believe it, the work was completed on time and for a total cost of 680 pesos, just a little over $50 US. Just another first in a whole series of firsts for us during our six weeks in Mexico.

As we said at the start of this post, we’ve been remiss in keeping up. We promise to be better and post regularly on all of our adventures in Mexico. Stay tuned...

Mexico - the first week

What a week we’ve had! We arose early on Tuesday, September 23 and drove to the border at Nogales, AZ. Our plan was to cross the border using the truck crossing to avoid the hassle of downtown Nogales, Mexico. Following instructions provided to us by our auto insurance company, we crossed the border. It’s rather odd because one drives out of the US and into Mexico for 6 miles (KM 10) before actually reaching the first border station (just a checkpoint really). The road has fences perhaps 20-30 feet high on either side so it’s impossible to wander into other parts of the country before getting to these officials. One must continue traveling to KM 21 where the actual entry paperwork is completed. We arrived there at 8:00 a.m. and were on our way in 45 minutes with tourist visas and car permit in hand. The officials were very friendly and, despite the fact that they speak only Spanish and ours is highly limited, it really was a breeze. And, when we got back to the car, there was a beautiful green cricket-like bug waiting for us - a good luck sign, we figured.

Cricket visitor

After an uneventful 6 hour drive to San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez, we found a reasonable hotel overlooking the marina. A beautiful area, if a bit touristy. We dispatched several large black crickets, turned on the air conditioning (which sounded a lot like a jet engine), and settled in for the night.

San Carlos

The Sea of Cortez was an evocative experience for us because we previously spent 5 months sailing in there in 1984 and another 10 days chartering there with friends in the late 90’s. We have always loved Mexico and it was a pleasure to be back again.

On Wednesday (24th), our destination was the old colonial town of Alamos, a scant 200 km from San Carlos. The town is located 52 km up in the hills east of Navajoa and it’s a very pleasant drive through green fields and forest, a pleasant change from the desert. Alamos has been a town for more than 500 years and at one time boasted 30,000 residents. Now, however, all that remains is the central core with many old colonial buildings. Many of these have been purchased by gringos and restored to their previous glory. Several of the larger colonial houses now operate as B & B’s and others as shops, restaurants and cafes. It is normally a sleepy little place with about 300 ex-pats in residence during the winter months. But, on the occasion of our visit, everything was hustle and bustle because the President of Mexico and several state governors were meeting there the next day. We planned to stay for two days but were restricted to one because all of the rooms had been booked months in advance for the President and governors. However, we were able to spend one night and chose the lovely Casa Puerta Roja Inn, an old colonial that had been lovingly restored by an American couple. The rooms were large and beautifully decorated in the Mexican style, each different from the other. And, the bed was superb. In the morning, we were served a fabulous breakfast of grapefruit (which had been lightly broiled, unusual but very good) accompanied by two scones and a glass of blended orange juice, banana and watermelon. To our astonishment, this was followed by a fabulous omelette filled with cheese and peppers and topped with a zucchini coulis. We ate it all and didn’t eat again until supper when we had a small salad to compensate!

Puerta Roja

Mazatlan was our target for Thursday, a rather long 600+ kilometres from Alamos. We arrived weary and found we couldn’t stay in our preferred hotel in the Mexican sector of the city because there was a convention in town. Down the road two blocks, and right on the water, was our second choice, a very old and very Mexican hotel that has never been renovated. Nevertheless, it was clean and the view of the ocean right across the street was wonderful. In the morning, upon taking our luggage to the car, we discovered that it had rained during the night and a little man from the hotel had completely wiped down our car so that it was shining.

View from Mazatlan hotel

We left Mazatlan early on Friday so that we would reach Guadalajara before the weekend rush started. It was a lovely drive which wound up through green rolling hills planted with pineapple and other crops. Then, as we reached the more mountainous section, the hills were covered with beautiful pine trees with needles perhaps 25 cm long. They were striking and unlike anything we had seen before. We reached the Perifico (ring road) at Guadalajara around 3:00 p.m. and although traffic was heavy we negotiated our way through it and on to Ajijic with little trouble. We arrived at the rental home of Daphne and Lynn to find a note on the door saying that they would return shortly and so we took a few minutes to walk around the El Dorado development where their new house is being constructed. We returned to their temporary home to find they had arrived and we were boisterously welcomed. Shortly after, we discovered that we had been invited to join them and several of their friends for drinks at the home of their neighbours Rod and Terri.

Daph & Lynn's house (rental)
Ajijic town plaza

The next day we wandered around the town of Ajijic, and had our first beer, chips and salsa at a local restaurant near the town plaza. A fine start to our stay in Mexico!

More Tubac adventures

While still at Tubac, we decided to take a run north about 25 km to Green Valley in the hopes of finding a place to wash the car. We couldn’t find a regular car wash but found a good self wash similar to the one we used in Victoria. We were happy to finally be able to clean off a solid accumulation of bugs and dirt, and to vacuum out the interior. However, just as we pulled up to the vacuum machine, we discovered yet another nearly flat tire. Thinking that this was a repeat of the mysterious leak we had in Provo, we looked around for a tire store to have it checked. My, we are lucky! Just as in Provo, there was a tire store not 200 metres away so we very gingerly drove to it and asked them to take a look at the tire. No mystery this time—there was two inch nail embedded in the tread. The OK Tire store removed the nail, repaired it with a boot, remounted it and put it back on the tire. They also replaced a faulty valve in the tire with which we had previously had a problem. We asked for the bill and nearly fell over when the man said it would be ten bucks! Doesn’t get any better than that.