Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Irene and Ciro invited us to have dinner with them on Christmas Eve. We arrived at 7 PM as requested and we treated to a wonderful dinner. Roasted pork with a wonderful sauce, mashed potatoes, pasta salad, fresh breads and a fantastic tasting pineapple cheesecake for desert. Irene said that this is a traditional meal for them. It was delicious! We visited and then Irenes brother came over also, then the oldest son, his wife and their son returned from dinner with her mother. Allan (the little boy) was of course very excited, they had had a pinata at the other grandmas house and he was hyped!! He was allowed to open a couple of gifts and the excitement continued. We looked at some more photos on their computer that I had taken of their Christmas decorations and then showed Irene some photos of our home, yard, etc.. She was amazed at the yard size. They were saying that they would like to take us to a ranch about 45 minutes away, apparently it is an Apache indian site. Sounds interesting. We made our farewells and were called back to be given the rest of the cake to take home with us.

Christmas day dawned warm and sunny. I got the food ready to cook for our Christmas dinner, wrote a Thank you note to Ciro and Irene for the lovely dinner and we were ready for the day. We hopped a bus and went back to our hidden cove. It was a tough way to spend Christmas afternoon, sitting on the beach, watching the fish jumping in the water, looking at all the sea urchins, etc. in the tidal pools. I walked along the edge of the shore, paddling in the water, it is cool right now; but still warmer than our lakes are in the summer. There were people swimming the other day at a different beach we were at, but I will stick to my paddling. A wonderful peaceful time, all the time we were there we saw only 5 other people.

Returned home, stuck our chicken in the oven to roast and relaxed. A knock on the door and it is Irene with some more food from last nights dinner, maybe she thinks Roy needs feeding up.

Monday morning and all is back to normal, laundry done, windows washed, etc. no need to worry about dinner tonight as we have lots of leftovers in the fridge.

Lovely warm, sunny day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve--what a different day than other Christmas Eves! It is sunny and warm with no breeze to speak of. No cold wind, cold temperatures, snow or any of the other things that make life difficult.

The last few days the neighborhood children have been busy with their firecrackers. They seem to like setting them off at the strangest times of the day. Someone set some off at 5 AM this morning, oh well, hopefully they enjoyed it.

Yesterday I baked some cookies and took some over to Ciro and Irene, she is always bringing something over to us. My baking vocabulary is not the greatest so we had a few laughs as I tried to explain to her what type they were. A couple of hours later, Ciro is at the door with a huge bag of lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges and grapefruit (Roy had just bought a kilo of mandarins, so we are up to our necks in oranges! He also had a foot high cut-out of 2 snow men, or I should say 1 snowman and 1 snow woman, he laughingly told us that it was meant to be Roy and myself! We hung it up on our door as we didn't do any Christmas decorating. It seems so strange to see them making their decorations out of sheets of styrofoam and then painting them and hanging it all outside. That would last about 5 minutes at home before the wind totally destroyed it.

With all the oranges around I made orange flavored french toast for breakfast and garnished the plates with-----you got it, orange slices. It was good; but I don't think we will need lunch today.

Wishing everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas/Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas/Feliz Navidad

To everyone who reads this, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas. Whether the term is politically correct or not, it will always be Merry Christmas to me, rather than Happy Holidays.

I have had a cold/sinus infection for the last few days, so have not been on here. Stayed fairly close to home for a couple of days; but am feeling better today so we are going for a walk on the beach. This is probably how we will spend the afternoon on Christmas day also.

The weather is great, sunny- highs for the next 5 days of 25 C. and lows of 11 C.. Rough weather for Christmas, isn't it?

Irene continues to bring over assorted fruits of her labors. On Sunday morning it was a type of Tamales and last night it was something that she says is a Christmas tradition for them. Flat, hard (deep fried), tortilla sized circles; although more like a pastry than the tortilla dough. These are served with a sweet, cinnamony tasting sauce. She said that it is called Buen Noches; or something to that effect, I am never sure of the spelling when she just tells me, and I didn't have my pen and paper for her to write it down for me. So if someone wants to correct me, that is fine. They were nice and sweet anyway.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Cajeme/Obregon

Cajeme/Obregon

Haven't written for a few days so there are 2 postings today.

Photos of Cajeme are here: http://community.webshots.com/album/524385200QGcVRL

Thursday evening we were telling the landlord about a few places we want to visit after Christmas and asking his opinion of some of them. He then told us that Irene had a medical appointment in Cajeme/Obregon on Friday and asked if we would like to go with them. We decided that it sounded like fun. So Friday about 8:30 am, Ciro, Irene, a friend of Irenes, the grandson Alain, Roy and I all piled into the car. Alain was dropped off at preschool and we left town. We stopped for a short time in Empalme so that Irenes friend could grab a bite to eat ( she is diabetic and Irene was teasing her that she is always eating). The desert on the way to Obregon is very green with shrubs and cactus. Obregon is a big agricultural area (with irrigation) where they grow alot of wheat, vegetables, etc. It seems strange to see the wheat about 6 inches tall now and the veggies ready to harvest at this time of year. It is about 120 kms. south-east of Guaymas. Before getting to the city, you have to decide whether you will take the toll or free road. Ciro decided on the free road, after a laughing comment from Irene that the savings could be applied to shopping later. At least I think that's what she said, the conversation was of course in Spanish. Irene speaks no english. Ciro speaks a little english, so with my few words of spanish and the dictionary we do OK.

The road through the city took us past a lovely lake and park with large trees growing on both sides of the road. The trees were pruned so that they covered the road overhead. It was like driving through a green tunnel. Beautiful.

When we arrived at the hospital where Irenes appt. was they thought they would be there for around 2 hours.. We decided that rather than us all trying to meet up at a certain time/place we would strike out on our own and return to Guaymas by bus.

We spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon wandering around the city. We found the main square or plaza, municipal building, and a huge very modern church. As usual here, everyone we talked to was friendly, pleasant and eager to give us directions. The city has extremely wide, well paved streets and sidewalks and a large business district. Ciro told us later that it is a much newer city than Guaymas with a population of around 500,000. A pretty city with lots of trees, much more grass in the yards and parks than Guaymas. We very much enjoyed our wanderings. After asking several people directions to the main bus station we did manage to find it. A bus was leaving right away for Guaymas so we took it. Man-- could Greyhound take some notes from these guys. The bus was very clean, windows with shades and curtains, and comfortable. We barely got rolling and a movie came on for everyone to watch, and this was not a 1 st class bus. There are about 3 different classes of buses. The bus was fairly full as it seems like the holiday travel season is in full gear. The bus, of course, took the toll road , so we saw some different sights on the way out of town, including a Walmart and Sams Club. That's one sight we could have missed! A nicer sight was the huge fountain that we also passed. At the toll booth we were stopped in line for awhile and a fellow came on selling some food. The next stop was a police check stop. After waiting for awhile, one of the police came on board and asked most of the passengers to disembark and the overhead luggage racks were checked slightly. The luggage compartment under the bus was then opened, we couldn't see what was going on but assumed they were matching people to luggage and doing some checks. EVERYONE then re-boarded and we were on our way again. Cop never took any notice of us, so we ignored him and stayed in our seats as we had no luggage. We assume it was a check dor drugs heading north; but all was done in a pleasant, friendly manner. Of course while we were stopped another food seller boarded the bus trying to make some sales.

We arrived back in downtown Guaymas, and took a bus home. Arriving home, noticed that Irenes mom was having trouble getting their door unlocked, so I helped her into the house. She was relieved as Ciro and Irene were not back yet. About 10 minutes later Ciro knocked on our door, laughing that we had beat them home, we are assuming that they went visiting after the appt. as some gift packages had been taken with us in the morning.

A fun day, with some new sights.

Bus fare from Obregon/Cajeme to Guaymas was 60 pesos, about $6.00. The movie at home would have cost us more than that!

Orphanage

Orphanage

On Thursday after doing our computer stuff we split up. Roy off to the bakery, etc. and then home to wash the car. The car was really dusty from sitting and the other night it sprinkled enough rain to make it look a mess. Our rain storm consisted of a very slow drizzle, not even enough to wet the ground. No chipi chipi here John.

I caught a bus downtown and then walked about 4 blocks to an orphanage we had read about. We had brought a few things with us for the kids from home. The orphanage is called Hogar Paz y Bien- loosely translated to Home of Peace and Good. After haltingly explaining my presence to the Madre, she introduced me to the dozen or so boys clustered around us. The boys wanted the pencils; but the Madre told them "no" those would be for school. She allowed them to have the activity books (luckily had enough that they got 1 each) and she took the toothbrushes away with her. The Health Unit in my home town had given me these items for the children and they were a hit with the kids.

The Madre explained that the girls were upstairs and the boys downstairs and she took a few minutes to show me around. They have a large outdoor space, all tiled and extremely clean, lots of pots of flowers and trees with everything brightly painted in primary colors. She finally gave in to the boys and brought out a bucket of crayons. The boys and I settled down on the tile floor and the Madre went back to her duties. I had taken a map with me to show the children where I was from and the older ones decided that it is a long way away! As the children learn english in school, some of the older ones knew the words for the colors in english. I felt like a mother hen with her chicks around her, with 12 little boys sitting in a semi-circle around me. We colored and chatted and they laughed when I had to look up a word in my dictionary. The littlest one couldn't figure out why I couldn't speak proper spanish. One of the older boys said that they call the youngest one "little chicken" which brought a bunch of laughter. The children were very well behaved, with only one altercation over the crayon bucket. I had to laugh as one boy said to me, when I interceded, "I had it first". Kids are the same everywhere!! After an hour or so the Madre returned to collect the boys for their lunch, so after many thank- yous and goodbye I left. A good time had by all.

Total Cost-Priceless

Total Cost-Priceless

Yesterday after finishing up on the computer and a stop at the bakery on the way home, we decided to try and find a bus to another small town we had seen on the map.

We hopped a bus to downtown, then another bus to Empalme. We then asked a couple of security cops on a corner where or if we could get a bus to Las Guasimas. They pointed us to a bus deopt type place where after asking a couple of people we found out we could catch a bus in either 1/2 hr. or 1 hr., depending on who you were talking to. We hung out there people watching and 15 minutes later a bus pulled in. These are not the fancy buses on the big bus lines, theses are old school buses. After a brief break for the driver the bus departed. The desert is amazingly green with shrubs and cactus, mountains in the distance and the occasional glimpse of the sea. We noticed a little boy sitting right behind the driver- age between 1 and 2 years, still drinking a bottle. When the bus stopped the driver would turn and talk to the child, we didn't think much of it, children here get a lot of attention. After a few kms. the bus pulled off the highway, rattling and bumping along a sand road into a very small town, name unknown. The highway signs here are not as frequent or as informative as in Canada. Dropping off and picking up passengers all the way through town we emerged back onto the highway and continued on. Another 10 kms. or so on the highway and then a turn onto a narrow paved road for awhile, and into the small town of Las Guasimas. Small homes: some constructed of woven plant material, some of plywood, some brick and some of concrete blocks. Streets of sand. Before getting off the bus we asked the driver when the next bus would be and he told us "manana"-tomorrow. Needless to say, we stayed on the bus, as he had pretty much traversed the town anyway. Remember the little boy sitting behind the driver? Well, after everyone else got off the bus we noticed he was laid out on the seat fast asleep- the bus drivers son, quite at home and having his nap. We returned to Empalme, and stopped to have a coke at an outdoor cafe. While sitting there a mexican, who is married to a "gringa" in California stopped to chat with us. After we told him several times that we weren't interested in purchasing a place, he told us he could help us find a rental if we needed one next year. We did manage to get some info. from him, as well as his phone number in California.(Smile) We caught the next bus to Guaymas and then a bus home.

Bus costs for both of us for the day: 100 pesos-$10.00, approximate distance 75 kms.

Cost of 2 cokes- 12 pesos-$1.20

Cost of 4 hours of entertainment and enjoyment for 2 people-PRICELESS!!!!

Winter in Guaymas

Winter in Guaymas

Well, I guess you can say it is winter here in Guaymas. This morning the landlords son went outside in his heavy sweatshirt to start the car. He then retreated back into the house for 5 minutes or so before coming back out and driving away to work. Roy and I just looked at each other and laughed. He must have decided it was cold enough that he needed to warm up the car. Now just in case you are interested the low was forecast for 12 C. (plus of course). It seemed funny to us, as some of our summertime lows at night are cooler than this. Highs for this week are 23-24 C. and lows 12-13 C. Not bad for mid-december.

I got most of the weeks groceries and some stuff that will last us longer than a week and the cost was under $25.00, it still amazes me to go uptown with a $200 pesos bill and come home with change. At home you wouldn't even think about going uptown with $20.00 unless you just wanted a coke, but for sure not to buy groceries. I didn't get any fresh tortillas as the ladies were behind in production and there was 1 man waiting in line before me. Oh well, just a change in the suppper menu and will stop there today on our way home from wherever we end up. By the way, we pay $10 pesos here for 15 tortillas (good size ones). Billie and John, what is the cost in your areas? Had a funny conversation with lady at the mini market yesterday. The coke wouldn't scan in their machine, so she laughed and said it must be free today. I laughed and told her that free is good. She wanted to know how to say "free" in english, and when I told her, she asked me to write it down for her. I wrote it down for her along with the spanish word and she was happy. I wonder who she will use her new word on? She is loosening up more all the time, at first she would just smile and not attempt too many words with us, as she knew our spanish was horrible. I think that after watching her husband joke with us and test us to see if we have learned any new words, she is beginning to feel more comfortable now. It is nice.

It is a big holiday here, Virgen of Guadalupe. Watched a big show on TV last night from the Basillica in Mexico City. Lots of singing, processions, etc., beautiful ceremony. There are lots of red, green and white streamers and paper cutouts hung all over.

New Knees, Please!

New Knees, Please!

Yesterday we left home at around 11 AM intending to go to read our emails and decide after that what we should do. After spending some time on the computer, Roy asked me if I wanted to go for a walk before going back home. Sure, I said, we have spent many pleasant hours walking around the city and exploring different colonias. We decided to wander over to the bay and walk along the malecon. It was such a nice day for walking, a bit overcast and not so hot, so we kept going and going and going and going. You get the idea. After several hours we ended up at the junction where we had to decide whether to head home or into new territory..... We had seen lots of buses with "paraje" on them and thought perhaps that was an area that we had not been to yet; but had wanted to look at. Where we wanted to go was to the other side of the bay/harbor and this was where we were trying to go the first time we ended up at the hidden cove that the busdriver showed us. Well, we were a little more knowledgeable about the buses now or so we thought. We hopped on the first bus that said "paraje" and sure enough away we went. This area is a much poorer side of town than many of the other areas. We saw a couple of cardboard homes, some made out of whatever scraps available: sheet metal, boards, pieces of plywood, etc., and of course the ever present brick. At the end of the route, the bus driver pulls the bus over, and asks us what we are going to do now. Its the end of the route for him and he is finished, either for the day or for 30 minutes, it was lost in the translation. We just laughed, told him we were just looking around and got off the bus. We walked down another road and came to an old, unused RV park and motel. The owner told us we could look around anywhere we wanted to. We asked him some questions about where a couple of roads went and then wandered around his property, sat and watched the birds and water for awhile and then set off down the road to where we could catch another bus. We waited for 15 minutes or so and then along came a bus that took us along the whole route that we had walked that afternoon-- in our own slow way we had come a long way! Got downtown and hopped another bus home. Two very tired pairs of feet, knees and legs. It was sandwiches for supper last night! Great day. Lots of new sights, met some more friendly people and had fun. What more could you ask for-- especially thinking of the weather in Canada right now!

Nice warm day again today, high overhead cloud. There was rain forecast for today; but it doesn't look like it will happen. Roy is glued to the NFL today, so I will pick up some groceries and relax.

Mucho Frio

Mucho Frio

Mucho frio ( very cold) thats what the weatherman on TV said this morning. It was cool, we didn't open the windows until about 8:30 AM, landlord said it was 14 Celcius. I have looked for a thermometer downtown; but haven't found one yet. Highs around 23 C. today. We are still in our short sleeves; but some mornings I feel chilly. The humidity is lower here than at home, it seems strange when you think that we are right on the sea. It must have something to do with the desert. Kind of nice not to have lumps in the salt and sugar containers. Looked at the weather back home in Canada and it said -20 Celcius, so we are ahead by 40 some degrees. Tough, eh!

We went back to the hidden cove on Monday, yesterday relaxed at home as I was tired and achy. Climbed around on too many rocks the day before I guess. This morning we are going out to the beach at San Carlos. Its just another beautiful, sunny, warm day here.

Photos From Yesterday

Photos From Yesterday

Miramar area of Guaymas

Roys finger got in the way, oh well. Pelican diving for his lunch.

Dolphins

Dolphins

As the clock strikes twelve, the cock crows 3 times. Sounds faintly like something from a Shakespearean drama or a horror movie. It's not though, it is a normal midnight here at our new home. I do believe that one of the local roosters has a problem telling time. Without fail, he crows at midnight, which in turn wakes the street dogs and gets them barking. We are used to it now and usually sleep through it; but last night I was awake and just had to smile as I rolled over to go to sleep.

Mystery solved with the question of the word Irene had written down for the seafood soup. It was a case of misformed letters ( she was writing against the wall). What looked liked "uadrios" was actually "varios" meaning several. She was trying to say that the soup was called "Caldo Largo" and was made out of shrimp and several other things. Thanks Billie and John for your suggestions.

Grocery shopping - there are 4 or 5 large supermarkets here, so we could shop the same way here as at home; but we prefer to do it differently. We have lots of time so have checked out other options. Yesterday for example we got our paper products from a store 4 blocks from home, some other things from a store 2 blocks from us, lettuce and radishes off of a veggie truck, and green onions from another small store. We got everything we needed withing a 4 or 5 block radius of our apartment and got a lot more enjoyment out of it. At home I hate grocery shopping; but here it is more of a social experience.

Today we got on a bus and went all around the route, it was a poorer area of the city. Lots of apt. buildings and small wooden homes.

We then took another bus to Miramar area. It is right on the seashore and is still within Guaymas. We walked along the beach and collected some shells. As we were sitting and watchng the pelicans diving for their lunch we noticed some fins in the water. There were 6 or 8 dolphins swimming in the bay. Every once in awhile one would jump out of the water. We sat and watched until they disappeared. An unbelieveable experience. Warm sun, a light breeze off the water, bright blue sky, sandy beach in one direction, rocky beach in the other direction, coconut palms swaying in the breeze, mountains in the background. Beautiful and serene, we were the only people on the whole beach, which was probably a couple of miles long.

We took some photos; but the computers here that I can upload them on are occupied at the moment, so will try tomorrow.

Yesterdays Photos

Yesterdays Photos

Here are some of yesterdays photos of the cove that I wrote about in the blog below this one. The rest can be seen here: http://community.webshots.com/album/509163053fUjWxo

sea urchins in tidal pool

An Amazing Bus Driver

An Amazing Bus Driver

Canadian politics. Apparently the minority parties got together, and there was a non-confidence vote, causing the leading party to call an election. Here in Mexico the news headline on TV said "consequences of corruption", as they showed the news clip. We got a chuckle out of that.

A weather system came through here with astrong winds and cool weather- low of 13 C. Loosely translated the headline said, "strong winds and cold in all the country" and the TV clip showed people holding scarves over their faces. It was chilly enough that Irene was not out watering that morning. Even the dogs and chickens were quiet. The next morning everything was back to normal, chickens clucking, dogs barking, Irene watering.

Yesterday we decided to go down to the sea; but wanted some new scenery. We walked for awhile and then hopped on a bus that looked like it might go the direction we wanted. Route looked good for awhile but then he zigged when we wanted to zag. We decided to stay on the bus and see where we would end up. A few minutes later the bus stopped at a dead end and proceeded to turn around. The driver asked if we wanted to get off, we told him, "no, we're just looking around." He asked if we wanted to go to the water, so we said yes. He turned the bus around again and drove the bus a block or so up the dead end street and pointed. Sure enough, there was a rough path down the cliff to a little bay. We thanked him, he told us where and when we could get back on later, backed up the bus and took off. We were the only ones on the bus at the time- don't think hhe would have done that with a busload jof people. This pretty much shows the attitude of the people here- amazing! We walked down the path, some stone steps, climbed over some rocks and arrived at a small cove with a rocky beach. Secluded, rough and beautiful. Only 1 other person there besides us, a fellow with a couple of fishing lines in the bay. We walked along the beach, collected some shells, looked at the fish, urchins, etc. growing and living in the tidal pools. Just a few yards from the beach, the cliffs rise out of the sea. Cave like holes in the mountains, myriad of colors and shades in the rocks, contrasting with the greens of the shrubs and cactus and the blues of the sea and sky. We just sat and enjoyed the scenery. A beautiful, peaceful spot to enjoy an afternoon. We then wandered around the colonia- Mision del Sol, lots of nice little casitas. Time for home, so we hopped on a bus.

This morning we showed Ciro some of our stuff and he said that we had some coral and some quartz rocks. We went to the market this morning and then uptown where Roy bought a hammer. He wants to check out some of the rocks. Ciro also showed us a piece of obsidian rock, and demonstrated how to chip it into arrowhead shape. He says that there is not too much obsidian here. So Roy will be pounding rocks now, without being on a chain gang.

Will load some of the pictures of yesterday on the next blog.

More Food

More Food

This morning it was very windy and rather cool, so I decided to bake cinnamon buns. They turned out fine; the brown sugar here is different but the taste was good nevertheless. I took a pan over to Irene and Ciro and explained what it was. We haven't seen cinnamon buns in any of the bakeries here. An hour or so later a knock on the door and there was Irene with my empty pan and a pot of soup. I had her write down the name of it for me. She called it "Caldo Largo- Mariscos Udrios", it was a fish stock soup with the whole fish (head and all), large shrimp, looked like some calamari, peppers, carrots. Very tasty. Looked for the word "udrios" in my dictionary and can't find it. Billie, if you read this, do you know what it means, or maybe Juan/Anita may know?

Sunday was Roys football day, so I decided to go and wander around uptown. I wanted to get a length of fleece for a couch blanket. Stopped in at a restaurant for a coke and the next thing I knew, someone was tapping me on the shoulder. It was the fellow and his wife that we had talked to about spanish lessons. The manner of greeting here is still new to me and it kind of surprised me to get a big hug and cheek kiss from Rosa, as we had only met twice before; but that is the way here. It turned out that the restaurant is partially owned by a fellow Canadian. The biggest coincidence is that he had also lived/worked in the town that I now live at; although it was many years ago. He remembered a few people that I mentioned. What a small world. The four of us had a nice visit before I returned to my shopping. I did find my fleece and at $3.69 per meter is quite a bargain compared to what I am used to paying.

I guess that I have become acclimatised here as today I have my sweater on, forecast said high of 25 C. today; but with this odd wind I am chilly. Looking at all the snow storms going on in the US makes me very glad to just be a bit chilly.

Second Blog for Today

Second Blog for Today

I had so much written down that I decided to break it into 2 parts, so I hope you scroll down and read both of these. Didn't want to have to re-type everything if the computer blinked!

The weather is cooler than it was when we arrived on the 10 th of October. Highs for the next few days 25/26 C. and lows of 14/15 C.. There is a light breeze some days. For a couple of hours in the evening, 3 days before and 3 days after the full moon it jis quite windy. It appears suddenly and disappears just as quickly. Apparently there are 300 days of sunshine here, and I can believe it, we have had 2 cloudy days here. No rain of course. The humidity which we thought would be high, being so close to the water is actually less than at home.

Yesterday we went into San Carlos, they were having a mariscos (shrimp) festival. There was supposed to be alot of artisans, paintings, booths selling shrimp cooked in various ways, music and dancers. We arrived to find perhaps 6 booths selling touristy type things, very few paintings on display and some food booths. We checked it all out and then went for a walk on the beach and watched the pelicans dive for their lunch. That was the best part of that excursion. Returned to Guaymas and continued our search for a pair of shoes (sneakers) for Roy. He badly needed a new pair; but because of his foot size it has not been an easy purchase. Seems like thousands jof shoe stores; but the majority of them only carry up to size 9-- well that doesn't cover a size 12 foot! One shopkeeper looked at his feet and just shook his head. I laughed and said that maybe I should chop off the toes and he laughed and said yes. Finally, we did manage to find a pair though. We also got his arthritis painkillers without needing a prescription. We decided to walk home from uptown and stopped off at a bar for a beer. Roy opened the door, looked in and figured it looked OK, we were close to the waterfront so we weren't sure. It was just a regular neighborhood bar. A few older locals playing a dice game at the bar and a couple of fellows enjoying a beer after work. Friendly bartender tried out his english on us, says he likes to practise when he gets a chance. He told us we could practise our spanish on him. A couple of the patrons tried to converse; but our spanis wasn't up to the rapid fire exchanges. When we left everyone smiled and told us to come again and we probably will. It may be awhile, as this was only our 2 nd beer since arriving in Mexico. A pleasant contrast to the touristy San Carlos atmosphere.

It is impossible to put the feeling of this place into words. The people are so open, welcoming and friendly. We never feel out of place. As one man told us, the real Mexico is not like the TV and movies portray, in his words:" lazy, dirty, stupid and violent". He said, "you have to come and see Mexico to know what it is like". We agree with him, it is totally the opposite, and we absolutely love it.

We Have Icicles-- Well Sort Of

We Have Icicles--Well Sort Of

Well we have icicles, sort of. The landlord continues his christmas light set up. They now have lights covering all the windows, around the door, around the roof top and patio edge, on the trees and around the tree trunks. The roof over the patio has a line of large bulbs, a line of mini bulbs and a line of Icicle lights. The other night Roy noticed the daughter in law perched precariously on a ladder helping her mother in law put lights on one of the trees. He went out to hold the ladder and stayed to help with some of the high stuff. With him helping, the landlady (Irene) managed to get the lights up a little higher! Senor "stretch" to the rescue. After putting up a few more strings, we all stood out in the street to gauge the effect and admire the results. Landlord (Ciro) asked me to take some photos and then we went into the house and put them on their computer. We showed them the photos of our home that we have on the online album- Ciro shook his head at all the lawn/grass and the need to cut it all. We then showed them our home on the Google site. When he saw our dogs in the photos, he suggested that we take home all the street dogs with us, we declined. Yesterday he put up a Santa and sleigh and a couple of reindeer that he had cut out of styrofoam and painted and of course put mini lights all around it.

Ciro showed us some plant containers that he has made out of a tree trunk. The wood is so hard and dense that it does NOT float. Very hard to cut and work with, feels like rock. The tree is "palo fierro (ironwood?) and grows in the wild here. Ciro enjoys walking the campo (countryside) collecting indian artifacts. He has shown us different arrowheads and how to tell whcih natives crafted them. The differences in shank length and width and the craftsmanship of the head. The other night he showed us some stone bowls and the rocks that were used to grind the corn or maize. His son said that they predate Columbus. An interesting evening.

Family living arrangements are different here from Canada. Ciro and Irenes household consists of: their 2 sons, i sons wife and their son and Irenes mother. 3 women in one house, none of which go out to work , and you never hear an argument! Ciro takes the grandson to the store for treats; but when his son disciplines the child, grandpa just laughs and stays out of it.

On Friday Roy asked one of the local shopkeepers if he could order something jin for us and was told sure, come back later and it will be in. We returned later, it was not in yet; but he got on the phone and told us 5 minutes. We wandered around the store, looking at stuff and then realised that he had sent his wife out to get it rather than wait for the delivery man. Sure enough 5 or 10 minutes later there was our order! We didn't pick up on what was happening right away or we would have told him we would come back manana. Try to get service like that in Canada! All done with a big smile and lots of laughter. What a place!

Irene continues to pop over occasionally with some taste treats for us. This week she brought baked pumpkin (dulce calabza), and I think it is an acquired taste. It was very caramelized on top, and we didn't really care for it. Then a couple of days later she brought over a tray of tostados de jaiba (crab). Layers of ground crab, chopped cabbage,onion, green and red peppers, slices of radish and avocado with a little hot sauce on a small tortilla. Good stuff.

Parades and Birthday Fiesta

Parades and Birthday Fiesta

On Friday we met with a couple that we are going to take some spanish lessons from. It was the first time that we had met them. He is an American who has been living in Guaymas for 5 years, and teaches in a school here. His wife, Rosa, is mexican and she will practise her english on us as we parctise our spanish. They were having a birthday fiesta for their daughters 9 th birthday on Saturday and invited us to come. We then took the bus to San Carlos to get some more books for me, walked around the marina and returned to Guaymas to shop for a birthday gift for the next day. Childrens toys are fairly expensive here; but there was a large selection as the stores all have their Christmas stuff out now. On the other hand, finding a card was more difficult. We couldn't find any suitable downtown so we came home with intentions of making one. When we got home I decided to check a couple of the stationary shops in the neighborhood, the first one didn´t carry any, but directed me to the next one down the road. They did have a selection of maybe 20 cards of all sorts. I eventually chose one, it wasn,t the greatest but did the trick.

On Saturday we checked our emails and then went to the birthday fiesta. The Fiesta: happy children jumping on a trampoline, pinata, balloons, snacks, drinks and on our parts some stilted conversation, as everyone else was mexican. We wandered our way home on some new streets. In the evening we watched the landlord put up some more Christmas lights. He laughed because Roy was as alto (tall) on the ground as he was on the ladder. He had to show us the lights his wife had twined around the door of their house. Red chili pepper lights! He has lots more lights to put up he said and only one more month to do it. He asked if we would mind if he put some around our place also, no problemo. You can tell that he retired from the electric company! I took a couple of pictures of his lights and will take more when he finishes and put them on his computer for him if we can.

Sunday was "Revolution Day" a big celebration. We took the bus downtown to watch the parade. The parade started shortly after 9 a.m. and continued for over 2 hours!! I have never seen a parade last that long. There were only a couple of "floats" as we know them, but I am sure that every school, maybe even every class, was in the parade, all dressed in their uniforms. Karate groups, sports groups, Aztec dancers, children dressed in regional costumes, fancy spanish type dresses. Very colorful. After the parade, we along with several thousand others, wandered around the square and parks. Lots of food stands, fire trucks giving rides to the children, balloon sellers, candy floss, fair type rides for the kids, etc.. While we were sitting on a park bench, a man with his family, on the next bench asked where we were from. When he found out we are from Canada he wanted to know what area and the next question was whether we have bears there. He told us how smart his son is in school and tried to get Sergio to demonstrate his english for us. Needless to say, Sergio (grade 3), was quite shy about doing that. When I asked him if learing english was hard work, he said yes, I told him that for us learning spanish is VERY hard work and got a huge grin in response. His father went on to explain some of the revolution to us and also some of Guaymas' history. He thought it to be much like Canada, as because of the seaport, many of the original settlers came from many countries. Settlers arrived from Spain, Germany, China, and France for example. He said that there is one house that was oriinally owned by a french family that everyone says is haunted. He thought that the park kiosk had been shipped in from China and assembled here, which explains the dragons on the lamp fixtures. He and his family hope to come and vacation in Canada some day, so we strongly suggested that they visit in the summer. An interesting and enjoyable conversation.

Lots of photos of the parade here: http://community.webshots.com/user/brendamaa1

The Bus System Here

The Bus System Here

Yesterdays photos are here: http://community.webshots.com/user/brendamaa1

Here I am again, with nothing major to write. Last evening Roy went to get milk from one of the neighberhood groceries that we frequent. He was concerned before he left that all he had was a 200 peso bill, (like a $20.00), and they don't always have that much change. Here a 200 peso bill is a big bill. Well, he was right they didn't have change; but home he came with the milk anyway. The owner just waved him off with a "manana". The wonders of trust in a mexican neighborhood, no matter how long I have lived anywhere in Canada I have never had that happen to me there.

After chatting over MSN with a neice I thought maybe I should expand on the bus system here. We pay about 40 cents to go anywhere in the city, she said she pays $2.10 for the same service where she is in Canada. To be honest,I would rather ride the buses here, it is more fun. The buses don't seem to have a discernible schedule, they just come along every couple of minutes. The longest I have waited for a bus is 10 minutes and that is only because I was too lazy to walk a couple of extra blocks, so waited for exactly the right one. The buses themselves are very interesting. The driver may have decorated it in his own style: stickers, photos, cloth with tassles covering half of the windshield, etc., he may have his cooler beside him with his cold drinks for the day and his lunch. He may give samples of his lunch to some of his friends when they get on the bus and he may also be smoking while he is driving and passengers will occasionally give him fruit or food as they get on the bus. He is constantly watching the road, the passengers and the ditches for goats, etc. ( on the country runs ). It is a job that takes much concentration and yet they appear as if they are just going for a calm ride. The buses themselves come in various shapes and forms. Most of them all schoolbuses; but some are new and some are very old. We have seen some with windshields so cracked that I have no idea how they can see anything, have seen some with a window broken, doors that flop open on the bottom and close at the top. The dust bounces from the upholstry on some and others are brand new and much better than city buses anywhere in the world. You just never know which one will come up the street next but it is always an interesting and fun experience and I wouldn't give it up for anything. Well, got to go and catch a bus, bye for now.

More Books

More Books

I managed to find the book swap place in San Carlos yesterday, so I have reading again for a week or so. Did some more grocery shopping yesterday on my way home after San Carlos. Someone asked how much veggies cost us, well, a head of lettuce was 50 cents and a very large bunch of radishes were 20 cents. Today we went for a long walk, on our way home right now. We took the bus uptown and then walked up to a monument of some kind. I didn't understand the plaque. It is built up on a hill, all out of the local rocks, lots of stairs, 3 different heights/levels and a statue at the top. From afar it looks kind of like an old castle type fortress, a really great place to overlook the city and water. I took some pictures, but don't have the card reader with me right now so will load them the next time. We then decided to walk around some more downtown, Roy got a haircut ($4.00) and then we walked along the malecon(waterfront) and watched a couple of cranes trying to hunt down their lunch. Stopped for the usual coke and sat at the park, watching people feeding the pigeons and enjoying the day. An interesting and enjoyable day.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

I decided to blog twice today, as I was getting very long winded. Yesterday we went to the market and walked around. Roy needed a dust pan! Today we went and did our banking, then I picked up some groceries again and decided I had better put something on here. Of course I had to stop at the bakery first and to redeem myself will stop at the veggie truck on way home and get some lettuce and stuff for salad. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a book trade thing in San Carlos so will probably head over there again.

Yesterday the landlady brought over a platter of food again. Not sure what everything was called, but there was some type of fishy fried stuff, several types of rice and veggies/bean sprouts sauteed. Tasty! Between the bakery and the landlady I may not fit in the car to go home, wouldn't that be a shame if I had to stay here!

Hasta Luego.

Just Hanging Out

Just Hanging Out

On Sunday I took the bus uptown (4 pesos or about 40 cents) and then took another bus to the enxt town to the east of us (Empalme). The bus fare to Empalme is 6 pesos (about 60 cents). Roy stayed at home to watch his football game, his Seattle Seahawks were playing! I wandered around the market and the town for a couple of hours. The market consists of blocks and blocks of open air stalls selling everything imaginable. Cheap plastic gadgets, toys, lots of clothes and shoes, old tools, sports equipment, computers, TV's, stoves, furniture, food-both cooked and uncooked, drinks, meat, vegetables and everything else you can think of. Lots of people, smells, colors and sounds. I didn't really need anything but did lots of looking and people watching, later on I walked around the town and stopped for a coke. The owner of the small place I stopped at for a coke, looked at me with a big smile and asked "you english?", Si, I said and then we both started laughing as I said yes again in english. I returned to Guaymas, wandered around downtown for awhile, just enjoying the sights, sounds, and weather. The downtown streets without traffic lights have traffic cops to direct the vehicle/pedestrian flow. After stopping the 2 cars coming my direction to let me cross the street, the traffic cop decided to chat. He wanted to knowwhere I was from, how long we were staying, if I was alone, how we liked the city, beaches, etc.. It always seems to surprise people that we are living in Guaymas, not the tourist town to the west of us. Everyone is very friendly and forgiving of my horrible spanish and will speak slowly and repeat things several times until we manage to figure it out. The owner of the mini-mercado (small grocery store) a couple of blocks from where we live, always tries out a couple of different wods on me everytime I go there and always with a big smile.

The weather here is cooling off, the highs are around 32 Celcius and the lows around 20 Celcius.

Monday after reading our emails and going to the bakery, we got groceries and cleaned the house up. We do lots of walking and gawking and everything takes a little longer. Tuesday we hopped the bus again; but this time to San Carlos (town to the west, bus fare 9 pesos or about 90 cents). There was supposed to be a used book sales there but there wasn't. We went into the Belle Artes building, an art gallery, and looked at the paintings. Lots of wonderful work. Many of the paintings that we liked are done by a deaf/mute man from Puerto Vallarta. He has a signature way of incorporating the light in his paintings that we really liked. We wandered down a side street and got talaking with a fellow cleaning up an apartment. He wanted to know if we were looking for a place to rent. After telling him that we had a place for this year, we starting inquiring about next year. He showed up the apt. . It is almost new, 1 bedroom and nice, he gave us a price of $2500.00 pesos a month ( around $250.00 dollars) utilities included, it is a short walk from there to the sea, maybe 5 minutes about 2 blocks. We got his phone number and he told us he would put a cable TV hook up in if we wanted one. Hmmmm, makes you think. We really like where we are right now, we have lots of interaction with the neighborhood and everything is so close and handy. San Carlos is so spread out and the mexican community feeling would not be the same. On the other hand that place has a nice area to sit outside which we lack and miss here and also that one is so close to the sea. It will need some thought, if we do manage to come again next year. We picked up some more groceries when we got home, made a batch of peanut butter cookies, and took some to the landlady and relaxed for the evening.

An Interview

An Interview

Yesterday we walked uptown and then hopped the bus to San Carlos, a tourist oriented town about 22 kms. from Guaymas. We wandered around the town and one of the two marinas. There are two different marinas there. While we were walking around looking at all the boats, we heard someone calling out to us. We looked around and were greeted by some very friendly, smiling young people with a video camera. Apparently they were doing a project for one of their classes, university..we assumed, and had to go out and interview tourists (in english). They were laughing and slightly embarassed about some of the questions that they were supposed to ask.... age, etc.. We had a laughing good time with them. They wanted to know about our night life...nonexistent, and our restaurant habits, etc.. We told them that we were just old, and boring and they laughed. Interview completed we went our separate ways, so we thought, a short time later we heard them calling us again. They had forgotten to take a group photo, so we all scrunched together, did the photo and they went on they way to capture some more subjects. An interesting few minutes, I wish my spanish was as good as their english.

After stopping for an ice cold coke, we hopped back on the bus and returned to Guaymas. Before we returned home we stopped at a different grocery store and found my peanut butter, we bought 2 jars this time just in case. They seem to stock a lot of the states name brands and some things, such as kleenex are pricey for here.

Our landlord has had a fellow doing some stone work beside our apt. the last couple of days. The first day he dug out a trench beside the house wall, about 6 feet long and 2 feet deep. End of day one. Day Two, he started taking rocks from the piles beside the street. He would hammer them to the right shape,size and then add them to the wall where he decided they should go. The landlady came out and there was an altercation about the placing of the wall....too long apparently. He continued on. Day Three... kept on building, shaping rock and adding concrete as needed. Now, at home we would just call in a backhoe, dig the trench, call the brick man and concrete truck and voila finished. Here, it proceeded like this. He dug the trench with a spade and pick axe, mixed the concrete in his wheelbarrow with the spade, shaped the stones with his hammer and worked in the 34 degree Celcius heat all day long. End of Day Three...finished, jumped on his bike with a bag of aluminum cans tied behind the seat and took off for town. Returned later with a coke and went to landlord to get paid.

Roy has gone to visit the bakery, our weak spot here, we are trying hard to sample all the different type of baking; but they keep changing what they bake each day. So it is a never ending thing. Tough life, eh.

Weather remains great, highs of 34 C. and lows of 22 C.

The Last Few Days

The Last Few Days

We did have a few children stop in for trick or treats on Hallowe'en, at first some of them were shy about coming to our place, but after the first couple came, the rest followed. What we didn't get rid of we gave to the landlords grandchildren. We found it amusing that the children were in their bare legs in their costumes instead of parkas on underneath them. Our landlady continues to pop over with food once in awhile, a couple of days ago she brought some type of seafood soup, it had shrimp, fish, crab, etc. in it and was quite good, then she came over with some tamales. The tamales were sweet, tasted like a mixture of cornmeal with pineapple and some other ingredients, very tasty anyway.

On Monday we went and wandered around the water, looked at some of the ships in the docks and then went and sat in one of the parks downtown for awhile. An older man must have figured we looked out of place as he came over and we attempted to chat for a bit. We bought some flowers for the landlady as she is always bringing something over for us and felt we should do something in return. People watching in the park is interesting, watching the children in their school uniforms after school, people busy going about their business, the park caretaker sweeping with his palm leaf broom, the pigeons, the old man having a snooze in the shade and everything in between. Yesterday we went to the weekly market and wandered around and then went uptown to buy some material to make a curtain for the window in our door. Lots of action as everyone was buying and selling flowers for the Day of the Dead, seemed like there were more street merchants also. We didn't go to the cemetary last night to see what went on as it seemed to us that we would be intruding on people. We did get a chuckle while we were uptown, there was a tourist taking a photo, so we stopped on the sidewalk to keep out of his camera view, when he was done he looked at us and said "gracias", we must be fitting into life a little bit down here I guess, it was kind of funny. We must have a pretty good tan! There are very few tourists here, sometimes we see one or two; but usually not.

This morning I walked up to the grocery store and they were out of peanut butter, that was a tough one for me, as I am a peanut butter addict, oh well, maybe tomorrow.

There are some more photos here: http://flickr.com/photos/brendamaa/

Every Day Stuff

Every Day Stuff

On Wednesday we went to the Tianguis here in Guaymas. It is close enough for us to walk to, so we got some exercise. We wandered around and people watched, our big purchase for the day was a plastic thing to use for a garbage can in the kitchen, total cost $1.20. Big spenders, aren´t we? This morning we did our laundery and the landlady brought us over some baking, etc. that she had done. Not sure exactly what it all was, one seemed to be like a quiche and the others were baking. Good stuff, anyway. We need to go uptown and find some candy for Hallowe'en one of these days soon. The days seem to go much faster here than they did while we were waiting at home to leave. Weather is great as usual, although it is cooling off abit, high today only 32 degrees C. and low supposed to be 17 degrees C..

Street Scenes

Street Scenes

Across the street from us. Our home.

More pictures on the flickr album here. http://flickr.com/photos/brendamaa/

Life in General

Life in General

On Sunday we walked uptown and then hopped a bus to the next town of Empalme. It cost us .60 cents for the bus ticket. We went there to look around, as we had thought to live there when we first started looking at this area and also because Sunday is the day that they have their tianguis(spelling) or market. It is an open air market, with everything imaginable for sale. We wandered around for awhile, sat in the shade and had a coke and then grabbed the bus back to Guaymas. The stalls are set up with tarps over them and into the street, for shade, so Roy really had to watch his head as we were walking, lots high enough for me though. Lots of color, sound and smells. The market here is on Wednesday, so we intend to go to that one, the landlord gave us directions last night when we were chatting. The landlady came over yesterday with a big plate of breaded, fried "blue" shrimp, salad, spaghetti in a sauce with cheese, cucumbers and fresh salsa. Was that ever good! We had seen people selling fish, shrimp, etc. in Empalme; but didn't buy any as it didn't smell good. It was hot and the shrimp were sitting in bowls of water with no ice. Looked like a belly ache waiting to happen. We asked the landlord about it later and he said not to buy from them, so our instincts were right. Speaking of belly problems, neither one of us has been the least bit sick(so far) we have been in Mexico for 15 days now, so we are lucky I guess.

Sights, Sounds and Smells

Sights, Sounds and Smells

So many different things are so different from home, where do I start to even begin to describe it all? The school children in their sparkling clean uniforms catching the buses to their schools. The street vendors selling everything from newspapers, fruits and vegetables, flowers, tacos and other various foods, the guys who want to wash your windshield at the stop lights, and the mom and pop grocery stores at least one per block. The trees, shrubs and plants growing all over that we try to force to grow as houseplants: fig trees, diffenbachia, hibiscus and many, many more. The colorful houses with their beautiful iron grillwork, vivid colors of the flowers on the trees and shrubs rioting over the fences and walls in contrast to the rocks and garbage in the streets. The large number of stray dogs and cats, the rooster who wakes you in the morning and who along with his harem of chickens peck away in the streets all day. The pet rabbit who bounced out of the bushes one morning and surprised all the street dogs. The enticing smells of the food cooking at the vending carts vie with the smells coming out of the some of the sewers, a truly massive assault on the senses, but it all seems strangely normal and a part of our new home. The rough cobblestone and dirt streets of the neighborhoods and the smooth asphalt of the main streets. We have been doing lots of walking, which is a real adventure for Roy (he is several inches over 6 feet). The sidewalks go from being smooth and wide to narrow, holes, lumps, rods sticking out, low wires overhead, air conditioners overhanging the sidewalk, low tree branches,etc., this is the first time I am happy to be short, I only need to watch where my feet go, my head is safe! Quite funny.

We are within 2 blocks of 1 bigger grocery store, 4 or 5 mom and pop type stores, a laundry, a few minutes further away are a couple on internet cafes which charge between $.80 and $1.00 per hour and a bakery. We bought tomatoes for $.70 cents a kilogram the other day from a veggie truck. If we walk for 20 minutes or so we are at the centre of town, or the malecon along the waterfront, 20 minutes the other way will take us to a mall, or in 10 or 15 minutes in another direction we are at a major grocery store.

Our windows on our apartment are single pane glass, no screens on the windows, next to no mosquitoes and maybe 1 or 2 flys in the evening when we shut off the A/C and open them up. There is about an inch of space under our door to the outside, sealing things off from the cold is not a big priority here. Just up the hill from us is an older man, who lives in a very basic "shack" constructed from whatever he could find around. A very friendly fellow, who does some work for our landlords from time to time.

We have found the people here to be very friendly and outgoing, a cross walk cop saw us trying to decide if we should go into a bakery and he told us that the bread there was very good. The other day Roy went fishing with the landlord and they came home with some little fish, so we had fish for supper. On their way fishing they gave me a ride to the store and one of their sons a ride to school. The son was joking that his dad parks where he can throw his line out from the car, then he asked if I was going fishing--I said no--men fish, women shop, he thought that was pretty funny. All in all, we love it here. Hasta Luego.

Mexico-- Love It or Hate It

Mexico-- Love It or Hate It

I have uploaded some new photos on the webshots album; but it is on the second album which is here: http://community.webshots.com/user/brendamaa1

Before we came to Mexico I had read somewhere that either you will love it or hate it with very few in betweens-- well if this is Mexico we love it! The people are friendly and welcoming. They put up with our poor to non-existent spanish with a smile and they enjoy trying out their few words of english on us. We've been here less than 2 weeks and already dread leaving. After a few questions about why we are not living in San Carlos (a tourist type place) the neighborhood seems to have accepted us, at least on the surface, I'm sure there have been a few conversations about the loco gringos who are always walking somewhere. The majority of people hop the bus to get where they are going, but we have lots of time and walking is the best way to get to know the area, see the sights and smell the smells.

Safety- At one of the campgrounds in New Mexico a single lady asked us if we thought she would be safe travelling in Mexico on her own. As we had never been here before we just told her about what we had read. Now after walking everywhere for almost 2 weeks I can honestly say that we have never felt the least bit nervous. We probably spend 3 hours a day walking all over. I have walked by myself several times and feel more comfortable here than I ever felt walking in Edmonton. We don't carry a lot of cash and what we do carry is basically in a "throwaway" wallet, so if we are robbed we will not lose our ID, etc.. We also haven't wandered around after dark; but that is mainly because we are not evening people, even at home. We go for a walk in the morning when it is cooler, til around noon, relax for the afternoon and then go out again either before or after supper. It's a tough life!

Water-- Because the city water supply is erratic almost all the houses have "tinacos" or water tanks on the roofs, therefore we have a steady supply of running water. We do have both hot and cold water; although we don't often use the hot. The water from the roof tank is a comfortable temperature to shower with even in the early morning. The water delivery man come by daily with drinking water, $1.00 for 19 liters, this we use for drinking and cooking.

Weather-- WONDERFUL-- high today 36 degrees Celcius, low 19 degrees Celcius.

sala

part of the kitchen

The Apartment

The Apartment

Yesterday morning we went back to see the apartment, there was alot of work left to be done on it. They said that everything would be ready by 8 PM. We went back to the campground and relaxed for the day. We packed up and left around 5 and went to look around Guaymas, do a bit of shopping and have supper. We arrived back at the apartment with our translator at 8 PM. our landlords must have worked like mad all day. The place was almost done. They were in the process of hanging curtains. They went above and beyond what we had expected. She bought a new mattress, complete with all new bedding! They also put in a couple of loveseat size couches which we also had not expected. They have cable TV, so when we took our translator home, he gave us a splitter and a roll of cable and the landlord hooked us up right away. They also said they have internet so if we get a computer we could hook into their line. This morning the landlady came over with some pots, pans, a double burner cooker, and a microwave. The only thing that hasn´t arrived yet is the frig.. Roy is at the apt. watching football and nascar so I walked to the internet cafe to write this, maybe when I get home the frig will have arrived. They are very nice people and have bent over backwards trying to make us comfy.

I can´t get the rest of the photos to load so will try again another day. Needless to say we are quite happy with our accomadations, much different than we expected to get. Doing not too bad with the spanish, managing to get across what we want and need most of the time.

More Rambling

More Rambling Continuing on. The apartment- we met our translator on Tuesday and looked at the outside; but the lady was not home and she didn't want us to see the inside as she had a couple of things to do yet. We will go back there on Saturday morning to see the inside of it and make our decision. As I was writing this a woodpecker landed in the tree beside us , about 4 feet away, and started to look for his breakfast. Camera is in the tent of course. I can't load any pictures on the computer here so will have to wait until we get to an internet cafe. Our days here are busy. This morning we took a long walk along the sea, the water is as warm as a bathtub, picked some shells and by 8:30 am we were back at the tent, hot and sweaty already. We have some tortillas for breakfast and then went to the bank in Guaymas. We then took a drive and went to see the Marina and Algodones Beach. The beach is beautiful, long stretch of at least a mile, maybe more and of course the sea. We returned to the campground, got changed and went swimming. Roy is relaxing from the stressful day we have had, while I do this. Yesterday we had a nice chat with the owners wife and heard lots of stories of San Carlos, etc. It's a tough life here; but we're doing our best not to miss the frost and cold. We looked at Edmontons weather yesterday on the computer, had a good laugh and then went swimming. Til later.

Sun, Sea and Sand

Sun, Sea and Sand The desert here is not what we expected. There are some trees, lots of shrubs and cactus. It is, at this time of year fairly green. The campground we are tenting in is right across the road from the Sea of Cortez so we fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on shore. There is also a nightly chorus of singing insects (sounds like the crickets back home). There are a few mosquitoes at dusk, and some ankle biters (no see-ums?), assorted ants, beetles, 1 fly, and of course my adopted buddy (who lives in the washroom) Charlie the Cockroach. Last night there was a skunk wandering the campground, so we put everything foody away and he didn't bother us. The campground here is great, for $10.00 US a day we have: electric, cable TV, swimming pool, showers, free computer access and a fantastic view. The owners are friendly and helpful and we have several chats a day with the security guard, Enrique, this morning he said it was very cold. It was probably about 17 degrees C., we thought that was pretty funny. The campground is very quiet, maybe only 6 of us here as it is pre- snowbird still, not sure if we would want to be here when it is full though. It seems strange to actually see the views of the sea and mountains that we have been looking at over the internet for so many months, it is almost a feeling of deja vu. The other night we walked down to a bar that we have read about and listened to a singer that we had also read about. We had also read about "Tony- the vegetable man" and the other night we met up with him. We got fresh, homemade tortillas, some delicious dessery things- can't spell the name of them. Fresh tomatoes- supposed to be 6 for $1.00 but he gave us 8. He also had fresh shrimp, cucumbers, homemade guacomole, cheese, etc.. Good stuff! The campground owners wife said to ask him what else he has as he usually has special things tucked away. He also comes to the campground everyday. Yesterday the water bottle guys also came- we didn't need a5 gal. jug here but in the corner store it costs $1.55 so we will see later how much it is when they deliver. The trees in the campground are viaied. The owner tried planting some from southern Mexico as an experiment and they have done very well. They have red blooms and great big long green pods, another kind has fruit in a leathery shell that looks like they could be almonds, there are also palms and other trees and shrubs. Along the roads there are many flowering shrubs and plants in very vivid colors. I am going to save this and come back later.

We Made It!

We Made It! We left Albuquerque on the 7 th after the homeowners returned. We spent that night in Mountainair, NM. The next day we continued on and spent the night just out of Silver City, NM at a campground at Pinos Altos. It poured rain almost all night, lots of thunder and lightning. We stopped at an overlook at one of the silver mines and took a few pictures. The next day we drove to Tombstone, AZ., looked around there for a couple of hours and continued on to Nogales, Arizona. We spent the night there and this morning purchased our car insurance for Mexico. Left Nogales and crossed the border, it took about an hour to get our tourist visas and car permit. We were lucky and got green lights, so were not pulled over and checked. Was much easier and quicker than we expected. Continued on our way, passed a few checkpoints; but we were not pulled over. Tonight we are camped in San Carlos, and will be here until we get ahold of our contact about the apartment. We are just relaxing and having our first cold mexican beer and then are going to go for a swim. Hot and sunny here.

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to be on the Road Again.....

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to be on the Road Again......

This is our last full day here in Albuquerque at the housesit. It has been a great experience and we have really enjoyed the dogs and will miss them. On the other hand, we are getting impatient to be on our way to Mexico.

We will be leaving here either tonight or tomorrow morning, so after today our computer use will again be sporadic.

Our tentative plans are to go from here to Truth or Consequences and stay at a Park called Elephant Butte, then on to Silver City, then Tombstone Arizona, then on to Tucson. We will try to spend a night by Tucson and then head for the border early, as we don't know how long it will take us to get through all that, we will have to stop at the US border first, then on to the Mexico one. Of course, these plans may change depending on how suitable the weather is for tenting, if it is not nice we will just continue on. It's great not to have any deadlines, we can change our plans as we like.

We plan to cross into Mexico sometime around the 15 th; it may be sooner though. We don't want to enter too early as the maximum we can stay is 180 days, and we don't want to be heading back to Alberta too early in the spring. If we cross on the 15 th we will have until the 12 th April ( if I counted right!)

Until next time.

Different Landscapes

Different Landscapes

I think that (other than the weather) the biggest difference we see between home and here is the landscape and vegetation. In the area where we are staying the yards have been kept to look as natural as possible, which is really nice. Everything just blends right into the land and looks as if it belongs. One plant that I grow at home in my garden as an annual seems to grow here as a weed?, anyway it is all over. Along with the usualy cactus, there are many other plants, shrubs that I have no idea what they are. Also, in this area there are alot of birds and bunnies. The bunnies appear to have no fear of humans or dogs and hop merrily all over the place.

Beastie count so far: NO snakes or scorpions seen--thank goodness; but piles of bunnies, quail and other birds.

Here are a couple of photos, will add the rest to the webshots album.

Love This Weather

Love This Weather

We awoke to another beautiful day, made more so by watching the forecasts of snow up north.

I read an online magazine called The Practically Creative Quarterly, it is full of all kinds of interesting things. This morning I got an email saying that their new issue was ready for viewing. A couple of months ago I had sent a photo in to them and this morning I was surprised to see that they had printed it. I have a feeling that if they printed my photo, then they probably print everything that is submitted to them; but it was still a nice surprise. If you would like to see the photo and read the magazine here is the URL. http://www.practicallycreative.net/home.html

Another blog I read has a post about costs in Mexico right now, it is interesting to us as we are not really sure yet what it will be like. We have been in contact with someone down there who has been looking for an apartment for us to live in. His wifes aunt is currently working on a couple of small apts. and we think that we will likely rent one of them. The cost for that small, 1 bedroom apt. with utilities would be 2200 pesos; we will see what it is like when we get there.

We are finding that the prices in the US for some things are higher than in Canada. The groceries are at least as costly and in some cases more expensive. One grocery store we went to the other day wanted $4.57 per LB. for ground beef, this is more than we pay per kilogram! Needless to say it stayed there. We did shop around and found a grocery with more reasonable prices; but even so the price for tomatoes seems to be $1.99 per lb., when we left home we were paying $.99, all in all the produce prices seem to be quite high. Which is disappointing as I am not a big meat eater.

Hasta Luego

Another Nice Day

Another Nice Day

It was another warm, sunny day today; although there was a wind this afternoon. We just came in from sitting on the patio (in my shorts) and it is clouding up and there is some lightning and thunder.

When we first came to Albuquerque we had gone to a bank and ordered some pesos, the bank had to order them in, so today we went and picked them up. Then we did a bit of shopping, filled up with gas ($2.85.9 per gallon) and came back to the house. The usual dog walks and an otherwise uneventful day.

Roys daughter left a comment that they had seen some snow on Sunday there and we feel REALLY bad that we are missing out on that.

Tarantula--Maybe?

Tarantula--Maybe?

I tried to take some photos of some of the balloons lifting off this morning before daylight. Unfortunately the photos didn't turn out, the balloons only show up in the dark when the burner goes on, so it is a bit like trying to capture elusive fireflies. I would wait and as soon as I saw some, I would snap; but the majority would again be invisible by the time I pushed the button. I ended up deleting all of the photos. Oh well, it was a pretty sight to see, and you will just have to visualise it for yourselves. Tomorrow is the special shapes ascension so that should be interesting. The newspapers are saying that there is approx. 700 balloons this year, from 17 different countries and 40 different states.

This morning while walking the dog, (the only morning I haven't taken the camera), I think that I may have seen my first Tarantula spider. I am not positive. It was a little smaller than the palm of my hand, with hairy black legs and a brown and black hairy body. He/she was just wandering beside the street. Whatever type of spider it was, it was big! This is not an average street that you would picture in a town in Alberta. The housing developement here is built into the existing landscape is such a way that the original land is kept basically intact. What grew there before the houses, still grows there. You cannot really tell where the landscape ends and the "yards" begin. Each time we go for a walk with the dogs, (twice a day), we see quail, rabbits, lots of birds, beetles, etc.. So far no snakes thank goodness, the dogs have had "snake avoidance" training; but I haven't!

The first 2 days here, I was short of breath as we are not used to being at this altitude; but we are fine now. A bonus is that our sinuses are nice and clear.

We are really enjoying the weather, it seems hard to believe that it is October. We sat outside this morning having our coffee at around 6 AM and it was comfortable, I am such a chicken in the cold that you know it must be nice. We have been sitting outside until around 9 in the evening, although I do put my light jacket on around 8. We heard that the low for Edmonton last night was supposed to be 3 Celius, I am not missing that at all!

Balloon Fiesta

Balloon Fiesta--Albuquerque, New Mexico

Yesterday was the first day of the Balloon Fiesta. The city is expecting approx. 700 balloons to lift off in the next 9 or 10 days and that over 1 million people will attend the various events. As we are not that people oriented I think that we will be doing our viewing from the house. This morning they had a mass ascension and we watched the balloons all take to the air, a very colorful morning. There are also evening "glow" events, fireworks, races, etc..

These photos are not very good; but hopefully will give you some idea of the color in the sky. If you click on the photos to enlarge them the balloons show up much better.

Finally, Pictures

Finally, Pictures

I have posted some photos on the webshots album. http://community.webshots.com/user/brendamaa

In case some of you don't realise it, if you click on the button that says "view as slideshow" the pictures are easier to see.

We walked the dogs this AM and then the CCI dog got to go and play with another CCI dog, a good time was had by all.

September 29, 2005 Rain in the Desert

September 29, 2005 Rain in the Desert

Late yesterday afternoon the wind got very high, we thought the tent might become airborne. The dark clouds starting rolling in, so instead of cooking supper we went out to eat. It started to pour rain, so we spent the evening in the tent reading by the lantern. The wind didn't go down until late evening; but it rained hard on and off all night. It was still raining this morning and looked like it was going to get worse, so we packed up and left for Albuquerque. Spent some time sightseeing and went up to the Sandia Mountain Tramway, we didn't take the tram up the mountain as it was so cloudy. Drove around looking at the architecture and the landscape of the area.

Arrived at the housesit, went for a walk with the dogs to get an idea of their commands and spent some time getting to know the people and dogs.

The balloon fiesta starts tomorrow, so that should be an amazing sight to see the main ascension in the AM.

Coronado State Park, September 28, 2005

Coronado State Park, Sept. 28, 2005

We walked over to the Park today from the campsite where we are staying. It was very interesting. Originally inhabited by the Tiwa Indians, it is the site of a pueblo from years ago. They built up to 7 stories high and accessed the rooms by climbing a ladder and entering through the roof. The rooms were very small, maybe 5 x 10 feet!! Hardly room to turn around. There were separate kitchens though. We were able to go down into a Kiva, which was a ceremonial room for the men, women were only allowed to enter to give the men food, etc.. When it was discovered in the 1930's some of the original wall paintings were still intact. They were removed and are now in a special viewing room, amazing how well preserved they are, some of the colors are still very bright. In the original Kiva, they had reproduced the paintings so that you can see where they were placed. Very interesting.

Late in the afternoon yesterday the wind came up and it showered overnight, a bit of a surprise for here. They say it has been very dry for the last 2 months, so the rain shower was welcome.

Coronado State Park

Coronado State Park

Mon. 26, Tues. 27--Monday we just sat and relaxed at the campsite. Local ground squirrel enjoyed a couple of overripe peaches we had left out. There is a very tiny little lizard? type beastie residing by our campsite. He was sunning himself on a rock by the firepit this morning. We met the people we are going to housesit for, for brunch. They brought the " assistance" dog with them and for a young dog he seems very well trained. They leave on Saturday; but have asked us to come and stay with them from Thursday afternoon onward. We went to the library Tues. AM; but couldn't get MSN to work to read our emails. Managed to make 1 post on blog and then it wouldn't let me post this one after typing it in! Very slow access, even slower than our dial up service. Will relax here in the sun the rest of today and tomorrow and then be off to Albuquerque. Hot and sunny again today.

On The Road--Day 6--September 25, 2005

On The Road--Day 6--September 25,2005

We had a relaxing day yesterday. After using the computer at the library we went back to the campground. Roy watched football on TV and I did some reading, later on we went for a swim, chatted with a fellow from Tennesee and a couple from Lake Tahoe. This morning we left Bloomfield and drove south to Cuba, San Ysidro, Jemenez Pueblo. We stopped at Jemenez Pueblo visitors centre and got a lot of info from the staff there, very nice visitors centre, also stopped and had a couple of huge, yummy burritos. We stopped at Bernalillo for the night, it is only a short distance from Albuquerque so we will probably stay here until Friday. It was 63 degrees F. at 8:30 AM this morning. We crossed the Continental Divide this morning for about the 5 th time-- elevation only 7380 feet this time.

On The Road--Day Five--September 24,2005

On The Road--Day Five--September 24,2005

Well we decided to stay over in Bloomfield another day. This morning we sat outside at 7 AM with our coffee and watched the news on TV. We did a load of laundry and we are at the library now using the computer for free. We will go swimming this afternoon and relax before getting back on the road tomorrow.

Will be out of touch for a week or so now until Albuquerque.

On The Road--Day Four--September 23, 2005

On The Road--Day Four--September 23,2005

It seemed as if the minute we crossed into Colorado the scenery changed from barren to trees and color. We left Craig and continued south to Meeker, Rifle and onwards. We decided then to take the "Grand Mesa Scenic Byway,". What can I say but, WOW, what scenery! Close to Skyway, Colorado a fellow told us that it is the largest, flat top mountain in the world, with approx. 200 lakes in the area. The fall color on the leaves was stunning. We continued on to Delta and Montrose. The area between Ouray and Silverton in the Uncompahgre National Forest has aboslutely breathtaking scenery. It is the regular highway--not a scenic route and at times the speed limit was 10 MPH. Elevations between 10 and11 thousand feet for several hours. I have driven on the "Going to the Sun" road in the Glacier National Park; but this area made that look like an easy drive. Road consisted of loops, switchbacks and 90 degree turns. The most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen. The scenery and road remained much like that all the way to Durango, only a distance of 107 miles; but it took us 3 1/2 hours to drive. I don't have the words to describe the beauty of the area, definately reccomend this drive; but make sure your brakes are in good condition before doing so. From Durango we crossed into New Mexico and camped at Bloomfield, New Mexico for the night. When we arrived at Bloomfield it was 5 PM and 80 degrees Farenheit. Roy was sweating as he set up the tent. I was sitting at the picnic table at 8 PM in my short sleeves while writing this down. We had stopped at a couple of fruit/vegetables places and bought fresh peaches, tomatoes,cucumbers and corn on the cob. The fresh picked peaches were delicious and we pigged out on fresh corn on the cob for supper. The campsite has a pool, so we may go swimming in the afternoon, as I think we will stay here another night, before heading onwards. The parks we are thinking of staying in are out of the mainstream so we will be out of touch again until we hit Albuquerque on the 1 st of October.

On The Road--Day Three--September 22,2005

On The Road--Day Three--September 22,2005

Still heading south in Wyoming, through Shoshoni, Riverton, Sweetwater Junction down to Rawlins, Creston Junction and Baggs where we crossed the state border into Colorado. The scenery, barren, brown, no trees, and bleak even at this time of year. We were both so tired of looking at the same thing. The only things of interest were some pretty, yellow flowering shrubs (all over--as in weeds??) and the antelope. Where are all the cattle and what do they eat anyway? Antelope outnumbered cattle at least 2 to 1. To amuse ourselves we started to check out the road kill! No gophers-- but several rabbits, skunks, 1 racoon, couple of porcupines, and a few unknowns! We early on decided we could never live in this area. We camped this night in Craig, Colorado.

On The Road--Day Two--September 21,2005

On The Road--Day Two--September 22,2005

We kept going straight south through Harlem, Montana to Roundup, Billings, Laurel and Bridger. Not much scenery to describe, no photos taken. Brown, barren prairie. What the cows eat I don't know, lots of antelope . We crossed into Wyoming and met a nice couple running a grocery store in Deaver. They suggested a scenic route for us and we continued on through Powell, Cody, Meeteetse and stopped to camp in Thermopolis for the night. We did get a few chuckles from a couple of people. As we had power at the campsite Roy pulled out the TV and we sat beside the tent and watched TV until it started to rain. Pretty funny, really roughing it. Fortunately the water repellent we sprayed on the then worked very well, so we were warm and dry. The state runs a beautiful park right in the city. The park is famous for its hot mineral springs. We took a walk around the spring area which is called "Rainbow Terrace" because of the colors on the rock pools and ledges, caused by the minerals in the water. No photos, as the sun was directly in line with what I wanted to photograph and I knew it wouldn't turn out well. We were going to go and soak in the pool; but the smell of the mineral water was giving us both headaches so we left in the morning. Leaving Thermopolis we passed through a beautiful area called Windriver Canyon, lovely scenery for a short time.

On the Road--Day One--September 20,2005

On The Road--Day One--September 20,2005

We finally got to leave! We took off about 7 am, heading straight down highway 41. When we left home we were paying 106.9 per liter(CAD) for gas, at Oyen, AB. we paid 98.9 per litre. After passing Consort, AB. about the only interesting things we saw were the antelopes and we wonder why they live there. The land is flat and at this time of year very brown and uninteresting. Cypress Hills Park was the only green and treed spot in the whole area. It appears suddenly and is gone just as quickly; and the land reverts to brown and barren. We crossed the USA border at 3:30 PM at the Port of Wild Horse. Customs was a bit more involved than pre 9-11 but not bad at all. A few minutes and a trunk check and we were off. That night we stayed in Harlem, Montana; where gas was $281.9 per gallon(US).