Sea of Cortez farewell

A last supper at the surfboard restaurant.
Karen easily convinced me that one last swim in the beautiful warm Sea of Cortez was in orderthis morning for my last half day in Baja. It would help to clear my mind for the few remaining tasks involved in closing the house for a few months. Taps are turned off under sinks and toilets, cockroach paste is at the ready for any critters who think our house would make a good home, sorry boys. I've had two showers and am dripping with sweat again. I hate to get dressed in the clothes I will need for my arrival in Canada tonight just prior to midnight, so will wait until the last possible minute.

Pam, Blake and friend Carey are dropping me off at the airport after lunch on their way to Cabo where they plan to stay overnight and pick up Blake's FM3 tomorrow-congratulations Blake - and many thanks for the ride and for inviting me to dinner in town last evening.

The house seems untidy so one last sweep of 'things' to clear off this lovely island that is forever under clutter, then I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be to face the cold. I am so excited about seeing my wonderful son and his wonderful dad and my mother too. I have missed them all, just as I will miss my friends here in Baja. I guess its true when they say, 'absense makes the heart grow fonder'.

If the rest of this day is as great as the first half I will be most grateful. Hasta luego amigas.

..pass me by, don't make me cry...

Hurricane Paul has blown us off-or we've blown him off. Before dawn I could see lightening far off to the southeast but no thunder as it was too far away. There is blue sky overhead and a slight breeze but the Spa boats are going out. I counted half a dozen heading out fishing so they must figure this thing is history. The Sea looks a bit rough for my liking but fishermen are hardy souls. The mainland will get some rain and we did get quite a bit over the past two days, but that will dry up quickly.

The house is a mess but what doesn't get tidied today will wait for us to return and sort it all out as we unpack the next time. No point in getting anal about leaving it tidy for the cockroaches and spiders. The fridge is almost empty. Karen and I had shrimp last night warmed up in a stirfry and there is enough left for a plate today.

The play Nunsense is in full rehearsal and I think Rebecca is going to take part - the part I would have had if I had stayed through November. Its her turn to get involved in the community and I think it will be good for her. Besides she can likely sing and dance better than I can - not hard to imagine.

The clock turns back this weekend so that sunrise will be closer to six than seven and the day will get a better start; however, it sure gets dark early. In the cities of Toluca and Oaxaca offices and stores don't close until 8pm and folks stream out into the streets on their way home or for dinner so its still busy until almost ten. Not so in our wee corner of Baja. Folks are tucked up in their homes by dark and streets are deserted by 8pm. Another good reason to figure out how to get better television reception for those long winter nights-go figure.

Since all the vehicles are tucked away with batteries disconnected I will be housebound today.
Will I watch movies or clean up - a bit of both I suspect.

Until next time...adios.

Hurricane Paul pending

Batten down the hatches folks-here comes Hurricane Paul - quisas/perhaps! Its anyones guess if and when and how strong this storm will affect us, but we are prepared. This morning Dave and Rebecca were frantically trying to get their boat out of the water and the motor wouldn't start so they had to have it towed. While Rebecca and I were in town this afternoon checking on the Nunsense rehearsals we had a short hard rainfall. Its amazing how fast the roads get rutted up with runoff and the bottom street in town starts to flood. We made a quick trip north to look for Maya for some music and the arroyos were still dry but that is just a matter of time. The sun has since come out but its that eerie light with dark clouds all around us and its now raining lightly and dead calm.

I put Dylan's quad snug in between the other quads and the Ford pickup in the garage, like a jigsaw puzzle and when I got back this afternoon tucked the Jeep in there too. The generator is just inside the man door in case the power goes out for any time. Rebecca invited me over for company but as long as we have daylight and power I'm happy to be inside my own snug if not so watertight house. We always get water in the windows downstairs but it always drains out and/or dries up in short order. I'm hoping we don't have another flood upstairs like during John but at least I will be here to catch it immediately. I have promised myself I'm not going to go frantic trying to stay ahead of the incoming water. Its hopeless and will just wear me out. The furniture is all in the centre of the rooms and as much as possible up on bits of floor tile to avoid standing in water. The rest is up to the thunder gods.

If all goes as planned this will all be over in a day or so and then I will fly north. Some sendoff this is. Hope you are all snug in your cozy homes-I'm happy for the fans as its hot and muggy now. That's all for now folks.

This photo is for Clem. An inland terminal in Toluca, about two hours west of Mexico City. My guess is that corn is most likely the product in it.

It sure would be nice if someone would post a comment just to let me know if anyone at all is checking this blog. Well perhaps I'm doing it for myself and that isn't so bad either. Its been fun, but expect that since the exciting travel is about over it will calm down too. Perhaps another couple of posts before I head north again.

Goodbye Oaxaca

What is in the basket? I'm guessing bread. Above the ficus trees across the street is the most beautiful rooftop garden with flowering trees.





Sally and Armando up in the art studio. The wall behind is where students leave thank you notes.






This restaurant is above the internet place I used. I tried the chicken in cheese and salsa de mango. The walls were covered with art.

Thoughts on Oaxaca

On Monday Sara/Sally and I walked down to the Zocolo for a last cup of that delicious hot chocolate with cinnamon. There are stores that sell cocoa beans fresh or roasted and fresh warm fudge and mole sauce, which is a mix of several chilies with chocolate. It would be interesting to see how they grow and harvest them.

Since the Post Office is in the town square I finally took along the post cards I had written. The inside of the PO wasn't spectacular but just outside one large door was a great scene. Out on the street was a group of women teachers sitting on leather couches [that might have been from some hotel lobby] knitting and talking-their idea of protesting. Another group of protesters were sitting in a small group doing beautiful embroidery work. One was sitting on a stack of egg crates.

The grafitti is a problem as nightly the punks and hoodlums leave their scribbles all over beautiful buildings and next day city workers whitewash it, then that same night it becomes a palate for more political protests - Ulysses afuera!! They want the governor 'OUT'. The city is unbelievably quiet with no police sirens and almost no traffic after eleven or midnight on a weekend, but for the occasional screeching tires after a firecracker explodes.

So because CNN and Pres. Bush have declared Oaxaca a dangerous place there are literally no tourists save for an occasional person who likely lives there like Sally. The very few white folks I saw looked pitted in and comfortable, not camera totting gawking squawking...well, you know what comes next. It was so very weird and wonderful to see these great Mexican cities of Oaxaca and Toluca going about their daily business. Many buildings are getting new paint jobs as a result of the grafitti. Unfortunately, many folks rely on tourism for a living and so they set out their beautiful embroidered shirts and dresses and perhaps don't make one sale all day, but they all still smile as they look up from their needlework and none of them are pushy though hopeful that this rare gringa will buy something.

At dinner Monday evening Armando told Sara that I was not a gringa, but a Canadian. Only Americans are gringos, he says, so that was nice to hear as it is not an endearment. Tuesday morning Xochitl was up at 6:30 to hug me goodbye but went back to bed [at 26 she needs her rest]. On the way to the airport Armando had to sneek around a fire burning in the middle of the street, otherwise the traffic was light and though I was sad to say goodbye to Armando and Sara it was good to get moving towards home.

Mi Casa es mi casa

How nice it is to be back in our beautiful casa in Spa Buena Vista with a big comfortable bed with amazing sunny views and a wonderful breeze. I have loads more photos to share from Oaxaca and will continue to post, if possible, until such time as I figure out a way to put them all on one site to be viewed as a slide show as Brendan has done with his wonderful photos from Italy.

It still amazes me that I could travel for two weeks and not see any other tourists. An older couple of women I took for Europeans in the Toluca airport sat beside me in the front row of the Interjet flight and it turned out they were sisters who were third or fourth generation Mexicans who spoke German at home as well as Spanish of course and one had very passable English. They were surprised that I had spent such a pleasant vacation in Oaxaca as they were under the impression from the press that it was dangerous. Indeed it was about as dangerous as Kerrobert on a Saturday night after a hockey game-watch out for a few happy drunks! The people do seem determined not to give in and the governor doesn't seem likely to step down just because the 'people' want him to-so there is an impasse and since the police have backed out of the struggle and most people want no violence it seems it could go on for some time yet. Oddly enough I borrowed a book from Sara called Bel Canto about exactly that - a standoff between a group of young terrorists who take over a huge house hoping to capture the President of some South American country unnamed; however the President decided not to attend so they spend months voicing demands and actually becoming friends, but not willing to give in. I do hope the situation in Oaxaca ends in a better way than it did in the book.

Today I am catching up on laundry and tomorrow I will do a bit of painting in the living room. There is much that could be done but my foot keeps me from hopping up and down from stools comfortably. Will give the photo thing one more try...

Fin de Semana

More from Santo Domingo which is just a block away from the pension.


Church bells and incense woke me this morning. Noisy neighbours and fireworks kept me awake during the night so I turned on my week bedside lamp and continued reading Bel Canto.
Having my morning good strong Mexican coffee in Sally's room.

Despite my hobbling foot we managed to keep busy Friday and Saturday. Armando went round to fetch his car which he keeps in a lot somewhere and drove us a couple of blocks up the hill to a great little indoor taco restaurant then after we went downtown to a huge Dulceria so he and Xochitl could buy loads of candy for their store out in a small pueblo a few hours from Oaxaca where Armando was raised. Saturday morning Sara and I went up to the small outdoor market that has so many wonderful food vendors and I had a tostada and agua de jimaica while Sara had some weird white corn drink with floaties in a gourd. It tasted like sweet flour and water, no gracias. Later we went down to the zocolo and visited the Morales gallery, then checked out some wonderful shops in old plazas that were overwhelming with great stuff for great prices, but alas I could not buy everything I wanted. For supper we went up the street to a lovely more upscale restaurant in a courtyard and as we entered it was sprinkling with rain and they were just rolling the retractable roof closed. Way cool! We both decided on salads and I had a delicious mix of jicama, avacado, oranges, and salmon toasted with sesame seeds and honey.

Hobbling up

Figure I should hobble upstairs to do another art class, but while I have a connection am hooked.
The studio where Armando teaches art. He and Xochitl live in a room beside it and this is looking down into the courtyard and my room. The views from the roof are wonderful.


This is where the teacher protesters are camped but its quiet other than a few fireworks to get folks attention. Talks are still ongoing and I don't know if work will resume on Monday as hoped.

Wireless for now

We are surrounded by churches and this one is a huge complex called Santo Domingo. It houses a museum which is a maze of rooms and at one time held a monestary and nunnery. It was a photographer's dream.










Wonders never cease. Sally just headed off to the market and handed me her laptop to watch a movie, but a wireless connection notice popped up and here I am-wireless!! If it continues to work she'll be thrilled-it said the connection was excellent too.

Sally returned with a green enchillada and a health drink to boost my immune system with papaya and beets and who knows what else.

Oaxaca photos

This is our pension from across the street.

Sara's friend David came for coffee one evening. This is Sara's kitchen and the table where I'm sitting now to write.




Below is the poster that hangs from rooftops on many streets.




The art studio is on the roof of our pension and the views from up there are so fun.





Bob and Dylan would have loved these little three wheeled carts.



Sitting in Sara/Sally's room with my foot up on a chair recuperating from my wee operation last evening to remove the pea sized growth under my middle left toe. Had to have a skin graft from my left thigh but the good part is I had a great plastic surgeon who was very professional and had a great manner, was quick and efficient. The nurse called a taxi and sent me off with my little vial to the pathology lab and the nice woman path doctor said the results would be available in a week. The good part of not being able to walk around is that I will have lots of time to work on the art with Armando's guidance.

Check out Armando and Xochitl's website to see their work at www.geocities.com/axtlan/01_home.html

The front courtyard of the pension is a collage of venders. This is early morning before the shops open and the shelves fill up, but without tourists business is dead. This doll stand sentry and is one of many similar and larger dolls around town.


Mole, chile and chocolate is so delicious. This is an enchilada, but I had a big mole tamale the same day. Remember the final e's are pronounced like ay.

Wonderful markets

Sitting at the internet place a couple of blocks up the hill from our pension waiting for Sara who is home working on her art. When she comes by we will continue up the hill to the market and have our daily breakfast drink of fruits and veggies, very healthy. Yesterday I had kiwi, grapefruit and carrot-delicious. Sara has the same one every day and it contains so many healthy veggies that after I tried it once decided I didn´t need to be that healthy. Celery, beets, carrots, and a bunch more, orange juice was its saving grace.

Tonight it is my turn to make dinner. They have the main meal about 4pm, which is really the midday meal or comida. Cena or supper comes later and is usually smaller before bed. Sara took us out on Saturday when it was her turn to cook and I was tempted but we will go out on Friday when its my next turn. This afternoon I´m going to attempt a stirfry with chicken breast and a salad since I got the most beautiful head of romaine. Sara has a 2 burner gas stove and a small fridge in her room. Last Friday it was Xochitl´s turn, pronounced Sochee and she got chicken ground with peppers and spices and made meatballs with sauce and tortillas. Sara said she would have made rice but when you see the size of these young artists you can see that rice isn´t part of their daily diet. Xochitl really reminds me of Joanne´s Chisanna. I can´t remember what I´ve already written because often I write in my journal and try to add to the blog when I can.

Today at 6:30 I have an appointment with a dermatologist-plastic surgeon to see if he can remove the nasty growth under my toe that I´ve been struggling with for the past month. It has made walking uncomfortable and I´m so afraid of infection. It started in Canada but wasn´t as obvious then. I´m hoping it will cost less than the American podiatrist in Cabo quoted me.

Will continue to add photos in the morning when I get to use Sara´s laptop in her room. Hope you are all having a great day in your respective parts of the world. Oaxaca is a great city. I love it here.

Lunes en Oaxaca

Home Sweet Home. The open door is Sara's room taken from mine across the wee courtyard.





Below is the view from my bed. Sara/Sally bought me flowers from the market for my arrival.












I carried a parcel of paintings all the way from LosBarriles for Sara/Sally, who shall be called Sara from now on, as that is what the Mexicans call her. We visited the framer on Saturday. I asked if I could take his photo as he had a lovely Indian profile. I sat in the shade of this gigantic Arbol del Indio while Sara chose matts and frames, then went inside and added my two cents.


This instrument showed up at both markets and sounds wonderful. I don't know what its called.


Typical scenes and I'll never remember exactly where they were but by the end of the week I will possibly pass the same places many times.

Domingo

When the fellow wheeled his bicycle into the cathedral in Toluca I just had to have a photo.

The long colourful Mexican style dress that Annabelle gave me is perfect however everyone stares at my neon green Dawgs. People are all wearing coats and long pants and the women dress very fashionable for work many wearing tall stilleto heels.

The coffee is delicious everywhere even from the machine in the Botanical gardens.





The walk from the Hotel Colonial to the bus terminal took almost an hour. Janet and Denise willl know why I took this photo for them. I stopped to have a slice of pizza and soda and asked directions when I was about a block away. It cost 100 pesos for the trip which took just under two hours.












The bus ride from Toluca to Mexico City was a trip! I loved the mountains covered with tall cedars and pines. Spider man was playing on the bus. Once we got closer to the city small communities became visible. The highway sliced into the rock and the cliffs were covered with ivy and ferns and pampas grass which made me smile because it reminded me of Bob. When I moved in with him he had a large vase full of dusty pampas grass.









Travelling through Mexico City en route to the airport which is in the city centre the freeway rose above the streets to the level of rooftop gardens and lines of laundry. I saw a woman scrubbing clothes in a tradional cement sink with several lines full of wash directly beneath a giant billboard.



I also saw several small racetracks in a row-perhaps five-which made me think of Dylan and Bob and the new track in Kindersley where Dylan had so much fun racing some kind of machine.






I had loads of time in the airport in Mexico and since there were no chairs I got a cappiccino and cinnamon bun and sat at Cinnabon for as long as I could and read my overpriced novel only to discover I had already read it.

Finally we boarded the plane and the adventure really began. Just before takeoff as we were ready to taxi the captain made an announcement that we had to return to the terminal. For some reason we were unable to land in Oaxaca that night. After a couple of hours of uncertainty we were put up by Aviacsa Air in a hotel and told to return at five next morning for a 6:30 flight. Needless to say I didn´t get much sleep as I was worried about oversleeping. I knew the desk would be busy checking in the entire flight of around 90 people so didn´t bother to ask for a wake up call.



It was smooth from then on and Sally and Armando were there to meet me in the crush of people in the small Oaxaca airport. I had carried a large cardboard parcel of paintings for Sally to frame and was guarding them with my life. When this little man approached and offered to take them I thought it was a taxi driver wanting to help and I held on to them tightly and said no gracias. Turned out it was Armando who got a great laugh out of that.

Sabado

Woke to ringing church bells just before seven. Then a more distant church responded with more bells. Time to get up! Can't remember when I've had such a great sleep. Downloaded photos onto Sally/Sara's computer so here goes.

Toluca-Botanical Gardens, 3 blocks from Hotel Colonial. The entire building was stained glass.

The policeman dropped his waving arms as I snapped-I took several photos inside the Gardens and will add them later. This next one is the pedestrian mall where I had breakfast.

Oaxaca

Sitting beside Sally Smith in an internet place. What a beautiful city-I love it here and the weather is like eternal spring. It was quite an adventure getting here as we were delayed overnight in Mexico City. Sitting on the tarmac waiting for takeoff when we returned to the gate and were put up in the Fiesta Inn - which took a couple of hours of waiting and wondering what the hell was happening. They blamed it on the Oaxaca airport where Sally and Armando were waiting for me. They were told the problem was in Mexico City, so quien sabes? Consequently I got less than four hours sleep and am exhausted plus have been walking for hours each day since leaving Baja.

The bus from Toluca to Mexico City through pine covered mountains was spectacular. Nearer the city the highway was cut into rock covered with ivy, ferns and pampas grass. Travelling through the city to the airport overpasses provided a great view of tiny rooftop gardens where laundry was hanging beneath giant billboards. It was a challenge to take photos while moving. Spent too many hours in the airport but better to be early than late. It was clean and modern and full of services like Starbucks, Cinnabon, McDonalds, etc.

Since arriving this morning at 8:30 it has been an action packed day. The little bohemian artist studio-pension where we are living is charming. We walked several blocks to an out door artisan market with great little food stalls where we had a baked apple wrapped in pastry and yogurt with fruit. I couldn´t resist getting a couple of little things - a pottery mug for my morning coffee with Sally, a small woven basket.

Toluca

Sitting in an internet cafe, sans cafe, in Toluca at 10 a.m. It has been sensory overload since my arrival at the airport yesterday at 4:30. With only carryon I was out of the new little airport quickly, got a taxi easily, and arrived at Hotel Colonial half an hour later for 120 pesos. I asked the driver if the city was safe or dangerous and he said it was safe to walk.

I won,t be able to post photos for awhile, so bear with the dialogue, if you can and the keyboards are stiff and different, so weird things will happen.}

After settling in to my clean simple room I walked 3 blocks to the Botanical Gardens which were lovely, but the real sensation was the building- all stained glass including the roof. Photos will come later. I surprised myself at how easily I could walk with my sore foot. I explored several blocks. Huge open plazas surrounded by 3 large churches, the cathedral was ringing for six pm.
At 7 I returned to hotel to rest my toes and watched the end of Footloose in english. At 8 I went in search of a restaurant for cena, but they were scarce in the direction I was going. One large fancy one didnot look inviting to sit in alone. A young woman was making pancakes on a waffle like griddle then rolling them into cones-supper! A baseball sized scoop of icecream, dipped in chocolate rolled in coconut-ate only about half of it. Eat dessert first. Every second store seems to be a shoe store-zapataria.

A McDonalds and large cinema billboard signaled a large indoor mall, so I decided to see El diablo vista de la moda-Devil Wears Prada because it was in english and would fill time, but read my watch wrong, thinking it started in 10 minutes, when it was an hour and ten. I had asked a young security guard for directions to cinema and there was a man asking something who walked along with me. I saw the guard later and he asked if the fellow had bothered me- molesta? People are friendly and helpful. After eating standard nachos con jalapenos I heard a guitar and singer next to a modern coffee place, so had a cappiccino and listened to english folk songs from the 60s and 70s. The movie started at 9:40 [after Baja midnight] and got out about11:30. Stores were shuttered and streets were empty, taxis stopped to ask if I needed aride, but it was only a couple of blocks to the hotel.

This morning I woke at six per usual but it is dark til after 7. Not another person in sight at the hotel-even a clerk when I headed out at 8. Walked a different direction and found all the cafes and restaurants. Shops were still closed and folks were trickling in to work along a large pedestrian mall. Had desayuno in a nice small restaurant, ordered -jugo de naranja, huevos revueltos con tocino, y pan tostado integral y cafe. When I asked for mantequilla for the toast it came wrapped in tiny corn husk packets. The table by the window had a red and white checkered cloth cornered with a solid red cloth and looked towards a fountain with a black metal sculpture of a naked man in a pith helmet. Photo tofollow. Behind it a bridal shop window full of lovely formal gowns. Several banks have store fronts selling appliances and furniture-on the spot financing.

My long colorful dress [thanks Annabelle] looks Mexican and the navy sweater[thanks Janet] fits right in, but everyone looks at my bright green dawgs with socks-perhaps I can find a pair of proper shoes, but am drawn to the cool wild sneakers-maybe not. No sandals or shorts or gringo tourists here-not one! Coffee tastes great - even from the machine at the Botanical Gardens. Each street corner has 4 or more policemen directing traffic. Last night at 8 I was walking in rush hour traffic and it was wonderful to be reminded about city life.

Will head back to the hotel and check on transport to Mexico City airport this afternoon. Its a bit frightening, as I expect it will not be as calm as in Toluca. Sally warned me to hide my money inside my bra, but you know, that is nonexistant. My shirt hangs over the passport pouch that holds money and camera so I will be fine. I have done some travelling in an earlier life. All for now. Love you all.

On my way to fetch Rick [and Pat] from the airport I stopped at the Los Naranjos [oranges] road. There was so much beautiful red San Miguel weed climbing through the trees.












































Looking back south towards Spa from Rancho.