On Mexican Time

Larry and I were referred to Sr. Carlos Salizar, "the big boss" of the Costa Veleros project, who alone could permit entrance to our unit. We caught the bus to Costa Veleros this morning about 10. Carolina, the sales person motioned us to the "command central" trailer on the construction site. A young woman in the trailer, who spoke no English tried to explain to us that Sr. Salizar was in a meeting until mid-afternoon. Once she located a person with enough of a grasp of English to interpret for us, we agreed to return later in the day. Larry and I approached the Oficina de Vigilancia at the gate of the project about 2 PM. The very serious security guard wore highly polished combat boots and carried a walkie talkie to communicate with those in charge of the project. A young engineer Francisco, came out to inform us that Sr. Salizar had just finished the eeting and was about to leave for lunch. We inquired i there wouold be a more convenienttime to visit our unit. Francisco went back to confer with "the big boss". It was decided that Francisco could escort us to the unit. AHHH!With some good uploading karma, we will be able to share some of the pictures we took of the interior of the condo!

Condo Pictures

Here's the winter home! The top picture was taken from the walkway adjacent to the marina, looking to the southin mid-February, so more work has been completed since then. The lower picture was taken last September from the road and is looking to the west. You can see the progress! We hope to get into our own unit before we leave Mazatlan.

Condo Sleuthing

Our requests to have a look at our condo unit have gone unheeded, so Lonnie and Larry decided to take matters into their own hands early Sunday morning and show up unannounced at the condo site. They were greeted by a security guard who indicated that the floors were being sealed, so a tour would not be possible today....possibly tomorrow. I took a nice long walk on the beach this afternoon. We've "adopted" an injured crow and are feeding it some tasty treats......looks as if both wings are injured, si it can't fly.
Still no luck with uploading pics. VERY frustratng!

Back to the Coast

The sunsets at San Blas called us back for a short visit on our way back to Mazatlan. It was an ideal place to practice the hammer dulcimer under the big tree that overlooks the ocean. Probably my HD will need some special attention when I return home, due to the ocean air! The soft air is nice; the bugs are NOT! Both are part of coastal living...... Autun is the product of choice for keeping the little nipping critters at bay....
Sunsets at San Blas are amazing! I'm frustrated at not gettting more pictures on the blog site, but the uploading process is inconsistent. I'll keep trying! We're now in Mazatlan for a week at least. Our hope is to get into our condo unit and measure for furniture and appliances. We'll also meet with the folks who can help us with the legal and practical issues of buying property in Mexico. Maz is a beautiful city and we look forward to getting familiar with it!

Shopping in Guadalajara

We had a fantastic day of scouting out the furniture availability in Guadalajara today! Theexpo center was filled with furnishings in a half-yearly sale hosted by a local furniture business....We learned that most items we will need are easily delivered to Mazatlan and that there will be another sale in September. WooHoo! Good quality, availability and prices. And the BEST part of the afternoon was our stop at local rib and burger place that caters to hungry gringoes. Now, I usually opt for the grilled chicken breast sandwich when we stop forfast food in Oregon, but we all went for burger deluxes WITH fries. A taste of Los Estados Unidos!Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico, behind Mexico City. It appears to be very prosperous. We left the driving into centro to the taxi driver....worth the 100 pesos! ($10 US) The policia are notorious for La mordita (the BITE) . . . . not something we wanted to risk.

The Endless Trail

It's been a challenge to load pictures of the dancers in San Miguel onto the blog. Here is another dancer and I'll try to add more later.

Eight hours across country from San Miguel to Guadalajara stretched us to the limits of our endurance!.... a burro on the edge of the busy, two-lane road packed with bus and truck traffic, vehicles creating a third lane to pass by "nudging" our rigs over to the shoulder, new construction as we entered Guadalajara which made the tricky access to the RV park unrecognizable from last year. Ahh, but the cerbeza tasted especially good once we settled into our spots under trees loaded with new birds in Tajos RV park! Books and binoculars came out to aid us in identifying the local feathered friends. Jesus appeared to us as we sat in the shade of the trees, discussing the adventures of the day...... (no, not THAT One..... this was "HAY-soos", a nice gentleman who offered hand-embroidered shirts and dresses for sale, as well as his services as a guide into Guadalajara.) The Saturday traffic was some of the worst we've driven in. Our journey started shortly before 8 AM, with an easy leg south toward Celaya where we merged onto Mex 45D (the "D" indicates a toll highway). Parts of the autopista had been "repaired", but were so rough that it was like going over topes at freeway speeds. Not a very impressive cuota road! We skirted Irapuato and took the bypass around the south side of the city. We were trying to avoid traveling through the city of Guadalajara, so our route took us through the city of La Piedad de Cabadas ..... again. Once through a few days ago had not been enough punishment for us! Signs were confusing, truck traffic was heavy, and drivers seemed impatient to pass and be on their way. Mid-journey, we wondered over the CB radios WHY we didn't wait until Sunday to travel, when the trucks would be off the roads! We traveled on the North side of Lake Chapala, through the towns of Chapala and Ajijic.....expatriot establishments with beautful gated residences. We came into Guadalajara from the southwest approach and camped south of the city.
It's Monday morning and we're rested and have regained our composure. We're off to Guadalajara by taxi today to check out furniture, etc. for the condos.
More pics will be added to this entry later!

Dancers in San Miguel

During the first weekend in March each year, villagers from the towns surrounding San Miguel de Allende process into the cityin their native dress and dance around the square in front of the cathedral. This is in celebration of the indigenous peoples' acceptance of Christ. We arrived by taxi at the square about 10:30 Friday morning, expecting activities to begin about 11. Drums were already beating, and dancers were swirling and flowing and swaying to the rhythms. We rushed to see what we thought was the end of the celebration. There were probably 40 dancers on the street to start. A few minutes later from another direction came a second group of dancers from a different village, dressed in entirely different ceremonial garb. They entered the other side of the square to the beat of their own drummers. The crowd flowed in their direction and enjoyed the dance.This continued, with more groups entering the square and rotating around so that each group had a turn dancing in front of the cathedral. For three hours the dancing continued. Feather head dresses, sequinned robes, ankle rattles adorned people of all ages, from toddlers to ancients. Banners identified the different groups. The atmosphere was electric with sights and sounds that touched the soul......Among the dancers mingled folks with cameras, garbed in expensive outfits, who looked as if they had just stepped off of Rodeo Drive. Okay, so there were some others..... rough looking bohemians from the hills of Oregon! The mix of cultures gave the square a surrealistic atmosphere....a blend of cultures that seems somehow to work, though mainly to the benefit of the expatriots who have settled in this enchanted mountain city.San Miguel de Allende has become an artist's colony, where exclusive art galleries and fine shops abound. The real estate priceshave skyrocketed and their are few good buys to be found. The hand-crafted tops we found in Uruapan for 100 pesos are 350 pesos in SM. Tomorrow morning (Saturday), we will leave bright and early...headed for Guadalajara. There, we will spend a few days and do some research for furniture and appliances for the condo in Mazatlan.