La Tasca Restuarant

Yesterday afternoon Andre arrived. After we picked him up at the airport and did the big kissy kissy and came home safe and sound, we adjusted to being together. Andre looked at the garden and all the changes that my grandmother did and we sat and talked a bit and kissed alot more.

We decided to go to La Tasca for dinner. I knew that they had this awesome band playing there and it is right on the lake front. Actually it really is right on the lakefront now as the lake has obliviated their parking lot totally and the lake laps at the restaurant walls.

We had a lovely dinner right by the window and the band stage. I had shrimp wrapped in bacon - it was so unique and wrapped tight like a ball, Andre tasted his first arracherra and Kristen ordered a dinner that will eventually end up in the garbage. There was nothing wrong with it but it seems that she only likes packaged dried pesto instead of fresh and fresh was what she ordered.

But Kristen did enjoy her Creme Brulee even though her father tried to eat most of it. I had a couple of Amarettos and cofffee instead of desert. My personal heaven. The waiter taught me in Spanish how to say my heaven but I it is gone out of my head.

Andre had a Margaretta to celebrate his cousin Tami's birthday, which happened to be yesterday. She had asked him to have one for her. We toasted her birthday, but I wonder if she felt it.

Right after dinner the band began to play. We timed it perfectly. I love this band they play Latin American music from Equator, Chile, Mexico, Cuba etc. They use wooden flutes and other wooden wind instruments, bongos, guitars and other string instruments. It is beautiful, sensual and fun music and Andre was enraptured.

They play there every Saturday night and if you are here, it is worth it to go and enjoy, but don't take a 10 year old who wants to go home and watch tv instead of enjoying the atmosphere, music and company. Too bad.

Cops in Ajijic Mexico

Today I went to the insurance agent with my little piece of paper that the previous insurance agent gave. I was told that this little piece of paper would allow the insurance on both sides to argue it out, without the driver or me involved. So off I went.

I was I admit a bit distracted while I was driving because of a potential offer on our house that may be coming through and I was driving without my seatbelt. As I was turning left off the carreterra onto the libremento to get to the insurance agent, a cop from the opposite direction honked at me. I thought he saw my seatbelt off and I immediately put it on while looking in my rear view mirror to see if he had turned around. He hadn't so I kept going on my way taking it as a friendly reminder.

I pulled into the insurance office and guess who pulled in behind me? He wished me a buenos dias and told me that I was not allowed to turn left at that corner without the green arrow. I apologized and said that I had thought it was an advance and I could turn when safe.

I provided my licence, my ownership in my fathers name (which a lawyer said I was able to drive because I was immediate family) and my insurance. He asked for my dad's import papers which I have no idea where it is, some things I just can't find and that is one of them. He told me he was taking the car from me and once I had this paper, then I could pay the fines and get the car back.

At this point, all that I have gone through and all the stress came pouring out. I began hysterically crying and hyperventilating. I couldn't breathe and was making a scene but I couldn't control myself. How on earth would I survive here with a child and an elderly person with no car?

It turned out that a little grease was all he needed to go away and I greased alot. I would have in that moment emptied my purse for him just to make the situation go away.

It turns out that he was not allowed to do that and I could report him to his boss but I am not sure if that will keep him away from me or if it will make him harass me. Driving a big red Lincoln is not a car that remains under the radar, anywhere.

What a couple of days. Days like this you wonder what you are doing and just want to run home and hide under the sheets. Or run to your mom and have her give you a big hug. But none of that is possible for me, so I will just go to sleep and try to get my strength back.

My first accident in Ajijic

I never had an accident in Canada or I never had an accident claim in Canada. The only accident I ever had there was with black ice on the QEW in the fall but only a damaged tire happened.

Today, I was on my way to the tianguis in Ajijic or should I say I was on my way to the grocery store when I saw my neighbour, Ed who was on his way to there and I decided to join him. We strolled through the vendors and I bought some fruit for my grandmother and veggies for dinner tonight (Theresa my mothers closest friend from here arrived today and I was making her dinner) and flowers.

I bought 3 big bunches of flowers at the tianguis, one for my grandmother, one for me and one for T to make her arrival a little nicer.

I truly enjoyed my time with Ed and then I finished my shopping and running of errands and I was on my home to prepare for dinner, Yeah!! I was turning left onto the road to my house off of the carreterra and following behind a construction truck carrying rebar. The cop was there to direct traffic as the tianguis is a big traffic issue and he had stopped traffic and waved us through. The construction truck was going left and I was going straight. All was good.

But as I was right behind him, the truck seemed stuck and started reversing. I was immediately behind him and no where to go. I am driving a VERY large Lincoln Town Car and I would think I was impossible to miss, but I guess if you just start reversing and not look, which I am sure we have all done before at least once, anything is not seen.

So here I am stuck and I see he is reversing but think to myself, surely he will stop in time, or I can get past him in time, but neither happened. He reversed right into me, with rebar coming at my face because my window was thankfully open and I just stared in shock. I truly think that if he hadn't stopped, that I would have ducked in my seat and not let the rebar actually hit me but at the moment I seemed frozen staring at what was happening.

The cop came running and asked if I was ok, I was and I said so. He asked if I wanted to press charges and I said no. I had heard so many horror stories of gringos with out of country plates being guilty just because they were out of country visitors and the car was still in my fathers name so I just said I wanted us to resolve it between us.

The driver immediately called his boss and asked what to do and his boss said call the insurance. The driver and I had worked out a solution that would not involve the insurance but it was decided that insurance was the way to go for other driver.

So I waited over 2 hours on the corner for the insurance adjuster. Everyone was very kind and helpful even though I was appalled that the company was going to charge the employee with the deductible.

The kissing cop (as he is nicknamed) kept hugging me and asking if I was ok.

It was a long long day and I was really shaken up but all in all I was quite happy with how it was all handled.

Hummingbird Building a Nest

Some days you have a miracle happening right in front of your face and I am definitely having one of those lately.

My desk sits in the front of the house and there are no flowers at all in the front of the house, just trees. I did that on purpose so that the front of the house was clean and neat but simple and low maintenance. I was sure that the only hummingbirds that I would see would be in the backyard where it is full of flowers for them to feed on. They are definitely in the back feeding but I think the true show is here in the front.

On the lowest edge of one branch of a tree, a hummingbird is building a nest. Immediately outside my window, right in front of my face.

I have watched the hummingbird carry pieces of leaves in her beak, where it seems to heavy for her to carry and then watch her drop it and have to retrieve it.

The nest is getting bigger and bigger but I don't understand how it can possibly hold eggs and babies when it is on the end of the branch, the weakest point. But I will continue to watch in utter fascination.

The hummingbird spends so much time hovering outside my window looking in at me. I don't know why it does it or if it can see me but it allows me a perfect view to watch.

I have tried to capture it in the tree but every time I pick up my camera, it leaves. The hummingbird can be perched on the limb not flitting it's wings for some time but as soon as I pick up a camera it seems to sense it and leaves. So I can't share with you this awesome scene.

Mother nature is fascinating and wonderous even for some one like me who never had an interest in bird watching before.

Parent Teacher Meeting at the School

Today I had an appointment for a parent teacher meeting at Kristen's school. When they called to make the appointment I was told that they were concerned about Kristen. Other than that I knew nothing.

So I showed up this morning and was escorted into a conference room with the English teacher, the Spanish teacher, the team co-coordinator and the student coordinator. That is a lot of people to support each student. At first it was overwhelming but then I began to understand the role that each played for the total growth of the student. Pretty amazing. We certainly didn't have that in Canada.

The reason I was called in was because Kristen was not integrating well and that was translating to her attitude and quality of work. She was feeling overwhelmed and when she didnt understand she just shut down and didn't bother to try.

I started to cry in the middle of the meeting, in front of these 4 women and it was embarassing but all I felt was guilt over putting her in this situation that she felt unable to ask anyone for help.

I asked that Kristen be brought into the conference and I could see the relief on her face that she had all this support to help her through it. She is determined to use all the help available. I am so proud of her. Her teachers said the same as well as how intelligent she is. Wonder where she gets it from?

So now she will have after school spanish lessons, a tutor at home 5 days a week and in class tutoring on her subjects and the language as well. With all this support I know she is in the right place and I am happy that we are here. What an amazing experience for her.

Spanish Lessons at Lake Chapala Society

Today was my first Spanish lesson at the Lake Chapala Society. I knew something was wrong when I signed up and when I arrived it was confirmed.

When I signed up at the office I was told that the Level 1 class started in October and it was 100 pesos. When I read about the classes beginning in the local Ojo del Lago magazine, it had stated that the classes were September to December and 500 pesos. I guess I shouldn't have thought I was getting a deal when I paid but I did question the starting date.

So now I am only in a 4 class introductory class and after this month I will have to wait until January to really start learning Spanish. I did enjoy it and I have to say it is starting to make sense and I am starting to hear things and understand. But I really didnt want a class that was broken up. I was looking for some continuity.

I have an introductory class on learning only 138 words. I think I will really begin to use that program as well. I find that it is truly important for me to learn, not only for myself and general getting around because you can get by here without spanish - not great but get by.

I find its important for Kristen as well. She has a strong personality (wonder where she gets it from - I am saying my Mom) and has convinced every friend to only speak English to her. That is great for their learning but not so great for Kristen's. I h ave a parent teacher meeting tomorrow with the school and they said they are concerned about her. The only thing that comes to mind is Spanish.

I have her enrolled in after school lessons and a daily tutor so other than me learning Spanish and speaking it at home, I don't know what else to do. So here I come.

I also watched this PBS show about how to save your brain. One of the main things that you need to do besides limiting alcohol and drugs (not really an issue with me) is to learn. Learn a new language, a new skill, whatever you choose but continually learn new. The doctor said it was the greatest way to ward off Alzeheimers and seeing as my grandmother died of it, I really truly want to avoid it.

So Spanish here I come. Then conversational French and Italian. I will truly ward off Alzheimers at this rate.

Butcher in San Juan Cosola Mexico

When my parents came up to Canada for my paternal grandmother's funeral three years ago, my mother was determined to eat and enjoy everything that she was unable to eat here in Mexico. We had Prime Rib roast beef with yorkshire pudding (my speciality) veggies and horseradish three times in a week and half. We had lobster only once. That should show you how much a good roast beef meant to my mother.

Growing up we had the traditional Sunday night dinner. It was always a roast of some kind. Usually prime rib or pork with crispy rind or whole roasted chicken was the item served. It was comfort food and at the time sometimes felt boring. Imagine being able to say and truly mean it - "Oh No not Prime Rib roast beef and yorkshire pudding again"

I believed my mother's opinion of what life was like in Mexico and I have not gone out of my way to prove her wrong or that things are changing here. I mentioned in a previous post that my mother felt that the schooling here was not up to par and that has been proven incorrect.

Looks like I may have just stumbled upon another thing that has progressed here in Mexico. Friends of my parents, who I am happy to say have become my friends, Rosemary and Bob, sent us an email about a great butcher shop in San Juan Cosola. I dropped in today and asked about the products there. Bob assured me that you could not only get an amazing aged Prime Rib and a pork roast with the rind, but anything else you may want as well.

He took me over there because I don't know the area and introduced me to the butcher (or his brother - not sure). I bought a couple of thick tenderloin steaks, 2 kilo's of split pork ribs and 3 thick pork chops for 120 pesos. I will let you know how they turned out but if they taste as good as they look we will be making the drive again.

Oh and for those who read my post regularily, I mentioned my bra issue to Rosemary and she helped me out. YEAH!! Thank you. I love handmedowns. They always thrill me.

Walmart in Ajijic

2 months tomorrow Walmart will be opening at the corner of the carreterra and the road to Guadalajara, can't remember what it's called at the moment. Walmart will be on the lake side of that corner and on the opposite corner is a strip mall for 50 stores and supposedly Burger King too.

But this is not going to be any ordinary Walmart - it's a SuperStore with food and everything a person could ever want. Yeah!!

It is a shame that Walmart is blocking the lake view and there is so much contraversy around them coming here but I personally can not wait.

Kristen needs black shoes for school and I can't find any to fit her. Walmart would have it.

I need new sheets but Soriana only has 180 thread count and I won't go back to that quality ever again but Walmart would have them.

Andre is coming for a week on the 11th and he wants Corona - Walmart has it cheap - 24 beer for 170 pesos - $17 bucks.

I want to make a chicken curry but can't find coconut milk - I think Walmart would have it.

I need new clothes but don't want to buy the fancy stuff for every day and that is all I can find but Walmart would have clothes. I desperately need a new bra. I truly can't wait for Walmart. When Andre is here, I may just drag him to Guadalajara for a new bra from Walmart.

So many things will be so close. I truly can not wait.

Elderly baggers at grocery stores

Yesterday while I was shopping for my ingredients for my wonderful meal, I went to two stores. One was Soriana in Chapala and other Super Lake in San Antonio. Considering that I am coming from the Greater Toronto Area, saying that I am going from town to another, seems so funny considering the actual distance that I am traveling.

Anyway, while I was at Soriana, which is a large grocery store that carries, electronics, clothing, drugs and household products as well - very comparible to Walmart - I noticed something when checking out that made me think I should discuss it here.

I ran my groceries through the cashier and gave her $400 pesos for $342 peso order. She took a $100 peso bill out of her cash and sat it down on the bagging area, indicated for me to wait and she ran the next order through.

I waited the entire time that the following gentleman was completing his sale and finally the cashier gave the $100 note to the next cashier who gave her change. As I was reading this mornings webboard for the area, someone else noted that it was happening all day yesterday. Makes me wonder why there was such a shortage of small bigs in the cash this day. Inquiring minds want to know.

Baggers in the grocery stores here are usually children or the elderly and they are usually given tips. You see their pile of coins in front of them as they bag and it always seems like there is such a small amount considering the time of day. I always wondered if it was part of their marketing paln to only keep a certain amount showing.

What really stood out in my experience for that visit was a Soriana bagger employee with a Coke jumped in front of me in line showing me her pop. I waved her through as she was on a break and said go ahead. She gave the cashier a Soriana plastic grocery bag rolled up to pay for her drink. The cashier had to weed through the coins to figure out which was the correct change for her drink.

My thoughts were:
1. Did she know how to count?
2. If not, that would explain her job as a bagger but then again what a great opportunity for an uneducated woman to get employment enough to purchase a Coke as an extravagance.
3. Just how poor were these baggers who collected our coins and appeared either elderly or uneducated? I wondered what their houses were like and how they lived.

This area is generally very well off for the Mexicans. The ones who have vacation homes from Guadalajara definitely have more disposable income than I do and drive amazing vehicles with all the toys.

But exactly how poor are the poor in this area and what is the percentage. It makes me wonder.

Lake Chapala and Robertos

I thought I would listen to my own thoughts on my last blog and decided to make this afternoon, family day for Kristen and I. We drove down to the lake and took some pictures of where it is now.

Last April 19th was my wedding anniversary and Andre and I were here for it. We made reservations for La Tasca which had been recommended to us but somehow made the mistake and walked along the beach and ended up at Roberto's on the beach.

We loved the food, the ambiance and the view of the lake as we ate. We loved how we walked along the beach to get to the restaurant.

Well Roberto's has moved and you can see why. Now they are on the carreterra on the west end. We will have to try it one day but the view will never be the same.

Telmex Phone Bill

Yesterday I went and paid the phone bill at Telmex. It was the 22nd of the month and the bill was due on the 24th. Here in Mexico there is no credit or grace period. If the bill is due on the 24th and it's not paid until a couple of days after, do not expect to have your service still operational.

When I was there and waiting in line, there was a woman trying to pay someone else's bill. Apparently from what I was able to hear, the person who's phone bill she was paying was up north. She had arranged for Lloyd's bank to pay her bills when she was out of the country and it was missed. So her phone and internet were cut off. When she inquired as to how long it would be until the service was repaired, seeing as she was paying now, she was told - 20 minutes. I bet she wouldn't make it home before the service was repaired. What a great way to reduce your accounts receivable.

My bill was about 670 pesos and that includes my local phone, internet service and a charge for my Dad's old cell phone. You still have to load minutes on the phone as it is a pay as you go but for some reason there is this 10 peso charge every month. One day I will figure it out but not today.

The other thing that really stuck out in my mind was I was there in my shorts and tank top or tshirt, don't really remember which, and every man who worked there was in a starched white shirt, with an undershirt underneath and a tie. How on earth could they look so clean and neat in this heat? Will I ever climatize and be able to wear long sleeved shirts?

But nowhere in Canada when you went to the phone center would you find someone looking like an office professional serving you. They truly show respect for everything here.

Our Garden in Paradise

My grandmother who adores and lives for flowers (she really should have been a florist when she was working) decided when my parents both died that she would like to make the garden hers. Her idea was that if she could see something beautiful and blooming daily, then it would give her a reason to live.

For a while though instead of it giving her a reason to live the garden put her on a roller coaster. She was happy and excited when the flowers were blooming but then she fall into the pits of despair if one died. I think we have gotten her off the roller coaster.

She took some of her investment money, money that she had never wanted to touch in case something happened to her, and she had a garden designer and arborist come in and redo the garden. My parents had liked the overgrown, tropical jungle kind of look. My grandmother wanted to remove some plants, open it up and plant hordes and hordes of flowers. I seriously am not exaggerating.

She trimmed back all the large supporting plants to just give a backdrop to lovely, heavenly sent flowers and life was good. For awhile.

The neighbours in front of us, decided that they were tired of all the overgrowth of our plants, cascading into their yard and they had their gardener cut it back. I am sure that they are thrilled with the openess and light that now fills their garden but my grandmother was in a state of frenzy, watching her private beautiful garden open up and now feel exposed with all the holes available for our neighbour to view our activities.

I told my grandmother that watching her sleep was not that exciting and I am sure that they aren't watching but she believes that it would be worthy of watching. Makes me wonder what she does in her sleep. LOL

Yesterday in one of our endless runs to the garden center, instead of just buying flowers with as little green on them as possible, she actually bought plants that don't flower and will fill in the holes created by trimming back the excess. Is there a metaphor here? Hmm I think so.

Grocery Shopping at Soriana in Chapala

I just took my grandmother grocery shopping at Soriana's in Chapala, the next town about 10 minutes away. We both bought quite a bit of food although my groceries don't last as long as her between a growing 10 year old and myself.

I bought yogurts, cheese, meat, juice, fruit and veggies, soap, conditioner ( have you noticed how you need to buy conditioner a lot faster than the shampoo?) and all sorts of other goodies. My bill came to 670 pesos (about $67).

My grandmother did the same but added a bottle of vodka (she buys a large bottle for 59 pesos - remember the 10 - 1 ratio of the dollar - too cheap LOL) Her bill was about the same as mine but instead of lasting a week like mine does, her will last her about 3 weeks.

Walmart is set to open just around the corner from us - walking distance actually unless we grocery shop. It is supposed to open the end of November just in time for Christmas shopping. It is also going to be a superstore. I am curious if they are going to stock a lot of NOB (north of the border) products and what price they will be.

We have a store called Super Lake that caters to the "gringos" and has every product that we can get including the luxury items like caviar, smoked salmon and my grandmothers must have today - Cheez Whiz.

Me, I am looking forward to my smoked salmon on toast with butter, chopped red onion and dillweed. Who called this a third world country? They are crazy.

El Sarape Restaurant in Ajijic

Normally I don't eat like a Mexican and by that I mean, I still eat like I did in Canada with the main meal of my day being at dinner in the evening. But today I was really hungry at lunchtime so we went out for big lunch at El Sarape.

El Sarape in on the main road, the carreterra, on the west end of Ajijic. The food is phenomenal and although they call it tex mex I think its truly Mexican.

Today I had my first Tamale, with green corn chili. I have seen them made on the food channel on tv but I had never had one. It cost 18 pesos (generally we divide by 10 to get the equivalent North of the Border price so = $1.80) I assumed at that price I wouldn't be full so I ordered a torn beef crispy taco as well.

My daughter and her friend were my companions for our lunch (dinner) and between them, they ordered 2 soft tacos of beef, 1 crispy chicken taco and a chimichanga. At just about every single restaurant in Mexico, you are served salsa and tacos when you sit down.

The chimichanga was huge with Mexican cheese and guacamole on top (most of that came home although I took about 1/4 of it to taste of course).

The crispy tacos I am afraid to admit, are deep fried, but man oh man are they good. It is NOTHING like our taco shells bought from the store in a box and then made at home. Nothing from NOB (north of the border) tastes anything like real Mexican food.

Then we were encouraged to have a piece of El Sarape cake which is a rich dark moist cake made with oatmeal (so it had to be healthy right) and topped with a nuts and coconut in sugar sauce. So amazingly good. But now I am so incredibly stuffed - which makes you understand why if you eat like that in the middle of the day, why it would be your main meal of the day.

Oh and I forgot to mention, with all that food, deserts and homemade lemonade and orangeade, the bill was 240 pesos ($24 dollars - you couldn't eat for 3 at McDonalds at that price - let alone be full)

I love eating here!!!

Schooling in Ajijic

Years ago when my parents had just settled down here in Ajijic, we got to talking about what it would be like if I moved there. My mother was insistent that moving here before my daughter had finished school was not a good idea. She was informed that the school system here was not as good as in Canada.

Little did my mother know at that time that she would pass on suddenly and I would find myself here caring for her mother and raising my daughter as well.

I researched and asked everyone about the schools. Almost everyone that I met and respected sent their kids to Terra Nova and my kid had met so many other children going there, we just opted for this particular private, bilingual school.

The school is in the top 10% of all schools in the state of Jalisco and they are working hard to be in the top 10 - period. They have a huge percentage of teachers that have their PHD and masters degrees.

School is taught in English for the first half of the day and Spanish on the second half. I have hired a tutor for my daughter to help her with her homework and he is doing wonders with her. She is understanding more and more and not falling behind in her schoolwork.

She attends after school Spanish lessons twice a week as well to help her learn the language. I have been told that after Christmas a light will click on in her head and she will be bilingual.

What an awesome opportunity for her. She also has available French and Italian after school lessons which we will take up next year after she has Spanish down pat. The school is a major prep for the University of Guadalajara, which is world renowned.

I am thrilled with the teachers, the school, the curriculum and the students. I am sure that she is getting a much better education here than she did in Ontario. There is daily homework and accountability. They teach values and not religion, which I am thrilled with. You can't learn too much values but religion is personal for me.

If you ever find yourself living in Mexico with school aged children, (I have met so many people here who are raising their grand kids here in Mexico while they are retired) don't be afraid of the schools. There are excellent ones that you would be proud to send your children to.

Pick up Trucks in Ajijic Mexico

My daughter said it best when she said that in Canada pick up trucks carry stuff. In Mexico pick up trucks carry stuff and people in the back.

Our garbage pickup is done in a pick up truck 4 times a week. They have a crew of 3 people. One drives the truck, the other picks up the trash and the final job has a man in the bed of the pick up truck, ripping open the garbage bags and sorting the garbage based on its contents. I often wonder wouldn't it be easier and nicer if we did the sorting before it was picked up? Personally I would prefer to do the job of driving than sorting. I wonder if the sorter gets paid more? Hmmm

You see pick up trucks on the road so overloaded with their stuff that you wonder just how it doesn't tip over. They have even devised huge tarping systems to tarp large loads that need protection from the elements.

Families are often seen in the back of the trucks and it actually looks like fun. But when I see people riding in the back of pickups sitting on plastic lawn chairs, I wonder how they manage to not get hurt.

My ABSOLUTE favourite though, is the police. Whole crews of police ride in the back of pickup trucks sitting on the sides, while holding their rifles. The last police truck I saw, there were 6 officers riding like that in the back.

But when they see a foreign plated car, like mine, they drive alongside to ensure that we are wearing our seat belts. If that is not a contradiction, I don't know what is.

But I have been told numerous times, it is much easier to love Mexico than it is to understand it. So I will refrain from trying to understand but instead will just observe and appreciate.

Driving in Ajijic Mexico

Driving in Ajijic is similar to driving anywhere in some ways but so different in others. Today, I want to share my observations as a newcomer to Ajijic. For those who don't know the terrain here let me try to give you a visual. Ajijic is sandwiched between the mountains on the north and Lake Chapala to the south. Ajijic resides in the narrow place between the two, so the major roads run east and west.

How driving is different in Ajijic than Toronto:

1. Instead of seeing construction signs on the road, the warning signs are for cows. You will see cows grazing on the grasses beside the highway as a way of cheaply feeding the animals. At night beware when driving on the highways for dead cows or worse yet a live one in the middle of the highway.

2. Because this system works so well for the cow farmers, the horse owners have adopted it as well, when you drive along the road, try to count how many horses are tied up and grazing along the road.

3. Drivers use common sense. It's shocking. If the oncoming traffic has someone trying to make a left, you let them in to let the rest of traffic flow, regardless of the rules or traffic lights.

4. When driving in the village where the roads are cobblestoned and very narrow, if it is a two way street, ensure that you drive slow enough to watch for not only children but dogs, roosters and horses on road. They have the right of way.

5. When driving on a road that is too narrow, the right of way is given to the one who has the hardest time of making way. To explain if there are cars parked on the southbound side of the road and you are driving south and an oncoming car is approaching, then you would yield to the oncoming traffic and pull over to let them pass because it the easiest.

Driving in Ajijic is easy and fun as everyone waves and smiles but you have to find your way to blend in and not try to drive with the same habits and attitudes that seem to be necessary north of the border.

Next post I will talk about the vehicles and what is acceptable on the roads.

Regato de Globos in Ajijic

What do you get when you cross fireworks with the excitement of a live sporting event? You get the Regato de Globos.

The participants spend all year preparing for this event, making their paper balloons out of all sorts of colours and shapes. Then on the big day, they haul all their handmade Globos down to the outdoor arena. The arena is littered with ladders all around and in the center is a 3 story scaffolding.

In the stands is a live band like a marching band but sitting instead. The outskirts of the arena are filled with stands with fresh fruit, barbequed corn on the cob (which is served with lime juice and chili powder) and beer and wine. I have never been to live event where you go to the concession stand and buy your Corona to bring to the stands and drink. How cool!!

Then the first balloon launches and the crowd cheers. It has begun. Some balloons hesitate as they begin to rise and the crowd moans in anquish for the potential failing balloon but then if it catches the wind and begins to rise, the crowd cheers like their team has just scored a goal. The band plays loudly almost in unison with the raising and falling balloons.

What is heartbreaking is the balloons that never get off the ground and burn there in humiliation. I don't think I mentioned but they are hot air balloons made of paper with a burning helium ring on the bottom. Sometimes the flames ignite the balloons as they are preparing to rise. Sometimes the balloons are rising but the wind twists them into a dance of survival for the balloon with the flames winning sometimes. And the crowd moans.

But when a balloon rises properly and catches the wind beautifully it can rise to the heavens, dancing around the mountains in little dots in the sky.

What an exciting and beautiful event.