Thanks to all the Mexican fiestas and American holidays, December was filled
with more than enough merriment. In addition, we celebrated our 49th wedding
anniversary on December 28th with friends Chuck and Jean, who we met in 2007, our first year
"wintering" in
Ajijic.
We began the year at Bravo Theater enjoying these two actors in a play
called "Trying." The man portrays the final years of Frances Biddle,
US Attorney General under FDR and his 25-year old Canadian secretary
who deals with his legacy and the onset of dementia. It was
an excellent story and great acting!!
Click on the video to hear a short rendition of one of 20+ songs Mariana Vegueras sung
one evening at a restaurant here in Ajijic. Along with a beautiful voice,
this young Guadalajaran entertained us with songs in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.
The
Children's Choir of San Juan Cosala (one of the poorest communities along
Lakeside)
lit up the audience at Open Circle one Sunday morning with several songs of
the season, including this one.
Sister Maureen and fellow Ukulele Music Group entertained us at their annual
Christmas Concert with songs of the season.
Celebrating birthdays together has become a tradition, and December was no
different. Brother-in-law Wayne was one of nine lucky people to enjoy
another one!
The home tours we take in each month showcases some of the most spectacular
homes in the area. With the chilly nights and no heating systems, these
home owners came up with a beautiful outdoor room for entertainment.
Back to the GYM! At the annual meeting of the home owners, Glorine asked the
question "how to use the Bow Flex machine?" The response let to a couple
of training sessions that has doubled the usage of the gym.
Friend Michelle, celebrated her 10th year in Ajijic by throwing a party for her
friends. Our mutual friend Jim came baring gifts (more wine) to share.
Michelle is one of the first person we met when we came in 2007.
Michelle has become a full-timer here in Ajijic which meant we got to meet
lots of new people at her party.
The latest addition to our home is this granite lined pass-through cabinet from
the kitchen to the dining room. Glorine tried it out and it works great!
After dinner one evening we walked along the lakeside's Malecon and stopped to
watched this talented young man add his work to this graffiti lined
skateboard park.
On the way home, we joined this group of people enjoying these street musicians.
Art and music was alive and well two days before Christmas.
Christmas Eve means a houseful of friends at Chuck and Jean's home enjoying
the festivities. This year they added "Gap Gifts" which added to the
fun.
Host Jean, on the left, was joined here by a few of her lady friends who brought
some awesome appetizers. Another wonderful time with friends.
Christmas Day dinner was a potluck at El Parque, the development we live in.
Tickets sold out the first day they were on sale. We got to meet some
new friends.
There is nothing like celebrating Christmas with family. Wayne and Maureen
got the table set up before we arrived. What a treat!
On December 27, we did a 30-minute hike to this tiny Chapel in the foothills
overlooking Lake Chapala and the village of Ajijic. Not a strenuous
hike at all but a nice hike none-the-less.
On
December 28th, Chuck and Jean joined us for a night in Guadalajara celebrating our
anniversaries--same day, same month, same year. Here we are eating lunch in historic
Zapopan, founded in 1541.
Guadalajara is 35 miles north of Ajijic. It, along with its seven
surrounding municipalities, has a population of five million people, making
it the second largest city in Mexico.
To
make it easy on ourselves, we took this horse-drawn carriage on an hour-long ride
through the historic district, including churches, theaters, government buildings,
the University of Guadalajara, etc.
Thanks
to Jean, who can understand Spanish the best of the four of us, we were able
to learn about the buildings we rode past. We would highly recommended
this ride!
The
Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady is the center piece of downtown
Guadalajara and serves as the Archdiocese. The Renaissance style architecture
is overwhelming.
Teatro Degollado is an impressive theater located in the central plaza.
It has four levels of balcony seating that surrounds the stage.
The
theater had no shows, so we spend some time in front listening to these young
men bellowing "Guadalajara" with their Mariachi style music.
Friends Jim and Margo hosted a dinner party (ham and all the trimmings) early
on New Year's Eve. The weather was partly cloudy and 70 degrees.
Not a bad way to end 2017!
Later that evening we all attended a New Year's Eve party hosted by friends Ross
and Carol. The party included hors d'oeuvres, live music, lots of booze
and an awesome fireworks display.
Most evenings in Ajijic, restaurants and night clubs start closing at 9:00,
which Larry calls "Senior Midnight." But with all the fun we were
having before we knew it, we were toasting in a New Year.
The
supermoon and this dazzling fireworks display had us hooting and hollowing as
the clock struck 12. What a year 2017 had been and what a spectacular way
to say hello to 2018. Happy New Year to all!
December's web page includes December 1 through December 31.
