|
Family (Wayne and Maureen), old friends (Wayne and Ellen), and new friends (Chuck and Jean), joining us for an evening at one of Ajijic's finest restaurants. It does not get much better than this!! With February being the shortest month of the year, we were still able to pack a lot in and here are a sampling of things we did as we continue Roaming through Retirement. Remember, you can click on some of the pictures to enlarge.
Let's not be strangers! Click here to give us your update. Larry and Glorine.
|
|
|
 |
 |
| After church on Sundays, we attend a weekly ritual called Open Circle held on the grounds of the Lake Chapala Society. It attracts 50 to 150 gringos to hear presentations ranging from the "conditions of the lake" to "renewal energy" to "spiritual awareness." |
On this particular Sunday, Dr. David Truly, a professor from Connecticut was presenting his findings on a ten year research project regarding retiree's migrating to Mexico, with a special emphasis on Lake Chapala. His research showed the different reasons why so many settle here: weather, cost of living, the culture, a slower pace of life, along with many more reasons. |
|
|
| Sunday afternoons, we normally go exploring the area with a group of friends. Here we are with Jerry and Gloria, who are vacationing from Oregon, touring ACA, the group that Glorine volunteers with. They are a non-profit group focused on helping people incorporate organic farming techniques. Wendee, on the right is one of the owners, who happened to be working when we stopped by and gave us a tour of their gardens, rabbits, turkeys, and more. |
After a great lunch, we stopped for happy hour at a new spa built up into the foothill west of Ajijic. This includes a hotel, restaurant, hot tubs, swimming pools, and replicas of ancient ruins all positioned in some very nice landscaping. It was quite windy that day and the restaurant has no windows, but with the great view overlooking Lake Chapala, the beers, Tequilas, and Margaritas went down just fine. |
|
 |
| On another Sunday, following Open Circle, a large group of us went to a unique restaurant about 30 miles west of Ajijic called RAULS. This is Raul and I overlooking the kitchen which is a 4'x8' fire pit with all sorts of meats on skewers about four feet long sticking in the ground surrounding the fire logs. The beer went well with the flavorable meats we ordered. Glorine helped out making corn tortilla, but that was a short lived job. |
Wayne and Ellen Boekes from Bismarck joined us for a 10 day stay here in Ajijic. They had their private quarters in the casita (little house) on the back side of our lot. It is primarily a master bedroom suite. Our first outing was to the La Primavera (The Spring) Forest west of Guadalajara. This is home to Alejandro, an indigenous Indian, called a Shaman (or medicine man) who preformed pre-Columbian rituals, including a walk in the forest, a great meal cooked in a more primitive setting than Raul's and more. |
 |
|
| One of the ancient beliefs is that most cures come directly from Mother Earth. Here the Shaman is giving Glorine one of about ten different herbs for all sorts of cures including allergies, liver, kidneys, stomach problems, hair thickening, etc. We had the trunk full of these magic cures when we left. |
After a great and relaxing meal, we all got dressed for a primitive steam bath. After we all climbed in, one of the guys that works with the Shaman took RED HOT lava rocks from a fire that had been burning for hours and placed about five of them in a pit in the middle of the cave, added some rosemary herbs and poured water on the lava rocks. Over the course of an hour, they would periodically replenish this fire pit with more RED HOT lava rocks to keep the steam coming. Here is the final result when we exited the cave. |
 |
|
| Alls well that ends well. After a very long day trip to the La Primavera, we returned home safely, showered up and spent the evening relaxing, catching up and playing cards. The only down side was some chigger bites on our arms and legs. |
We caught a couple of neat pictures on a day trip to Chapala. One is this fishing net that was tossed in the lake and slowly pulled out--surprisingly it had fish trapped in the net. Another was a craftsman putting the final touches on a boat that Ellen bought for her grand kids. The evening was capped off, with meeting friends and a dinner down by the lake. |
 |
 |
| We went to the Pacific coast for the weekend, thanks to one of our friends, Michelle, who gave us a gift certificate for a two-bedroom suite in Manzanillo at no cost to us. It was about a four hour drive and the scenery was great coming and going. |
After settling into our hotel, we walked across the street to an open-air Mexican restaurant and had some authentic Mexican food, to tide us over until dinner time. It was nice to relax after a long drive to the coast. |
 |
|
| While walking downtown, we ran into this guy playing the role of a pharmacist and to prove that Wayne was slim and trim we took this picture of him and this pharmacist. |
Manzanillo is home to Mexico's busiest shipping seaport. On our drive to the heart of the city, we saw hundreds of cargo containers, a cargo ship leaving port, hundreds of luxury boats. While walking along the Malecón we came across some kids swimming in the bay. To entertain us, they asked us to throw a five peso coin (worth about 50 cents) in the water and they would swim to the bottom to retrieve it. They did and it was theirs. |
 |
 |
| After a few hours of relaxing at the hotel, we found this great restaurant near by with an ocean front view-just as the sun was setting. Wayne and Ellen toasted to a great first day in Manzanillo. |
This is one of about 20 pictures we took of the sun as it was setting for the night. While we did not capture them on camera, we also saw a whale and her baby calf swimming on the waters near the restaurant. Another great day. |
|
 |
| Our second day in Manzanillo was spent in the sun and on the water. We found a cozy beach north of town that gave us all that we wanted. We took a charter boat out in the bay, where we enjoyed the sun, other people on the boat, some snorkeling and great music made for dancing. |
On our way back to Ajijic we had a magnificent view of an active volcano north of Colima. It erupts about 30 times per year and we were fortunate to get a small glimpse of one of these eruptions. All and all, it was a great way to show Wayne and Ellen different parts of our Mexican experience that they can think back on as they returned to the tundra of North Dakota. |
 |
 |
| Glorine and Maureen are on the phone most every day and get together several times a week. Here they are at another house party hosted by a friend near where Maureen lives.
|
For about the past ten years, Glorine has been having pain in her thumbs and her neck (none of which was caused by Larry). Glorine thinks it was caused mostly by working with computers. None the less, after seeing all sorts of medical experts, she decided to try Acupunction. Our doctor makes house calls and has given her a couple of treatments and she is beginning to see a difference. We hope it has a lasting affect. |
|
 |
| Cruising Lake Chapala is now easier with their new 50 passenger tour boat. This is another Sunday afternoon outing with friends. The boat is docked in Jocotepec, which is on the west side of the lake, about 20 miles from Ajijic. The tour lasts an hour and we got to see beautiful homes and mountains from a different perspective. |
Los Amigos (My Friends) is an informal group that meets every Wednesday for a two for one happy hour at a local B&B. About 30 to 80 people turn up to meet new people or catch up with friends and acquaintances. After happy hour, small groups decide which night club to go for dinner and dancing. It has become another favorite ritual. |
 |
|
| Ken was our landlord from last year and this relationship turned into a close friendship. We started this evening off with cocktails and appetizers and finished off with a great meal at a restaurant in Ajijic. Is it legal to toast with a glass of milk and a shot of Tequila?? |
Every week there are various performances at the auditorium in Ajijic. Here we are with friends enjoying Mexicans perform contemporary folkloric ballets that range from pre-Columbian era to modern dance.
|
|
 |
| Another Sunday outing with friends Marilyn and Brian, Chuck and Jean, Peter and Sybilla, Maureen and Wayne and Glorine and I at a real Mexican restaurant in Chapala. Weekends are as special here as they are in the States and the place swarms with people from Guadalajara who drive down for the weekend to enjoy the great shoreline, food, and music. |
In addition to lots of fun and excitement, Ajijic offers us a lot of peace and tranquility. The mountains, lake and the beautiful Malecón that stretches about a mile along the shoreline is a great place to take a morning stroll or sit in the sun and enjoy its warmth and energy. We are so glad we found Ajijic to do our Roaming through Retirement in such a peaceful and enjoyable setting. |
|
|
| Fat Tuesday is more than another day here in Mexico. It is another reason for a week long celebration. It signifies the day before Ash Wednesday and 40 days of Lent and the obligations that goes with Lent. This parade included boys dressed up as large breasted women, lots of confetti and flour thrown for "good luck," and lots of beautiful girls on beautiful floats. |
More floats, lots of cowboys riding horse back. Here is an interesting picture of a cowboy, riding with a can of beer in one hand and talking on the cell phone with the other. Marching bands from area high schools and little ninos and ninas (boys and girls) getting into the celebration. It comes close to the 4th of July parade in Mandan, North Dakota! |
 |
 |
| It may be Lent, but the "Good Times Keep Rolling." That was the theme of a fund raiser put on by the Lake Chapala Society. Thanks to the temporary donation of this Harley, we got a change to climb on board and capture this picture.
|
This event attracted over one hundred people to relive the 1950's with Coca Cola, hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, beer, wine and a whole lot of rock'n roll. For awhile, Glorine and I thought we were teenagers again, which is a good feeling when you are about ready to start collecting Social Security.
|
