| And we are not talking about basketball. (Although our Kentucky Wildcats swept away all the competition, winning their eighth national championship.) The March Madness we are referring to is saying farewell to lots of snowbird friends heading back to either the USA or Canada. This picture was taken the evening we celebrated Glorine's 52nd birthday--that does not include taxes. Keep us informed by clicking on the email link Larry and Glorine. | ||
 |
Current temperature and time in Ajijic. | |
|
|
||
 |
 | |
| February ended with Larry having a second surgery. This time they were able to put in a titanium plate, which they were unable to do back in November when he fell and shattered the bone--at that time there was nothing to screw the plate to. So the doctors went with plan B, which was a donor bone, hoping it would heal in the exact position before the accident. It didn't, so 3-1/2 months later, the bone had healed sufficiently to hold the titanium screws. This operation was very successful. More later! | Living near the largest natural lake in Mexico, gives us breath taking views but also opportunities to enjoy the lake. Here seven couples took the "Lake Taxi" from Ajijic (on the north side) to a tiny village called San Luis Soyatlan (about six to eight mile on the south side of the lake). We spent the night at a bed and breakfast and created lots of wonderful memories. | |
 |
 | |
| Here is a view as we approached San Luis, with several enormous greenhouses, which specialize in growing strawberries, raspberries, blackberries etc., around the world. | After checking into the B&B, we took a stole around the village, seeing the church which is in the center of the village, a nice plaza, an unused "bull fighting arena," many food vendors and an old Mexican man specializing in making brooms. | |
 |
 | |
| Here is a cool picture with a Mexican man walking his donkey--dog at his side, alongside a home next to a stone wall designed to divert storm waters to the lake during the rainy season. | The B&B was a perfect hangout to play games, watch movies, tell stories, and enjoy the great meals prepared by a master chef. Here we are in one of the side courtyards ready to sample some chocolate flavored Tequila. | |
 |
 | |
| Before our departure back across the lake, we got one of the wait staff to take this picture of the 14 amigos, along with the B&B owner, Arturo, who treated us like gold. Another fantastic adventure. | Here, about 20 friends gathered during a typical Friday Night Social, but for a special occasion. We gathered to offer our well wishes to a great friend, Roger Dickinson, who fell, suffered a stroke, dislocated his shoulder, and was recuperating in one of the finest hospital in Guadalajara. | |
 |
 | |
| Art is one of the many pastimes for lots of retirees here in Ajijic. Periodically, they exhibit their artwork, which is judged (by experts) and are given ribbons. Among the hundreds of pieces on display, is this prize winner, painted by Ella Fournier, a friend we just met this year. | St. Patties Day is a special day celebrated throughout the world, and Ajijic is no different. Here are friends Linda and Rob with Quinton and Rose (who made all the reservations)--we filled up the night club and enjoyed an evening of great friends, lots of food and drinks and wonderful music to dance the night away. | |
 |
 | |
| Glorine (known as the organizer "extraordinaire)." is arranging the stage for a murder mystery dinner with friends. It takes place in an Italian Restaurant in New York City, and the guests are gathered to pay their respects to the owner of the restaurant who was recently shot to death. One of the guests is the killer??!! | The guest dressed in character with Father Al Fredo on the left to Claire Voyant on the right. Once seated, they were each given the script, from which we learned more about their character, along with their motives and alibies for not killing poor Pepi. At the conclusion, the dinner guest had to guess who the killer was, in this case--no one guessed right. It was Bo (played by Gary) second to the right. A great event that was talked about for weeks. | |
 |
 | |
| Each month, the Lake Chapala Garden Club, has a garden tour of one of the many beautiful homes along Lake Chapala. The featured garden for March was the home of Ken and Lisa Clarke. They owned the casita that we leased for four months during our first year in Ajijic (2007-08). | Thanks to the work of our friends, Chuck and Jean and Maureen and Wayne 40 plus people showed up to the March Birthday celebration. One of the featured guest was Glorine. The party was held at La Bodega, which was the very first nightclub we visited when we first came to Mexico on a visit back in 2004. | |
 |
 | |
| Here is Glorine with friend Rick Feldman, who also celebrated a March birthday. We met Rick and Sandy in March, 2011 on our weeklong tour of Cuba. They are a great couple who have done a lot of volunteering to help make Ajijic such a great place to live. | One of the cornerstones of Ajijic is the Lake Chapala Society, which offers retirees lots of programs and services, from just a beautiful place to meet friends, to blood pressure screening, to the largest "English Library" in Mexico, to presentations and discussion groups on too many topics to mention. Here the Society is honoring the many volunteers who make all these programs a success. | |
 |
 | |
| One of the first of our many "snowbird" friends to leave is Helen from Toronto, Canada. She was one of the first friends we made when we first started wintering here. She is a single lady who is not afraid to venture out and enjoy the sun and fun of this tiny slice of heaven. | Here, three couples sponsored a farewell event they called "Dine and Dash." Friends living on one side of town met at the home of Mike and Sally, the rest at the home of Rob and Linda--for appetizers. After an hour or so, everyone switched. | |
 |
 | |
| After another hour or so, everyone (about 100) convened at the home of Allistair and Donna, where we wasted the night away in Margaretville. Here Allistair is being given a grateful hug from Glorine. It was a wonderful way to visit and say farewell for the season. | Friends Brian and Marilyn of Regina Canada hosted a couple of going home parties. One included a meeting to discuss--one of the realities of life--which is "no one gets out alive." Being such a long way from family, the question came up "what would happen if anything seriously happened to one of us?" Now we have a contact list, with names and phone numbers so friends could contact family members back home. | |
 |
 | |
| Another day-another get together. This one hosted by Maureen, who is next to Glorine. Sandy and Walt will be returning to the north country about the same time we do. Keith and Maureen have one of those "take your breath away view homes." Also pictured here are two of Maureen's four Shelties. | Here are the girls at a big party thrown by friends, Norm and Lil (Lil is second from the left and Norm (what is he doing with the girls?). They have a great home in the foothills west of Ajijic with a pool and a great view of the lake. Lil served up a great Mexican dish, called Posole soup--very good and very filling!! | |
 |
 | |
| And here are the boys (well most of us). With friends like these, Ajijic is a "no brainer" for one of the greatest places on earth to retire. Most of us are snowbirds, which means that Ajijic will begin to "thin out" in the weeks to come. Some of the full timers look forward to the quite times, but all look forward to next year when friendships are renewed and new adventures continue. | Look--no cast. After nearly four months in either a cast or a wrist brace, Larry's arm is now free and on the mend. Here he is pointing at the "great wall" that he thought he could maneuver, but couldn't. Now he is doing some serious physical therapy to regain his strength and full range of motion. We decided to extend our lease for another month to allow time for Larry to recover. | |
March's web page includes March 1 through March 31.
