This is our winter home in Ajijic, a small two bedroom villa in a gated community with a pool, hot tub, club house and much more. We arrived one month earlier than usual and will be here until the end of January. In February our daughter, Carmen, is having a baby boy and we would not want to miss that for the world. The great thing about renting here in Ajijic is that it gives us the luxury of changing our life style each year--from a view home in the foothills, to the heart of the village and now in a resort community. Roaming through retirement has been very good for us. Keep in touch by clicking here Larry and Glorine.
	We crossed the border at Nogales on November 2 and drove to an ocean resort town called San Carlos. While it was beautiful, sitting on the Sea of Cortez (or Gulf of California) it was the furtherest thing from the Mexican village. It is 98% gringo-ized, mostly for the rich that can afford the homes and yachts that line the shore. I guess we have become to accustomed to living with Mexicans.	Our first night we stayed in Guymas, a city near San Carlos (about 98% Mexican) and when we arrived they were celebrating the Day of the Dead, which we call All Souls Day. The ancient tradition for this day is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them.
	In addition to flowers, people build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed.	We arrived in Ajijic safe and sound. Our first outing with friends was lunch at Rauls, a "fire pit oven" filled with all sorts of meat, served with flour tortillas, beans and beer. From there we went to the lake shore where they have installed a series of exercise equipment for anyone to use. The day ended with a round of Mexican Train and a candid shot of the sunset on the patio of one our friends.
	Each Wednesday, one of the hotels offers a two for one happy hour frequented by between 40 to 150 people. After a bit of merriment, groups divide up for dinner and some nightclubbing (which usually ends by 10:00).	Along with socializing, we have gotten into a fitness routine including walking, hiking, biking, etc. Here we stopped to take a picture of these enormous poinsettias--more like trees. This is a tropical paradise!
	Each Sunday, the Lake Chapala Society offers a lecture series on a wide variety of topics from spirituality, to the environment, to personal inspirational stories. It tends to be the beginning of an all day Sunday outing--each week is uniquely different and exciting.	Here Glorine is using her teaching skills to help one of our friends hook up a wireless printer. She is still amazing with her computer know how!
	Thanksgiving is celebrated twice in Ajijic, once for Canadians in October and then again in November for Americans. Nationality does not matter when the Lake Chapala Society hosts a big turkey feed for about 150 people. It came with some entertainers dress as turkeys. No it wasn't Glorine and Maureen. The Society provided the turkeys and the rest of us brought fix'ns.	After Thanksgiving dinner, we crated up all the left over's and we and another couple volunteered to deliver a trunk full of food to a couple of families who lived in the poorest of poor conditions in Chapala, the city next to Ajijic. We were humbled to carry out this small deed because of the depth of happiness and gratefully these families displayed. It was truly a thanksgiving that we will never forget.
	Having a big hot tub is a treat we were unable to share with our guests in the past. Here we are throwing a small dinner parry, which included some pool time before dinner and watching a "first run" movie following dinner.	One morning we went out for breakfast with some friends and Glorine and Jean decided to split an Eggs Benedict--and that is what they got. A plate split in half, each with half the breakfast. Very cute!
	Each year, the Catholic churches in each village celebrate their patron saint, here it was San Andre's (or St. Andrew). It is a nine day celebration with parades, carnival rides, venders selling beer and food, live bands and other performers. And of course, big fire works displays. Here is a before and after shot of one of the fireworks towers. Quite the impressive sight.	Last year Larry met Chris and Remy who invited him to go golfing with them. So every Tuesday they play a round of golf at Chula Vista Country Club, which is a nine-hole course built into a canyon with spectacular views of the lake and mountains on every hole. Along with lessons and time at the driving range, Larry can see slight improvements each week.
	We are both doing a lot more exercise this winter. Larry works out three days a week doing Tai Chi, which is an ancient Chinese exercise with movements that originate in martial arts practice. It has become one of the most popular low-intensity workouts around the world. It is practiced widely for its health, stress reduction, and relaxation benefits and is also great for balancing and stretching. While Larry will never reach this level of mastery, here is a short demonstration from a Tai Chi Master: Tai Chi	Glorine does Zumba five day a week. She read about Zumba when we were in Minnesota but never had a chance to do it until we got to Ajijic. It is a fast pace, rigorous workout which she loves!!! Want to know more about this exercise craze watch the following video clip from the Today Show. Zumba on the Today Show

November's web page includes November 1 through November 30.