Pull Over And Let Me Out – Driving in Mexico

16 Mar

Navigating the roads of Mexico can be very scary. Glaring daggers, threats of abandonment, raised voices and jumping out of a moving truck top the list of dangers. While we have only done three out of four, I’ll leave it to your imagination. There is a dearth of signage and even a 2012 map is woefully outdated. People have suggested a GPS, but I don’t think more technology is the answer. I did discover that the maps on my iPad work without wifi. While not complete, it actually helps.

There are also the roads themselves with holes big enough to swallow a Volkswagen. Many are two lanes where buses pass on curves. A double yellow line is no deterant.

Few people pay attention to speed limits. Topes pronounced tow-pay, or speed bumps ready to take out your transmission, slow traffic through towns. The slowed traffic provides opportunities for vendors to provide fresh juice or any number of delectable snacks at your window. Fast food Mexican style.

There are few street lights. Pedestrians and cyclists travel the shoulder of the highway at night with no reflectors or red blinky lights. Then there are the dogs, goats, horses and occasional pig to watch out for. Road signs admonish not to drink and drive and to remember that your family is waiting for you.

What Mexico also has is miles of beautiful scenery. There are breathtaking volcanos, pineapple groves, costeras with sweeping ocean vistas, small towns, sugar cane fields, roadside eateries, and the Green Angels. More than one gringo has been rescued from automobile hell by this free roadside assistance program that patrols the highways ready to change a flat or drive to purchase a much needed car part.

Mostly driving in Mexico is a lot of fun. Best to be prepared, not drive at night and try not to kill each other.

Fields of Wildflowers

Fields of Wildflowers

Hang On

Hang On

Streets of Bacalar

Streets of Bacalar

Don't Hit the Goats

Don’t Hit the Goats

Volcano Orizaba

Volcano Orizaba

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These Flip-flops are Finally Settled – For Now

9 Mar

Since the beginning of September, the Tortas have been homeless. We’ve been traveling, staying with friends, family, and living out of suitcases. Even paradise has it’s challenges.

While visiting Texas in January, we heard of the availability of a house in Bacalar. It is beautifully furnished, spacious, has two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and overlooks the laguna, all for less than $500US.

The downside was no wifi, but that has been remedied. We moved in February and will bring our trailer and unpack some of our belongings this week. Although the house is completely equipped with about everything we need, our personal chachkas will make it feel more like home. The building process is taking longer than we expected and the ability to settle in our own space and relax has greatly improved our frame of mind. What blessings the universe showers.

We have been meeting with our builder and have preliminary drawings for our house. The next step is the “permisos” or permits. There is an environmental study that needs to take place among others. All will take time.

While we wait, we are ramping up our exercise program and improving our eating. Months of traveling and someone else’s kitchen have taken their toll. Once the actual construction begins, there will be lots to do, even if it’s sitting and watching paint dry.

Our New House

Our New House

From the Front Porch

From the Front Porch

Down to the Laguna

Down to the Laguna

From the Mercado

From the Mercado

Roof View

Roof View

Thought For The Day

Thought For The Day

No Blog Sunday

2 Mar
Thought for the day.

Thought for the day.

Sunrise from our new place.

Sunrise from our new place.

Migrating cranes.

Migrating cranes.

A Non-blog Blog

23 Feb

Lisa and I have moved into a new location where we will live for the remainder of time until our house is built. At this time it has no wifi which makes daily communication challenging and blogging nearly impossible. While we will be remedying the situation shortly, everything takes a bit longer in Mexico.

My MIL returns to California this week, and hopefully things will settle down a bit. It has been a whirlwind two months of traveling, moving, sightseeing and either being or having company.

Last night we went to Carnival Bacaler. What fun! I think everyone in Bacalar was there. There was a parade, vendors, a huge pachanga. I will know this is my community when I recognize people who are non-English speaking friends. Soon, very soon.

Thought for the day.

Thought for the day.

Sunrise this past week.

Sunrise this past week.

Worth getting up at 6 am.

Worth getting up at 6 am.

Morning visitor.

Morning visitor.

Road Trip Segundo – Continued

16 Feb

Our friends Nancy and Judy actually live outside of San Miguel in a tiny pueblito named Atotonilco. The church there is considered the “Sistine Chapel” of Mexico. We walked down the street from their house to an experience we could never have had on our own.

Judas' kiss with the devil on his shoulder.

Judas’ kiss with the devil on his shoulder.

Native American cousins to the north.

Native American cousins to the north.

The alters painted in gold leaf were spectacular.

The alters painted in gold leaf were spectacular.

Glittering in the light.

Glittering in the light.

Chapel Atontonilco4

This chapel is a jewel that I am so glad I got a chance to see. Outside of the ruins of Palenque we stumbled upon an equally spectacular (but in a different way) site. When I visited Palenque in 1974, I went to a waterfalls. Not knowing the name or location, we went off on a drive of a lifetime and instead found Aqua Azul.

The water color was unbelievable.

The water color was unbelievable.

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Mini-Niagra Falls

Mini-Niagra Falls

We climbed and climbed.

We climbed and climbed.

Water was chilly. Still wish I had time for a swim.

Water was chilly. Still wish I had time for a swim.

What a spectacular trip we had. Each adventure leads to another. This week the Tortas will be moving into our last stop before our new home. It will be good to be settled at least for awhile. Until next week….

Thought for the day.

Thought for the day.

Road Trip Segundo – The Tortas Arrive Home

9 Feb

We returned to Bacalar and the southern most tip of Mexico from our recent visit to Texas, 4500 miles round trip in a month. Everyone who lives in Mexico travels to the States now and then, some more frequently than others. The drive is an adventure every time. This trip we were not pulling a trailer filled with our worldly possessions. Without the heavy trailer we were more agile and able to make better time. We stopped in San Miguel de Allende to visit friends and came away with a new experience from the nightmare of getting lost there on our first trip. It’s a magical city surrounded by mountains, colonial buildings and art, everything that Bacalar is not. Knowing that we can always return made it easier to say our goodbyes.

Church of Saint Michael

Church of Saint Michael

Tile Floors

Tile Church Floor

Lots of Walking

Lots of Walking

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We also made a side trip to the pyramids of Palenque. People from the US are by far the minority of tourists to this site. Many believe the bad press and miss an opportunity to visit some of the most magical places on earth, almost in our back yard.

The Queen's Tomb

The Queen’s Tomb

Warriors With Chiseled Teeth

Warriors With Chiseled Teeth

Tomb Buried Deep

A Royal Tomb Buried Deep

The Queen's Bath

The Queen’s Bath

There will be a few more road trips in our future, but with the sophisticated bus system, visiting the sights of Mexico will be an easier, less tiring experience in the future. For now we are glad to be home and meeting with our builder on Monday. Soon I hope to have construction photos of our new house.

Safety in Mexico- It’s All Relative

5 Feb

Holding on to Friendships that Span Time and Distance – The Tortas say Adios

2 Feb
Dear Austin Friends

Dear Austin Friends

Thursday we gathered with Austin friends to share hugs and stories of our new life in Mexico. I am always surprised by the sweet affection of women I have known and worked with for twenty years. There were many promises of visits from these avid blog followers.

Friday morning we squeezed in final moments with our grandchildren before getting on the road for south Texas. The plan was to sleep on this side and hit the border early.

Leaving  McQueeney, Texas

Leaving McQueeney, Texas

Lisa's mom and third Torta Alice with our grandson Hunter

Lisa’s mom and third Torta Alice with our grandson Hunter

We crossed easily at Los Indios, a small border crossing where we were waved through. An hour later we stopped at the aduana and received a minimal inspection. I took my first deep breath of the day as we sailed through immigration. Our theory is that showing our green cards looks very official and clearly states that we are Mexican residents. The fact that we are three older women probably supports that age-old myth that we could not be smugglers.

The drive to San Miguel was smooth, with only one back track. Traveling through the mountains made for a beautiful trip and we arrived on schedule at the home of our friends Judy and Nancy. We leave Tuesday for the pyramids of Palenque and on to Bacalar.

Next week we will report on our stay in San Miguel. Happy Superbowl Sunday all.

Mountains outside of San Luis Potosi

Mountains outside of San Luis Potosi

Over and through.
Over and through.

Our mascota el pato.
Our mascota La Tortita.

The Cobblestones of San Miguel de Allende
The Cobblestones Outside San Miguel de Allende

Adiós Tejas

26 Jan

As we prepare to return this week to Mexico, I reflect in the lessons learned while visiting family and home. Lisa and I try to live by a few “rules”, one of which is not to play the “what if” game, i.e. “what if we have car trouble?” “what if we can’t find a hotel?” what if, what if!! It can make us crazy. Instead we prepare the best we can and deal with situations as they arise.

A similar crazy-making thought came up for me yesterday as I decided whether to visit with my dear friend Alison in San Antonio, or go to the zoo with my wife, MI and kids. I chose to visit with my friend. We sat in her beautiful livingroom and talked much as we have for forty years, catching up on family and life in general. It was very peaceful and I enjoyed myself very much. At the end of the day, while listening to Lisa, et al rave about the wonderful time they had at the zoo, I began to second guess myself. I SHOULD have gone to the zoo (along with the resulting bad feelings). But I caught myself and decided to be happy with my decision. I haven’t managed to be in two places at the same time yet. It is impossible to know the results of my choices before they are made. There are no guarantees, only the decision to be happy with the choice made.

I finished out the day with a lovely memory. Hopefully as I prepare to leave our children and grand babies, I can be equally at peace. The intention is set, wish me luck on execution.

The love affair continues.

The love affair continues.

Chilly San Antonio Farmer's Market

Chilly San Antonio Farmer’s Market

Love is messy.

Love is messy.

Missing Texas? Really?

19 Jan

Being visitors in our home country and state has been an unusual experience. With a Walmart on every corner, it is difficult to be interested in the passing landscape of highway travel. Driving in traffic is a universal complaint and a very different experience from Mexico which has its own version of congestion. So what exactly do we miss? Now don’t laugh, it’s the Country Western radio station! Yup, you can’t live in Texas without something rubbing off. I listen to the radio in Mexico, but as in the US, there’s way more chatter than music. I love música mexicana, but I cannot follow the DJ dialogue AT ALL and grow bored and turn it off. We both laughed out loud when we found ourselves b-bopping down the road singing along to music that we didn’t know we missed. After all, we met in a CW bar and started our courtship two-stepping.

So yes, there have been surprises during our visit. One that wasn’t unexpected was the birth of our granddaughter Sophia Aria who made her appearance yesterday. She weighted in at 8lb 2oz. The best part for me was seeing my son fall madly in love with his new daughter. As the father of a two year old son who’s life revolves around all things on four wheels, my son has voiced self doubt at his ability to father a daughter. I think we can set that notion to rest.

Please join me in welcoming the newest Torta.

In love with Sophia

In love with Sophia

Loving Sophia

Diaper changin Daddy 

The Newest Torta

Our First Granddaughter

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