While visiting Sonoma County, California aka wine country USA, it is obligatory, (or so I’ve been told) to imbibe. Almost harvest, the vineyards are buzzing with activity and the vines are weighed down with their fruit.
White, then red, then champagne.Vineyards everywhere.
We sat outdoors in a beautiful garden and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about what it takes to produce world class wine. I went along for the ride, sipping and sampling. A few weren’t bad.
Almost everyone works in the industry. My daughter’s best friend is of the Kendall-Jackson persuasion. The weather was perfect. Yesterday we went to the coast. Gotta love California.
Our granddaughters’ sixth birthday party was one of the most fun events I’ve been to in a long time. My daughter was in her element. I swear she should create parties for a living.
Nana’s calligraphy.
Covid caused a postponement from the original date, but for a “thrown together” shindig it was amazing.
Under the sea.Rainbow celebration.Party organizer kicks back.How the adults get by.
Taken by one of the guests.
A yard made for a party.
Gone are the days of homemade cakes and a small gathering of a few besties. The weather was perfect and a good time was had by all.
Flying during a worldwide tech glitch, causing one of the worst travel days in history, after 9/11, of course, left much of the world with cancelled flights, ruined plans and much confusion. I must say, Mexico City was pretty chill if you’re going to be stranded with a cancelled flight to San Francisco. I never heard anyone raise their voice, cause a scene or mention a Biden conspiracy. The counter attendants were fabulous. Kudos to United Airline. Their folks worked tirelessly to make lemons into lemonade, all with a smile.
There are some nice restaurants in the airport. I ate well.
After two days of roaming the airport, I remembered it was blog day! No, there was no partying in the City. While I love Mexico City, the uncertainty of my flying future kept me mostly chill-laxing in my hotel room.
Not bad digs for an airport hotel. Compliments of United Airlines.
I finally got a confirmed flight, to Cancun then on to San Francisco. Fingers crossed all goes well. I will be glad to unpack and love on my grandchildren.
While “unpacking” from Hurricane Beryl we’ve simultaneously been packing for a jaunt to the US and Canada.
This year we celebrated the milestones of Lisa’s sixtieth and her mother’s eightieth birthdays. We have been trying for months to plan a trip that would get us out of the tropical heat and not break the bank.
Alice’s 80th birthday party.
Our house sitter arrives Monday to watch the dogs and manage the house. Lisa and Alice are off to Southern California for a mini family reunion while I head North to visit daughter and family. We meet up in Vancouver for a quick tour before catching a cruise to Alaska.
The twins turned six this week!
When traveling with a frail eighty year old, a moving hotel sounds doable. Escaping the steamy jungle of Southern Mexico for the land of glaciers and whale watching sounds divine.
I may be offline for a while. Remember to stay out of the heat, hydrate and be kind.
By the end of the week Lisa and I were spent. Preparing for a hurricane is a lot of damn work, both physical and emotional. We had help from our two workers who dug drainage ditches and filled sandbags. Driving through Bacalar, stores were closed, doorways boarded up and a long line of boats were waiting to be hauled out of the Laguna. Everyone was taking Beryl’s threat very seriously.
“X” marks the spot. Beryl turned North.
In August of 2007 Hurricane Dean made landfall near Bacalar as a category five. Many locals lived through and remember well the damage and months of cleanup. Lisa and I moved to Bacalar in 2013, six years post Dean. The devastation was still a frequent topic of conversation round the ol tequila bottle.
Dean over Bacalar
In 2007 people did not have the predictive technology that we have today. The downside of monitoring the hourly progress of a monster is the tension and stress it brings. Beryl ended up making landfall hours north of us. We got cooler temperatures (yeah) and almost no other storm results.
I’m glad we were as prepared as we could be, but no distraction provided peace of mind while we waited. The day after the “storm” found both of us prostrate with fatigue. We didn’t expect that!
Dos Tortas usually makes its appearance early Sunday, but not this week. I had the blog ready to post when I accidentally deleted it. Argh. Today is the first day we’ve had electricity since the weekend and if you haven’t seen the news, we have hurricane Beryl barreling down on us. Too much stress and my mood is less than stellar. So here is a bit of our week in pictures.
Looks scarier than it is. Critters coming in out of the rain.
The storm before the BIG storm. A waterfall outside the back door.
Needless to say I’m not in the best frame of mind. We will be fine, our house is a concrete bunker and we’ll see you next week. Send good thoughts.
This week we went to Bacalar to repeat the process for Lisa, only to find a sign posted on the door of the license office. Whenever we assume that we’ve got something, anything figured out in Mexico, we receive the expat slap upside the head. This was no exception.
The license issuance process is in Chetumal until further notice. Note, no location is provided.
Dang, now we had to drive to Chetumal, an hour away, for her to acquire said license. It’s been a stormy few days with flooding in low parts of Chetumal. We took advantage of a lull in the tropical storm to venture out. Prayers were said.
We went to two different government offices before being directed to the right location. With our list of required documents in hand we went to breakfast. After all this was going to be an all day adventure! Girls need pancakes!
Not our favorite place to eat but ok in a pinch.
The documents were the same as what had been required of me in Bacalar. However Lisa had to watch a video and take a written test IN SPANISH with no assistance from me.
Thank god for Google Translate.
Her language skills are not great, but with the help of Goggle Translate she managed to get through the video and written test. The only problem was, she failed the test, oops. Back to watch the video again.
With a smile and a good attitude, much can be accomplished.
Lisa has such a way of charming people. After the second go round the official didn’t even look at her test. With a wink and a hand shake, she passed and we were on to the driving test.
Park between the cones and don’t forgot to put on your directional.
When you’ve been driving for over forty years, it’s hard to have beginners mind. Also we had my car which Lisa had only driven twice before.
Smiling through failure.
Needless to say, she did not pass the driving test either! Truth be told, it was designed to trip her up. I couldn’t have done any better. This time the official wagged a finger at her before signing the form and sending us on our way back across town to pay the fee and print the license.
The face of exhaustion.
We were extremely grateful that the weather held, everyone was so nice and the mission was accomplished. We love Mexico but it is always a head scratch and a test of patience.
Thursday night was the first rainfall in months. I woke to streaks of lightening and house-rattling claps of thunder. Poor little Stella was shaking so hard she almost fell off the bed. It’s how she started sleeping with us in the first place. She’s terrified of thunder, poorbaby.
Our blind pug.
In Austin, after months of drought, we woke one morning to find an inch of water standing in our dining room. A drainage problem that we didn’t know we had, made its presence known after the first spring downpour.
Our rear yard in Austin sloped slightly towards the house.
Gracias a Dios there were no major leaks this week in our Bacalar jungle house nor water gushing down the wall. When building nine years ago, yes, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long, we did everything we could to channel water away from the house. We also built drains on the porch. If water came in the front door, we could help it out the back. Our house sits at the bottom of a steep slope.
Before we added French drains around the house. 2015Much has changed in nine years.
We did find a leak from the palapa over our front door. Palapas only last about five years. Of course we’ve had our fingers crossed so as to avoid the replacement expense. It’s time to call the palapero.
Next Saturday is what we affectionately call the Swim Across, one of several athletic events held annually in Bacalar. There’s a kayak marathon in the fall and a new half marathon in September. I made the commitment to swim this year because, why not? This week it was time to kick training into high gear.I use the word “training” loosely.
I haven’t set an alarm to wake up since I worked for The State of Texas. Back in the day I would rise every day at five a.m. I walked our Austin neighborhood in the dark relishing the quiet and solitude, before heading home to pack my breakfast and lunch and catching the bus to work. It seems like a lifetime ago.
2015
This week I’ve been rising at six before the wind picks up causing a choppy laguna. I still love the quiet and solitude. The clouds look like wisps of cotton candy before the sun pops over the horizon.
I will never win this event, even as the field narrows. Perhaps if I’m 100 and still swimming but I doubt it. I did buy some new goggles to motivate. Maybe they’ll make me faster.
I have been sitting on my arse all week wilted and without motivation. If a hurricane would bring rain and perhaps cooler temperatures, I’d be willing to risk it.
2024 Predicted Hurricanes
I’ve been modeling my activity level after the dogs. They don’t seem a bit guilty to be lying around all day.
The breeze off the laguna continues to be smoky due to annual burning, irritating lungs, stinging eyes and causing fits of coughing. I occupy my time with my latest audiobook.
The book is set in India. If there were a competition for stifling heat India wins hands down. Living in a hot, humid, tropical environment does add a touch of realism to the story.
This weekend is Mexico’s presidential election. Mexico is poised to elect its first presidenta. As everywhere, people run under the banner of CHANGE. So far I’ve seen lots of promises and little action. It’s a big job no matter who gets it.
I’m grateful for electricity which keeps the refrigerator cold, internet going and ceiling fans whirring. We only use air conditioning at night which is a privilege that many in Bacalar do not have.
Stella loves the sun.
So do your best to stay cool, warm or dry depending on where you live. We are making plans to escape for awhile, but that’s news for another day.
the adventures of dos tortas 
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