Da Lady goes out with a Bang!!

My first encounter with Guadalupe happened, on one of my previous vacation Cuyutlan, when I was jarred out of my sleep at 5 a.m., one December 1st, by the vigorous clanging of the village church bell. Not knowing what was happening, I rushed to look out on the streets - maybe this was the village fire alarm. Not seeing or smelling smoke I looked towards the ocean - maybe this was the village tsunami warning. No one seemed to be responding  - no swarms of frightened townspeople running inland. I settled back into bed, almost back to sleep only to be startled by rocket blasts...many rocket blasts that continued for gawd knows how long. This was my initiation to the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe
http://www.holyartworks.com/guadalupe/history_of_guadalupe.htm


In Cuyutlan and throughout Mexico the festivities last for 12 days and comprise of the morning bell-clanging and rockets, more at noon and again at 6 p.m. to call the villagers to Mass - the evening events also included a procession of kids and teenagers, dressed in Aztec garb, dancing and other towns people walking and singing from one point in the town to the church in the centre. It wasn't till the following year that I witnessed the culmination of the Guadalupe celebration - the raising of the 'castillo'. 




This year Meg and I joined some friends to watch this final event. The 'castillo' is an amazing tower about 40-50 feet high, made from bamboo, interlinking an assortment of spinning wheels, twirling arms and other ingenious structures, laced with a small arsenal of rockets. It is built by local castillo artisans, carried into a spot in front of the church in the middle of the main street, lashed by hand to large tree limb and hoisted upright by a group of strong men. While all the hoisting and preparations are taking place, the local tambor band is enthusiastically playing on the church steps. 


The final procession of Aztec kids danced up the street along with one devout follower who made his way up the street, church steps and into the church on his hands and knees. (This made me recall the procession that we had seen earlier in the day - local people walking from a neighbouring village, El Paraiso, some 7 km. away, in the midday ~40C+ heat. We saw one woman who did this with bare feet! The scorching pavement and gravelly bits didn't look like a lot of fun...Yikes!!)

While people watch in anticipation of the lighting - just to add to the suspense, growing excitement and general frivolity - 'el toro', a dude with a bamboo yoke festooned with another assortment of lighted rockets  comes racing down the street, into the crowd...a mass of sparks and whizzing rockets shooting everywhere...people screaming...rockets exploding...kids running towards him to stomp out the sparks...sane people leaping behind pillars, each other and into store fronts to avoid getting burnt...total chaos and mayhem...!! It's wild and happens at least 3 times during the night.

Finally things are in place, the towering structure is checked for stability and the first fuse is lit - spinning wheels on a rotating arm - loaded with rockets. Again, masses of sparks, fire, colour, explosions, screams, cheers, laughter. The rockets shoot off into the crowds of people who run and leap to escape the blazing path. Systematically each side of the bottom section of the tower is fired up...then longer fuses send the sputtering red hot ember to the middle section - a revolving flower of rockets, spinning sparks and flames down onto the mesmerized crowd...more explosions, more screaming, more fun!! 

Then the signature section that blazes away, more rockets and flames that unfurl banners with pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe...then a pause and the whole top of the tower bursts into a mass of flame, more sparks and a huge BANG then shoots a hundred feet straight up into the starry sky with a sizzling orange tail. What a show!! Vive the Lady!!!

Fireflies...

One of the cool things that we have noticed this season in Cuyutlan is the presence of fireflies. Meg and I have not seen them here before although we did have our first encounter with them at a rest stop on the toll road between Mazatlan and Tepic last year. On moonless nights it is extremely dark along our stretch of the beach road...no street lights this far out of town...only a sky full of stars. It's enchanting to see these little bugs sending their brilliant yellow-green signals.

 I have to say that there is definitely something magical about seeing even one firefly flitting around a palm tree or strobing through the air above the pool. Growing up watching The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night, it's not at all difficult for me to believe that it's good ol' Tinkerbell tippy-toeing along the palm fronds...spreading her fairy dust. Or maybe it's just a little too much Azul...

For more firefly info check out http://www.firefly.org/facts-about-fireflies.html

Una Dia en Ajijic

Nick and Roger were heading to Ajijic for a day to show their friend, Bernie, the sights....so Meg and I tagged along. Since it was Sunday, the street market in Tonala became our primary destination. It's a two and a half hour trip north towards Guadalajara along the 'cuota' (toll) road. The scenery is stunning - palm trees, green to golden fields growing mais, the volcano near Colima, picturesque corn stacks, goats, cattle, bottomless canyons. 


Safely driving the highways of Mexico is not for the feeble-minded or timid. It really takes two people to manoeuvre the roadways, especially in the bigger cities...and nerves of steel to jockey with the traffic. It is not uncommon to see a huge 'doble' truck trailer barreling towards you on your side of the road....narrowly squeezing in front of another vehicle just as you glide by...yikes!! Nick is a great driver...!!


Heading for the Periferico Sur in Guadalajara along Lopez Mateos we see signs for Costco...more and more signs then there it is...we have to stop. A quick tour of the new store - bigger than the one in Abbotsford - and way bigger samples. We had croissants & cream cheese, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, fruit cake, crackers & sun-dried tomatoes, ham...missed the wine and cerveza that was getting ready for tasting. 


After spending a month in GDL last year, I can find my way through the network of roadways that tangle about the city and soon we approach the turnoff to Tonala. Seems like everyone is taking the same route  - we are part of a very slow procession of vehicles winding our way to the one central traffic light. Eventually we park and are ready to experience the excitement of the Sunday street market...miles and miles and miles of small tents lining both sides of both lateral roads running N-S and E-W. It's overwhelming and very difficult to keep all five of us together...but we manage. We try to find a particular equipale furniture store (I always thought is was 'icky-poly) but it never did come into view.. we end up at a huge rustico antiquity shop where R & N load up on some wonderfully unique treasures.

Back to the highway and soon heading south to Ajijic. Ajijic is situated along the shores of Lake Chapala...a town that has an unnaturally large population of Americans and Canadians, mostly retired, enjoying the balmy climate, lush gardens and pleasures that are abundant. BTW, Elvis Stojko now resides in Lake Chapala. http://www.ajijicnews.com/  
http://www.pbase.com/shmiller/ajijic
http://www.ajijic.com/info_about_ajijic2.htm

 

After breakfast at La Casa de Waffle, we headed out to explore - wandered through an open house at a cute little villa, strolled in many art galleries ( the art community is alive and well in ajijic), lucked in on a tipico dance troupe dressed in colourful Aztec garb with huge feathered headdresses dancing at the cathedral. Ajijic definitely has muchas cosas mirar...we shall return.

Wasn't That a Party!!?

It's really hard to believe that over the last 10 days Meg and I went from the two of us to having sixteen 'house guests'. Last week is a total blur to me. Everyone stepped up to the plate to help with the wedding preparations.What a wonderful experience!


Amanda, Mark and Chris worked their buns off, toiling in the heat to cheer up the outer casa walls painting colourful waves. Mark and Chris then cleared, swept, dug and flattened the beach area in preparation for the ceremony. Amanda cut the bottoms off a slew of wine bottles while Renee, Lyndsay, Tiffany, Jill and Nicky scraped labels off for the beach lanterns. Everyone pitched in to sweep, prepare meals, do dishes and then settle into many, many exuberant games of Mexican train. Dos Equis y Sol flowed like water. 


As the wedding day approached, Meg went into stress overload - too many details to think about!!  Which foods to pick, how much cerveza to order, will the tables and chairs show up, will the cerveza show up, where is the ice, what to make for breakfast, what to have for lunch, who is making dinner, yada, yada, yada...?? We had many a 2a.m. chat about what was evolving over the week. She was up every single morning at 6:30 to get the coffee going, the tea steeping, cookin' porridge and  getting bacon and eggs on the grill.

Thanks to Luly for organizing the flowers, tableclothes, beer delivery and finding Beto y Fredy, the outstanding caterers.  Thanks to Mac y Juan for the countless trips to Tecoman for supplies, for the palm frond archway, arranging accommodation, translation services, the fabulous pre-wedding brunch... Thanks to Bobbie y Philip for the superb margarita y taco feast. Thanks to Roger y Nick for the never-ending trips to and from the airport, for cocktails and pizza, for the Marg-o-rama, the sound system... Thanks to everyone who helped us out...we could not of had such a great party without your support.

Reflecting on the event, I believe the wedding was flawless... Erin looked radiant, Mark beamed. What a picturesque setting - on the beach as the sun was setting, waves roaring onto the shore! Happy people - friends and family - joining into the festivities. 

Beto y Fredy served up a sumptuous feast of tacos, quesadillas, guac, salsas, and freshly cooked tortillas. Jose chopped a fair number of cocos for coco locos, quite a few cervezas were quaffed... 

Over the last few days Meagan had meticulously playlisted a ton of great dance music which got the party rockin'....and it rocked! 

It was a party!!

A Very Unexpected Visitor...

One evening this week, while Meg and I were watching the sun set and having our customary nightly libation on the terrace, a large bird careened in beside us, waddled across the bricks and huddled in the corner, seemingly ashamed of its awkward landing. It didn't seem the least bit scared of us as we started to take snapshots. Darkness fell...the bird tucked its head under a wing and nestled down for the night. I checked on it throughout the night, just to make sure it was okay although there wasn't much I probably could have done if it wasn't. 


Up at daybreak as usual, we peeked out the window and saw our overnight guest...still asleep in the corner. Meg and I had a couple of cups of coffee before our avian friend started to stir. To our surprise it didn't fly off, it just waddled around the entire perimeter of the terrace, coming withing 2 feet of where we were sitting, unperturbed by our presence. A few more photos and Meg headed off to vacuum the pool. Fascinated, I watched the bird for a bit. It seemed like it wanted to fly - it flapped its wings and hopped but couldn't jump the 2 feet to land on the parapet wall surrounding our terrace. Eventually I made a ramp to the wall out of one of our shutters and went downstairs. About 20 minutes later Meg saw the bird swoop down from the terrace, headed towards the coconut plantation behind the casa.

Curious, I Googled the description of our feathered guest but only got ducks and grebes on I-Bird.com. I thought that maybe it was an albatross but soon found that it didn't match any of the images. After a more thorough Google search, the blue-footed booby appeared....there is a resemblance but, checking our photos, our bird had greenish feet. With a little more research the red-footed booby came on screen and eventually the green-footed booby. 

Turns out our avian friend most closely resembles the rare endangered green-footed booby(see comparison photo above that I found on the internet - baby and adult booby)...possibly from the avian sanctuary on Isla Isabel off San Blas http://www.moon.com/destinations/puerto-vallarta/nayarit-coast/san-blas-and-vicinity/sights/isla-isabel  There doesn't seem to be much information on GFBs.. We really were fortunate to have this feathery creature touch down at our casa.

Tips for Visitors...

For all those peeps who are coming down to our 'hood for the nuptials, here are a few things to think about:

1. Be prepared to combat biting insects - mostly mosquitoes and no-see-ums, maybe sand fleas on the beach. Bring along some sort of insect repellent. Also bring some after bite relief and some antihistamines...they reduce the effects of the bite. Insects here are seasonal. Due to the recent rain storms there are more wet areas than usual and therefore the potential for more biting insects.

2. Cuyutlan is a quaint, rustic seaside village with about 800 residents. The big draw is the beach. There is also the salt museum and el tortugario. http://www.tomzap.com/cuyutlan.html or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cuyutlan-Colima-Mexico/98065464822

3. The beach has black sand due to effect of eruptions from a nearby volcano. http://www.gomanzanillo.com/old_articles/volcano/index.htm The sand gets incredibly hot in the afternoon. The temperature in the sun has been 55C lately...(~30C in the shade).

4. The ocean is beautiful, warm and a little dangerous. The surf is fun for boogey-boarding. Beware of the rip tide. If you venture out too far and are unable to touch down, you can get swept down the beach or out to sea. Unfortunately, a number of people drown on this beach each year. Just be cautious when out in the water...!! http://www.surf-forecast.com/breaks/Cuyutlan 

The waves continue non-stop, day and night. We find it very calming but earplugs may be helpful until one gets acclimatized.

5. Only drink bottled water - the tap water can be suspect. See previous blog "Gross...Yuck...Gag Me...!!!" http://mm-mexico.blogspot.com/2009/10/grossyuckgag-me.html 
Mexican coffee is not all that palatable so bring along whatever coffee you would like to drink. Black tea isn't readily available in our area nor is the kind of green tea that sells in Canada. Chamomile and jamaica seem to be the local favourites.

6. Soak all fruits and vegetables in iodine solution for 10 minutes before consuming. Failure to do so can result in violent eruptions from both ends of the alimentary canal. Anti-parasite pills are available.

7. It can get very dark here at night - the moon provides wonderful moon shadow when it is full  - but it may be a good idea to bring a headlight or flashlight to light your way, as we do not have any streetlights.

8. Bring a good book for reading by the pool. 

    We don't have a connection for TV. 

    There is an internet cafe in Cuyutlan.

    This is not Club Med...but somewhat of an authentic experience in Mexico. 

Cuyutlan is a place to be close to nature, to taste the local cuisine and soak up the Mexican beach culture. Enjoy the sunrises and sunsets, the breeze blowing through the palm trees, the roar of the ocean waves, the beauty of the beach and the surf, the closeness of the stars and the unique moon-shadow. Life is good!

Hair Alert!!

Meagan...your Mom desperately needs a haircut...!! She promises she will hang on until you get here

Life Goes On...

Apparently this is a baby iguana...sunning itself on the grasses in our backyard...not close to the well.

Gross....Yuck...Gag Me...!!!

Well we have 'good news' and 'bad news'...The bad news is that my suspicions were right  - there was an iguana in the well...the good news is that we got it out!!

Yesterday morning our handy hombre, Gustafo, arrived to do paint the 'impermeabilizante' on our roof. I mentioned that I thought an iguana was in the well...he looked down into it and said that he thought I was right. When he returned after lunch he brought along his fishing line with a big lure...and, lo and behold, pulled this big iguana out. 

As you can see from this picture, la iguana is showing signs of wear and tear, having been in the well for more time than we want to think about. If we hadn't pulled it out when we did, it probably would not have stayed intact for the haul out. We figure it fell in while our plumber had the top off the well, doing repairs. Normally there is a screen and a wooden lid. I'm pretty sure this is the iguana that lived in our pumphouse and frightened the plumber while he was repairing the pump.


The more I thought about having a dead rotting animal in our water system, the more grossed out I got. Thank goodness we buy bottled water to drink. The well water is for washing stuff, ourselves and watering the plants. My issue was that I had showered in the iguana juice and both Meg and I got soaked in it while we watered the palms and washed JdV....far too much contact with this stuff....yuck!! To remedy the situation, Gustafo told us to dump some 'cal' and 'cloro' into the well to clean it up ( dry lime and bleach). 


Meg and I figured that it would be best to leave the chemicals to work overnight but we were also feeling incredibly creepy, having splashed around in the contaminated water throughout the day. Our good neighbours, Bobbie and Phillip, came to the rescue - we hightailed it over to their house for a couple of welcome showers. Never have I felt so refreshed!


Wow, living down here is a never-ending adventure. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

Iguana Clean Water....!!

Living on the beach, as we do, comes with some issues that we do not usually encounter up in Canada. The salt in the air causes any metal to rust rapidly necessitating constant lubrication of every lock, hinge, latch, light bulb and all of our tools. Currently we use silicone spray, Fluid Film and Vaseline non-stop for the maintenance ritual. 

Last year after we installed a brick patio all around the pool and re-created a sand dune on the beach, we have found that we have less of a problem with blowing sand which was creating sand dunes in the casa. We even found mini sand dunes in the fridge....did I mention that our kitchen is outside?

Due to the open plan of la casa 
and the protective nooks of the arches bats continue to roost each night. 


Our plan last year was to drape garlands of plastic flags from the ceiling to move in the breeze to discourage the bats from hanging around. These fluttering flags work but the clever bats seem to be able to find new nooks and crannies that haven't been draped yet. It would almost be okay if the bats just roosted - they are wonderful insect killers...they can catch 1000 mosquitoes an hour - but they pee and poop a lot overnight. More flags are in order. 


Fortunately we haven't discovered any scorpions this year. I think because the house is established now and there isn't a lot of excavation, the scorpions live happily somewhere else...though we should never get too complacent about these little critters. We still shake out clothes and towels and check out swim fins...you never can be too careful.


Yesterday, when I took a shower, I noticed that the water had a extremely unpleasant odour. From time to time the well water smells of sulfur but that smell will dissipate before too long. This new smell is quite revolting. I'm thinking something may have fallen into the well, perhaps swam around a little and expired....and I have noticed that our pumphouse iguana doesn't seem to be lurking in the shadows anymore. Could it be coincidental that the iguana has disappeared and the well is just 2 feet from where it was last seen? I looked down into the well this morning...the surface of the water is not flat...there is something down there but I cannot make out if it is vegetable, mineral or iguana..!! I'm not too sure about how to scoop debris out of a 6 meter well. Our handy hombre will be by today  - I will hone up on my Spanish. This issue needs to be remedied immediamente...showering in iguana slim does not a paradise make...!!