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We met some nice folks down here, Bill and Judy, and bonded with them easily.

Just before they went home Rosalie offered to take them to the airport. The weird thing about this is that Rosalie didn’t remember doing it. On the day they were leaving, we got an e-mail asking where we were. This was strange as neither of us remembered saying we would take them. Rosalie checked her e-mail and sure enough, she had made the offer but didn’t tell me as a backup.

If that wasn’t bizarre enough it gets worse! When it was obvious that we weren’t coming, Bill and Judy ordered a taxi. As they were checking out, they were told by their Hotel ‘Casa Leon’, that they owed 43,000 pesos for their stay. They denied this as they had paid half as a deposit last season, with the rest at the beginning of their stay this season along with the receipts. Then they got in the taxi. In the meantime, the hotel called the police who followed the taxi for a while and then pulled them over.

They were handcuffed and after emptying their wallets they were made to draw 16,000 from their bank accounts to give to the police. They then spent 3 hours in jail. Because of this, they missed their flights and instead of flying from Manzanillo, they had to take the bus to Puerto Vallarta a couple of days later.

I hope this was a case of miscommunication but with Mexican record-keeping who knows?

Rosalie’s sister Giselle had a similar problem earlier on. She and Gordon had put down a deposit last year on their room at Hotel ‘Vista Hermosa’, for this year. When they contacted the hotel last September to advise arrival dates etc. they found that the price had doubled. Giselle cancelled the room and booked another one elsewhere, planning to get her deposit back when they returned.

When they did arrive, Rosalie went with her to the hotel but was told the only person who could refund their deposit was the owner, who wasn’t there at the time. Giselle was told to come back. A week later, the owner still wasn’t there with the office staff very resistant in refunding her deposit. However, Giselle had kept all the paperwork: receipts and emails and showed them. Finally, she had had enough and told them that she was going to contact the Consumer Protection people. Well, that changed things rapidly: she got her money back right away.

I don’t know if this is becoming a trend here as we keep hearing stories about prices being raised after deposits are given. If this is so, they are doing a huge disservice to both themselves and the community. There will be a reputation that Melaque is ripping people off and tourists will stop coming.

There are also some disturbing things happening in that some restaurants have started using smaller wine and margarita glasses but have increased prices. We’re lucky because we know which restaurants are fair. The problem is that the tourists don’t know the local prices so they pay up, making things worse.

Anyway, Bill and Judy got home safely and contacted their travel agent who will be looking into it. We sent them the info about the Mexican consumer protection agency that Giselle had threatened and hope they can get their money back from somebody.

If anyone reading this comes down here and has trouble, this is the Consumer Protection website. http://www.profeco.gob.mx/

It’s come to that time of year again, with people starting to go back home.

There are far fewer tourists here now; our friends and family are going also. This last weekend four more groups went home. There are only four weeks left for us that will go by in no time. Nearly time to think about starting to put stuff away. I got the 3D printer packed a few days ago as Gerry and Denise are being good enough to take it back to Nanaimo for us. Our arrival time in Comox is midnight on the 18/19th of April.

The temperature has been as low as 12 C in the morning so the chiminea gets used a lot. The daytime temperature still gets up in the high 20s, hot enough to drive us to the beach most days.

When friends and family leave they clear out their fridges and leave their leftovers with us. So far Rosalie has collected 3 jars of mustard, 3 balsamic vinegars, 2 ketchups etc. Also inherited were part bottles of booze as well as a pack of 18 beers, most of which we shared. We have fun in the evening trying to empty some of the part bottles. There still is another bag of cans and bottles that we haven’t sorted out yet.

Some of the booze is left in the laundry room for further processing. There was an iguana in there the other day and I don’t like the idea of it getting drunk and causing havoc. I’ll have to watch that.

When people leave there is usually a going-away dinner. We’ve already been to a few and expect to go to more. We hosted one ourselves on the weekend.

It’s the time of year for the folks of San Patricio to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. Being Mexican, they don’t just celebrate the day, but start ten days ahead.

The mornings start with cojetes which are loud rockets set off by the church starting at 5:30 am. Some mornings they start at 5:15 am just for a change. This of course sets the dogs and roosters off so it’s a great alarm clock to get to early mass.

The main square has a fireworks display each night that gets crazier as the days go by culminating on 17th March. One year I almost got nailed by a falling catherine wheel. We didn’t go again this year; I think once was enough.

Rosalie’s youngest sister Marina has been suffering from hip pain for quite a while. She was told in Canada that it wasn’t bad enough for surgery yet but she was put on the list.

While here, the suggestion came up that the surgery could be done here. She didn’t know how to go about it so we made an appointment for her with Doctora Rosa on Thursday.

Dra. Rosa sent her for X-rays and did blood work. We took her back on the following Monday and the good news was that she didn’t need a full hip replacement just the top of the femur. The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday in Guadalajara five days from the initial examination. It was Dra. Rosa’s son, Dr. Victor Hugo Campos Vivas who was going to do the surgery.

Marina had to buy some supplies beforehand so Rosalie and I took her to the same X-ray clinic which sold all manner of medical supplies. One of the things she needed was a lift for the toilet. She caused a lot of hilarity especially when I suggested that we put it in the back of the car for Rosalie to use as a booster seat with Marina suggesting a little wheel.

At this point, Rosalie and I stood back and let some of the other sisters take over. Suzanne, her husband Vic and sister Delorie volunteered to take her on the bus to Guadalajara. They were met at the bus depot by the surgeon and taken to the hospital. That evening Marina was examined by the cardiologist ready for the following day.

At 8 am on Wednesday she had the surgery and later that day we got a text saying that all went well. The weird thing about this is that Rosalie had insisted all along that the surgery would be on that day. We were even sent photos of the procedure as it went along.

Of course, Marina had to pay for the procedure herself. The cost was about $10,500 CDN. That included Dra Rosa’s visits as well as the X-rays and blood work.

I don’t understand our system. In Canada, the same procedure would cost the healthcare system up to $30,000. Why don’t they encourage us to get the surgery done here and then pay for it? Then it would only cost healthcare about $10,000. I suppose that with the system now they don’t get to pay a thing.

After a three-day stay in the hospital, Marina was released and they spent a few days in Guadalajara to recover. The surgeon booked their tickets for the bus and took them to the bus depot.

I picked them up in Barra and took them home. They were pretty tired as it was a six-hour bus ride. The good thing is that the bus has a downstairs area with only four seats that are loungers and it’s quiet and comfortable.

Two weeks from now Dr Victor will come to Melaque and take Marina’s stitches out.

All in all a great family effort. Everyone chipped in to help and all went really well.

Marina and the other sisters rave bout Dr. Victor Hugo Campos Vivas. They say he was helpful courteous and all round a very nice person, a success in every way.

We have done a lot of driving lately and I knew that the car needed some work so I took it to a local garage.

I told the guy that I wanted an oil change and for them to see to the squeak coming from the suspension. I went back a couple of hours later and was presented with a bill for nearly $200 CND which I thought was a bit out of line. I still have no idea what they did but as I drove off the squeak was still there.

A few weeks later I decided to try again. This time the young guy at a different garage spoke some English so it went a bit better.

I told him about the squeak and that the car was hard to start when it was hot. Also, the doors creaked a lot and I wanted them greased. I was told it would be ready in four hours. Before we left they had already greased the doors so things were looking good.

Rosalie and I walked over to the other side of town to get some really good fish and chips. While sitting there we met up with some friends and had a nice lunch together. Meanwhile, I got a phone call from the garage saying that the shocks on the car needed to be replaced, which didn’t surprise me at all. It would now be ready at 6 o’clock. 6 o’clock came and went so we called and they said maybe 7 o’clock. We decided to wait until the next morning.

Rosalie called at about 8:30 am and they said it would be ready by 9. We left home at nine forty-five to walk to the garage. At last, the car was ready.

The young guy Alejandro, told me that as well as the shocks he had changed the spark plugs, the air filter and a few other minor things. The bill came to $399 CDN so not too bad. The car has been a lot better, especially on the rough roads but we still have the squeak!

I think I’ve written about this before many years ago but perhaps it’s time for a recap.

Because of all the family and new friends in town, we have been finding ourselves forced to go to one of the favourite watering holes in town. It’s known by many names but we like Cowpuchino. In Spanish, they call it Parajetes. This is a Mexican tradition and you can see these places all over Mexico.

It works like this: The place opens at 8 am and after saying ‘Buenos días’ to the lady in charge you present 30 pesos and in return, she gives you a plastic cup with sugar, chocolate, and coffee in it. You can then add vanilla, cinnamon and of course, the reason we came, moonshine, but not too much as it is still early.

Then you stand in line and wait for the next available cow to be ready. All the time watching out for dogs, chickens, goats and the odd niño getting underfoot. When the next cow is due it’s a good idea to get out of the way as she heads straight for the feed bucket ready to be tied down. The cows here still have their horns so you don’t want to get in the way.

Then her calf comes charging up to get a feed before we get all the available milk. In the meantime, a goat is chased away from the feed bag several times before it can eat it all. For the rest of the time we are there, it continues to try and steal some feed. At one point it got ticked off and went to stand in the middle of the road as an act of defiance.

Eventually, your turn comes and the guy fills the cup with milk right from the cow. After giving it a good stir, (we now know to bring a spoon with us) you take your first sip, delicious. If you want, you can have goat’s milk instead. I don’t fancy it but a few of our friends say it’s great.

After we get our cup full we usually find like-minded people and settle in for exchanging news, gossip and general BS. After a while, though that darn cup turns up empty, so you just have to have another one. And so you wend your way home hoping that some relative or friend will want you to take them again before long, and of course they always do.

It’s been crazy busy the last few weeks. Rosalie’s family are all here. There are twelve of us altogether. Lots of friends have been arriving and the social scene is a little crazy. One day, six of us went to the beach and we ended up with 15 at our table, mostly people from Spider Lake Springs Resort in Canada.

Our afternoon visit to the beach to cool off is often still a part of our day. There are lots of beach vendors and Rosalie knows most of them by name. One, by the name of Mark Anthony, gets large bags of pistachios, breaks them down into smaller packets and sells them for 50 pesos each. Bolivar sells hammocks and veggie totes. One of his hammocks is on our rooftop patio; sometimes his Dad works the beach too.

Christina sells cinnamon buns and walks the beach with her son. She is a beautiful woman but needs to smile more. Christiania, I’ve mentioned before and we still see her with her squeaky little voice. There are many more that are encountered daily but too many to mention.

While sitting on the beach the other day there was a sailboat race underway so that gave us some entertainment for an hour or two.

The mornings are a bit cooler now, so I have had to light up the chiminea a few times. The wood supply is getting low but there has been a bit of rain so I’ll hold off until it’s all over with.

There is a lot of new road construction going on here. They seem to be finally tearing up some of the old rock-laid streets and replacing them with concrete.

We went to a seminar a few weeks ago about Mexican culture and the differences between hot and cold cultures.

For instance, if you invite a Mexican to your house they may or may not show up. They think, to say no is more of an insult than to not turn up at all, which has happened to us. Also, if you invite someone to your home, expect them to bring their whole family along. If you are invited to someone else home the last thing you want to do is show up on time as that is when they just about start to get things ready. You can show up at any time and you will still be on time.

Mexicans are more interested in relationships than time. There is a story of a Mexican visiting a friend in Vancouver. They met at lunch time and the Mexican was quite insulted when the friend had to go back to work. The idea of putting work before him was insulting.

Our water guy Juan promised to deliver in twenty minutes. He finally got there several hours later. It’s similar to DHL deliveries, online they say a certain date but that rarely coincides with the real delivery time. Sometimes it’s earlier, sometimes later, or not at all. For instance, I had a package due to be delivered yesterday, it arrived today along with another package due for delivery tomorrow. Most of the deliveries are early so thats a bonus. They say delivery before 8 PM but we had a package delivered at about 9 PM by a guy on a motorbike with his ladyfriend on the back.

The following morning we had breakfast overlooking the square. Afterwards, we visited a traditional Mexican indoor market. Rosalie tasted and bought some Chongo, which is a sweetened cheese. Then we went and checked out.

There is a lot of travelling on some of these tours but this was broken up with frequent bathroom stops and meal breaks. The fields on either side of the road were mostly overgrown with agave. As we moved along there were lots of greenhouses growing peppers. Further along, there was nothing but sugar cane.

Just outside of Colima, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant right alongside another lake. The food eaten that day was quail, rabbit and salmon. Rosalie and I had the salmon but got samples of quail and rabbit from our friends.

As the tour got closer to Colima, Florencio took us to see a bull ring that’s built and disassembled every year. It’s built for the annual horse show in Colima, (our next tour, but next year). Only certain families can work on it and the tradition has been going on for 167 years. It’s all built by hand and the only measuring tools are a stick about a meter and a half long with four marks on it and various lengths of rope to mark out the circles. The amazing thing is that it holds five thousand people and they have never had an accident.

And so another tour came to an end. We are rarely disappointed with these tours and this was another great one. I particularly love the old-style Mexican hotels that we stay in. Next year, as well as going back to Tequila by ourselves, we plan to go to the horse show. It’s a three-day event and Florencio will be our guide again.

After checking out of the hotel Florencio took us back to Magdalena for the drive to Mazamitla. Things got a bit confusing as Magdalena was in the opposite direction from where we wanted to go. It all worked out though and we got to our next stop, the ruins at Guachimontones

The site is situated on a hill overlooking a lake. The guide gave us an informative tour and we left knowing a little more about Mexican culture.

Before continuing our journey, Florencio took us to Restauranté Monte Carlo on the edge of the lake. The ambiance was great.

Arriving at Mazamitla in the afternoon it soon became apparent that we needed to get into warmer clothes. The temperature was about 10C and I was still wearing shorts. I ended up wearing Rosalie’s hoodie. Before we left I checked that mine was packed, but it wasn’t mine it was Rosalie’s. That’s two tours where I left my hoodie behind, luckily Rosalie had enough clothes to keep us both warm. Mazamitla is another beautiful little Magical Town of which there are 177 in Mexico.

After checking in, we met up with some of the guys for drinks before finding somewhere to eat. There was a funky little hamburger restaurant run by two young guys right at the end of our block so we stopped there. The food was great and so was the service.

After going back to the hotel for a nightcap, we all turned in.

Breakfast was included today so we went with Florencio to a little cafe on the square. Rosalie and I sat on the balcony but it was a bit chilly so we went back inside. The temperature was about 10C.

While ordering our morning coffee we noticed an item on the menu for Cafe Mexicano. After inquiring what it was we had one because it was regular coffee with a shot of tequila. Great choice! It was a good start to the day and only cost 10 pesos more than Americano. Rosalie liked it so much that she swore to have two the next morning.

After breakfast, we drove to the town of Magdalena to dig for opals. After a quick visit to the mine owner’s store, we went mining. 

We all were issued with a hard hat, hammer, goggles and gloves. Then we headed for the mine face. 

After hammering and pounding for about thirty minutes with little luck, reminiscent of my time on the chain gang, I heard that Diane had found some. It was best looking on the sunny side of the pit, as you could see the opals shine. I got a few but they aren’t worth anything.

After a while, one of the miners came and showed us how to find them without all the hammering. By this time we had done a lot of smashing. I think that after we left they called the local quarry to come and pick up the crushed rock.

Afterwards, it was back to the mine owner’s store for a look at some very expensive but very nice jewelry. Then back to the hotel for free time.

That evening, Neil and Diane, Rosalie and I went to a restaurant on the corner of the square and sat outside listening to some blues music. There was a lady playing sax and a guy playing bass guitar; it was really good. Later we were joined by Jim and Ylda to finish up the evening.

These are a bit late as I was trying to do this without an ‘e’ key on my computer. I got the call that a new keyboard had arrived while on the trip. So it’s now installed

The van came for us a 7 am. Jim and Ylda were already aboard with another lady, Liz, whom we didn’t know yet. Next, we went to Barra and collected Neil and Diane. Then we started for Colima. 

Our driver and tour guide Florencio had come for us from Colima, leaving at 4 am. After two and a half hours of driving, we were back there for brunch. There were eight of us at the table but they only gave us one bill. The entertainment for the rest of the day is trying to find out who short-changed us; nobody did of course. I sorted this out later by suggesting that everyone add theirs up on their phone and pay that, plus the tip, it worked for the rest of the trip.

On the road to Tequila, we noticed agave growing everywhere. There were huge cultivated fields and some were growing at the side of the road. I even saw some people growing it in their back gardens.

Tequila is a Magical town (Pueblo Magico), Rosalie and I enjoyed it so much we decided to go back next November for a few days while the weather’s still hot on the coast.

After we checked in at the hotel we had an hour break before our tequila tour. So we went to the roof to watch the entertainment.

https://youtu.be/Z7ZEQxVpd0w

The guy playing the music was one of the four flyers.

The tequila distillery we went to was an older one called “Casa Colfradia”. It had unique cabins for guests and we got a look at one. It costs $500 CDN a night but includes meals and tours.

The process was interesting and we learned a lot about tequila. After lopping off all the leaves the plant is roasted and shredded. Then the juice is squeezed out and fermented for four days. After that, it’s distilled and aged.

After the tour, they took us to a beautiful below-ground restaurant where they served us a complimentary margarita, before returning to the hotel. Some of us were a bit disappointed as we weren’t given enough samples to try. After all, that’s what we came for.

Whoever first saw an Agave plant and thought “Let’s dig this up boil and distill it and see what happens” must have had a really nice revelation. So we drink to them, in tequila of course.

That evening we went to a local hotel near the square and had a nice inexpensive meal. Before we ate, we played a game of Mexican bingo. They have a board with sixteen pictures on it. They read the names out very quickly in Spanish and the first one to fill their card won a free margarita. Well, our table won. Neil filled his card first with a little help from Florencio.

While we were waiting to be served, I saw a small jar of something edible on the table so decided to try it out. They were very hard and not too good. It turned out that they were the counters for the bingo. I dread to think how many times they had been handled. Fortunately, I only had one and didn’t get sick.