New beginnings in Manzanillo

Mexico City - Part 2

2010-07-29T13:01:00.006-05:00

After our overnight bus trip and a fabulous meal and some visiting with Cinthia's family, we started our first day with some sight-seeing in Coyoacan.

Coyoacán was home to Dolores del Río, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (famous artists), and also to Leon Trotsky, and the houses they lived in are now both museums. It is a trendy and tranquil residential area in the southwest part of the city, with parks, squares, and cobblestone streets, and is now a favourite spot for university students, tourists and artsy visitors.

We went to Coyoacan on a Sunday, and the streets were bustling with locals walking their dogs (their pets all decked out in fancy sweaters and doggie clothes), artsy types, along with some tourists.

There is so much to see and do in this area so we decided to spend our first day walking around, eating all the lovely food, and going to the local artisan markets. We decided to save the museums and the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo for another day.

Cinthia's childhood friend Berenice,her boyfriend Jesus (Chucho) and Cinthia. We stopped to have some drinks at this outdoor cafe and watch the world go by!

Coyoacan is well known for it's coffee and there is a famous coffee shop called "Cafe El Jarocho" that was recommended to me by many of my friends in MZO from Mexico City. This place is definitely somewhat of an "institution" which was evidenced by the lineup all the way down the block. The coffee was absolutely delicious and we paired it with a "churro" from next door which was a match made in heaven! Churros are a fried pastry that is then sprinkled with sugar. You can then have it topped with melted chocolate, strawberry, etc.

Our eating frenzy had only just begun. I had told Cinthia that I wanted to try as many as the local foods as I could. Our next stop was to try "Elote". Elote is the spanish word for corn and is a very popular street food in Mexico. It is basically corn on the cob, Mexican style. They take regular corn on the cob and then lather it in mayonnaise,grated cheese and of course, sprinkle it with CHILE. It is definitely an interesting flavour combination and I was a little skeptical at first but was pleasantly surprised. Definitely a flavorful snack!

One thing that surprised me about Mexico City was the sheer number of beautiful parks and green spaces.

For those of you who may visit Coyoacan, definitely plan for at least 2 days MINIMUM. There is so much to see and do. After a lovely day eating and wandering around, we decided to go back later in the week and tackle the museums.

Puppy available for adoption

2010-07-26T15:12:00.004-05:00

I was walking on the beach with the dogs and found this beautiful puppy on the beach abandoned, very mal-nourished and what appeared to be a very large tumour the size of a cantaloupe. She was covered in ticks and was having a very hard time walking with the large growth. She was very shy and timid when I approached her, but after she realized I was not going to hurt her, she was very affectionate and loving. My heart was breaking seeing her suffer and she was clearly abandoned and living on the beach eating whatever scraps of food she could find.

After much thought and talking with my friend who was there with me, I decided I just could not leave her there to suffer and had to do something. We coaxed her into the car and immediately brought her to my vet. My vet looked her over and informed me that it was not a tumour but a large hernia - the result of being hit by someone/something. She was able to operate and repair the hernia and after a few days of recuperating and medicine to kill the ticks, the puppy came home with me. She is staying with me until we can find her a home. All my friends think that I am going to end up adopting her since I am not so good at this foster thing and always seem to keep them! Since I already have 5 animals, I need to find her a home.

She is recovering from the hernia surgery but in one week or so, she will be fully recuperated and will be able to live a good life. Vacinations and spay surgery will be also be provided.

So, to all my Manzanillo and area readers, please forward this to all your contacts. She is a beautiful and caring dog and once full grown, will be small to medium sized. She is approx 3 months of age. If anyone is interested or wants more info, please contact me at newbeginningsmzo@yahoo.ca.

UPDATE - I have found someone in Calgary, Alberta that is interested in adopting this animal. We just need to find someone that is flying from Manzanillo to Calgary that is willing to take the dog with them. The dog would be flying in cargo in a kennel and all costs/paperwork would be organized and paid for. Animals can not fly unaccompanied which is why I need to find someone that is already going. If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated!

Vacation to Mexico City!

2010-07-20T12:23:00.006-05:00

I recently returned from a trip to Mexico City with my room-mate and BFF here, Cinthia. She is originally from there so we went to visit her family and go see some of the many amazing museums, architectural wonders and the famous ruins, the Sun and Moon pyramids. I am just going through and editing the HUNDREDS of photos I shot. I will definitely have to blog about it in stages as there is sooooooooo much to share with you!

All in all, it was an amazing vacation. It was wonderful to see where Cinthia grew up and finally meet her VERY LARGE and lovely family. I enjoyed every moment...........every day was chocked full of sight-seeing, trying new foods and spending time with her family and friends. The food was incredible........I have to say that I never thought I liked tamales..........until I tried them in Mexico City. Hmmmmm, still dreaming about them. They are so much different there - super moist and packed full of flavor. Oh, and the lamb barbacoa........that was my favorite local dish. It is a famous dish in the region where they dig a hole in the ground and cook lamb overnight in a pit covered with Maguey leaves. Maguey is a local cactus type plant (cousin of the agave plant used to make tequila). The maguey leaves impart an amazing flavour and the meat is so tender, it falls off the bone.

To start our road trip to Mexico City, we took the overnight bus. We boarded at 9:30pm and arrived there at 9:00am the following morning.

Cinthia was super excited as she had not visited her family in over a year

The seats on the bus were very comfy and extend back quite far. We managed to get a good sleep and arrived in Mexico City reasonably well rested. Cinthia's childhood friend Berenice came to pick us up from the bus station and we immediately went for a hearty breakfast of carnitas (chopped pork tacos), chicharon (fried pig skin) and arrachera (flank steak)tacos. Hmmm, delicious!!! This meal was definitely a sign of wonderful culinary delights to come.

We then went to Berenice's house to shower and change. Her and her mother Hilda, had graciously offered for Cinthia and I to stay the week in their home. Their house is conveniently located three houses down from the house of Cinthia's family. And since 12 people live in Cinthia's house, this was definitely the best option!

We then went to Cinthia's house where I was graciously welcomed by her large family. It was a tearful reunion with Cinthia and her family - it was heartwarming to witness. Of the 12 family members that live there, there are 7 nieces/nephews, her parents, 2 sisters, and one spouse. Her brother and his two children live in another house and arrived later.

Cinthia, with 7 of her 9 nieces/nephews

The children were very excited to see their aunty and the girls had dressed up in special dresses to welcome their "tia".

Out of her 9 nieces/nephews, there are only 2 girls

After visiting and getting to know the family, we sat down to eat a delicious meal of tacos and nopales (vegetable prepared from the native cactus plant - they shave off all the spines). Her mom definitely deserves an award for cooking 3 meals on a daily basis for 12 or more people!

Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Mexico City!

Who's who in the zoo

2010-06-23T09:24:00.008-05:00

A few people have asked for an update on all my pets. Everyone in the pack are doing great and adjusting really well to the latest addition - Chikita, a cute kitten that I agreed to foster until we can find her a home. Ironically, I have become a little attached and may end up keeping her!

Chikita - definitely the Alpha of the group. She is super feisty and will not allow my two cats to eat until she is finished her meal. Que cabrona!

This was Chikita's 2nd day in the house. She put Jade in her place immediately!

Leo - the male

Jade, being her usual rambunctious self with Kenya, Leo's sister.

This was a surprise to find Jackson sleeping with Leo. He normally does not interact with the cats at all.

Summer has arrived

2010-06-22T18:12:00.004-05:00

Since our first rain of the summer last week, the humidity and heat level have been astronomical. The days of constant sweating and multiple showers have arrived.

Even our canine friends need some relief from the heat. Check out this little dog buried to his head in the sand on the beach. How cute is that!

Crazy crocs

2010-06-19T10:39:00.004-05:00

And no, this is not a blog post on those plasticky/rubbery looking colored shoes that many people wear.

As you all know, I used to live in La Manzanilla when I took the Spanish immersion program and it is one of my favorite places to visit. The beaches are beautiful and you can walk for miles.

Recently, I went on my first Mexico camping experience and we camped right on the La Manzanilla beach in this spot. What an amazing place to camp!

The dogs were in heaven. Jade is keeping a close eye on Jackson

When my friends were here in May visiting from Seattle, we rented a car and did a day trip to La Manzanilla. While we were there,they wanted to check out the local crocodiles. I have to say that when I lived there, I never went to see the crocs. The main reason, of course, was my dogs. I think we have all heard many a story about a crocodile killing and eating a dog that got too close.

For safety reasons, they now have a chain link fence separating the crocs from the rest of the population. I stood up on a bench to get a better look at the terrifying creatures. Right away, I noticed a large white cat inside the area alongside the crocodiles. No sooner had I said, "Look, there is a cat inside with the crocodiles", the cat decided to make it's move and get out of dodge. Sadly, it jumped right in front of the VERY still crocodile's mouth. In a blur of white fur, blood and a VERY loud yelp from the cat, the crocodile devoured the cat in a matter of seconds.

I am not sure if I can adequately describe how I felt in that moment and afterwards............disbelief, revulsion,disturbed, nauseous, terrified and traumatized. It is one thing to hear about the crocodiles seeing pets/animals that get too close. It is entirely another to see it happen in front of your very eyes and just a few feet in front of you.

The croc in question, just a few moments after devouring the cat

My visitors and I were all in agreement....we would rather NOT have witnessed the crocodile eat his lunch.

Now, what I want to know is this....What on earth was that cat doing INSIDE the fenced area with the crocodiles????????????????

Another VW and getting a drivers license

2010-06-04T12:32:00.005-05:00

I finally purchased another car! I have only ever owned Volkswagen cars so I thought I would continue with that trend. I bought a used 2006 VW from my neighbor the other day and have been busy getting all the paper work done.

It is a great little car and it was owned by a VW mechanic and is in excellent condition. It is so nice to have wheels again!

A while ago, I had rented a car to take some of my visitors from Canada to La Manzanilla. When we were completing the paperwork, the rental car agent pointed out that my Canadian drivers license was expired. Oops, I had no idea but he still went ahead and rented the car to me! After that, I figured, I better go to the transport offices and get my Mexican drivers license. On the advice of friends, I went super early when the offices open. They gave me the list of everything I needed to get a driver´s license: photocopies of my identification (FM 3 visa), copies of a bill in my name where I live, CURP card, lap report with my blood type, and a photo. I had everything on the list with the exception of my CURP card and blood type. Luckily, I was able to get my CURP card in the same offices with copies of my identification and copies of my telephone bill. Apparently, a CURP card is a form of identification here under the National Population Registry (from what I understand, kind of like a census). After obtaining my CURP card, I went to a nearby lab to find out my blood type. They were able to do the test right then and there while I waited. It only took about 10 minutes and they had to test me twice as the lab tech explained that I had a rare blood type so he had to take more blood to confirm. I had no idea I had a rare blood type and when I talked to my father, he was just as surprised as me! At any rate, they put your blood type right on the front of your driver´s license in the event you are in an accident.

With my blood test results in hand, I returned to the transport offices with all the required paperwork. It had been explained to me by several friends here that practically no one writes/performs their drivers test. You are given the option but if you do not wish to, you can hand over a little "extra" and the gentleman takes care of it. So, that is what I did and of course, I passed with flying colors! Then they sent me to the doctor on staff where I thought I would have to do an eye exam. I was wrong - he just asked me if I needed glasses to drive and what my blood type was, and off I went! They then took my photo and issued me my drivers license. The drivers license is digital like the ones we had in Alberta. From start to finish, the process was approx 2 1/2 hours and was approx $700 pesos ($55 dollars).

Once I had purchased the car, I had to go back to the same Transport Offices and get the car changed over in my name and get new plates. Again, you are required to bring copius amounts of paperwork....copies of ID, copies of telephone bills, copies of the original invoice for the car, the old plates, etc. They also have someone inspect the car and take down the VIN and engine numbers to ensure it is not stolen. After a few hours and $4,600 pesos for various taxes, new plates, etc, I was officially the owner of a car.

In other news, my computer is officially dead and cannot be repaired so I have been using an internet cafe in the meantime. I have since purchased a new laptop and a friend of mine is bringing it back from the US for me. In a week or so, I will have a computer again and can get back to posting photos and blogging on a regular basis.

Sorry

2010-05-13T22:42:00.004-05:00

I want to start off by apologizing to everyone for not blogging in a very long time and mostly, for worrying some of you. Recently, I have received several e-mails from concerned readers wondering if I was alright. Also, today I was alerted to a discussion on Tomzap, a local informational website, that some people were wondering if I had moved back to Canada and/or were worried about my well-being. I appreciate everyone's concerns and am very sorry to have worried you.

I am still living here in Mexico and doing very well. I had decided to take a break from the blogging world for two main easons: the first of which were some harassment issues that arose from someone who discovered my blog and secondly, I was super busy with my job and visitors.

The last 6 months have been a whirlwind. Here is the coles notes version of the last 6 months:

-I stumbled upon a wonderful job last fall and have been enjoying my work immensely.
-I went to Canada for a vacation last Christmas and visited my friend in Montreal and my brother and family in Ottawa..... and practically froze my ass off! Seriously, it was a wonderful visit but have since decided to limit visits to the great white north in summers or times where you nose doesn't feel as though it is going to fall off. Oh, and did I mention that I forgot how to walk on ice? OUCH!
-Returned from Canada and ended up with Dengue Fever and was seriously ill for a few weeks. For those of you who do not know, this is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes and I ended up bedridden for almost 12 days with over a 40 degree C temperature and crazy pain. I know understand why it is called "bone break fever". I would not wish it on anyone and can only remind everyone to use bug repellent or wear long pants at night. The only other thing I can say about it is that I would rather find another method to lose almost 15 pounds.
-I have been super lucky to have had friends and/or family visits each and every month this new year. It is definitely challenging having visitors in paradise when I am working but I managed to find time for everyone (just not as much as before). A big shout out to all my visitors this year - it was awesome to see you and thank you for coming down!
-my dad and Lorri came for a visit which was a huge bonus since I was not able to see them at Christmas
-my brother and his family came down for a completely unexpected and SURPRISE visit! How lucky am I??? My bro is the king of surprises and I had NO idea they were coming until he scared the living daylights out of me one afternoon.
-the animals have been doing great for the most part. One of my dogs was hit by a motorcycle while camping up in La Manzanilla but luckily managed to walk away with just some bruises and inflammation.
-I have 5 animals in the house at the moment as I am fostering a little kitty for one of my friends until we find a home for her.
-My roommate is doing great and still living with me. She also had Dengue Fever while I was in canada but has bounced back to her usual self.
-I have been having fun and dating and have lots of funny stories to share. But I will save that for another time.

So between work and all my visitors, I have not had much time for anything else. Life is good, I am enjoying my work, my friends and the beach.

I never tire of the sunsets here.

Moving Forward

2009-11-07T12:42:00.006-06:00

Many things have happened during my absence from the blogging world and I am going to update you on everything. As you know from previous posts, I went through a tough time this summer. The main reason for this was emotional....I think there were many things that I had not dealt with or processed and I needed to do this. I was stuck in a rut of depression and sadness. In addition, two good friends here in Manzanillo left and moved to other countries and as always, it was hard to see them go as they were really supportive friends. During this time, a few people suggested that maybe I should move back to Canada and I seriously considered it. But, I realized, at the end of the day, it has always been a dream of mine to be here and I really want to stay. Also, I realized that my emotional issues would follow me wherever I go - whether I am dealing with things in this country or another country is just geography. Overall, I am doing much better and have learned many things about myself, about other people and feel like I am moving forward now. I want to send big hugs to my friends D and Chelsea who left- I miss you guys so much and wanted to thank you for all your love and support. I also want to thank all my friends from back home who have been a huge support to me this summer - I could not have made it through without you guys.

As for moving forward......

I FINALLY received my FM-3 visa - this allows me to stay in Mexico longer than the regular 6 month stay for a tourist. The process took 3 months from start (when the government received my application) to finish and so it feels great to finally have it in my hands. Now, my work permit is in process so I have been busy sending out resumes and even have gone for a few interviews. I have two more interviews scheduled for this week so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will find work soon.

I also went to Guadalajara and Tonola a few times to search for furniture for the house and I am HAPPY to say that I finally have all the major furniture I need. I found some great items in Tonola, which is near Guadalajara. Tonola is an amazing, eclectic place full of local artisans with wonderful and VERY economic items to fill a household. I found lamps and coffee tables, end tables, glassware, mirrors, etc and now my house has pretty much everything I need. I am still looking for a few small items, mostly for storage, but finally feel like my place feels like a HOME.

As for the first trip to Guadalajara, I went with my friend Shelley and her son Dylan. We took Shelley's vehicle as we wanted to have room to bring back everything. Driving and navigating to find our hotel in centro Guadalajara proved to be quite the challenge and definitely made us realize that on the next trip we will take the bus! We eventually found our hotel but driving in a city with millions of people and crazy traffic was very stressful! We stopped several times and asked a few strangers for confirmation/directions and everyone we asked were very helpful and we finally found our hotel. We stayed in the Hotel Morales, a beautiful historic & colonial hotel in the historic centro of Guadalajara. It is considered an artistic and architectural jewel of the city. It is a stunning hotel with amazing service and was very economical. It was only $90 a night for a large 2 bed room. I would highly recommend this hotel to people who wish to be in the historic downtown of Guadalajara. The staff there were very helpful and also had great restaurant recommendations.

On the way back from this trip, we ended up getting a flat tire. Unfortunately, neither Shelley nor I could change it but we were fairly close to a PEMEX gas station and one of the men there graciously changed it for us in no time.

As of the end of October, I also have a room-mate! Her name is Cinthia and she has been a friend of mine for over a year now. We have talked about living together forever, but this new place I am in is perfect since I have a 2nd bedroom and it is much bigger than my other place. Over the summer, we became much closer friends and she has been a real rock for me during the tough times. She is originally from Mexico City and has been living in Manzanillo for almost 2 years now.

My new roomie

She speaks very good English but we try to speak only in Spanish so I can try to improve my language skills little by little every day. She is a great room-mate and she prefers to clean rather than cook and I love to cook and hate cleaning so we are a really good match!

As for the animals, Jade and Jackson are doing good and have adjusted to the two kitties that I adopted, Leo and Kenya. Cinthia also has a cat which is going to take some time for all of them to adjust. Her cat is very timid and does not like dogs so she prefers to hide out in Cinthia's room and the dogs and my cats just sit and wait outside her door!

Leo with a choke hold on Kenya

Jade loves to play with the kitties. Here is Leo and Jade in the midst of a play session

I have also been spending alot of time with my neighbors and they have been wonderful. They are always offering to help and often invite me over for ceviche or drinks.

Here is Jasmin and Paola who I talk to on a daily basis. They come by my place every night to see the kitties and show me some new dances and songs they learned in school. Aren't they adorable?

One of my good friends and neighbor Maroco. He makes a killer home-made ceviche almost every week on his day off

Hmmmmm, yummy ceviche. He makes it with shrimp and fresh fish and it is the best I have ever tasted

As my previous post mentioned, a few weeks ago would have been my late mother's birthday. I had a little celebration here at the house with some good friends and I also went to her final resting place on the beach. When I went there, I discovered this beautiful bird which stayed there the entire time I was there.

Again, a big thanks to everyone for their phone calls and e-mails. I really appreciate the support.

Today, I remember

2009-10-21T12:10:00.012-05:00

First, I want to thank you all for the e-mails, phone calls, texts, etc. I truly appreciate all of your support and it really helped lift me up. I am doing better thanks to all of you.

Today would have been my mom's birthday. I am going to go to her final resting place on the beach this afternoon. I will remember all of our good times, the special moments and all the many things that made her special. There are SO many wonderful memories.

Here she is in Manzanillo with myself and many of her girlfriends. That was a crazy trip girls! Remember that crazy earthquake?

Here we are cheering on the Calgary Flames during play-off time

The infamous surprise trip to San Francisco for her 50th birthday

And of course, she is the one hamming it up in the glasses at our family reunion

At the Calgary zoo

Friendships and family were of the utmost importance to Mom. She had this amazing ability to bring out the best in everyone. She was able to bring people out of their shells and help them realize who they truly are. There are so many people that had special connections or bonds with Mom. She had this amazing ability to reach people and make them feel as though they had always known her.
We are all better people because of her. And I know that each of our special memories with her will always be in our hearts.

Here she is on the beach with myself and a number of our friends. This is one of my favorite photos.

Today, I remember my mom, my best friend.

Maybe not

2009-10-13T01:54:00.008-05:00

Yes, you are right. I DO suck. I have not blogged in a ridiculously long time and have no excuse. Life has been rough, nada mas............and then throw in some computer issues to boot. But just when I felt life had dealt me a little more than I could handle, I went to the beach.........my therapy.........and what do I see? These are the kind of days that make me realize why I am here in Mexico. Life is pretty good, no??

There was a long time where I just felt like throwing in the towel with this whole blogging world.... the hell with it, why I am doing this?? Does anyone really care? Apparently Jackson does with his constant perfect poses - all the other moments, he is so mischievious, he is on borrowed time- lol

Sorry internet world...and family and friends......aarrrrghhhhhh I am not sure I have a story to tell. And the bottom line is I am not really sure of anything? I am really sorry to have worried some of you. Thanks for your e-mails. I am soul searching at the moment - I hope you can bear with me. I have alot to tell you about and REALLY hope to find the way to tell you. Here I am with a new friend in Barra de Navidad...Until then....................

C

2009-10-13T01:14:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to my favorite girl!

2009-09-23T17:13:00.007-05:00

My niece Raquel

Today is the 12th birthday of my one and only niece Raquel. She is the love of my life and always makes me laugh and brings a smile to my face when I hear her voice or am around her. I just got off the phone with her and just talking to her made my day.

Here she is in Manzanillo a few years ago getting her hair braided

End result! Que bonita!

Here is the "princess" at the hospice in Calgary when we had a Mexican fiesta for my mom. She is holding my friend Camelia's puppy Miko

Happy Birthday Raquel. I love you so much and I think of you every single day. You are a very special girl and I am so proud of you. You are a very wise girl for your age and always inspire me. In some of the things you say (and the way you say them), you remind me alot of mom. She would be very proud of the young woman you have become.

I hope to see you at Christmas sweetie. I miss you so much.
Besos y abrazos
Aunty

Flying Possums

2009-09-07T16:53:00.003-05:00

Yes, that is right. I had an up close and personal encounter with a very scary looking possum (proper name is opposum, I believe). My friend had come over for a visit and we were sitting in the living room chatting when out of the corners of our eyes, we both saw something black and furry flying though the air right outside my front door. When I went out to investigate, I saw a large furry unknown animal being held hostage in Jade’s mouth. I was stunned and had no idea what to do. First of all, I had never seen anything like it and secondly, it was sort of hissing and baring really SHARP teeth. So, there I am yelling the command “drop it” at the top of my lungs. Of course, she did NOT obey and proceeded to fling it around in the air like it was a rag doll. Try to imagine me running around my front yard after Jade with a broom (all I could think of) trying to get her to drop the animal. Well, it is not like my neighbors think I am a little peculiar to begin with!

Eventually she drops it and I bring her in the house. Sure enough, when I looked outside a few moments later, the thing was gone. It was lying there “playing possum”. I thought it was dead! I think my friend was relieved that he did not have to help “dispose” of the animal.

Later on that evening, after my friend had left, I heard Jade and Jackson barking like mad. When I went outside, I discovered that the possum had returned and the dogs had him/her cornered in my front yard. It was hissing ferociously and baring its teeth again. So out I run again trying to round up the dogs and get them in the house before they get tore up by this animal. I was not very successful and it took forever to get them away from the possum and in the house. Before I managed to do that, Jade somehow managed to grab the possum in her mouth and ran INSIDE the house…..WITH the possum. I eventually got her to bring it back outside where I finally managed to wrestle her away. And there it was lying there after the whole ordeal, bloody and either dying or "playing dead" again . I was not sure what to do as it was 1am and all my neighbors were sound asleep. I watched it for a while - it was still breathing but was staying put. After some time, I decided to go to bed, assuming it would be gone by morning. Unfortunately, this was not the case and it was still in the front yard. My neighbor happened to be walking by as I was standing there trying to figure out what to do with it. He explained that the name of the animal in Spanish is "tlacuache" and he picked it up by it's tail and brought it to a nearby garbage pile for me.

After this experience, I found this photo on-line courtesy of www.aaanimalcontrol.com. Apparently, they have 50 sharp teeth! Luckily, the dogs managed to make it through the experience without any puncture wounds.

Any guesses as to what critter the dogs will find next?

MIA and general update

2009-09-05T10:18:00.009-05:00

The reason for my absence is that I have been really ill. After several days of not being able to keep anything down and being violently sick, and after several trips to the doctor and one visit to the hospital, they discovered I had an aggressive bacteria infection in my stomach and that my blood pressure was extremely low. I am now on some antiobiotics to kill the bacteria and other medication to elevate my blood pressure. After several days of taking the medicine, I am finally starting to feel better and regain some strength. The senora that comes by to collect the rent has been dropping by daily to check on me and last night she said I finally have a bit of color in my face. Apparently, I could have contracted this infection from eating "on the street", ie. eating food from a taco stand or something. This infection wreaked havoc on my body and was definitely an unintentional weight loss plan.

A little progress has been made on the back yard. The fumigation guys came to do their thing and told me that the crazy jungle (my yard) had to be cut down and the moutain of rocks removed BEFORE they could properly fumigate the yard. They offered to do that as part of their service for an extra charge. Well, the extra charge was VERY reasonable and since I was not having any luck getting a hold of the gardener that had been recommended to me, I decided to go ahead and have them do it. They have been here 4 times already and still are not finished but they have made some significant headway in the yard. They managed to get all the grass and weeds cut (100 pesos or $8 dollars) and remove a portion of the large rock pile. They also cut some of the trees back for me. I have decided to get rid of all the rocks and they will remove and dispose of them for 150 pesos (approx $12 dollars). Here are some photos showing the progress. It looks like a different yard! They spent several hours working on the rock pile, but have to return a few times more to complete the mammoth task.

What a difference!

Check out the sheer number of rocks to remove

As for the kittens, we have found a home for another one so I am down to two kittens and have decided to adopt them both. I was only going to adopt one but then after talking to others that have cats and seeing the bond the remaining two have, I feel as though they are part of the family and I could not possibly see another one go. Who knew I would end up being a cat lover?

The iguanas that my dogs like to terrorize continue to live in the trees in and around my yard. I guess they must be territorial and are not too traumitized by Jade using them as a chew toy. Here are a few shots I managed to get of them.

I love the colors on this one

A few of you have asked for photos of my new furniture and improvements I have made in the house. Here are a few shots. I am still trying to figure out a paint color. Any suggestions? I am definitely getting rid of the current light orange/peach color.

One of many ceiling fans I had installed. Check out the orange stripe on the ceiling. Do you see why I want to paint?

The new super comfy furniture

I have talked many times about my Mexican mom here on this blog. Here are some photos from my "Mexican Dad" Humberto's birthday party a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful celebration and they are like family to me.

The birthday boy with the delicious "Tres Leche" cake

His grandaughter made the celebratory sign

Grandson Vicente playing in the pool

Four generations here. My Mexican Mom Christina with her mother, her two daughters and her grandaughter.

A few of you have also asked how my Spanish is coming along. It is going well.....every day I learn something new and my speaking is slowly improving. I have started to read my first full book in Spanish - Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. I have read it a few times in English so I thought I would attempt it in Spanish. I have a feeling I will be using my dictionary ALOT.

As for my FM-3 Visa, it is STILL not ready. Apparently, some of the banking information which I had printed off the internet will not suffice and I need to get them originals or scanned copies of the originals. Hopefully, I will have this all taken care of next week and they will not need anything more. Crossing my fingers.....

Neighborhood Initiation

2009-08-21T13:43:00.002-05:00

Required:
-ability to drink copious amounts of chelas (beers) and/or tequila until last man standing/sun comes up/need to go to work.
-ability to participate in the discussion (ENTIRELY in Spanish).
-ability to play AND understand jokes (ENTIRELY in Spanish).
-ability to dance to local music without making an ass of one’s self (ok, I do not think I passed this test).

Result: many laughs with my new neighbors, the learning of new Spanish vocabulary (including slang and typical local expressions), a massive tequila hangover, sore feet (and not just my dance partner) AND………………insert drum roll here………………………a sense of community and BELONGING.

Here is how the intitiation came to be. I arrive home from a dinner party at my friend’s house around midnight. A full party is in effect on the street in front of my house with tables, booming stereo, tequila and the works. When I get out of the car, they ask me politely if we would like to join them and if not, is the music and festivities too loud???? They explain that it is the birthday of the senora that runs the shop across from my house. Again, they say that they would really like me to come and they hope we can join them.

My girlfriends politely decline as they need to leave and wake up early for their work. I also need to do some work in the morning but realize this is an important opportunity to get to know my neighbors. I think and analyze and think some more when finally I decide that I HAVE TO go. Unlike my other neighborhood, I feel like an outsider, perhaps because I am one of the only foreigners in the neighborhood. Or perhaps it is because I am a single woman living alone with a bunch of animals. Here, this is NOT typical and I get asked almost on a daily basis where my husband or boyfriend is and why I have so many animals. To add to my “strangeness” factor, I walk with BOTH my dogs daily AND with them both on a leash. Again, not typical in this or most neighborhoods. Admittedly, in my neighborhood, I will see a few locals walking their pets on a leash but this is certainly not the norm. Or perhaps I am seriously overanalyzing this and I do not feel accepted solely because they have not had the chance to get to KNOW ME!!! After 20 minutes or so of internal debate, I decide to go.

I show up to immediate warmth and generosity and eventually find myself dancing in the middle of the street and learning slang, jokes and the idiosyncrasies of the extended family/neighbors in the fiesta. After many cervezas and tequilas, I manage to extract myself from the fiesta at 5:30am! The party continues without me (even though the senora who is the center of the party has to open her store at 7am) but they have left me with an invitation to join them the next afternoon for homemade ceviche. And I must tell you that the ceviche was DELICIOUS and the best I have ever had here. For those of you unfamiliar with ceviche, it is a citrus-marinated seafood dish. Both regular fish and shellfish are used (raw) and they use fresh lime juice to "cook" or pickle the fish and seafood without any heat.

I am so happy that I had this opportunity. It was wonderful to get to know some of these people a little more and I discovered they are LOVELY, real people who are simply wary of newcomers to begin with.

All in all, a FANTASTIC night. I finally feel more connected to this neighborhood and the people that live here.

A year older....wiser?

2009-08-18T11:36:00.007-05:00

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for their birthday wishes over the weekend. They definitely brought a smile to my face. I have been having a really tough time lately so reading all your messages and talking to you guys really helped lift my spirits. Also, sorry if I have not responded promptly to your e-mail messages as I have been having MAJOR computer issues and my laptop has been gone with the repair guy more than it has been with me the last few weeks.

My friend D and I had a joint birthday party at a local hostel here on the weekend. She knows the owner (and he is a fellow Canadian from Alberta) and he said we could have the party there. It is a great spot - there is a pool, a palapa and a kitchen area that we could use. My friend D made one of my favorite comfort foods - perogies. She and Cynthia were up until 4am one night making dozens and dozens of perogies. They were sooooooooo good. A big thanks to D and Cynthia.

Listening to some tunes from one of the musician's from Bora's pub.

Many countries were represented at the party - Mexico, Canada, US, France, England and Holland

The other birthday girl with friend Paco

Cynthia and Diego cooking up some perogies. Hmmmmmmm....

Talia and Derek dancing

Thanks to everyone for coming!

Party end time - this is AM Camelia!

We had ordered pizza earlier in the night from Sam's Pizzeria. The owners are friends of ours and they make the most amazing pizza - Derek is another Albertan and Talia is from here. For those of you from Manzanillo, try their pizza, it is fantastic! They are located in Santiago next to the cemetary if you want to eat there or alternatively, they deliver!

Quick cat update. I dropped off the one kitten to it's new owner last week. It was surprisingly emotional........YES, I actually cried. It is hard to believe how attached I am to the little munchkins. And to think I was not a cat person! Also, one of the kittens ended up at the veteranarian for 3 days as she was vomiting and not eating after the spay surgery. I picked her up the other day and she is doing much better. She is just on some antibiotic medication and I have to clean her incision every day. For those of you who know me, this is NOT an easy task for me.

More good news.......we have found another home for one of the kittens. My friend Sandra told me that that she has convinced one of our friends to take one and he will take it by the end of next week.

There have been some amazing sunsets lately. Here is one from my friend Michelle's house in La Punta

And then there were five....

2009-08-11T15:11:00.006-05:00

I found a home for one of the kittens! So, my extended family of animals will be reduced to 5 after tonight. I definitely have mixed emotions....I am relieved to have found one of them a home but at the same time am sad as I have become quite attached to the little ones (and I am not even a cat person). The longer I have the kittens, the harder it will be to say goodbye. They have a way of finding a way into your heart.

Yesterday, I brought them all in to be spayed/neutered. I promised the family that was adopting the kitten, that I would have it fixed beforehand. I decided to bring all of them in at the same time as the veteranarian, Dr Gaby, assured me it was fine for them to have the surgery this young. I picked them up last night and here are a few of them recovering.

The one on the right took forever to wake up

Jade decided she needed to keep an eye on them also

So, it turns out I have 3 females and one male. Ironically, the one I have become attached to and will likely adopt, is the male who I have been calling Princess (she or rather HE whines all the time). And the family that wishes to adopt prefer a male. I am not sure what to do - I am hoping to convince them to take a female, especially since they have been spayed.

My furniture arrived safe and sound and I am very happy with it. It certainly has been a challenge keeping the cats off of it.

I am also waiting for the gardener to come by to help me work on the yard. I have taken some "before" pictures so you can see the jungle itself. We have ALOT of work to do!

Not sure what is going on with this gigantic rock pile. Any ideas on what I can do with this? Or should we just junk it?

There is an iguana on the top of the wall - it is black and grey so is hard to make out

So, what do you think? It has huge potential, I think. There is a lime tree out there that I will definitely keep. As for the others, not sure. Any suggestions?

Hongos - part 2

2009-08-05T20:55:00.003-05:00

If you recall from a previous post, I mentioned all the animals ended up with hongos - aka ringworm (it is a common fungal infection especially in hot and humid climates). Apparently, the cats transmitted this to the dogs - Jade was covered in them and Jackson ended up with only 2 spots. Well, I guess it should not come as a surprise that I ended up with them also! Grrrr....I discovered this spot on my body last week that was perfectly round and looks like someone put out a cigar on my arm. My friend took one look at it and told me I had "hongos". She knew this because she recently contracted them from some puppies she adopted off the street. I later confirmed this with a doctor. So, I have about 10 spots all over my body and am currently undergoing treatment. Ha - just have to use topical medicine but the itching is driving me crazy. Living in a zoo with 6 animals has it's consequences! For those of you unfamiliar with ringworm, don't worry, there are no actual worms involved. The name comes from the fact that, originally, people believed that the infection came from a worm. Although it was later concluded that it did not, the name has stuck.

As for the cats, I still have all 4 of them. A few people have expressed interest but still have not done anything about it - even with my constant pestering. I really hope they will be adopted soon as they are very mischevious and love to climb on things and knock things over (like my friend's TV and my modem).

On a more positive note, my new furniture arrives on Saturday from Colima! I am very excited and will take photos.

Oh, and guess what I found in my backyard yesterday.....a TARANTULA. It was big and scary and you will just have to take my word for it as I was not sticking around to take a photo!

One year, can you believe it?

2009-07-31T16:23:00.006-05:00

Yesterday marked one year exactly from when I arrived in Mexico to live permanently with my ex-boyfriend. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I arrived in the Guadalajara airport full of hope and love, nervousness, apprehension and excitement for what was to come. I remember waiting for Jackson to arrive in the baggage area and cried tears of relief when he made his grand entrance and was safe and sound. I remember seeing my ex in the airport and the flood of emotions.

It is truly hard for me to believe I have been living here in Mexico one year. I never could have imagined all the things that have happened since I arrived. It certainly did not play out as I had planned. But I must say that I have learned so many things about myself. It has been a year of self discovery and I feel like I have emerged on the other end as a stronger and more resilient person.

I really believe that if it were not for my ex-boyfriend, I would not have had the courage to come down here and live on my own. Only now, can I look at that experience as a positive one - what I mean to say is that the end result was positive. I am here in this amazing country because of him. Naturally, it took me a long time to see the positive in that whole experience! After living in this country alone without a partner, I realize that I am capable of more than I imagined. Sometimes, I lose sight of this and have moments of crippling insecurity and lack of confidence. But thanks to all my dear friends and family here in Manzanillo and in Canada, US and Australia, I manage to pick myself up again with their help. So, a big thank you to all my friends and family for encouraging me, supporting me, listening to me and loving me. I am forever grateful and without you, I cannot imagine where I would be. Also, a big thanks to my friends and family that came down to visit and support me when I needed it the most. Camelia, Alex, Tara, Barb, John, David, along with my family. I also want to thank my new friends - readers of this blog from far and wide that I have not yet met who have written lovely words of support and encouragement. All of you have been a source of strength.

Taking stock of this year, I have gained many wonderful things in my life and for this, I am grateful. My friend Winter (the one I call "Mommy Dearest") and I had lunch yesterday afternoon and she gave me the most amazing gift. She gave me a beautiful ring that fit my finger perfectly. She told me that everytime I look at it, I am supposed to remind myself that I am good enough just as I am and am worthy of love. I was speechless when she gave it to me.....I was very touched and feel very fortunate to have her in my life. She is very much is like a mother to me - she is always supportive and will always tell me what I need to hear, regardless of whether I want to hear it! Isn't that what Mom's are for?

I went through a few of my archived photos from the year that I have not yet published. So many memories! I feel very grateful to be here and look forward to the next year of adventures.

What???? Do I have something on my nose?

The view from a meditation course I took here in La Audencia. It does not get much better than this!

Mom, I really love it here (even if I do have a new sister)

I love this view of the bay from my friend's Mike and Rob's condo

Finally some progress

2009-07-29T02:02:00.004-05:00

Ok, so many of you have been asking about my progress on the house....questions like - am I getting settled, do I have furniture, can I send more pics of the house and yard, etc. The answer is no, I am not even close to being settled as I only have furniture in my bedrooms and kitchen. And the reason I have not sent pictures of my back yard is because when I look at the yard, all I can here is the theme song to "Welcome to the Jungle". It is overgrown and needs some serious work as there are grass and weeds over a foot high. One of my friends went through the yard a few weeks ago with a machete and got it under control but it is now crazy once again with recent rain. The previous tenant did not really use the back yard nor look after it. As a result, there is alot of work to do. I have contacted a friend of mine here and am going to enlist the help of her gardener since I not only have the tools to work on it, I really have the opposite of a green thumb.

So what has been my problem on getting settled exactly? Apprehension, procrastination, feeling incredibly overwhelmed, where do I start, what is my vision, etc. Then, I envitably think to myself.....ok, look at your list where you have prioritized everything and start on just ONE thing. Simple right??? Ok, then, YOU come here and do it.

Do not lose hope on me yet - I accomplished an UNBELIEVABLE amount of things on my list today. Yes, it is true, I am not a complete lost cause. One of my girlfriends phoned me to let me know she was going to Colima (a city one hour away with many other shopping options). So off we went to places like Home Depot, Liverpool (large department store), Sam's Club (similar to Costco) among others. By the way, there was a huge sale EVERYWHERE we went...anywhere from 25% to 50% discount! Love it!

Colima is a beautiful city full of lovely "jardins" like this one

We got an early start and at the end of the evening, managed to arrive back in Manzanillo with her large Ford Truck filled to the brim inside and out with our purchases. Note to all my friends - I put in a record shopping day........in fact, I think there has never been a longer day of shopping EVER in my life. My friend Kris and I started the day out at 10am and finished unloading all my stuff and opened a bottle of wine around 11pm. Good news.........I FINALLY purchased living room furniture! This is a huge step considering all that is in my living room at the moment are dog beds, dog and cat dishes and various toys for the animals.

I am very excited about the living room furniture - it will be delivered to my home in a few weeks (at no extra cost)! I cannot even imagine having something comfy to sit on...... well, other than a dog bed anyway. But a sofa, loveseat and oversized chair will definitely be a step up, don't you think?

In addition to my living room furniture purchase, I purchased many other items for my casa like:

-ceiling fans Note: I had already purchased 3 for the house but that is clearly not enough in this crazy heat and humidity. When I moved into this house, there were not any fans whatsover, just bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling
-sheets for the guest room (yes, you can now come visit and not have to "camp out" or sleep with me!)
-storage items and organizers

It feels really really good to finally have some major items crossed off my list.

And some more good news....I talked to my immigration lawyer today and my FM-3 visa application has been accepted for processing. I should have it in a few weeks just in time for my birthday!

Jade vs the iguana

2009-07-24T16:18:00.005-05:00

The battle continues between the large black iguana and Jade. The other day, I went into the yard and to my horror, discovered Jade had the large black/grey iguana in her mouth and was shaking it violently. This is one of the iguanas in my back yard that she loves to chase and torment - a few weeks ago, the poor thing dropped it's tail while Jade was in pursuit. Unfortunately for the iguana, it was not able to get away this time. I chased Jade around the yard shouting the "drop it" command. Eventually, she did just that and I quickly brought her into the house to give the iguana a chance to flee (if it was still alive).

Once I had Jade inside the house, I went over to inspect the poor thing. It had a large chunk out of it's back where Jade had it held in her mouth. It was still alive but was very still. Eventually, it slithered off and I have not seen it since.

Here is the poor thing after I managed to get Jade to drop it. You can see that it's tail is just a stump - before with it's full tail, it would have been over a foot and a half longer.

As for the cats, it appears as though I am turning into the crazy cat lady! I still have all 4 of them and have not been able to find homes yet for them. I have a few leads but nothing concrete has happened yet. What started out as a temporary situation has turned into much more than that. I am starting to get a little nervous.

They are now in the playful and mischievous stage and like to climb and jump on everything. Today, I noticed that one of them was playing with something green - it was another baby iguana in the house. I tried to get the iguana out of the cats mouth and it hissed at me and scratched me all over my hands. I finally managed to rescue the iguana and set it free outside. Poor iguanas, they are no match for the animals in my house!

Housewarming Party

2009-07-22T18:00:00.004-05:00

I decided to have a housewarming/Canada Day/Independence Day party on the weekend of July 4. It was a regular United Nations of people........my Mexican friends came, friends from Canada as well as friends from the United States. Since I still do not have any furniture in my living room, I thought it was the perfect time to have a party - there is no chance of things getting spilled on or wrecked! I received some awesome housewarming gifts....margarita glasses, cutlery, wine glasses, beer glasses and a really nice bottle of Reposada Tequila along with shot glasses. Hmmmm, I am sensing a theme - no plants as housewarming gifts here........I guess they must know how bad I am with plants!!

One of my Mexican friends Sandra decided to make jello shots in honor of the event and did them in festive colors of the Canadian flag (she is half Canadian/half Mexican. She also did some blue ones to include our American friends - so we had them in red, white and blue.

Friends Mike and Omar after one of the shots!

It was a great time and in true patriotic style, we had several Canadian flags throughout the house. Some of my Canadian friends even came dressed in red and white.

Friend Stan and my friend Winter aka "Mommy Dearest" representing the US dressed in red, white and blue.

We were also lucky to have some of my musician friends from one of the local bands that play at Bora's pub come and play a few tunes.

Jackson trying to use his puppy dog eyes to get some of the great food.

My good friend Marta with Antonio

A big thanks to everyone for coming and for the lovely housewarming gifts!

It's a bit of a zoo

2009-07-14T15:58:00.005-05:00

Yes, I still have 6 animals in the house along with a few other unexpected critters. I still have not had the fumigation done so I have a bit of an insect problem. A friend of mine offered to do the fumigation shortly after I moved in but I am still waiting. In the meantime, I have a serious ant problem......little ones and big ones of all different colors. Jade likes to chase them and eat them......maybe she does not have enough protein in her diet?? Also went into my kitchen one night to grab a drink and saw something crawling on the floor that was glowing bright green.

This was what I found - the picture does not do it justice as the two spots that you can see were glowing a very bright green.

I also have a baby iguana living in my bedroom. I just about had a heart attack one night - I went into my room and saw something scurry under the bed that was over a foot long. I finally discovered that it was an iguana...I could not capture it nor could the dogs - if they could fit under the bed, it would not be an issue. So, I thought I would leave my window open without the screen so that it could escape. Two days later, I saw it in the kitchen under the sink. I guess it does not want to go outside?

I also have several very large iguanas that live in the backyard. Jade loves to chase them and bark at them. One day, I went outside and discovered a very large iguana tail in my car port area.....but no sign of the body. I searched the back yard but did not find the body that belonged to the tail. The following morning, Jade was outside and was barking like crazy. When I went out to see what all the commotion was, I realized that she had cornered a very large iguana in the front yard and guess what? The iguana was missing it's tail! I managed to get Jade in the house so the iguana could escape and hopefully grow a new tail someday. Poor thing....

Did you know that some cockroaches fly? Yes, I discovered one of those in my house the other day. Something very large was flying around and when it finally landed long enough for me to see what it was, I saw a very large cockroach. Uggh....

Yes, Raid is a staple in my house at the moment and is used daily until my friend can come by and fumigate. So, if you ever want to see some of the local critters of Manzanillo, just come to the zoo otherwise known as my house!

A few days ago, Jade was quite sick and had barely touched her food for several days. When I examined her, I discovered she had several large red welts all over her body. I figured she might have gotten mixed up with some fire ants in the back yard. But the next day, I realized that she had many more welts - I counted more than 50. So, I immediately hopped on the bus with Jade as well as one of the kittens in my purse and went to see my vet, Dr. Gaby. I got alot of strange looks as large dogs are not a regular fixture on the local buses here nor meowing sounds coming out of one's purse. I decided to bring one of the kittens in just in case it was related somehow. Well, it turns out those welts were not ant bites but a fungus called Hongos. This is basically a mushroom type of fungus that was transmitted from the kittens to Jade. Jackson did not get any (yet) as he basically ignores the cats and does not interact with them. Jade, on the other hand, plays with them constantly and has taken a liking to eating out of their litter box. I know, very disgusting..... Also, it appears the cats have parasites which have likely been transferred to the dogs (and maybe me also). I ended up coming home with parasite meds for the dogs and cats along with medication and shampoo for the Jade and the cats to get rid of the fungus. I had to bath and shampoo all 6 of them with this special shampoo and have to do it 2 more times this week. Bathing the cats was quite the ordeal and the scratches on my arms and hands are evidence of that struggle.

Here are the "little darlings" after their bath while they are drying in the sun. In retrospect, a "before" photo would have been good while they were wet but I think the trauma for all of us resulted in a missed photo opp. And after feeding them a can of tuna, it appears that they have forgiven me.....

As for the abandoned kittens, they are ALL still here at the house. I have not found them homes as of yet. I am feeling a little overwhelmed....what if I cannot find homes for them? I certainly could not put them back on the street.

And then there were six....

2009-07-07T13:09:00.006-05:00

animals, that is. I currently have 6 animals in my house. It is a good thing I have no furniture yet - my house is becoming an animal shelter! My friend Sandra found 4 baby kittens abandoned in a puddle in front of her house on the day the hurricane passed through. She took them in to look after them until she could find a home for them. A week later, she had to go to Mexico City for work so she asked me to take them until a home can be found.

They like to play and sleep on my suitcases!

I was a little concerned at first as Jackson is terrible around cats. He basically goes into hunting mode and terrorizes the poor things. The first few days were definitely a challenge but since then, both Jackson and Jade have come to accept them. Jackson is now indifferent and aloof as he was with Jade in the beginning. Jade, on the other hand, is very curious and tries to play with them. Unfortunately, she is like a bull in a china shop and does not realize that her paws are almost bigger than the cats are! The cats were terrified of the dogs the first few days but since then have become very comfortable and love to play with Jade and her tail.

Hmmmmmm, what is this tiny thing?

Mom, can we keep him?

It has been a week so far but still no homes have been found. We have posted their photos on the animal adoption website here in Manzanillo along with a few other websites. For all my Manzanillo readers, please tell all your contacts so we can find these precious kitties a home. They are still pretty tiny but are growing like weeds. They still fit in the palm of your hand. They are fully potty trained and are full of energy.

What an experience!

2009-07-04T10:19:00.004-05:00

First of all, thanks to everyone for their well wishes and patience with my lack of communication over the last little while. The move, getting things fixed in the house, buying furniture, contractors, etc has been far more work than I every anticipated. Then being bed-ridden for several days did not help matters. I have discovered that getting simple jobs done always seem to take much longer than planned. My "to d"o list seems to get longer every day, not shorter! I have come to realize that if I knock off 2-3 things off my list, it has been a VERY successful day. I have learned alot through this experience and come to realize that if you sweat the small stuff, you will drive yourself crazy in no time.

In the midst of all this, I have also been working on my FM-3 visa. This visa will allow me to stay in the country past the 6 month period you are given as a tourist. Getting an FM-3 is not a complex or difficult process, it just seems that the simple jobs seem to turn into days of work. One of the requirements for an FM-3 visa is that you need to submit a utility bill at your current address in your name. This is not difficult stuff however, since I just moved, I do not have a utility bill in my name. As a result, I have to get a letter from the owner of the house along with a copy of his identification. Unfortunately, the owner lives in the US and has proved to be a little difficult to get a hold of.

Good news-I just got my telephone line and internet line installed a few days ago! What a good feeling to have internet again - I was feeling pretty out of touch and disconnected from my friends and family back home. From all the stories I had heard about getting a phone line installed, I figured it would be some time before this got completed. What a pleasant surprise!

Bad news - my friend Victor was here and had his truck parked in front of my house. When he went out to leave, he discovered that someone had crashed into his car and left the scene of the crime. He cannot even open his car door. I live directly across the street from a little convenience store so we went over there to ask if anyone saw or heard anything. Apparently, no one saw or heard a thing........Hmmmmmm

A few days after I moved in to the new house, I was leaving to take the dogs for a walk with Victor. As I was locking my front gate, two women came up and told me they were with the government and were performing a census. They had government ID and Victor told me they were with a branch of the government (cannot remember the name). They asked if they could ask me the census questions before I left on my walk and I said yes, no problem, thinking it would take under a minute and then we could be on our way. To my surprise, she pulled out a large booklet and 30 minutes later, we were finally done! Well, here is an excerpt of the many questions I was asked.........and YES, this is a true story.

1. How many people live here?
2. What is your marital status and age?
3. How many bedrooms do you have?
4. Do you sleep in your bedroom? - I had to clarify this question because I thought I misunderstood it.
5. Does anyone sleep in your kitchen? - again, I said that I think I heard wrong or did not understand and could they repeat the question.
6. What is your marital status? Again, I replied single. 30 something, single and living alone is pretty rare in this country. I was asked this question 3 times in total, I think
7. Have you ever been pregnant?
8. Do you want children?
9. If so, when would you like to have them? They also wanted specifics, in one year, two years, etc.
10. Have you ever had an abortion?
11. Are you sexually active and if so, do you use birth control? If so, what types do you use?
12. What age were you when you first had sexual relations? Did you use birth control? If so, what types did you use?
13. What is your religion?

Throughout this entire process, I kept saying in Spanish that I thought I misunderstood the question and could they repeat it. Victor kept reassuring me that I had heard correctly. When we finally finished the questionnaire, I was completely dumbfounded and speechless. Victor and I looked at each other and could do nothing but laugh. I asked him if he was sure that was a census questionnaire and not something else. He assured me that it was a census and I had understood everything correctly. He certainly got to learn a whole lot of personal information about me! I explained to him that the census in Canada is much different - basically 2 questions.

Has anyone else here in Manzanillo completed the census? I am curious to know your experience?

Getting settled....

2009-06-28T17:00:00.008-05:00

First of all, I am sorry to have been out of touch for so long. I have alot to blog about and I promise I will return all e-mails this week.

Secondly, about the hurricane/cyclone - I received many concerned e-mails last week about this and am sorry I was not able to respond. It passed through on June 23 and some businesses closed early that day. Basically, there were very heavy winds and major rain. I tried to go to Tel-Mex (telephone company) that day to arrange my telephone/internet line for the new house but when I arrived, they were closing their doors and boarding up their windows with wood. There was so much water on the streets in my neighborhood, it was difficult to drive or get anywhere. The water came up to my mid calf. I ended up with quite a bit of water in my new house. I do not believe there was much damage in the city - just some flooding and tree branches that had broken off. My yard is a big mess but nothing a day of work won't cure.

These pictures are not that great - but just to give you an idea of how much water there was in the neighborhood.

As for the move, it went fairly well. Fortunately, I had already had the bedroom furniture moved to the house about one month prior. My friend Jesus who was living in the house graciously allowed me to keep the furniture in the 2nd bedroom. I was able to move in on June 14, as Jesus was leaving that morning for Australia. Steve from the blog Same life, new location had generously offered to come into town and help with the move also. Another friend of mine, Victor, had offered to help with his truck. Steve and Victor both arrived early Sunday morning with their trucks. I had all the boxes packed and ready to go. Victor and I had brought a full truck load over the day before to the house so on the day of the move, we were able to get everything, including the two dogs, in Victor's and Steve's truck. Jesus had asked us to arrive by 9:30am and when we arrived, he was still in the process of moving his furniture out. Certainly not an ideal situation, but we made it work! It did not take too long to get everything in, and then we went to get the 2nd hand fridge that I had purchased from my friend's house. By mid afternoon, we pretty much had everything inside the house. A big thanks to Steve for all his help and coming in all the way from Melaque.

Here is a photo of the new place. It is in a great neighborhood and is super close to the main boulevard. It is also close to the beach - approximately 3 large blocks. I have met several of my neighbors who are all very nice. Also, there is a little store right across the street from my house where I can pretty much get anything I need - including fresh tortillas, chorizo, some resh veggies/fruit, etc. I am also very close to some great little road-side eateries. I sampled some pozole last night at a little place a few blocks from my house last night that was absolutely divine (and only 25 pesos!)

The color inside the house is about the same as the outside. As a result, I have had a few people come by to give quotes on painting inside. Labour is pretty cheap so I may go ahead and have it painted inside. I also have been busy organizing someone to install ceiling fans as it is super hot and we are heading into the hottest season of the year. From the day I moved in, it has rained almost every single day and so it appears that the rainy season is upon us.

The dogs have been doing fairly well - they were very nervous the first week but seem to have settled in quite well. They love all the space and have discovered the 2 large iguanas that are resident in the back yard. Every time they go back there, they eagerly search for them.

Several days after moving into the new house, I became quite sick. It started out with what I thought was a simple cold which later turned into a raging strep throat infection and an infection in both eyes. I ended up house ridden for several days as my eyes were practically swollen shut and I had a high fever. I seem to have recovered and am doing much better. Since then, I have managed to get my kitchen organized and both bedrooms. I still have many things to buy - for example, I have no furniture whatsover in my living room! Friends of mine have lent me a few things until I am able to buy them for myself - ie. table and chairs, a microwave, etc. This week, I am going to look at some 2nd hand living room furniture that my friends want to sell.

I still do not have an internet connection but am going to go to Starbucks and use their free wireless until the connection is set up in the house. I have gone to Tel-Mex and arranged for them to install a line which is supposed to happen in the next 8-10 days. It was a bit of a challenge as the renters prior to Jesus had a telephone/internet line but had not paid their bill. As a result, I had to either pay their bill to use the existing line OR arrange to have a new line installed. The previous renter's bill was quite significant so it ended up being cheaper to install a new line altogether.

I have only managed to get to the beach once in the last several weeks - but it certainly was good therapy for me and the dogs!

The dogs taking a break and watching the surfers

Check out this creature Jade found on the beach

The moon was absolutely incredible that night

I have so much more to write about but will save that for the next few days. Thanks again for your patience and sorry to have worried some of you.

Baby on board?

2009-06-08T13:52:00.006-05:00

Scared you, didn't I!! Saw this truck the other day with the baby stroller hanging on the back and was hoping this was not the case!

I have received many e-mails wondering where I am and if I am ok. I have been busy packing and getting organized for the upcoming move and have not had time to return e-mails or blog. My apologies......I will be back soon! I am going to try and get to the internet cafe this week sometime to write a more detailed blog post and return some e-mails.

As for the dogs, they are doing great and seem to be bonding more and more lately

Busy busy...

2009-05-26T17:17:00.006-05:00

but not yet working..... How ironic is that? I have been busy getting ready for the move to the new house, trying to furnish the house and many other things. My friend Shelley and I took a road trip to Colima last week to try and knock off some of the purchases on my list. By the end of the trip, her car was literally packed to the roof with our purchases. I still have a long way to go but now have some of the basics. I found a second hand fridge from one of the PATA volunteers for a good price. She is graciously allowing me to keep the fridge at her house until I move. The current renter in the house is going to sell me the air conditioner in his bedroom. This will be a huge godsend this summer as I will be in a neighborhood that is very hot with little breeze. It will definitely be an adjustment from where I am living now. My move date is June 14 and many of my friends have offered to help.

I am also looking after my friend's 5 cats while she is in the United States for 2 weeks. I stop by the house daily and feed them, let them out, deal with the litter, etc. She also asked me to feed some of the street animals that hang around her house. Today, I noticed that one of the roosters really likes cat food and has been eating most of the food I leave out for the street cat. When I tried to shoo the rooster off, he was quite feisty with me and kept returning. Clearly, he does not see me as a threat. So now I am not sure that the street cat is getting any food. Suggestions anyone?

I am also taking on a larger role with PATA and taking on the Treasurer role in addition to my current volunteer activities.

There have been a few new restaurants that have opened in the last little while here in Manzanillo and so my friends and I have gone to check them out. There is a new sushi place in Las Brisas called Yakitori. We have several sushi places here already but since I am a huge sushi lover, I had to check this one out too. The food was delicious and the ambience and decor fantastic. It is right on the beach and the waiters take your orders with hand held digital devices. I really hope this restaurant makes it!

My friends and I checked it out another new restaurant a few weeks ago called Los Coyotes. It is an authentic Korean restaurant and the menu is in both Korean and Spanish. I spoke with the owner and he was explaining how the restaurant came to be. He was working with a large Korean company working on the regasification of the power plant here (official action is finally in place to make the switch to natural gas). It is scheduled to be finished in July 2011. As a result, there is a large Korean community here for a few years and he decided to take advantage of the market opportunity. He recommended several dishes for us to try and it was delicious.

Friends Michelle and Shelley trying the yummy food at Los Coyotes.

Sunday, on the recommendation of my friend Shelley, we rounded up the dogs and went out to El Rio de Mojo. This is a river outside of the city near a tiny town called Chandiablo near the entrance to the foot hills of the Sierra Manantlán.

This river is a place where locals gather on weekends to swim and have small fiestas. You are able to rent a small shanty style palapa for $60 pesos where you can get some shade, cook your food and spend your day relaxing. It is a beautiful spot and the water is great for swimming.

This was my first time here but Shelley said she had never seen it packed with so many families. I think it is a nice alternative than hanging out at the beach....especially since right now the ocean is not ideal for swimming because it is so rough.

Friend's Shelley and Teresa hanging out under our pseudo palapa

You are able to cook on the beach here. We saw other families who brought their own BBQ's or, like ourselves, made our own makeshift BBQ with rocks on the sand and briquettes. We had a delicious lunch of barbecued chicken, veggies and guacamole.

Jackson was in heaven as he loves to swim and immediately went for the water with Shelley's golden retriever Aisha.

Here they are swimming under the watchful eye of Jade.

And here Jade is actually swimming with the other two!

This is a moment where I almost cried out of pride and joy for her. When Jade first came into my life, she was absolutely terrified of water. She would not go near it. Since then, she has learned from Jackson and loves to get her feet wet in the ocean but that is about it. Right before the photo was taken above, Shelley, myself and the dogs were swimming and Jade could not stand being left alone so decided to come in and join us. After that, she swam over and over again. Watching her swim and get over her fear was such a wonderful moment for me!

Unfortunately, our swimming got cut short as one of the local women came up to me and told me that our dogs were not allowed in the water. She told me that is was un-hygienic, dangerous for the children, among many other things. She was so upset and would not allow me to get a word in edgewise. We removed the dogs from the water and went to speak to the owner of the land where we pay our rent for the palapas. He assured us that it was absolutely fine for the dogs to be in the water. They were clean, healthy dogs and he said if we had any further problems, to have them come talk to him. In addition, Shelley had been there on several occasions with her dog with no problems. At any rate, it was a wonderful Sunday spent swimming and relaxing. Thanks for a great day Shelley and Teresa!

Cultural differences

2009-05-18T14:32:00.004-05:00

Many of you have been asking me about my love life - or more specifically, do I have one?? I will say that yes, I am back in the intrepid dating scene BUT have decided not to get into details on my blog at this point. Even though I have decided not to comment on these details, I have decided to share a few cultural differences that make dating here in Mexico (in my opinion) refreshing and always interesting!

1. Mexican guys LOVE to dance and are so incredibly good at it. In my dating experience so far, this is often on the list of potential date options. It is just so refreshing to meet guys that actually love and WANT to dance. Finding a guy that likes to dance back home is a rare thing indeed. For those of you that have such a treasure in your life, make sure and tell them, thank you! I seem to remember the typical scene in Canada with only girls on the dance floor (none of the guys could be coerced into dancing)!

2. Chivalry is not even close to dead here. When walking on the street or sidewalks, they will move you to the inside, away from traffic. They almost always open doors for you, they will stand up when you leave the table or room , they will insist on carrying ALL your groceries and bags, and they almost have cardiac arrest if you suggest splitting the bill, let alone paying for it. I must say that I particularly enjoy the chivalry part of the so-called machismo culture here.

3. When meeting men here, I have discovered they will promise the sun, moon and stars to try and please you. For example, the other night I met a young man and we were chatting for quite some time when he pulled out his package of cigarettes and asked me if I wanted one. I responded "no thank you, I do not smoke". At this point, he declared (quite dramatically) that that particular cigarette would be his LAST one…..EVER. I am certainly not naive enough to think that he will stick to this promise, but I found it quite amusing, nonetheless. To my single friends in Canada - can you even imagine a Cdn guy doing this?

Side note: practically EVERYONE smokes here. The majority of my group of friends smoke (both foreign and Mexican) and it is much more socially acceptable than back in Canada.

Summer, here already?

2009-05-15T00:35:00.006-05:00

What? No, it can't be. But some random thoughts that tell me it is right around the corner:

• when running into friends, the first thing they ask is "wow, it is hot, right"? Formed as a question with the emphasis on "right"....secretly hoping that someone will tell them they are crazy and it is not yet time for 3 shower min days.

• you start sweating as soon as you wake up and the sun has not even risen yet. Showering seems to be of no use and the cold tap just never seems to produce water quite cool enough.

• you see frogs hopping across the road and other critters emerging from the bush

• people's hair appear to be getting bigger and more unruly each day. Ok, that is just my hair, but you know what I mean.

• you start planning your activities around the possibility of air conditioning.

• you sweep the floor and discover you have another pet in the house. Oh, wait, that is just a giant hair ball and yep, still only have the two dogs.

• you start to wonder if you are experiencing early-menopause and ask yourself if these are the hot flashes your mom was always telling you about.

But it can't be......RIGHT?

Courage wings

2009-05-12T13:47:00.009-05:00

I am set to move in to the new place in less than a month and I am feeling quite overwhelmed at the prospect of furnishing an entire house. I was doing fairly well until I sat down to work on the list of all the things I need to buy. My friend Shelley and I are heading to Colima this week for some serious shopping for the new place. Colima is the capital of our state and has a wider array of shopping than we can find here - Sam's Club, Home Depot, etc. It is about an hour's drive away and she offered to take me down this week to continue making headway on things for the house. When I sat down to finalize the list, I realized just how many things I need.....fridge, sofa, sheets, pillows, pots and utensils for cooking, plates, glasses, and the list goes on and on. I guess this is somewhat reminiscent of when I moved to the big city in Saskatoon to start university and moved into an apartment with my friend Tracey. However, I do not remember us being too stressed about it at the time. Mind you, I think we furnished our entire apartment with about $100 and mostly hand me downs from family and friends! And we were more excited about our new found freedom. Ahh, the care free days.....

On another note, I have been getting my resume out there and finally have it fully translated into Spanish. I had budgeted a year to focus on school, learning the language and immersing myself before looking for work. That year is fast approaching (2 1/2 months away) and is definitely contributing towards my stress level. On a positive note, my Spanish is really coming along and I have a few local friends who I only converse with in Spanish now. It is such a good feeling!

Soon, I will be saying good-bye to this apartment and the best thing about it - the amazing view. This view has inspired me and lifted me up on many occasions. I have written many a blog post on my balcony with this as my backdrop.

Bottom line is that I think the enormity of my decision to stay, and more importantly, doing it on my own, is really starting to hit me. My friend Lenise sent me this card back in September shortly after I moved here and left my ex. I still have it displayed on my fridge and have been referring to it alot lately for strength.

Update on several fronts

2009-05-08T10:23:00.005-05:00

I have a new place to live and will be moving to the unfurnished 2 bedroom house in mid June. I am very excited and nervous all at the same time! It will be good to finally have a larger space and the dogs will be in paradise with the huge yard. I even have a lime tree in the back yard along with some other trees and flowers. Unfortunately, I have anything BUT a green thumb so I may have to enlist some help on the gardening front! I am ashamed to admit this but once I was given a cactus and I could not even keep that alive. I guess gardening is just not in my skill set.

I also have already started to furnish the place. My friend Shelley let me know about a fellow Canadian who was moving and selling many things in his condo. Unfortunately, he had sold most things when I got there but he had two bedroom sets left complete with frames, headboards, matching night stands and VERY good quality mattresses (which are hard to find here). They are beautiful and very good quality and only a few months old. So, I purchased them at a bargain and then started to organize how to move them. The only catch was I had to move them out of his condo by this past Monday as the new owner of the condo was taking possession on Tuesday. Fortunately, the current renter in the house I am moving to was gracious enough to allow me to move the furniture into the spare bedroom.

One of my friends offered to help me move everything in his truck. I also enlisted the help of another friend since I was unable to be much help with the heavy lifting part due to my foot injury. Well, before the big moving day, he started asking all these questions - how big is the truck, how many truck loads will it take, is there enough clearance in the elevator or stairwells, etc. With some shame and embarrassment, I quickly realized I did not know the answer to many of his questions. As a result, he enlisted the help of another friend (now we have 3 guys for the heavy lifting), and I arranged another truck (just in case it did not fit in the one). Let's just say if it was not for him, there is no way we could have moved everything. We needed BOTH trucks and they were overflowing. The worst part of it was that most things would not fit in the small elevators and had to be carried down 6 flights of stairs!

3 hours later, along with a few trips by me to go get tools and other items from friends Stan and MJ, we had everything moved in to the new house. Well, almost everything. The one bed frame was too large to fit through the door. Yes, I had measured the rooms to make sure everything would fit but I had failed to measure the doors that they would go through! Oops! At any rate, the bed frame is in the car port until we can get back there with my friend's tools to take it apart so that it can fit through the door. It was a long night for my friends and we did not finish until midnight. After a few beers and some tacos, everyone was smiling again. A big thanks to everyone for all their help that night - I could not have done it without you!

I went to the monthly women's luncheon a few days ago and we had a local doctor as a guest speaker. One of the doctor's main topics was the current situation on the swine flu (or whatever I am supposed to be calling it now). She indicated that there have been 9 confirmed cases of swine flu here in Manzanillo to date with no fatalities. She also indicated that the face masks are not effective. As far as a timeline is concerned, she estimated another month or so before things calm down.

Yesterday, I finally met fellow blogger same life -- new location and his brother. He needed some help finding some specific/specialty items that he cannot get in Melaque and so I showed him where to find a few of those places here in Manzanillo.

It was great to finally meet him as I have been a regular reader of his blog for some time now. We spent several hours scoping out what the Manzanillo stores had to offer (or "reconnoiter" as Steve put it)! Clearly, if you have read his blog, it is clear who the good writer is - I use words like "scoping out" whereas he is much more articulate with words like reconnoiter. Strangely enough, I have heard the word reconnoiter used by two different people in the span of this week. It is not only my Spanish vocabulary that is expanding....

It was great to finally meet Steve along with his brother. We had a few harrowing experiences on the road but what would an adventure be in Mexico without a little excitement? We plan on getting together again in the near future with dogs in tow. He has an adorable golden retriever that I am looking foward to meeting.

Back to the beach

2009-05-02T10:37:00.003-05:00

I have been getting many questions about how my leg is doing, am I walking normally again, etc. First of all, a big thanks to all of you who have been sending notes of encouragement and support - I really appreciate it. As to my current state of gimpness, I can say that I am walking much better and have much less pain on a daily basis. One of the hardest things about this injury was the lack of mobility, not being able to do things for myself and not being able to go to the beach. The orthopedic specialist said that after I started walking again, I was to stay away from walking on the beach for about a month. That just about killed me as I am used to going there daily with the dogs. And there is something about the ocean that is good for the soul. Whenever I am having a tough time or need to contemplate matters, I go for a walk on the beach. I inevitably feel so much better afterwards. It is just good for the soul, I think. Anyways, not being to go for so long was really depressing and was not only hard on me but on the dogs too as they aboslutely LOVE the beach.

I am happy to report that I am getting better each and every day. I am now walking about one hour a day and am back to walking on the beach again a few days a week. Hooray!

One of my first days back at the beach - the dogs had a blast!

Here is Jackson after the beach - I think he is smiling

After we got back from the beach, my friend and I had a cold beer on the balcony. He had left his empty can on the coffee table and when I came into the living room, Jade had the can on the floor and was trying to lick out whatever she could. Ahhh, your Grandma would have been proud Jade. Sol was her favorite beer!

Limbo and falling coconuts

2009-04-29T08:58:00.003-05:00

I have been getting a bunch of e-mails asking about my moving situation and the bestway to describe where I am at right now is a state of limbo. To date, I have looked at many houses and apartments and the one I like the most and that would be ideal for me and the dogs is the 2 bedroom unfurnished house with the fenced yard that I have talked about in previous posts. I was supposed to find out last weekend if I can rent the house but as of last night, I still do not have confirmation. My friend that is currently renting is going to bring me over to meet the landlord this Saturday and hopefully I can then make some concrete plans.

In a previous post, I was stressing about furnishing an entire house but after much thought and deliberation (and provided I GET the house), I have decided to go for it. I think it is too good of an opportunity to pass up. So thanks to everyone for your advice and thoughts - I really appreciate it! In my current state of limbo over "THE house", I have continued looking at other places just in case that one falls through. In addition, I have found beds and bedroom furniture to furnish BOTH bedrooms at a great price! A fellow Canadian is moving and is selling the entire contents of his condo. I went over to his condo as soon as I heard but unfortunately he had already sold everything, with the exception of the furniture in both bedrooms. The beds are only a few months old and are great quality with frames, headboards and nightstands.

On an entirely unrelated note, one of the things I love about tropical places and Manzanillo, in particular, are the beautiful palm trees.

Often, you see men shimmying up the tree (without ropes) with machete in hand to cut down all the coconuts. It is quite a talent and incredible to watch. Yesterday, I was walking with the dogs near the beach along a street lined with palm trees. I was listening to my IPOD, in my own little world, when suddenly there was a loud thunk right next to me. It scared the living daylights out of me. A coconut had fallen from the tree and missed me by a few feet! Now, those who know me, are quite aware how accident prone I am as evidenced by several concussions in my lifetime. Up until now, I had never really considered being concussed by a coconut, or worse. I will be taking a wider berth around the palm trees from now on.......

Swine Flu and Manzanillo

2009-04-28T13:50:00.005-05:00

I have been getting a ton of e-mails from concerned friends and family about the outbreak of the latest flu virus. From what I can gather, the flu scare is mostly concentrated in Mexico City where they have closed down schools, churches, sporting events and other public places. This area seems to be where the most reported cases have been found. Here in Manzanillo, based on my readings and research, there have been NO reported cases (yet). If anyone knows any differently, please comment below.

In addition, no one is wearing masks here (yet) from what I have seen. For precautionary measures, they have recently closed down some of the schools here. I am not sure if all are closed but my friend's son goes to a private school and they have closed that one down until May 6. Some people are even stocking up on groceries because they are scared the stores will close too! However, there certainly isn't panic or mayhem, simply precautionary measures. I have also heard that the hospitals are prepared if there happen to be any outbreaks here.

If anyone has any other information on the virus and the Manzanillo area, please feel free to comment below.

Here is a fact sheet on the virus courtesy of the Public Health Agency of Canada (thanks Trev).

I think I have found a house!

2009-04-24T17:04:00.002-05:00

My life has been entirely consumed by trying to find a house to live in for the past week and I have not been able to do much else. I have been making phone calls, more phone calls, going to look at houses, apartments, reading classifieds, etc. Have I mentioned how hard it is to understand the Spanish language on the phone?

At any rate, my good friend Renee had called in the midst of all this and mentioned one of our mutual friends, a local dentist in town, rents a fabulous house and I have to go see it as the house would be ideal for both me and the dogs. I went and looked at it the other evening and it was pretty amazing. It is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a very nice neighborhood and the best part is the HUGE fenced yard. It would be paradise for the dogs - they would absolutely love it. Even better, the rent is CHEAPER than I am paying here! The place will be available in early June and I should find out by the end of the weekend if I can take it.

The only catch is that the house is not furnished and I would have to spend a fair chunk of cash to do so since I currently live in a furnished place. But I know that after looking at many places, this is far too good of an opportunity to pass up. As you know, I brought very little with me from Canada - just my dog, some of my clothes, and a few household items (5 large totes in total). This has been causing me a fair bit of stress as I am nervous to invest in furniture and things when I do not know when and how much work I can find work here. I had given myself a year (and budgeted accordingly) to focus on learning the language and immersing myself before looking for work. The scary part is, the end of the year is fast approaching. After talking with one of my girlfriends the other night, I realized that purchasing furniture, having my own things, making a home, etc. are making my decision to stay very real. It is putting money where my mouth is, so to speak. Before looking at this house, I was only searching for furnished places and never really gave it a second thought as to why. Now, I realize that even though I have made a conscious decision to stay, I have not started to lay down roots or commit to anything - other than building and nurturing friendships/relationships.

At the end of the day, I do want to stay and give it a go here on my own. This much I know. I love Manzanillo with all my heart and hope that I can find work here to support myself. What is really comes down to is fear and the reality that I am taking another risk to achieve my dream of being here.

Looking for a new place to live

2009-04-21T10:32:00.002-05:00

On the weekend, my landlord called and I discovered that they are raising the rent in my apartment to almost double the original amount. Ironically, from May to October, most other people reduce their rent for the summer months. None of my friends and neighbors can believe it, but hey, not all things make sense in this world. Everyone thinks they are crazy to raise the rent, especially since I have been away from this apartment more than I have lived in it (with my school in La Manzanilla, house-sitting, my injury, trip to Canada, etc). At the end of the day, this is for the best as I have been looking for a larger place anyway that is more spacious for the dogs (and when I have guests visiting from Canada). This just gives me the push I need to find a new place pronto!

As a result, I have been busy looking for another place to live. I have a few leads and am going to see another house today which I am very excited about. It is MUCH bigger than the apartment I am in, has two bedrooms, a big yard and the best part is that it is cheaper than the rent I am paying now! It is currently being rented by a man that I had a job interview with a month ago who is leaving for Australia soon. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Dogs like to spoon too!

2009-04-15T14:09:00.002-05:00

I could not believe it when I found them like this!

What are you laughing at? So, I like to snuggle!

So, it is that time of year again for the dogs to be de-wormed. My vet recommends I give the dogs pills to kill any worms/parasites they may have every 3 months. And apparently us humans here in Mexico should do the same once or twice a year. I guess that we could have amoebas or parasites and not even exhibit symptoms. So, a few days ago, the three of us all took our de-worming medicine. Hopefully, we are all now worm and parasite free!

Pippi is that you?

2009-04-14T13:38:00.003-05:00

No, that is just the orange in my hair after an unsuccessful attempt at highlights. I went for a haircut and highlights to my usual guy. However, this is the first time I have asked for highlights/color here in Mexico. I THOUGHT I had asked him (in Spanish) for two different color highlights - one was a caramel color and the other was an auburn color. I wanted both colors, but alternating. I clearly must have been in a fog because halfway through the process of him putting in the foils, I noticed there was only one bowl of highlight color. I asked him where the other color was. He was confused and replied that he had mixed the two colors together. ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGH! Panic ensued but all I could do was wait and see. He kept assuring me it would be a beautiful color. When the foils came off, all I kept saying was OMG. He said to that I was just not used to the change and to go home and see how I felt the next day. Well, since then, I have been in a ball cap! And every time I look in the mirror, I almost have a heart attack.

Now, I definitely take responsibility for the communication error. I am also going to have to step up my Spanish studying. But what do I do now? I have tried calling him to set up another appt to change it. I think he is still on vacation for Semana Santa OR maybe he is just avoiding me! Any suggestions?

Oh, and by the way, the picture really does not do the color justice. It is a bright, coppery orange color.

Critters

2009-04-13T14:10:00.003-05:00

Lately, I have had more critters in my house than usual. I think it is because my landlord is not fumigating as often. A while ago, I woke up in the middle of the night because Jade was making quite the racket and would not settle down. When I turned on the lights, I saw a large scorpion a few inches from her nose. I thought it may be dead but when I got closer, I realized this was not so as it's tail went up in warning.

A few weeks later, I found this on the wall in my kitchen. Not sure what was going on with it's legs.....maybe spiders practice yoga also.

So my question is this. How on earth are critters of this size getting in my apartment when there are screens on all the windows?????

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

I have visions of roasted turkey, families joining together and of course, chocolate! But alas, not going to happen for me this year. So, enjoy your families, enjoy the yummy food and have some fun (and chocolate) for me!
I think the thing I miss most about Easter is getting together with family. I have many fond memories of holidays, especially Easter. We would all gather together, eat, play cards and have lots of laughs. My mom would always buy little gifts for us, even as adults. In the gifts, there would be a little chocolate but it would mostly be comprised of practical household items. For example, one year I got a set of glass mixing bowls for baking. Very cool...that was my mom - always thoughtful and very practical!

Now I will share a good Easter story with you. I was in my first year university and Easter came along. I took the bus home so I could spend the weekend with my family. It was Good Friday and Mom was trying to convince me to go play bingo with her. First of all, I was completely broke. In fact, I had one more month of rent to pay in my apartment, and I did not have enough money to pay it. I was in a huge bind and I had no idea what to do about it. The way it worked was that my parents scrounged up enough money for my tuition and I was responsible for paying the rest. Well, I had not budgeted correctly and was short for my last month of rent. My parents did not know my predicament and I could not even fathom asking them for the money.

Ok, back to the bingo saga. I do not particularily enjoy the game so was not really enamored with the whole prospect of going. Well, mom was insistent and basically strong armed me into going and told me she would pay for my cards and if either of us won, we would split the money. So, I begrudgingly went to bingo with her. Wouldn't you know it, I won a HUGE jackpot and mom refused to take her half of the money. And not only was it enough to cover my rent for the next month, I would not have to live on ichiban noodles!

Everytime Easter comes around, I think of this story and how I clearly had angels looking out for me (even though I gambled on Good Friday rather than going to church!!)

Happy Easter everyone!

Family visit

2009-04-07T12:18:00.014-05:00

In February, my family came to visit me for the first time since I moved to Manzanillo. They have come many times before but this was their first time visiting while I live here. My father, his girlfriend, her nephew and his friend along with another couple came. In addition, my brother was able to come around the same time. Everyone was here for 2 weeks and it was great to see them. My brother Trevor arrived first and stayed with me at my apartment the first night. My friend Shelley offered to lend me her car so that I could head out to the airport to pick him up. Thanks again Shelley - that was so thoughtful of you.

It was so good to see Trevor - it had been over 7 months since I saw him last. When we arrived at the apartment, Jackson just about lost his mind, he was so excited to see him. It was pretty cute actually. That first night, we went out to to Trevor's favorite pub and then went out to my friend's bar . A few of my friends came out that night so he was able to meet some of the people in my life here.

Trevor enjoying a "cold one" on my balcony

Good friends Rob and Mike out on the town with us- fellow canucks

My father and crew arrived the following day and we met up with them at the condo where we have always stayed. Trevor stayed with them in their condo for one week and then with good friends Bonnie and Warren the second week.

On a side note, I managed to see my dad at Christmas time when I went to Canada for a visit. He came up to Calgary one day for a visit and we went out for supper. Even though it has nothing to do with this post, I had to include this photo as it is a classic! We went out for dinner to a greek restaurant and here he is with the belly dancer. Look at that grin! Is that a $5 dollar bill Dad? Tee hee

Don, Dawn, Lorri and Dad enjoying Happy Hour

As always, Trevor had his ball glove and was on the beach every day getting in some play time.

Margaritas anyone?

Boys night out

Good eats

One evening, my friend invited us to go to the local rodeo. Both Trevor and I were not sure about it, but thought we would check it out. No one else wanted to go so it was just the three of us. It was a very interesting experience and I am glad that I went. The rodeo we went to was in Santiago at the Plaza de Toros. It consisted soley of bull riding. Of course, there was a 15 piece band belting out banda music and couples would dance in the stands between bull rides. From what I observed, the rodeo is a big family outing and children barely old enough to walk donned cowboy hats, boots, buckles,etc. It was adorable to see. Here is Trevor with his new friend's cowboy hat. This is one of my favorite pictures - I laugh everytime I see it.

Giddee up!

Of course, a visit to Manzanillo would not be complete without a visit to the local botanero, La K'Melia. This is a place where you pay for your drinks and they continue to bring out plate after plate of yummy Mexican tapas until you cannot eat anymore. In addition, if you recall from previous posts, there is a live band along with other entertainment where they get "volunteers" from the audience and make them do crazy things. I gathered a big group of people together and we went one afternoon. It was a blast - lots of laughs.

Mike, Trevor and Rob

The whole crew came out

My friend Winter aka Mommy Dearest

Trevor and Marta

Since I clearly had this coming to me (right Camelia?), karma stepped in and I was "volun-told" to go on the stage along with 5 other women. You have to do a number of crazy things, including drinking copius amounts of tequila poppers, having a young Mexican waiter give you a pseudo lap dance (with clothes on, of course) and after doing the tequila shots, they do this to you (video shot by Mike):

Trevor and Thomas also had to go up when it was the boys turn. I also have this on video if anyone wants a copy sent to them. I am not going to publish it here since this is a PG site!

Thanks for the great visit guys! I miss you.

PATA Manzanillo spay/neuter clinic a huge success!

2009-04-01T13:12:00.004-06:00

The PATA Manzanillo clinic that I talked about in my last post ended last night. It was a huge success with over 280 animals spayed or neutered at no cost in just 5 days! I believe that the largest number of animals in one day was around 70! Mind boggling, really. In addition to local families bringing in their pets, there were some street animals that were brought in that ended up being adopted! Overall, I found the clinic very inspiring and rewarding. I watched all the vets and volunteers working tirelessly day after day witnessing their passion and love for animals. It was incredibly heartwarming to watch these vets perform surgery after surgery and still have a smile on their face at the end of the day. Not only that, they receive no monetary reward - they volunteer all of their time. What an incredible experience! I ended up spending several days tattooing identification numbers on the animals as well as helping out in post operation recovery. My fellow volunteers were joking that I should set up my own tattoo business here in town. After accidentally tattooing my finger when a dog started waking up from the anesthesia while I was working on her, it was very clear that this is not a new career path for me!

Local volunteers Lance and son Dylan looking after a puppy in the post operation recovery area

Local volunteer looking after a chihuahua named "Bella" right after surgery. This little dog took longer than usual to come out of anesthesia as her body temperature was quite low and the volunteers had to work hard to bring it back up to normal. Socks filled with rice are warmed up in the microwave to help warm up the animals.

Saturday night around 9pm- our longest day with around 70 animals. This is one of the vet students Gustavo using his own body heat to help warm up a dog recovering from surgery while taking a much needed break!

A brief look in the surgical area. Here 3 vets are performing surgeries. Local vet Dr Gaby is seen opposite the volunteer assisting in the yellow shirt.

Here is Marta, a vet from Guadalajara, checking on one of the dogs that just came out of surgery. She is the one who taught me how to tattoo the identification numbers on the animals

Here is a dog just waking up and ready to be moved into a kennel to await her owners to come pick her up. Isn't she adorable?

3 darling puppies that came in with their mom who had surgery.

One of the volunteers Judy looking after this cutie in post operation recovery

We had alot of little cats like this one come through the clinic.

Here are our fearless leaders of Pata Manzanillo. On the left, standing up, is local vet Dr Gaby Leyva along with Renee, organizer extraordinaire. This was taken at the gathering of vets and volunteers last night. They were thanking all the vets, vet students and other volunteers that came out for the clinic.

Back at home

2009-03-30T10:07:00.007-06:00

I am back at my own house after 3 weeks of staying at my friend Michelle's house. It is great to be home! I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for everything Michelle did for me while I was laid up. Not only did she have to look after her 3 year old, she had to look after a cranky gimp as well. Once again, a big thank you to Michelle for all her help over the last 3 weeks. I hope that someday I can do something to repay her.

At the condo where my family were staying the day they left to go back to Canada

After two weeks, I had to go back to the orthopedic specialist for an assessment and was able to have the hard splint removed. Let me tell you, it was not pretty when I looked down at my leg and foot! I am sure you can imagine after two weeks of not being able to put any weight on my foot, wash or even shave, my leg was in quite the state. It was a black and blue, stinky, hairy, little chicken leg with little to no muscle left. The specialist assured me this was normal since muscles start to atrophy in a matter of days.

I have started rehabilitation exercises and have been off crutches for several days now. I think the best part was saying goodbye to those damn crutches. It has been a slow and incredibly frustrating process but it feels really good to be moving again. Apparently, it takes about 6 weeks for a ligament tear to heal. After that, I will have to work very hard to get back to the mobility and strength I had before the fall.

My friend Shelley has generously offered to come by and walk the dogs for me until I am stronger and can do it on my own. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful, generous friends in my life.

The 4th annual PATA Manzanillo spay/neuter clinic started on Friday. It is a 5 day clinic where local families can bring in their pets and/or stray animals in their neighborhood to be spayed/neutered at no cost. Local veterinarians and vet students, along with vets from other parts of Mexico come to volunteer their time. The clinic is run entirely by volunteers in an effort to reduce the over population problem. The local people of Manzanillo volunteer in many ways from day to day activities at the clinic - checking in the animals, post operation recovery, administering vaccinations and medicines, to feeding the volunteers, housing the vets from other cities, lending and/or donating supplies, animal crates, etc. It is amazing to see what can be accomplished in a matter of several days. Since this is a cause near and hear to my heart, I have been helping out. As I am not that mobile, one of the veterinarians suggested that I could learn how to tattoo the animals (as I can do this sitting down with little to no walking). This year, an organization has generously donated the tattoo identification system which is similar to tattoo and microchip identification systems in Canada and the US. After being trained by one of the veterinarians, I started tattooing. After the animals come out of surgery, while they are still anesthetized, I use a tattoo machine to give them their ID number. After that, they immediately go to post operation recovery where they are cared for by volunteers until they wake up.

We've reached the half-way point of the spay/neuter clinic to GREAT (and record-breaking) success thanks to all of the volunteers. A record breaking number of surgeries have been completed thus far: 48 on Friday, 67 on Saturday and 60 on Sunday-- 175 in total and with still two days to go. Local press is even taking notice: we made El Noticiero newspaper on Thursday and the Correo de Manzanillo newspaper two days in a row with a full-page photo spread. Click on the link if you want to check it out.

Life as a gimp

2009-03-18T16:00:00.004-06:00

...is incredibly dull and boring. I am trying not to go insane from the inactivity and having to constantly keep my foot elevated. Since my accident, I have been staying at my friend Michelle's which is a beautiful, grand house with a large patio that has the most beautiful view of the bay. All things considered, I cannot imagine a better place to be laid up. My days consists of studying Spanish, reading books, writing, watching tv and trying to check e-mails/blog when the internet connection so permits.

I have been very lucky to have Michelle looking after me....cooking meals, getting me glasses of water, taking my dogs out, etc. It is a regular zoo here - there is Michelle, her 3 year old son, myself, my two dogs, her two dogs and a cat. Fortunately, Michelle found someone to walk my dogs 6 out of 7 days a week. The gardener from across the street comes by to pick up the dogs after he has finished his normal day job. He takes them for an hour walk each day and afterwards, both Jade and Jackson like to cool off in the pool.

The first week here, I was on alot of medication and was not quite lucid enough for studying so my days mostly consisted of sleeping and laying with my foot elevated. I also had a few friends come by for a visit which was a huge treat. They have all come up with entertaining nicknames for me - peg leg, club foot, gimp, etc. After almost a week, I finally left the house for the first time and went to one of our favorite restaurants/bars Frida's for live jazz night. It was soooooooo great to get out of the house and visit with my friends. Then on Monday, Michelle had a barbecue where alot of our friends came by for an afternoon fiesta.

On the weekend, I actually went out for dinner one night and took another giant fall on the slippery tiles in the restaurant bathroom. Fortunately, my shoulder and knee took the brunt of it and I am just a little more black and blue than before. My friend had to come into the bathroom to collect me.....very humbling as I am sure you can imagine.

Between the cobblestone streets, the potholes and the slippery tiles, it will be a miracle if I make it through my time on crutches without any more falls! Here's hoping!

You are going to have to wait for photos and blog posts from my visit with my family as the internet connection is too slow here to upload any pictures.

I have fallen and I can't get up...

2009-03-11T11:27:00.003-06:00

Well, at least that was the case on Friday evening. I caught a taxi home after playing cards with my brother and some friends. As I got out of the taxi, I slipped and fell and I heard something snap in my foot. I have fallen on my street in the past as it is a crazy cobblestone street with about a 45 degree incline. And yes, I tend to be on the accident prone side. However, this time, I was not able to stand up and was in so much pain, I nearly vomited. The taxi driver picked me up and carried me to the bottom of the stairs leading up to my apartment. I phoned my friends Mike and Rob who were with me playing cards and they came to pick me up and brought me to the hospital right away.

I arrived at the hospital and within a matter of minutes was taken for X-ray's. While this was happening, they paged the orthopedic specialist and he was there by the time the x-rays were finished! They reviewed the x-rays with my friend Mike (who went to med school) and it appeared that there were no fractures. After a full assessment, they told me I had torn a ligament in my ankle and would be in a splint and on crutches for the next several weeks. Apparently, this takes much longer to heal than a bone fracture and I am looking at approximately 6 weeks of recovery time. For the first few weeks, I am not allowed to put any weight on my foot and must keep it elevated at all times. After the assessment, they gave me a pain injection through the IV and put a splint on my leg/foot. From start to finish, my hospital stay was just under one hour. The orthopedic specialist even gave me his cell number to call him anytime with questions or concerns. Wow, very impressive considering that if I were in Canada, I would be still sitting in the waiting room trying not to kill someone as I sat there for the typical 10-12 hour waiting period.

Overall, I was so impressed with the level of care in the hospital. I also could not believe how fast they took care of everything. And on top of that, to have an orthopedic specialist arrive within 10 minutes is unbelievable.

I want to give a big shout out to Mike and Rob for looking after me that night. I love you guys and I do not know what I would have done without you! You are my knights in shining armor!

Before this happened, my friend Michelle had asked me to come stay with her in their house for 3 weeks while her parents were away. After the accident happened, she graciously let me come to her house one day earlier and has been looking after my dogs and I ever since. She has been cooking for me, bringing me water and basically doing everything for me since I am not allowed to put any weight on my foot and getting around with crutches is quite the ordeal. It is incredibly humbling not being able to do anything for yourself and having to rely on others for simple things like a glass of water. I have not been adjusting to my reality so well and am going a little stir crazy not being able to do my daily walks and exercise. Fortunately however, Michelle has been a godsend and words cannot express how grateful I am for all that she is doing. I am not sure what I would have done without her. So, a big thank you to Michelle. Someday, I hope I can repay her for all she has done for me.

I have not been able to do too much since Friday. I am supposed to keep my foot elevated at all times so I have been in bed most of the time or on the deck under the palapa. I am on alot of pain medication so I have been pretty dopey and sleepy the last few days but that should improve once the inflammation in my foot has gone down and I can go off the pain pills. I am able to access the internet from the deck some of the time but not consistently. Once I am doing better, I will be able to negotiate my way up the stairs to the room where the modem is and post some photos and a few more blog posts on my visit with my family. I have also had a few visitors come by which has been great. Thanks for the treats everyone!

Life is short

2009-02-17T14:55:00.004-06:00

Recent events here in Manzanillo have caused me to think about my life, my path and the things that I am grateful for. These events have reminded me that our lives on this earth are sometimes very short. I have been thinking about this alot the last few days and as a result, have been reflecting on my life.

I am grateful for so many things. I feel very fortunate that I am able to be here in Mexico as this has always been a dream of mine. My savings are not going to last forever so I hope that I am able to find enough work here so that I can stay and build a life in this beautiful country. There were many times when I was not sure I would stay here in Mexico as things did not work out as originally anticipated. However, around December, there was a shift whereby I started feeling settled and happy for the first time in many months. At this time, I realized that I am meant to be here and I sincerely hope I am able to stay. Obviously this shift is a a result of many things.....I have met some very special people and made some amazing new friendships. This has helped my transition considerably. Volunteering for the animal organization has also been very rewarding and given me a great opportunity to contribute and give back to this community. I think I also realized that I can do this by myself and that I am stronger than I sometimes think. My Spanish classes have also contributed to this sense of well being.....I am able to communicate so much better.... with my local friends, when shopping in the markets and out in the community.

I am also very grateful for my family and the amazing friends back home that I consider to be family as well. You have all been so supportive and encouraged me to pursue my dreams and given me strength and inspiration when needed.

In addition, I feel very close to the spirit of my mother here. In moments of difficulty and when I have felt very low, I always feel here with me, encouraging me to continue on.

The other day, a friend of mine shared with me a song that is very special to her. This song inspires her and gives her strength when needed. I thought I would share a bit of this with you, as when I read and heard the lyrics, it really resonated with me and all the things I had been reflecting on the past several days. Some of you may be familiar with it already but as I do not typically listen to country, I am sure that I heard it many years ago but had never really listened to the words. Here is an excerpt (not the entire song)from the lyrics of "The River" by Garth Brooks.

You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And a dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores...and

I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry

Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow
Has now become today
So don't you sit upon the shoreline
And say you're satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance the tide...

And I also thought I would share a photo that gives me strength and inspires me. It is also my profile picture so you may recognize it. This is a photo of my mother, myself and several of my mom's dear friends. It is symbolic of the way my mom lived her life and the way I am trying to live mine.....living each moment to the fullest, because life is short and we only have one shot at this one.

J&J update

2009-02-16T07:10:00.006-06:00

A few of you have been asking about Jackson and Jade so here are a few shots and a quick update.

While I was in Canada for Christmas, friends Shelley and Lance looked after the dogs here in Manzanillo. They also have a dog, an adorable golden retriever who is 6 years old. Even though she was the oldest of the three dogs, she and Jade became fast friends and played non-stop.

Here she is being pinned by Jade at the end of one of their rambunctious wrestling sessions.

Jade is still very much a puppy and has far more energy than I ever remember Jackson having when he was young. Every day, she brings a smile to my face with some goofy maneuver or spectular wipeout. In La Manzanilla, when Tara and I were there, we went for a swim while we were walking with the dogs. For the first time ever, Jade went in over her head and swam out to join us! Coming from a dog that would not even get her paws wet, seeing her swim for the first time was a very special moment.

You gotta love those crazy "Yoda" ears!

As for Jackson, he is doing great. He loves our daily trips to the beach and puts up with Jade's crazy antics. As always, he is very independent and trys to keep to himself most days. After being coaxed by Jade, he will play with her for a short time, especially after a bath.

Enough with the photos already...let's head to the beach!

Taking a break on the beach in La Manzanilla

More visitors

2009-02-13T12:50:00.006-06:00

The new year has been busy and full of wonderful moments with good friends. I have been very lucky to have have had two sets of visitors already this year. As mentioned in my previous post, my good friends Barb and John from Seattle came to visit, along with a surprise visit from her two sons on her birthday. A matter of days after they left, my good friend Tara came to visit for one week. She is a very good friend of mine and we used to be roommates at one point also. We had a blast while she was here. I took her to as many of my favorite places as possible and we packed in alot of activities while she was here.

Here she is with her new favorite drink - the infamous lime margarita. "But I hate tequila" she says to me before trying the drink. Clearly, this is not the case anymore Tara!

One of the highlights was boogie boarding in some of the big waves on Olas Altas beach. It was Tara's first time but she was a complete natural. I, on the other hand, in my typical accident prone fashion, decided to take on a wave much too big for me and proceeded to smash my face into my board on the way in. Luckily, there were no black eyes or bruises....just a not so subtle reminder of the power of the ocean!

We also did a day trip to La Manzanilla with the dogs and walked from La Manzanilla to Boca de Iguanas - the amazing hotel/resort at the far end of the beach. It took us about an hour to walk there and then we stopped and had some lunch and cervezas before making the trek back.

Here is Jackson also enjoying the view while we ate lunch on the beach at Boca de Iguanas

How come you guys get the good drinks and I only get water?

While Tara was here, so many people asked us whether we were sisters. In fact, one man asked us if we were twins! He was a twin and said our resemblance was uncanny and he was surprised that we were not twins, let alone sisters.

All in all, it was a week chocked full of laughs, fun in the sun and some crazy nights out with all my friends. We did have one bad experience though. We went out for what I had hoped to be a nice send off dinner. The view was specatular and we enjoyed the evening up until about 2am when we both quickly discovered we had food poisoning. Imagine two girls violently ill with only ONE bathroom. It was quite the night. Fortunately, I had these chinese herbs that are meant for this very purpose, but had only been used to combat hangovers in the past. We decided to give them a try and after we took them, there were no more trips to the bathroom for either of us! Hallelujah......they are miracle pills and I was so happy to have them. Thanks to my good friend in Calgary for recommending them in the first place. They were a lifesaver!

The view from the restaurant

Post Super Bowl party festivities with my friend Mike (another canuck)

I was very sad to see Tara go.....one week is way too short but we packed in as much as we possibly good. Thanks Tara for coming and all the lovely goodies you brought from Canada. Red licorice......hmmmm, they are almost gone! The dogs love the treats and I cannot wait to read all the English books you brought.

Guess what....I have more visitors coming! My brother Trevor comes next Friday and he will be here for 2 weeks! Also, my dad and his girlfriend are coming next Saturday. I am very happy and full of anticipation as this is the first time my family has come to visit since I made the move here.

In remembrance

2009-01-29T16:32:00.007-06:00

Since returning from Canada, I have been busy here in Manzanillo looking for a new place to live, catching up with friends and getting back into the swing of things. My internet has been down at my house for the last several weeks hence the reason for being incommunicado. I am working on a long term solution so I hope to be connected again soon. Also, I had some friends come visit from Seattle for two weeks and they just left yesterday. My friends Barb and John along with their two sons Dave and Jeff came and we had a wonderful time together.

The Thompson family

Barb and John were here on January 23, which was the anniversary of my mother's death. On that day, Julio, the gardener from the condos we used to vacation at, cut and gathered a bunch of fresh bougainvillea flowers to spread near my mom's final resting place. John and Barb had offered to come with me and went to the market to pick up some other flowers. They asked me if there were any specific flowers that I wanted. I thought that the flowers the gardener was gathering for me would be sufficient but then at the last minute asked them for an orange gerber daisy. When I arrived at the condos to meet up with Barb and John, Julio had the flowers ready for me in a bucket. Directly in the middle of the all the beautiful bougainvillea flowers was a single orange gerber daisy.

Barb and John had not yet come down from to meet me so I assumed that this was the gerber daisy that I had asked for. When they came down, I showed them the flowers and thanked them for the gerber daisy. They were quite confused and said that no, they had not in fact put the daisy in with Julio's flowers. They had purchased a full bouquet of gerber daisies, including an orange one as I had requested. When they went to show me the bouquet, to all of our amazement, the orange one was missing. The stem was still there, but it had apparently fallen off on their way up to their condo. Julio must have discovered the daisy on the ground and put it in the center of the flowers he had cut. We were all quite astonished and dumbstruck when we discovered that the one specific flower I had asked them for ended up in the flower arrangement without intending for that to happen. One might say that my mom's spirit was very much present for such a thing to happen. I like to think so. It was a beautiful moment and to this day, I still get goosebumps when I think of that moment. I have had a few other moments like this here in Manzanillo. It gives me a sense of peace that I feel her spirit with me.

We walked down the beach to my mom's final resting place and after some tears and me saying a few words of remembrance, I spread the flowers in the water. It was a picture perfect day and I felt very blessed to be able to be here, and secondly to have my dear friends Barb and John with me. They are like family to me and have been and are very supportive in my life.

Mom's final resting place

When I think of my Mom, there is one thing that immediately comes to mind and that was her passion for life and her ability to live each and every moment to the fullest. Mom had so many amazing qualities but this particular one has truly inspired me and is one of the biggest things I will take away with me in my life. So many people live their lives in robot mode, going through the motions, not really present in their lives. This was definitely not the case with Mom. She lived each and every moment to the fullest. When I think of Mom and the legacy she has left behind, I think of her amazing spirit, how vibrant she was and how many lives she has touched.

Another special thing happened on this day. My good friend Renee had a healthy baby boy! This beautiful moment reminds me of the circle of life.

Back from Canada!

2009-01-12T13:15:00.005-06:00

I am back in Manzanillo and have been quite busy since I returned. Sorry for my absence from the whole blogging scene. I should be posting on a regular basis from now on. I got back to Manzanillo the first week of January and was housesitting/dogsitting/catsitting for some friends that looked after my dogs while I was away. I just returned to my apartment recently and it feels good to be home and in my own bed. The dogs were happy to see me and I them! I missed them so much while I was gone.

My trip back home was fantastic and went by incredibly fast. It was a flurry of non-stop visiting, eating, drinking and the typical over indulgences of the holiday season. It felt very strange when I arrived in Calgary. Everything was familiar but yet I knew it was no longer my home. First of all, it was -25 degrees Celcius and there was heaps of snow. I get off the plane adorned in capri pants, open toe sandals and all my Mexican wear. What a shock to the system! My friend Camelia picked me up from the airport with all the winter necessities....winter boots, winter coat, mitts, scarf, etc. And she even went to get the car to pick me up in the front so I would not freeze walking to her car. What an angel!

I stayed at my old house (which I had sold to one of my good friends) while in Calgary. When I arrived, it was very strange as the place had been completely renovated. It looks amazing and Lenise and her parents did an amazing job. It was nice to be back in my old house along with some of my things. I even got to sleep in my old bed! Both Camelia and Lenise had left me a welcome home present of some of my favorite things - my favorite cookies, my favorite wine, etc. Even though it was very late when I arrived, it took along time for me to wind down.....I was excited to be home and see all my friends and family. With all the Christmas lights and snow, it finally felt like Christmas.

The Christmas lights in front of City Hall

The next morning, Camelia, her husband and I went out for dim sum - one of my favorites. I had a long list of foods I wanted to eat while in Calgary, and I pretty much crossed everything off that list. The straining waist band on my jeans is definitely a testament to this! My friends here in Manzanillo wanted me to take photos of all the ethnic foods I ate while in Canada as we cannot get some of them here.

One of our dim sum delicacies

Afterwards, it was my good friend Michelle and Mike's daughter's first birthday party. I was so happy I was able to be back for this special event. She has grown up so fast and is adorable as ever.

A picture of the birthday girl and her amazing Elmo cake made by mom aka Martha Stewart! Very impressive cake!

From there, I went to my welcome back party at Camelia's. It was alot of fun and great to see all the crew from Melrose Place and a few people that were my mom's dear friends that dropped in by surprise. We had lots of laughs and it was so nice to see everyone. Brad even was a good sport and brought out his "Hugh Heffner" smoking jacket for all the ladies! I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

Some of the crew from the party

My favorite cupcakes from Crave - they taste even better then they look!

The infamous smoking jacket!

A big thanks to Camelia for hosting and organizing this event. It was so much fun and I still laugh out loud when I see the photos.

Well, all of this in my first 24 hours in Canada. There are many more adventures to write about! Stay tuned.......

A white Christmas!

2008-12-24T12:27:00.003-06:00

I arrived safe and sound here in Canada several days ago. It was a huge shock to the system as it was -25 degrees Celcius when I arrived and there was a significant amount of snow on the ground! Camelia picked me up from the airport with a winter jacket and many warm clothes for me to wear. My suitcase was pretty much empty on the way here as my sandals and tank tops would hardly suffice! Luckily, my friends have lent me sweaters, winter boots, etc so that I do not freeze my butt off!

It has been wonderful to see everyone and I have been very busy since I arrived trying to meet up with all my friends. My first night back, my friends had a welcome home party for me with lots of lovely food (including my favorite Crave cupcakes) and wine. We had a great time and had many laughs reminiscing about old times. A big thanks to Camelia again for organizing the party and making sure I was all set with warm clothes and all my favorite things! I also want to thank Lenise for letting me crash at her house! It is so surreal to be back here in my old place.

Since I have arrived, we have been going out to different restaurants and enjoying all those culinary delights that I have not had in quite some time. My first morning back, we went out for one of my faves - Dim Sum. Since then, we have gone out for Vietnamese food, Ramen noodle bowls, and last night we had some friends over and Camelia and I cooked an organic turkey with yams, potatoes and then enjoyed Saskatoon Berry Pie for dessert from the farmer's market. Next on the list is Thai food, Indian food and of course, Alberta beef! We are planning on doing a prime rib roast for New Years Eve. Hmmmmm........

I have been taking lots of photos of all the food and all my friends but unfortunately, I forgot the cable to transfer them to my computer. Oops! I will definitely post all the photos when I get back to Mexico.

Today, I am back on the road and am taking the bus to Edmonton to spend Christmas with some family. I am really looking forward to seeing them and catching up. Then, I will be back in Calgary for the rest of my stay. I feel so fortunate to be here and definitely have many things to be thankful for this holiday season. A big shout out to Camelia and all my wonderful friends who made this trip possible! I love you guys.

I also want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. I hope you enjoy every moment with friends and family.

Making a list....checking it twice

2008-12-17T19:59:00.002-06:00

I am so excited to be going back to Canada for Christmas. I have been busy unpacking from my month in La Manzanilla, making lists of things to buy in Canada, and most importantly, making lists of things to eat while I am there. Don't get me wrong, the food here in Mexico is delicious and I am loving every bite! And the seafood here is to die for. However, there are some things that I do miss. First and foremost is the utterly divine Alberta steak. I have sampled many a steak in my travels around the world and none of them have held up to good 'ole Alberta beef. Obviously, that was first on my list. Even with the crazy cold temperatures in Calgary right now, I am more than willing to man the grill in my toque (a hat for all you non-Canadians) and scarf for a barbecued rib-eye. I have also been missing Thai, Indian and Vietnamese food which are all within a few minutes drive of where I am staying in Calgary..........I am salivating at the very thought! Oh and let's not forget Dim Sum! Apparently, the first morning after I arrive, Camelia has us set to go for Dim Sum in China Town. The anticipation is killing me! We also have an organic turkey on order from the market for Christmas dinner.

The irony of all this food talk is that I am sitting here writing this whilst eating a toasted tomato and cheese sandwich! I know, I know......but, I just had this craving and it is such a good fall back when you have absolutely nothing in your fridge and do not feel like going out. I remember when my mom lived with me for a while in Calgary, we would both return from work and look at each other and say.......what do you feel like eating? On those days when we (or shall I say I) did not feel like cooking, we would look at each other and say in unison....."toasted tomato and cheese". Ahhhhhh, comfort food. Or, if we were not in the mood for that, we would go for our usual "29A" from the Vietnamese restaurant just a hop, skip and a jump away. Hmmmm...........Good eats...

Going home for Christmas!!!!

2008-12-15T11:39:00.005-06:00

I just found out a few days ago that I am going back to Canada for Christmas! When my friend Camelia found out my brother and family were not coming here to Mexico for Christmas, she started canvassing my friends and family to try and collect money to purchase my ticket home. As a result, a significant chunk of my plane ticket has been covered. What an amazing Christmas present! I am so touched....words cannot express what this means to me. So, a BIG thanks to Camelia and everyone who contributed to my plane ticket. I have the best, most thoughtful friends in the world!

I am so excited to see everyone and visit the mountains. Here is a shot from Sulphur Mountain in Banff

I am a little nervous though as the temperature in Calgary right now is -24 degrees Celcius. It is going to be a huge shock to my system after spending almost 5 months here in Mexico. For Calgary, this temperature is very cold and they only get extreme temperatures like this one or two weeks of the winter. And it looks like it is there to stay for a while. So, it would appear that I am heading back to the coldest temperatures of the winter!!!! But, my girlfiends are going to lend me sweaters and boots and I have my winter coats, scarves, mitts, etc packed in a box there that I can use.

I will be staying at my old house - the one I sold to my good friend Lenise. Oh, and I am very excited to build a fire in the fireplace.

Here in Manzanillo, it does not feel like Christmas to me. There are lots of Christmas decorations and things in the malls, but it is a disconnect for me because of the warm weather, I think. I know once I step off that plane in Calgary and see all the snow and Christmas lights, it will feel like Christmas very quickly!

And I will not be able to make snow angels like this here in Mexico!

Last day in La Manzanilla

2008-12-12T13:17:00.007-06:00

Today is my last day in La Manzanilla. It is hard to believe that I have been here for 4 weeks! My Spanish has improved considerably and I have a solid base to improve upon. I will have to make a concerted effort to continue practicing on a daily basis once I am back in Manzanillo.

I have become quite attached to my host family here in La Manzanilla and I will miss them dearly. The family and I have developed a strong connection and Rosaura and I have become good friends. They are a very special family and I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity to stay with them and get to know them. I know that we will be life long friends. They have asked me to come back and visit which I will do often. Natalia, the 3 year old, and I have also developed quite a bond. Every day, when I come home from school, she yells out my name and comes running to me and gives me a huge hug. She likes to crawl into the hammock with me and always ask me to sing the same lullaby every day - Rock a Bye Baby. I sang it to her one day and since then, she demands that I sing it to her daily!

Isn't she precious?

Rosaura wanted to learn how to make lasagna, so earlier in the week, we gathered all the necessary ingredients and I taught her how to make my favorite lasagna recipe. The whole family loved it and thinks that Rosaura and I should open a restaurant here! She has also asked that next time I visit, I teach her how to make risotto.

Ketzali and Gina

It is going to be an emotional goodbye for me this evening. It will also be a big adjustment for the dogs to have to go back to my small apartment after being free to roam and play outside all day. They absolutely love it out here.

More on La Manzanilla and weekend fun

2008-12-08T11:58:00.006-06:00

Last week, here in La Manzanilla, the family I am staying with had a lobster night. They invited many of their friends over and we had a huge lobster feast. What a feast! It was delicious and a big treat.

The father, Hugo preparing the lobsters.

Rosaura cooking the lobsters. She is am amazing cook!!

Elizabeth, the other student in my Spanish class had her last day of class on Friday before returning back to the US. Here she is with one of our teachers Miguel on her last day.

The sunset was stunning that night.

This is my last week here in La Manzanilla. I would love to continue and take more classes but finances and the current situation in the financial markets will not allow it at this time. I have a solid base and will continue to work hard in Manzanillo and practice as much as I can.

On the weekend, I went back to my apartment in Manzanillo and went to a retro costume party for my friend's husband's birthday party. The ony requirement for the party was that you had to dress retro but were not restricted to any one era. Given that I was in La Manzanilla all week, I was not able to organize a costume. Luckily, friend Chelsea let me raid her closet and I was able to put together a disco outfit for the night. There were some great costumes and the creativity was fantastic! My friend Nuly, the organizer, had hired a DJ who played great retro music all night and even had laser/light shows and dry ice! Definitely retro! We danced into the wee hours of the morning.

Chelsea and I in our costumes. Her outfit cracked me up!

Organizer Nuly and birthday boy Nick

Rob and Sandra

I never thought I would say this....

2008-12-01T21:46:00.004-06:00

...but I am cold! I am actually wearing a bunny hug right now (hoodie for all the non-Canadians) and have goosebumps. I am being completely serious. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining or anything and fully realize that it is ridiculously cold back in Canada, but I just never thought I would feel cold here. I guess after living here for several months, my body has acclimatized. It is such a strange sensation to feel cold after several months of sweating bullets! When I arrived in class, our teacher was talking about how cold he was today and I was thinking, what???? When class finished at 7pm and I was walking home, I was wishing I had a sweater!

As for the weekend, I went back to Manzanillo. I went out salsa dancing with some girlfriends on Friday. I had not salsa danced in quite some time - it was so much fun. We also went out dancing again on Saturday night. Dancing is good for the soul - I was feeling kind of low and after all that dancing, my spirits are definitely lifted and I feel so much better. I spent alot of time with my girlfriends and was just thinking today about how lucky I am to have made such wonderful friends here. I also got in some beach time with friends which always makes me feel better!

A girl riding her horse on the beach and rode right up to the beach bar we were hanging out at

Here she is with my friend's husband Rob and their little girl Olivia

On Sunday, I helped out with a one day PATA spay/neuter clinic for stray animals in a poor part of Manzanillo. Similar to my experience last week in Melaque, it was very rewarding.

Well, I am on week 3 of my Spanish classes and they are going really well. There is only one other student in my class (there are other students in the school but they only put you with people at a similar level).

The other student Elizabeth (from the US) and one of our 4 teachers - Valentin (he is also a teacher in the local high school).

Here is Rosaura and children Ketzali and Natalia after returning from church tonight.

La Manzanilla

2008-11-28T12:47:00.006-06:00

Overall, my homestay experience has been amazing and has been a huge part of my learning experience. The family I am staying with are wonderful and try to encourage me every day and help me with my speaking. In addition, the mother Rosaura, is an incredible cook and I have been eating new and interesting things every day. Breakfast is served around 10am and the biggest meal of the day is lunch around 2:30 - 3:00pm. A lighter dinner is served around 9pm. One of the more adventurous things I have tried was menudo soup for breakfast. This is soup with tripe and some vegetables. For those of you unfamiliar with tripe, this is made from the stomach of a cow. The soup and tripe was very flavourful but the texture of the tripe might give some people some issues! We eat alot of fresh fish on a daily basis also including red snapper, mahi mahi, etc which I love. Some of my favorite dishes are her chicken enchiladas and her shrimp al diablo (devil). Her pozole is really amazing also.

The children are really adorable and I learn so much from them everyday. They absolutely love my dogs and asked if the dogs could stay with them last weekend when I went back to Manzanillo for the weekend. Last night, they asked if Jackson could sleep with them in their bed. He is not going to want to leave here - he is spoiled rotten!

Here are the three of them - Hugo Junior (14) holding Natalia (3) and Ketzali (9). Natalia and Ketzali had just returned from birthday party with face-painting.

Ketzali and her friend Alexis doing crafts

The house seems to be dog central and all the neighbors dogs seem to congregate here on a daily basis. Rosaura is very generous by nature and cannot help but feed them too!

Chato - the neighbor's boxer and his puppy Rocky

Oh, and here is my roommate. I have learned to accept him, albeit begrudgingly.

The critters here are very large! I feel as though I am back in Australia! Hugo Senior and one of the neighbors were clearing out a lot the other day and came across two huge rattlesnakes. They ended up killing them with their machete and brought back the skins for us to see. I kind of lost my appetite for dinner that night!

I like to walk on the beach in the morning with the dogs before I start my daily homework. The beach here is beautiful and a great walking and swimming beach. This is a very dog friendly town and I often see several dogs on my daily walks on the beach.

Cisco's Amigos - Spay/Neuter Clinic in Melaque

2008-11-26T13:39:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, I took the bus early in the morning to a nearby town called Melaque to help out Cisco's Amigos with their free spay and neuter clinic. This is a local not-for-profit charity organized by La Manzanilla ex-pat, Julie Wagner-Shuetz and has a similar mission to PATA, the organization I volunteer for in Manzanillo. They promote sterilization and offer free spay/neuter clinics for stray animals and animals of low income families to lessen the over population problem and reduce the number of stray animals on the streets. They had three veteranarians come from Mexico City that volunteered their time for this wonderful cause. The rest of the tasks like sterilization of instruments, post-op recovery, cleaning kennels, getting supplies, feeding volunteers, housing the vets, etc were all performed by the amazing group of local volunteers.

I was immediately put to work in the post-operation recovery area where the animals are laid out on mats and covered in warm towels because their body temperature fluctuates as they come out of anethesia. We would watch over them and turn them every 5 minutes or so. In addition, we would make sure they were still breathing, clean their ears, remove ticks, give vaccinations and de-wormers, etc. Once they started moving and coming out of the anethesia, we would move them to a kennel. On average, the three vets were doing 30-42 animals per day! Yesterday morning, it was mostly cats and we could barely keep up with the high number coming out of surgery.

The post-operation area and the small room where all three vets performed the surgeries (through the small window). You can see the 12 or so animals post-surgery recuperating under the warm towels on the mats.

The post-op area and crew

One of the dogs pre-surgery!

One of the volunteers in charge of cleaning surgical instruments

Some small kittens that just came out of surgery. They were so tiny (less than a kilo), I kept checking to make sure they were still breathing.

Overall, it was definitely an inspirational and rewarding experience. I am sure the vets back home would be amazed at what could be accomplished in a matter of a few days and in a bare-bones surgical environment like the one we had to work with. By the time I had to catch the bus to go back to La Manzanilla for my Spanish class at 4pm, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. It was a very rewarding experience and I am glad that I was able to help out. I met the other amazing volunteers - a collection of foreigners and locals that clearly love animals. I was also had the opportunity to practice my Spanish with some of the local volunteers. Both PATA and Cisco's Amigos will be doing another large clinic each in late March - PATA in Manzanillo and Cisco's here in the Melaque area. I will definitely be helping out with the next clinic. If anyone is interested in helping out with the next clinic in Manzanillo, send me a note. We need all kinds of volunteers, we also need kennels to use on the days of the clinic, we need drivers, etc.

Dog Jog and general update

2008-11-24T11:32:00.010-06:00

Sorry I have not been more diligent on my blogging this past week. The Spanish immersion program is wonderful but alot of work and it was very overwhelming the first week so I was studying and practicing my Spanish most of my free time.

On the weekend, I went back to Manzanillo for the dog jog in support of PATA. The 5km race started at 8am so we all met bright and early Sunday morning at 7:30am to register and hand in the money we had raised.

Registration

There ended up being approximately 50+ participants and the total raised was $20,000 pesos (approx $1,830 Cdn dollars)! In addition to us foreigners/ex-pats, there was significant partication from the local community. Overall, the event was a success and the weather was wonderful. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was not too hot since we started so early. For those of you who pledged me on the walk, the total amount I raised was almost $4,700 pesos and I won a prize for the top fundraiser of the event! So a BIG thank you to everyone who supported me - your generosity is greatly appreciated.

The walk/run began at 8am and we did a 5km loop around the Santiago Peninsula. Some people ran with their dogs, whereas others walked the loop.

A photo of one of the views from the 5km loop.

There were prizes for fastest human and fastest canine. Here is a photo of the first place canine - one of the only other beagles in town - Bogart.

Shelley and her dog Aisha - full-time residents here orginally from Calgary. Her and her entire family (including husband Lance and son Dylan) ran the entire race.

Our fearless PATA leader and organizer extraordinaire Renee (in the middle)

Full-time residents Stan and MJ (orignally from the US) who are big PATA supporters/volunteers

The dogs and I

The rest of the weekend was good - I caught up with my friends and went out dancing one night and hung out at the beach with everyone on Sunday. It was great to see everyone. The dogs and I managed to get a ride this morning to La Manzanilla from some workers from Boca de Iguanas (hotel/resort owned by friends Renee and Rob).

Here is a photo of the Bramblia's house where I am staying in La Manzanilla.

Family dog Gina

Here is daughter Natalia (age 3) along with the family dog Gina

More photos to come of the rest of the family!

Spanish Immersion program in La Manzanilla

2008-11-18T19:49:00.002-06:00

On Monday, I started a new Spanish immersion course in La Manzanilla, a small fishing village one hour north of Manzanillo. It is a very intensive program where I take Spanish classes for 3 hours per day 5 days a week. In addition, I do a homestay with a Mexican family that do not speak any English. I will take this program for the next month to try and improve my Spanish.

I arrived in La Manzanilla Monday morning with the two dogs in tow. The director of the school met me once I arrived and brought me to meet my family and get me set up, show me around town, etc. The family I am staying with are a young family (early 30’s) with 3 children and a Chihuahua. The children are very sweet and the middle child Ketzali (age 9), has taken a keen interest in teaching me various nouns and phrases when I am not in class. The family is wonderful and has accepted me and the dogs with open arms. Today, I had classes for 6 hours instead of the usual 3, so the father Hugo took my dogs to the soccer field to play fetch with them. I have my own room (Ketzali has generously given up her room and is sleeping in her brother Hugo’s room) . Part of my homestay is to have meals with the family and we all sit down together where I have ample opportunty to practice my Spanish. All of the family members are very encouraging and are helping me gain much needed confidence in my speaking abilities, comprehension and pronunciation.

My first day in La Manzanilla was challenging and a little overwhelming at times, but I have learned so much in a short time. One of my two Mexican teachers, named Miguel,is a wonderful teacher. Tomorrow, I will meet the other teacher Valentin. They paired me up with one other woman from the US who is close to the same level as me, so there are only two of us in the class. The class instruction is entirely in Spanish where we listen to the teacher (and each other) and work on comprehension, talk and work on our pronunciation, listen to Spanish songs and translate, watch Spanish movies and work on more comprehension, etc. In addition, we have homework each day, where we must keep a daily journal entirely in Spanish. The following day, we read our journal entry aloud in class. I very much like the intensity of the program and the full immersion will certainly help move my Spanish to the next level.

La Manzanilla is a quaint little Mexican town with a population of approximately 1,500 people . In the tourist season, they also get about 300 foreigners who come to live for the winter. Clearly, they have already started to arrive, as I have noticed many Canadian and American license plates on my walk to school this afternoon.

The beach here is beautiful and I plan on bringing the dogs there each morning for a long walk before I start the day and begin my studying and homework. My Mexican family has warned me to stay away from the lagoon as there is a large crocodile sanctuary where apparently the crocodiles favorite food is dogs!

The dogs have settled in nicely and have made many new friends. In addition to the Chihuahua Gina, there are several other dogs that hang out in the house I am staying. Chato, a very large boxer, pretty much lives here along with one of his puppies named Rocky. The house has a large yard that is not fenced but when I arrived, I let the dogs off the leash to explore and meet the other dogs and I have not put them back on a leash except when I leave the house to take them for a walk. They absolutely love the freedom of a yard and have made many new friends.

There are several places here that have a wireless connection so I will be able to keep up on my blogging and checking e-mails. I will also post some pictures of the family and town very soon. Well, I must get back to my journal en espanol!

Halloween in Mexico!

2008-11-16T14:13:00.008-06:00

This post is a little belated as I was waiting for all the pictures from my friend Kris and have been busy with my friend from Canada who just left to go home.

We had a girls day/night (sleepover) at my friend Renee's house in the last week of October and decided that we were all going to dress up and go out for Halloween. I was absolutely thrilled as I love dress up and have thrown a few fundraisers back in Canada that were costume parties. A friend of ours was having a costume party and then we planned on going to our friend's bar Sunset Lounge afterwards.

So, the brainstorming began over sushi, yoga and drinks.....

Friends Chelsea, Rosy, Renee and Kris

Jade, Jackson and Nick watching us brainstorm from the balcony

Chelsea and Kris doing some yoga moves and getting inspired

The views from Renee's balcony

We only had a week to buy materials, make costumes, and get organized for the party on October 31. There were 6 of my girlfriends that decided to dress up with the same theme. One of my friends suggested being fairies but all different kinds with our own unique flair. The brainstorming continued into the next morning at brunch and after alot of caffeine, Chelsea started sketching and came up with the vision! I would be Winter Fairy, Chelsea would be Garden Fairy, Kris would be 80's Fairy and Renee would be Fertility Fairy.

After brunch and caffeine, we went off to the fabric store to purchase the materials and accessories for our costumes. Since I am hopeless at sewing and these sort of domestic duties, I paid Kris's housekeeper to sew my skirt. She did a fabulous job and I am so glad I was able to outsource this part of the costume!

Halloween finally arrived and four our of the 6 fairies gathered at Kris' house to do our makeup and final touches on our costumes.

Chelsea doing Kris' makeup

Renee aka Fertility Fairy

The four fairies ready to go! Fertility Fairy, Garden Fairy, Winter Fairy and 80's Fairy!

Off we went to the costume party and met up with our other fairies

All of the guests from the costume party went to Sunset Lounge to continue to the wee hours of the morning.

There were alot of fabulous costumes - loved this one! Nacho Libre!

It was a fantastic time - we all had a blast. It took weeks before I got all the glitter and pixie dust off!

Wendy is here!

2008-11-10T09:45:00.002-06:00

I have another visitor here who arrived on Saturday! Wendy and her son Logan are here along with her son's friend Nick. I have been busy showing them all the sights and taking lots of pictures and have a few blogs in the works which I will finish as soon as I have some time. Will keep you posted!

2nd Annual Dog Jog - I need your help!

2008-11-06T13:18:00.006-06:00

I will be participating in the 2nd Annual Dog Jog here in Manzanillo on November 23. This is a 5km run-walk on the Santiago Pensinsula to raise money for PATA Manzanillo's free spay/neuter programs. PATA Manzanillo is an amazing non-profit, all volunteer group dedicated to the welfare of all dogs and cats in Manzanillo. Their goal is to end needless suffering, promote sterilization to lessen the over population problem and reduce the number of stray animals on the streets, and help animals to find and stay in suitable and loving homes. To date, in the 3 years since inception, they have spayed/neutered over 900 stray animals here in Manzanillo! If you do the math and think about how many puppies or kittens each animal would have had, this has helped save literally thousands of animals lives. They estimate that there are over 16,000 homeless dogs and cats fighting for survival on the streets of Manzanillo.

So, I need your help. I am looking for people to pledge me for this 5km walk. I am trying to raise as much money as I can for this wonderful organization. For those of you here in Manzanillo, just let me know if you would like to donate and I can arrange to come by and pick it up. For those of you out of town, you can still pledge me on-line using your visa or bank account! Just click here, scroll to the bottom and you can donate on-line via pay-pal through PATA's website. This is a fully secure way to make a donation. If you do not already have a pay-pal account, it just takes a few minutes to sign up. If you do donate on-line, can you leave a comment here on my blog to let me know so I can track how much I raise? Thanks in advance for your support!

Clearly, this organization has made a huge difference in the few years since inception and has significantly reduced the number of stray dogs and cats here. I am very happy to be a volunteer for this amazing charity. Every day, I see stray dogs and cats on the my daily walks and it would break your heart to see the state they are in.

Adventures with Alex - Part 3

2008-10-30T13:58:00.007-06:00

We took a full day trip with friends Stan and MJ to Comala while Alex was here. We thought it would be good for him to experience another part of this great state. Before we arrived in Comala, we went to the La Hacienda de Nogueras which is a restored hacienda just outside of Colima city. It houses an amazing eco-park along with a museum. This hacienda was purchased and remodeled by famous artist Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo. In the museum, there are amazing pre-hispanic pottery pieces dating from 500 years B.C. to 600 A.D. THe museum also features many of Hidalgo's early paintings. They ask for a small donation of 20 pesos per person to enter.

The eco-park was a nice surprise and we saw some beautiful flowers, many varieties of cactus, turtles, birds, etc.

Here is Alex amongst the bamboo. I have never seen bamboo this large.

Next, we went to the small town of Comala. The town is famous for it's cobblestone streets, whitewashed buildings and views of the volcanos. The town is also famous for it's "botaneros" which surround the central plaza. These are pubs where people go to have a drink and receive free "botanas" (snacks), usually with live mariachi music. There are typically many different mariachi bands competing to play their songs. Songs typically cost around $5USD.

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MJ, Alex and Stan in one of the botaneros. The food was fantastic and we tried ceviche, enchiladas, tacos, burritos, and guacamole to name a few.

We had a few different mariachi bands play for us.

Adventures with Alex continued

2008-10-28T12:06:00.003-06:00

While Alex was here, I tried to bring him to as many different places to eat as possible so he could try as much local cuisine as possible. One night, we were invited to my landlord's place where she had it catered by a local Mexican chef. She served Chiles en Nogada. This dish consists of poblano chiles stuffed with "picadillo" (a mixture containing ground meat, fruits, and spices) topped with a walnut-based cream sauce and pomegranate seeds, giving it the three colors of the Mexican flag (red, green, and white). The presentation was absoloutely beautiful and in retrospect, I wish I would have taken a picture. Here is a photo that I found on the internet so you can get a sense of what it looks like.

It was absolutely delicious and Alex said it was his favorite Mexican dish that has tried so far.

Another day, we met friends Kris and Renee for lunch at their favorite seafood place. It is a little seafood stand on the left side of the road right before you get to Hotel Playa de Santiago called El Aliviane (although I do not remember seeing the name anywhere).

Alex, Kris and Jade

Renee and Kris suggested that we get there early (noon) because if you wait until normal Mexican lunch time (3pm), they are typically sold out of most things. When we arrived at noon, it was full of local people already. They serve almost everything raw in a cocktail glass (small, medium or large) where you can add your own condiments like chile, worstershire, lime, ketchup, magi, etc. Alternatively, you can eat it directly on a tostada. They give you a list of all the fresh seafood that they have that day like shrimp, oysters, scallops, crab, clams,etc.

Here is a photo of my lunch selection which includes cooked shrimp, raw scallops and raw oysters. It was absolutely delicious and the freshest seafood I have ever tried.

Alex and I enjoying a cold beer with our lunch

Adventures with Alex

2008-10-25T13:01:00.010-05:00

While Alex was here, we were invited to a restaurant opening in Las Hadas near the marina called Frida's. It was a great way to meet some new people, both expats and locals alike. It was a very young hip crowd and we had alot of fun.

Alex, Wayo, Chelsea, and Kris

Alex showing his feminine side with my friend Chelsea!

That day, Alex and I were trying to decide whether we were going to do a trip to Guadalajara the next day for some sight-seeing. I had dog care lined up already. However, after talking to some locals we discovered that there was a tropical storm in the area and it would likely be raining cats and dogs there. As such, we decided to change our plans and go somewhere else the following day. However, we had not yet decided where to go. At the restaurant, friends Kris and Renee were telling us about Boca de Iguanas, an eco hotel and resort in Costalegre approximately one hour from Manzanillo near the town of La Manzanilla. It is a resort owned by friends Renee and Rob and they invited us to come out there to check it out. Kris and Renee were also heading out there so we were able to catch a ride out there with Kris.

Alex and Kris's dog (a dog rescue from the street) on the way out to Boca.........somebody was tired from the night before!

Boca de Iguanas is an amazing place! It is a little piece of paradise. There are two cabanas right on the beach and 10 other rooms in the hotel portion that are all designed a little differently. Our room was amazing.......our bathroom was open air concept with bamboo above the shower and tub. It was one of the most amazing and unique places I have ever been to. From our hotel room, we would walk through mangroves to get to the pool and the beach. In the mangroves, we saw large iguanas, spiders, egrets, and even crocodiles!

Walking through the mangroves on the way to the beach

One of the resident crocodiles

The infinity pool on the beach

Alex had fallen through his chair by the pool! After laughing and getting my photo op, I finally helped him out of the chair!

Alex enjoying a cerveza by the pool

Beach shots

The beach was beautiful and we had it all to ourselves until the last day

We were originally only going to stay for one night as Debi was looking after the dogs. However, once we were there, we fell in love with this beautiful place and phoned Debi to see if she would keep the dogs for one more night. She graciously said yes, and we stayed in paradise yet another day. Our last day there was Thanksgiving......no turkey for us!

On our last day, there was a film crew there. Apparently, the reality show "Paradise Hotel" from Denmark was there filming for a few days.

Thanks to Renee, Rob and Kris for a fantastic weekend! And a big thanks to Debi and Ron for looking after my babies. It was their first time away from me here in Mexico and they had a fabulous time! Here are a few photos from their sleepover. They were in paradise also swimming in the pool, playing in their big yard,etc. I don't think they wanted to come home either!

Jade had fallen in the pool by accident while chasing the other dogs - she is definitely not in there because she wants to be!

What do I want?

2008-10-25T00:43:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine asked me the other day what it is that I want from life. What comes next for me? What am I doing here in Manzanillo? What I am searching for? Well, I have thought about this long and hard and I think the answer is this. I want love, I want happiness, I want to find someone to share my life with that loves me for who I am. I want to move forward from the past and no longer repeat past patterns. I want a partner who is available, emotionally and otherwise that wants the same things as I do. I want to laugh, I want to enjoy every moment, I want peace, I want balance. I want to cry less and laugh more.

I am not sure what comes next for me. What I do know is that I am taking this one step at a time and trying not to repeat past mistakes. I want to learn the beautiful Spanish language, which is what I am working on. I want to have some harmony in my life where all things in my life are as they should be - nourished and balanced. I want to enjoy every day and every moment. Here in Mexico, I am accomplishing some of these things little by little. I see beauty everywhere here and have wonderful moments of peace.

A beautiful moment on the beach - I love this time of day.

In memory of my Mom

2008-10-22T10:14:00.011-05:00

Yesterday would have been my mom's 55th birthday. I decided to go down to her final resting place here in Manzanillo where we scattered her ashes. I spent the morning down there with the dogs and thought about her, her life, all the things I loved about her and how much I miss her everyday. I thought about all the wonderful memories, including 10 years of fun times here in Manzanillo on our vacations.

Jade and Jackson playing in the ocean near Mom's final resting place

Jackson taking a break from fetch (Mom loved him and would call him her "granddog")

Mom, my brother Trevor, and mom's good friend Wendy in San Francisco for her surprise 50th birthday present. We took her to see her favorite baseball team - The Toronto Blue Jays in Oakland. What a fun weekend!

Mom sitting by the pool on our trip to Mazatlan

Trevor and Mom

Diane, Bev, Linda, me, Mom, Joan and Barb in Manzanillo

Mom in Comala, Mexico giving a present to a young Mexican boy

In remembrance of Oso

2008-10-20T22:06:00.002-05:00

Today, one of the dogs in my neighborhood died very suddenly. I still cannot believe it is true. A few days ago, this cute dog (Oso) was following me, Alex and the dogs home. And today, he is no longer with us. Oso was owned by one of my friend's neighbors. My friends saw this dog this morning and he seemed fine and his usual self. A few hours later, he was lying in the street, not able to even lift his head. My neighbor and I had discussed taking him into the vet. We were concerned that the owner did not have the financial means to do so. We discussed expressing our intentions to them. However, by supper time, he was gone, and it was too late.

Due to the suddenness of his death, the speculation is that someone poisoned the dog. Apparently, this has happened in the past in this neighborhood. I clearly have no evidence and am not saying that is what happened. If this is in fact true, I am so disheartened and disappointed in mankind.

This dog was a common fixture in the neighborhood. On my daily walks to and from home, I would see him several times a day. He would come up and play with my dogs, I would pet him, and then he would follow us home. It was like clockwork. And today, we did not see him. He was a part of our lives and I had come to grow very fond of him. I guess this whole situation makes me think about life, death, living in the moment, cherishing those we love in our lives, and remembering what is most important to us. I guess that is the reason why I felt compelled to write about this.

So today, I would like to say that I am thankful for everyone in my life, canines and humans alike. I appreciate every single one of you. You make my life worth living.

I am back!

2008-10-19T17:11:00.001-05:00

No, I have not dropped off the face of the earth. I have received several e-mails wondering why I have been MIA. I apologize for worrying you and being a delinquent blogger. One of the main reasons I have not blogged in the last few weeks was that I had another visitor here in Manzanillo! Another reason was that my landlord moved the modem upstairs to the house that my apartment is connected to and unfortunately, my internet connection is shoddy at best now. I am looking into getting my own modem....until then, my internet connection seems to be hit and miss. I promise I will be back to my usual blogging and will try and make it up to you.

Back to my visitor....Alex phoned me one morning and informed me he was at the airport and on his way here! He arrived that night which was a wonderful surprise! We had a fantastic time while he was here and I have alot to write about. He had been talking about coming back to Manzanillo for a visit (he was here in August) but it was not looking good with his work and business travel schedule. And then surprise - he was on his way! It truly was wonderful timing as I had been feeling quite blue so his visit did wonders for my spirits.

We managed to pack in alot of activities while he was here and we were out of town for part of it. I will dedicate the next few blogs to filling you in on all our adventures.

When he first arrived, we spent the first few days just relaxing. We were able to hang out at the condo complex I used to vacation at and swam in the pool, boogie boarded in the ocean, played cards, etc.

We are both fairly competitive at pretty much everything we do so even our games of cribbage got a little extreme with trash talking and the like. I am now the current reigning cribbage champion!

One of the highlights was the surfing lessons we did on Olas Altas beach in Santiago. It was on both of our "bucket lists" and we decided to try it while he was here. We took lessons with Ricardo from Bora's and he and his friend were good instructors. It was an absolute blast and we loved it. We both managed to get up on our boards several times(which was fantastic as according to our instructors, many people can not even get to a standing position their first time). Unfortunately, I have no photographic evidence of us surfing, so you are just going to have to take my word for it! We both had some spectacular wipeouts but managed to survive the experience, although exhausted and incredibly sore for the next few days. I have a new found respect for surfers and their level of physical fitness.

We also went out to several friends houses for dinner or drinks. Here is the view from my friend's house in Las Hadas. What a beautiful sunset that night.

Stay tuned for more of our adventures....

Have I Acclimatized?

2008-10-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

My dad asked me the other day if I had acclimatized yet to the crazy hot and humid heat that we have been experiencing here in Manzanillo. Many of you have asked me this same question so I thought I would address it in this post.
Since I had only ever been to Manzanillo during tourist season in the past (November - May), I had yet to experience a summer here nor hurricane season. In the 10 years I had been vacationing here, I had only seen it rain once and while it was hot during the day, the humidity was not too bad and the evenings cooled down very nicely. Sometimes, in fact, I remember putting a pashmina or cardigan on when I was out for dinner in the evenings.

One of the first things my local friends said when I told them I was moving here to Manzanillo was, how on earth are you going to handle the heat and humidity of the summer months/hurricane season? Well, now I fully understand why everyone kept saying that to me!

Of course, I arrived in Manzanillo in the hottest month possible and the very start of summer and hurricane season. Clearly, I like to do things the hard way! Bottom line, it is FLIPPIN HOT here in the summer! And so, to answer your question as to whether I have acclimatized, the answer is a resounding NO. I have never experienced heat and the oppressive humidity that is typical of the summer months here. It tends to rain a lot but mostly in the evenings and everyone definitely welcomes the rain as it cools things off for a while.

But one thing I will say, is that I am starting to get used to constantly sweating, only walking the dogs before 9am and after 7pm, having multiple cold showers per day to cool off, and becoming one with the fans in my apartment. One of my friends was shocked when I said that I no longer use the hot water tap in my shower. He said, how on earth can you take a cold shower? Then he came to visit, and fully understood. It is one of the ways to truly cope and cool off. In fact, many Mexicans here do not have hot water at all. It is simply not required.

On a daily basis, I am in awe of Mexican woman who are walking around in high heels and polished outfits, looking completely fabulous without a drop of sweat on their body. I often wonder to myself, how do they pull that off? The answer is simple – acclimatization! One thing I have yet to achieve and may in fact never achieve.

The other day, it had cooled off a bit as it was storming and I was relishing the breeze. Ahhhhh, love, love, love the breeze. When I took a shower that night, I actually used some hot water in my shower for the FIRST time since I had arrived. What a thought!

I am starting to get used the heat a little bit though. I barely use the air conditioner in my room anymore, as I find the fan more than sufficient. I also carry a towel or napkins around when I go on walks to mop off the sweat that is pouring off my forehead. I never knew I could sweat so much.

So, there you have it. This sweaty Canadian is about to go and take her 3rd cold shower of the day!
PS Still do NOT miss winter and snow though!

Meeting new people and yet more birthdays

2008-10-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

On the weekend I went to a birthday party of a person I had recently met who is my age. She had a few girls over to her house for wine and appetizers so I was able to meet some more people (both ex-pats and locals). It was great to meet some more women my age. They were wonderful and were an absolute riot. I had been having a rough week and really needed that. It was so good to laugh and it really lifted my spirits. This week I feel like a new person. Last week, I had been feeling really terrible, so much so that my mexican mom brought a doctor over to the house. Apparently my blood pressure had dropped to a super low level and I had to go on some medicine to bring it back up to normal. After a few days of being on the medication, I started feeling much better.

I think being sick and cooped up in the house definitely did not help my emotional state and I hit an all time low. I was talking with a friend of mine and said that I think I am only now dealing with everything that happened. Initially, when I first moved into the house, I was in task mode getting settled, buying things for the house, meeting my neighbors, starting spanish class, etc. Then, I had two different sets of visitors and was busy having fun and visiting with them. Now that life has become somewhat normal, routine and my visitors have gone home, I can no longer avoid everything and have to deal with things. It definitely sucks and is really tough but something I have to go through. A big thanks to "mommy dearest" and my mexican mom who were there when I had a bit of a meltdown. They both lent a shoulder to cry on and were wonderful in helping me through some tough moments. I feel very fortunate to have these people in my life.

I went to another birthday party earlier this week at the condo complex where I stayed every year when I used to come here on vacation. My mexican mom invited me and I had a great time. It was all local people, there was great ceviche, dancing, and one of the men played acoustic guitar and was a fabulous singer. It was also a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to share as i had forgotten my camera. I know, I know.......it will not happen again!

Spanish class has been going very well - I feel like things are starting to sink in a little bit. I am still going 3 days a week and then also spend many hours studying, reviewing vocabulary and verbs.

I went to a woman's luncheon today called Mujeres Amigas. This is a women's group that meets once a month and is a great way to meet other local women. There is also a book exchange where you can find books and magazines in English. They also bring in speakers on various topics. It was nice to meet a few more people in town.

On a completely unrelated matter, the new Starbucks opened last week. I cannot even believe that there is a Starbucks here in Manzanillo now. This town has changed so much over the last 10 years.

And since I have no other photos to share with you, I will leave you with some pictures of my babies!

Que paso?

2008-09-28T23:49:00.000-05:00

So many of you have been asking me about Jade and the street puppies. Here is a dog update.

Back in August, I wrote a post discussing the two street dogs and their puppies that required homes. Many of you have been asking me about these puppies and wondering if they have found homes. And the answer is a resounding YES! I am so pleased to report that the litter of 10 puppies by the brindle mother down by the OXXO store have all gone to a loving home. The litter was reduced down to 7 puppies as a few of the little guys did not make it and one up and disappeared (it was the really cute black and white one which we hope was adopted by a loving home).

At any rate, thanks to ex-pat Debi, she has found a loving home for ALL of the puppies! She also brought the mom in to get fixed so she can no longer reproduce. Debi is an ex-pat from Canada who is a HUGE dog lover and feeds alot of the stray dogs around town, brings them into the vet to get fixed, takes sick animals into her home to nurse them until they are rehabilitated, etc. Bottom line is this woman has a huge heart and all of the street dogs that she comes across are well looked after or find the care they need thanks to her tireless efforts.

The other puppy litter of 4 dogs (check out the picture from the previous post), also have found loving homes thanks to Teresa and Steve. Teresa and Steve have looked after the mom and the puppies from the get go and managed to find homes for all of them (including her own home)! She has gone through countless issues with those dogs and many a vet visit.

So, two big success stories in Santiago village! Thanks to all the hard work of Debi and Teresa, 11 street pups have found loving homes. It just goes to show that one person can make a huge difference in whether an animal lives or dies.

Many of you have been asking about Jade, my recent dog rescue off the streets of Manzanillo.

Initially, she was living outside on my porch while I was feeding her, bringing her in to the vet to treat her many medical problems, give her all the necessary vaccinations and trying to get her healthy overall. Now, she is doing really well. She has some meat on her bones (you can barely see her ribs anymore), she is free of ticks and fleas and was fixed recently so she is not able to have puppies. Emotionally, she still has massive abandonment/separation issues and freaks out anytime I leave without her, but I am hoping in time, this will pass. She is very affectionate and follows me everywhere.

Please, please, please let me live inside with you. I will be good, I promise!

I am sure this will not come as a shock, but she is no longer living outside and is now living in my apartment with Jackson and I. She is adjusting really well to living indoors (versus on the streets) although she still trys to eat whatever is in the garbage can. Old habits I guess..... She is very smart and has learned to come when called, to sit, to wait to eat her food until I give the go ahead, etc. She is an amazing dog and I am very happy that she has came into my life. I honestly cannot imagine life without her!

Another birthday!

2008-09-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

Today is Jackson's 5th birthday. This week is chocked full of birthdays in my family. My niece, my brother, my father and my dog Jackson.

So today, it is all about Jackson!

Jackson at 2 months old

Ok, I got up the stairs, now you expect me to go DOWN?

I often wonder what he thinks of his new home in Mexico.

Some random musings from the point of view of Jackson

- Why is it so freakin' hot here all the time?
- When is it going to snow?
- I love, love, love the new dog park (aka the beach). Why is the water so salty?
- Who the hell is this new dog in my house with the big goofy ears? Who does she think she is shoving me off my own bed and chewing on my toys? This sure is one long sleep over...
- Why can't I eat the hens on my street?
- How come all the other dogs are not on a leash?

His favorite place in Manzanillo

His new bed that he gets to sleep on some of the time- THANKS Auntie Camelia!

Happy birthday to a special girl

2008-09-23T14:35:00.000-05:00

Today is my niece's 11th birthday. I have been thinking of her so much and so I decided to write a little something to honor her today. I have been thinking about all our fun times together, looking at photos and laughing out loud. Doing these simple things has completely brightened my day!

Top ten things I love about this amazing girl (in no particular order):
- she is an old soul and very mature for her age. Some of the things that come out of her mouth are mind boggling.
- she has this ability to make you laugh at any given moment. If she sees that you are sad or struggling, she always trys to put a smile on your face
- she has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I have ever met. She must have a hollow leg as that girl can pack back more desserts than most adults.
- she has the biggest heart in the world
- she is frighteningly intelligent and perceptive
- she is the only person I would allow to coerce me into going on an amusement park ride, puke my guts out and then continue going on more rides!
- that girl can dance!
- she loves to play cards and can beat me at crib already! Wait until she is playing poker with the family - watch out!
- her wit and sarcasm (she comes by it honestly)
- her big beautiful smile.

Some of my all time favorite moments:
- taking her on her first flight to go to a family renuion. She was three years old and when the flight attendants sat down for take off, she looked at me in horror and said, "Aunty, why are they sitting down and who is going to fly the plane???". Once we arrived at the reunion, my relatives were roasting an entire pig on a spit. She took one look at it and then declared to me: "I am NOT eating any of that chicken!!!" I still laugh out loud when I think of that weekend
- taking her camping, rustic style, in the Rocky Mountains and taking her on her first mountain hike. Hmmmmm, camp fire and smores.
- our girls camping trip with our two cousins before I left the country. Again, in the Rocky Mountains. First experience with a grizzly! Scary, but memorable!
- taking her to Candle Lake with me to see my friend Lisa and her kids
- car dancing to Gwen Stefani and doing our special dance

Here she is on her very first visit to Manzanillo at the age of 3 with my late mother.

Here she is in Manzanillo 5 years later with one of the street dogs she would feed with her own money. She named him "Cutie".

Proving that yes she can fit in Jackson's kennel after many pieces of cheesecake. This was taken at our Canmore family reunion

Goofing around in typical "Grandma Griz" fashion with her cousin

Jackson and my niece at Candle Lake

Her first hike in the Rocky Mountains with Jackson and I

Last summer on our way to the mountains

I miss her so much and cannot wait to see her at Christmas! She is coming to visit for several weeks and I am soooooooooo excited.

Happy Birthday to my special girl. I love you and can't wait to see you. XOXO

Mexican Independence Day

2008-09-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

On September 16, there was a major holiday here in Mexico called Dia de la Independencia where Mexicans all over the world celebrate Mexico’s independence from Spanish rule. All over Manzanillo, shops, restaurants and cars were all decorated with the Mexican flag and/or colors of the Mexican flag. On the weekend, we noticed a huge influx of Mexican tourists from this state and neighboring states. The fiesta actually starts on the evening of September 15 and continues well into the next morning/day.

I was invited to the Posdata Cafe by the two young women that own and operate this cafe. They prepared several delicious appetizers for us to munch on while having a few beverages. Pillar, one of the owners, convinced me to try a new drink called a "Paloma". This is prepared with tequila, fresh lime juice, squirt (similar to Fresca), soda water and salt. I had learned several new adjectives in Spanish class that day - one of which was dangerous. When asked how I liked the drink, I would reply "Es delicioso, pero peligroso!". It is delicious, but dangerous!

Denny and Pillar - the cafe owners

There were mostly Mexican friends at this party, so I was able to practice my Spanish a little. I met a new local family, whose mother's birthday coincided with Independence Day. So at midnight, her sons brought out the violin and guitar and played a few songs for her.

The festivities wrapped up around 1-2am and then Denny, Pillar, Cynthia and Nacho invited me to join them at the disco for a night of dancing. Before we left, they brought out the tequila shots. I was able to use that new adjective again - peligrosa! I had a great time, and learned a few new latin dances. We left the disco around 5:30am and it was still absolutely packed. Apparently, it stays open until 7am. I felt like I was back in my early 20's. We all wanted to go grab some tacos before going home, so we headed over to La Sonrisa, a 24 hour taco stand that is one of my favorites. When we arrived, we discovered that it was completely packed - there was not a free table in the entire place! And yes, this was at 5:45am. So, we had to head home........taco-less! It has been a long time since I have stayed out all night - I definitely paid for this the next day and the following day also. I am getting far too old for these kind of shenanigans!

Dog blog

2008-09-15T15:36:00.000-05:00

One of my friends calls my website a dog blog as that is all I seem to write about. Well, what can I say, I am a dog lover and my dogs are my babies. And they always seem to give me good material to write about. And today is no different so Lisa, you may want to skim or skip this post today!

When Camelia was here, she wanted to check out my vet's office (if you can call it that) and meet this vet that I refer to as the dog whisperer. We walked down to the corner to take the bus and Jade, the dog I recently rescued, followed us down there in typical fashion. Usually, once I get on the bus, she turns around and returns to my apartment to wait for me. However, this time, she decided to come right on the bus after Camelia and I got on! I turned to the bus driver to apologize and he said not to worry, as long as she did not bite anyone, she was free to ride along. Here is Jade on her first bus ride (that I know of):

Jade and her crazy Yoda ears!

Camelia was amazed at how small the vet office was - it is basically a shoe box and she was blown away that can perform surgeries, etc in such a small space. This would be a real eye opener for our vets in Canada. Unfortunately, the vet was not there but her mom and the many street cats that she rescues.

Yesterday, I was opening the door for Jade to come in the house, and Jackson saw something and tore out the door before I knew what happened. I soon discovered that he was chasing the flock of hens that live on our street. The rooster and hens do not seem to belong to anybody but just walk up and down the street scrounging for food. Jackson has never been trained or used for hunting although that is what beagles are bred for is hunting rabbits and foxes. Well, his hunting instincts certainly kicked in as I soon found him along with a hen he had cornered and he was not letting her get away. I managed to get there just in time before he was able to arrange his own supper! I shudder to think about that poor hen and her demise had I not shown up. As I was trying to grab Jackson to get him out of there, I noticed a scorpion crawling around. It was the first one I have seen since arriving here. I am sure you can imagine how fast I got out of there!

A few of you have been asking how Jackson has been adjusting to Jade, the new addition to our little pack. For the first few weeks, he basically ignored her completely and would pretend she was not even here. For the first time this morning, he acknowledged her existence and played with her for about an hour! Jade is definitely the alpha though - she had Jackson on his back in no time.

Camelia goes to La K'Melia

2008-09-14T18:05:00.000-05:00

After Alex's visit here to Manzanillo and his adventures at La K'Melia, the first thing Camelia told me when she was coming to visit was "you better NOT take me there". Never one to back away from a challenge, I sought out to convince her that this was a fun place and I would never volunteer her for the interactive stage show which involves lots of tequila shots, dancing and spinning (note: my fingers were crossed behind my back when I said this). So, on her second last day here, after much convincing, lo and behold, we ended up going to La K'Melia (I can be very persuasive). We went with Stan and MJ as well as my good friend Marta.

They had a great band and the food was great. Basically, they bring out plates and plates of food at no cost as long as you are purchasing drinks. It is a great way to try a number of different local dishes. We tried all sortso of things including ceviche, refried beans, many different kinds of tacos and pig skin. The only thing I was not too fond of was the pickled pig skin. Otherwise, everything else was very good.

We were enjoying the food and the band when it came time for the stage show. They were looking for female volunteers and yes, I just had to point them in Camelia's direction. Trust me, I realize I will pay for this with some sort of retribution in the future. But until then, I still giggle to this day when I think of her up on that stage shooting daggers at me with her eyes!

They gathered all the girls and they went up on the stage. First, they lined up the girls sitting on chairs and had the cute boy waiters do a little dance (including a semi lap dance). I have never laughed so hard in my life - Camelia was absolutely mortified. Then, the boys took the seat and the girls had to dance in front of each one. After this, each girl had to do some tequila shots - Camelia ended up doing 3 (I think?) and immediately after the shots, one of the men picked her up across their shoulders and proceeded to spin her around at full speed for at least 10 rotations. I know what you are all thinking. Where are the photos? Well, I have many but as I always do before publishing them on my blog, I asked for her permission. Alas, I did not get such permission. And she is a lawyer and frankly, I am scared of the consequences. So, I can only show you the "after" picture which is right after the spinning.

This is before the stage show - check out all the food!

Here are the boys doing a little dance in front of the girls. Camelia is sitting on a chair behind the boy on the right side of the frame

After getting off the stage - make the spinning stop!

When it came time for the guys, Camelia immediately pointed out Stan and he went up there. Here he is after several tequila shots. They did at lease 20 rotations for the boys - no mercy!

All in all, I think everyone had a great time and the best part was how inexpensive it was. I think we spent 3 hours there and for all that beer, food and entertainment, the total bill for all 5 of us was about $600 pesos (approx $60 USD).

After her stage debut, I asked Camelia if she still loves me. She said yes, although payback will be sweet. I guess the good news for me is that she has to come visit me again to get her retribution! teehee

Sushi, sun and fun

2008-09-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

While Camelia was here, we went to many of my favorite local restaurants. One thing I had been craving since I arrived in Mexico and had not yet had was sushi. Back in Canada, Camelia, her husband and I would eat sushi on a regular basis. Manzanillo has grown over the last several years and now has a few sushi restaurants to choose from.

Camelia loved the name of this restaurant and had to take a photo!

I was contemplating trying this restauarant while Camelia was here visiting, but then Debi and Ron invited us over to their house for sushi. Ron had taken some sushi classes in the past and makes it on occasion. What a feast we had! Ron definitely has missed his calling and must have been a sushi chef in a formal life. Here is a photo of some of his beautiful creations.

After stuffing ourselves with sushi, we went up and sat under the palapa while the dogs played and Jackson swam in their pool. Yes, that is right, none of the humans swam in the pool, but my dog wasn't about to miss out on that! Debi and Ron love to have dogs swim in their pool.

Jackson playing fetch and enjoying their beautiful pool.

The next few days were very hot and my dear friend Christina had invited us to hang out at the pool in the condo complex where I would stay when I came to Manzanillo on vacation. There was no one staying in the condo complex so we had the pool all to ourselves. It was so nice to be able to hang out there during the day as it was smoking hot.

The ocean was like bath water, it was so warm. While watching the waves rolling in, I noticed a large school of something in the water. I was not sure what it was initially but there were literally hundreds of them. I cannot be sure what they were but they looked like small brown sting rays. I had never seen them so close to shore and there were so many of them. Does anyone know what they could be and why there would be so many?

Not a bad view from my lounge chair!

Deep thoughts...

Camelia enjoying a cold one

I love the colors in this hibiscus

Camelia wanted me to show her where my mom's final resting place is. As it was just down the beach from the condo, I brought her down there where we placed some flowers.

Mom's final resting place.

Touring around town

2008-09-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

Over the course of last week, I tried to show Camelia my favorite places to eat, the markets where I do my daily shopping, etc to she could get a sense of the community that I live in. Here are some photos.

This is a place I walk by every single day. Camelia took this photo as she thought it was quite amusing. For those of you who cannot read the sign next to the tires, it is a tire shop that also sells cheese, cream, hot dogs, chorizo sausage, meat, chicken, etc. A likely combination right?

On our way back home one day, we ran into this little cutie. As you can probably see, this is definitely not a starving street dog but a 2 month old Bassett Hound named Daisy that is clearly well loved and cared for.

A few of you have been asking about the litter of 10 puppies from the street dog in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, two have since died. I took Camelia down there to see them. They are now about a month old and cuter than ever. My friend Debi who feeds their mom on a daily basis (along with many other street dogs in need) now has two of these pups in our home as they needed some additional medical care due to infections and other issues. She bottle feeds them at home and then takes them to the mother several times throughout the day so they can feed on their mom's milk. And they still need homes - I think there are only one or two spoken for.

Here I am again on my own

2008-09-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

Can anyone name that tune and artist?

My friend Camelia left to go back to Canada yesterday. It was an emotional goodbye -the tears were definitely flowing. Surprisingly, there was no drama on the way to the airport this time! Shocking, I know. The week went by so fast and we both could not believe it when it was time to take her back to the airport. She had a great time here in Manzanillo and this was her first experience in "true" Mexico (her one trip to Mexico in the past was to an all-inclusive resort). She said she is definitely coming back and will bring her husband on the next trip. She is going to try and coincide her next trip so she can volunteer with the annual spay/neuter clinic for the local and street animals. This is organized by PATA, the local non-profit animal organization (more on this below).

Jackson and Jade were overjoyed to have Auntie Camelia here as she spoiled them rotten with a variety of dog treats from Canada, new toys, a dog bed for Jade, and lots and lots of loving! They were definitely a little blue today without her.

Auntie - where are you?

Today, I was also feeling sad and a little lost, but fortunately, I had many things to keep me busy. It was my first day of Spanish class. There are three of us taking the class and it will consist of 3 classes per week, 2 hours per class for a total of 6 hours per week (I did not even need my calculator for that one). In addition, there is homework and practice, practice, practice. Today was a great refresher class and it felt good to get back into the swing of things.

I also had a meeting with the head of the non-profit organization PATA Manzanillo today to discuss my future involvement as a volunteer along with a potential project I may become involved in. PATA Manzanillo is a non-profit, all volunteer group of local Mexicans and foreigners dedicated to the welfare of all dogs, cats and area wildlife in Manzanillo. This is an incredible organization that has made amazing progress with the street cats and dogs here in Manzanillo. I will definitely be blogging in detail on this topic in the near future. Stay tuned.

As promised, I will blog a little each day on Camelia and I's adventures last week while she was here in Manzanillo (along with photos).

When Camelia mentioned she was coming to Manzanillo, I warned her that this is the hottest time of the year and the humidity can be very overwhelming. Oh, and to top it all off, it is hurricane season. Alex, my first visitor from a few weeks ago had also warned her on several occasions, and I quote, "Be prepared to sweat". On Monday night, when she arrived, the weather was very pleasant and cooler than normal as it had recently rained and had been overcast most of the day. As we were sitting at the Posdata Cafe on her first evening here, she kept saying that she was not sure what Alex and I were talking about as it was not that hot at all! My reply was "Just wait for it, you will be sweating before you know it!" By day 3, she was sweating bullets like the rest of us not yet acclimatized! The first few days she was here, the weather was definitely not as scorching hot as normal so I decided to show her around the village and the markets where I do most of my shopping, errands and visit a few of my favorite local eateries.

One of our first stops was a local "Deposito" that I go to to purchase my beer and wine along with anything else one might need along the way. This is a convenience store that is very popular with locals and ex-pats alike and sells everything from beer, wine and liquor to the usual convenience items. One of my dear local friends, Marta, is the owner of this store and in addition to being well known in the local community, has become very popular with the tourists for her great service, wonderful smile and her eagerness to please. She also loves to practice her English with the tourists.

If she does not have what you are looking for, she can usually bring it in for you. I was looking for a specific wine the other day and she told me to come back that afternoon and she would have it. That she did.....I did not have to worry about searching all the other stores in the village. Another draw, especially with the ex-pat community that live here in Manzanillo, is that you can purchase a cold beer or two and sit right outside in the shade and take a break before or after your errands and/or trips to the market. My beer of choice costs me 8.5 pesos (roughly $0.85 USD) and she will even give you a beer "condom" to keep it cold.

Here is Jade giving me a hug while Camelia and I sit outside Marta's store having a cold cerveza

There are some retired ex-pats that will spend a large part of their day sitting outside Marta's store drinking beer, watching the world go by and catching up on the latest daily gossip. This is definitely an institution here in Santiago village and you can find her located on the corner of "Hollywood and Vine". You do not believe me? Check out the sign outside her store!

As Marta is a dear friend of mine and she and her store are such a large part of our day to day lives, I had to take Camelia there for a few cervezas. There is nothing better than to sit down in the shade, take a break and have a cold beverage after you have been doing your daily shopping in the scorching heat. Over the course of the week, Camelia and I stopped by Marta's several times!

Camelia and the dogs all having a cold beverage outside of Marta's.

Off to a messy start

2008-09-07T23:53:00.000-05:00

After Camelia and I's late night with the vino, we started off day one with some healthy breakfast - my typical morning smoothie. I started off by juicing the oranges and getting everything in the blender. So far so good. Camelia took these photos of the oranges - she liked the color contrast of the green skins with the orange flesh.

At one point, I took my hand off the top of the blender to grab the protein. Ok, ok, I know what you are thinking. Why would you do that? Let's just say I was not on my A-game after our late night vino session. The momentum from the blender unscrewed the blender from it's base and kaboom! Camelia heard me scream and came running.

The "before" picture - so far so good.

And "after" - I was wearing most of the smoothie!

After we managed to stop laughing, operation "clean-up" began. Was this a sign of things to come? And why was Camelia there at all times taking photos? It was like she knew something like this would happen and was camera ready at all times. Stay tuned for more adventures.....

Enjoying every minute with my visitor!

2008-09-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

My good friend Camelia finally arrived on Monday night - one day late but thankfully arrived in one piece with all her luggage. Her luggage was a little lighter than normal as they would not allow her to bring the special dog kibble that I had asked her to bring. Most of the dog treats she brought were allowed in much to Jackson and Jade's delight.

So, in typical fashion, there was a little drama on my end getting to the airport on time. Friends, MJ and Stan generously offered to take me to the airport to pick her up. A few hours before we had to leave for the airport, they picked me up to head to the grocery store to get provisions, beer, wine, and all the necessary things so I would be prepared for Camelia. At our final stop, we had just picked up a case a beer and the van would not start! As Stan was figuring out the problem, my friend Debi called and I told her my predicament. She offered to come and get us and our groceries (that required refrigeration) and drop me off at my friend Winter's house who had offered to let me use her car to drive to the airport. They quickly dropped me off as we were running far behind and I was worried about Camelia waiting at the airport. While I drove at mach speed to the airport in Winter's car, Debi dropped off my groceries at my house, picked up the dogs and took them for a walk. Can you believe how lucky I am to have such great new friends?

I finally arrived at the airport 30 minutes late and in a complete panic. I knew Camelia did not speak a lick of Spanish and would be wondering at my lack of punctuality. As I arrived to the airport, I noticed they were closing everything down, staff were leaving and there was Camelia - the one lone tourist sitting outside with her bags. Poor Camelia! I guess the taxi drivers had all asked her if she needed a ride (one more than one occasion), especially the last taxi driver as the airport was closing up!

It was so great to see her! We made our way back home, changed and then immediately headed over to the Posdata Cafe. The owners of the cafe had offered to throw a welcome party for Camelia and her first time in Manzanillo. All of my friends were there and they welcomed her with a Mexican flag and pin. The cafe owners had made a bunch of appetizers for her to sample while we had our drinks.

A photo of Camelia and I at the Posdata Cafe with her new Mexican flag

We got home from the Posdata Cafe around 1am and then decided to open a bottle of wine while Camelia unpacked her suitcase. It was like Christmas! She had brought so many things for me and the dogs. The dogs got new toys, new dog collars and many different treats. One of the new collars was donated generously for my new street dog Jade by our favorite dog store in Calgary - Unleashed. Thanks guys! I got my favorite bottle of Italian wine -a belated birthday gift! We stayed up very late catching up, visiting and drinking wine. We could not beleive it when we looked at the time and it was 4:30am.

We have been having a great time since she arrived. I promise to post another blog soon with all our adventures and pictures along the way.

Second Visitor!

2008-09-01T12:40:00.000-05:00

My good friend C is coming to visit from Canada and I am so excited! She was supposed to arrive last night but had some delays due to some "aircraft maintenance" issues and ended up missing one of her connections. She had to spend the night at a hotel in the US last night but the airline has assured her that they can get her to Manzanillo today, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The owners of the Posdata Cafe suggested that they would like to throw a party to welcome her to Mexico. I thought that was a great idea and the party is set for later tonight. All of my new friends will gather there tonight for some appetizers, drinks and meeting the guest of honor.

I feel like a little kid at Christmas waiting for Santa to arrive!

Good authentic Mexican eats

2008-08-31T16:41:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, friends Ron and Debi invited me to join them for lunch at their friend's house. Their friend Miguel and his wife Gaby operate a take out restaurant out of their home, but only on Saturdays. But since Ron and Debi were friends of Miguel's, instead of take out, we were invited to have our lunch in their home. You have a choice amoung 5 items to eat: Pozole ($20), tacos (6 for $30), tostadas ($20), enchiladas ($5) and sopes(6 for $30) (Prices are listed in Mexican pesos). For those Cdn and US readers, just divide by 10 to get the rough USD$ equivalent. For example, the massive bowl of pozole costs approx $2USD.

I opted for a bowl of Pozole and a small serving of enchiladas. For those of you who do not know, Pozole is a type of traditional Mexican stew or soup that varies by region and family in Mexico. It is a soup made with meat and hominy, along with some herbs and some vegetables. In my experience, you typically find it prepared with some sort of pork meat, although I have heard of pozole served with other meats. As far as what kind of pork meat, you can get many different types depending upon the region or the family that is preparing it. Typically, it is prepared with tripe and pigs feet but others use pork shoulder and/or other cuts. In this case, from what I could understand, this pozole was made with pigs feet and I thought I saw some tripe also. Since I have never tried tripe before, I was not certain and could not remember the spanish word to clarify. The other main ingredient besides pork is hominy. Hominy is dried white or yellow corn kernels from which the hull and germ have been removed. It basically looked like massive corn kernels. So, enough of the educational stuff, was it good you ask? It was absolutely delicious! I had never had tripe or pigs feet before, so I was a little nervous, but wow, the flavour was unbelievable. Debi liked it so much she had a second helping. For my next dish, I opted for a small plate of 3 enchiladas which were seriously the best ones I have ever had. They were prepared with ground beef and a homemade mole sauce that was to die for! So, my two courses of food cost 35 pesos in total (I had 3 mini enchiladas and the pozole) which is roughly equivalent to $3.50 USD.

While we were enjoying our meal, many local people from the neighborhood were coming by with large tupperware containers or pots to purchase her famous pozole or tacos, etc. Gaby and her mother did all the cooking and you could tell from the steady stream of customers at her door that people from far and wide enjoyed their food very much.

For those of you here in Manzanillo, keep in mind that she is only open for business on Saturdays from 10-6 (mas o menos). And it is take out only. You can bring your own container or she has some styrofoam ones there if you do not bring your own. Here is the address if you are interested in checking it out:

Gaby and Miguel

Avenida de los gonsos
Barrio 5, #66
Manzanillo

Here are some photos of the house and family.

This is Gaby and Miguel's house

This is a photo of Gaby and Miguel, their two children, a nephew and Gaby's mother

Debi, Miguel and Ron

What a wonderful afternoon and meal. Gaby and Miguel's hospitality was incredible and the food was delicious. And the price, well, I came out of their stuffed for less than $4USD. It does not get much better than that!

Yoga class and a sense of well-being

2008-08-30T16:35:00.006-05:00

I am so glad that I went to yoga the other night. I felt like a different person after that class and am still feeling the benefits. The majority of this class we worked with partners in many compromising positions (that had a few of the men giggling). It was a fantastic workout and my muscles are still sore a few days later. I kept apologizing to my partner as I was sweating profusely and many of the postures we had to be in very close proximity to one another or practically on top of each other. The young Mexican woman who was my partner was very gracious and kept telling me not to worry, it was not a problem, but I was mortified as I had never sweat so much in my life! Even though it was 7pm at night, the weather was still very hot (around 28 degrees Celsius) with no breeze whatsoever and extremely high humidity. Even a few of the locals were sweating in this class although many never even broke a sweat as they are acclimatized to the weather. It was one of the best workouts I have had in a long long time and there was a great meditation circle at the end. That night, I had the best sleep I have had since I arrived in Mexico. I love this class and cannot wait for the next one. The centre where I take my yoga is called "Centro de Desarrollo Holistico - Luz de Crystal". They also have many other educational classes covering a wide array of topics, including nutrition, holistic medicine, energy healing, etc. They also have massage therapy, reiki, and many other alternative therapies. The energy in the centre is amazing and I always feel so much better after I leave. They also have sweat lodges which I would like to try sometime.

Friday night, Debbie, Ron and their two dogs along with my dogs, went down near the port for a walk as the sun was starting to set. I had never been down to this beach before. It was very relaxing and the dogs had a great time. Jackson was chasing the crabs along the rocks and Jade followed him everywhere as though she was his shadow.

Here is a photo of Ron and Debbie and their two dogs Mandy and Chance. Mandy is the cocker and came from Canada. She is the princess of the pack. Chance is the black lab mix that they rescued off the streets. The poor thing had a broken leg when Debbie came upon her one day. After a surgery to fix her leg among some other vaccinations and medicines, Chance is now doing wonderfully and loves her new home.

Chance - isn't he handsome? You would never have known this was once a starving street dog with a broken leg!

Here is Miss Jade who is standing still for once! Typically she does not stop moving or chasing the other dogs. The vet estimates she is approximately one year old. She has more energy than one can imagine!

Here is Debbie playing fetch with Jackson. The sunset was pretty spectacular that night.

Thanks to Debbie and Ron for a great evening!

And here is a photo of Jade taking Jackson for a walk. Who do you think is the alpha in this pack?

Learning to Fly

2008-08-28T01:04:00.003-05:00

An excerpt from the great Tom Petty song:

"Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I started out for God knows where
But I guess I'll know when I get there

Im learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up must come down

Im learning to fly but I aint got wings
Comin down is the hardest thing
Im learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up must come down

Im learning to fly"

A few people have asked me why I have not posted in the last few days. I have just been feeling low....both physically and emotionally, and did not feel as though I had anything good to say. I had some friends over for dinner last night which definitely lifted my spirits. As most of you know, one of my passions is cooking and it makes me happy and is a great stress reliever. I made some homemade salsa and guacamole for nibblies and then a shrimp and dorado risotto for the main course. It was a great evening with good friends. Although my small apartment is not really set up for entertaining, we all squeezed on my balcony and ate by candlelight. It was cozy but seemed to work out alright.

I am heading to yoga tonight so that should help me feel more balanced. Also, I have my second visitor coming on Sunday for one week! I am starting to get excited - three more sleeps!

Posdata Cafe

2008-08-25T16:32:00.004-05:00

One of my posts from last week talked about this amazing cafe that my new friends introduced me to. When I mentioned the name of the cafe along with the two owners, I had mispelled them both. With my sincere apologies, the correct name of the place is the Posdata Cafe. At this cafe, you can find fabulous food, blended drinks (frappe's are my favorite) and the best service I have ever had. I have become addicted to their Torta Especial. Here are photos of the two owners , Pilar and Denny. They will never forget your name and always greet you with a smile and hug. A big shout out to these two women - we love your cafe and your wonderful hospitality. Thanks for all that you do!

Apparently, their smoothies are another "must have" along with their crepes. These are next on my list to try. Here is a photo of my friends Teresa, Steve, Ron and Debi who were enoying their famous Torta's, smoothies and frappe's.

Yesterday, friends MJ and Stan invited me to join them to go to the soccer game in town. They are big soccer fans, especially Stan, and he explained to me that this was 3rd Division soccer in the professional league. Even though the local team got slaughtered, I enjoyed my first Manzanillo soccer game, AND learned many new Spanish words (although I think most of them were swear words!). Also, it was a very inexpensive outing - cost of admission $2.00 (20 pesos) and the tacos ($0.70 each)and beer ($1.50 each) were delicious! Here are some photos from the game.

Weekend fun

2008-08-24T12:09:00.005-05:00

Friday night, I hooked up with some new friends and we went to a great local pub on the beach - Bora's. I have been going there for years and my brother discovered it on one of our many vacations down here. It is a simple little pub that has great live music on the weekends. And the best part is, it is a short walk from my house.

So, we walked down to Bora's and Jade, the street dog that has recently adopted me, stuck right by my side and walked there with us. When we arrived at the bar, she followed me in there as she was not about to leave my side. One of the bouncers came over and asked if that was my dog as she was not allowed in the bar and would have to wait outside. Jade waited outside for a while and we could hear her crying over the loud music. Eventually, she gave up waiting and went back to my house where I found her waiting for me on the porch when I got home.

Bora's was a packed house and there was a popular band there called the Brian James Band. They were absolutely fantastic and played a little bit of everything in both English and Spanish. Every song had the entire bar singing along. It was a fun night - here are some photos.

Saturday night, I went to Steve and Teresa's housewarming party. They are some new friends here from BC that moved here to Mexico earlier this year. Thanks for a great party, awesome food and wonderful hospitality. Remember, you told me I could post these photos! Here are the fab hosts - how many blue drinks does it take to make one's toungue turn this color?????

There were also some friends that played some songs for us - it was a father/son team. And the little boy that contributed to the music is my Spanish teacher's son. Isn't he adorable? He fell in love with Jade and followed her everywhere. He even retrieved one of her toys out of the pool.

Laying low

2008-08-22T20:57:00.002-05:00

I have not been feeling great the last few days so I have spent most of that time in bed. I started feeling better this afternoon so decided to head out to the market and pick up my laundry and get some fresh air. I took Jackson along for the walk, and the new street dog that has been living on my porch came along also. I have been feeding her and giving her medicine for her many problems. She is doing so much better... have managed to get rid of all her ticks and her eye infection is getting much better. We will see the vet next week and I will have him check her out completely. Even though she is quite big, she is definitely a pup....she loves to play and chews on everything. I have also named her....she is now Jade.

On our way back from the market, we got caught in a wicked rain storm. We found some cover and I thought I would wait it out. We waited quite some time before I finally called my neighbor and she kindly drove down and picked us up.

After the storm was over, I needed to get out for some more exercise. I took both dogs and headed out for a long walk. Here are some photos. We walked along the main street on the one way, and walked the beach on our way back. The beach was pretty much deserted other than the usual surfers and fishermen.

One day at a time

2008-08-21T16:35:00.002-05:00

Many of you have been asking how I am doing and coping especially after everything that has happened since I arrived in Mexico. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I sent to my aunt and this pretty much sums it up.

At the end of the day, I am happy that I am here as it has always been a dream of mine. I have had some rough times but that all related to a man that I thought I knew and not the country that I know and love. So, as a result, I will not let that taint my view of this amazing country and it's beautiful people. Like any other country in the world, there are "bad eggs", and so I have seen it for what it is and will not let that change my goals or plans. Of course, it seems that much harder and is certainly overwhelming, but I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing new people who are helping to make this transition so much better. Also, I have some local friends here that would do anything for me........and i mean ANYTHING. They would put me up in their one bedroom house (that already has two people living there!). And so, here I am....living each moment and trying to be "present" for every minute of it. I have met some beautiful people along the way already.....and for that, I am grateful. So that is what I am trying to focus on... not the bad stuff, but the fact that if it were not for the "bad stuff", I would never have met these beautiful people! Pretty incredible, if you think about it. Don't get me wrong....I have had some terrible and very difficult days and moments, but in those times, I think about mom, and the very strong woman and role model she was and feel a sense of strength that is indescribable.