My first visitor!

I finally have my wireless connection hooked up!!!!!!! You do not know how happy this makes me. It was only one week of "manana's" (every day they would tell me the wireless connection would happen tomorrow). It will be so nice to finally be able to sit on my deck and check my e-mail on a daily basis and be able to update my blog.

Well, this last week, I have been busy settling in to my new place, meeting my neighbors and the best part of it all - I had my first visitor!!!!!!! My dear friend Alex came to visit me in between business trips to the US. It was so nice to have my good friend here - words cannot express how grateful I am.

We had a great time together and it was so good to laugh again. His first night here , I took him to a local Mexican cantina where you only purchase your drinks (the food and entertainment is free). They bring out plates of various yummy Mexican food until you can no longer eat another bite. I thought this was a great way for Alex to get a taste of Manzanillo - he was able to try a huge variety of the local cuisine while listening to a traditional Mexican band. The food was amazing....they serve small plates of food (similar to tapas in Spain) and he got to try 8-10 different traditional dishes.

Part way through the evening, they were looking for "volunteers" to come up on stage and participate in an interactive show. This basically entailed countless tequila shots, dancing on chairs in front of hundreds of people and being spun around on one of the staff's shoulders until you could not take it anymore. When this began, Alex took one look at me and said "don't you dare". Of course, I replied that I would never do something like that! On my way to the bathroom, one staff member stopped me and told me they needed just one more volunteer. I was trying to be helpful and wanted to please the young earnest Mexican man, so I pointed to my dear friend and said that he would be happy to volunteer. Here are some photos of the events that transpired (with permission from Alex). Alex, do you forgive me yet?





Over the course of the last few days, my friend Alex has made it his mission in life to tell every single person we encounter that it was my birthday on Saturday. We received a few invitations to attend a few different parties that night. First we went out for a nice dinner. Of course, Alex was in payback mode and on a trip to the bathroom (yeah right), he apparently informed the staff at the restaurant that it was my birthday. After we had finished our meal, all of a sudden, there was this very loud obnoxious music playing. I shared a confused look with the lady at the table next to us and said to Alex, what on earth is that? Before I knew it, the entire staff were singing happy birthday to me (en espanol) and placed a ridiclous hat on my head for me to wear the duration of the very very loud song. Here is a photo (with ridiculous hat and yummy Tiramisu dessert included).


Afterwards, we went to a local cafe/pub to meet up with my new ex-pat friends/neighbors. After visiting for a while with everyone, the lady that owns the place (Pilar) made a big announcement that it was my birthday and brought out a cake with candles and everyone sang happy birthday. They had customized the cake to say happy birthday in spanish along with farewell to two other friends that were leaving Manzanillo. After the singing ended, and trying to blow out the trick candles, they informed me that it was Mexican tradition to take a bite out of the cake without using my hands. Of course, when I went to take the bite, someone pushed my head into the cake. Here is a photo of the cake before my face was implanted in it!



There are no words to describe how fortunate I feel to have met these incredible new friends. I now feel as though living on my own here is not nearly as overwhelming. A big thanks to those of you who organized this event!!!

Photos of the sunset during birthday dinner.





A big thanks to Alex for coming down here for a visit....you gave me much needed strength and helped me feel more settled in my new home. Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!!!!!!

Making new friends

I still do not have wireless hooked up at the new house but I am hoping by next week, I can update on a more regular basis. So please be patient with me.......I will stay more in touch and connected with all of you then.

A big thanks to everyone for the phone calls, texts, e-mails. I am so amazed by the support out there and feel so lucky for having the most amazing friends in the world!

I have managed to meet many of my neighbors on my street and the next one over. So far, everyone has been very friendly and very welcoming. Last night, one of my neighbors invited me, Jackson and my friend that is visiting to come over for drinks and a swim in the pool. They are actually from Canada about an hour away from where I lived! What a small world. We had a great time and Jackson played with their two dogs and had his first pool experience which he loved!

Difficult times

This past week has been very difficult and I aoplogize to those of you whom I have been tardy in responding to messages. When you find out what has been happening, it will all make sense. To make a long story short, I have left Arturo and moved into a new place on my own, all in the last few days. I will not get into the gory details here but will tell you that everything was not as it seemed with him. Several major issues arose regarding honesty, respect and communication. And the person that greeted me here was completely different than the one I knew and loved. I am in complete shock and my heart is broken.........since I have arrived, it has been one revelation after another and has been incredibly difficult and heartbreaking.

Fortunately, my dear friend, who refers to herself as my "mexican mother", has been amazing throughout all of this and has let me cry on her shoulder, provide much needed advice and has helped me find a new place to live. She and her husband helped me move into a new place a few days ago. It is a fully furnished one bedroom apartment with a pullout couch in a wonderful neighborhood. It has an amazing view and I managed to get a great price on the rent. Here are a few photos....






I just want to thank those of you who have provided emotional support the last few days over the phone.......I know those phone bills are going to be pricey. I could not have made it through this last week without you. I am so very grateful for your friendship.

A few of you have asked me what I will do now. As many of you know, I came here to Mexico for many reasons. Obviously, one of the main reasons was Arturo. In addition, it has always been a dream of mine to become fluent in the language and live down here. In the past 10 years of vacationing in Manzanillo, I have told people on several different occasions that it feels like home here. Having moved countless times throught my childhood, I have never said that about any place. Clearly, the easy thing for me to do would be to go back to Canada and trust me, I have thought about this many times. But I cannot forget the other reasons I came down here....and the other personal goals I want to achieve - balance, peace and harmony. And so, I have decided that I will stay in Mexico. Obviously, it scares the hell out of me to do it alone. I am trying to find the strength but it is really hard right now. Thankfully, I have a good support network here of local friends that have been wonderfully supportive.

I am also so incredibly grateful and relieved as one of my dear friends is coming here to visit this week.....this was a wonderful surprise and has kept me going.

So many questions....

Many of you have been asking me questions about many things here in Manzanillo, so I will try to answer them all here. Note: these are prices here in Santiago village. From what I understand, the prices may be different in other neighborhoods.

Prices (in Canadian equivalent $):

Case of Sol or Corona beer (20 bottles) - $12.00
Pedicure- $10.00
Manicure (using acrylics) - $10.00
Unfurnished very basic Mexican style house (2-3 bedrooms) - $150.00 - $250.00 per month. Note: this does not include appliances
Fresh fish - Dorado or Mahi Mahi to feed 4 people - $5.00. Note that this is the most expensive fish here right now. Red Snapper or other fish are cheaper
Internet cafe - $2.00 per hour
Average desktop computer - $1,000.00 Electronics are very expensive here compared to Canada

Most of my shopping I do in the local mercado (market). Here you can find very fresh produce, fresh fish, beef and pork butchers for incredibly cheap prices. I basically go down to the Santiago market each day and purchase what i need. For other items like milk or speciality items, I go to the supermarket (Soriana or Commercial). There is also a super centre Wal-Mart here that was recently opened in the past year.

A few of you have also been asking about the weather. I have the current Manzanillo weather here on my blog (on the left hand side) so you can see what the temperature is. The important thing to note about the weather is the "Real Feel"...what the temperature feels like with the humidity. Bottom line is that it is freakin hot!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for their support!

My brother wrote me a farewell letter that really touched my heart and made the floodgates open. I feel so incredibly blessed to have his support. I have told a few of you about the letter and with his permission, I have posted a portion of it here:

"I think your move south is something that many ppl talk about throughout their lifetime without ever achieving it. You have already done well for yourself and a new path will present a new challenge, one I'm certain you are up for. Mexico is a dear place to all of us and we owe that to Mom for introducing it without prejudice which has allowed us to see it for what it truly is. Luckily, we have been fortunate to establish dear relationships throughout our travels which gladly will be a source of comfort to you while you're down there. Remember, however, that I am an internet click away or even a phone call as well. I will from the time you leave, be living vicariously through your adventures with the hope of one day doing the same thing. Life is truly short as we all know too well and thus, I am proud and glad that you are able to see past the cliche and turn the concept around into an actionable adventure; one that will be a source of inspiration not only to your closest friends but to your immediate family as well. Too often, we superimpose society's practical axis onto our own life forgetting along the way what it means to live and be happy. I am confident and jealous that you have seen passed that and will now focus on achieving self fulfillment and happiness.

Reading your blog the other day reminded me of the day I moved out of my house and the memories that I cherished while there. These are emotional moments indeed, however, your desired end state will bring with it new memories to add to an already extensive collection. From the time you leave, there won't be a day that passes without me wondering how your 'new' life is progressing. I want you to know that I love you lots and will be thinking about all the good times we have had together, not just in Calgary, but throughout Canada, the US (Oakland and Vegas) and of course our crazy adventures in Spain. Luckily, there will be more to add which means more laughs.

Have a safe trip down there and know that I am going to miss you".

Thanks for the support my dear brother and thanks to everyone else who have supported me and this move. At times, I have and continue to feel incredibly overwhelmed. However, knowing that I have the support of my friends and family makes this transition so much easier.

I am feeling very nostalgic today and missing all of you. I am sending my love and hugs and kisses!

Settling in and making friends

Well, we have started to settle in step by step. It is a little overwhelming.........I just sold most of my things in Canada and packed up all my belongings and now am starting to furnish a house all over again. Here is a photo of the house. We are slowly buying the things we need each day. I suggested to Arturo that we make a list and try to cross off a few things each day. He thought that was pretty funny. Our goal today is to buy a bed and try to get our phone and internet hooked up. I don´t think I can continue sleeping on the small individual mattress on the floor much longer!

Last night, we were sitting outside having a beer. The neighbor´s little girls were very curious about Jackson and wanted to come over. Apparently, beagles are very rare here. They kept asking if he would bite them. I assured them that it was fine to come say hello. Four young girls came over and presented themselves from youngest to oldest all in a straight line. They were so adorable! They introduced themselves....the oldest was 8 years old. I brought out the ball for them to play with Jackson and they did this for the next hour. They had a blast and Jackson was in heaven. They were amazed at his fetching abilities. The one girl said that her dog was not as good as Jackson. When I asked her why, she said that her dog was a mixed breed and therefore could not do things like fetch. We explained that her dog could easily do that, she just had to teach him, mixed breed or not. The oldest girl then looked at me strangely and asked in Spanish, "why are you drinking a beer?" I then responded that it was because I like beer very much and wanted a cold drink. I was a little confused and asked Arturo why she would ask me that. He explained that Mexican woman here rarely drink alcohol, especially beer. I am still laughing about that today! So much for blending in!!!!!!

Relaxing and playing in the ocean

Here are some photos from our last few days at the beach. The ocean is like bath water - it is so warm. When I have been to Manzanillo in the past, it was in the winter months and the ocean was quite cold.