Crazy crocs

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

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

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

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

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

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