Wendy is here!

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!

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

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

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

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?

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

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