December 28, 2006
Christmas in Ajijic
Somehow, we managed to squeeze a getaway to Mexico to spend Christmas with Chis' parents. We had to be back in New York for the inspection of our new condo, so it seems we spent as much time in the air, security lines, and driving between airports as we spent on the ground in Mexico. Nevertheless, we had a marvelous time. Chis' parents were wonderful hosts, and we ventured on memorable hikes into the mountains and through the cobblestone streets.
Before we left for Mexico, I was diligent in my personal grooming. The little mole on my left ear that sprouts pointy little blond hairs that you can only see in direct sunlight, the same one that my family doctor in Toronto reminds me to apply a compress (he thinks it's a giant zit), didn't appear to have need for trimming in the dim light of our teensy-weensy New York apartment. Roll forward to the brightly sunlit stairwell in Chis' parents home in Mexico. Big mirror. I caught a glimpse of my obviously failed grooming efforts as I descended from our room.
Oh my goodness... is that a forest growing in my nose? And that seemingly never-ending zit on my left ear that requires a compress was aglitter in the afternoon sun.
No matter what anybody says about New York's glitter, glitz and schmaltz, it is not bright enough to notice the most obvious shortcomings in personal grooming. Especially in a shoebox.
We traded our storage locker in Chelsea for a larger one today, and ran another load of crap to ease the load on moving day. Things seem to be lining up nicely for our move on Wednesday. The moving truck from Toronto, along with several deliveries, arrive Wednesday, and we will move out of our apartment Thursday. We will close the door on our eight months in the shoebox, and not look back.
We are very excited to be finally settling in to our new digs. May the guest list begin!
Posted by dave at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2006
N20.4 W87.1 Playa del Carmen, Mexico
The wedding was wonderful, memorable and very emotional - lots of laughs and lots of tears. Matt and Ali were fantastic and we partied into the wee hours of the morning. Chis had martinis and tequila. I ran alone the next morning.
Word has it that certain individuals in the wedding party were thrown out of the pool at the next resort for doing canonballs at 4am?!
We are sitting in the airport in Cancun, waiting patiently for our flight to Toronto. Ahh, the tropical life comes to an end. I look forward to not bathing in sunscreen each morning. And dry clothes!
Posted by dave at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
N20.3 W83.7 San Miguel, Cozumel, Mexico
An early morning flight from Guadalajara to Mexico City to Cozumel is enough to rattle the cobwebs from your head. The airport in Guadalayara, at 6:45am was a sea of bodies bustling everywhere. We barely made the flight, arrived a little bit late in Mexico City, and got our very short connection to Cozumel, with a Starbucks cafe latte con leche LITE in hand. I learned how to order Chis´ latte sin espuma (no foam) by chatting with the Starbucks guy. As leche does not agree with me, I opted for an espresso doble.
Mexicana Airlines was really impressive. Good service, on-time arrivals and departures.
Ajijic is very dry, and it is a welcome return to the warm humid sea air of the Caribbean.
We booked into a little place called the Hacienda San Miguel. Since Wilma, which really hit Cozumel hard, most of the hotels have gone to "all-inclusive". Not our scene. The hacienda is charming. About a block from the ocean, a tidy little room with a kitchen is really all we need.
While Chis dealt with work-related immigration issues, I hoofed it off to the grocery store. Fresh local mangoes, bananas, papaya, and some snacks for Chis (aka Oreo cookies).
Despite being the second best scuba dive destination in the world (according to the tourist guy at the airport, who tried to sell us on sitting through a time share presentation in exchange for a free breakfast and horseback ride), Cozumel is a tourist trap. During the day, the cruise ships arrive and barf their passengers into the streets to buy silver, leather, jewels and junky t-shirts like "Take me drunk I´m home". The prices double while the cruise ships are in town. It was recommended to us that we shop after 5pm when the prices drop considerably. Fortunately, neither of us are in dire need of leather boots, diamond rings, or tacky t-shirts. Although, it does sound like a prop shopping list for a spoof of Brokeback Mountain.
We leave tomorrow on the ferry for Playa del Carmen, where Matt and Ali will wed.
Posted by dave at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2006
N20.2 W103.2 Good Friday, Ajijic, Mexico
We arrived in Ajijic, new home of Chis' parents, on April 11th after a whirlwind tour of US airports. We arrived in time for Easter, which is taken very seriously here in Mexico.
Today, being Good Friday, we went to the square to see Pasion de Christo (Passion of Christ), a play put on by volunteer actors around the village. The Canadian Club of Ajijic raised some of the money for the performance by hosting a fiesta a couple of nights ago, to which we graced.
The play continued up a long 4km trail to a chapel about another 500 feet in elevation for the town square. The man playing Jesus carried his cross made of solid wood. Truly an impressive sight.
Posted by dave at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)