Happy Holidays

Having made it through Thanksgiving with an appropriate feast, we're now readying a Christmas/New Year's dinner.  The meal this time is festive, but not quite so overdone as Thanksgiving was.

As you may remember, the Thanksgiving menu included appetizers including asparagus with sesame mayonnaise, a spicy artichoke dip, various olives and marinated mushrooms, and Paprika Guernikas; a roasted pumpkin soup; roasted turkey with chipotle-garlic sweet potatoes, sour cream mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts (with Prosciutto, garlic, Parmesan & cream), and a dressing with homemade (not our home; thanks, Timo) sausage and apples; salad with a creamy lime dressing; and various desserts.

Today is a simplified menu of baked brie and artichoke and sun-dried tomato vols-au-vent; cream of carrot soup (made without any cream); a pork roast accompanied by a medley of roasted winter veggies and glazed carrots with ginger and jalapeño (my sister's find); individual grilled Romaine salads with pear & Gorgonzola dressing; and our friend Victor's take on Key Lime Pie (different and rather wonderful).

With matching libations, of course: jalapeño margaritas with the appetizers, Ironhorse Fairytale Celebration Cuvee, 2007 with the soup, a Mexican red and white (AX tinto based on Cabernet Sauvignon and AX blanco based on a Blanc de Blancs) with the entree course, and Starbucks Christmas blend (or whatever they're selling now) with dessert.

We're trying out the jalapeño margaritas as I write this.  Instead of infusing the tequila with jalapeños (as we have done in the past with Serrano chilis), one blends the lime juice with the jalapeños then strains out any bits that are left before mixing in the tequila and Controy (the Mexican version of Cointreau - the recipe for which - as the story is told - was taken from the Mexico liqueur, so they had to come up with a different name for their orange-flavored liqueur).  Better than Triple Sec, we think.
 
Had to test it out before serving it; 9:30 may be a bit early for a drink, but most of the prep work on the dinner is already finished.  It's rather green and pretty grassy-tasting (reminds us of a bell pepper-tasting chenin blanc we used to enjoy at the Spotted Cow in Glendale, California), but we've decided to serve it anyway.  If folks don't like it, we'll make them our standard margaritas instead (equal parts tequila, Controy, and lime juice).  Either way, it will be a good introduction to dinner!

Our guest list is also smaller for this holiday; only four of the Thanksgiving six will be attending: the muralist has moved on to New York City; the Aeromexico person is on a different schedule now and doesn't make it to San Miguel as often.  Our loss, but we'll make up for it!

And now I must return to fussing over dinner preparations ....

Salad

Tossed Green Salad w/Creamy Lime Dressing

No Longer Bereft

Well, as fate would have it, I'm no longer bereft with the loss of my credit cards et al.

We received a call this evening from a Spanish-speaking woman and I turned the phone over to Michael who speaks more Spanish than I.

As it turns out, one of her children found the cards and IDs yesterday.  Going through the cards, she found our phone number and called this morning, but we already left for the bank.  So she called again this evening and  reached us!

No wallet (someone now has a Fossil wallet) and no cash, of course, but I've got all the cards!

So we headed out, passing Mega (stopping to withdraw a reward from the ATM machine) and were hoofing it down the Ancha when someone honked and pulled over.  It was Alejandro, a friend from Centro, who took us to the address we were seeking and interpreted for us.

So I now have my California driver's license, my Mexican visa (thank you, Jesus; we just saved $3100 pesos to replace it with a new visa - there are no 'replacements' issued, you get a new visa), my INAPAM card (old-folks' discount card - which included our phone number), my Sam's card and Costco card, and my Club 33 card (for which they wanted $25 to replace)!  Replacements for the others have already been ordered and will eventually show up when our mail forwarding company gets around to it.

American Express sends them via UPS Next Day, but they're going to our Laredo address (don't tell a creditor you live full-time in Mexico if you want to have a credit card), so there will be a delay in receiving them.  Others are mailed USPS.  Only one provider charged a replacement fee and it was only $7.50.  Luckily, we avoided paying the Club 33 fee!

So I can again purchase online for the States and I have my local bank's card for the peso account. Yahoo!!!

Restores your faith in folks, ya know?  [And the person who stole my wallet has risked their eternal soul for $25 in pesos and a nice wallet.  Maybe they needed it.]

Bereft

Now I know how it feels!  Bereft, i.e., deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something; lacking something needed, wanted, or expected.

And that's how I felt as we got off the bus yesterday afternoon at Mega (the grocery store stop near our home).  For at that time I felt the back pocket in the jeans - it's a habitual thing - but noticed that my wallet wasn't there!

Now, I had had no use for my wallet on our trip into Centro (Michael picked up our coffees at Starbucks and the new glassware at Europea) and the new wallets are sort of awkward getting free of the pockets in my jeans, so  there had been no reason for pulling it out.  Plus I wasn't completely sure I had brought it with me; it had been on the desk near my computer earlier in the day.

So we hurried home and searched - to no avail.  Then Michael thought of calling the friend with whom we had shared our coffee time at Starbucks.  He was no longer there, but went back to check the area in which we had been seated and to ask the manager about turned-in belongings. No dice.  Then he went to the local radio station to see if anyone had turned it in to them (it's a San Miguel thing).  Again no dice, but he was encouraged to return, say Friday, to go through the IDs that are turned in (wallets tend not to be surrendered).

So we set about trying to remember which credit cards had been in the wallet and notifying the companies to freeze those cards and send new ones.  This turned out to be simpler than expected, as most companies have a procedure that can be followed for that purpose online.  And I have a three-page document of websites and their IDs/passwords for my accounts and memberships.

So with that list to jog my memory - and Michael's suggestions - we notified almost everyone.  It did remind us that I really should change my California driver's license address from the post office box in the sub-station that closed.  So having done that, we now just have to wait a bit of time before asking DMV to send me a replacement license. Can't change your address and ask for a new license at the same time - identity fraud, you know.

I was clever enough to not write any passwords or codes on any of the cards, so we felt fairly safe that accounts would not be accessed or charges made.  American Express was great - new cards should be delivered by UPS today at our Texas address, of course, which means I'll eventually see them. One must not, as a general rule, disclose that one lives outside the United States if one wants to continue to have a credit card.  One can arrange for speedy delivery with our mail delivery provider, but there's a $50 charge!  I'll wait a bit.

We decided to visit our local bank to deal with replacing my peso debit card this morning.  The process was a bit drawn out (took about an hour), but it involved canceling my old card (this is done by phone - even from the bank branch) and they don't open until 9 am.  And our executive for preferred customers (that's a nice way of saying 'expats') was also handling a new customer, setting up an account for her, et cetera.  Then there was the fact that we hadn't advised them of our move from our first house (a year and a half ago and a house ago), so when talking to the person on the phone to cancel the old card we had to dredge up the address and other information from our memory banks to identify the account and ourselves).  So this was the time to make that change.  And our bank uses a credit-card sized gizmo to create new access codes each time we go online to check our account and that had to be reset to include my new debit card number.

But I did walk out the bank's door with a new debit card that worked.  And they ran our most recent activity report for us and there were no unknown debits.

Although one can't be sure where the wallet went missing, I have grave suspicions about a male/female couple that bounced against me as we were hanging on for dear life to the bars for standing passengers in the bus as it hurtled down the road on the way home.

Whew!  So I'll eventually have the replacement cards in hand, in a new wallet (thank you, amazon.com), and life will be back to normal.  In time for us to zip off to Cabo late in January for a brief vacation with my brother and sister-in-law (and my sister will also be there part of the time)!  

Now I just have to deal with getting a new visa to replace the one that went missing in the wallet: an appointment to explain what happened to my last visa before it expired; paying the fee for a new visa (Mexico changed the visa format and rules about a month ago); paperwork, new photos, a new visa fee ($3100 pesos or thereabouts); and, of course, today was the last day before the end-of-the-year holiday for Immigration, so we can't do anything until next year.  Luckily we're not leaving Mexico until next May!

Another Milestone

Earlier this week we went to nearby Celeya to visit Costco.  There's another, larger Costco in Queretaro, but QTO is further and larger, so traffic is crazier.  We don't much like driving in QTO, unless we can stay on the outskirts.  There is a wonderful grocery store on the outskirts, but Costco, Home Depot, and Sams Club are all further inside the city.

Now, going to Costco is not a big deal (we used to go quite often when our friends were running a restaurant and didn't have a car), but we hadn't been in over two months.  First there was the Hawai'ian cruise, then once back in SMA we were being cheap thrifty to make up for the money we spent on the cruise.  No big shopping trips.

So there we were, driving along towards Celeya, commenting on the view.  The Presa is finally filling back up - not completely normal (you can still make out the church steeple) but much better than it was; luckily San Miguel doesn't depend upon the Presa for our water supply.  The pedestrian walkway over the highway had finally been completed: the concrete superstructure had been finished for some time, but the railings had taken a bit longer. The interchange had been finished and there was no longer a detour.

The interchange had been finished!!!

You should understand that when we moved to San Miguel about two-and-a-half years ago, the highway was under construction - or re-construction.  Although part of the road was left mostly intact, most of it was receiving a widening job and the section through the mountains just south of San Miguel was being rerouted to improve the grade, which necessitated a great deal of work cutting new pathways through the hills.

So our introduction to the highway was one of washboard dirt.  Slow, bumpy, and dusty all at once.  The highway was being reworked in honor of the country's Bicentennial - and, by golly, it was to be finished before 2010.  Well, it was finished almost during 2010.  It was a really big job and although there were mechanical aids, a lot of work here is still done by hand.

We were so glad when it was finished and we could drive to/from Celeya easily.

Then, one day, it was torn up again.  This time at the intersection of a highway that enters only from the west.  It would seem that in their hurry to finish during the Bicentennial year, they took a shortcut and didn't build the overpass with connecting ramps to the other road.  So we spent many more months of driving down 'temporary' ramps, making U-turns, and driving up another 'temporary' ramp to get back on the highway.  More slow, washboard, and dusty roads -- this time with the added thrill of an ever-changing (and not well-marked) traffic pattern.  I think once we took a shortcut that we weren't supposed to take!

Things were still torn up when we last drove to Celeya, but they managed to finish the work in our absence.  It was a glorious drive both ways!  And I must assume anyone entering or leaving the highway at that intersection was enjoying the new routing, too.

Oh, yeah, Costco was great, too.  Especially their pizza, which is a pretty faithful copy of NOB Costco pizza.  We just don't slather it with mayonnaise or ketchup as the locals do!  Jalapeños are another story, however.

Technology Strikes

In this case, technology has stuck in the Jardin, or garden in front of the Parrocchia, or parish church instead of a basilica.  Although we have a lot of largish churches in Centro plus a goodly number scattered through the neighborhoods, the Parrocchia is our main church.  Luckily, our neighborhood is a subdivision, so no church; the nearest is San Antonio, some ways away so there's not too many early morning cuetes going off on saints' days, birthdays, holidays, et cetera-days.

The Parrocchia is the church of San Miguel (St Michael) for whom the town is named.  An older church (1600s), the more well-known frontispiece is a later addition (1880s), built without plans other than those drawn in the dirt with a stick by the brick mason and self-taught architect who designed it based upon photo postcards of European cathedrals.  [At least that's the story.] It is his interpretation of the neo-Gothic style rather than a imitation of any particular cathedral.  It's quite striking, even if the actual church is more traditional than the stonework in front.  It provides a great backdrop to the Jardin and was quite spectacular during the recent Bicentennial when images were projected upon it to accompanying music.

Unfortunately all you see of the Parrocchia from the webcam is its shadow across the plaza space before it!  When it's not a celebratory weekend (which isn't often), the area is a little drab, showing the church's shadow, the gray stone plaza, the first row of the stylized trimmed trees growing in the Jardin proper, the Allende house (wondered where the 'de Allende' came from? The family home - now a museum - of one of the leaders of the revolution, Ignacio Allende, whose statue is mounted on the corner of the museum), and a street leading downhill away from the Jardin.  Did I mention that we're in the mountains?  It seems that every street either goes up or down.  Homes that are advertised as 'a level walk to the Jardin' are not to be taken at their word.  Everything is relative!

Even the walk from our home in La Lejona into downtown might be considered level, but there's a very gradual up-and-down tilt to it -- until you actually reach Centro, when the change in geography becomes much more serious.  Most other 'level' streets are the same.  And streets leading off the Jardin either go up or down at a more noticeable rate.

It you're trying to orient yourself from the shadow of the Parrocchia, it might help to know that the altar end of the church faces 'liturgical east' -- in other words, not east at all, but south in this case.  So during the winter the sun is behind the church and the shadow of the facade is thrown across the plaza towards the trees in the Jardin.

The street you see disappearing downhill has our favorite place for drinks and munchies: La Azotea (the Rooftop).  Friendly staff, wonderful views (particularly at sunset), tasty treats, and about a half-block away from the Jardin, so if there's something going on, one can easily hear it.  Sometimes too easily!

Oh, and the link to the webcam (courtesy of a local real estate company) is http://www.sanmiguelrealestate.com/live-webcam-san-miguel-de-allende.php

It's probably located atop the restaurant in front of the church property just east of the Parrocchia - or on the north-south street just beyond.  We'll scout around the next time we're downtown and see if we can spot it!

Changes

Change is always interesting, no?  This is an election year for us, too, and there are changes afoot.  Our new mayor has been in place about a month or so.  Detractors were saying that since he owned restaurants and hotels in Centro, Centro would get all the funding, but he has proved them wrong.

The base of the statue in the center of our local roundabout (glorieta) is being reworked, involving a more substantial base, surround, and plantings.  The dividers in the streets leading up to the glorieta have been given a new landscape scheme that is much grander and lusher than the few trees and gravel of the previous administration.  They even resurrected the old statues for the glorieta on the east side of town and put them back in place, removing the (some would say) ugly replacements of the previous administration.

They're now working on the sidewalks between our glorieta and downtown.  The sidewalks had been in disrepair ever since we arrived in town.  Now old, broken sections are being removed and new, level and smooth sections poured. - a major improvement as far as we're concerned as we walk nearly everywhere.

It's nice to see good things happening again.  And I understand that they've found a way to tap UNESCO World Heritage site funding for at least part of this work - funding that went unused by the previous administration.

The change in president has gone less well.  The PRI party ruled Mexico for 70 years until they were turned out by a different party 12 years ago (our president sits for a single term of 6 years).  Well, PRI is back and some people are not happy about it.  There were demonstrations last night (the oath of office is given at midnight) from opposition parties.  Sr. Pietro Niento faced problems even getting into the Congress building to take the oath.  Banners were hung by the opposition on the building, taunting the new administration.  Political analysts said that there is no new PRI party; just new faces.  The old regime was known for ruling with handouts, underhanded deals, and rigged elections.  Although the new president is promising an open, transparent government, the new Secretary of the Interior (who is responsible for security in the country) is an old hand from the past regime known for wheeling and dealing.  Does nothing ever change?  We hope it does this time!

With the change in administration, the expats in town are awaiting possible changes to the new immigration laws.  The federal government just changed them last year and finally got the regulations for interpreting the new laws published a few weeks ago.  Now we have to see what the change in administration may bring.  We're just getting the new laws/regulations sorted out; hope any changes from above are minor - and in our favor.... 

[This is not a political post and the writer takes no position on the history or current occurrences in this, our fair, adopted country.]

Thanksgiving for Gringos

We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving this year by hosting a dinner.  The group of gringos with whom we hang out were not having any organized gathering and none of the restaurants we've patronized in the past were that fabulous, so we had been left pretty much on our own.  We hadn't entertained in the 2-and-a-half years that we'd been in Mexico, so the time was ripe....

Although the table will extend to hold more, we were limited by the number of place settings we have - only six - and matching dining room chairs, also six.  And that's not counting only five creamed soup bowls that we have, thanks to my breaking one last year!  More than enough for the two of us and our dogs - not that the dogs sit on chairs at the table; they prefer to stand when eating.

So we planned a menu and invited four friends.  Our friends (other than those in the gringo group) tend to be nationals, so it was a bi-lingual dinner party.  They all speak English as well as Spanish, but there were occasional bursts of Spanish which neither Michael nor I particularly understood.  Guess we have to keep working on our Spanish!

[That's our famous Brussels Sprouts in the blue-glazed dish]

Two of our friends also brought dishes to share: Both a pumpkin pie and a Key Lime pie for dessert;  mashed potatoes topped with crispy shredded bits, and a wonderful guacamole which included chilies, tomatoes, and pomegranate seeds (and matching chips).  Everything was delicious! Hadn't seen guacamole with pomegranate seeds since finding it at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Phoenix - the Barrio Cafe.  So both the appetizer table and the dining table were overflowing.

Dinner was a gab-fest that lasted from around 5 until 11 pm through Pilgrim's Prides, margaritas, wine and coffees -- and we decided that we should gather for drinks at our favorite roof-top bar, La Azotea, Saturday night in honor of Jean's birthday (which was actually Thanksgiving). 

A new tradition begun?

Hawai'i

Yes, yes - I know: why would retirees to the beautiful town of San Miguel require a vacation?  Well, San Miguel was not our first choice.  We were thinking Ensenada since it was a simple drive to the border, near family and friends, and at the beach.  I'm not the greatest beach fan, but Michael is quite taken by it.

Then we started looking around and discovered San Miguel de Allende.  Upon comparing the social/cultural life in San Miguel with Ensenada (or other beach cites on the mainland coast), we came to the decision that San Miguel offered more opportunities.  So here we are!

However, the ocean still calls us - and we love traveling, so vacations it is.  Other than trips to San Diego for family/Broadway shows and an annual trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico for the opera season, most of our jaunts revolve around cruises: fun, travel, ocean all rolled into one.

Our latest adventure was a 2-week cruise to Hawai'i from the Port of Los Angeles (actually located in San Pedro).  This will be a very condensed account since many of the sea days were much like other sea days.  Don't get the wrong idea: we love sea days where, except for shows and certain attractive activities, you may do as you like - just show up for dinner on time!

The first couple of days before the cruise we stayed with a dear friend, visited favorite restaurants, ate at the Club, did some shopping for things we can't easily get in Mexico, and opened the numerous packages our friend had gladly held on our behalf before we arrived (anything to beat that 17% fee on imports, ya know?).

Then it was off to the port for embarkation on Sunday, October 14th.  A relatively simple drive (our friend had made the same trip for an earlier cruise) turned into a puzzle when roadwork confused the routing through the port area - majorly.  By keeping the Vincent Thomas bridge in sight when the road sign arrows were not clear, we finally made our way to the port on time for our early check-in time.

And there was the Wonder, in all her glory, waiting for us at the terminal!  The Wonder was our very first Disney ship for several cruises.  We had limited vacation time available, so would combine a trip to WDW with a 4-day Bahamian cruise and the Wonder often had that rotation while the Magic wandered further asea.  Although a twin to the Magic, the Wonder is slightly different in decor (art nouveau vs art deco) and some of the venues in the adult area are slightly different, but they are largely the same ships.  Just as the newer, larger ships, the Dream and the Fantasy (again, art deco vs art nouveau), are largely identical ships.

There were only 1934 guests aboard as this was a longer cruise during school times so it was an older crowd (who liked to dress up for dinner and formal nights) without too many children (we were told only 300 - and there are the famous Disney Kid's Clubs to keep them busy and out of the way most of the time).  The guest to crew ratio was about 2:1.  Many cabins, though holding 3 - 4 guests, were only occupied by two people.

When booking the cruise - since it was a long one and therefore on the expensive side - we had decided to try an inside, horizontal cabin.  It would be our first inside cabin since our very first 3-day cruise many, many (many!) years ago.  And I was a little hesitant about the cabin as I sometimes get a little seasick and find a verandah - or at least a porthole - helpful in overcoming the effects of said illness.

As we had the earliest check-in time (a benefit of having achieved Platinum status with Disney's loyalty program, the Castaway Cay Club), we decided to ask if an upgrade was available.  We also set a cost limit on this upgrade.  We had been successful on one previous voyage, being given a huge cabin with a spacious balcony for a pittance.  This time we did score a verandah - which was nice - but it was more than a pittance (the cruise was 14 days, after all).  So we gulped and said 'okay.'  It was a very civilized transaction - they simply charge the difference to one's shipboard account - so we immediately moved some funds over to that account before the charges hit!

On our last cruise we had been seated at a table for four (we knew our tablemates) and since we had linked our reservations with friends from England with whom we had sailed before expected the same sized table.  Imagine our surprise when we were shown to a table for eight!  Fortunately the other four people were a couple from the midwest and two friends traveling together without their husbands and kids from Utah.  As it turned out, a delightful mix of personalities.  Some chatty, some not-so-chatty, some with Disney cruises under their belts, some for whom this was a first Disney cruise, some more adventuresome when it came to port excursions, so not-so-adventuresome, some venturing off on their own, some on the same excursions.

We would meet up with our table mates in unplanned places and times, by happenstance around the ship.  It was always good to see them during the day, at shows, at the Promenade Lounge before dinner, and the occasional excursion during the cruise.  A friendly face and all that!

So, a typical sea day began upon arising and taking a walk/run around Deck 4; then a quick shower and it was off to breakfast: either a sit-down a la carte affair in one of the restaurants or the Beach Blanket Buffet (which I invariably called Beach Blanket Bingo in honor of a show in San Francisco which I never managed to see before it eventually closed).  Buffets are fine, with many options, but it's too simple to over-indulge!

Then off to the Quiet Cove area (adults only) for some coffee at the Quiet Cove Cafe (sort of a luxe Starbucks-type place) with shady spots in which to read on the deck or lounge by the adult pool til it was time for lunch and a visit to either the al fresco places on deck or a nip down to a restaurant for the buffet or a la carte offerings.  Then back to the cabin or the pool area til it was time to dress for dinner.

We had second dining, so there was entertainment first for us.  Disney does first-class musicals (Toy Story, Disney Dreams, and the Golden Mickeys were interspersed with additional acts brought aboard for the longer cruise: comedians, magicians, ventriloquists, and musical acts.  They were all good, some quite good.

The it was off to the Promenade Lounge for a drink and music while waiting for our appointed dinner time.  On Disney ships there are three main restaurants: Parrot Cay (tropical decor), Triton's (more stately and elegant), and Animator's Palate (a black & white venue that turns into full color during your meal).  One rotates between these venues according to the coding on your Key to the World card.  And the nice part is that your service team (server, asst server, and head waiter) rotate with you so they have a chance to get to know your likes and dislikes, wine service, and it's good to see familiar faces each evening serving you.

There is also Palo (no " 's," please; just Palo) a for-fee Northern Italy dining room aft on Deck 10.  Very elegant - though not so much as Remy's on the Dream and Fantasy.  Still very nice indeed.  As Platinum members of the loyalty program we were comped for one meal, but also booked a brunch on a sea day, and another dinner. Thoroughly enjoyed them all and managed to have the same server twice (our first dinner was the first night he had worked in Palo!).

So as not to sound like eating and drinking were all that were on offer, there was a full schedule of activities for young and old alike.  Classes, demonstrations, tours, games, entertainment groups performing around the ship, bingo (the closest that Disney gets to gambling), shopping, the gym and Vista Spa, lectures by officers and Disney Cast Members, movies (both in the movie theater and on your in-cabin TV, a ballroom dance class each morning at sea, the Officers' Ball, the Captain's Reception, Character Meet 'n' Greets (picture opportunities), a character breakfast for everyone on board, and a gazillion other things.  Yes, we tended to fall into a routine that was not as frantic as others who tried to do everything, but it was a relaxing time for us.  We even skipped the DVC (Disney Vacation Club) presentations, where Michael usually wins prizes.

The days on the islands, however, were busier as we had booked a shore excursion for each island.  On Maui (Kahului) we had booked a tour of two coffee plantations with a private company.  This turned out to be quite a private tour, with only the two of us being chauffeured around in the guide's MBZ.  We first visited a small, eco-friendly, organic coffee farm which grows and harvests/roasts/packages the coffee from their own trees.  Did a walk-through the groves with the owner and learned quite a deal about coffee husbandry.  After lunch at the coffee farm we drove off for a tour of a huge plantation planted on a former sugar cane spot.  [Sugar production moved from sugar cane (largely grown on the islands) to sugar beets (grown everywhere else), so there are immense tracts of vacant land just waiting for something to be developed on them.]  This large plantation also had lots for sale where one could build one's own house amidst the coffee groves which were tended by others.

Following that bit of the tour we stopped at the Maui Coffee shop for a sample of their local coffee.  While there, the cashier asked from whence we came.  Michael told him, 'San Miguel de Allende' and the cashier said, 'Oh; my grandmother just bought a house there!'  Small world, eh?  Then it was back to Whole Foods (they have free WiFi) and then a walk back to the ship.

WiFi aboard ships is an iffy thing.  It's slow (via satellite), which makes it expensive as you are charged by the minute.  Although there are some savings to be gained if you buy a package, it's still expensive.  We had decided that we would find WiFi hot spots on the islands and make do with occasional checking-in.  We had luck on three of the four islands.

The next day we were at Kauai (Nawiliwili), where we had booked a Disney tour of Kilohana Plantation and a train ride through the plantation.   Very interesting to see one of the original owner's homes and grounds and the extensive plantings of every imaginable plant and tree (and some that were new to us).  The tour also included a few stops for scenic views of waterfalls and the like.  We were eventually deposited back at the ship, from which we walked into a nearby town and found a WiFi place.  Here we also visited our first ABC store, a relic of early commercialism on the islands - still thriving and we left some money there, finding shirts, shorts, sunglasses, and a few more things we couldn't live without.

Oahu (Honolulu) held the greatest treat for us: a tour of Disney's new DVC resort: Aulani, on the western side of the island.  The tour was limited to DVC members, so it wasn't too crowded and we had a walk-through of the facilities and accommodations.  The Imagineer who was in charge of the development did an over-the-top job. The rooms and villas were stupendous (can two persons justify staying in a e-bedroom villa? Hmmm...) and the public areas are both creative and fun.  We managed to sign on to the resort's WiFi while waiting for our return trip to the ship, and started thinking about how to combine our DVC points from other resorts to manage a stay at Aulani soon.

We also met these charming people at the resort.

[I promise we'll add more pictures once we get organized!  They have been downloaded to the computer from the camera, at least.]

The last day was on the Big Island of Hawai'i (Hilo) where we went on a volcano tour that included a lot of local sights, waterfalls, and both the Big Islands candy factory/shop and the Macadamia Nut Factory with a private touring company.  The tour split into two trams (it was quite popular among those of us who had belonged to a Facebook group for the cruise).  (We had also stayed on the Big Island in the past, so had seen many of the sights already.)

We saw the other tram at the first stop and then not again until we returned to the ship.  Our guide was a native of Hilo and obviously wanted to show us everything.  Our 5-hour tour turned into over 7 hours.  At least our tour had a lunch stop at the Nut Factory cafe; the other tour didn't stop for lunch at all.  I had hoped to do some other things if the tour stayed within its announced time limits, but that was not to be.  We arrived back at the ship with about 30 minutes to spare, most of which was spent standing in line to be checked back onto the ship.  One drawback to using a private tour company vs a Disney shore excursion is that if you miss the ship, you miss the ship and have to travel to the next port on your own dime.  As the next port was back in Los Angeles, we wanted to be sure we made embarkation.  It was a wild ride back from the volcano to the pier!

The return sea days were largely like the going sea days - more relaxation. Although there were lots of movies on both TV and in the theater, the biggie on this cruise was the release of Frankenweenie, Tim Burton's 3-D stop-action production that was an embellished telling of a live-action short subject he produced about 30 years ago which got him fired from Disney.  How things change with time, eh?

Upon returning to terra firma in the good ole USA, I promptly became ill, nearly embarrassing myself on a return visit to Club 33, but pulling myself together for dinner the next night at the Carthey Circle - a recreation of the theater Snow White premiered at - turned into a restaurant in the newly re-imagined California Adventure.  The food was excellent, but a bit rich for my poor tummy; had a wonderful time with our friends from Chicago, who graciously treated us for dinner.  And, having dined at the CC, we were given tickets for priority seating (well, standing, actually) for World of Color.  We had had hotel reservations for the opening weekend of WoC before we moved to Mexico, but the opening had been pushed back and we had never managed to see the show on other trips.  The viewing area couldn't have been better - dead center.  I think I still like Fantasmic! better, but this was quite the show!

And so, after a few more days in the parks, meeting up with a friend who had also been my boss in the court's training academy, we returned home: nearly 24 hours of traveling, but we were home again in beautiful San Miguel de Allende - home, sweet home!

Walking

Good news that isn't about rainfall!  (Yes, it eventually stopped, though it's still cloudy and cool.  Glad we have electric mattress pads on our bed!)  We had noted that, in our absence, some of the sidewalks on our path into downtown had been repaired.  Narrow sidewalks were widened a bit; rough places made plain.  And there were lots of rough places!  We didn't know what had been the source of the repair work, but it was all of the same style so figured one entity was responsible for the work.

We had also noticed upon our return that the nearest roundabout, or glorieta as they're called here, was being reworked.  Lots of brickwork going up around the base that supports El Pipila - the statue of the miner who approached the warehouse in Guanajuato where the royalist leaders and their families had taken refuge, with a slab of stone on his back (so he wouldn't be killed by gunshot as he approached) and burnt the door down with tar and torch so the revolutionaries could take control of the city.  It will be a much grander centerpiece when completed. [See this link for an interesting telling of the revolution (mention of El Papila is sometimes been omitted, but recent investigation has suggested that he actually existed): http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/latinamericaindependence/p/09guanajuato.htm].

Michael also noticed a change in the statue near the eastern entrance to the city as our cab careened back into town after our vacation.

So yesterday, walking into town in a light drizzle, we came upon workmen continuing the work on the sidewalk - and they were Public Works employees - at least their truck was a public works truck!  I'm guessing that they will extend the work at least up to the intersection with Sterling Dickinson.  Not sure they will be working on the west side of the street as it's in pretty good shape and would only need a few places repaired.  The side on which they are working has been a challenge to use the past couple of years living in our current location - but it has trees, so a shadier stroll into town.

Downtown, of course, won't be touched, as Centro Historico is under protection against changes.  We did get access ramps built into the corners of intersections last year, but some of them are both short, narrow, and quite steep.  Because the sidewalks in Centro are quite narrow, a wide ramp would have taken up the complete corner and presented a danger to any pedestrian encountering one while already on the sidewalk.

We've recently had a change of mayor here, and he seems to be wasting no time making the repairs and improvements the former mayor delayed or ignored so she could place supporters in the government (some say).  As walkers, we're very grateful for the improved sidewalks!

Dia de los Muertos

I know, I know - it's been so long since I wrote about the weather you were missing it, no?

Well, we were away for a vacation (more later), but have returned in time for the Dia de los Muertos festivities.  There was a festival featuring, among other things, a concert with an earth harp (you don't really want to know what we thought of that, do you?), cemeteries to visit, altars to ancestors to view; all that sort of stuff.

Then, after the big party last night, it began to rain.  It's still raining tonight.  For most of last night and today it was a slow, gentle rain but it has increased at times so that there's plenty of runoff on the streets.  [About 0.86" as of now.]  We took the bus downtown today rather than a taxi to save our pesos, and when we returned (also by bus) we walked across the supermarket's parking lot, past the gym, and then was faced with our street.  The street runs up a hill so there's always lots of water down at our end.

We made it through without getting too wet.  And earlier we had the challenging feat of finding a bus downtown in the downpour.  Bless large umbrellas.  The weather was bad enough that not too many folks were taking the bus, so there were seats available.  Count your blessings where you find'em!

Perhaps tomorrow I'll tackle the beginning of our vacation report - Aloha!

Small World

Ever have one of those days when you've moved 1800 miles away from everyone you ever knew and then people walk back into your life?

Likely not, but that's what happened to us recently.

On Independence Day weekend San Miguel is typically full of people.  As one of the locations that fostered the independence movement - including Miguel Allende, who lost his head for his efforts - people tend to flock here for the festivities.

So Michael is walking into Centro (it's about a 25-minute walk from our home to the Jardin), when he looks up and says: "Jose!"  Who should it be but one of our favorite waiters from a Mexican restaurant in a suburb in the San Fernando Valley (Chatsworth), nearly over the mountain ridge into the next county.  (We spent a goodly amount of time there.)

His family (Jose's) is from San Miguel and we had even considered renting one of their properties when first contemplating the move SOB.  And there he was walking along the Ancha with family members.

Then, more recently, we got an email from a friend we had first made when we moved to San Miguel.  We went everywhere with her - fund raisers, Los Milagros (the Miracles) for guitar music and botanas every Sunday afternoon, restaurant meals, and gringo gatherings (more about that later). 

She had moved away from San Miguel, looking for something she hadn't found here.  Although we thought that she had moved south to the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico, it turns out that she had rented there, moved to southern Alabama, spent a couple of months in Costa Rica....you name it.  And here she was back in San Miguel for a month before going on a Caribbean cruise.

So we did lunch and caught up on the last year for all of us.  We think we'll be able to meet up again the day after we return from our vacation.  Yes, even retirees take vacations. It's just too perfect here in SMA - you need some time away to realize just how wonderful it is.

The best part of this hiatus is that I'll be out of touch with the internet for most of the 3 weeks, and thus off duty as a moderator for a Yahoo! Group about the town.  It can get a little 'close' if you know what I mean.

In the meanwhile, Michael is finishing up the last file he's working on (it just came in today and we leave tomorrow) as well as trimming up the dogs.  Our sitter has seen them already, but it never hurts to brush them out and trim them down some more! 

And that's true for all  of us! 

Lime vs Lemon

It was supposed to be a lemon tree.  Our friends bought it at a local nursery and was assured it was a Meyer lemon tree.  Meyers are rare to non-existent here in the central highlands of Mexico.  The Mexican lemon tree - limon Real - looks like a lemon on steroids, with a extremely thick skin, but 'normal' lemon inside.  A friend with a tree gave us a dozen of the large grapefruit-sized beasts which we dutifully juiced (thank you, electric juicer, as it was too large to fit into one of our handheld juicers), froze in an ice-cube tray, and transferred to a baggie in the freezer, where they await their eventual use - someday.

But back to the Meyer lemon.  We were told that it had lived in a shaded patio, and thus hadn't produced any yellow lemons from lack of sunlight.  The fruit would turn yellowish and then drop off the tree before it looked like a lemon.  [A lime left to ripen on the tree will turn pale yellow and become juicier....]

We admired the tree and tremendous pot it was in and gladly became it's new owners.  It's now sitting in our backyard where it does receive its daily dose of clear, Mexican sunshine.

However, we had doubts about its provenances.  It produces fruits that are lime-sized. They taste like limes. They work in Margaritas splendidly.  So we looked on-line for how to determine whether a tree is a lemon or a lime and followed the steps given at eHow.com.

We checked the size of the tree, the shape of the leaves, the aroma released when a leaf was torn, the smell of the bark when separated from the tree, and the color of the blush upon the flowers.

The tree passed with flying colors and a score of 100% - it's a lime!  We're hoping that the backyard will be protected enough for the tree; limes are more sensitive to cold weather than lemon trees.  Guess we'll find out in January/February.

[ Did we mention that the pot was planted with basil, rosemary, and mint around the base of the tree?  An extra treat! ]

More importantly, it seems to have recovered from the move.  Yesterday we discovered it covered in blooms - even more limes!!!

And we love the tree: the look, the addition to our backyard, and most importantly, the fruit when you don't have enough store-bought limes for that Margarita!  (We go through a fair number of limes each week and the tree would never keep up without help.)  If each of those flowers turn into a lime, it will be lime juice that we're freezing!

San Miguel's Day

Well, my goodness -- the folks here are going crazy over St. Michael's Day.  I suppose it's a given since we live in San Miguel de Allende, but there have been cuetes since last night, a procession at 4 am this morning (which Michael trudged into town to see), a hour's worth of fireworks representing the fight between Michael and his fellow archangels and the fallen angels, voladores, and more parades/processions all day.  It sounds like they're starting up with the cuetes again as I write.

The early morning processions were great (I understand).  Here's a picture of part of it.  We think the folks in white were those who would portray the archangels as they paraded around the square and then exited to a side street near the Parrochia that leads to a side entrance to the area in front of the church from which the archangels threw their fireworks by hand.

And then the Catherine wheels went off!

 I understand that those too close to the fallen angel's fireworks' launchers were in for a surprise!!!

The Catherine wheels are supported by a castelita [the openwork structure in the background] as seen in this picture from the Cowboys & Horses Mass in front of the parrochia during the weekend.

All in all, a jolly time was had by all - especially those of us who stayed abed and checked out the photos later!

And what are voladores you ask?

Here they are, twirling around that really tall pole.   I understand that they work their way up to the top and then descend to ground level again.

Weather, again?

Okay; I suspect that you must be tired of hearing about our weather, but it's an important facet of life here SOB.

Two days ago we had lots of dark clouds - all day - as they swept past us:  no rain.

Yesterday we awoke to a complete cloud cover which then turned into white, fluffy clouds: no rain.

Today the clouds were spotty, nothing dark nor threatening.  So tonight we're listening to a percussion piece of thunder and lightning.  The actual storm seems to be south of SMA, but we're being exposed to both the lightning and the tremendous, rolling thunder the lightning is producing.

It's a shame we probably won't get any rain from this.  The presa is nearly full again, but it will be a long, dry winter and a little extra water is a good thing.  Rainy season is next summer.  Perhaps it will rain again in January/February? 

After a summer spent in southern Indiana with lots of weather (and the appropriate warnings on the weather radio), it's kinda neat to have weather here, too.   No weather warnings on the non-existent weather radios, but it's here, just the same.  Other than the weather channel's predictions via the internet, our local stations (mostly volunteer) report what happened, not what's going to happen.

Hola - just as I'm writing this the pitter-patter of raindrops has begun in the back yard! 

Rain, glorious rain!!!!

Travel

For those who think we only sit around and complain about the weather, we are jubilado (retired), so we travel!

In August, we went to Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Opera Season.  One year - a few years back - we decided to go to Santa Fe for the opera.  We'd visited at the holidays before as we had doggie friends who lived in/around Santa Fe.  

So we bought some tickets, singed up for the preview buffet and turned up for dinner before the opera.  At that time they seated folks rather than letting them find their own places (they may still do, but as established opera-goers, we usually decline their seating services).  

So we were seated at a table for six and, being shy types, looked timerously as each party of two was led towards our table.  Each two-some was escorted past us - much to our relief) until two gentlemen were seated with us.  Well, we got on like a house afire.  The folks who do the seating are aces! We were living in Los Angeles at the time and the gentlemen frequently came to southern California for quick breaks so there were several meetings, dinners, concerts, et cetera.

We now go to Santa Fe annually and always share some time at the opera.

Santa Fe was swell, but a little complicated this year.  To take advantage of sales on Volaris, we arrived (and departed) through San Diego - via Tijuana - about 12 hours apart. Luckily most of the Volaris staff are bilingual.  [The first time we flew Volaris we nearly missed our flight, not understanding what was being announced!]  

I crossed the border at San Ysidro so I could take the trolley into San Diego (you know me and my alternate-forms-of-transportation thing) to meet my sister closer to their home; Michael crossed at Otay Mesa, from where he needed a pick-up.  Paula and Tim swear that Otay Mesa is no problem, so we'll be using that entry for both of us in the future:  closer to the TIJ airport, nearly a walk-thru situation with the Border Patrol as opposed to an hour or more shuffling in line at San Ysidro, and only a short walk to McDonald's where family/friends can wait for your arrival.  And there are factory stores nearby!  With staff who actually want to help you!! Yahoo!!!!!  We became fast friends of the Ralph Lauren Polo store there during this trip. We only went there because a friend here in San Miguel asked for a particular brand of sport shirt, but we'll certainly be back!

Paula and Tim's excellent friends, Scott and Christopher, were in town and also staying at their home part of the time, so there was a certain amount of bed/house swapping to accommodate everyone.  Hadn't seen Scott and Christopher in ages (they live in San Francisco now), so it was good to catch up with them!  Busy, talented kids who are working up a moveable cabaret with P/T.

Then off to Santa Fe via a flight to ABQ.  I love the San Diego airport: spacious, excellent crowd handling, pleasant atmosphere.  Once in New Mexico there were the usual summer thunderstorms (a bumpy plane arrival by plane), but they missed the opera showtimes, so that was good.  Other days it poured!  First visit - Target for those umbrellas we thought we'd brought with us....  

Stayed at La Quinta Inns within driving distance of downtown - much prefer walking to the square, but it's cheaper further out.  LQ was being remodeled, so internet service was spotty in our room.  Although Michael could sign on with his iPhone, my netbook could recognize the signal, but couldn't connect except between 3:00 and 4:00 AM!  I slept through some of those nights.

Next year I think we're looking at Buffalo Thunder, on the north side of town a few miles out, but probably downtown SF is as reachable as when staying on the south side 'cuz it's highway into town, instead of heavily traveled surface streets.  It might even be a quicker drive, too.

Met up with our friends from Santa Fe - Michael (another!) and Will - who own a business caring for homes (well, it's more than caring for homes: involves taking cars to other parts of the West if one of their Santa Fe customers wants the Rolls to be in San Francisco when they arrive from Dallas, et cetera) for one of the operas.  They prefer closer seats that we usually occupy, and they care for the homes of 2 opera divas who maintain houses there: Susan Graham and Joyce DiDonato.  Both will be singing in the 2013 season, so we'll have seats in the front of the house for those two operas with Michael and Will (The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (Offenbach) with Susan Graham and La Donna del Lago (a Scottish opera by Rossini) with Joyce DiDonato, and seats towards the back for the other 3 operas (Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), La Traviata (Verdi) and a world premier, Oscar - yes, the Wilde man - (Morrison) with David Daniels, a fabulouso countertenor! 

Only saw 3 operas this year (we backed out of 2 to save tix, hotel, meals expenses), but are booked and paid for all 5 next year plus the two buffet dinners, so there won't be that temptation next year.  We had already bought our non-refundable plane tickets for the return to Mexico, so Paula and Tim got to host us for a few extra days of shopping!  Sat next to a lovely couple from Arkansas who were attending SFO for the first time.  The wife reminded us of our sister-in-law, Jane, and now if we turn up in Arkansas, we have a place to go.

A blow-by-blow description of the restaurants/operas/shopping must wait for a longer blog entry. Shortly: Pearl Fishers (Bizet) we knew only by the duet from the first act that one hears around; King Roger by Szysmanowski (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong - (later) fixed that spelling!) is a new favorite which we knew only through the Sydney Ballet's adaptation by Graeme Murphy (thank you, uTube); and Verdi's Tosca with Thomas Hampson (an L.A. Opera and Philharmonic stalwart) as Scarpia.  As usual, imaginative stagings, fine acting, and glorious music.  They just do things so well there - and in the middle of the desert (don't let them hear that remark).

Now we're prepping for a Hawai'i cruise on the Disney Wonder that comes up in mid-October.  Spreadsheets completed (except for pesky updates); packing lists made; formal wear tried on for sizes; some collaborative shuttle service arranged with others on Facebook/Disboards making the trip; port excursions arranged; last minute orders for our travel agent to deal with; all that sort of thing. 

There will also be times to arrange meet-ups with folks from past cruises who will be at DL while we're there between the cruise and our return to Mexico.  It's going to be a busy couple of days!  Old home week....

No more cruises until 2014: the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Star. We were booked on Disney for the PC cruise from Miami to Los Angeles (with a quickie Miami/Key West/Castaway Cay/Miami before it), but Norwegian is cheaper and they've got their 2014 schedule out already, so we could push the cruise back several months.  And we've sailed on the Star before and enjoy 'Anytime Dining' so it will be fine.  We're planning on flying to Orlando for WDW, then hopping down to Miami and cruising through the Canal back to L.A. in January '14.  

No cruises planned for 2013, though there is a placeholder ressie for December '13 that will probably  be moved forward or back.  Disney is sailing out of Galveston thru the Eastern Caribbean (with a stop in Port Canaveral that includes transport/park entry to WDW for a day) plus a stop in Key West (I've always wanted to visit there since seeing that Arnold Schwartzenegger/Jamie Lee Curtis spy movie - True Lies?) through May of 2013.  Still considering that possibility.

Otherwise, same-old, same-old.  Our SMA gurus - Carol Schmidt and Norma Hair (Falling in Love with San Miguel) - have moved back to the states after 10 years in San Miguel.  Carol's health was being affected by our altitude here and she was facing dragging an oxygen cylinder around town - NOT.  Now they're back in a suburb of Phoenix (if you can call 50 miles away a suburb) and she's doing much better with a normal oxygen reading of around 97%!  They were forlorn at leaving SMA, but it was for the best.  Not that we lived in each others' pockets, but it's odd to know that they're not here any longer. Something's missing in the air, ya know?

Between trips we made it through another celebration of the Revolution this last weekend.  Other than a lot of cuetes (aerial bombs), it was sort of quiet - at least in our part of the town.  Tons of people in Centro (many from Mexico City - for whom San Miguel is a reachable vacation/weekend spot), but quieter than in the past, I understand.  This is the first time we've been in San Miguel for the holiday but we didn't really get too involved.  San Miguel = good; crowds = bad.


And that's what we've been doing to keep us out of trouble!

Cuetes to the left of me; cuetes to the right of me!

Although the dogs had gotten to the point that they ignored the sounds of the construction of the new house across the street (except when the big cement trucks and pumpers show up), we were approaching Independence Day with some trepidation.

This country seems overly fond (some would say) of aerial bombs - cuetes - which are set off for any slight reason: every saint's day, historical occasions, festials, even someone's birthday, you name it - and so we were apprehensive about the coming Independence Day celebrations.

There were a few cuetes on Friday morning, but then nothing!

So we thought, OK, there will be more on Saturday - the day of El Grito (the Cry for Independence/Revolution), which occurred in nearby Delores (now Delores Hidalgo in honor of the priest who delivered the stirring speech that began the movement for independence).  El Grito is re-enacted in many towns throughout Mexico late in the evening of the day before Independence Day.  And, of course, especially here in San Miguel (now San Miguel de Allende to recognize one of the first leaders of the revolution who came from San Miguel).  After El Grito on the Eve of Independence Day, the crowd from Delores walked cross-country to San Miguel, picking up leadership and support for their cry for freedom.

So, more cuetes late at night, right?  Wrong; quiet.

Now this morning, bright and early, there have been tremendous rounds of cuetes set off, which have sounded as if they were in our backyard -- and the dogs (well, Miyake, at least) have been appropriately noisy in return.  This hasn't seemed to have made any difference to those setting them off - just us.  But here it is, 8:30 am and all is quiet.  One can even hear the birds chirping in the bushes.  Wonder if it's done for the day???

San Miguel de Allende is a tourist spot for both gringos and Mexicans alike.  We really were battening down the hatches for a prolonged noisy celebration, but it may not occur - or it may occur at a more reasonable hour.  Perhaps because it's a Sunday, events will be delayed?  Certainly not like the 200th Anniversary Celebration of recent past.  Of course, we'd managed to book ourselves on cruises the last couple of years during this time, so we've had only reports of the festivities by which to judge.

Guess I'll try my hand at making a peanut butter mousse pie.  'Cacahuate' - that's Spanish, si?

More weather...

You must get tired of me going on about the weather - you'd think this was an UK site!  But the other day, when an inch was predicted, we got just under 1/4-inch!  What a disappointment.

On the other hand, when not much precipitation was predicted for today at all, it's now thundering and lightening and occasionally pouring down rain.  Probably not that much rain, but it is raining, which is a good thing.  The day was pretty uneventful otherwise: both our maid and the gardner arrive on Saturday and the dogs go loco! You'd think seeing them each every week (the maid twice weekly) they'd be used to ithem by now, but they still react as if they've never seen them before.   Terriers - grrr!

Our rain really varies between different parts of town.  This living on the side of a mountain makes for different weather patterns  depending upon whether yourre on the lea side or not, north of town or south, et cetera.

Michael does need to visit a friend's home across town this evening to feed the friend's dog and cat.  He's taking our large umbrella - and will take the bus, I hope.  The bus will get him within striking distance of the friend's home and the umbrella should provide the rest of the protection.

Michael did whip up a home-made salsa late in the day - good as usual, if slightly different.  Depends upon what chilies are used in addition to the seared tomatoes.  He uses both fresh chilis and dried and they vary depending upon what we have in stock.  All have been yummy, if never quite the same.

We had a small stock of Fritos from a shop that visits Texas on a regular basis, so we had Frito Pie tonight!  Not that I ever made Frito Pie when we lived in the States, but suddenly it's old home week.  Of course, it's also a bit different from time-to-time (like the salsa), but still recognizable - and good!

Musings

Just when we thought the rainy season had ended, it's raining again!

Woke to a gentle pitter-pat that turned into something more closely resembling rain for the last half-hour.  Although earlier predictions were for only smatterings of moisture for this week, today's forecast has been re-cast to call for just over an inch of rain. Hope the forecast proves true!  You never know here in the mountains; it may be drenching folks out in the countryside and relatively dry here in town. Although the Presa is looking happier, there's never enough rain (as long as we don't live next to the stream that runs through town and sometimes overflows when there's excess water coming down) - and we avoid living in those areas.

Also hope that the rain provides brief breaks so that I can zip over to the grocery store for more purified water and fabric finish. (Ironing to do, ya know?)  Started organizing the formal wear for our upcoming cruise and realized that the neck bands of our wing-collar shirts were a bit dingy looking.  What did I use for detergent the last time?!?  Any way, a quick application of the newest miracle whitener and a quick wash and they're as good as new -- except they need the application of a hot, steaming iron and some starch. Oops - make that 'fabric finish;'  hard to find real starch nowadays. And just as well, I suppose.

I seem to recall my mother doing the laundry: washing, rinsing, and then a second rinse with the starch in it. Then hanging the washing out to dry and collecting it later in the day.  Ironing took a second day.

I know it's a bit early to start packing, but there's nothing wrong with sorting things out, right?  We have an Excel spreadsheet with all the travel arrangements (airlines, seat assignments, reservation numbers, times, airports, shuttles, hotels, pre- and post-cruise arrangements, (the cruise too, including special meals, details of island tours, and the shows for each night - based upon the earlier May cruise), and the ever-popular 'what-we're-wearing-each-day-and-how-can-we-fit-everything-into-one-large-suitcase section. Some less charitable readers might accuse me of OCPD (Obsessive-Compulsive Packing Disorder), but I like to think of it as 'advance planning.'  As long as we don't need moth balls in the suitcases, eh?  [I am resisting the urge to open up the suitcases and start fitting things in.]

Long ago - in a former life - a friend got so enthused about an up-coming trip that she started packing a couple of months in advance.  I did gift her some cedar fresheners to keep her clothes from becoming musty....

I'm Legal!

Okay, I've been 'legal' for many years, but now I'm legal to stay in Mexico for another year.

This time, our second renewal for our third year in Mexico (That sounds confusing, doesn't it? How about: Our second time renewing the visa for another year, our third.), instead of using a facilitator, we decided to go half the way toward doing it ourselves.  (One can actually input the information into their system and let them bring it up to work on it.  We didn't go quite that far, but believe the Escritorio Publico probably made those entries for us.  If not, we may try doing the whole kit-and-caboodle next year - but see below.)

So we prepared as much as we could ourselves (forms with English translations are available on line) and then went to the Escritorio Publico [EP] across the street from the INM [Instituto Nacional de Migración] offices.  I should say I did as much as I could myself, because our visas aren't due for renewal until August 10th and Michael will renew his after the first of the month to split the cost of the visas over two months' income.

We have always had what used to be called an 'FM2' visa, the step below the equivalent of green cards, so that we could qualify for the green card as soon as possible and not be required to renew each year at 'great cost.'  The cost of an FM2 is greater than the FM3 - which many expats have - but we thought: Why pay for an FM3 for 5 years, then an FM2 for 5 years before getting our green card.  It was always our intention to stay in Mexico and there didn't seem to be a good reason to not just 'go for the gusto!'

Now INM is changing their procedures to follow the new laws, but it hasn't been announced just what the changes will be, so we're proceeding under the old regulations.  Word has it that the new visa versions will combine FM3s and FM2s and only require 4 years before green card status.  We'll see.  We're hoping that our college degrees may give us enough extra points to qualify even sooner.  As long as they don't require that I speak Spanish!!!

The cost for the Escritorio Publico is only $400 Mx pesos - about half of what a facilitator charges.  For this the EP fills out the necessary paperwork, takes your pictures, creates a document that you take to a bank to pay for the visa (the usual procedure here in Mexico, be it a visa or any other fee that is due), and then tidies things up and sends you across the street to the INM offices.

While facilitators make it simpler for you, the process isn't very complicated and the EP charges include photos, which would be an additional cost if using a facilitator.

We (Michael came along) had filled out the form - partially in English, partially in Spanish, so they translated it all into Spanish, took the pictures, sent us to our bank of choice to make the payment, and then sent us with the finished packet to INM.

Once there, we took a number and waited a short time for an official to help us.  Our papers were in order, so we signed a bunch of forms, forms were stamped officiously, and we were told to come back in two days.

Two days later we dutifully returned, took a number and waited for the officer at the visa window to call our number.  Here's where it got a little complicated.

I had stood in line behind the only other person in line when we arrived.  Then others lined up behind me.  At this time, Michael figured out that I should have taken a number, so I did - which placed me behind the others who had lined up behind me taking numbers as they did so.

So I'm okay with that.  However, while waiting interminably to be called, a couple of facilitators whose clients showed up after I did and took later numbers, approached the window and - miracle of miracles - their numbers were called out of order!!!  And some of them must have shown up earlier than expected, because it took quite a while to get their visas printed and issued to them.

Luckily the other facilitator who was lurking around only approached the window after I had finished my business, because I had decided that I wasn't going to stand for this and would cause a scene.  After all, someone had paid those facilitators plenty of money to stand around and wait to be called on their behalf.  If it was taking a while to reach them, so what?  If it hadn't been for Patty Garcia's clients who took so long, we all could have been out of there earlier.  The other folks who were waiting with me seemed to take it all in stride, but I was getting a little incensed about it.  Luckily, I didn't need to throw a hissy fit or get expelled or something. (Though the Federal policeman in our area was kinda cute!)

Although we can do the whole thing ourselves (getting our own photos for around half EP's total fee), it was certainly simpler to use the Escritorio Publico, knowing that this is what they do all day, the forms would be correct, pictures would be in the approved format and sizes, the paperwork for the bank would be correct, and life would be a lot simpler.

On the first day, we accomplished everything (including taking care of another EP client's payment at the bank) within an hour and 10 minutes.  The second day took a little longer, but we'll know the procedure for our next time (for Michael's turn after August 1st).

Anyway, I'm legal again and renewing early didn't change my expiration date.  One less thing to take care of before we head off for Santa Fe, New Mexico for the opera in mid-August.

Rain and Stuff

Are you tired of these weather reports?  I promise to talk about something else today, but first -- the weather!

It really rained again yesterday - most of the afternoon until late into the night (well, early morning).  You'd think I'd spent a great deal of my life in southern California the way I get enthused about rain.  Oh, I did!

Most of the thunder and lightning was off in the distance last night, so I suppose another area got even more rain, but it was fine here.  Rain in our little town tends to simply fall from the sky.  No big winds to force the rain to strike at an angle - just straight down.  And down it came last night.  It does make it handy for leaving your windows open - without the winds to drive it into the house, we can enjoy the sound of the rain falling and the cool temperatures that accompany it.

We're only up to a little over an inch this month, but there's more predicted for the next few days - if the BBC Weather site is to be believed.  We sure can use the water; our main presa is way low.  It's going to take a lot of rain to raise it up to something approximating normal.  We've heard that there has been some water rationing in other parts of town. Luckily, the section in which we live - La Lejona - has its own water supply wells, so we've not had a problem thus far.  And all our houses have tinacos on their roofs, which hold a supply of water and provide water pressure to the house.  Once the water comes back on, they automatically refill, using a float valve like that in a toilet tank.  Our house also has a big cistern under the parking area - full of water - but without a functioning pump and valve to haul it up to the tinaco.  I suppose we should look into that some day.  Just in case....

But on to other things.  Cruising, for instance.  What else do we do?  And a suitable subject from a place many miles from the nearest ocean and about a mile-and-a-quarter above it, eh?

We had a Panama Canal cruise preceded by a short Caribbean cruise that included a stop in Key West scheduled for next May on Disney, of course.  As we looked at just how much money we needed to amass by the due date we began to reconsider.

So there was a deal on Norwegian on a ship we had previously sailed, the Star.  Not one of their newest, hugest ships, but one that we liked when we sailed on her back in 2005.    We're waiting to hear back from our travel agent re: what cabin she's managed to reserve for us and the total cost.  We're hoping for an aft balcony (always wanted to sail looking at where we've been) or a mini-suite (that aft balcony cabin is still no larger than any other balcony cabin; the mini-suite is about 60 square feet larger and it's less expensive than the aft balcony.)  It would be nice to see both sides of the Panama Canal at the same time from the aft balcony, but I won't complain if we are 'forced' to take the mini-suite.  It's a tough call, but I'm sure we'll be happy with whatever she can come up with.  And it doesn't sail until January 2014, so there's more time to afford it!

In the meanwhile, we've just booked a flight to San Diego (well, actually Tijuana) at a greatly reduced rate for next May, so we'll still be traveling somewhere.  We think Billy Elliot will be playing in San Diego and hope to get tickets for that show.  We were just in San Diego via Tijuana a couple of weeks ago for a performance of Wicked!  Love that show.  And on the trip we discovered that instead of crossing into San Diego at San Ysidro - where we waited for hours on our last trip - we could go to nearby Otay Mesa and cross almost immediately.  There were agents waiting for customers.  Now, the Red Car Trolley doesn't go as far as Otay Mesa, but Paula and Tim now know how to get there to pick us up.

We did a lot of shopping while we were in town: Target, Ross, and of course, IKEA!  However, we did leave some things un-purchased, and we tend to order items on line and have them delivered to Paula and Tim's, figuring that we'll eventually pick them up.  They're very kind to accommodate us.  So we booked some extra baggage weight for the return trip to accommodate all the possible 'stuff' with which we may return.

Otherwise, life continues apace here in San Miguel.  We'll be in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the opera season mid-August and there's still the Disney Hawai'ian cruise in mid-October (how could we ever give up on Disney???).  So travel we must.  We've just finished booking our shore excursions for the islands and have prepared a packing list, so I think we're doing fine.  I suppose we should turn our attention to what we need for Santa Fe next.

We've just received some disappointing news about friends here in San Miguel, but I'll write about that later.  They're having a party tonight and we've made Mexican Chocolate ice cream (with espresso and a bit of spice) as well as a Southwestern Coleslaw to contribute to the feast.  There will probably be a large turn out, but I've promised Michael I won't try to bring enough to feed the whole group.  You know potlucks - there's always lots to go around!

More on Rain!

I know I've already posted on the rainy season, but just wanted to say that it's really raining right now! Lots of thunder and lightning. Oh, boy!!!

We'll soon be leaving for San Diego 3:30 am tomorrow night) to see our 7th (or is it 8th?) production of Wicked.  We hope it will continue to rain while we are gone and continue through at least July if not August.  Not sure how much longer we'll have electricity - those last two bolts were really close!  Set the dogs a-barkin', for sure. Make that the last 3 bolts!!!

Time to take the kids upstairs to bed and snuggle down under the duvet.  And it's pouring down - not just lights and noise.

A note from the next morning - it finally let up around 4 am, so we got a good soaking, much needed.  It's still overcast this morning, though.

Talk to you all soon....

Rainy Season at Last?

It's probably too early to announce the beginning of our annual rainy season, but there have been signs:

• Last week it poured down one night; not too heavily, but rain with thunder and lightning for about half-an-hour;
• Sprinkles after the Day of the Locos parade on Sunday;
• Last night it rained again, arriving late in the evening but it was rain leaving us with thunder and lightning on it's way out of town, followed by brief showers early this morning.

We often have glorious clouds - and even threatening-appearing dark rain clouds overhead, but it doesn't rain often.  More often the clouds blow away leaving us with glorious sunshine instead.

Rain is cool; rain is sorely needed (the Presa is woefully low); rain brings cooling breezes and a freshness that is missing at times during the rest of the year.  Rain means summer has arrived.

To paraphrase Oliver!  'Rain, glorious rain: showers, storms, and just sprinkles...'

How Did You Spend Your Summer Vacation?

Just returned from eight weeks in the Midwest, where I'd helped my sister and brother-in-law refresh a home from pre-1898 (some accounts say it began life as a Civil War farmhouse, but that seems questionable).  Many of the supplies that were determined to be needed had to be procured in Terre Haute - about 30 miles away - and innumerable trips were made when local suppliers could not provide our needs.  Our tasks involved painting, patching, staining, tiling 2 bathrooms and a kitchen floor, installing kitchen cabinets and appliances, light fixtures, window coverings, carpeting, buffing up the wooden floors, a laundry, re-constructing a back deck, painting the porch, replacing part of the porch ceiling, installing doors and a bit of door-bling.  Nothing quite like 10-foot ceilings and huge windows, eh?

So I returned to San Miguel on Tuesday, the 12th - after driving like the wind across the United States from Indiana - to the sound of aerial bombs!  It was Corpus Christi and that called for hourly explosions, as expected here in Mexico.

But they didn't stop.  The next day, while enjoying margaritas at the rooftop bar of La Azotea, the hourly bombs turned into fireworks as the sun dropped behind the hills to the west of town.  What a way to celebrate the return of normalcy!

And, speaking of normalcy, tomorrow is the parade of the Locos - a chance for folks to dress crazily and parade through town.  We're hoping to snag a viewing spot near the Instituto (which is near the beginning of the parade) and avoid the crowds at the Jardin.  We've at least one  friend in the parade so we'll be looking out for him and cheering him on.

How could this be compared to life in a little burg in the midWest???

In the Air

[Herewith a rather abbreviated finish to the trip report.]

So here we are in the air between Miami and DF.  We got ready a bit early this morning so caught an earlier bus from the resort to the airport.  Check-in was simple though busy.  Got our boarding passes, checked our luggage, and headed for TSA Security screening - notorious at MCO for slow-moving lines. 

Surprisingly, our line moved pretty well and we were on our way to the AA module pretty quickly.  Found a bit to eat and waited for our flight to be called.

The first flight of the day was rather short - about 25 minutes, but the total time was about an hour what with loading the passengers, taxi-ing to the runway, et cetera.

Miami International is much nicer to navigate when you’re flying domestically!  No long treks to Customs/Immigration.  What we thought would be a long layover between flights turn into 45 minutes before our announced loading time.  However, it turned out to be the normal half-hour before takeoff, so it wasn’t too hurried and we had time to pick up a sandwich for the flight.

The flight was marred by a screaming child - in the row ahead of us!  I felt really sorry for the family, who were trying to figure out a way to quiet their son.  The other part of the family group (in the row behind us) made suggestions, but nothing seemed to work for long.  At least I think they were suggestions - it was all in some foreign tongue.  He quieted down once we landed, so methinks it may have been inner-ear related.

Once we got through customs and immigracion, we collected our luggage and headed out to find our shuttle pick-up.  They offered us a choice: the bus/car combination that we'd paid for or share a shuttle van directly to our home for the same price.  There was just one more party to show up.  Guess which one we picked?

So five hours later we eventually arrived in San Miguel, tagged our beds, and fell asleep.  Dogs to be delivered tomorrow....

Crusing on the Fantasy Maiden Voyage

[Herein a summary of our week-long Western Caribbean cruise.]

Our last morning began with breakfast at Olivia’s after leaving our packed suitcases in the room, tagged for the ship, for transportation to the Fantasy.  We had four luggage tags with our room number and cruise confirmation on them, so our previously checked and carry-on luggage was transported for us to the ship.  The limo (a gift from our travel agency) picked us up early and had us at the cruise terminal just as their doors opened.  After a brief wait in the check-in line, we walked on to the ship.

Once checked in and onboard, we headed to Remy/Palo to secure reservations for dinners.  This is our last cruise as Gold members of the Castaway Club (a previous-guest club), and since it’s the Maiden Voyage of Disney’s latest ship, all the Platinum members had scooped up the ressies before the Gold members had a chance! 

We were able to secure a dinner at Palo, a wait-list slot for brunch (only served twice during the week-long cruise on sea days), and eventually scored a dinner reservation at Remy for that night!  Hope those tuxedos show up and aren’t too wrinkled!

At Sea Day

Today we’re recovering from our meal at Remy’s and trying to remember what we were served and what we drank.  They serve a five-course dinner (two main menus - earth/sky or sweet/savory) with matching wine flights in addition to the a la carte menu and very extensive wine list.  They do things very much as in the movie Ratatouille - very posh, wonderful food, well-matched wines, gracious service.  And there was a thank-you card and box of chocolates waiting for us in our cabin when we finished our three-hour meal.

[I’ll think on this and try to remember some of the dishes we were served.]

And now it’s time to close the computer and adjourn to the deck as we sail south into the Caribbean.  I understand we should be near Cuba by evening.

This was a great day and what we most enjoy about longer cruises: days at sea.  No hurry to make port excursion times; no reason to worry about anything, just relaxation.  We met our travel agency friends for The Art of the Theme Show tour of the Fantasy to learn about creating the special Disneyesque- style cruising experience. CM Philippe-Luc from Quebec City led the tour and was very well informed on the precepts followed by the Imagineers who designed the ship.

Drinks in the Skyline Lounge, where the ‘windows’ reveal scenes of seven different cities around the world.  Dinner was in Enchanted Garden, a restaurant patterned after a large conservatory.  Excellent food and service by the team that will follow us from restaurant to restaurant through our rotations.

Grand Cayman Day

Today we decided to remain on board rather than take any port excursions.  So a day to explore the ship further, read, lounge, nap, do laundry, and generally loaf!

Chatted with friends we’d met on board while in the Cove Café.  And we had to listen to a cast member go on about working aboard ship, prompted by an inquisitive couple at the coffee bar.  We finally abandoned the coffee bar for a ride on the AquaDuck (where we got drenched) and a laundry run (there’s a launderette here on Deck Two!  Very convenient, but also rather busy.)

Breakfast was at the Royal Table restaurant - one of the rotational venues at which we had not yet dined.  I think it’s scheduled for dinner tonight, so we’ll be able to see it in its night time finery, too.

It’s a bit after 4 pm as I write this, and I see out our port hole that we’ve left Grand Cayman, so in a few hours it will be a show with Larry, the Cable Guy and then dinner in the Royal Court.  RC takes pride of place like Triton’s (on the Wonder) or Lumiere’s (on the Magic), adjacent to the main atrium on the Fantasy.  The atrium on the smaller ships featured a Y-shaped staircase up to the second level.  On the Fantasy it’s an asymmetrical, curving staircase the reaches the third level.  Very grand with a statue of Minnie Mouse a la 1930 and a grand piano at its base.  Both the main chandelier and other ceiling fixtures on the individual levels surrounding the atrium feature crystal beading, creating a really special ambiance with faceted light rays illuminating the areas.

While today the serving staff were dressed in a more usual vest and shirt costume, tonight they will be wearing an interpretation of a royal frock coat with lots of gold all over it.  A really special look for dinner.

In re: Larry the Cable Guy, there are three production shows on the Fantasy: Aladdin, Wishes, and Believe.  Acts such as LCG fill in the schedule.  We skipped the first night’s non-Disney show, but have decided to see Larry.  At least he’s a known-quantity.

I hear Buffalo wings have just been ordered from room service…guess I need to sign off!

Cozumel

Although we canceled today’s port excursion to the Mayan ruins at Tulum, we decided to leave the ship and walk about Cozumel this morning. The excursion, it turned out, involved a 45-minute ferry ride to the mainland ‘through rough seas’ and then a 90-minute bus ride before reaching the ruins which, in turn, involved strenuous walking and climbing to view the site - and then the return bus and ferry rides for a total of  a seven-and-a-half hour day, supported only by a sandwich and bevvie around 3 pm.

After a late awakening and breakfast at Cabanas, we grabbed our camera and headed off the ship.  One of our first encounters was with a Starbucks, which provided a wi-fi connection for Michael to check emails.  They used the same user name and passwords that the San Miguel Starbucks used (it’s printed on the receipts), but when it didn’t work, we figured out that they probably had changed the password on the first of the month and not re-programmed their cash register yet! Things were fairly peaceful in the world at large. 

So at that point we headed over to the local Mega.  What a large enterprise!  Two-stories tall with interior escalators, it was spaciously laid out and held a lot more inventory than our local SMA Mega does.  There was even a CFE office (the national electric company) with automated kiosks from which we could determine that our home CFE bill had been paid by our local bank in our absence.

Continuing down the thoroughfare toward the resorts and the three cruise ships anchored near them on foot, it was interesting to see the remains of their hurricane of a few years back.  There were some shops that had been re-opened, a dauphin experience place that was up and running (we could watch from the street what was happening in their pools, with people and dauphins cavorting together!), and some other businesses, homes, and hotels that had reopened.

We turned around before reaching the resorts/ships as the wind was intermittent, and without the wind the humidity was rather oppressive.  We decided that we’d not move to Quintana Roo (the state in which Cozumel is located) as we couldn’t imagine what the hot months would be like!

Once back at the ship (the Magic was moored right next to us!) we headed to the adult section (Cove Café, pool, et cetera) to recharge our inner batteries and grab a quick bite for lunch.

Afterwards I headed to the cabin for a nap, only to awake to news of the severe storms centered around Dallas.  American Airlines had cancelled flights into and out of their airport and released all their staff in nearby Arlington.  Hail had been reported in golf-ball to softball sizes; semi-trailers had been flipped over onto their backs; and word was that the storm had touched down around the area (five was the reported number - later amended to twelve).

So we’re watching the news on Fox (we’re sort of like non-resident Texans, having a mail-drop address in Texas and having Texas as the nearest part of the US) to see what will happen.  Not that we like being considered Texans - their present governor is an idiot; their former governor having proved his lack of brains.  But it’s the most ‘happening’ thing on TV at present!  And we flew to the US on American Airlines and will return to Mexico the same way.

We’re hoping we’re on for dinner at Palo tonight.  Michael just walked up to the restaurant to check on our reservation, but couldn’t find anyone with which to verify it.  At least we believe it’s at an early hour, so if it’s not tonight, we can appear at our assigned restaurant for dinner and no one will be the wiser!

It’s also Pirate Night onboard, so there’s the pirate party on deck and fireworks afterwards.  Woo-hoo!!!

Michael brings news that our ressie is for tomorrow night at 6 pm, not tonight.  So it’s dinner tonight in Royal Court with friends, then a bit of the pirate party (we got there just in time to see the fireworks), and then to bed.  Not even sure if they have a ‘midnight’ buffet on this ship - and couldn’t care!

And the evening outfit for the servers in Royal Court are sort of reminiscent of a military tunic with lots of gold braid - a la Prince Someone.  The tunic works better for some than for others.  Perhaps with a bit more tailoring….

Costa Maya

This morning is the port adventure exploring Mayan ruins which we did not cancel.  An early breakfast and meet-up in the Buena Vista Theater, then off to the bus that would carry us to the Checcohoban ruins.  Very, very neat with several pyramids unburied and restored; others in various stages of overgrowth.  Other than the weather, which was a bit warm and sticky, a very enjoyable experience.  We switched to the adults-only version of the tour to be with two pairs of friends who had had the foresight to initially sign up for the adult version.  There was a total of about 99 people, broken into two groups.  Great guide, interesting venue, and only an hour’s ride, not a 45 minute ferry ride followed by a 90-minute bus ride.

Before the tour happened, Michael went to guest services and added gratuities and transfers to our account.  The adding of the transfers required that our cards be re-printed and there was a problem with their printer.  So he came back to the cabin with the new cards and we thought we were set until we tried to leave the ship for the tour.  Buzzzzzzz!  Managed to talk our way off the ship, and back on when we returned (the departure officer had made an entry about the difficulties with our cards), then headed to Guest Services again, where they managed to print new cards with the additional information and that worked, too!

At lunch we found two of the friends who we had joined for the tour and promptly joined their table.  Just can’t get enough of good friends, eh?

Now for a quick nap before our 6 o’clock Palo ressie.  We hope to be finished before the 8:30 show of Wishes, the new show written for the Fantasy and Dream.