Our Number Came Up! Or, Our Ship Will Come In!

So I was upstairs reading (time to re-read all the Sue Grafton Kinsey Millhone mysteries) when Michael appeared in the doorway -- "Guess what!  We've got our cabin assignment!!!"

Now I suppose some explanation is required to set up this situation.  We always book a specific cabin.  Decide what we can afford by the time payment is due and that's home for the cruise.  You can save a spot of change if you go with a guarantee cabin, that is you pay for a certain category within a class of cabin and the actual cabin is assigned later.  On some cruises - such as the two-week long Panama Canal - Disney also sometimes offers a guarantee cabin where you agree to accept any cabin they assign, and Disney has the flexibility to assign you a cabin within a type of stateroom: Inside (IGT), Ocean view (OGT), or Veranda (VGT).  The fares are quite attractive in exchange for these conditions. They don't always offer this choice or they may offer only certain ones.  On this Panama Canal cruise, only IGTs and OGTs were on offer.  They also don't offer this category until the Paid In Full date passes, so folks don't opt for it early on.  (You need to pay the entire fare when booked, agree to accept whatever cabin you're assigned, et cetera.)  So you need to save up for the cruise before you know whether you're going or not.  (We try not to use credit cards.)

So for this cruise - which was a bit pricey due to being two weeks long - we decided that we would do it if Disney offered an OGT fare.  There's always the possibility that you could be assigned to a category that is higher than the category you paid for: someone who booked an IGT might be assigned an OGT cabin, et cetera.  If it wasn't offered, then we'd decide what category we could afford and book whatever remaining cabin was available - or wait until next year.

As we had always known exactly what cabin in which we would be sailing, this was a new experience - and one that I am not in a hurry to repeat.  Up until a few weeks ago I was in a state of hyper-ness.  What category are we going to be assigned?  Where in the ship will it be located? When will we find out which cabin we will receive?  Michael spent a lot of time trying to convince me to calm down.... And as it turned out, we received our cabin assignment a bit earlier than expected!

So now we know which cabin it is: 1058.  This is in the lowest category within our OGT group and is on the lowest deck (No. 1) and center.  If some of the cruise is through rough weather we will be very happy that we're on Deck One - the lower the location on the ship, the more stable your voyage.  It's also quite near the mid-ship elevators, so we should be able to reach anywhere else on the ship easily.  Being on Deck One the elevators should be empty when they reach us and everyone else will try to fit in them as we head upwards, but not us.  There are times when an elevator door opens and those waiting say 'We'll wait for the next one!'

It seems to be time for us to knock some things off our bucket list.  The Panama Canal is one of them.  We both especially enjoy long cruises with lots of sea days; port stops are not so important to us anymore.  There is a fall Eastern Caribbean cruise that we're taking with a group of friends that has several stops and it's 'Gosh, what are we going to do at this stop?'

The Panama Canal cruise was also spurred on when some friends with whom we've sailed before gave us The Path Between the Seas.  It's a well-written (thick) book that begins with the French attempt to build the Canal and goes through the completion by the United States.  It covers all the background chicanery as well as the engineering and health rigamarole.  It made the Canal a real 'I've got to see this' item on our list.

[In 2015 we'll be sailing across the Atlantic (visiting NYC; St. John's, Newfoundland; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Oslo, Norway on the way) to visit the Northern European capitals and the Norwegian fjords.  Another cruise to cross off our list!  This began as a two-voyage trip (EBTA and Fjords) with a week in Copenhagen between cruises, but we replaced the week in Copenhagen with the Northern European Capitals cruise (Tallinn, Estonia; St Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden).  Since we'll probably not be back to that part of the world it seemed the best way to spend our time.  We'll still have a few days in Copenhagen waiting for our flight back to Mexico.]

So, we're jazzed.  The EastBound TransAtlantic portion of the group of 2015 cruises is also in a cabin on Deck One, so we'll find out what it's like and whether we need to find some more funds to move up a notch or two!  Since we don't spend a great deal of time in the cabin (it's said), a less attractive location should be okay!

This year we leave home two days early to reach the port in Miami ahead of embarkation, so it's not quite so long before we're on vacation - approximately nine days!

It's Raining!!!

I know, we  haven't spoken about the weather in some time, so here's an update.  Our cool weather suddenly disappeared and the heat came on a couple of weeks ago.  Not that it was always hot, but these blasted concrete houses, once warned up, are loathe to let the warmth go.. Great in winter, but not so great in the summer.  And the bedroom, being on the second floor, heat up nicely.

Although it's not really 'rainy season' yet - that's more May - it had seemed like it was going to rain but never did.  Just met up with a friend at Starbucks who lives higher up in the hills in town and he told us that it had really poured down on the far side of the presa a couple of times recently.

But tonight it has turned up here.  Great, dark clouds, really big rain drops, and a bit of thunder.  Only enough rain for about 20 minutes, but it sure helps cool down the town.  The rain has mostly stopped now, but traces of thunder can still be heard rumbling around.

Now if it could only arrange to do this most evenings, that would be appreciated!

Home is Where the Heart Is

Marc is searching the internet....and finding fun things. Our very first house that we rented (but NEVER stayed in) here in San Miguel is on the market and has been since August of 2012. Many of you may remember me talking about the Gaudi-style house that really looked amazing.....and then we saw it in person. Our first mistake - and one of only a few - in San Miguel.  Our new friends found us a different house the next weekend!

Our second home, though it was really our first REAL rental, is also on the market, recently listed. It was a great home in a very "authentic" Mexican neighborhood. We were the only gringos in the area and got along great with all of our neighbors.....except for that rock band (well, wannabee rock band) that lived next door and practiced at horrific hours. BUT we really liked it. We only moved away because we had absolutely no room/garden for the dogs. It was a fun year there....and we were close enough to our friends Carol and Norma and one of our favorite restaurants, Tacos Don Felix!

Home No. 3 in the La Lejona, 2da Seccion, was HUGE!!!!!!!!!! Five bedrooms, two HUGE living rooms, four baths, garden area, gated parking, and brand new construction.....so brand new that the master bathroom was never finished....and never was during our tenure there. Fortunately there were enough baths and showers throughout the house that we were never really wanting. Unfortunately the owner wanted to sell the house so we bailed after one year. Still on the market..........

Home No. 4 is two houses away from Home No. 3. Yes, still probably larger than we really need (surprised?) but we are VERY happy here....and the owners are very happy with us, which makes for a happy time everywhere! March 1st started our 2nd year in this house, the first year of a two-year lease (the first lease was for only one year). It's quite convenient to everything we need. It's an easy FLAT walk to centro, which as you probably know from reading my constant updates, is something I do on a daily basis. AND if we ever decided that we needed an ice cream fix, if we were ever so inclined, there is a block wall behind us that if we started to chip away at it goes DIRECTLY into the freezer section of our local grocery store (Mega) and we could scoop our our dessert! Here's hoping they will go for an additional 2 (or 3??) years on our next go around.

Ah, loving life.............

Our First Visit to an Outlet Mall in Mexico

Michael and I are pros at outlet malls, whether on the road to Las Vegas, closer to Palm Springs, up the California coast towards Santa Barbara, or even in the industrial part of Los Angeles.  It's been like withdrawal since we've moved to Mexico - though there is a nice selection of shops just south of San Diego that was visited every time we made it back to the states.

Our nearest outlet stores are in León, about an hour-and-a-half away from San Miguel.  Our nearest airport is on the outskirts of León/Silao - about an hour away.  We had heard that there was an outlet mall of nothing but shoe stores in León from a friend, and since our shoe purchases since moving to Mexico nearly 4 years ago have consisted solely (sorry!) of tennis shoes from Costco - and since we had a couple of cruises coming up traveling on one of them with a group of fashion-conscience friends - we decided we should look around for some new shoes.  [I'd already tarted up our tuxedos via the internet!]

And an outlet mall is an outlet mall!

A friend had recently shopped there and was more than willing to go back to show us where it is and guide us through the shops.  So off we went bright and early at 9:30!  (Not quite 'bright and early' by our standards, but still....)

Unfortunately this is the dry season, so our drive through the hills was boringly monochromatic: brown and more brown.  But we usually travel through this area in a shuttle headed to the airport for an early morning flight, so this time we could at least see what we were driving past.  And there had been some progress: the bridge they were working on and the roadworks outside Guanajuato had been completed.

It was a bit of a drive past the airport turn-off to reach León (I thought it was closer), and even then we were on the outskirts when the shoe outlet shops loomed alongside the roadway.  (At this point the highway is sort of a large street, so it was simple enough to pull into the driveway.)  Luckily for future shopping trips, there is a Starbucks at the entrance and a large Pollo Feliz sign, so we shouldn't get too lost if we try it ourselves!

León is the leather and shoe capital of Mexico, so the mall is huge!  Mostly one level with shops devoted to individual brands run by the factories that produce them, there are over 200 shops plus a few clothing places and a food mall for hungry shoppers.  I think we stopped into most of the shops, unless they specialized in women's shoes. Even then, since our friend's mother accompanied us on the trip, there were some stops there, too.

All told, the group of us purchased 5 pairs of shoes:  Lucy (our friend's mother) purchased a pair of quite nice trainers, Michael - 'it's still too expensive' - came home with 3 pairs, and I got one pair of Flexi leather court shoes.  Our friend even had two pairs of glasses delivered to the mall from the optician's shop he visited in Centro León last week!

A shame the stores didn't have everything in stock in our sizes/colors (it is an outlet, after all), but a good trip, nonetheless.  I now understand Imelda Marcos' fascination with shoes.  If the mall were closer, we'd be in BIG trouble!

Unfortunately, it was still another hour-and-a-half home with about a zillion topes to bounce over and cars/trucks to pass on two-way roads over the hilly, twisting landscape.

It's the thought of that drive that may keep us from visiting more than monthly....since the only way to see if they have shoes in our sizes/colors is to go there.

But we made it there and back, the dogs were happy to see us again, and we collapsed in a heap!  Until next time....

Aerial Bonbs, or a lack thereof

Just wanted to note that neither on the actual day celebrating the Consitution (Wednesday) nor the legal holiday (Monday preceding the Wednesday) were there any cuetas (aerial bombs) heard!  That means the dogs slept through the night and that means, we did too!

We now return to our regular programming.

Tequila, of course

What took so long, eh?  A post about Tequila....

Tequila is produced in Mexico.  And a particular part of Mexico.  As champagne is only a 'sparkling wine' outside of a particular part of France, tequila is only made within a certain physical location in Mexico.

And some tequila is made for distribution in Mexico and some is made for export.

We've tried - in our time here - to find a tequila that we like, preferably a bit smokey yet smooth.  And we've found several that will fill the bill.

However, while still in southern California we ate frequently (about 5 or 6 nights a week during the last year) at a family-run restaurant in nearby Chatsworth.  And our favorite tequilas there were Partida and Tres Generationes.  Both were  available in a Reposada version, with enough time in a recycled whiskey barrel to impart a fine smokey taste.  It wasn't necessary to go with the Añejo version, but the Reposada was my favorite.

Most mixed drinks are made with the Silver (no time in wood) version and there are those who say 'Why bother with Resposada or Añejo in a mixed drink?'  Well, I'm here to tell you that if you can't taste the difference between a Silver and at least a Reposada, your tongue needs an overhaul!

Our waiters used to look at me when I ordered the margaritas as if I was wasting the Reposada tequila, but as long as I could taste the difference, it was worth the upcharge.

Michael recently discovered Partida Reposada at a local beverage shop (La Europea - which has branches all over Mexico - including the place we're visiting later in January, Cabo San Lucas) which carries Partida and we've sprung for the cost.  Perhaps we need to introduce my brother to Partida... 

Now Michael tells me that Tres Generationes is available both at La Europea and Mega (which forms part of our back wall in the backyard).  I'll probably be there tomorrow shopping....

Winter Willies

I know that our weather is nowhere near that our families and friends are experiencing in the States, but it's darned cold down here. 

According to our nifty infrared thermometer,  it's 58F outside and 65F inside. Why so cold? 

Two reasons:  Due to a lack of trees, homes here are made of brick, cement, and plaster.  Once they get cold, they stay cold.  Once the weather turns to something warmer, it will take at least 3 days to warm the house up.  Until then, it's like living in an ice cube.  Walls are cold, ceilings are cold, and floors are cold.  With carpeting unknown, the tiles on the floor are cold, too.

Two: Without central heat you're pretty much at the whim of the weather.  Many homes are without a source of heat at all; some have fireplaces in which you may install a set of gas logs (firewood is limited).  We have the gas logs from our last house, but we have no fireplace in this house in which to install them.  Instead we have two portable gas heaters that use tanks of propane the size one would use for a BBQ.  The heaters produce an infrared heat source that works well when you're within striking distance of the heater.  Further away it's not so warm - though there is some heat thrown off. It just takes a long time to heat a room.

And with the type of construction of homes here, there is no handy way to install central heat afterwards.  It can be done in some circumstances, but not most.  There has come on the market a heating/cooling unit that can be installed after construction, but that uses 220V electricity, which presents another problem which is addressed in the second paragraph down the page.

We're lucky enough to have two heaters - one for upstairs and one for downstairs.  You just have to keep a spare tank or two on hand or you'll run out over a weekend.  It's not like it runs off our main tank for the house.  In our very first house we did not have gas heaters.  Instead we had a few electric heaters and January & February were especially cold and wet that year.  The dogs and we huddled in the office (the computers threw off some heat) during the day and moved to the bedroom at night.  Luckily, we had read up on living in Mexico before moving here and had outfitted the bed with a heated mattress pad that provided low-voltage warmth.  And there's a concern that the heaters produce carbon monoxide, so we really should have a warning system, but that hasn't happened yet, so we're very careful about using the heaters for any length of time.  This makes it very icy in the morning....

The electric heaters did provide some heat, but jacked up our electricity bill by eliminating the supplemented reduction in the rate - for a 6-month period!  The next year we went out early in the season and purchased gas heaters!

So we dress warmly inside and out, stay as dry as possible, use the portable electric heater in the bathroom only when taking showers, and think warm thoughts!

I suppose it's all relative....