SOME ENCHANTED EVENING

How many times have you seen a neighbor or a friend and you reluctantly stop to chat for a few moments? You look at your watch and say, “Gotta go, so much to do, we should get together sometime”. But you never do. Well, here in San Miguel (SMA) we have plenty of time to stop and talk with old friends, new friends, shop owners, or someone we just met.


Our first year in SMA was 2008. At that time, we were living in a neighborhood called Atascadero (now it is called Arcos de San Miguel). Atascadero was an easy walk to the jardin because it was all downhill. However, coming home at night was a different story. On a cold March evening we ventured out to centro in search of a place to have dinner. Here in SMA everyone dresses very casually. Bob always wears “smurf”, the nick-name of his blue backpack. We looked at several restaurant menus and decided to have dinner at Nirvana’s. Smurf was also welcomed to the table by Nirvana’s staff.

Nirvana’s is a very nice place. We were cold, dressed in jeans, sweaters, jackets, scarves, and gloves. We decided to sit inside for obvious reasons. We had a nice glass of wine (or two) and a very nice dinner of rack of lamb and venison. At the table next to ours was this very lovely couple. He was dressed smartly and she was dressed very elegantly.

We glanced at each other from time-to-time and traded smiles and pleasantries. After dinner we invited them to our table for a glass of wine. They declined the wine but still joined us. Their names are Don and Bea. They had just celebrated Bea’s birthday. Don is a retired dentist from Cleveland. He is an active Rotarian and is a past International treasurer for Rotary. We got along fine and enjoyed each other’s company. But when it was time to go, Sam, Bob and Smurf climbed the long hill back into Atascadero. Don and Bea took a taxi home.

Last year (2009) we were walking through the jardin and noticed a couple. Sam said to Bob, “I think that’s Don and Bea…you know the couple we met at Nirvana’s last year. They are from Cleveland”. Bob said, “Are you sure”? As we got closer, it was in fact Don and Bea and they recognized us. We stood and chatted with them for a long time. During our conversation, Don asked if we were coming back to SMA in 2010. We said, “Absolutely, but this year we will be living in Colonia San Antonio”. He invited us to celebrate Bea’s birthday on March 20, 2010. By the time we finished talking with them and others we knew, we had been in the jardin for over 2 ½ hours. Our original purpose of going to centro that day was to go to a couple of markets. Guess what? The markets will always be there. Your friends and other people you know may not.

Last week (2010) we were taking another walk in the jardin. It was Saturday afternoon. And guess who we saw? Yep, Don and Bea. They had communicated with us a couple of times during this past year via email about their SMA travel plans and we finally found them. This year they are extending their stay here in SMA. We sat in the jardin and chatted with them for about 2 ½ hours. We couldn’t believe how fast the time passed. Don and Bea are very active. Every day they are out and about enjoying dinner with friends, going to plays, concerts, etc. They asked if we had plans for Monday night dinner. We did not, so we arranged to have dinner together.

So Monday night we dined together: Don, Bea, Sam, Bob and Smurf. We took them to one of our favorite restaurants…Planta Baja. We know the manager, Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos and his staff took very good care of us and they were very attentive of Don and Bea. We had a wonderful evening. We arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 p.m. At one point Don asked Bea what time it was…none of us could believe it was already 10:10 p.m. The time flew by and a good time was had by all. Don didn’t know that Bob had secretly paid for the meal. Don clearly wanted to pay for half but we insisted otherwise. Finally he said, “I guess it’s kind of like buying a meal for your Mom and Dad”. Exactly right, which is a compliment to our parents and to Don and Bea. But, when it was time to go, Sam, Bob and Smurf climbed the long hill back into Colonia San Antonio. Don and Bea took a taxi home.

Don and Bea, who have been sweethearts forever, recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Of course, we hadn’t yet been born at the time they got married or when Don joined the Rotary. Anyway, their extended smooch at the dinner table was a little hard on the restaurant staff who suggested, “Maybe you need to get a room”.  Some enchanted evening, indeed!

Please meet our special friends:

QUINCEANERA?

You may be asking yourself what is a “Quinceanera”? Quinces are traditional Hispanic celebrations introducing a young woman into society. This special celebration happens when the girl turns 15 years of age. It is usually celebrated with a special mass, "Acion de Gracias", thanking God for their lives so far, asking for spiritual guidance for the future and this is followed by a grand party.  Many times, an outsider may confuse this celebration with a wedding because of the elaborate dresses, tiaras, and decorations. It is one of the most important days in a young girl’s life. The young girl will dance in front of everyone at the party. Her first escort is called a chambelan.

Yesterday in San Miguel de Allende, three special girls, Lupita, Pilar, and Roscio, were celebrating their “Quinceanera’s”. This was indeed a very special day for these three girls because they live at Casa Hogar Don Bosco. Casa Hogar consists of three homes for young and teenage girls and boys in need of a home.  Many of the children were abused, abandoned, or their families are too poor to feed and care for them. Dedicated Dominican Nuns care for and love these children. For the past several weeks after their English lessons, the three young women have been taking dance lessons to ensure they would be ready for the special dance at their Quinceanera.

Several people within the community came together to ensure these three young women had the opportunity to participate in one of the most important days in their lives. They provided special dresses for the girls, shoes, etc. They coordinated a special mass at the La Parroquia (San Miguel de Allende’s Parish Church) and a grand party for over 170 people at Casa Angelitos http://www.casaangelitos.com/  The young women were beautiful.  All three wore tiara’s, looked like princesses, and danced with their chambelan.  This was certainly a memorable day for many.

WHY WE LOVE SAN MIGUEL

San Miguel de Allende is a very interesting city. The architecture is colonial; it has cobblestone streets and sidewalks that are very narrow; and the landscape is of beautiful mountains. The city is over 450 years old.


We can walk the streets and be among the local people. We live in Colonia San Antonio. It is a relatively large neighborhood compared to others in San Miguel. As we walk, we take time to talk with the neighbors and shop owners. Last night on our way home from dinner at 10:30 p.m. we stopped and chatted with Graciela. Graciela runs an Internet cafe. We were in the cafe earlier in the day to have some copies made from our computer memory stick. Tonight, she didn’t have any customers, so we talked with her for about twenty minutes…all in Spanish. We can’t have too many Mexican friends in the neighborhood.

The bounty of fruits and vegetables is wonderful and the price inexpensive. The other day, we were at Mercado Ramirez and bought a small container of fruit. When we got home, Sam cut it up and put it in a bowl. All of this fruit for 10 Pesos or $.81.

We have our favorite tiendas for meat, produce, bread, cheese and lunch meats. It pays to be a loyal customer because the owners get to know you. The other day, we went to La Cava. La Cava sells cheeses, lunch meats, dairy products, frozen seafood, salmon, leg of lamb, etc. We were interested in getting some salmon. The owner had a large frozen fillet of salmon. We asked him if he would cut us two fillets from the center. He said, “Claro que si”, “Yes of course”. The staff is always very friendly. Try that at Costco!

Many days when we are out walking around, Bob tends to head in a certain direction around lunch time. There is a small torta or sandwich shop on Calle Umaran. Bob loves their fresh pork torta. It is heated and has tons of fresh baked pork leg on it. It also comes with cheese, tomato, avocado, onions, and lettuce. This torta is so big that we can split it and feel very satisfied. All this for only 30 Pesos or $2.43. Bob also purchased a small bag of chips from the tienda next door. He opened the bag and it had a prize inside…a brand new two peso coin ($.16).

Sam on the other hand, likes to gravitate to Mercado Ramirez for lunch. We can get a shrimp cocktail for 19 Pesos or $1.54 each. The place is called Los Delfines (the dolphins). Every time we have been there, the counter is full of local people. Experts always say, “Eat where the locals do”, and we do.

Yesterday, there was snow on the mountain top and today it is 72 degrees.  We understand that this is the first time it has snowed in over 30 years.  We saw a pickup truck go by with a small snowman on the top of the cab with happy children laughing and cheering.  Other locals told us that people were stopping their cars and letting their children have snowball fights.

We have a lot of friends. We can take a walk and see several people we know. And guess what, they have time to stop and chat. Unlike at home where everyone is always in a hurry and they say, “We must get together soon”. But you never do. Right?

GLOBAL WARMING AND SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

(This posting should be read after you read the posting, “Going to the Beach”)

San Miguel has been in the grips of a cold spell for over three weeks. The progressive community is in an uproar over weather conditions. Things have gotten so bad that San Miguel’s mayor advertised in the weekly gringo newspaper, Atencion, that he was calling for a meeting at the biblioteca to chart the best course of action.

Every progressive intellectual was invited to attend along with a few conservatives. In all, over one hundred people attended and participated in the program. After the Mayor’s emotional presentation, small break-out groups were formed with the assignment to thoroughly explore the situation and report back with recommendations. Ultimately, after three full days of intense study and debate the unanimous conclusion was that Al Gore should be invited to speak to the people of San Miguel. Mayor, Juan Jose Luis Sanchez de Carlos requested that I contact Al Gore immediately. Although I was concerned that Al Gore’s speech may include some of his classic misstatements, contradictions, etc., I was nevertheless honored to make the call

It took me a few tries and a few conversations with Al Gore’s staff but I finally got through to him. He was sympathetic to the cause and agreed to participate. I explained that we would prefer that he not come here in his private jet as some people may think that was inappropriate given its large carbon footprint. Al quickly agreed and said he would arrive in his 100 foot houseboat. With irrefutable logic, Al explained that since his presentation in San Miguel was about atmospheric conditions and not aquatic conditions the press would not likely focus on the boat’s carbon footprint. Nevertheless, he promised to check with Keith Oberman before setting sail. His travel plan would take him south from Tennessee through the inter-coastal highway make a right at the Gulf of Mexico, sail west into the Atlantic and enter Mexico near Veracruz. From there he would sail northeast until he arrived at the shoreline of San Miguel and the Port of San Antonio.

I was surprised at Al’s maritime prowess and he chuckled saying, “Bob, I am, after all, from Tennesea”. We both belly-laughed at this and then I asked him the name of his boat. He went on to explain that he made the maximum amount of his wealth from climate issues so he decided to name his houseboat, TenneSEA Climax.

I told Al his visit to San Miguel wouldn’t be all business. There are plenty of things to do here. He refused to attend a bull fight but he seemed very interested in attending the Big Time Wrestling show held in the bull ring particularly because Bobo Brazil was back in town. I told him about the popular Tuesday market and after I clarified what day it was held on he thought he would like to go there. Finally, I mentioned the availability of long-tube snorkeling. He was well aware of it and said he thought he had probably invented it. Finally, I thanked him for agreeing to attend our meeting and he said he would email me when TenneSEA Climax docked in Port San Antonio.

Mayor, Juan Jose Luis Sanchez de Carlos had commissioned the use of the town square for the global warming presentation. All the restaurants in town agreed to move their portable heaters to the town square to keep everyone warm. Al Gore had docked his houseboat and was ready to make his presentation. After a short speech by Mayor, Juan Jose Luis Sanchez de Carlos and some intellectual speeches by others it was finally time for the keynote speaker. Al Gore rose to thunderous applause and stepped up to the microphone to present his speech entitled “Global Warming and You”.

“Thank you Mayor, Juan Jose Luis Sanchez de Carlos, members of the San Miguel de Allende Global Warming Committee and to all the aliens here today.

We have now determined that global warming is a world-wide phenomenon. Global warming couldn’t be more evident than here in San Miguel where the citizens have experienced the coldest weather in more than four decades. Huddled together we shall overcome the extreme cold brought about by global warming.

As you now, I traveled here in my houseboat, TenneSEA Climax, in part to show support for your tourist industry. I arrived here on the Atlantic shores of San Miguel in Port San Antonio just yesterday. I was devastated to see the limited numbers of pilgrims and tourists engaged in long-tube snorkeling, something, I am sure I invented some years ago.

We must work together to stop the decline in tourism and support the local businesses. You all know Stubby’s French Fry stand and Mercado’s restaurant and I encourage you all to eat as many french fries and as much sea food as you can to help support tourism. Stubby and Mercado have both explained to me that the french fries and the sea food are orgasmically produced and fully biodegradable after consumption.

I have been here now for twelve hours and the reasons for the change in your weather patterns are obvious. First, you have too many tourists who are polluting the land and sea. Their numbers should be reduced immediately. Second, and more importantly, the excess gases emitted after the consumption of frijoles must be reduced or eliminated altogether. I have proposed and, Mayor, Juan Jose Luis Sanchez de Carlos, has agreed to a ban on growing and consuming frijoles. Our joint commission has studied the cultural, agricultural and economic impact of this ban and we have determined it to be in the best interest of the planet. Moreover, we know that many people get their daily starch from frijoles. To replace the lost starch from the ban, Stubby has agreed to remain open a few extra hours each week so that there is no shortage of starch in the diets of the ingenious peoples that have lived here for the last few centuries and who invented wool clothing to protect themselves from the periodic cold spells experienced here.

I now want to address the compelling issue of …..”


Al Gore’s speech went on for three hours. Longer than anticipated due to the numerous instances of applause. To say it was well received by San Miguel is an understatement. Afterwards there were song and dance shows put on by Al’s ingenious peoples still residing in San Miguel, mescal was consumed freely and numerous cooking demonstrations on the uses and benefits of frijoles were offered to the crowd. In the end, Al Gore’s sour mash frijole recipe won first prize. Perhaps this wasn’t fair but surely he deserved recognition for helping to save the planet and for all the joy he had brought to San Miguel.

It was later disclosed that Al’s commission also wanted to abolish the raising of pigs because of the gases they admit but this would have also eliminated the selling and consuming of carnitas, a popular food staple. For political reasons this recommendation never saw the light of day. Besides, Al had grown very fond of pork during his days in the Senate.

The next day, as the skies finally cleared and warmth returned to San Miguel, we saw Al head back to the shores of San Miguel and to his beloved TenneSEA Climax. Over the roar of his large dual two-cycle engines Al turned and waved to Stubby, Mercado and his ingenious peoples. At last, climate normalcy had returned to San Miguel.

GOING TO THE BEACH

We have a home in Michigan where the altitude is about 800 feet. So, in December 2009, and hungry for the beach, we traveled to the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, where the altitude is about 5,000 feet. We spent a month there and the beaches were okay but that’s about it. Here in San Miguel de Allende the altitude is about 6,400 feet and talk about beaches! Mexico is all about its beaches and San Miguel de Allende is no exception.


For the last three years we have rented a beach condo in San Miguel. From our window we can see the turquoise waters of the Atlantic and it’s unbelievable! It’s a two minute walk to the beach and even today we enjoyed two large shrimp cocktails with crackers for only 38 pesos. That’s about $3.15. We had these overlooking the Atlantic at Restaurante Mercado Ramirez. Add a couple of glasses of white wine and the tab was 85 pesos. In total, we spent roughly $8.00. We have enjoyed this many times but don’t like to write about it.

We first met Mercado in January 2008. He’s a great guy with a lot of personality, a wife and three kids. He thinks we are rich. We think he is rich. Everybody is happy. Mercado is always surprised that the beaches here have few tourists while Cancun and Acapulco have all the action. We told him that for the life of us we don’t understand it either and to please refill our glasses. Perhaps we could get to the bottom of it.

Mercado suggested that we go snorkeling. We really enjoy snorkeling and particularly enjoy it at this altitude. It’s the same as snorkeling in Cancun but given the altitude you use a long snorkel. Usually about three feet long unless you are experienced in which case four feet works best. It’s fun to watch the inexperienced tourists use a standard one foot snorkel and nearly suffocate. Rest assured that Restaurante Mercado Ramirez has a gift shop with plenty of long snorkels for sale and Mercado does a brisk business. He even offers high altitude snorkeling lessons. The man is a business genius.

I love snorkeling here, truly love it. The water is lighter and generally has less salt. When salt is present it comes in waves or “olas”. At one moment you are swimming in fresh water and in the next in salty water. The sea life also comes in salty and fresh water waves. It‘s beautiful to watch a salt water school of Tilapia swim side-by-side with the fresh water Perch. The two schools will never touch and are separated only by a thin film of salt water.

Salty water makes you float and fresh water allows you to slowly sink so you are always going up and down without any effort. This can be nice but the “olas” don’t always flow side-by-side. Sometimes one is above the other. Here the novice can get spooked because above you is a beautiful fresh water school of ruby-red trout while below you is a nasty salt water school of barracuda and you are separated only by a thin film of salt water. The benefit of a larger snorkel is evident here as you can choose which side of the salt water film you wish to swim. We have gotten quite adept at this form of snorkeling. Other tourists are not so adept. You can imagine the results. Our three-fingered friend, Stubby, who is originally from Idaho, and who now serves French Fries from his beach stand, wasn’t too quick to grasp the beauty and danger of snorkeling in San Miguel. Each year we bring him a new pair of gloves and his business improves almost immediately. It’s been more difficult to find an appropriate gift for his wife, Pastie, who used to like to swim topless.

Strolling along the beach after our swim we collect fresh and salt water sea shells. Some are colorful, some are soft and some are hard. Sam likes the hard shells while I enjoy the soft shells. We refer to this area as Taco Beach.

On our way home we stop to say goodbye to Mercado. He suggests that we enjoy buceo (scuba diving) tomorrow. I don’t feel up to it. If you think the snorkels are long you should see the size of the oxygen tanks.

In any event, we will see Mercado again soon. Now it’s time for our siesta. Surely, we will have dreams of another day at the beach in San Miguel.

Buenas Noches!

FIRST DAY OF TEACHING

We apologize for not having written in the blog for several days. We just got back from the beach and needed to make the final preparations for teaching. Bob will post about the beach soon.

It is absolutely amazing how many prep hours have gone into teaching so far. A week ago, we both spent about 5 hours at Jane and Ron’s home laminating flash cards for Sam’s 5th and 6th grade students. We then spent several more hours cutting them out.

We had a group meeting with all of the volunteers for a couple of hours. Bob made a fine presentation to the group using Rosette Stone projected on the wall.

Afterward, Sam proceeded to do the lesson plan for the first day…a couple more hours. Oh yes, did we mention that we also sharpened 24 pencils the old fashion way…by hand with a small sharpener. Sam will continue to prep for her class each week by preparing a lesson plan, making worksheets, and putting together folders for her assistants. There are a total of eleven teaching days.

When we got together with all of the volunteers, Sam noticed that her two large plastic buckets with all of her teaching materials were missing in action. Originally, Doug Lord agreed to store them at his house. In December, he and his wife decided to leave San Miguel for January and go to the beach. He was one smart man; he must have known it was going to be super cold here in San Miguel. So, in early December, Doug transferred a bunch of plastic tubs to another volunteer’s home, Billie. Billie is one terrific lady. We started our blog because of Billie. She had one that Sam read every day and became inspired. Billie has been a mentor to Sam. Well, Billie and her husband, Ned, went back to Houston for the holidays fully expecting to be back in San Miguel to start teaching. While in Houston they had some unexpected family issues and are still in Houston. In the meantime, Sam didn’t know for sure if her teaching materials were at Billie’s or not. After several emails and phone calls, Dianne and Tom (Dianne is the main coordinator for the teaching program) were able to make arrangements for all of us to go to Billie’s home in search of the buckets the morning of our first day of teaching. When we arrived at Billie’s, all of the plastic buckets were neatly arranged by the door for us. There were nine in total along with several bags of books. Yes, both of Sam’s buckets were there. She was relieved. All of the other buckets were filled with the books for the library. Billie is the volunteer librarian.

We carried all of the heavy buckets in the rain through the cobblestone streets to Tom and Dianne’s waiting SUV. It was filled to the top and very heavy. We all went back to Tom and Dianne’s. Sam went through her boxes and organized all of her materials. We had some time to relax with a nice cup of coffee and chat before all of the other volunteers arrived. All the volunteers meet at Tom and Dianne’s home and carpool to Los Ricos de Abajo. On Wednesday, we had five SUV’s with 18 volunteers.

Including Sam, there were four volunteers for the 5th/6th grade class with 18 students. She has seven 6th graders and eleven 5th graders. The students were happy to see Sam. She also has two returning volunteers, Sid and Blanche, both of whom have done a great job. This year’s 6th graders were 5th graders in Sam’s class last year and knew her routine. Within minutes, the class was divided into three teams and immediately began working in their small groups learning English.

In the meantime, Bob was Sam’s burro and made sure she had everything she needed. He was also the school photographer. Dianne and Bob went to each classroom and photographed each student individually. Sam will put the pictures on Photobucket
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee21/eplbobsam/2010%20Los%20Ricos%20-%205th%20and%206th%20Graders/
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee21/eplbobsam/2010%20Los%20Ricos%20-%203rd%20and%204th%20Graders/
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee21/eplbobsam/2010%20Los%20Ricos%20-%201st%20and%202nd%20Graders/

and they will be emailed to all of the volunteer teachers so they can put the names and faces together. When Bob finished his photography, he had a nice long conversation in Spanish with Javier. Javier is the regular teacher for the 5th/6th grade class.

As we mentioned, it takes a lot of prep hours to teach one hour of English. Weekly, we meet at Dianne’s at 11:45 a.m. and return around 2:45 p.m. Well, one week down and 10 more to go. The time will go by much too fast.

THE SUNDAY BULL FIGHT!

By noon the sky began to clear and we were anxious to get out of the condo. Besides that, our coffee cups and propane gas tanks were empty, our burritos were gone and our cold fighting stash from this morning had been reduced to ashes. So we went across the street to our neighbor’s house in hopes of making a score. Or, at least I did. Unfortunately, by this time, my source of cold relief, Jose Luis, was mentally residing elsewhere and I had to talk with his younger brother, Miguelito.


Miguelito is in his late twenties. He’s a perpetual student who returns to his university in Mexico City tomorrow. He does not believe in over eating or the power of smoke as cold remedies. In contrast to his brother, he’s well dressed and has the most highly polished leather shoes I have ever seen.

He suggested that we attend a bull fight to take our minds off the cold. Unknown to most of the liberal gringos here there is a small bull ring in San Miguel. It is appropriately located on Calle Recreo (Entertainment Street) right next to the Catholic grade school and near the town square. In any event, when the matadors (killers) are not in town it also serves as a ring for big time wrestling. This seemed a perfect remedy to the cold weather and cold shoulders I have been experiencing in this “progressive” community. So off we went to the plaza de toros or bull ring with Miguelito as our guest.

The plaza de toros is about a twenty minute walk from our condo. An unfortunate aspect of San Miguel is that the narrow stone sidewalks are frequently pooped on by dogs. Shinny shoes and all, Miguelito led the way ever conscience of the poop and always letting us know when he came upon any.

The plaza de toros is small and you could easily walk past it when it’s not in use. You couldn’t miss it today. The lines were long. You must, of course, buy a ticket and there are two lines. You must choose a line: either sol or sombra (sun or shade). We went for sol. Because of the cool weather this line was long. Not to worry, a cold beer or a shot of mescal is available even while in line. Tickets are barato (cheap) at 100 pesos each. But, because you sit on cold cement bleachers you must either suffer the cold cement or rent a cushion for another 50 pesos. We rented the cushions. We also offered a small gratuity to the ticket seller and received ring side seats. With cushions and fresh drinks in hand we proceeded to the warm sunny side of the plaza.

You actually walk through the bull ring to get to your section and then proceed up a set of removable stairs to your assigned seat. The stairs are later removed much like the portable stairs used to board an airplane. It is unclear how you would exit the plaza during the middle of the fight should you need to do so. In fact, I don’t think you can leave once the fight has begun. Nevertheless, I was hoping at least one drunk would make a run for it later during the fight.

We settled into our seat cushions and observed the activities in the ring. Within minutes a small stage was set up as were booths for food vendors. Beverage vendors simply walk through the bleachers and sell drinks. The food vendors were selling tortas, tacos, tamales and, of course, small Papa John pizzas. Ah, the romance of ancient traditions.

Soon the stage was full of male and female dancers in colorful outfits dancing to the tunes of the mariachis as played on horns and guitars and singing with great care and pride.

Perhaps we had been too generous with Miguelito because by now he was looking a little pale in the afternoon sun and we had only been in the plaza for about thirty minutes. While he had a good voice he clearly wasn’t singing the same tunes as the mariachis. This was clear to us and even more obvious to those who spoke Spanish. At this point it was impossible to put any distance between us as we just about shared the same rented whoopee cushions and the portable stairs had been removed signaling the start of the fight.

Each bull has a name and other statistics are provided. Our bull was named Ferocidad or fierceness. He was branded number 611 and weighed 900 kilos. That’s right he weighed over a ton.

The sight of Ferocidad charging into the plaza was amazing. Clearly, nothing was going to stop this bull. You would be crazy even to think about entering the ring with it. Miguelito’s reaction was equally amazing. He stood, shouted and waved his arms in a wild reaction to Ferocidad’s entrance. The crowd wasn’t impressed.

As soon as the crowd had quieted down the light sound of a horn could be heard as the Picadores entered the ring. These are the guys who ride two padded and blindfolded horses into the ring and who will proceed to stab Ferocidad in the back with long lances. As luck would have it, this occurred directly in front of us. The aim of the Picadore is to pierce the artery running down the back of the bull. This time, their aim was perfect and the breached artery spurted blood high into the air. Unfortunately, some of the warm blood hit us but even more landed on Miguelito. The crowd went wild. So did Miguelito. God only knows what he was saying but the group around us didn’t seem pleased. I guess I shouldn’t have agreed to purchase him another beer and a shot of mescal, but I did, after telling him I was now out of money and would not be purchasing anything more.

In came the Banderilleros. These are the guys who run at the bull and stab it with small colorful harpoon-like darts. This is always a crowd pleaser. Usually, there are six darts neatly inserted into the bull’s back before the Matador enters the ring. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the show except for the guy named Miguelito who wouldn’t sit down or stop shouting. We assumed Ferocidad wasn’t liking it too much either but, contrary to Miguelito, he was getting quieter by the minute.

To the blare of horns in walked the Matador. The first thing he does is to walk over to the judge’s stand and acknowledge him with a grand bow. Yes, there is a judge, there is a time clock, and there are rules, etc. The Matador wants to impress the judge with his courage and technique because, if he does so during the fight, he will be awarded with one of the bull’s ears. Sometimes even two ears and a tail are awarded and usually they are thrown into the crowd in celebration of the bull’s death. After acknowledging the judge, the Matador walks around the ring with hat in hand acknowledging the adoring crowd. We waited with anticipation as he approached our section. Sam waved at him. Miguelito spat on him.

That’s when the shouting crowd came forward and with one uniform motion pushed Miguelito into the ring and to the foot of the Matador. Did I mention that the Matador carries a sword?

Miguelito was unhurt but knocked out cold. The “paramedics” who came to assist Miguelito attended to him from their wheelbarrow, the same wheelbarrow used to remove the scooped up bull and horse poop in the ring. Last we saw of Miguelito he was in that wheelbarrow headed towards the exit and not likely smelling too good. We were, however, still impressed by the shine on his shoes. Thankfully, he hadn’t stepped in any poop.

Miguelito’s disgusting behavior over, we settled back to watch the charming and civilized tradition of slowly killing a bull.

Miguelito will be on his way back to the university in Mexico City tomorrow morning and we are sure that his brother, Jose Luis, won’t remember us as anything more than just another pipe dream. Ferocidad won’t remember anything either but fun was had by all and the Matador was awarded one ear. Ole!

SHIVERS AND SHAKES SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Buuurrrrrr…baby its cold outside! We know, we know, you’re thinking, “How in the world can they be so cold if they are in Mexico”? Well, the elevation here is 6,400 feet. We are on top of a mountain. We know it is very cold in the States but let us tell you…it was 27 degrees F overnight. This morning it was 32 degrees F when Sam got up. This is the fourth straight night of cold, and we are expecting another cold night tonight. We have three blankets on our bed. During the day, we wear lots of layers of clothing. One must remember here in Mexico, we don’t have central heating. Yes, we do have a gas fireplace in our bedroom; however, you can’t leave it on all night. If we left it on, we might wake up dead and this would surely ruin our trip although our heirs would be happy. This morning, after scraping the ice off the inside of our windows, we noticed once again that the sun didn’t rise and global warming wasn’t going to save us.


Every time Bob complains about the cold, Sam reminds him of the Michigan winters. He stops, thinks, shakes his head, and puts on another sweater, and says, “This too shall pass”. The weather prediction is for a couple more nights of cold weather. The last several days have been cloudy; hopefully the sun will shine during the day. When the sun is out, it certainly makes a huge difference.

Last night, we decided to eat in; it was way too cold to go out to eat. Who wants to pay a good price, be cold, and shiver during their meal? Not us. By cooking, it actually heated up the kitchen. We made goulash…good comfort food...the serrano chili pepper Sam added also heated us up, salad, homemade garlic toast, and a glass or two of wine.

The relationship between cooking, eating and drinking to stay warm have not gone unnoticed by other snowbirds. When we do venture out, all the small tiendas, carnicerias, etc. are packed with gringo shoppers buying any and all of the pantry staples and goodies available. All return to their cold cement homes intent on eating and drinking their way to warmth. This will, of course, work just fine and we will continue our eating and drinking binge. From our window we have just learned of another phenomena that should help us.

Every morning the guy who lives across the street comes out and smokes a joint in the middle of the road. Today is no exception. He looked comfortable in his flip-flops and shorts. He casually stood on the icy street and enjoyed his smoke without seeming to notice the cold whatsoever. Bingo! We started smoking marijuana this morning and are hopeful of feeling warmer soon. Undoubtedly, the Mexican drug cartels will be happy but this will lead to the munchies and even more eating. Of course, the enormous increase in bloated bodies from all this eating will have direct and proportional ramifications on the quality of people watching on the beaches of Cancun this spring.

Sales of hot coffee are off the charts. Our latest pastime is to peer out our cold windows and watch the brave souls walking the streets as we try to discern their shivers and twitches. Are they the result of the cold or excess caffeine? Sam seems to think the full body wiggle is from the cold. I guess she’s right. What we debate are the rapid hand twitches, some resulting in a quick head scratch, grasping of the nose or the feeble swatting of a fly that clearly isn’t there. One old guy twitched and nearly knocked his wife silly. We weren’t sure if this was the result of the caffeine, the cold or the convenient timing of a domestic dispute. Unsure of the cause and to avoid this potential problem in our household, Sam pried the coffee cup from Bob’s hand, pulled the joint from his lips and suggested that he stand by the fire and quickly eat another burrito.

The cold isn’t about to let up soon so we expect to have many more opportunities to collect observations and hone our investigative skills of the shivers and shakes.

We hope in the morning to have a warm breakfast. This should be possible assuming we can thaw the eggs to the point that they will crack and the milk will pour. This could take awhile and maybe we will be able to have breakfast for lunch. This leads to another problem, before long, the timing of our meals will be all out of whack; we will soon be having dinner for breakfast, which of course includes a glass of wine. The implications are astounding. How long will it be until we have breakfast for dinner and will not be able to resist a glass of wine with our meal? Are we to have white wine with our eggs or red wine with the meal because of the bacon? We are in uncharted territory here and in desperate need of advice. Does anyone have any?

POLLO ENTERO

Since we arrived in San Miguel on Saturday, we have been reacquainting ourselves with the city and setting up our household. You know, buying all of the everyday items you need. Bob didn’t think we would have to do this since he was certain that Sam brought everything from Michigan in the heavy suitcases. Sam did bring a lot of “stuff” but not wine…you know the real heavy and important stuff.


The last couple of nights, we have cooked dinner at home. Yesterday, we decided to make chicken soup. We went to the corner market and Sam asked the butcher for, “una pollo entero por favor”, one whole chicken please. Then we went to the corner fruit and vegetable stand to pick up the rest of the ingredients. Here in Mexico, if you only want a couple ribs of celery, you take what you want buy it. You can also just take the heart of the celery if you so choose. When we got home, Bob opened the chicken, which was bagged, and found the pollo entero. Yes, the feet, head, liver etc. So here is Bob’s attempt at putting the chicken back together.

It looks like he needs a lot more practice. They did cut off the toe nails and the beak, so as not to offend our sensibilities. However, they did leave the tongue in the head…go figure. Don’t forget to zoom in on the head!

The soup was very tasty and enjoyable. Buen Provecho.

HAPPY NEW YEAR...GOODBYE OAXACA...HELLO SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Happy New Year to everyone! We opened and closed 2009 by spending it in Mexico. This year for New Year’s Eve, we hosted a dinner party for seven. Our new friends, Marielena and Gerardo assisted with the shopping, cooking, and clean-up. Gerardo and Marielena invited two women to join us. Gloria (83) is living here full time and moved here from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Lorli (72) is Swiss, became a US citizen many years ago and now also lives in Oaxaca full time.

For dinner, Bob made his wonderful Asian salmon for an appetizer. Next we had Sam’s wonderful salad, baked garlic, and fresh bread. This was followed by the delicious pork ribs that had been cut by the butcher into cocktail (small) size pieces, and made by Gerardo along with Marielena’s mother, mashed potatoes, sweet orange glazed carrots, and broccoli. For dessert we had a brownie and pear tart…very tasty. Of course, we had plenty of wine and Champaign. We didn’t get to bed until 2:00 a.m. It has been a long time since we have stayed up that late.

New Year’s Day morning came early…we slept fast and with ear plugs to drown out all of the noise. We had made plans to have a good breakfast with Gerardo, Marielena and their son, Mateo. We had fresh squeezed mandarin juice, coffee, bacon, eggs, left over mashed potatoes, bread, and good company. By the time we finished with breakfast and the clean-up, it was noon.

We took a short nap and then we started packing. Our last full day in Oaxaca was very windy. Sam was in the bathroom and turned on the light and the electricity popped. Part of the house had power and part did not. So, Bob went to search for the circuit breaker box. Our friends had gone to Marielena’s mom’s house so we were on our own. Bob went outside to try and find the entry point of the electricity. While searching, he went up on the roof and found a big terracotta pot with a huge fica tree that the wind had knocked over and breaking the pot. Bob continued to search for the breaker box. No luck…he didn’t find it. We continued our packing and enjoyed our evening by watching a DVD about the life of “Father D”. You may ask…who is “Father D”? Well, we also wondered. It was Eva’s second husband. Eva is the owner of the house. “Father D” was a priest who left the priesthood to marry Eva in the early 70’s. They moved to Oaxaca in 2001. He died at age 88 in 2006. On the rooftop of the house, there is a chapel with his ashes. We enjoyed the DVD and decided to retire for the evening to read our books.

We just got into bed when we heard Gerardo and Marielena come home. Bob went out to talk with them and immediately, they showed him where the breaker box was located…behind a picture in the eating area. Oh yes, as we mentioned, it was a windy day. At one point, we had a window open and all of a sudden one of the doors pushed open. Bob jumped up to close the door; he pulled the handle and it broke off in his hand. We both commented…”it is time to move on to San Miguel de Allende”.

We left Oaxaca Saturday morning. Gerardo gave us a ride to the airport. Before we left the house, we said our goodbyes to Marielena and Mateo. Mateo was sad to see us leave. He and Bob were playmates. He was also our Spanish teacher. Mateo asked when we would be back…he doesn’t like goodbyes. We will definitely miss Mateo; he is an incredible child.

Our flight from Oaxaca to Mexico City was one hour. We arrived on time. Our luggage was first on the belt…yes, all of it! We made our way to the area our driver was to pick us up for San Miguel. We looked, and looked, and waited and waited, and looked some more. Finally we see Francisco waving; he was an hour late. We were happy to see him.

Driving through Mexico City was very interesting. Everywhere you looked there was housing, and more housing, graffiti and more graffiti, traffic and more traffic. There was a backup going towards the airport. We are sure Francisco was in the backup earlier…that’s why he was late. Finally we reached the end of the city. After that we enjoyed the vista…beautiful mountains and countryside.

We arrived in San Miguel just before 6:00 p.m. It was cold and rainy. We were warmly greeted by the housekeeper, Veronica (Francisco is her husband) and Linda (the lady who owns the condo we are renting). This is the third year we are renting Linda’s condo. She left us a nice bottle of wine, Malbec, and a nice small box of chocolates…yummy. Sam unpacked while Bob set up the computer. By this time it was about 7:45 p.m. We were thirsty and hungry. So, we ventured out in the rain and went to our favorite local restaurant, Rinconcitos. We had a couple of margaritas and a nice dinner. We even met some people from Canada. They are renting the house right next door to our condo…a small world.

It is good to be back home! Oh yes, home is wherever we are!