Jul 10, 2019 - My Trip to Mexico and Panama

I just got back from a great month traveling throughout Mexico and Central America. I met up with some good friends from high school and absolutely loved every second of our trip. I speak Spanish and look Hispanic, so that should be taken into account when you consider my experiences but I just wanted to pass on some tips in case you guys find yourselves in a rut! 1. Yucatan, Mexico Our first stop in the Yucatan was Cancun. We stayed a few nights in Cancun but I don't recommend doing that at all. Unless you're staying in some fancy resort,...

Jun 21, 2019 - Travel Day

We enjoyed our last morning here at the dining cabana enjoying an early breakfast before departure. There was light rain. We took our water taxi to the town of Bocas and met a van for transfer to the airport. From there we flew into Panama City. We took a taxi from Albrook Airport to Tocuman International Airport. Aero Mexico took us on to Mexico City with a long layover. So tomorrow we will take another bus tour of this city. Mexico City is the 3rd largest city on the Western Hemisphere - 8.8 million people.

Apr 23, 2019 - Huatulco, Mexico

Huatulco is popular for its pristine bays. We visited a textile shop where everything was hand made. They didn't allow pictures but they started the demonstration by hand carding the wool and spinning their own yarn by hand. They do the same with cotton. The yarn is then hand-dyed. Hanging in the store were large paddles of prickly pear cactus with growths on them that looked like barnacles. The man said that these were insects used to die the yarn. He pulled one off and crushed it in his hand to produce a bright red color. Then he added...

Apr 21, 2019 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta. Very colorful and lively. We went to a tile factory and watched a man painting a beach scene on one of the tiles using only his finger as a brush. He did a great job. It was around 10 in the morning and the store across the street was already offering free margaritas if you came into his shop. We decided to pass.

Apr 18, 2019 - Teotihuacan

Today we went to Teotihuacan....an ancient city inhabited from approximately 400BC to approximately 600AD. First we had to leave Mexico City by driving north for over an hour. In the far north of the city sare multi-colored barios. In one subdivision a tram has been installed to transport people to the subway. Beyond the outskirts, the barios continue. There is a statue of a winged man that sits at the outskirts. A fence has been built toarrest the influx of people. Not far out of the city traffic slowed to a crawl. An accident had happened...

Apr 17, 2019 - Chapultepec Castle and Archeology Museum

Today we took a taxi to Estelle de Lux, a centennial monument to go on a tour of Chapultepec Castle and the Archeology Museum. There were 5 of us....a Colombian couple, a man from Madrid, Spain and us. Ivan, the tour guide switched easily from Spanish to English so everyone understood. We walked the short distance to the Monument of the Ninos Heros....in honour of 7 young soldiers who fought in one of the independence wars....against the Spanish. Of note is Avenida Reforma originally Empress Charlotte after Maximillian's wife which...

Apr 16, 2019 - Mexico City

We left Latacunga and drove to the outskirts of Quito and stayed overnight Sunday at the Posada Mirolinda. It was sad to see Yedi take our car back to Ribas. But our time with it was over. At 5a we were served breakfast by the Posada and 5.45a saw us at the Aeromexico counter checking in. Our flight was on time, and uneventful. We were met by a Viater service agent, escorted to a waiting SUV and driven into town. Both the driver and our escort pointed out landmarks. We had drinks in the hotel bar and took a patron's advice....for a...

Mar 27, 2019 - ¿Dónde estoy? ¡En Loreto!

On March 17 I flew from DIA to warm, sunny Loreto in Baja California Sur. Both my flights were smooth and on time since my plane was not a 737 Max 8 and the bombcyclone storm had moved on. Mi cara amiga Peg met me at the airport and for the next three days we shopped and cooked in anticipation of March 21. That is the day six of our amigas arrived. Can you say fiesta? Our Loreto Bay villa is a huge 4-BR, 3 bath with a lovely courtyard and a third-story tower with a lovely view of the Sea of Cortez to the east and the Sierra Gigante...

Mar 16, 2019 - Happy St. Paddy's Day

Went to Walmart on one of the old buses on Tuesday and started thinking about how much fun the buses used to be. The old buses had character. The drivers babied them, (they pretty much had to, some of them were in pretty rough shape). They would decorate them, hang curtains, pom-poms, and pictures of their family. Some of them would have boom boxes on board to play music. When Nell and I first started riding the buses, (13 years ago), we would get on a bus and just ride to the end of the line. There we would get off and explore whatever...

Mar 12, 2019 - The New Gig In Town

What started out in December as a potentially troublesome season for Jill has turned into one of her most meaningful Mexico sojourns in quite awhile. When we first got down here the girl had to deal with a bit of a double whammy. First we learned that our dear friend (and former Los Defines worker extraordinaire) Rocio and her two daughters Jacque and Jenni, were no longer in Los Ayala. You may recall that Rocio had left Los Delfines 1 1/2 years ago when she and Ricardo got into a disagreement about wages. Last year Rocio cooked for a...

Mar 10, 2019 - Getting to be that time of year, again

It's getting to the time of year when people start heading back home. Wednesday before last, Wendy and Henry went home. Then, this past Tuesday, Roy and Carol left us. In the next week or so, people in our building will start heading out. With each departing friend, we realize that we are getting closer to leaving paradise. It's a sad time. The months seem to have gone by much too quickly. It seems like only a week or so since we got off the plane at the PV airport and now, we have less than three weeks left. Really? Less than three weeks?...

Mar 5, 2019 - The week that almost wasn't

It is just about time I caught you all up on happenings around here.The title tells a story all of itself. Last Monday we just about had our greatest success in our trivia careers. At the end of the first half, we were tied for first place. Granted there were six teams tied for first place but, we were ecstatic. The fact that we didn't win the tie-breaker and pretty much fell on our faces during the second half, didn't dampen our enthusiasm even a little. Then, this week, we had what may be one of our worst showings ever. It's a good thing...