Arrival in Ajijic and meeting new folks and a new town
Feb 28 & 29
We boarded a plane in Portland at
10:00 p.m. and had a four and a half hr. flight to Guadalajara. It was great to
have a direct flight, but we arrived at about 3:30ish a.m. Body time it was two
hours later here (5:30). We arrived before Brad did. Brad lives in Portland half
the year and in Ajijic half the year. We were neighbors before we moved back to
Vancouver. He made us a generous offer to stay at his place while he was in
Portland for ten days. We leaped at the chance to see another part of Mexico.
Brad drove us to his home where he made us coffee and we
chatted for a couple of hours. He lives in a gated community of 28 identical houses (each decorated to the owner's taste). All but two are owned by ex-pats. 
He then walked around town to get oriented as to
where to go for an ATM, good cafes/restaurants and groceries. 
We went to a
hotel overlooking the lake and had a late breakfast, eating outside of course.
Meals are quite leisurely here. The check doesn’t arrive until you request it.
I didn’t look at my watch but I would guess we were there well over 90 minutes.
Brad showed us more places like the main plaza where there is a small craft
market and more restaurants, the main pharmacy, and grocery store.
Back at home, Ron climbed onto the lounge chair on the veranda when we
returned and had a little nap. I stayed awake and read about Ajijic; Around
3:00, Brad made us a lunch of guacamole and potato salad with yummy tortilla
chips. Ron and I walked down the hill to the main drag to explore the town but came
back at 4:30 because most stores were closed and it was HOT. Brad lives up a
steep hill and Ajijic is at 6000 ft. elevation. We both were breathing heavier
than normal. walking up the hill in the heat.
At 5:45 we joined neighbors Marianne and Peter from Seattle
and walked back down the hill for dinner. The meal was delicious. We shared a
Cesar salad and I had an appetizer portion of shrimp and Ron had an entrée of Cajun
chicken and veggies. We walked back up the hill and it was cooler but not much
easier probably because we were pretty fatigued from the lack of sleep.
We forced ourselves to stay awake until almost 9:00p.m. and then said we couldn’t
make it any longer and headed for bed. I think it took about two minutes before
we were in "mimi land"’ Ten hours later we managed to emerge from the bedroom.
Both of us had a little trouble sleeping because of a different bed.
March 1
Brad left for Portland at 6:00 a.m.
After ten hours of sleep, we emerged from the bedroom and
started our day at 8:00. First, we showered then I started working on
breakfast. It is always a trick to learn a new kitchen. It took me 45 minutes
to get fresh-squeezed orange juice, granola, and coffee to the table just to
demonstrate how goofy I can be at times.
We sat outside and enjoyed the breezes and scenery. I love this
lifestyle. It is so different from home where there are always tasks at hand,
particularly when overseeing a construction project. If and when we find a
place to live outside the USA, we will not have this much leisure time but we
hope to slow down and adapt this pace in a culture such as this.
At 9:40 we walked over to Marianne and Peter’s place and
the four of us went to a weekly event called Open Circle. There were close to
200 people in attendance at an outdoor venue. Today Michael Reason, a local resident, and conductor, was speaking on The Universal Power of Music. It was a great talk
with music played to emphasize his points throughout the talk. The music ranged
from classical Haydn and Beethoven to pop John Lennon and Jefferson Airplane to
Buddhist monks chanting. We loved it all. It takes several days for a video of the presentation to be posted on their web site so look for it in a subsequent post.
After the talk, M and P left for home and we went
exploring. Along the way, we discovered a French restaurant, La Vie en Rose and
ate a great lunch outside…is there any other way to eat in this climate? I
bought a baguette and two croissants for home meals. Who knew you could find
such fare in a small town in Mexico? I just Googled the population and number
for ex-pats here and got three different numbers. Ahhh… the internet, fraught
with inaccuracies. There are a lot of gringos here though. The place where we
dined last night was filled with non-Mexicans.
After lunch, we walked around and searched for a pharmacy that might carry a
cleansing cream for my face with no luck since we don’t know enough Spanish to
read labels. Then on to the grocery store where we found lettuce, cookies, more of
Brad’s yummy tortilla chips and sugar for my coffee. Then the hot, hot climb
back up the hill. Ron went right to siesta-time and slept for about an hour or so. I
have spent about 50 minutes soaking the blueberries I bought from a street
vendor, the lettuce from the grocery and asparagus Brad had here, all in preparation for making dinner. Not only should we not drink the water except bottled water, but all fresh fruits and veggies should also be soaked for 15 minutes in a solution with
some disinfectant.
We have come across many vendors here selling quarts of
fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for about $3. per quart! I love
it. Right across the lake are huge Driscol farms that send much of its berry
harvest to the USA; particularly at this time of this is what you will find in the NW. Lucky us to have fresh berries right here.
Shortly we will venture inside and make a light dinner of
leftover potato salad, make a green salad and sauté those asparagus, then back
to the veranda to dine. Yum.
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