Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico » PLACES

Bernal, Queretaro: Does This Fit Your Stereotypes of Mexico?

Rosana — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:30:41 +0000

Bernal, Queretaro, is a charming, upscale Mexican town about an hour from the lovely colonial city of Queretaro. A few foreigners live there, and we were among them for several months in 2005. But of the 5,000 or so inhabitants, fewer than two dozen were foreign… and we never met many of those! Our Spanish improved a lot while we were there.

Bernal is clean. It has a distinctly New Age flavor, which seems to have its roots also in the pre-Hispanic culture which is still strong in Mexico. For example, see my story of first going there and meeting Anna, in my page, The Magic of Bernal.

What makes Bernal so special is the mountain above it:

This mountain attracts rock climbers from all over the world, and is also the focal point of many tales about UFOs, crystals inside it, and more. Actually, my husband saw a UFO there, after attending an all-night temescal, or sweat lodge. See Kelly’s Hot Night Out.

Everyone told us we had to be there for the spring equinox, and we were once. We joined the pilgrimage up the mountain:

And we took part in the festivities and ceremonies on the plaza:

To find out more about this wonderful little town, just choose Bernal from the category list on the sidebar. It’s under PLACES > Queretaro > Bernal.

Bernal, Queretaro: Does This Fit Your Stereotypes of Mexico? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Kelly’s Earthbag Project Here

Rosana — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:08:36 +0000

Over several months, my husband Kelly has been working with students at the nearby Ninos y Jovenes boarding school and with members of the Chapala Green group, along with other people who have turned up at times.

They’ve been creating a demonstration project for earthbag building, a method that Kelly used to build the house we had in Colorado. He and a friend of ours have a comprehensive website at: earthbagbuilding.com

Most of the students at this school are Huicholes, from poor rural areas, and the priest who runs this school was enthusiastic about the boys learning the method. The swine flu scare shut schools for weeks, and there have been some other events competing for the kids’ attention, but bit by bit the building is coming along:

To see all the pictures Kelly has put on flickr, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellyhart/sets/72157617260502049/

There may well be photos there showing the project further along, as Kelly keeps updating that set.

The project has received good newspaper coverage. People are quite interested!

Kelly’s Earthbag Project Here is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

I Loved El Tajín

Rosana — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:54:25 +0000

I feel very lucky to have been to El Tajín, deep in the jungle and far from the usual tourist routes. Kelly and I were there in 2003.

We came up El Tajín on a misty winter day, a Monday morning when very few tourists were about:

Its heyday was probably from about 800 AD to 1200 AD, and it likely had a population of something like 25,000 people.

The carvings were wonderful:

To read more about El Tajín, here are three pages I wrote when we were there:

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/2003/el-tajin/

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/2003/more-about-el-tajin/

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/2003/talking-with-totonacs-at-el-tajin/

Some friends of ours happened to go there on the spring equinox, and they had a completely different experience. The equinox is a very big deal here, going back to ancient times, and El Tajín was full of people, all celebrating and enjoying. Our friends had a great time, but I’m glad I went when it was quiet.

I Loved El Tajín is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Mexico or Thailand?

Rosana — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:08:03 +0000

Here’s a guest article by my friend Alison Soloman who is just starting a website on cheap travel. . — Rosana

For years, my partner and I talked of traveling to Southeast Asia. Last fall we were finally able to take the trip of our dreams, a month traveling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Little did we think that this trip would propel us into serious consideration of moving to Asia permanently. But it did, and we ended up having to decide – Mexico or Thailand?

Comparing Thailand and Mexico doesn’t make sense on many levels since both countries are so vast and varied in their geographic regions, their peoples and their customs. But they have their similarities: both are known for their stunning beaches and their affordable standard of living. Mention that you’re relocating to Mexico and most people assume you must be headed to the azure ocean, golden sand and endless sunshine of Cancun or Puerto Vallarta. Similarly if you indicate that you visited a large ex-pat community in Thailand, most will assume you’re referring to the gated communities and beach resorts of Koh Samui and Phuket. Our intention when we moved to Mexico was not to recreate an endless vacation in a beach resort, but rather to live in an average Mexican town which was why we chose Chapala. So too, the part of Thailand that we fell in love with was the everyday, vibrant, real-life town of Chiang Mai.

We loved everything about Chiang Mai. Like Ajijic, it sits in a valley surrounded by towering green hills. And like Ajijic, you can wander ancient, narrow streets to find tucked-away treasures of local arts and crafts. But Chiang Mai is much bigger than Ajijic. It has a whole section near the river devoted to daytime markets for locals and a difference section with incredible night markets for tourists. While Ajijic has a few beautiful churches, Chiang Mai had countless stunning temples. But the thing we really fell in love with was combination of ancient and modern, Asian and Western. Not only was there an abundance of ancient Thai culture, Chiang Mai also boasts several top-notch universities, which provide numerous concerts, plays and theatre. And while we’ve always considered the Galleria in Guadalajara first-class, the shopping malls in Chiang Mai were even more upscale.

As for affordability, Chiang Mai won hands-down. The friends we were staying with were renting a two bedroom condo in a building with a pool and gym for less than $300 a month. Fabulous Asian-cuisine meals with several courses cost us less than $3, and our favorite lunchtime stir-fry was less than $1. Not to mention the heavenly full-body massages I treated myself to, for all of $7.

As for the people, one of the things we liked about the ex-pat community in Chiang Mai was that it was more diverse than Lakeside. North Americans were the minority. There were Brits and Aussies and Europeans. Their activities were similar to ours here: volunteer activities, hobby-clubs, bridge, social gatherings and tons of eating out. We also loved the gentleness and politeness of the Thais we met.

So what made us decide not to take the plunge? The main drawback is of course, the distance. The flights were grueling and we had terrible jetlag when we got back. I also felt that while I could easily become completely fluent in Spanish, I would never be able to grasp more than the most rudimentary Thai, which meant I’d always be dependent on the ex-pat community. We both felt that if we’d seen Chiang Mai before Mexico, perhaps we’d have moved there. For better or worse we’d already chosen Mexico for our ex-pat experience and another exotic move was more than we could handle. Our motto: if you can’t be in the place you love, love the place you’re in!

Mexico or Thailand? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Mexico City Felt Surprisingly Safe

Rosana — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:35:20 +0000

My friends Alison and Carol of Cheaptravelmadeeasy.com went to Mexico City last year (2008) for a vacation from their lives here by Lake Chapala. In this guest article, Alison gives excellent tips for how to take care of yourself in any city in the world. She also comes to surprising conclusions about safety for women travelers in Mexico City! — Rosana

Last year, my partner and I decided to take a trip to Mexico City.

“You’ll go with a tour group, right?” folks asked us. They should know us better than that.

We never go anywhere with a tour group – it’s too constricting and too expensive. When we travel by ourselves, we can get to see exactly what we like, when we like, how we like.

“But surely it’s too dangerous to be by yourselves, especially two women?” was the question we heard over and over, even from our favorite Mexicophiles. And since we’re talking about last year, they weren’t referring to swine flu. They were referring to the fact that over the years Mexico City has garnered a reputation as being a high-crime city, and unsafe for individual tourists.

We’ve traveled all over the world and know how to look after ourselves. We never put anything in our back pockets. We never carry purses that could be easily grabbed from our shoulders. We never stand in the middle of the street poring over maps, looking like lost tourists. If we’re out at night, we don’t walk down any deserted streets, even if it means going out of our way. We always look like we know exactly what we’re doing and where we’re going even when we’re clueless.

Although we travel on a budget, we never stay on a street that seems seedy or in a hostel or guesthouse that feels unsafe in any way. If there’s no lock on the door, we won’t stay there. So we felt pretty confident in our ability to stay safe in Mexico City. Was that confidence warranted?

Definitely. Surprisingly, we felt safer in Mexico City than we have in many other parts of the world (especially the USA). We took the bus from Guadalajara to Mexico City, and then used the metro to get from the bus station to our hotel. Right away we were impressed with the Mexico City metro system. It is ultra clean, very modern, well-signed and easy to navigate. It took us to our destination, near the Zocolo, a small, inexpensive, well-appointed hotel that was on a well-lit, well-traversed main street.

Because of problems in the past, the city has done a great deal to combat crime on public transportation and in the metro. In the major stations there are signs everywhere that violence against women is unacceptable. Some even have a police post especially designated for victims of sexual assault. Although this was slightly unnerving, there were other things that made us feel very positive. There are armed guards on every platform who stand on elevated boxes so they can see everything. One fascinating thing is that the front two cars of the trains are designated for women and children only. Although it felt a little weird – like being in Saudi Arabia — this definitely made us feel very safe.

And it’s not just on the underground. When we weren’t using the underground, we used the small microbuses that are ubiquitous throughout the city. One night we were trying to get back to our hotel. Microbus after microbus rolled by, each one jammed to the gills. Just when we were wondering what we should do, an enormous bus drove up, with a large sign that said it was for women and children only. Forget feeling weird – it felt great!

We were in the city when a massive Peace march took place — Mexicans all over the country demonstrated against the kidnappings and violence that have resulted from the drug wars. Hundreds of thousands of white-clad people poured into the Zocolo, heard speeches, sang songs and lit candles. Later they quietly dispersed with not a single incident of violence reported. The next morning, the street had been swept completely clean and we marveled once again at how clean, quiet and serene Mexico City had turned out to be.

Mexico City Felt Surprisingly Safe is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Forest Fires in Mexico

Rosana — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:34:00 +0000

Before this area got some rain in May, Kelly and I had quite a window seat to watch a forest fire happening across Lake Chapala from us, on the beautiful and inactive volcano called Mt. Garcia. It went on for well over a week. The local press reported that not only was the terrain difficult and steep but the area is also known for having a lot of rattlesnakes. I don’t know if the fire was fought officially at all, actually. Kelly considered taking photos at night but it would have just looked like a line of dim red dots, so he didn’t.

The dry season usually ends sometime in mid-June, and the rainy season kicks into gear.. this area gets around 34 inches of rain a year, most of it between June and October.

In the weeks before the rains, farmers burn off their corn fields in preparation for the new crop. Mexicans are astonishingly casual about fire in general, so it is no surprise that some of the corn field fires get away from the farmers. Sometimes lightning strikes start fires as well.

My eyes and nose were inflamed for much of May from smoke, probably not from these fires you see but more likely from the various smaller ones on our side of the lake, some in the mountains not far from us.

Mexico does not have a huge amount of financial resources to fight fires like these, but on the other hand, this country has not had the suppression policies that have been prevalent in the US for decades. Also, anywhere near towns, people have picked up dead wood for firewood. So it’s apples and oranges to compare the situations in the two countries.

We’re always glad when the rains start. I think it was the day after our first good rain here, in May, that we saw no more smoke from Mt. Garcia.

Forest Fires in Mexico is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Groceries, a Death, and A Musical Grandfather in San Juan Cosalá

Rosana — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:01:39 +0000

April 25, 2009 — One Saturday Kelly and I walked a few blocks to the butcher shop we use sometimes here in San Juan Cosalá. We got ground beef for our dogs and some lamb for us, and while Kelly was paying, I noticed that the big double doors to a nice house right across the street were wide open. The house is for sale and I had never noticed any activity around it before. But there were a lot of people about, some all in black. There was a handwritten sign that the mass for Don David would be there at 4 pm.

I wondered who Don David had been, but I didn’t know any of the people milling about. As we continued walking, we did notice a teenage boy we know, also dressed all in black, intent on the video game he was playing in a store. I had a moment of concern that it might be his grandmother, who’s been ill, but then remembered she wasn’t named David.

Back to the shopping. We hadn’t been buying chicken yet in San Juan Cosalá but we had heard that there was a new chicken place on the highway, so we walked by there. They had already sold out of pollo crudo (raw chicken) for the day, but the lady said they normally have it Monday through Friday and early on the weekends.

Instead, we bought one of the chickens that was roasting, covered with a spicy coating. It came with macaroni salad, rice, potatoes, and salsa for 65 pesos which most foreigners mentally translate as $6.50 US, but with the dollar riding high at present, 65 pesos is more like 5 bucks even.

I asked in Spanish where the chickens came from. The family who owns this business lives somewhere else in San Juan Cosalá and they raise the chickens in their yard, feeding them corn and sometimes leftover tortillas from the tortilleria across the street. They kill and pluck the birds themselves. You can’t get any more local than that.

Kelly bought a bottle of tequila down the street and we got one peso’s worth of tortillas and the weekly Spanish language newspaper El Charal before going to one of the many tiny grocery stores in the area. This one is also a Cremeria (creamery) and recently they have started carrying my favorite yogurt, at my request: Alpura unsweetened. So some yogurt and some milk would be our last errand.

But they were shut up tight. Kelly figured they were going to the funeral.

We went on home and enjoyed a delicious chicken lunch. That afternoon, when our maid Rosa came for her weekly stint, I asked her about Don David. He died at about 80, and was a great-uncle to the teenager we know, an uncle to someone else we knew, and father of one of our neighbors. And yes, he was related to the people with the cremeria.

Rosa and I sat down to read a little from El Charal, that weekly paper. Rosa teaches me Spanish, and so I read aloud from an article about Saint Cecelia, patron saint of musicians.

The article went on to give some history of local bands, and Rosa interrupted me when I read the name Manuel Morales. “He was my grandfather,” she said, and explained he had been a music teacher and a farmer both. He had been instrumental in starting a band here in San Juan Cosalá, and she guessed that would have been about 1930.Then she looked a photo from the late 40s and recognized some of the musicians.

So walking around town to do our errands, rather than buying everything elsewhere, helps us to get more of a sense of this town. We are feeling more at home here, at the same time that we are becoming ever more aware of how deeply the people who live here are interconnected.

2 Comments from the old blog:

At April 26, 2009 2:38 PM, Amanda said…

What a cool post, I love the feeling of walking with you through the town. And reading aloud in Spanish sounds like a great way to learn, I need to start doing this with my hubby.
At April 26, 2009 3:40 PM, Rosana Hart said…

It’s really fun! And you could try reading storybooks in Spanish to your little one, with your hubby helping you w pronunciation…

Groceries, a Death, and A Musical Grandfather in San Juan Cosalá is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Lake Chapala

Rosana — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:58:15 +0000

March 7, 2009 – Living by Lake Chapala means we enjoy the beauty of the lake, from many vantage points. We have a nice though not panoramic view of the lake from our house, and we often walk down to the lake.

San Juan Cosala’s new malecon isn’t completed yet, but already I think it’s the nicest one on the lake. It’s several blocks long, and you are right on the water. I will have photos from it another time.

Boating and fishing are still quite common, and since hearing Todd Stong’s talk which I blogged about recently, I don’t worry when I see kids jumping off the malecon into the water.

This sunset could make you think Mount Garcia was acting up, but not so. It isn’t probably dead in geologic terms, but isn’t likely to give us a show.

1 Comment from the old blog:

At March 09, 2009 9:55 AM, John said…

I’d love to live on water–a lake, a river, the ocean. In San Miguel de Allende we have the Presa Allende, the result of a dam on the Rio Laja. But it’s horribly polluted. So when I just have to get a water fix, I travel to where it is…

Lake Chapala is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

A Mexican Middle School Celebrates 10 Years

Rosana — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:45:56 +0000

Feb. 22, 2009 – One day this week, Gerardo Tolantino stopped by. He teaches English at the middle school here, and we made a YouTube video of an historic tour he gave of our town, San Juan Cosala, a while back. That link takes you to the video.

This time, he invited us to the school around seven that evening for a celebration of the school’s ten years. It’s been in its present location for about eight years, and before that it met anywhere it could – in the plaza, in people’s homes, after hours at an elementary school. It was only through a lot of determined effort on the part of teachers and parents that the school got funded and built. At that time – I don’t know about now – only elementary school was compulsory in Mexico.

So ten years was something to celebrate. We walked over to the school, not far from where we live, just at dusk. We greeted Gerardo and felt dozens of adolescent eyes upon us as we strolled along the outside hallway, where a display of old photos from nearby Jocotepec had been put up. One was marked 1899, and many were from early in the 20th century. They reminded me how close this area is to its historic roots.

Concentrating on them, I didn’t really notice that a lecture was going on. I glanced up and saw the word Gonorrhea on a slide show. Then I listened, and the kids were being given a serious lecture on the dangers of you know what.

That ended pretty soon, and the dancing began. It was already pretty dark. Kelly and I stood with Gerardo and watched the dancing for quite a while. It was a local group, with people of all ages. I liked this misty picture Kelly got:

There was a large contingent of teenage girls behind us, making oohing sounds when male and female dancers approached each other:

After a while, we said our thanks and went home. We’d had a great time. It was still going on as we left:

A Mexican Middle School Celebrates 10 Years is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Globos in Ajijic

Rosana — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:07:15 +0000

Sept. 23, 2008 — On a recent Saturday afternoon, Kelly and I sat on a rooftop in Ajijic, at the home of some friends who live right in the village. We enjoyed the company of a variety of other people, but there was another reason we spent most of the time on the roof rather than two floors below, where the delicious food was.

Globos!

The annual balloon competition takes place every September, around the Independence Day celebrations. Believe it or not, this lovely thing is made mainly of tissue paper. People work together on their globos, whether it’s a family, a neighborhood or a business.

We were several blocks from the soccer field where the globos were being launched, and that was fine with me because while most of them got off to a good start, I’m not very Mexican in my ideas about what is safe.

They go aloft — and some go very high indeed — due to being little hot air balloons, and the heat is supplied by kerosene-soaked cotton or rags that are set on fire just before blast off.

I’m glad that all this takes place in the middle of the rainy season. Here is the pretty one above, crashing and burning.

This is one of the more elaborate globos. To see a whole slide show of the many photos Kelly took that day, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellyhart/sets/72157607290460439/show/ and click on "slide show" at upper right.

1 Comment from old blog:

At September 24, 2008 9:24 PM, Catalyst said…

Yes! Kelly’s slideshow is fantastic!

Globos in Ajijic is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico