Poinsettias in our garden

These are growing in our back yard... It's clear that it's Christmas time here!

So, the other night we apparently had a "Last Night before the End of the World" party happening at a club that is maybe half a kilometer away. I had been watching the Nat Geo programming earlier to see what the various crazies were saying. It was entertaining, but this party was epic!  Went on until who knows when, because I finally put in ear plugs. You know, any excuse for a party, right? Cannot do all-nighters any more.

Tonight we went to a fantastic restaurant very near to us - we could walk, if I didn't mind walking at night! The chef (Ernesto) took care of us exclusively, as we went early. We also had the benefit of hearing about his background, etc. What a character! Said he has been married 3 times - American, Chinese and Cuban wives. His father was Spanish and his mother Mexican. His menu is wonderful, mostly Spanish-inspired, Grande tapas. Probably the best food in Ajijic right now, although it's always REALLY hard to pick one out from the group. We had Paella which is something Gregg does exceptionally well, so there was some macho going on. When we left, Gregg invited him to our house for his Paella after the New Year, so we will see...

Tomorrow night is Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) here. Last year we were staying in the barrio and there literally were bonfires on our street, music, dancing, drinking and general partying until dawn. As for this year, we have an Open House in the village at a new friend of mine's house by the lake. Christmas day is a brunch at the house of our friends from Oregon. It is beginning to feel like a second home here, with lots of new friendships developing. It will likely be quieter in OUR neighborhood when we get home tomorrow evening, I hope.

I will finish with some random thoughts:

The new administration took office on Dec. 1st here, and there is a lot of skepticism - Mexicans and Foreigners alike. Calderon's administration caught and jailed most of the major drug cartel leaders. Pena's plans do not include chasing any of the big guys, but rather putting increased police personnel in the villages to stem the tide of "new recruits" due to the huge problem here. Sounds good, but he has no money to increase forces, has no info on how he will recruit these people and folks are thinking it's a lot of talk and no back-up.

In closing... in the "Who Would have Thought" category:

They are actually monitoring air quality in Guadalajara the same as they do up North now. It has been bad lately. And...in the plazas in Guadalajara and Zapopan and Tlaquepaque (2 suburbs) they have set up ice rinks, with 600 pairs of skates that are free to users for a half hour. Very cool!

Grande grasshopper

It's been awhile since my last post, but not due to a lack of things to write about. I've been working through a new technical challenge - downloading pictures from my IPhone that are publishable. I think it is still a work in progress... See the picture on the left taken with my phone. Grasshoppers here can get as big as 4" long. The detail is lacking, but you get the idea.

The weekend of the Feria, I mentioned in my last post, was a blur. It was a huge success for the artisans that traveled from all parts of Mexico(expenses paid by donation), for our area in terms of tourism and for the more general goal to promote the continuation of this fading tradition of free market sales of indigenous art in this  country that is so rich in that. We worked as volunteers all 4 days and it was an amazing experience. Because my photos are lacking, I want to share a local man's website with you for really detailed info and excellent photos. His name is Tony Passarello, and his site is: antoniorambles.com. He also has many great photos documenting the Dia de los Muertos celebration, and the Revolucion holiday which spanned several days in both cases. Bottom line, if there is any excuse to do so they will party for days...

As for us, we have had an interesting time adjusting to living out of town. Gregg wanted to bring bikes down (we did). Most of the area is paved with rocks - not cobblestone, but rocks - except for along the main thoroughfare. We have not exercised the bikes since we arrived. Another challenge: We have a very few neighbors in our gated community and we just haven't connected with them yet. Not for lack of trying either. Only one has come forward to meet us.  We have invited them for dinner this week. No one uses the shared pool here - I mean NO ONE. When my daughter and grandson come to visit next month that will change!

Right now, things are really happening all over the area. The Christmas season in Mexico lasts well into the new year. There are fundraisers for local orphanages and other groups, to help the locals that are in need, that will be going on until March. Expats and transplants here from points North are willing donors to all the area establishments that are doing the good work. No wonder they are so tolerant of us all.