News as of December 2007
Mexico - Week 1, Week 2,
Week 3, Back
Home
Bienvenidos, mi amigos!
Now in our second week in Mexico, I have decided to stay. Well, okay, I
would if I could. Our 3 week trip, divided into thirds has been to date,
just what we had hoped and even more so. This is a fact finding mission
for us as we decide to make a permanent move to a new country. A few
months ago, my husband came home on a Friday and said, "Guess what? I
retired, so lets move to Mexico." Moving to Mexico is something we have
always talked about, I just didn't know we were going so soon.
Flying into Hermosillo and renting a car was a breeze. With Mexican car
insurance in the glove compartment, and trying to stay committed to our
decision to never drive in Mexico at night, my husband, Bill, threw
caution to the wind, and drove like all the Mexicans did. I buckled up
for the ride, only closed my eyes a couple of times, and we made it to
the hotel as the sun set behind the horizon.
Before leaving Washington, we immersed ourselves as much as possible in
the language, taking Spanish classes from two different teachers as
often as possible. Car and hotel rentals seemed to be working for us and
we were able to finally get one room instead of two. We still need alot
of language practice though. Bill kept telling a man that we had "dos
anos named KD and Ian" (2 years named KD and Ian). Bill was trying to
say "dos ninos" (2 children). The interesting thing was the man kept
shaking his head and saying, "si, si.", as though he understood
everything Bill said. Having studied French, Bill sometimes gets the two
languages mixed up and that makes for very interesting conversation. How
good am I, you ask? Well, there was the little old lady in the bathroom;
I told her "Bien viejo", but I meant to say "Bien viaje" (have a good
trip). I called her a good old woman. She just smiled at me.
A short drive took us to San Carlos Bay. This is a beautiful bay, full
of yachts and sailboats and Americans. We felt as if we had taken a
wrong turn and gone north to California. Heading further south we
arrived at our main destination, the town of Alamos. A colonial town nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, we had heard
this was a small sleepy little town.
We arrived at our small hotel on the Alameda well before dark. After
dinner at a nearby cafe, we settled into chairs for a relaxing evening
on the balcony that overlooks the long Alameda. We thought we would
watch some of the activity for awhile. Soon we noticed that there were
more and more cars coming out and driving up one side of the Alameda and
up a few blocks and then returning down the other side of the Alameda.
We watched this for awhile and began to say things like, "There's that
red trooper coming back by." "Man. there's that truck again with all
those little kids in the back end." Suddenly the town went crazy. There
was very excited yelling and screaming, radios were blaring, men were
playing guitars and singing, everyonewas whistling. The whole town went
absolutely crazy with noise. We began to see more and more cars cruising
around and around. The music got louder and louder and of course, each
car was playing a different station. A large truck went by with a wire
reindeer on its roof and a fire burning in a container below it.
We started to have concerns that Alamos might not be the quiet town we
are looking for. It was a Thursday night and we wondered why people were
out so late. By midnight, the noise settled a little and then someone
drove by with a crowing rooster and the town went crazy all over again.
It quieted again around 2 am and someone went by blowing a trumpet and
again, craziness let loose. We thought about finding a hotel farther up
the hill for the next night. Things finally did get quiet for about an
hour and then, all the delivery trucks arrived in town, right under our
window.
We did stay in the same hotel the following night and watched this
madness repeat itself. We were hooked on all the excitement and
activity, but when it was time to go to bed, I used earplugs.
During the day, we discovered that we can take a Nissan Izuru rental car
everywhere the townspeople say you can't, "because you need 4 wheel
drive". So an adventure on dirt roads up into the foothills turned into
a 4 hour long trip of winding and twisting roads and an occasional drive
through the same small pueblo twice. Directions to town from a farmer on
a donkey can take a person very interesting places.
A flight to Guadalajara, another rental car and more Mexican car
insurance let us spend a night down at Lago de Chapala at the old Posada
de Nueve. This is a beautiful historical hotel in Ajijic. Right on the
lake, the hotel has a beautiful banyan tree on the lakeside. We
sat at a
table beneath the tree one afternoon and it began to rain. Being from
the Pacific Northwest, the light rain didn't bother us. However, the
other foreigners who had been at tables made a bee line for the indoors
and the waiters thought we were crazy.
Now we are back in Guadalajara, having picked up our children, KD and
Ian, who have flown in from school in Colorado to be with us for
Thanksgiving. We are planning some shopping in Tonala and Talaquepaque
and will drive west to Sayulita for a trip to this beach. More manana,
mi amigos!
Click on any image to enlarge.
 A
beautiful quiet Alamos street. Bougainvillea is everywhere, as
well as morning glories and
trumpet vines.T he city of Alamos is currently putting all of its
electrical and phone wires below ground
 Portal surrounding the church plaza.
Palapa
roofs are very common in Alamos. the iron gated doors to the right
happen to open to the Alamos realty business. Inside the courtyard is a
small cafe with wonderful food, a coffee shop, local handcrafted shops,
internet cafe, the Spanish English learning center and much more.
 Another
church plaza portal.
Just more beautiful photos of the town of Alamos. The church plaza is
directly across the street on the right.
 Driving
into Alamos -
the Sierra Madres mountains
 Flowers
everywhere you look.
Unfortunately Alamos has its share of graffiti as the rest of the world,
but we did notice it gets whitewashed very quickly. The flowers are
blooming everywhere, but this was at the end of the fall season.
apparently during the rainy months of July, August and September, there
are even more flowering plants.
 Alamos
street, the buildings and sidewalks are well above ground to accommodate
the running waters that occur during the summer rains. soon the above
ground wires will all be below. These doors all open to either
businesses or homes. During the summer monsoon rains, we hear that the
water rushes down the street, often right at sidewalk height and most of
it ends up surrounding the alameda.
 Alamos street -
streets are cobblestone, brick, lime, but there are still many unpaved
roads in and around town.
 Beautiful
old buildings surround the church plaza -
a small float is being prepared at the church plaza for an upcoming
parade.
 The
church at the plaza is very very white and clean. It is also fairly quiet
compared to the working alameda plaza. The church plaza and the alameda
are connected by the kissing wall, a very long, narrow alleyway, where
the youth sneak to at night. Stories say that the alley is so narrow that
sometimes they can kiss from second story window to window. I never saw
that happen, but the kissing wall is used a lot to get from one plaza to
the next.
 Another
beautiful church plaza photo. I want this truck!
You can see how white and pretty this church plaza is. lots of iron and
red roofs and a great people watching, yet quiet plaza unless there is a
festival going on, and that happens a lot!
 The alameda
is lined with vendors selling food.
There are so many small vendors around the alameda. tacos, tacquitos,
hamberquesas, fish, chicken, all being grilled on wood fires. You order
your food and then sit down and someone brings it to you and it is all
so good. Also at the alameda you can buy a nice hat or shirt and get
your shoes shined. a vendor will bring a newspaper to your car as you
drive by and a coca or 7 (Coca-Cola or 7up) can be found everywhere.
 Our Alamos
hotel.
It
does not get any better than this. Jorge Alvarez has made this a
wonderful place to stay. The alameda outside makes it the best viewpoint
for watching the town at work and play. BUT if you go during a festival,
bring your earplugs or plan to try and sleep listening to this lively
exciting town work and play.
 Around the
Alamos alameda.
lots of hielo (ice) is available in town. This portal covers the
entrance to one of the larger markets or grocery stores. Again, all the
electrical wiring will soon be below ground.
 This is a
small view from the balcony.
Another
view from our hotel, posada de Andreas. The archway on the right leads
into the mercado where one can purchase their fresh produce and meats
from vendors. you can buy supplies as well for the home or office. Bags,
shoes, anything you need, you will find. Everyone whistles in Alamos, a
very happy place to be.
 View of
alamos from the mirador.
The mirador is a religious viewpoint and is home to Our Lady of Guadalupe
statue . there are also vendors selling pottery, fabrics and clay
designs at the mirador. From there you can see in every direction. The
town is an old silver mining town and the silver barons built their
homes in squares surrounding lush beautiful courtyards. Many of these
old, Spanish colonial homes have been restored. The other most popular
style of architecture is the building or home surrounded by portals,
(covered walkways). Doors open off these long walkways into rooms used
by the family or business.
 Another
gorgeous view from the mirador shows Alamos surrounded by the Sierra
Madres mountains.
 More of the
mountains surrounding Alamos.
Live for color and the rhythm it creates
| 
Portal surrounding the church plaza. 
