News as of December 2007
Mexico - Week 1, Week 2, Week 3,
Back Home
We are back in Hermosillo after an interesting last night stay in
Guadalajara. We stayed in a motel on the outskirts of town. I had read
about this type of motel, but didn't think that's what it was because it
was so close to the airport. Some motels in Mexico are for, let's just
say, renting by the hour...You must pass through security and then once
assigned a room, you drive your car into an enclosed garage that opens
onto your room. They must have known we were married because we paid for
the whole night....the welcoming screen on our TV was quadruple rated x,
if there is such a thing, and the brochures laying around the room
invited us to order from the motel's love shop. We finally managed to
find a channel that was not x-rated and fell asleep watching it. The
next morning we caught what we thought was an early flight to Hermosillo,
but when we went out over the water we knew it would be awhile. A side
trip to the airport of La Paz showed us how beautiful the Golfo de
California is, but we were glad to get back to Hermosillo.
We broke the cardinal rule. We drove in the dark in Hermosillo. I was
like Cinderella in her coach, afraid Bill would turn into a mouse and
the car into a pumpkin. I kept telling Bill to hurry up hurry up, and
get to the hotel. I don't even remember now why we were out so late, but
we got very disoriented and ended up on the outskirts of Hermosillo,
opposite of where we wanted to be. A huge downpour flooded the streets
earlier that afternoon and standing water made driving even more
hazardous. I was close to hyperventilating when Bill found a road he
recognized and finally got us to our hotel.
Now we have driven back to Alamos, in a new rental car and new
Mexican
car insurance (which by the way, is the most expensive part of our trip,
but you cannot be without Mexican car insurance and your American car
insurance does not work down here).
I want to tell you a little more about Alamos.
Alamos, nestled in the foothills of the
Sierra Madres Mountains, was a rich silver mining town in the 18th
century. Many landowners were wealthy silver barons who built lavish,
beautiful colonial homes. Mining was discontinued in the early 20th
century, and when the Mexican Revolution occurred, wealthy landowners
were forced to flee their homes. Much of the population left, leaving
Alamos almost a ghost town. At some time during the 1950's a few North
Americans began to discover Alamos, purchasing land and restoring the
old silver baron homes and mansions. This returned some of the country's
economic growth to Alamos, and the Mexican government declared Alamos to
be a national monument. With a population of around 6,000, this small
town is now thriving, but maintaining its small, beautiful, old-town
ambience.
There really isn't any more to say, it is
a beautiful town.
We settled ourselves back into San
Andreas on a Wednesday afternoon and as evening approached, I made
sure I had my earplugs handy for later that night. We had decided to
meet with the realtor from Alamos Realty the following day to see some
homes and I wanted a good nights sleep. Dusk came and went, but the
Alameda was quiet. We knew from our previous stay that the craziness had
begun on Thursday, so we thought maybe they just take Wednesday night
off. That was good news. Town was fairly quiet, and although we could
hear the delivery trucks coming around about 4am we slept well.
The following day we did a lot of walking
and driving. We noticed what looked like a big outdoor banquet being set
up near the hospital. It thundered and rained a little in the early
afternoon as Lilliana, the real estate agent drove us to see some homes.
It was all very pleasant.
We saw some very, very old, dilapidated
buildings. Buildings that were once beautiful homes, now in very poor
condition. A few nicer homes were on our list and the owners were very
kind to let us walk through their treasured rooms. But we are looking
for a project, a place in need of a lot of fixing up. So most of the
places we looked at had been empty for 2 or more years. We were in awe
of the architecture, as much in disrepair as many of the buildings were,
the Moorish archways, the Spanish portals, columns and walkways, the
forged iron gates and immensely huge wooden doors let us in on some of
the beauty of their history.
Later that evening we sat on the balcony
at Don Andreas, talked about what we had seen that day and geared
ourselves up for some noise. We watched as nicely dressed teenage
boys walked along the Alameda and up the streets. What appeared to be
their mothers and grandmothers walked with or behind them, laughing and
talking, and carrying potted plants. We guessed they were returning from
the banquet. A few cars drove by, but mostly we saw a lot of
families walking, and enjoying the evening.
There were no horns honking, no radios
blaring, no yelling and screaming; we did see the truck with the wire
reindeer on its roof and the little fire glowing beneath it. We did see
that maroon trooper and the silver truck with all the kids in the back,
but they were just going places, just doing whatever it was they were
doing. It was a quiet evening in Alamos and we were very surprised, but
we were also very pleased to see that family was important in this town,
and that all the craziness of the first week there seemed to have
disappeared.
The following day, we walked up the hill
to take another look at the small place we had decided might just become
our project. Lilliana met us and gave us the key so we could take our
time looking again. She happened to mention the celebration of the
Mexican Revolution which had happened the week before last. Had we been
here, she asked?
Click on any image to enlarge.
 Calle
Durango is a very quiet street on a hill above Alamos.
 The
Sierra Madres Mountains get closer as the view moves to the left.
 The
street outside the casa.
 Bill
is already making plans.
 Bill
is trying to unlock the door to the bedroom that we will be living in
while we are working on this major project.....there are 2 livable
rooms.
 Another
look outside to a shed. Will this be my next studio????
 You
can see the long walkway. We will be turning this into a long portal
with the same columns you see in a lot of the pictures.
 Looking
out to the yard through the brick that will come down. You can see the
columns. They will become part of a long portal above the walkway in the
next photo.
 The
first open air room picture is in the large open space on the left, the
kitchen is in back of the lacy brick stuff which will come down very
quickly.
 NOW
this is my new kitchen!!!
 This
just happens to be another open air room, okay, you could call it a room
with a caved in roof. it's all a matter of perspective.
 This
an open air room and it opens to the backyard.
 Yes,
this is the one! You are about to see the very first photos of our new
home, due to close and become ours in March, 2008. That is the propane
tank. (I could lampwork alot of beads off that tank.)
 Another
view. There is an agave ranch across the street.
 Calle
Durango No9 View
 More
of the huge backyard. We will probably put in a soccer field......not.
 This
a huge lime tree in the back yard.
 A
view through a window onto the backyard.
 The
street side of the casa.
 One
of many homes we visited.
 Hermosillo
Aeropuerto
Live for color and the rhythm it creates
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