Regatta de Globos 2011: This was the coolest thing ever.

So, yesterday we attended the Regatta de Globos in Ajijic, Mexico and it was AWESOME!  Different groups get together over the year and begin to make and assemble these amazing balloons.  They are constructed entirely from tissue paper, glue and tape.   

Then layered for thickness , but only 2 layers at most (Did I mention it’s only tissue paper).  Then they assemble the pieces into all different types of shapes, sizes and characters.  Once they have the balloon finished, every year at this time they set out to launch the “Globos” from the village futbol field.  It is so much fun to be in the middle of it all.  We set up our blankets and chairs, brought food, drink and snacks.  We met up with about a dozen friends and all of our kids.  The first launch was around 3:00pm and the Globos were really cool, but soon to find out rather small.  As the day progressed on, the Globos got bigger and bigger with a few small and medium ones set off in-between the big ones.  Now the way they launch these things is by starting with a chimenea.

Once they have it 90% filled, they take a towel and roll it tight in a circle, then soak it in petroleum.  Then they light the ring of fire which is wrapped around the bottom of the Globo on a metal ring.  The hot air forces the Globos up up and away into the sky.  If the wind is calm, they just keep going up and up, but if the wind causes them to tip side to side, the paper catches on fire and you have an inferno of paper falling along with the blazing hot metal ring and towel.  I gotta tell you that there is NO way you would ever see anything like this in the US or Canada.  OSHA would have a heart attack if they were here.  It is so freaking cool though, the Globos went up and burning ash and metal fall from the sky.  

 Not a single person got hurt, burned or singed, except for their pride when the Globos would just go up in flames before the even launched.  Here is a short video from the day.  Once again, living here feels so free and easy at times.  Everyone out enjoying the incredible weather, family, friends and a really cool spectacle of balloons, ahhh a true slice of heaven.

School has started, Futbol, Nana and PopPop Johnson visit and More

I will begin this latest blog with 4 words, “THE ADVENTURE HAS BEGUN.”  So, school is now in full swing for the boys and they seem to be settling in much better then we had anticipated.  The boys both get to school early in the morning around 8:00am and stay until 2:00pm.  The day is divided into ½ English and ½ Spanish.  Zach has no English speaking kids in his class and is picking up the language thing really quick.  Andrew is in class with all Spanish-speaking kids, but all have been studying English for 3-5 years.  They are both making friends and seem to be enjoying the school day.  Homework is a bit tough for them, because his parents don’t know enough Spanish to really be of much help, but with Google Translator, were getting by nicely.  The boys do wear uniforms for school which makes our lives really easy when it comes to buying school clothes and they look super cute.

Zach and Andrew have both taken up futbol (soccer) and are playing 2 days a week with mostly Spanish speakers and loving it.  They do drills and play for 2 hours each night.  The couple that puts on the practices is from Canada couple that worked with the Canadian National Team for years and it shows.  They are getting all these kids to really focus and work hard and still play hard.  In 2 weeks we have already seen a huge improvement in Andrew and Zach, who have really never had any formal coaching in the game (no offense coach Frank).  The best part is they LOVE going and getting in the middle of it all.  I am amazed at how well they both just jump in and start making friends and participating. 

Nana and PopPop Johnson just came for 2 weeks and we had such a fantastic time.  We took them to Guadalajara, showed them all over town and decided that they really need to move here for at least a few months a year.  Not sure if they agree, but they were looking at places to rent for a few months next year. Yippee!!

I got my first round of food poisoning from a dish that I knew better then to actually eat.  It was fantastic tasting going in, but coming out was horrible, two days later it was all over and I was back to 100%.  Hey I did say this was going to be an adventure didn’t I.  Then the crazy part of all of this has been with Andrew.  He has been complaining of a stomachache for 2 weeks now and we kept thinking it was all due to nerves.  He was in a new school, new kids, …  well this week, we decided to call his bluff and go get him tested.  We did a blood panel and a fecal test ad then waited two days.  Well the results come back and everything looks really good, except for Big Capital Letters that say he has an Amoeba in his gut and we need to treat with antibiotics.  Once we found out he did have something in his gut, we were actually relieved.  This is something that we can help with, if it would have been depression, anxiety and nervousness, which was a bit more daunting for us to consider.  He is feeling much better now just with the information that he really is feeling and experiencing a stomach issue.  I think he thought we were crazy by not believing him.  He has always been incredibly intuitive about his body.  Guess the lesson here is to really listen to your kids, they know!

All in all things are fantastic for us.  Tracy is in a Lip Sync Fund Raiser for the local theatre.  We just finished our Level I Spanish class after 7 weeks and begin Level II on Monday.  Finding our way around is super easy now, I got invited out for the first time to go listen to some live music, we have all our paperwork now and submitting things to the INM (Immigration) to get our legal working papers.  Tracy loves her Yoga class.  I have a great gym that I am back at, with the exception of the week off from the food/stomach issue.  In the past 3 weeks, we have met 3 more families with young kids that have moved here for a better quality of life. 

This place is truly magical and we are loving being here.  I wish I had photos to share but the camera got dropped on the floor and the view-screen is now shattered.  I will get around to buying one soon, juts need to find out where the best deals are.   Miss you all a ton and hope you will come see our slice of paradise someday soon.

Light and love,

Brian

School supplies, tooth update and a day at the Guadalajara Zoo

Hola!   

Last day of summer camp 2011

Well, another few weeks has flown by and here I am trying to retrace our footsteps here in Mexico.  So, summer camp is over and we are now in full gear for school to stat a week from today.  Actually went and dropped off all of the kids school supplies and books today.   

Now I am not typically one to vent on my Blog, but I thought a nice change of pace was in order.  The school requests of all the parents to go out and get the entire years supply of school stuff.  Everything from erasers, pencils, paper, ruler, you name it we had to buy it.  Now to top things off, we had to write each boys name on every piece of school gear, yes on the pencils too.  Now the way the purchasing of supplies goes for our school, is you take “The” list to the local papalaria (paper good and school supply store and ours even has an internet café).  Now, the list is given to the person in charge of the store and then you are asked to come back the next day.  Well, we did this and to my surprise it was hugely successful.  Everything down to the stick on eyeballs for art was in the bags.  We took the stuff home and waited for today.  The textbooks were also bought about 4 weeks ago at the school and had to cove every single book in a plastic stick on film to protect them from the hard use by each kid.  Okay, now we are at today, the day that all needs to be turned in.  We show up to the school at our designated time and I proceed to Zach’s classroom and Tracy to Andrew’s.  Once in the rooms, we are asked to start unloading the supplies while the teacher sits or stands and checks off each and every item and book.  All the while making sure that the name is on everything and books are covered with the plastic.  So, my first thought is what an enormous waste of a teacher’s time and then I start to think what a waste of the parent’s time.  How hard would this be for the school to just bulk order all the supplies in one fell swoop and be done with this crap.  Being the person I tend to be, I ask the teacher why such a waste of human time and resource.  How come the school doesn’t just take care of it?  Now one thing I forgot to mention is that they are VERY particular about everything, from the type of pencils, crayons, and these freaking little colored workbooks, which I will get to in a minute.   I mean detail has to be matched up on EVERYTHING.  The teacher is fantastic and she is kind enough to entertain my obviously annoying question and proceeds to tell me that the school did in fact do the shopping in the past, but some of the parents complained and felt that the school was profiting from the supplies.  The parents, and I am sure it was probably fewer then a dozen, wanted to buy there own supplies because they could save money.  Holy crap people, between the time it took to go to the store, write on everything, cover them and still be told that we had still screwed up and gotten a few of the wrong items, I would pay an extra $100 US dollars for the lack of this freaking headache.   For the love of god, we are talking private school here!  You, the school are in charge and it is your prerogative to tell the parents; here is your child’s curriculum, our fees, uniforms cost, rules and regulations and our freaking supply list that we will buy in bulk and you the parent will pay for.  That way, we are certain to get everything that we want, need and require for your child’s school year.   Now, I was involved pretty deep with the Boulder Valley School Board while in Boulder and I have seen the good that parents can do for a school and the district, but come on schools, you have got to draw the line somewhere with these parents.  I am a good Chiropractor, but I know I suck as a schoolteacher and especially as an administrator, so next year, just buy the stuff and make us pay for it.  Save yourself the money and time and make the parents suck it up and pay for what it is you want exactly!  Then there is the plastic coating from hell.  Every book and I mean every book is wrapped in this plastic wrap that absolutely makes these things 100% no recyclable.  Now I know many of you are thinking; recycling in Mexico?  Yes, they do recycle here.  Nowhere near the level of Boulder, but they attempt to do some.  I have even heard the school staff mentions sustainable and recycling.  This just shoots that whole thing to shit.  I can’t be sure how many kids are in the school, but lets say 200.  Now take that and multiply it by say, 20 books and you get 4,000 books with enough plastic to wrap a Boeing 777 Superliner.  That landfill will take millennia to break down all that plastic.  Needless to say, this is a sore spot in my day.  Oh, I almost forgot about the freaking little colored workbooks.  So, I finish in Zach’s class and head over to find Tracy at Andrews school next door.  She is finishing up, when the teacher tells us both that we bought 8 of the wrong notebooks (Oh, one more detail.  We took the list to the store that was recommended by the school, because that particular store had the master list of all supplies that each child at the school would need.  Do you recall the part above about leaving the list at the store and them filling it out?  I do!)  Well, the teacher then tells us that the ones we have will work, but we will need take them home and draw a red line in ink towards the top of each page (100 front and back=200, multiplied by 8 books).  Once again, me being me, I tell the teacher that we just can’t do that.  I have finally cracked.  I then said that if it is that important, then Andrew will be able to help out during class and do the lines himself as needed.    So, that is my little rant and I am so thankful to any of you that just wasted the time necessary to read this.  Now on with the show…

Ajijic

Spanish Class

Our Master Suite with walk in closet :-)

Living room

Guadalajara Zoo

Safari Ride

Andrew feeding our new friend

 School is right around the corner, my folks actually arrive this a week from right about now and I am so excited to have them coming to hang out and visit.  I am really looking forward to showing our new life off a bit.  The last of my “tooth” episode came to an end last week when I finally had my permanent crown put on.  All in all it cost me a bit less then $600 dollar US.  My good friend and dentist back in Colorado (Frank Harmon, DDS) had offered to do the work for me if I could get up there, but I just wasn’t going to be able to get up there soon enough.  Thank you so much Dr. Frank, you are still the best dentist I have ever been to as an adult (my uncle was my dentist when I was a kid).  We went to the zoo in Guadalajara last week and it was super cool and absolutely huge.  Everything from a traditional zoo with hundreds of exotic animals, aquarium, safari adventure, circus (better then the one Blogged about in the beginning of our adventure.  Very much like a Cirque du Sole) and a train that went around the entire park.  My favorite part of the park is that was built on the northern part of the city.  You can actually walk to the edge of the zoo and see the city in the distance to the west, but out in front of you is a sheer drop off and jungle below into a valley and then up the mountains on the other side where nothing has been built there.  It was just breathtaking that the 2^nd largest city in all of Mexico, just abruptly ends and nature takes over again.   Well another trip into Guadalajara and the zoo along with a stop at Costco on the way home made for a great day.   

The house just gets better and better, our neighbors are some of the nicest people that Tracy and I have ever met.  Most everyone here is over the top kind and friendly.  My philosophy is that we are in an incredibly small town with a large population of ex pats and we all just kind of hang together and help however we can and when we can.  You really feel connected to the folks you meet here, because you have something in common, a sense of adventure and a wanting for some kind of significant change in the way things were in your life before moving here.  Whether it be language, culture, art, weather (my favorite), food or something different from what you had, this place has something for everyone and it is truly magical.  Well, thanks again for humoring me by reading my Blog.  I hope you enjoy the photos and videos.  More to come soon…

 VIDEO: A day at the Guad Zoo

Beach Time and New House

July 18, 2011

Oh my Blog, now I have neglected you.  Time just seems to be flying by these past few weeks.  Well, we finally took a trip to the beach and it was awesome.  We went to a beach town a bit north of Manzanillo, called Melaque.   Our friends Joe and Brandi rented a house on the beach and invited us to come down and join them for the weekend.  We decided to see about a hotel close by with A/C and inexpensive.  Joe and Brandi spent some time looking at places and found us a great little hotel about 3 blocks from the beach ($500 pesos per night = $45 dollars).  The road actually dead ends into the sand and their house was there on the right.  We had such a blast, just hanging out, walking on the beach swimming in the 80+ degree water, restaurants on the beach and such beautiful scenery.  One of the really cool things we did was buy marlin from one of the local fish shops and cooked it up at the house.  We paid about $120 pesos for 2 kilos (that is 2.2 lbs per kilo) of wonderful tasting fish.  I have never had Marlin before, so I can’t say how much it might have been in the USA, but I am pretty sure it would have been more then $3 per pound.  We walked the little local towns (Barra Navidad and Melaque) and poked our heads in the shops.  I am pretty sure that we will wait to do the beach thing once the hot and humid verano (summer) is over.  It was wonderful while you’re in the ocean, pool or air-conditioned rooms, pero hace mucho calor (but it is very warm) walking around.  The kind of warm that makes your shirt stick to your skin.

Colima Volcano

Our Hotel in Melaque

Marlin for lunch

Our new pool

The beach in Melaque looking north

Dinner on the beach

Road from our hotel to la playa

Fruit stands along the roads from Manzanillo to Melaque

Melaque play looking south

The view from our dinner table.  The umbrella shadow is ours.

July 25, 2011

Yeah!!!  We are moving into our new house.  Well, we got the email that it would be okay to move into our new house a week early.  Tracy is so excited, but since it’s been about 5 weeks since we saw it, were having a tough time remembering what it looks like.  The boys are still in camp for another 2 weeks, Andrew is tutoring through this week and Tracy and I start Spanish classes.  We are so looking forward to the move and our classes.  The one really frustrating thing about living here so far is that we aren’t fluent yet and that get’s frustrating at times.  We so want to be able to carry on a conversation with anyone here, especially the Mexican’s, but we are on our way to being able to do that very well and soon.  Give us 6 months and I think things will be much easier in that realm.

July 27, 2011

We are in and so the one-year begins!  We love our new house soooooo much!  It is better then we remembered it.  It has a copala in the kitchen and Boveda ceilings.  There are 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths; one has a nice Jacuzzi tub.  The master has a walk in closet; the kitchen and bathrooms have granite counter tops, lots of color, fully furnished, well-stocked kitchen appliances and utensils.  It has everything we could want and more.  Along with all of that great stuff, there is a community pool and we have a small yard that is perfect for the dog and cat.   For Tracy this is a huge step, as most of you know how important it is for her to have her place to nest.  We have already moved furniture and getting ready to go and buy the boys some twin beds.  The boys love that we have about 700 cable channels on the television, not that they get to watch much. 

So, we have spent the past few weeks, moving, beaching it, site seeing, eating, sleeping, playing tennis, hiking the falls again, shopping, tutoring, Spanish classes, summer camp and more.  It feels like life is finally starting to settle in and routine is taking hold, which we all seem to thrive in.  Every day it feels more and more like home and the potential to stay for a longer period of time becomes a greater possibility.  We will just have to wait and see…

Rainy day drive in the Lake Chapala area.  Keep and eye out for the guy on a bike at around minute 1:00.  I have never seen so much water fall from the sky in such a short time.

Another Week & A Half In Paradise! Plus a link to tons of photos!

Wow, how time flies.  I will attempt to update you on the last few weeks, but things may be a bit out of order.  If you wish to view more photos, then have a look at this link:

 

http://www.oneboulderchiro.com/Site_2/Photo_Series_1.html  

 There are now 3 Photo Series listed at the top.

 

 Let’s begin with our second trip to Guadalajara.  Now being less intimidated, we decided to head into the heart of the city and have a look around before my second visit to the Endodontist. 

 

On the trail to the falls

El Centro

Guadalajara El Centro

Guadalajara Cathedrl

Endodontist Office Waiting area

First Day of Summer Camp

Exercise location

Talaquepaque

Guadalajara

Guadalajara Street Racing

In front of the Cabanas Museum

We wander round the historic centre and go to San Juan de Dios.  Guadalajara has a stunning downtown area. There’s a series of 7 plazas that make up the centre situated around the iconic Cathedral with a range of museums (from the sublime, Orozco’s murals in the Instituto Cultural Las Cabañas, the Government Palace, or the Regional Museum to the ridiculous, the Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not), and tons of statues, monuments and sculptures so there’s plenty to photograph. Go on a weekday and there’s lots of people, but Saturday and Sunday is when it comes into its own with everyone and their grandparents strolling and hanging out feeding pigeons, buying balloons and snacks and, strangely, having their shoes polished.

For me the highlight has to be the Mercado Libertad or San Juan de Dios, a gigantic 3 level market that caters to if not all needs, then a good few. You could spend hours there and not see everything. There’s sections for local handicrafts, fruit, meat, veg, DVDs, computer programs, bags, sugar cane drinks, shoes, cowboy boots, guitars, sombreros, stereos, car alarms, watches, battery replacement… and the list goes on but half the fun is stumbling into a new section and seeing something you didn’t know you needed and haggling for it. Going in without a clear idea of what you’re after is probably your best bet.

The Mercado

One word of warning; If you are of a nervous disposition or vegetarian or both, and find yourself in the butchers section on the ground floor, immediately do a 180 degree turn and walk away fast. Or alternatively grab your camera and start snapping pictures of meters of tripe, pigs heads and cows’ feet… 

We chose to find a nice quiet restaurant out on the main plaza for lunch, took a horse drawn carriage ride and just soaked in the sites.  Then a little before 4:00pm, we headed to the Endodontist to complete the final phase of my root canal.  Forty minutes after arriving, I was back in the waiting room with Tracy and the boys heading back to the car.  It was amazing, I was now completely pain free and feeling like I had never had the pain.  The whole thing cost me a total of  $260 pesos, plus gas and parking.  I am pretty certain that back in the states it would have been about $1,500 dollars. 

The weekend was spent just hanging around the village; we met a super nice couple from Australia with two kids that are on the last leg of their 6 months of traveling through Mexico. We had dinner later the next week with them and went hiking to the Falls.  Then came Monday and life started to get really busy.  Andrew started his Spanish tutoring with his soon to be teacher.  He has three weeks on intensive Spanish class from 8am-10am Monday through Thursday.  Then we take him to Summer Camp from 10:10 to 2:30, where he joins up with Zach and some of the kids that we have met along with mostly Mexican kids from his soon to be school and others.  The boys absolutely love the camp.  They do yoga, swimming, art, futbol (soccer), tennis and art.  Tracy and I actually get to spend some time together.  Last week on the first few days we ran around gathering the kids school supplies, shopping for groceries, trying a few of the local restaurants for lunch and getting caught up on the things that are just no fun with kids in tow.  Oh, my favorite restaurant here in the village is Tango.  The food is fantastic, the prices are perfect and the atmosphere is everything I have been looking for.  There are huge palapas, great art on the walls, the décor and decorations are exactly what I would put in a place if it were mine.  During the week, we walked the Malecon, the village and back to Chapala for more exploration.  During the week of camp, Andrew has become very close to another young boy from Guadalajara.  His name is Raul and is here visiting his aunt.  Well as things progressed, the two boys (nether speaks the others language) became fast friends and our entire family was invited over to their house for lunch this past Friday.  It just so happens that we were technically the guests of honor.  The house is situated right on the lake and is possibly the most spectacular location you could ask for.  It feels like you’re at a resort on the ocean.  We were fed and had a really nice visit with the family and a handful of others that had been invited over to meet us.  Every one of them spoke some English and with our Spanish, we were able to carry on a very nice conversation.  We have now been invited back a second time and for exercise classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings on the back porch facing the lake.  I actually attended the class last night and it was super cool.   I was a bit out of place, being the only male, but it was still really great.  It was a cross between yoga, Thai Chi and stretching.  I will be going back tomorrow evening with Tracy and the boys if all goes well the next 24 hours.  Thursday we had a wonderful home cooked meal with our new friends from Australia.  The house that they have rented is right in the heart of the village and is juts the best.  It is a large horseshoe shaped house with a good size outdoor garden and hot tub

Now back to this past weekend.  We once again got the exploration bug and headed to the city of Tlaquepaque on Saturday.  It is an artisan community with tons of galleries and outdoor markets full of anything you could ever wish for your home or office.  We had such a blast walking into all the shops and galleries and the kids loved all the stalls with toys and knick-knacks for sale.  We had lunch at a great Mexican restaurant with Mariachi music, but we were all tired and headed out just as it started.  Then off to El Centro in Guadalajara again to try and catch the double-decked bus ride through the city.  We found our way back into town, found parking and even found the place to buy tickets for the bus ride.  Well, the kids needed a bathroom and water and best laid plans, we missed the bus when Tracy and Andrew ran to get water and the bus filled up.  Zach and I tried to save seats on the top, but were told that that was not okay to do, so we exited the bus just as it hit capacity.  Tracy and Andrew got there just as we got off.  Feeling a bit pissed and bummed that we missed it, we got our money back (they sold to many tickets for the bus) and headed back to the car.  On the way back there was a place on the main Plaza renting battery operated mini cars for kids to drive, so we indulged the kids and got them a 15-minute ride for $30 pesos each.  They had such a last, but the coolest thing is that you would never ever see this kind of set up back in the USA.  No waivers to sign, no helmets, no roped off course, just a free for all on the plaza.  There were a few close calls, but not one of the 20 cars struck anyone at least in the 20 minutes we were watching.  Its almost like things just are expected to flow and no one anticipates that it will cause a problem.  We have heard that Mexicans just typically don’t sue each other.  Everyone is expected to take responsibility for their actions and watching out for what is happening around them.  Well then, back to the car and head for home. 

Sunday, we went to the Falls with Charla, Andy, and their kids along with David and his tow girls.  The trip up was a bit rough and especially when we got to the top where there was a race going on.  It started in the village center; they ran up the mountain and then back down.  Watching the runners come down was like watching a controlled fall with a lot of stumbling and a few wipeouts.  The way we found out it was a race was when Andy had just put his little boy down when out o the trees cam a runner decked out in USA red white and blue.  He was coming so fast and none of us knew what was going on, that the runner almost took out Andy, his son and himself.  Once we figured out what was going on, we sat back kin the pools and watched the racers come down the mountain one by one.  There is no way I would ever choose to run this course, it was 10K with crazy trails and up hills filled with jagged rock and cliff drop offs, if you should miss judge your downward path.  He trip down was much easier as we were pointed in the direction of an alternate trail down.  The views were just as intense, but the path was much easier to traverse for all.  We saw all kinds of beetles, caterpillars, plants and flowers.  It was so beautiful and such a blast.  We all went to the local Chinese Restaurant and had a wonderful late lunch.  It was a great way to cap off the hike.

Well another week has begun.  Andrew has tutoring, no camp today, so we explored the Jocotepec malecone on the west side of the lake today.  It is a new Malecon or at at least updated with giant fish fountains, a soon to be kids water park and a beautiful walk way.  Zach’s favorite area was this strip of grass on the south side of the park that had all of this cool outdoor exercise equipment.  There were spin bikes, elliptical machines, weight lifting equipment and more.  He played on it like it was built for him.  We had a really nice time just hanging with “Z” while Andrew was at the tutor.  Later that day, I went to my exercise class, while the boys came along too and played with their new friends (Raul and Kurt, brothers), life is really awesome.  Tuesday today has been an interesting day.  It is the first time that Tracy and I had nothing to really do while the boys were at camp.  I got up with Andrew, very early for his tutoring, which is about 20 minutes away on the other side of San Juan Cosala, came back and got Zach at the tennis courts where Tracy was subbing for one of our new amigos that has pulled a quad. Muscle.  Then I drove got the boys to camp.  Went back and watched Tracy finish playing.  Then we went home, she showered and then headed into town.   Visited with a few folks, went to the bank to see about opening an account and had lunch again at 60’s in Paradise (The best burger in the village).  Then off to get the boys from camp, then home and watched Harry Potter (The 4^th installment, as we are trying to see all of the old ones before heading to the theatre to see the newest and final) and off to bed to start another day tomorrow.  More to come…

One reason we moved to Mexico.

I love this story.

An American businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico, when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.”

The American then asked, “If it took only a little while to catch these fine fish, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The fisherman explained that this catch was enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and eventually New York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise.” The fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”

The American replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.” “But what then, señor?” inquired the Mexican. The American laughed and said, “That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.” “Millions, señor? Then what?” asked the Mexican.

The American said, “Why, then you would retire, of course—move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos

Tracy's Birthday, Root Canal, Gudalajara, Can-Am festival and Hiking

Friday:  I want to start with a big Happy Birthday to Tracy.  July 1^st and we are still deep in Mexico on Tracy’s birthday.  I am pretty sure that, never in her life did she ever think to herself, “hey I think I would like to be in Mexico on my birthday”.  So the day started with the boys making breakfast in bed for the birthday girl.  The two of them were so cute; they made their mom cards, pictures and a birthday crown to wear.   

The Birthday Girl and her boys

Then Tracy was off to Ayuvedic class in San Antonio with Ana.  The boys and I hung out around the house.  We picked up, made beds and played some games.  Then the adventure began.  We gathered up some snacks, water and maps for our long day adventure into Guadalajara. 

Libriamento out of Lake Chapala are to Guad.

Sing says it all

Picture doesn't do Guad justice, it is a huge city of 4,095,853

It was “root canal” time for me and I thought it would be good to make a trip in and explore a bit.  The drive in was actually a piece of cake.  We found the building where I would be seeing the Endodontist, then ventured out to the “other” Costco.  Yes, Guad is enormous in size and has two Costco’s.  We found it with relative ease and spent a little time exploring and shopping.  It’s pretty much just like being in a Costco anywhere in the US, except almost everything is in Spanish.  

Centro Magno Mall

 After our trek through the store, we headed to the “Centro Magno” mall.  Wow, it is one of the nicer malls that I have been in anywhere.  They have fancy shops, eateries, bowling alley, the Cinépolis Centro Magno, and a lot more.  We actually parked in the underground structure and stayed through my procedure.  Walking through the mall was again, like anywhere USA.  The shops looked the same and the thing that really stood out was the young Mexican kids.   They are really beautiful and handsome and just plain cool.  From the way they dress, their hairstyles and the attitudes, it is apparent that the world has blended styles and cultures from corner to corner.  Tracy and the boys went to the movies and saw Cars 2 while I ventured off to my appointment.

Off to the Endodontist, Dr. Alberto Diaz Tueme.  It was only a block from the Mall and it was absolutely beautiful with marble floors and colorful artwork.  I sat in the waiting area for less then 5 minutes for my appointment.  The assistant came and escorted me upstairs to a very high-tech surgical room.  The doctor came in, explained what he wanted to do, he began with taking a film of the tooth, then proceeded to tell me that I had an infected tooth, with an abscess at the root area.  He detailed on the film the area of inflammation and how the body was actually trying to push the tooth out of the it’s place.  I could totally see exactly what he was talking about and gave full permission for the root canal that he suggested.  The cool part was that I got to watch almost the entire procedure on the TV Monitor overhead (he did ask me if I wanted to watch and of course I said yes).  The procedure took less then 50 minutes and was almost pain free.  The only bit of pain came when he had to measure the depth of the nerve with a small needle like device that was put down the root canals.  On a scale of 1-10 pain, it was a 2.  The entire experience was simply amazing and a lot less traumatic then I had built up in my head.  I do need to return this next Friday so that he can complete the cleanup work in the canal, but no big deal.  The two (2) visits are going to cost me exactly $2,600 Pesos (about $250 US).   I did call my amazing dentist back in Wheatridge, Colorado, Dr. Frank Harmon and ran the entire thing by him before I made any decisions.  He was so calming and supportive.  He was convinced that the tooth would need a root canal someday and he had been right over a year ago.  Thanks for the encouragement and support Dr. Harmon; you’re the best Dentist I know in all of Colorado.   I sat in the waiting room until Tracy and the boys got out of the movies and we jumped in the car and headed to the Burger King indoor play structure that we promised the boys.  I ran across the crazy roundabout to the closest pharmacy to get my antibiotics and pain meds.  I was a bit worried that if the anesthetic wore off I would be in screaming pain.  So in the rain and traffic I got there bought my meds and got back to the BK.  The kids played and Tracy and I had a few moments to chat.  I admitted to her that I had been a lot more freaked out in my head then I had let on and was so relieved that everything went so smoothly.  I took my meds and to be honest, I was already feeling 80% better then an hour before the surgery.  We drove back to Lake Chapala in some really heavy traffic, but still managed to get home before 10:00pm.  Even in the pouring rain.

Saturday:  The first full night of sleep in over a week.  No pain and I even stopped stopped taking my pain meds at 2am to see if I really need them or not.  We woke up, had breakfast and then Tracy’s Birthday gift arrived.   

Tracy is under there somewhere.

We got her a 1.5-hour stone therapy massage that comes to your door.  An amazing woman by the name of Luz came and set up.  The kids and I went and ran some errands downtown and putted around until 1:30pm, then headed home to pick Tracy up for the Can-Am Festival at the Lake Chapala Society.  We met up with a group of our new friends and had hotdogs, chips, soda and desert.  It is an event to celebrate both July 1 in Canada and July 4 in the USA.  There were tons of people and we had a really nice time. 

On the way to the LCS

Our Gang

Afterwards, we headed home for a short rest and then took an awesome walk in the neighborhood up the hill and behind our home.  It was magical, the rain was a bit drizzle, the sun was setting and the streets were relatively empty.  All kids of noises coming from inside the houses we passed, the smell of dinner cooking, people laughing, kids playing and the roosters crowing.  It’s the best hike to date that we have taken.  Home and all in bed before 10:00.  What a great day!  Oh and still pain free!

Sunday: Stayed in PJ’s until 2:00pm.  What a great way to start the day.  Then we just hung at home, watched movies, played games, did our Spanish lesson and chilled.  Then we got the bug to go out a bit earlier and do the same walk as last night.  So, we headed out and walked for a bit.  Then we just happened to stumble on a trail head leading up the mountain and all decided to se what was up a the top.  It was simply stunning.  The views were breathtaking; you could see the lake, the entire town and more as far as the eye could see.  The colorful buildings, the church, town plaza, and even our house.  What a surprise to find the trail and have it be so cool.  We followed it back down further west into the village, walked the streets to our favorite coffee shop “Cafe Grano” and had our usual Carmel Frap.  Walked the rest of the way home, had dinner, watched Kung Fu Panda and then off to bed.  Another great week in paradise.  So much more to come this next week.

Corn on the hill sides planted by the locals

Entrance to a really cool hike

Racing up the hill

What a view

Upper Village Walk

Cool Sculpture on the town Plaza "Jardin"