Saturday morning yard sale

This morning I went to a yard sale in my neighborhood. Didn't find any clothes but I did find this little animal. The owner called it an anteater pig. They found it in the mountains about five hours from here. I was told that it would grow to be a normal sized pig. The young Mexican woman who also owned it was surprised and shocked at hearing that news. 

The cat in the background isn't mine. But it looks like mine.








You can tell from the photos that the pig was really attached to the young woman and was trying to squirm away from me.

Morning Thoughts

I have found an interesting site online that compares the cost of living between different countries and even different towns. I don't remember if I had written about it on a previous post or not. Often people write to me about how much it costs to live here. That is a hard question to answer. It depends on how you want to live. 

This site even breaks down the costs of things in each place, like rent and transportation. I like looking at it, especially when I am feeling restless. There are very few places in the world that are cost less than here. Oaxaca is one area of Mexico that is less expensive. But it is colder there in the winter time.

I put in Kansas City, Kansas because it is the closest big town near where my son and daughter-in-law now live. It is 77 percent more expensive than here. No wonder my money went so quickly when I visited them a couple of months ago. 

Here is the site. Expatistan.com.       Have fun. 

Trailers of Death

Last week in the Guadalajara Reporter, there was an article about a refrigerator trailer that was parked in an area just outside of Guadalajara. People living near it complained about the stench. It was opened and 157 bodies in plastic bags were in it. The morgue had so many bodies that they had no more room. They said they were going to make the morgue larger so it could hold these extra bodies but it would take about six weeks. In the meantime the bodies were stored in the trailer and moved to different parts of Guadalajara as people complained about it. 

Shocking!  This week in the Guadalajara Reporter, I read a follow up story. The State attorney general and the director of the morgue were relieved of their duties. 

This article goes on. More than 1500 homocides have been registered so far this year in Jalisco. They expect this will be the most violent 12 months in history!  A second trailer had also been rented to store the excess bodies. The morgue only had space for 77 bodies.

Jalisco Governor Aristóteles Sandoval said, "It's clear major errors were made." Then he dismissed the two men and ordered the immediate creation of refrigerated space capable of holding 300 corpses. People demonstrated outside the morgue, demanding to be shown photos of the bodies. At least 2500 people have been reported missing in the state. Then another report came out that instead of there being 157 bodies in the trailers there may be as many as 450. It isn't clear yet. 

I don't see the violence. I live in a peaceful neighborhood but who knows what goes on out of sight. The drug cartels are fighting for turf and they will do anything. 

I hate reading about the violence. Lake Chapala area isn't immune to it. On September the 15th, in Jocotopec, a gun man shot and killed three men and wounded two more in a barbershop. A father and his son were murdered in the outskirts of Chapala. Four other men in two incidents met violent deaths earlier this month. The men were residents of Chapala and Ajijic. 

I would rather write about the weather but it is difficult to ignore articles like this in the newspaper. I certainly should stop complaining about the stench of the pile of garbage on my street corner. 

Morning Thoughts

It is a Sunday morning. Last night we had a big storm. I was told that there were huge cracks of lightening and lots of thunder. I slept through it all. But I woke up to the humidity once again. This humidity is so bad that every morning I have to put a towel around my shoulders and my hair. I don't remember it being this bad in other years but my memory isn't so good anymore.

I have lost track of how long I have lived here. Maybe ten years. Maybe twelve years. But it has been enough time for my body to adjust to the weather patterns here. I was at a celebration the other night in the Ajijic Plaza and it was after dark and COLD.... Cold to me. I had on a light jacket and was once again sweating from the humidity. I was cold and wet. Miserable. Then I saw a tall, thin young woman walk past me wearing only a light T shirt and short shorts. An expat. She looked very comfortable. She must have recently come down because the Mexicans all around me were wearing jackets and long pants. Or dresses with shawls. This is a common occurrence. Long timers often spot the recent visitors by their skimpy clothing. I wish I still felt that way. 

We just passed all the Independence Day celebrations. I couldn't go to all of them. Too many. All over town there were interesting happenings. But I went to five of them and wrote articles on Accesslakechapala.com. 

The next big celebration that I am aware of here will be the Day of the Dead at the end of October. For now, it is kind of quiet in town. 

My comments section still isn't working on this site. I don't know how to fix it. I apologize.

Independence Day Parade

Independence Day children's games

Some photos of the children's and adult's games held in the Ajijic Plaza. It was a beautiful evening. Fun for everyone.

This was the greased pole that the children tried to climb to get the gifts on top. 

Above, beer drinking contest

Above, beer drinking contest.

Above, chili eating contest. 

Ice cream anyone?

The crowd.

The crowd.

Family. They own the local grocery store where I shop several times a day, every day.

Father and daughters.

Part of my walk on Zaragoza street in West Ajijic

Lunch with my friends Pablo and David

Pablo and David invited me to have lunch with them in an outdoor restaurant in the west Ajijic neighborhood. It was good food, a fun time and a beautiful afternoon. 

Pablo is on the left. David is on the right.

David on the left. The cook is on the right.

I don't know what these dishes are called because they were just brought to me. I didn't order anything. The one above was hand made base like a tortilla with grilled peppers on top.

Above was a meat stew with vegetables. 

Above were potatoes and mashed up beans and a hand made tortilla with melted cheese. I don't know the cost of the meal because Pablo paid for it.

She cooks traditional Mexican food. You eat what she has cooked for that day. 

Morning Thoughts

The Independence Day celebrations are still happening. This coming weekend there will be events in the Ajijic plaza and the parade. I haven't been able to get to all of them but I have enjoyed the ones that I did attend. It is a welcome change from the months here of little action and lots of rain. We are still getting rain but it is slowing down.  

I have written two new articles on Accesslakechapala.com and will be writing two or three more next week about these events. 

Since I still don't have a computer, only an i pad, writing is slow. I pads are great for most things but not for posting photos and writing long articles. I only like the Macs because I have used them for so many years and they are very expensive. So I keep putting off the big purchase. 

There is a lot of excitement in town because of the holiday. I expect this coming weekend I won't be sleeping because of local parties that go on all night. 

I also need a better camera. Most of my photos are blurry. But again, I don't want to spend a big chunk of money. I like my little camera because I can keep it in my purse. 

Below is a photo of one of the dancers at the rebozo fashion show. For such a small child, she had a large presence. 

Lots of singing and dancing going on these days.....

Photos of the Rebozo Fashion Show in Ajijic

There were several traditional Mexican folk dances. 

Singer from Jocotopec.