A late afternoon and evening on the Ajijic Malecon and area around the plaza

Almost the end of the malecon

Skate board park on the malecon

My afternoon in Chapala

I went to the Cruz Roja to try to get an x ray. Couldn't do it without a doctor's prescription. On my way in, I took this photo of the little boy in front. After I left, his father was in a truck with him and stopped me as I was walking down the street. He asked why I took his son's photo and I said for my blog. He said that his son's name is Immer and he was born with feet that face inward instead of straight and the Shriners paid for him to have them fixed. He was running around when I took his photo.

The man's name is Ricardo and he said he is looking for work. He cuts hair and also does construction. It happens here so often that young men ask me if I know of any work. They are  desperate for work. I said I would put his information on my blog. I took another photo of them in the truck. One of the nice things about having this blog is all the wonderful people that I meet.
You can reach Ricardo at ricardorodriguez351@hotmail.com or cell phone 333 489 7207. I wish him good luck in finding work. He seemed like a very nice man and he obviously loves his son a lot.

Early blooming trees in Ajijic

Morning Thoughts

I love it that the days are starting to get longer and warmer. Since I have no windows facing the lake, my place is usually very cold inside. I spend most of my time in the garden area. But when it starts getting hotter here, I can sit in my casita without wearing a long sleeved shirt or sweater. (If you ever come and rent a place here, try to get one with windows that face the lake)

The owner of this place is fighting the gates. He is a Mexican attorney and owns six houses in this area. I think the barriers they recently installed on El Camino Real are now opened up. There is no question that it is a main road. It runs from San Antonio into here and downtown.  There are only two major roads here that run between the towns and that is one of them.

But there seems to be a dispute over whether the road in front of my place is public or private. If it is private, maybe the most I can hope for is that they will open it during the day and the worst outcome will be another barrier so that I can no longer even climb over the fence. Depends on the judges and how honest they are and how much influence the wealthy Canadians can have with them.

When I wrote about this gate problem, I received several e mails from people who live in the States. Logical and reasonable suggestions on what to do about it. Questions about the reasoning behind putting up a gate where anyone can climb over the fence. Or why I couldn't get a key. Things like that that made sense to outsiders. But there is no way of explaining to them about the ins and outs of living in Mexico. This is not a logical or rational environment. Things often don't make sense here. There are no straight forward solutions. You either learn to live with it and go with the flow or you move back to the States where things make more sense. I had to laugh at the rational and logical advice I received by e mail. If only.........

Everything that was broken in my life is slowly getting fixed. I get a new camera in ten days. My computer has been cleaned up so it is working again. Maybe now I can start putting photos on my blog without having them rotated to the sideways position. I haven't been able to figure out if that is a computer or a camera problem. Very frustrating.

 Along with the IMSS problem and the gate problem, things have been stressful for me the past couple of weeks. But what I call stress would most likely be laughed at by everyone else. Generally, my life is very good. I shouldn't take things so seriously. That has always been one of my problems. I must lighten up.  Go with the flow, etc. It is a beautiful, sunny day. I am going to climb over this fence this morning without swearing and then walk up to the bus stop and ride into Chapala. Today is Veracruz fish at the American Legion. My favorite dish. Life is good!

Wednesday Market in Ajijic

Another Market day in Ajijic

Another market day has rolled around and instead of anticipating the pleasure of shopping, I am dreading it. Climbing over that fence with all my groceries and the grocery cart is not a pleasant thought. Or walking eight blocks around and dragging the cart back all those extra blocks.   With all these gates going up, I no longer feel free. I can not walk to the lake or walk along the shore to the Lake Chapala Society. I can't even walk across the street to visit with my friend, Leslie. I am very depressed by this new situation. Maybe it is time for me to move on.

More Bad News

I found out today that they are blocking ALL streets into Lower La Floresta except one. It is up on the carretara. So after all these years of living here, I may not be able to continue in this neighborhood. It may not mean much to people who have cars, but for us walkers, we will be walking miles out of the way just to get in and out of here. So essentially I have been locked in here. As far as I can tell, this was voted on by the people who live here and want to feel more protected. I am glad they feel better but for me, it makes life too hard. It is very upsetting.....  These are also not private roads. They are public roads they have decided to block off.....

More Bad News

I found out today that they are blocking ALL streets into Lower La Floresta except one. It is up on the carretara. So after all these years of living here, I may not be able to continue in this neighborhood. It may not mean much to people who have cars, but for us walkers, we will be walking miles out of the way just to get in and out of here. So essentially I have been locked in here. As far as I can tell, this was voted on by the people who live here and want to feel more protected. I am glad they feel better but for me, it makes life too hard. It is very upsetting.....  These are also not private roads. They are public roads they have decided to block off.....

Update for IMSS rules

I went to renew my IMSS yesterday and found out a new rule. From now on, you can only apply if there are TWO people applying from the same address. Fortunately, since I was already in the system, they let me reapply. But from now on, you cannot apply for IMSS unless there are TWO of you....  Talk about discrimination against single people......

A Taste of Wellness at the Monte Carlo

Presenter, Diane Buscaro

Presenter, Dr. Jaramillo