Getting Into "Hot Water"

On the road again

2007-07-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

On June 16, 2007 almost exactly 11 months after our departure from Toronto,
we loaded up our trusty van on a rainy Saturday morning in Aguas and began our long journey home. (Adiosito Aguas!) The photo above shows Lucinda in her car seat surrounded by STUFF. The photo doesn't show how full the van actually was. When we crossed the border at Reynosa, Mexico/McAllen, Texas the US customs person asked us what we had in our van (what didn't we have in our van would have been a better question). We replied with "toys, books, clothes" (all true) and when he asked us to open the back, out fell (as if on cue) Lucinda's skateboard, Johnny's rollerblades and our Monopoly game. That little demonstration provided sufficient evidence for the guard to send us along.

Toto saying, "OK, I know we're not in Kansas, but where are we and where we going?"

On the first day of our journey we drove and drove and saw cacti....

....and more cacti

and then we crossed the Tropic of Cancer (apparently it was to the right)

and after crossing the U.S. border we (well actually Johnny) saw this...

The first of many scheduled SB stops; anticipating the buzz.

Hitting the beach in Corpus Christi, Texas

There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There´s....

2007-06-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

As we get ready to click our heels together and head back home, (if only it were that simple), are thoughts are on all the things we're looking forward to. Of course, first and foremost we look forward to seeing our family and friends, most of whom we haven't seen for 11 long months.
And after careful consideration here what each of us said we're going to enjoy once back in Canada: (in no particular order)

Lucinda:
- Having a bath
- Tim Horton's bagels with cream cheese
- Repclub
- Going to Treasure Island Toys (with Omi)
- Sushi

John:
- Taking Toto to Withrow Park
- Starbuck's coffee
- Sushi

Sabine:
- CBC Radio
- Sitting on the front porch with a Steamwhistle
- Not using a laundromat
- Sushi

Toto
- Playing with other dogs at the park
- Meeting Louie (they made me say that)
(what's sushi?)

Our neighhood people

2007-06-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the people from our neighbborhood of Encino

that we'll miss when we head home (in a few short days).

First is El Maestro de Pan. We were lucky enough to live a stones throw from the best baker in town. We'll miss this extremely friendly man as well as his tasty donas and conchas.

This is Juanito and his wife. All the fresh fruits and vegetables we ate here in Aguas

came from their store.

We'll miss the fresh corn tortillas from our tortilla guy. He also makes wicked chorizo.

More flores of Aguas

2007-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well faithful blog-readers, it is nearly time for us here in "Hot Water" to pack up and head northward. And surely one of the things we'll miss greatly is the plantlife. Just check out this huge bouganvillia!

The quintessential hibiscus.

And no matter how hard I try, my plumbago back in Toronto will never be a hedge.

Unidentified tree with abundant orange blossoms.

San Miguel de Allende

2007-05-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

On our road-trip to San Miguel this weekend we stopped in the town of Dolores Hidalgo.

D.H. is is the birthplace of Independence (México), but it is also known for its nieves

(gelato-type ice cream). Aside from the usual flavours like strawberry and chocolate, one can also find tequila, rum, shrimp, cheese, and other interesting kinds.

Here John is enjoying a beer and mole cone and Dave is having a mole and avocado combo. Yum!

Here is the somewhat Gaudi-esque main cathedral in San Miguel.

The mercado

A view of San Miguel from the bullring.

Thanks Johnny McGyver for breaking us in, I mean helping us gain access.

San Miguel de Allende is a real ex-pat strong-hold.

Though not as pretty a city as Guanajuato, it does have quite unique shops, a terrific artisans market, and many fine restaurants.

Alas, no Starbucks.

Lucinda's 8th Birthday

2007-05-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Lucinda's 8th birthday last Saturday at Mundo A,

an aquatic park in the south of Aguascalientes.

Lucinda invited her friend Frida.

Much of their time was spent in the wave pool.

After many hours in the water, one needs a little relax time on the "beach".

Feria de San Marcos

2007-05-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Lucinda and Dave (a fellow Canadian) at the Fair

One of the biggest attractions at the Fair, the real- fake

snow slide. (Wow, snow!)

Medieval Knights Show

Johnny Jester and the King of Medieval Knights

Lucinda playing Loteria (Mexican Bingo)

Escaramuzas

Teams of female, side-saddle horseback riders

performing, intricate, thrilling, and dangerous

moves at high speeds.

The Feria San Marcos is the biggest fair of its kind in México. On the first weekend alone it attracted 1 million visitors. This month-long extravaganza features rodeos, horse shows, a midway, concerts, a casino, bullfights, cockfights, art exhibitions, a film festival, various types of theatre, the Medieval Knights Show, and the world's largest open-air bar (1 litre of beer for just 25 pesos - about $2.50).

El Rancho Relaxo

2007-05-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

The ranch.

Lucinda and Maria on a horse being led by Arturo.

Goat wrangling

Johnny performing his show at the ranch.
Way in the background are the Sierra Fria.

The day ended with a dip in the pool.

Summma dog treats

Probably a lot of the rawhide chewies we've all given to our dogs in Canada, the States and even Europe for the past 10 years have come from an ever expanding industry right here in Aguascalientes called Summma. The owner and many managers at Summma study English at Kiosk. One day Johnny took a tour of the plant and returned home with a year's supply of dog treats for Toto. Several days later we were invited out for a fantastic day at Arturo's (the owner of Summma) ranch - we call it Rancho Relaxo, though it has a different name. I think that day and evening at the ranch, horseback riding, goat-wrangling, and a delicious Mexican barbecue, epitomized the kind of experience we had hoped for during our year in México. Gracias Arturo and Toto thanks you too!

San Marcos Day Parade

2007-04-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of San Marcos Feria, is the San Marcos Day parade, held each year on April 25th. This year's theme was 'Puppets and Marionettes'.

As you can see even "The Witch" made an appearance. (some of you will know who I mean)

Toto Update

2007-04-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Toto has been with us for 3 weeks now and as you can see she's making herself at home.

The vet gave her a clean bill of health and estimated that she is 8 months old.

Toto's a quiet dog, though she does put on her tough-dog bark when another dog walks past our apartment on the street below.

She likes to run and when she really puts on speed she looks like a rabbit - this is due in part to her big ears and lack of tail.

She's due to have her rabies shot in a couple of weeks and that's all we'll need to bring her back home with us.

Look out Withrow Park, here comes Toto!

Jacaranda-landia

2007-04-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

Jacaranda trees are native to
México, South and Central America, and
the Caribbean. They're also found in Africa,
India, Australia, and the U.S.

The flowers are a vibrant blue-purple colour.
Here in Aguas they started to bloom in early March.
Their blooms will disappear by the end of April leaving behind a humble leafy green tree.

Check out this mix of jacaranda, bouganvillea
and one other unknown variety with dark red blossoms.

Jacaranda in the background, bouganvillea
in the foreground at Jardin San Marcos.

The entire main square, Plaza Patria, is surrounded by Jacaranda trees.

A view of one of the jacaranda trees in Jardin del Encino from our roof top.

Mango Season

2007-03-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's mango season in México. Two of the varieties available are the Ataulfo (left) and Manila (right) mango.

John, Lucinda and I recently had a taste test to determine which we preferred.

The Ataulfo has a deep yellow-gold colour. It's texture is fairly firm and dense. It had a slightly tart taste, but the one we tried wasn't 100% ripe. In general they're quite sweet, without being overly so. The Ataulfo has a very rich, exotic taste.

The Manila's skin colour is lighter yellow-green. It's texture is softer, a little watery, somewhat peach-like. It's flavour is a little more peach-like as well.

Lucinda preferred the mellower taste of the Manila. John and I preferred the Ataulfo.

Right now mangoes cost about 14 pesos per kilo (about $1.40) and one kilo is about 4 good-sized mangoes.

"T---, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore" (Sue's visit part 2)

2007-03-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

Who's this?

Toto and one happy girl.

Toto, pre bath.

Toto (photo by Lucinda)

On Monday, Sue and I were walking through the pedestrain zone downtown, when we saw this cute, but scruffy, Toto-like street dog. We were able to give her some water and a bit of a pat. She declined the chicharrones we offered her. Then we sadly watched as she wandered off towards Plaza Patria.
Later that evening were just finishing up our tasty french fries at Café con Sentido (the café below our apartment) when we saw the same dog standing nearby watching some boys play soccer. We asked the boys if they knew the dog and they said no. To make a long story short, Toto now resides with us. And we hope if all goes well, she'll be able to accompany us home to Toronto in June.
We plan to get her to a vet soon and when we do we'll share some more details with you.

Sue's Visit - Part 1

2007-03-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Bean and Scoob
and cacti.

Johnny and Sue exploring the desert near El Ocote

View of the small man-made
lake near El Ocote

Sue and Lucinda

Our friend Sue visited us for four days.

One of the places we went was the desert near El Ocote. Despite our best efforts, and with the help of a certain wildlife biologist, we did not find any lizards. There were plenty of cacti, two rabbits and flocks of large black birds (yet to be ID'd).

But there was another creature destined to come into our lives....

stay tuned for Sue's Visit part 2

Celebration of Spring and....

2007-03-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

The band performing
"Long Cool Woman
in a Black Dress"
by the Hollies.

(in the background you see
one of the older students dressed
in traditional Oaxacan costume
- Oaxaca being the birthplace
of Benito Juárez)

The dancers.

Lucinda with her friends,
Blanca (centre)
and Frida (right) in the bleechers
at her school.

On March 21st Lucinda's school hosted a celebration to commemorate the first day of spring and the birthday of Benito Juárez (México's only indigenous president), and the Expropriation of the Petroleum Industry (actually celebrated on March 18).
Her class dressed as hippies and danced to a Hollies song.

Sabinolandia revisited

2007-03-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

This Sunday were invited by the family of Lucinda's best friend in México, Frida, to Parque Sabinal to celebrate Frida's 8th birthday.

The two girls playing house
under one of the Sabino trees.

The three caballeros preparing

the BBQ's in the back of the family's

pick up truck. That's Frida's dad on the right,
Ray, a family friend on the left, and Juanito
in the middle

Enjoying the BBQ.

That's Frida's mom, Sori, on the

right.

And later we saw this on our way home.

Mexican Beer Tasting

2007-03-14T15:04:00.000-07:00

The choices

The tasters from right to left:

Luis, Ricardo, Freddie, John, Sabine

(I'm holding the score sheet)

Recently five us (2 Mexicans and 3 non) participated in a "blind" taste test of seven Mexican beers. These were Corona, Victoria, Leon, Sol Brava, Pacifico, Montejo, and Indio.

We covered each of the bottles so that they more or less anonymous. We tasted each beer and rated it on a scale of 1 to 5. 1= awful, 5= fantastic.

After the tasting we tallied the results and came up with an overall winner.

I know you connoisseurs out there would have much to say about our unscientific methods. For example, for full appreciation of the flavour we should have tasted the beer at room temperature (we voted that this would be a waste of good beer).

You could also claim that since no spitting out of beer was involved, our judgement would have been slightly impaired by the time we came to beer #6 or 7.

Here, along with each beer's total score, are a few comments provided by the tasters.

Pacifico Score 12 Comments: Bitter, boring after taste

Indio 12 Nice bronze colour, ok taste

Victoria 14 Very little after taste, soft

Sol Brava 14 Sweet, unique, dry

Montejo 15 A bit fruity

Corona 16 Clear, light, nice after taste

Leon 18 Nutty, heavy

There you have it! Leon was the winner.

It should be said that none of the tasters gave any of the beers a score of 5.

Note: Our tasting did not by any means include all the Mexican beers available.

Notably missing were Dos XX, Modelo and Modelo Negro, and Barrilito.

More visitor photos

2007-03-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

On the road again.

On the last weekend of Freddie and Leo's visit we drove to Querétaro - a beautiful, quiet town about 3 hours south of Aguas. There we met one of Johnny's students, along with his family, for lunch and
sight-seeing.

Freddie and Sabine in Querétaro.

Lucinda and Abi in Querétaro.

Which of these two kids were more empapada at the end of the day?

Visitors from Canada

2007-03-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lucinda, Leonie, and Freddie enjoying
the jardin.

Freddie celebrated her birthday with us.

Lucinda and Leonie discussing the
merits of putting extra crema
on tostadas.

Our two visitors have been enjoying themsleves here in Aguas, and especially the summer-like temperatures. It's been in the high 20's for the last few days. Sun, sun, sun.
(Sorry, Great White North readers)

Crime in Aguas?

2007-02-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

Aguascalientes has been touted as one of the safest cities in México. That's why many residents were shocked yesterday when a gun-battle took place in the west of the city between police and reported members of a criminal organization.
The shoot-out left five people dead and six others injured. Four of the dead were police officers, the other a civilian. This, like much of the serious crime in México, was apparently drug-related.
Not long after the incident occurred army troops were dispatched to help round up the suspects and provide some semblance of calm and order.
No Canadians were injured in this incident.

The Best of México

2007-02-16T13:23:00.000-08:00

What could be better than coming

upon an unexpected little outdoor concert

on a mild, Méxican evening?

A few days ago after school, Lucinda and I were making our way through the downtown pedestrian zone when we heard some pleasant-sounding music.

A band of about 20 musicians (mostly guitar) were performing on a stage in the courtyard of one of the small museums. The group sang traditional Méxican melodies called Rondalla.

I was happy to see a few female members in this group. The photo shows one young woman playing accordian and another the harmonica.

El Ocote

2007-01-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

How one may imagine all of México to look

Intrepid explorer

This is a photo of the hill just above the rock paintings. Can you see the multitude of wasp nests? Or maybe they're killer bee nests. We're all still alive at any rate.

A view of the valley below the famed rock paintings.

Rock paintings? What rock paintings? Ok sorry, the photos that I took of the petroglyphs at El Ocote just didn't do them justice. Even with the naked eye, the paintings were difficult to discern.
On Sunday we took a little road trip with Angie and Leo to a village about 30 km south-west of Aguas called El Ocote. The main attraction is of course the nearby petroglyphs.
Since it was past noon when we arrived and we felt we had to fortify ourselves for the long treck ahead, we started by having a picnic beside the small man-made lake. It was so-o-o peaceful there and clean and did I say peaceful? And the food we packed was pretty yummy to boot.
So after a leisurely lunch we hiked up a nearby hill covered with rocks and cactus to the area we thought we'd find the noted rock drawings. Did I mention we had to scale a fence into a restricted area? Anyway, after much searching and a short rest at the top (where we played "house" briefly in what looked like the foundation of a small stone structure), we headed back down the hill and over the fence to discover that indeed we were looking in the wrong spot. We only had to walk another 300 m to the bright orange gate, which we had to climb over and then up a short path to the wall of rock and at last the paintings.
The paintings looked to represent humans and animals. They were red in colour, though as I mentioned, faded. They are said to have been created prior to the Spanish arriving in the area (pre, mid-1500's). Likely sometime in last year, some clever person had climbed over the fenced-in area and done their own rendition of rock art with a piece of chalk.
Despite someone's obvious lack of respect (insert other descriptive words here), we were all suitably impressed. And it was a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Sunrise at the Pacific

2007-01-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

Driving by intuition

2007-01-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

“Guadalajara, Guadalajara…”, as the famous mariachi song goes, is a city of about 4 million inhabitants, the largest after the capital.
We had to drive through the big G recently on our way to the Pacific coast, and though the road to G was plenty wide and fast (and cost more than a few pesos), once you get to the outskirts there is no way to by-pass it. You literally have to drive right into the middle of the darned thing. Ak! And so…. just follow the signs, you say.
I guess I first need to explain the distrust that takes root after driving in México for a while. Lack of signage is one problem. Or lack of visible, readable signage, should I say? Signs that lie are another problem. You see a sign that says Colima is 173 km away. Then after driving for 20 km, you see another sign that says Colima is 172 km away.
If you’re driving along you may be looking for a turn-off that will plop you onto the cuota (paid road) to take you to the next major city along your route…and then… aha, there’s a sign with an arrow indicating the turn is the next left. Only when you get to the next left, the sign announces a completely new destination – a city you didn’t see on the map. Is this your turn? Quick, check the map! Oops too late!
So after a while you develop a sixth sense navigating cities. This is where the turn should be, so let’s take it! This street should be_____________ (if we could only find the street sign), so turn right here! Well we should be roughly travelling west (let’s see, where’s the sun?), so let’s turn left at the next lights.
Driving by intuition, I call it. And hey it works, most of the time. We navigated our way through Guadalajara, twice! (once even happened upon a Starbucks by accident – getting semi-lost isn’t always so bad)

Which way to the beach?

2007-01-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

Our hotel, Luguna del Tule in
San Patricio-Melaque

Serious sand activities

Jackson, Grady and Lucinda in Melaque
discussing where to go out to dinner

Sunset over the Pacific from our hotel balcony

The quintessential beach holiday: sun, sand, and surf. To say that our time in San Patricio-Melaque was perfecto would be an understatement. (If you're looking for Melaque on a map, it's between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast)

We enjoyed three full days and four nights with our friends from Toronto (Kristi, Greg, Jackson and Grady) at the quiet Bungalows Laguna del Tule hotel right on the Pacific Ocean. The hotel came complete with a large swimming pool (avec swim-up bar), it's own restaurant, a lagoon to the east where the iguanas hang out (and apparantly some crocs too), and it's fair share of Canadian guests.

Some of our activities: a walk into dusty but quaint downtown Melaque, a visit to the circus, (which happened to be in town) dinner out at Ava's on rib night, seeing the festival of the Three Kings on January 6th in the main square of Melaque along with most of the town residents and tourists, a drive to nearby Barra de Navidad to see the surf and surfers, watching the kids perform their own circus show and of course plenty of lounging on the beach.

Christmas photos

2007-01-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Max (the littlest von Boetticher) upon
his arrival in México.

Desparados at the top of Cerro de la Bufa, Zacatecas circa 1910.
That's Pancho Villa on his horse.
Can you recognize the other players?

Christmas Eve dinner of pozole and tostadas

Not shown: Max, Sabine, or Galleta the cat

(thanks to Angie and Leo for letting us use their place for dinner that night)

Nativity Scene (probably the highlight of this year's Christmas)

Written and directed by Lucinda
Sheep: Omi
Angel: Lucinda
Shepherd: Sabine
Mary: Karrin
Baby Jesus: Max

Not shown: The Three Kings: Johnny and Joseph: Chris

Getting ready for Christmas in Aguas Part 2: Posadas

2006-12-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas piñatas

Muchas cosas de Navidad
en el mercado

Muchas mas cosas

Part 2: Posadas

Loosely translated as “Christmas party” a Posada was traditionally much more than that. Beginning on or around December 13 and continuing until Christmas Day, Posadas were primarily a time for prayer. Families would gather in the home and pray for the coming of baby Jesus and then they would share a meal together.
Sometimes families or groups of friends would take to the streets singing a traditional posada song (villancico) from house to house. At their final destination, usually the home of a relative, the group’s singing would be answered by another song performed by the host family. Prayers were then followed by a meal and the breaking of a piñata. The posada piñatas are star-shaped and have seven points. Each point represents one of the seven deadly sins (sloth, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, wrath and pride). It is thought that the beating and breaking of the piñata will cleanse oneself of any of the deadly sins they may have commited that year. (If only it were that easy!)
These days posadas are often given by one’s place of work. They are what we refer to as a Christmas party. These parties involve a great deal of eating and drinking and many places also do an Intercambio or Secret Santa. Some companies have employees perform their own version of the Christmas story. We’ve heard that sometimes these plays include a fair bit of comedy and bawdy humour, of course only up until the arrival of the baby Jesus.

Getting ready for Christmas in Aguascalientes

2006-12-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

Baby Jesus dolls sold for do-it-yourself
nativity scenes next to man-slaughtering-pig figurines.

Puesto selling nativity scene items

Getting ready for Christmas in Aguascalientes
Part 1 Christmas Market

Just like there was a special market in preparation for Day of the Dead, there is now a Christmas market in downtown Aguas. The Day of the Dead market sold all the supplies needed to make your own alter whereas the Christmas market has available everything you need to make your own nacimiento, or nativity scene. Countless puestos, or stalls sell figurines of varoius sizes: Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the Kings, angels, and shepherds. You can choose from a variety of the traditional manger animals such cows, sheep, and chickens but there also elephants, zebras, giraffes, turtles, snakes, bears and so on.
Many puestos specialize in selling the wooden manger structure in various sizes. To decorate the manger there is live moss, dried spanish moss and sawdust dyed bright green. You can also purchase rolls of brown paper that can be shaped and molded as desired when its made slightly wet. Aside from nativity scene supplies the market also sells artificial Christmas trees and decorations, blinking lights of every possible combination, garlands, nuts, candies and tangerines.

Bits and Bites

2006-11-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

If you look closely you'll see two silver trays filled with Chicharron. This colourful tienda also sells a variety of pickled items such as onions, chiles, and pork skin.
(double click on this image and it will get larger)

What follows is a description of some of the more “interesting” foods that we’ve found here, but not necessarily tasted. (Vegetarians beware!)
Chicharron is deep fried pork skin sold in giant slabs or small chunks. The smaller chunks are perfect for snacking on. Very small pieces are also used for garnishing refried beans or soups.
Durros are made with a square of chicharron approximately 20 cm x 15 cm or a potato chip-like "tray" made of wheat, of the same size. It is topped with a mix of tomatoes, lettuce, pickled pork skin, cheese, salsa and sour cream.
We have tasted durros made with the “wheat tray”. What didn’t know at the time is what the pickled pork skin was. We (quite wrongfully) assumed it was a vegetable unknown to us, appearing white and tasting rubbery.
Tortas are a common sandwich sold at Loncherias. They are made with a baguette-style bun, the white, fluffy, bready stuff removed and then filled with cooked meat (often pork) and topped with avocado, salsa and sour cream.
Tacos de tripa are corn tortillas stuffed with tripe and topped with your choice of tomatoes, avocado, salsa, lettuce, tomato etc.
Tacos de cabeza – cabeza translates as head, need I say more?
Chapulines are sold at street vendor stalls during festivals. They are dried grasshoppers, often smoked, and sold by the bag. Crunchy, yummy and a perfect snack. (not that I would know)
Atole is a hot cornstarch drink made with cornstarch, water, sugar, milk, and flavoured with fruit such as guava. It has a smooth, creamy consistency, tastes sweet, and warms you up on cool nights.

Weather Report

2006-11-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

Deep Freeze Hits Aguas!

The people of Aguascalientes, México were caught by surprise the other day when unseasonably cool temperatures hit the area. "Usually weather like this doesn't come until sometime in December" said one neighbour of ours earlier today.
This latest cold front has brought temperatures of around 4 degrees at night and daytime highs of only 17 degrees!
Everywhere you look people are wearing winter coats, scarves, hats and mittens. Even the dogs, if their owners are brave enough to venture out, are wearing coats.
Lucinda's school sent home a memo asking that the children wear their track suit gym uniform daily due to the inclement weather. One of the local newspapers reported that outdoor activities at the schools in Aguas have been suspended . Students have been advised that to wear all manner of warm clothing to school and that they will not be penalized for not wearing their official school uniform. Parents are being advised to wrap scarves around their childrens faces.
Of course, coming from the land of extreme weather, we Canucks find all of this trés amusing.

El Señor del Encino

2006-11-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

The alter of El Templo del Encino.

Note that El Señor's left arm is longer than his right.

This past week our neighbourhood church, El Templo del Encino, has been celebrating the special days of the year for its patron and centrepiece.
The Jesus figure was made about two hundred and forty years ago from an Encino tree. He’s approximately 3 feet tall and his left arm is said to be steadily growing longer.
So, to honour el Señor, the church bells have been tolling loudly every morning beginning at 7:00. At 11:30 am, 11:45 am, 12:00 noon, 6:30 pm, 6:45 pm and 7:00 pm the bells are rung again and accompanied each time by a series of cuetes. These cuetes are extremely loud firecrackers that are shot out of bazookas from the roof of the church.
All week there have been processions to the church by local businesses and school children. Each group has their own specific day and time for proceeding to the church and attending mass.
The entire garden in front of the church has been turned into a combination carnival/market. There are dozens of stalls selling nuts and fruit, hot dog stands, churros, and other foods. There’s an entire section of trampolines set up, rows of fusball tables and carnival games. And finally, there’s a whole section of rides. And all this in our backyard! Frankly, we’ll be happy to have our relatively quiet, peaceful garden back.
On the actual day of the El Senor, November 13, the parade featuring a replica of el Señor ended just below our balcony at about 10:00 pm. The entire thing culminated with a big display of fireworks and burning of a castillo. The castillo was a large wooden structure suspended above an open area in the garden. It’s various parts were lit on fire, allowing sparks of blue, red, and white to explode into the air while the structure disintegrated. Particularly awesome was the sight of the suspended wooden hearts burning and dripping red sparks, made to look like blood.

More Day of the Dead photos

2006-11-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

John and Lucinda hanging out with
one of the skulls at Expo Plaza during
the Calavera Festival.

Katrina's in the Day of the Dead parade.*

Sugar or chocolate skull anyone?

One of the stalls at the Guadelupe
market during the Calavera Festival.*

The alter that Angie and Leo
had in their home.
Can you spot the perogies and
slice of pumpkin pie?*

*Thanks to Angie for these three photos.

Dia de los Muertos

2006-11-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Two calaveras on opening night of
Festival de las Calaveras in Expo Plaza

Posada's Catrina on the left and
his "self portrait"

The Guadalupe cemetary on Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is one of México’s most unique holidays. Dia de los Muertos consists of two days, November 1st beingSantos Difuntos (All Saints Day) and November 2nd being the actual Dia de los Muertos (All Souls Day or Day of the Dead). This holiday is all about celebrating, honouring, and remembering the dead. The ways in which this is done are as unique as the country itself. Many families try to adhere to traditional ways of celebrating, but Halloween has begun to intermingle with Day of the Dead thanks to México’s neighbours to the north.
After talking with a number of people and getting a variety of accounts of how the days are celebrated here, I’ll attempt to describe two common ways in which the dead are honoured.
Traditionally alters are created in each home to entice the souls of deceased loved ones to return to earth and visit their ancestral home on the night of November 1st. The idea that the souls of the dead returned to earth orginated (in México) with the Aztecs and likely pre-Aztec civilizations. They believed that life was eternal and that their time on earth was just a short stopover before the much coveted afterlife in la mas alla (the great beyond). After the Spanish conquest Dia de los Muertos was moved from its original date in late July to coincide with the Christian All Saints Day. The Day of the Dead celebrations of today are an amalgamation of Aztec and Christian traditions and ceremonies.
The alters consist of photos of deceased loved ones, brightly-coloured tissue paper cutouts, calaveras dulces (sugar or chocolate skulls), harvest foods like guavas, pumpkins and apples, pan de muerto (bread of the dead: see previous post for photo), water or other beverage that the deceased enjoyed (tequila perhaps), and marigolds which are the traditional flowers of the dead. The alter is also decorated with candles, and a cross is made from sand and marigold petals. Finally the deceased person’s favorite food is prepared and placed on the alter. Recall that the main purpose of the alter is to attract the dead. It is believed that the smell of the food accomplishes this.
Common foods placed on the alter are mole con arroz (mole sauce and rice), tamales, and enchiladas. My friend Angie (from Alberta, but now living here) specially made pumpkin pie so that she could offer a piece to her departed grandmother.
The alter in many cases is prepared several days prior to November 1st and it is believed that during the night of the 1st the souls return to taste the food. In some families the alter foods are eaten the following night though it’s said the foods’ flavour is lacking due to the souls having consumed it.
The second way that the dead are honoured is by visiting their gravesite on November 2nd. For many Mexicans November 2nd is a holiday and entire familes will visit the cemetary to clean the gravesite, decorate it with flowers, and bring offerings of food and drink. They often spend a few solemn hours sitting beside the grave. Although, we when we visited the Guadalupe cemetary we did see a small group of musicinas play lively music.

Here in Aguascalientes there is 10-day long festival to celebrate Dia de los Muertos called Festival de las Calaveras. Calavera refers to skeleton, and though skeletons were used to symbolize death during Aztec times, the modern-day image of the skeleton in México comes from the famous artist/engraver Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). With his engravings of skeletal figures depicting every day life, Posada poked fun at death as well as providing political commentary for the times. One of his most famous images la Calavera Catrina reminds us all that death is the great equalizer, that it touches us all. The Catrina character is a woman skeleton wearing a long fancy dress and a splendid floral hat.
Posada was born here in Aguascalientes and his images are the key artistic element of the festival indeed of Dia de los Muertos throughout Mexico.
The festival in Aguas consists of a cornucopia of events: everything from musical acts to street theatre and acrobats, to art exposions, a film festival, a parade and fireworks.
Our favorite destination during the festival was the street market near the Guadalupe church. Here we found colourful stalls selling sugar skulls, candies, nuts, Halloween costumes, plastic spiders and other plastic animals, toys, miniature skeletons in costume, marigolds, pan de muerto, tissue paper banners and other decorations. This is a key destination for people needing to stock up on items needed for decorating their alters.
This colourful and exciting festival has exposed us to some of the best of what Méxican culture has to offer. We'll never forget it.

Flores de Aguascalientes

2006-10-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

For all my flower-loving friends in the "Great White North".
I know you've all put your gardens to rest in anticipation of another long, hard winter and I feel for you. So here are a few flower pictures to cheer you up. These photos were all taken within the last 2 weeks in Aguas. You'll of course recognize the bouganvillea and the sunflower (sunflowers like this one grow wild everywhere). The hibiscus bloom belongs to the plant we currently have on our balcony. The bright purple blossom and the orange one I havn't yet identified. Both belong to trees which I found growing on a boulevard near Lucinda's school.

Panaderia Colon

2006-10-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

Señor Pedro Gonzalez

A "concha"

Pan de muerto

Meet Señor Pedro Gonzalez. He is eighty-years-old and he’s been baking bread for seventy years! He is the proprietor of Panaderia Colon where he runs the shop and bakes all the pan dulce himself. The locals call him el maestro de pan. He gets up early each morning to mix the various types of dough by hand on a massive wooden table. By 1:00 pm or so, evident from the mouth-watering smell of baking bread wafting down the street, the first batch is ready for sale. If you arrive at his shop (the ovens and shop are all in one room) before things are ready, then he tells you un ratito (just a few moments more).
He makes 500 pieces of pan dulce per day. Most of these are single-serving sweet buns, sugary danish, muffins, cookies, and fruit-filled empanadas. Señor Gonzalez says that the most popular type of pan he sells is the concha. It’s a round bun made with the regular sweet dough and topped with a crumbly, sugary mixture which is either vanilla or chocolate flavoured. This type of bun is commonly eaten at breakfast and dipped in coffee or chocolate (hot chocolate). However when we buy them they usually don’t last until next morning’s breakfast.
Señor Gonzalez usually finishes baking his last batch of bread around 4:00 pm and it’s shortly after this that he closes shop because his breads sell out as fast as they come out of the oven. Lucky for us, Panaderia Colon is just across the street, so it’s all too easy for us to secure our daily quota of goodies.
These days Señor Gonzalez is also baking pan de muerto (bread of the dead) which is eaten a few weeks before and on the Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a sweet egg bread often flavored with cinnamon or sometimes anise. The top is decorated with dough in the shape of bones and it’s sprinkled with icing sugar. Most grocery stores these days are selling it in anticipation of one of Mexico’s most important holidays. I’ll be writing more on Day of the Dead in next week’s post.

Pictures from Zacatecas

2006-10-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

View of Cero de la Bufa, Zacatecas

The cathedral in Zacatecas

Lucinda just inside the main entrance of the Museo Rafael Coronel

Some of the masks from the Museo Rafael Coronel

Zacatecas

2006-10-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we visited the city of Zacatecas, about a one-hour drive north of Aguascalientes. Zacatecas is famous for its silver mines. The indiginous people of the area, the Zacatecos, had been extracting silver and other minerals for centuries before the Spanish arrived. Shortly after the conquistaors arrived on the scene in 1548, they began formal mining operations (using the indiginous people of course to perform the heavy and often dangerous work). Much of the silver made its way to Mexico City and eventually Spain and the Spanish who settled the town became rich. The El Bote mine founded 200 years ago, is still in operation today.
Zacatecas itself is quite a picturesque city. It’s comprised of beautiful colonial buildings, narrow streets and hidden plazuelas all situated at the foot of a steep hill called Cerro de la Bufa.
We were suitably impressed by the façade of the cathedral built in 1752. The detailed stone carvings are incredible. The inside of the building though is less than spectacular and indeed the Guadalupe church here in Aguas is far more impressive.
Probably the highlight of our day-trip was our visit to the Museo Rafael Coronel.
The setting of this magical museum is a 16th century former convent. We walked through room after room of stunning, whimsical and sometimes scary masks. There are reportedly over 2000 of them on display here. Quite a sight!
It was a tough decision, but we decided to head out of town before the start of the 5th annual Festival International de Teatro de Calle. We wanted to be well on our way throught the winding mountain road, south of the city, before darkness fell. It was shortly after we left that it started pouring rain and I’m not sure the openning show, an Italian troupe, would have gone ahead.
Johnny however, being in the right place at the right time, managed to secure two spots at the festival this coming week.

Photos will be published in the next post.

Chocolate

2006-10-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a chocolate at
Café Con Sentido

Chocolate (cho-co-la-tay)

Now that the nights are getting a little cooler here in Aguas, it's getting to be the perfect time to enjoy a cup of Mexican hot chocolate.
Did you know...... ?
......the cacoa (kahkow) tree was discovered about 2000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of Mexico and Central America. The Mayans were the first people to make chocolate from ground cacoa seeds, chile pepper, cornmeal and water.
The Aztecs used cacoa seeds as a form of money but they also consumed the spicy, frothy drink. In Aztec culture it was primarily the upper classes, royalty and priests who drank it, claiming that wisdom and power came from chocolate. (well, doesn’t it?) It is said that Moctezuma drank up to 50 goblets of it every day.
Later the Spanish conquistadors brought the cacoa seeds back to Spain where new recipes were created and the drink’s popularity spread throughout Europe.
Solid chocolate wasn’t created until 1847 in England and in 1876 the Swiss devised a way of adding milk to make the first milk chocolate.

Here in Aguas chocolate is served with a bit of cinnamon, unsweetened, or slightly sweetened (you add sugar to taste), and very frothy. Yum!

Lime press

2006-10-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

El exprimidor de limones

If there was such a thing as the Handy-Dandy-Kitchen-Tool-of-the-Month award then I nominate the lime press. Now, it's probably true that lime presses can be found in Canada, but if I ever had seen one, I wouldn't have known what it was for.

In México the most common type of lime you can buy is the limón. It is green, small, only slightly larger than a Timbit, and contains seeds. The yellow lemons we're used to seeing at home don't exist here. Expressing juice from a limón using one of the plastic, manual juicers would work, I suppose, but no need. Aqui esta el exprimidor de limones! It's slightly larger than a garlic press and although you can buy them made of plastic I prefer the metal type. You simply cut the limón in half, place it in the press and squeeze the handles together and out comes fresh squeezed lime juice. It nicely uses all available juice from the limón with a minimum of mess.

Lime juice is a prime ingredient in things like guacamole, on carné for tacos, in salad dressing, and of course in tequila. We've found the best way to drink tequila is with a bit of lime juice and some soda water and ice. Salud!

Sabinolandia

2006-10-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we drove to a park 2o minutes southwest of Aguas called Parque Recreativo Sabinolandia.
It's known for its 400-year-old trees, which I believe are a type called sabinal.
It was a great spot to take a stroll, check out nature (we did see two turtles) and to have a picnic.

Picnicing with our friends Leo and Angie.
Leo's originally from Puebla and Angie's from Edmonton.

Can you spot the kitty?

Lucindita perched on one of the trees.

Nopal

2006-09-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

A nopal leaf, trimmed and ready to be chopped for Pico de Gallo

To be honest, I´m not sure if you can buy nopal in Toronto, or anywhere in Canada. Could someone let me know?
Anyway, here is a recipe, for the food adventurers:

Cooking Nopal

Nopal is a type of cactus that is one of the culinary specialties here.
You can buy it in supermarkets or markets, in it’s natural leaf form or already chopped.
To make Pico de Gallo (nopal mixture which is then used in quesadillas):

2 cups chopped fresh nopal
boiling water

½ onion finely chopped
1-2 tomatoes chopped
1 tsp of vegetable oil
Pinch or two of dried oregano
2Tbsp. Fresh chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

Boil the nopal in water until soft and dark green, about 15 minutes.
Drain and rinse well. (you’ll want to rinse off the boba de nopal, the sticky goo)
Lightly sauté the onion
Add the tomatoes, oregano and nopal and heat through.
Remove from heat and add the cilantro, and salt to taste.

The entire mixture can then be placed between two small corn (or corn) tortillas along with some grated cheese and lightly fried until hot. Ya! Una quesadilla!
(It also works well in an omelette)

Templo y Jardin El Encino

2006-09-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

The church and garden are what Johnny likes to refer to as
"in our backyard". It's a great place to play, hang out and people-watch, or mark exam papers late at night while listening to live mariachi music.

Templo El Encino also known as "The church of the Expanding Christ".
The figure of Christ inside the church is said to have a left arm that is growing. When the hand touches a nearby column a world catastrophe is supposed to occur.

Some of the surrounding garden.

The church as seen from our roof at night.

The Weather

2006-09-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Typical daily forecast and 3-day forecasts

Some of you up there in the Great White North (sorry if I’m perpetuating the myth) have asked “Hey Sabine, what’s the weather like down there in Aguascalientes?" So here is my report on the local weather, after some careful research of course.
Unlike in Canada it is unusual to hear someone speak about the weather. I have yet to hear a weather report on the radio. This may be due to the fact that I don't understand much Spanish or due to the fact that the weather just doesn't change much, so there's nothing to report.
A couple of the local newspapers do give a brief account of the expected weather for the day. One newspaper, the one we buy called El Aguas, gives the days expected weather as well as a 3-day forecast! Needless to say I was both relieved and elated when we discovered this gem of a paper. I may not be able to read much else in it, but I can decipher the little pictures showing the day’s pronóstico, which quite frankly always depicts the tormentas as occurring at the same time of day. Both at 1:00 pm and at 9:00 pm. I’m not sure they have ever occurred at either of those exact times. And as you may be able to see from the three-day forecasts there aren´t many decipherable differences. Tormentas, todos los dias.

The months of July, August, and September are the rainy season. This means that the day usually begins sunny, with mid-day temperatures reaching 22-27 degrees Celsius, with no humidity. By late in the afternoon or evening clouds have gathered and result in a thunderstorm and varying amounts of rain. The nighttime temperature hovers around 14 comfortable degrees.
During the fall there is less and less rain until, apparently, all rainful suddenly ceases and won’t begin again until May or so. If you read the general info about Aguas in the second post, you’ll remember I mentioned that large amounts of rain can fall in a short period of time, flooding roads here and there. Just recently we read in the newspaper about an intersection located a little to the south and west of us as having been under 1 meter of water after a brief downpour.
Fall also brings slightly cooler daytime highs and slightly cooler temperatures at night.
During late December and around Christmas the temperature during the day reaches 15-20 degrees. Nights can be cool, but usually no less than 5 degrees.
Most Hidrocalidos (this is what people of Aguas are called), will agree that for the last 10 years the weather has been increasingly unusual. More rains, sometimes cooler temps and they even had snow once about 5 years ago! (Yikes, I hope there’s no snow this year. I don’t think we’ll miss it much.)
January is cool like Decemeber and then in February temperatures start to rise again and peak in May, just in time for the big Feria, a big month-long fair featuring music and bullfighting, agricultural exhibits, and more.

Independence Day

2006-09-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

To the left: Outside our apartment (that's our balcony)Lucinda on her way to the Independence Day parade.

Lucinda's class

performing the poem ¡Vive México!
México de los esfuerzos
De calidas noches de arrula....

Independence Day on September 16th is a big deal in México. Celebrations begin in the evening of September 15th in the main square of most towns and cities and involve copious amounts of food, music and fireworks. At 11:00 pm there's a short re-enactment by a government official of the Grito, the call to arms, by Miguel Hidalgo in 1810. The grito officially began the 14-year war of independence.
Lucinda's school celebrated Independence Day with a presentation of dances, poems, and skits.
Above left is a photo of some of the grade ones dressed as mariachi players. On the right they're performing the Mexican Hat Dance.

Our trip through northern Mexico

2006-09-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Drivin´through the Chihuahuan desert

Our first stop was in Ahumada, Chihuahua State at Oscar´s restaurant

Speaking of Oscar......

A few more photos

2006-09-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

R&R at Riverbend Hot Springs next to the Rio Grande, New Mexico

Road trip photos

2006-09-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our trip through the States.

Somewhere in Colorado

Lucinda in our loaded van

Oz Museum photos

2006-09-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Dorothy, the Scarecrow and Glinda at the OZ Museum.

About Aguas

2006-09-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

What follows is some gerneral info about the city of Aguas, our home for the next 10 months.

Aguasacalientes is the capital city of the state by the same name. The state, one of Mexico’s smallest, is said to be in the geographical centre of Mexico.
Aguas is a sprawling city of about 600, 000 people. Johnny says it’s about the size of Ottawa. There are no giant office towers like in Toronto, and in fact there few high rises. The tallest building I’ve seen so far, is about 14 stories high.
It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to drive from the northern perimeter of the city to the southern.
Generally traffic moves well. Rarely have we been caught in a traffic jam. The traffic police do a good job. Driving is a little crazy though, drivers have little patience, (quick to honk their horn) and you always have to be ready for the unexpected person doing a U-turn or turning left along-side you even though they’re not in the left-hand turn lane.
The city itself is quite flat but in the west there’s a rather scenic view of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Aguas itself is situated in what’s known as the northern altiplano. Yes, it’s in the highlands region, with the city’s altitude at 1800 metres.
The entire city is made up of fraccionamientos or neighbourhoods. There are about 400 of these fraccionamientos.
The heart and centre of the city is the Plaza de la Patria. About half of this main square is a large and open area. This is bounded by the beautiful 18th century cathedral and by a large column sprouting the symbol of Mexico, an eagle eating a snake. Behind the column and still part of the square are several fountains and the quintessential Mexican jardin.
The square is usually busy with small vendors selling pieces of fruit in cups, some potato chips and popcorn topped with chile sauce, toys, balloons, and lots of colourful plastic items which provide a fantastic contrast with the old grey walls and solemnity surrounding the cathedral.
Also on the main square is the Palacio de Gobierno. It has an immense courtyard surrounded by arches and stairways. On both the ground floor and the first floor there are several large murals to admire. The murals depict the history of Aguascalientes and of Mexico in general.

From this main square there are several pedestrian streets and markets within walking distance.

The whole city is surrounded by two main ring roads, these being the best way to travel any distance to the north, south, east, or west of the city centre.

The roads are fairly well kept, but pot holes do seem to sprout up especially after a heavy rain. It’s not unusual for large puddles to obliterate entire roads after a rainfall. Cars become amphibious through intersections all over the city.

Both to the north and south of the city are what are known as industrial areas. Most notably the Nissan plant, here since the early 80’s, is in the south of the city. It could be said to be the city’s largest employer mainly because so many other companies are providing parts for it.

The east of the city, known as “Ojocaliente” is home of two public hot springs. Aguascalientes of course means hot waters.

The city is dotted with several large parks. In fact Aguas is well known in Mexico for it’s abundance of green space. Two of these parks are Parque Mexico with its jogging/cycling trails and many playgrounds all surrounding a small lake and Parque Heroes Mexicanos with it attractions for children including a tribute to Cri Cri*.

The indigenous tribes in the region before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500’s, were known as the Chichimecs. They built extensive catacombs beneath the city which the Spanish nick-named the perforated city. At present the series of elaborate tunnels are (unfortunately) off-limits to visitors.

First post

2006-09-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been in Aguascalientes for two months now and I've finally got it together to start our blog. (thanks MJ)
We (John, Sabine, Lucinda, and Oscar) began our adventure way back on July 15, 2006. We left Toronto on around 11:00 am after packing and repacking our overstuffed van several times. A few hours later we crossed the border at Sarnia and were detained only for about two minutes for a friendly meet and greet with the border guard. Did he notice Oscar (our dog) in the back? NO! Did he notice our cooler full of food or our van overloaded with our "necessities"? NO!
Our trip through the United States, specifically these states: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico and briefly Texas, was largely uneventful. I hesitate to say it was boring because I think my brain activity was slightly hindered by the 104 + degree Fahernheit temperatures.
Most days our 8-10 hoours on the road were punctuated by a stay at a motel with a pool so we could all frolic and cool off.
The highlight of our trip was a stop at the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas. Lucinda says it´s the best museum in the world! (I´ll post some OZ Museum photos and others soon)
In general Lucinda liked Kansas best of all. And she was pretty sad and upset when we left the state and entered Colorado. When we tried to tell her how nice Colorado is she said, "don´t try to improve Colorado to me!"
Once we crossed the border into Mexico on July 22, we drove for 2 more days, mostly through desert, before arriving in Aguas. Our journey took us 9 days and nearly 5000 km (yes, our van made it without any problems).
Thanks to all who helped us survive the trip with your excellant musical selections.
Some favorites were Neil Young´s Living With War, The Doors, Philedelphia Chickens, several versions of Over the Rainbow, and Johnny Cash´s childrens album.

Here are some signs we saw on our trip through the states:
"Prison area, do not pick up hitchikers"
"Injure and kill a worker, $7500 fine + years in jail"
In a motel, "In effort to keep our towel supply looking its best, we have placed these pieces of stained, but laundry clean toweling here for your use in cleaning guns, fishing equipment, boats, autos, or any others use needed."
Outside a public park in Missouri "Guns or other weapons strictly prohibited"

A word about Oscar: Our pupster was a real trooper on this trip. With his failing hind legs, and sometimes front legs as well, he rarely complained. His persistent woofs from the back, usually around 6:00 every evening, helped to remind us to get on with looking for a motel and stopping for the night.
Oscar lived for another 10 days after our arrival in Aguas, but will always be with us (to quote Lucinda)
Oscar Etobicoke
November 29, 1989 - August 3, 2006

After living in north Aguascalientes for about a month (think Markham, not that there´s anything wrong with Markham), we secured a 2-bedroom apartment in El Encino, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city.
Oh and, if you´re trying to find Aguas on a map of Mexico, look in the very centre. It´s to the north and a little west of Mexico City.
Anyway, here are some of the things we love about living in our new place:
*It´s a seven minute walk to the city's main square, a large open public space with a park and fountain on one end and the cathedral on the other.
*There's an 18th century cathedral literally in our backyard whose bells serenade us many times daily. The church is home to the infamous expanding Christ. His left arm is growing! And when it touches a nearby column, some say a world calamity will occur.
*The jardin, or church garden with its central fountain, palm trees, and tropical flowers is truly breathtaking. It´s gorgeous by day and stunning at night.
*Great restaurants along our pedestrian-only street, Abasolo, including our "own" little Café con Sentido which happens to be directly below our apartment.
* Our rooftop patio with a view to the jardin as well as downtown. (just last night we had the best seats in the house for the Dia de Independencia fireworks)

Just to briefly summarize what we're up to here. John works long days teaching at Kiosk, a language school mainly for adults, in the north of the city. For those of you who know it, it´s very similar to the Spanish Centre in Toronto. On weekends he does a couple of street shows in Expo Plaza, near the bullring (which is appropriate). He appears to be the only juggler-unicyclist in town.
Lucinda started school on August 22 at Jean Piaget, a public school also in the north of the city, about a 20 minute drive from our house. She seems to managing ok despite it being extreme spanish immersion.
I take spanish classes, volunteer at Lucinda's school one day a week helping the english teachers, help shuttle Lucinda to a from school, and keep house.

I'll be posting some photos soon of our road trip and some of Aguas as well.
Future posts will include some general info about Aguas. Other topics I plan to write about: cooking with nopal, just what are churros?, one of the best inventions ever - the lime press, and so on.