Daily Living in Chapala

Warning! this posting may be overly long. It has lots of pictures though. I just couldn't quit thinking of things to share. 

In a few days we will have lived here for 2 months. Seems longer, so much has happened, and I have learned so much. I thought today I will just talk about what it is like to live here. I have a beautiful home which belongs to a friend of a friend and it miraculously fell into my lap. I love living in this house, and in the magical garden that surrounds it. 

After walking through a beautiful gate, and a garden and the pool, you come to mi casa. The name of the house is The Galleria. Funny, huh? This is my front porch and entry. In this walled compound there are 7 private homes and Quinta Quezlequatl, a fabulous boutique hotel that has 8 gorgeous suites. It is low season right now, so I rarely see anyone on the grounds. I feel I have a magic garden all to myself, complete with fountains and turtles. I love the turtles and visit them every day. They travel all over the compound, so sometimes I see one, sometimes 4. I have named them Tortilla (my favourite), Taco, Margarita, and Pequena. Guadalupe, the gardener, tells me there are more. 

This view is from the hall to the kitchen. The ceilings are very tall in the living room and there is a beautiful cupola that sheds wonderful natural light. 

There are two bedrooms and two baths in mi casa. This stairway leads to the loft bedroom. I love both bedrooms and have slept in both. To the right of the stairway is my desk and computer. To the left is a window and door leading to a charming patio and fountain. I need more pots and plants out there and someplace to sit. Without a car these kinds of projects become more creative. I hear there is a vivero (nursery) that will plant your pots and deliver. Need to find my way there. My driver, Armando, knows everything and everyone. I know he will help me make this happen when I am ready. When he can't drive me where I want to go he always finds someone who can. Often it is his brother in law, Beto (short for Umberto). 

When Faye and Barb were here they decided I needed a few personal touches. We found this wall hanging....and it knew immediately where it wanted to be. These wall hangings come in many designs and cost from $7 to $11 U.S. depending upon who you buy them from. We also bought two other designs for Robert's room. They add colour and cheer. Obviously this is my kitchen.

I am told that this compound is a full square block in size. It is filled with exotic plants and trees and also some familiar ones. There are lots of roses and daisies, along with the birds of paradise and succulents and cacti. The garden is filled with birds and there is birdsong most of the day. The street is right on the other side of the wall to my patio (Calle Zaragoza), so I hear the sounds of the city. The are sometimes barking dogs, cars with loudspeakers advertising who knows what. There is the gas truck with a special sing song announcement, and the tinkling sound of the ice-cream truck. During the weekend Chapala is the go to place from all around and the city fills with people who are mostly on the malecon which is one block away. Then there are the sounds of cars passing, people talking, music and singing and laughing, which goes on until the wee hours. Of course there are the church bells which start around 7:00 a.m. with a call to worship. The pattern of the bells seemed really mysterious to me at first, but a mexican friend explained it to me....and now I have a general idea. There are first, second and third calls to worship (involving around 35 chimes in differing patterns), the hour of the day, and then special patterns for weddings, funerals, baptisms. So sometimes it is truly peaceful and quiet here with just birdsongs and water splashing in the fountains. And sometimes I'm very aware that I am living right in the middle of a very busy city. I like it all. Here are a few shots of the garden:

In this view I am standing on my front porch looking into the garden. At the other end of the path is a very lovely home, but I have not yet seen anyone there. I am told the owners of the other homes come in the Fall and stay for the Winter. 

This is just one of the many magnificent plants in the garden. this is an enormous cactus. There are two of these. I have no idea how old they are. At the moment they are producing a fruit that I can't remember the name of. It is bright red and sweet and juicy. One of the gardeners gave me a taste yesterday and left a gift of 4 of them on my porch. 

Just another view of my front porch that gives you an idea of the varieties of plants in the garden. I always love coming home and wandering through the paths and the plants. The mango trees are dropping fruit like crazy right now. I pick up the ones that are not too damaged from their fall and eat them. The gardeners pick them up every day, but it still smells like mango wine is being made some of the time. 

I am so centrally located that I can walk to anything I need. I get all my pesos from ATM machines. My favourite is Santander....about 4 blocks away. I pay all my U.S. bills from my bank's Bill Pay on line. I pay for Robert's care by wiring money from his account to the account of La Casa Nostra where he lives. Most everything else is in pesos. I reserve my Visa card for big things like travel or medical bills. I charged Robert's emergency hospital costs on my Visa. Hopefully United Health Care is reimbursing me 80% of that minus $250 deductible. Food is plentiful and easy to get and inexpensive. The mercado is 3 blocks away where I can buy all fruits, veggies, meats, flowers. We are totally living within our social security checks and a small amount from our IRA. It's pretty hard to spend much money here. 

A bouquet like this costs 140 pesos, or $7 more or less. 

I rarely cook. I mean to, but there are restaurants everywhere you look and the food is generally very good and very inexpensive. I just haven't figured out how to get enough veggies. My doctor tells me they have vitamin T here....Tacos, tortillas, tortas, tamales..... I love the guacamole in a local place and sometimes just have a margarita and guacamole made right at the table. Breakfasts are easy because of the plentiful fruit and a very delicious yogurt bread that a local guy makes filled with fruit. I try to eat a good breakfast, more or less a main meal around 3:00 (usually enough food that I can bring half home for later) and a snack for dinner. It works most of the time. Trouble is, there is an Argentinian bakery in the next block that not only makes fabulous espresso but the baked goods are out of this world. I visit Tomas and Guillermo (father and son owner/bakers) more often than I should. Also there are little bakeries here and there that make delicious cakes. 

Most of the clothes I brought with me just don't work here. I have slowly been buying Mexican cotton pants and tops and dresses to create a comfortable and cool wardrobe. Most pieces are around 400 pesos....$20 more or less? So I can splurge a little. 

My exercise is modest, but daily. I walk the malecon where there are always people strolling, talking, sitting, eating, drinking, taking photos. There is always music and food.

A very quick sketch of some guys hanging around the malecon

Every sunset the skies are different. Always beautiful. Lake Chapala is 50 miles long. Some of the water goes to Guadalajara for drinking water. Some of it goes to irrigate crops in this area. The lake can get low, so the water is guarded. The rains fill it up annually so they always pray for a good rainy season. People fish the lake, take folks on boat tours, but not many people swim in it. I have not yet gone on a boat tour, but look forward to it. I read somewhere there are over 100 varieties of shorebirds. It is really fun to watch the birds.  

There is always music and various other forms of entertainment.

There are paintings everywhere waiting to be made. I hope I start doing some soon.

I have made some friends. Most of them I met in the grocery store or on the street. "Hi, you live around here?" is my usual pick up line. I will start taking spanish lessons next week with Erin, a neighbour, who I met one day on the way to the lavanderia. Juan has a school in his home just two blocks from here. How can I not? I took a little test to see where I should start....somehow I know enough verbs (much to my great surprise) to take with Erin who knows more than I do. 

Laundry. I don't have a washer or drier, but there is a lavanderia a couple blocks up the street. I take my dirties and they wash, dry and fold and I pick them up the next day. Barb isn't here anymore, but one day when she was here she helped me bring my laundry home (I had had lots of guests so this was an unusually large load....sheets and towels etc.):

Of course I visit Robert 4 or 5 times a week, and we FaceTime or talk on the phone several times a day. 

Have I left anything out? Money, friends, food, mi casa, laundry. Mary Lou, the maid, comes once a week and makes everything wonderful and clean. $9 or $10 per week? The weather is now the fabulous weather I was told about. May was way too hot. I can see why people leave. I went to a meeting of Ajijic Society of Artists and got volunteered to do the program for September. New blood I guess. I'll talk about sketching. That will be easy. Maybe I can gather a sketching group? I have not been sketching and need to start. 

As you can probably see life here is very sweet. Of course it isn't Langley, and this isn't my tribe, and I'm aware I'm pretty far from home and family......and I wonder how long I will live here.....and each day is an adventure. I feel totally comfortable here, and love how many guests I have had. Keep on coming down. I think this is over and out for this very long post. Thanks for reading this far, if you did.