What we did in April in San Migu

3/31/2013-Sunday Flight from Oxnard to Obregon was great. We had to depart IFR due to fog and low ceilings. We flew down the coast via Catalina, Tijuana, and then direct to Obregon. It took a little over 4 hours at 10,500 ft We stayed in a dumpy hotel right next door to a good Chinese restaurant.

4/1/2013 - Monday This morning we cleared out of Obregon it was a little confusing to me being new to the airport. We departed around 10am for the 4 hour flight to Celaya airport. It was a boring flight just the way we like it. When I called Celaya tower they answered in Spanish so I told them I didn't speak Spanish very well and the radio went blank for a little while. Soon someone came on who spoke very good English and gave us directions to land so all went well. The guys were very helpful at Celaya and told me that they would watch my airplane and move it to tie it down if necessary. The airfield at SMA was closed due to repairs.

The shuttle van we'd reserved on-line was waiting for us and it took over an hour from Celaya airport (where we left the airplane) to drive us here, through town to the neighborhood of Santa Julia. It was 4:30 pm by the time Erika, the property manager for Casa Heloc, (Home Equity Line Of Credit) met us with the keys.

She went over everything inside the house with us, was nice, and thorough. The house is painted wonderful deep colors, mainly warm yellows downstairs with accents of rust and rose. The enclosed patio off the open floor plan is viewed through 3 sets of French doors. It is painted blue and there are many lovely succulents, plumeria, and bouganvilla in colorful pots. There is a rooftop terrace as well with views of the city and Parrochia church spires in the distance. We learned about the purified water delivery and soaking the veggies. After instructions on locking all the doors when we leave, we phoned in an order for minestrone soup, veggie pizza & salad and it was delivered after some problems finding our place. It was great to stay in and watch TV and relax after a busy day

4/2/2013 - Tuesday Today for our big outing we took a taxi to the huge weekly open market just to the east of town. We bought fruits and veggies for the rest of the week and Don bought a headset in order to hear the TV and it worked great. Joan experienced soaking the fruit and veggies for salad in a disinfecting solution for 20 minutes. No need to disinfect the ones we could cook or peel. The beans we bought, marked new crop, were full of dirt balls which took awhile to rinse out.

4/3/2012 – Wednesday -We had a lazy morning having coffee on the colorful patio and slowly got ready for our big walk into town. We had to do important things like get Don’s glasses fixed (a screw fell out), get pesos from an ATM, buy beer, snacks, and in general look around the center of town. After getting all that done we decided to catch the bus home. Not being familiar with the route we got off too soon, and had to walk a little way to the house. We fixed a wonderful dinner, salad, beans, broccoli, baked potatoes, and fresh tortillas from the local tortilleria. These are found all over along with small markets, and sweets shops mixed in among residential blocks, in peoples’ homes. We watched English channels even ABC and NBC news stations from Florida, plus PBS British news, and chose a DVD from a large available selection.

4/4/2013 - Thursday We did not go to the super Mercado, but went instead to the big market place in El Centro with stalls selling flowers, vegetables, fruits, meats of every kind, and food stands which is close to the center of town. We stocked up on more items like lentils, brown rice, spinach, mushrooms and fruit. We tried another panaderia for bread. Today was exceptionally hot and Joan didn’t feel all that well so we took a taxi back to the house and cooled off. Another fun day, a good movie and off to bed we go. The upstairs bedrooms gather the heat so we turn on the ceiling fans and with the windows open it eventually cools off during the night only to heat up again. We have to put on insect repellant watching TV in the living room as the no-see-ums come in through the screens. At least their bite is not as toxic as the ones stateside so the irritation lasts only a few hours.

4/5/2013 – Friday - Walked to town and went by places that we had visited last year. After lunch at the Biblioteca we stopped at the language school, Academia Hispano Americana or AHA! and learned there will be an orientation on Monday. This week was spring break. We found the Hacienda de las Flores and the manager remembered us from last year, and was very friendly. Everyone likes to practice his, or her, English. Next we walked to the Parque Juarez, through and beyond it, to the square where washing basins were and still are used by the locals to do laundry. Then we tried to find the Humming bird store but could not locate it. Joan bought some wine and we caught the bus home. Lupe, the maid, was cleaning downstairs so we had to stay upstairs until about 6:00 pm.

4/6/2013 - Saturday Today we walked to Fabrica la Aurora, an old fabric mill that has been converted into an art center and Joan enjoyed looking at the art galleries and shops there while Don nursed a coffee. It was pretty hot again today. Joan couldn’t take the heat, and wanted to go to the center of town to eat lunch and look around. It was three long blocks to the center of town and hot so Don reluctantly agreed to take the bus. We got on the wrong bus but it worked out well. Don settled down, relaxed and enjoyed the bus ride out of town. We soon wound up at the Mega supermarket where we wanted to go eventually. So we got to do more shopping for things like Almond milk that are hard to find. It was similar to a Walmart in the USA. After shopping and eating, we took a bus back to the center of town and our local bus home. The downstairs is so cool and comfortable that it’s a pleasure to come home.

4/7/2013 - Sunday -Today was fun as we decided to take the Biblioteca weekly home tour. We walked and got in town at 11:15 but little did we realize the time had changed, and it was really 12:15 pm. We were able to buy two tickets and get on the bus for the tour just in time. We saw a lavish large courtyard home, and were driven a few miles out in the country to see two other interesting homes. We ate a late lunch in a courtyard restaurant where musicians played and a couple danced the tango.

4/8/13 - Monday - Don didn’t sleep last night, just “laid awake all night thinking in Spanish”. When he got up this morning he “was a zombie”. While getting ready to go to school he noticed that one of his hearing aids didn’t work. Joan was still getting ready so he decided to walk to the school near the center of town. He only “got lost once”, trying a new way and he discovered the best route with a long cemented street, no cobblestones.

At the school he talked to the staff about his hearing aid problem and they referred him to a place, but it was closed for vacation. The orientation talk about the various cultures that make up Mexico was enlightening. There are afternoon talks on the history, the Mexican mind, and the peoples of Mexico if one wants to enroll. Since Don had brought a spare aid, and got it working he was able to sit in on one class. Although not the best it worked OK. We found a nice place to eat lunch and met one of the women who was on the home tour who Joan had met Sunday. We had a nice conversation during a long lunch. No waiters bother you so you can sit all day if you want. It was a full day and enjoyable.

4/9/2013 -Tuesday Don walked the half hour walk to school while Joan took the bus which was very crowded with school kids and adults, and we arrived at school at the same time. The classes start near 8:30 am. Speaking only Spanish we had to read and fill in blanks, and then speak with a maestra for placement purposes. There are 6 of us in a level 3 class with maestra Aide, a young woman. After class we took the bus to one of the Hearing aid shops advertised in the English/Spanish newspaper and had Don’s hearing aid repaired. The young man was a transplant from Michigan living in SMA for the past 3 years and he did the best he could by cleaning them but still they need the volume turned all the way up. After that we visited the humming bird place were Joan bought several blown glass humming birds. We then rode the very crowded bus back to our casa.

4/10/2013 -Wed. - Don walked to school again today as usual for the exercise while Joan took the bus. He has a routine now - one cup of coffee at home and one more from the OXXO (like our 7/11) nearby the school. He tries to wake up fast because we start class with a bang. The class is difficult for Don due to the acoustics not being good with the high ceilings. He misses parts of the conversation, but still enjoys much of it. After class we settled into our routine to get some lunch and shop for things we need for home and returned home - Joan on the bus while Don walked.

4/11/2013 - Thursday - For the next week and a half we generally followed the same routine. After Joan got fed up with the 8 am bus near our home filled to capacity with people and children standing in the aisles she decided to take her chances and walk to school with Don since she also needs to walk everyday. It worked out well.

4/13/2013 - Saturday - Joan was feeling a little sore from tripping on the stone stairs at school so we stayed around the house all morning. Don took a walk into town by himself in the afternoon. It was very windy and his eyes kept watering and everything was blurry. Most of the places, including the wonderful panaderia with whole grain breads we love was closed at 2:00 pm so he couldn’t get some of the things he wanted. He did get some fruit and walked back home again. Joan cooked a nice stir-fry veggie dinner and we watched a good movie from the large DVD collection.

4/14/2013 – Sunday - We stayed around the house until 11 am, and then we walked into town. We bought a few things from the small market, ate lunch and then took a cab home. It was a nice day to do nothing, and we needed that. The wind wasn’t blowing as hard so our allergies didn’t kick in as bad today but there has been some pollen and dust that we have both reacted to and it has necessitated taking our Advil for sinus over-the-counter medication we brought with us. It is unavailable in the farmacias here since it contains ephedrine. When we looked for a hotel restaurant, we talked to an older woman who was returning today to Orcas Island where she lives 5 months of the year. She keeps a patio room at the hotel year around so that it will be reserved for her the 7 months she wants to live in SMA. We looked at one and even though it has a kitchenette, it would be too small for the two of us. She is an artist and continues to work during the tourist season in the San Juan Islands, and is not able to retire yet.

4/15/2013 - Monday - same routine as the other school days except for Joan’s workshop.

Today Joan cut class to take a daylong Nicho workshop with an art therapist who has lived in SMA for the past 17 years, Rebecca. A nicho is a tin box that hangs on the wall and has a center glass door opening onto a space about an inch deep. Joan treated herself by taking a taxi to and from the workshop since her ribs were still sore from falling on the school stairs. It was a wonderful experience and so great to talk with another art therapist who has a private practice. After school Don went to the marketplace and had a vegetable torta and a drink made from half orange juice, and half carrot juice and reports that both were really good. Cost was about 30 pesos or $2.50. Generally we find that the prices are comparable to the US for lunch or dinner unless we eat in a small local place or market place.

4/18/2013 - Thursday Last night we got a call on the local San Miguel telephone line and it was a person saying that he was Tom from Manzanillo and that he was coming to visit us tomorrow in San Miguel. He phoned a few times during the morning and then told Don that he was at the Leon Airport after having some problems clearing customs. He said that he needed $2000. to pay the taxes on money he was carrying. Don got suspicious and when he asked him what his last name was he hung up the phone right away and that was the end of that. It was then apparent that someone trying to scam us. It was upsetting to Don and took some time to get over.

4/19/2013 - Friday Today was our last day of Spanish classes and we were sorry to leave all the people we had gotten to know there. However, we want to see more of San Miguel and the surrounding area and there is no time with our morning full of classes. After school we decided to go to the American library and listen to a woman psychologist talk about dying well at 3 pm. It was an interesting, thought provoking talk. There was a couple from Ventura there, Bob and Diane. Joan knew Diane, another therapist, from the BCNN Club. We exchanged local phone numbers and made plans to meet during the coming week. Joan took the bus back home, and I walked back. I stopped at the panaderia on the way back and bought bread for a few more days.

4/20/2013 - Saturday We didn’t do much today. Joan wasn’t feeling good with allergies so she stayed around the house reading where it was much cooler than outside. In the afternoon I took a long walk around the neighborhood and looked at all the Mexican houses and little tiendas or shops that are mixed in together. Don bought some fruits and veggies and returned home.

4/21/2013 - Sunday Joan and I got a much earlier start today. We decided to find some of the places that were recommended to us in school. We took a long walk and found the murals painted on the shops in an area is new to us. Rebecca had told Joan that former graffiti vandals were given the chance to use their talents to paint the murals, and they were impressive. We looked around Via Organica, a health food store and restaurant, and located several panaderias that are closed on Sunday. We ran into another student we knew from school who lives in the area. She and her husband are from Seattle and are living in SMA to become bilingual. He just got a job as a waiter in a new pizza restaurant. The place needed someone who speaks English with the large ex-pat population that lives in SMA. We stopped at a little restaurant to grab a bite to eat and talked with an American couple, Dave, a musician, from Texas and Rosemarie, an artist, from Baltimore. They were interesting and he has lived here in the past and played guitar and sang at restaurants. We stopped at a fruiteria on the way back home to get some food for dinner, then came home. Don walked and beat Joan’s bus by 20 minutes. It was a good day, for which we are grateful.

4/22/2013 - Monday - The young neighbor boy knocked on the door about 7:15 am signaling that he is ready to collect the trash. Joan handed him the black plastic bag with several days worth of household waste and about 20 pesos ($1.60) and he carried it away, and placed it on the side of the street to wait for the trash truck to drive by to collect it. The trash man gets about 5 pesos in the tip can for this service. The purified water delivery man came by between 11 am and 1 pm and collected the empty 5 gallon plastic bottle and delivered a full one. This service was Tues, Thurs and Saturday mornings. The gas truck with large cylinders of propane also delivered house to house and announced they were on their route with loud music. Lupe the maid let him in one day to carry the cylinder of gas up to the roof top terrace.

Today we decided to go to the aguas termales, or hot springs. We had to take a taxi out there which cost 200 pesos round trip, about $16. We had a great day and the hot water pools felt good. We ate at the snack bar, and it was almost deserted as was the entire resort. The day was relaxing and cooler due to the large shady trees. Back home while looking at his computer, Don discovered that Google Earth wouldn’t work and stated that he needed to fix the screen resolution so he found a video driver and installed it. It was the wrong one and eliminated the video on his computer and he could not fix it.

4/23/2013 - Tuesday After trying everything he knew to fix the laptop, he gave up and took it to a repair shop not far from our casa. He didn’t have the necessary equipment with him to fix it himself. While we were waiting for it to be repaired we took a taxi to the jardin botanico. This is a preserve for native desert plants from this area and from other parts of the Mexico. It has beautiful views of the town and three different mountain ranges, as well as a lake, which serves as a preserve for birds. There are many hiking paths, a gift shop and snack bar. When we went back to town we got more fresh veggies, and fruit, and Joan took them home in a taxi. Don walked home and checked in at the computer store but his computer is not fixed yet.

4/24/2013 - Wednesday We had made plans earlier to go with Bob and Diane on a tour of Guanajuato. They arranged for Angelica, a bilingual tour guide with her own business, to take us all on a daylong guided tour. The van picked us at home about 10:00 am and off we went. Angelica was great, and she spoke very good English and helped us with our Spanish the entire trip. She started right off talking about the areas we drove though on the 75 minute trip to Guanajuato. This ancient town is an old mining town that was built in the valley with steep mountains surrounding it. Since the town was built right on the riverbed it would flood almost every year. This problem was solved by digging tunnels under the city. Now the tunnels are used for traffic as the city has modern drainage in place. The city is a historical site as the battles for the independence of Mexico took place here. We started at the top of the hill and walked down ancient narrow, twisting alleys into the center of town to eat lunch, and go through the Diego Rivera museum. The alleys are too narrow for cars and most do not have any street names. When new construction occurs donkeys have to carry up the materials for the building to proceed. The van dropped us off at our Casa around 6:00 pm and we made plans to get together again.

4/25/13 - Thursday - We had a leisurely morning, and when we couldn’t get through on the phone, we walked down to the computer shop and the young man was just completing the work on the laptop. He offered to install more systems, but it now had a visual and was good enough for the rest of our trip. Don will have to re-install the operating system when he gets back home. We walked around the other Mercado near our neighborhood, then ate lunch at our favorite restaurant, Café Contento. We bought more groceries, wine and beer.

4/26/2013 - Friday - This morning Joan was busy with laundry, disinfecting the salad ingredients for later, and cooking beans. We planned on going into town by 1 pm and staying late as we had made plans with Bob and Diane to meet for dinner. We like to be gone when the housekeeper is cleaning the downstairs area as everything gets turned upside down, with no vacuum cleaner the rugs have to be individually shaken, etc. After walking to town Joan stayed at the Biblioteca reading while Don explored some streets that he hadn’t seen yet. After Bob and Diane arrived about 5:30 pm we sat and talked in the open patio and met an older woman who lives part of the year here and part in Buena Vista, Colorado. We decided on a restaurant, took a cab to it, and we had a wonderful time chatting about our backgrounds and eating dinner. We returned to the Casa, very late for us, around 8:30 pm.

4/27/2013 - Saturday - Spent a lazy morning around the Casa. We walked to town to do some last minute shopping. Joan bought some gifts, rugs, and bracelets, not too much because it all has to fit in the airplane. We ate lunch in different places. I had a veggie torta sandwich and Joan had Chinese food and we took a cab back home. The neighbors had a noisy party tonight. The school children make noise until about 10 pm playing ball in the street outside our open windows every night. We guess it is the only time it is cool enough for them to be outside exercising. They all look so nice dressed in their various school uniforms.

4/28/2013 Sunday This is our last full day in San Miguel we are saddened a little as we have fallen in love with this town. We walked into town early, about 10:00 am to shop and for Don to get some exercise. Joan bought some presents and so did Don. He took a load of stuff back to the Casa and walked back into town to meet Joan for a frozen fruit bar, delicious, and to sit in the park people watching. There are so many young women with babies in their arms, and also couples with the young father holding the infant. It is common to see many toddlers walking along with the parent holding the child’s hand on these uneven cobblestone streets. There are many pregnant young women everywhere. We saw a little old lady leading her blind old husband by the hand with her hand out for pesos to help them survive. One sees many bent over, old women, a few old men and disabled persons panhandling on the streets. The town was very crowed on this Sunday and we decided to take the bus home and enjoyed the route for the last time. We are packed and tried to fit all the stuff we brought in with all the new items we bought. We plan on being ready to go by 8:00 am when the van comes to pick up for the journey to Celaya airport.

4/29/2013 - Monday What a long day it has been. First the long drive in the van to Celaya only to discover that Don had left the Master switch on for 29 days and had run his battery so completely dead that it killed it forever. The pilots around the airport were very helpful and tried to give the plane a jumpstart with battery cables but the battery was too dead. After they left he tried propping it, and it started with just two pulls through. The battery was so dead he had to excite the alternator with a 9 volt battery. It worked pumping 75 amps into the dead battery. He shut it down after about 15 minutes and filed a flight plan for San Luis Potosi for fuel. It was a little harder to start, but it did, and it was about an hour flight to San Luis Potosi. We fueled up, filed a flight plan for Los Mochis. Don propped the plane again by hand (much harder this time) and off we went. After about 3.5 hours we landed, and he closed the flight plan, tied the plane down, and took 2 bags with us. We took a taxi and stayed in a nice hotel, the Santa Anita, recommended by the Baja bush pilots. We celebrated the end of a long day with a nice dinner at the hotel. After dinner Joan went back to the room and Don took a walk around town. It reminded him of an old boomtown in the United States like Oxnard back in the 50’s. There are few or no Americans here. The people he met and talked to are very friendly and it seemed like a nice fishing, shipping and farming community. P.S. His shoulder is really sore from propping the airplane.

4/30/2013 - Tuesday This was another long day starting with the taxi ride back to the airport and clearing out through all the channels. We had a very long encounter by the military, many questions, very suspicious but not too unpleasant. We finally got all packed, Don propped the airplane again and away we went to Calexico. The 3.5 hour flight went smoothly without a hitch. We had about a 20-knot tail wind all the way. Clearing into KCXL was easy and only took about 15 minutes. Rosa’s Cantina was closed and the airplane would not start so we took a cab to Subway to eat and wait for the engine to cool down in the shade. When we got back the engine started right away and off we went for the 1.5-hour flight back to Oxnard KOXR. The airport was socked in so Don had to make an ILS approach. He says that he needs to practice approaches more but it went good. We had a wonderful vacation and we really liked San Miguel, but it was time to come home and settle into our old routines. Hasta la proxima vez.