El Barco in Jocotepec

It is quite a while since my last post. The weather is still surprising us. After a number of days of sun and warming temperatures, this past week we had more than half an inch of rain over 2 days. There has now been 170 mm. (6.7 inches) since Jan. 1. However, while being unusual, such ‘winter rain’ is not unheard of. Our Spanish teacher, Joel, says that there have been about 4 times in the last 15 years for such events. I have been noticing the comparison of temperatures, this year and last. Last year at this time, highs were 25 - 27º C (78 - 80º F). This year we are getting 23º C or less. On cloudy days, only 19 - 20º C. Still compared to eastern Canada and US, we are still lucky.

We had Matthew and Angie with us for 5 nights; they then went in to Tlaquepaque for 2 nights. We had new things to show them since they were here just a month after we arrived. We took them to Love in Action (see Matt with a couple of kids at LIA) and spent Sunday afternoon with the 3 niñas on the malecón in Chapala. The latter has been greatly improved since they were here before. On Monday, they explored Ajijic a bit and we went to a new restaurant on the lake front. On Tuesday, we went to Jocotopec and then to the hot springs spa in San Juan Cosalá to swim. That night we went to the Chac-lan restaurant up on the mountain at the other spa. There was a beautiful sunset to complete the view (in the background behind Matt and Angie at the rail). On Thursday, we dropped their luggage at the hotel in Tlaquepaque and then drove to El Centro Guadalajara; Barb & I had been there last year on a bus tour, but this was the first time we had dared to drive there. However, with Matthew reading the maps and navigating, we made it there and back without any wrong turns. We wandered around the sights there, including the cathedral, governor’s house and the giant Mercado Libertad (Liberty Market). There are hundreds of small stalls and stores over 3 floors. Near the end of the afternoon, there was light rain and drizzle. However, it was a very successful day.

The work is almost finished. The photo below shows the new patio outside the guest bedroom which was finished in time for Matt and Angie. The addition to the bodega adds at least 4 or 5 times as much space as the old part; the center of the driveway is now paved with flagstones. In addition, we got José Luis to install a voltage regulator for the house. We discovered that the little transformer for our water purifier had been ‘fried’. Voltages in Mexico vary dramatically; rather than the standard 120v in the north, it usually runs from 127 to 137v here. In fact when José tested ours, it was 143v! Most appliances made in or for Mexico are built with higher tolerances, but the variation is too much even for them.

Today, we again had the ninas (only the twins, not Fatima) but a young woman named Maribel asked if she could come and we agreed. We decided to go to Jocotepec. Once we got there, we found that the little cruise boat was going out for a 3/4 hour cruise. This boat (they call it a ‘barco’ although that usually refers to a large ship) is less than 2 years old. It is kind of like a railway dining car sitting on pontoons (we forgot to take the camera so no photos). In fact in the evenings, they do dinner cruises. We have been intending to do one, but never got around to it. Barb is insisting that we should do a dinner cruise for her birthday coming up in March.

On a more solemn note, a couple of weeks ago, my sister, Rosemary, in Windsor, Ontario had quite a severe stroke. My class just wrote the mid-term exam and I have had to wait until the exams come for marking next week. I now have reservations to go to Windsor on March 4 for 5 days. Larry & Rosemary’s lives have been turned upside down. I hope that I can help a bit.