Cuernevaca - first impressions and the start of a new adventure

Yesterday, we drove to Cuernevaca.  We said goodbye to friends, new and old, promised to drive safely and with a 7 hour trip ahead of us, we left bright and early driving south on  Hwy.200.   As always, we find something to marvel about as we passed the dusty towns near Zihua and enter into the tropical fruit growing area that is green and lush.  The road side stops were populated by young men carrying their fruit picking sticks (bamboo poles with lacrosse nets attached) waiting for a days work in the mango orchards.  Down the coast from Zihuatanejo, there are many large lagoons just separated from the sea by bars of sand with palm trees swaying in the breeze.  If we just had more time....

This year we successfully found the entrance to the bypass north of Acapulco to join the Autopista del Sol several miles inland of that megalopolis which has always proved to be a challenge for our driving and direction skills.  The autopista is a beautiful toll highway with many tunnels and bridges of a modern striking design leading across canyons.  As we neared Cuernevaca we began to see the urban sprawl which I had first experienced last year.  We hoped our GPS would lead us to the right "Calle Tabachin"... street names can be repeated in many areas and our GPS has lead us on some interesting diversions from our intended destination....but the inner workings of "betty boop" surprised us as we found ourselves in the traffic heading north past El Centro to the Colonia Bellavista area which will be our base for the next month.    I had pre-arranged a month long rental here as a default plan when we couldn't find a dog friendly rental for a month in Tepoztlan, a nearby puebla of tremendous charm in the mountains south of Mexico City....so Cuernevaca was chosen as a base from which to travel. 

Our villa is part of an 8 unit gated and walled garden compound in what appears to be a very charming area in the north of the city.  The other properties on the street are either large gated older haciendas with high walls and tropical plants or newer condominium properties probably replacing homes that once stood in glory on the property.   Our street is a quiet side street sandwiched between the busy Avenida Morelos/Zapata which is the Libre Carretera a Mexico and the other main thoroughfares that lead back down to the busy central area.    Our little villa El Nido is a charming 1940's Spanish bungalow with an abundance of Talavares tile in every room.  Arched windows with wrought iron grilles provide beautiful views into the stunning gardens and pool area.  But like anything built in the 1940's....(my husband is of that vintage) - it takes a lot of work to look good at that age.  The family who own the property live on site and employ staff for maintenance, but my sense is it is a huge job and the jungle is always threatening to take over...

The cooler nighttime temperature provided us with a great nights sleep and after a small breakfast we decided to try to walk downtown to get a better sense of our area and how far it really is ....I think we walked for about an hour and a half through interesting residential areas with lovely homes to get to the magical center with it's historical grandeur.   I loved the cathedral, a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city and today is Dia de La Candelaria, which means that while everyone back at Casa Ceiba is eating Tamales...we saw the locals here bringing their 'baby jesus's to the church for blessings...

 

 

The walk home proved to be a lot hotter and less pleasant as we walked uphill along the narrow sidewalk of the main thoroughfare with a large volume of traffic speeding by.  I vowed to never do the walk again...we will brave the traffic and drive closer to our destination.    Tomorrow the many mercados near El centro are calling to us to be seen and experienced...

So after a major grocery and household item stock up at Superama...Cuernevaca's answer to Peppers' or the Market on Yates...Cori and we are staying home to relax...and plan how we will spend a month away from home.  I'm thinking of perhaps a week or two of Spanish classes mixed with trips to the nearby pueblos, and large cities like Puebla or even D.F., and I hope to find a yoga class to drop in to within walking distance.   It's a big city, past it's prime according to the guidebooks but we think it's important to give this once grand city a chance to work it's way into our hearts...like all once great beauties, it's charm lies in getting to know what she's really like!

Leaving the land of eternal summer for the city of "eternal spring"

We have been busy squeezing in as much fun as possible into the last two weeks of January - getting ready for our "vacation within a vacation."  This is something we try to do each year as I have a desire to see more and more of the unique places this country has to offer.  It's ironic that we are leaving here just as the nights have begun to cool down...in fact, this would be the time of year we occasionally see the locals bundled in their "winter clothes".  Yes, the nights are now cool enough to enjoy using our top sheet and even a corner of the woven beadspread can feel cozy.  Cori has now decided to resume his position between us and snuggle close to my thighs when the "night chill" is felt. 

We had a last minute surprise guest when one of our son and daughters friends from Vancouver decided to take advantage of a ridiculously low fare to spend a week in the tropics.  Cory is one of the new age of young professionals who could do his job from just about anywhere in the world...online!  So after a week of computer time interspersed with runs on the beach, swims, trips to the mercado and trials of the different foods that are available nearby...he's determined that he could find a place in paradise to park himself each winter to work.  Great idea!

We've read in their blog SV Ideal1 that our Victoria friends who left here on their yacht a week ago are safely in Acapulco and enjoying all that the big city has to offer cruisers.  Well done!

Kyle is also still nearby, having decided to practice being a surfer for 2 weeks in Saladita...so we have gone out with our good friends Mickey and Jane to visit and take him out for a local treat...Pollo barbacoa spiced so deliciously with guajillo chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano and vinegar....hoping to recreate this taste soon! 

Kyle will be leaving on Monday to rejoin Kristen in Vancouver and our friends Linda and Dan will arrive here on Sunday to stay in our little casa while we are travelling. 

At this time each year in Zihuatanejo, the streets are full of middle aged or older visitors from Canada and the US.  We see familiar faces everywhere and are happy for the locals that they have their regular customers and friends returning.  

It's also the height of volunteer festival season with a large fundraiser for Rotary last night and the upcoming Zihua Sailfest in February.   Here at Casa Ceiba, the "pool deckchair wars" have resumed - we've usually managed to be away before there were more people than chairs, so this year, it's new for us to see this phenomenon.   Our local grocery store is no longer the hub of Mexican shoppers, instead we see the gringos searching for familiar merchandise and are always happy when we can offer our local knowledge on where to find what they are looking for.

Our sponsored student and her sisters are now regularly attending English classes with Sra. Sheila and her husband Ross, 2 Canadians who spend a lot of time here each year and are volunteer teachers in the Nino's Adelante program.  We're proud that they stay at our apartment in La Ceiba which gives Sheila an easy walk to her classes in the nearby open air church at Plaza Kyoto. 

So we're heading out at a time when things are just really comfortable here...we are heading out on our version of a little adventure with GPS, Guia Roja and our booking to Villas Bellavista in hand.   Off to see the big city of Cuernevaca, perhaps take some Spanish classes and explore the nearby pueblas with magical names like Tepoztlan, Malinalco, Xochicalco.    And I have a new project that makes the travel to these historic cities even more exciting...we are on the search for the perfect Saltillo floor tiles and decorative accessories for a small kitchen renovation at our rental apartment in La Ceiba.  Just when I thought my Mexican shopping was over!! 

And before we know it...we've finished 3 full months of our winter here...only 2 and a bit left - one month of travel and the month of March spent entertaining friends, enjoying Guitarfest and Carnivale festivities. 

We pray that all will continue to be well at home until we return and wish our kids and our friends an end to winter and a start to Spring perhaps even while we are in the City of Eternal Spring!  Cuernavaca here we come!

 Oh, and this is the "shade side" of our new garden that our neighbours and I designed and purchased plants for...a fun shopping day in Zihuatanejo!

Saying Goodbye in the busy month of January

Today we said goodbye to our eldest daughter Kristen, who has been with us for only 8 days. 

Her boyfriend Kyle, who we have come to know and like during this, his first visit to Zihuatanejo, is staying on for another 2 weeks to hone is surfing skills at the sweet little beach oasis known as Saladita at Lourdes Surf camp and school.  It's a tempting spot to hang out and enjoy the warm waves and clear water when we hear about the snow and cold in Vancouver...winter has finally arrived on the West Coast of Canada.

 
We've had a busy six weeks of family visiting since December 11th and now it's all coming to a close.  Today was one of the busiest days of our winter time here....it started with an early morning walk to the mercado with Cori to get shrimp and fish at Rosita's fish stall.  I love chatting with Pancho, her English speaking husband about all things local while his wife and sister in law clean and cut the fish and prawns to order.  Unfortunately, these days a lot of our talk is about what we know of local robberies or murders in the town and surrounding beach communities....maybe I'm getting too caught up in it...but it seems better to talk it out. 

Then we headed off to our annual Nino's Adelante breakfast at the Fontan Hotel in Ixtapa, where we have a chance to celebrate the program and host the family we've come to know and love here.  Doraliz is our sponsored student but following in her footsteps, her youngest sister Angela would be eligible for the sponsorship next year and the family and we hope to be able to fill her dreams by also assisting her to complete her studies in the secondary and preparatory system and eventually enter college.  The morning included a talk by one of the local "snowbirds" who has her finger on the pulse of the community by volunteering and coordinating a variety of programs...and we bought a book written by someone who has fallen in love with this town and it's people.  The book titled "Journey to Zihuatanejo- from Visitor to Volunteer" promises to be a good read about the projects some people who are devoted to helping locals here are doing.  I found myself thinking how much more beneficial these activities are and the money spent on helping locals still probably falls short of the bar/cigarette bills of some of the remainder of longterm wintertime residents here. 

We left the restaurant with plans to have our girls over for a swim/lunch next Saturday....we then headed back to Casa Ceiba to meet with the other owners who were invited to lunch at Vanessa's - our condo. administrator who recently had a new home built for her family.   We looked out from the tiled palapa rooftop over the jungle covered hillside streets and to the bay beyond...what a step up for this poor family to have such a wonderful home that can accomodate everyone for years to come. 
 
We then hurried back to drive Kristen to the airport and then return in time to walk Cori and meet up with our longtime Victoria friends Isabelle and Darcy who are here at anchor in the bay enroute to El Salvador the end destination for this season's portion of a multi-year sailing trip through the Caribbean and back up the East Coast of N. America.    We have met up  with them for pozole earlier this week, and now set a date for a mid-week sail aboard their beautiful yacht. 

Meanwhile Gene and Kyle drove back to the airport to pick up our surprise visitor, Cory, who couldn't pass up the unheard of $99 fare on a one week roiund trip flight from Vancouver/Zihua direct.   It'll be a lot easier on my aging brain to have one name to remember...Cori my dog and Cory my son/daughter's friend won't be surprised when I use their names interchangeably!

Tomorrow Kyle leaves early morning for his surfing destination with our neighbour Mickey, a seasoned surfer from California who regularly spends time at Saladita.  We'll head out with Iris and Bob later in the day to make sure all is well and that he is safely set up for his 2 week stay. 

 

 And finally, this is the week I am saying goodbye to a man who lit up every encounter with his warm smile and gentle, rich melodic voice.  We met Mike and Jo here in Zihuatanejo 7 years ago and immediately knew we would be friends forever.   Yesterday, Mike finally ended the battle he fought without complaint against the terrible illness Multiple Myeloma.  Jo was his advocate, caregiver, lover and friend through the journey.   I wish I was with her at her home in Prospect Oregon to give her the hugs she needs and deserves...but everytime we go boogey boarding at Madera Beach we will think of Mike and his smiles and his humor....Jo...come see us soon and we'll celebrate the life of the man you love!  Adios Mike...you are in our hearts forever too!

In conflict about the conflict - and seeing familiar faces

Today is the last day of our son Eric's 3 week visit with us, that also could be called his "kick off training camp"...he has swam, biked and ran everywhere possible around our bay and the nearby beaches and dusty roads.  We are going to miss his presence, and unfortunately so will his sister and her partner who arrive today.  He is trading places with Kristen and Kyle who arrive on the flight he's departing on...so once again we get to show our family and friends around our area. 

Kristen has been in touch regularly as we remember one more thing she can bring us that we can't get here (Almond butter, mousetraps, Magic Erasers....)  She recently sent a message that Kyle's Mom is a bit nervous about his trip, and we understand.  When I read the news, and we do read everything that we can, including our local daily called Despertar de la Costa, crimes against tourists always take high priority.  I felt sick reading that in 2 of our favorite places, Melaque and Huatulco, Canadians have recently been killed.   Every month since arriving here, we've had regular news of robberies here, and some also accompanied by violence with weapons that in the past, we would never have imagined.  Gone is the somewhat less threatening description of "crimes of opportunity" and instead, there is a new reality.  Some Mexicans are so desperate that Canadians, Americans and any one who appears to have more than they do are targetted for armed robberies.  We have heard of local restaurauters who were robbed by armed robbers and shot when they resisted.  Our favorite fish vendor described a fruit stall that had a robber with a gun threaten her until she turned over her cash...times have changed here.   And what is of equal interest is the lack of response or lack of confidence in the police system here.  When we were robbed, it did not even occur to me to call the police.  The police seem to be a toothless group of gun-toting young men in groups who ride around but what do they actually do?  Recently our new aquaintance who lives along Playa Blanca, a peaceful stretch of pristine beach where Canadian and American homes have been targeted, said she felt that the police are "part of the problem"...and that is the reality here...do you trust them or not?  Who knows.

So although I am aware of these "facts"...why do I continue to feel that this is where I want to be....well, it just doesn't feel dangerous here on a daily basis...  People are kind, there is a calm friendliness in every action and interaction.  People just don't seem as stressed as they do at home...children rarely cry, and if they do, their parents do not react, they simply do what they are doing knowing that the crying will end.  You rarely see or hear people talking loudly or seeming unhappy. 

This week is the start of the influx of Canadian and American "regulars"...folks who we've come to know or at least recognize who spend most of their winter here in Mexico.  It also marked the end of the Mexican tourist season here.  Our local press referred to it as "decembrina".  While waiting at the airport for Kristen and Kyle, I couldn't help but notice the frailty and advanced age of many of the persons arriving... but coming they are.  They are happy to be back in a warm and sunny place that is affordable and friendly.  They are quick to dismiss the rising crime rates with quotes like "well I live in Surrey" or "have you ever been to Chicago?"...I find their comparisons reassuring in a way but I also think that it is sad that what is happening here is being compared to some of the highest crime places I know of. 

So we will continue to be happy here, but are ever so much more wise.  Our windows and back patio have new screens with wooden decorative rods that would prohibit a quick entry.  Our wallets are kept in our safe and we rarely leave home with much money in our pockets.  Luckily, I don't have flashy jewellery but my friends who do, don't wear the real stuff out much anymore.  I am becoming smarter about where I carry my purse or my change purse in the busy mercado.  A group of Mexican women recently saw me drop my small change purse into my bag and they shook their heads and indicated it should be tucked into my bra, like they always do.  I have a lot to learn. 

And in follow up, I didn't offend my neighbour and friend, Isabel with our small cash gift this Xmas - she is as always her gracious self.  Now off to get ready for a day with Kristen and Kyle. 

 

Namaste!

If you host a "party" - they will come and how I plan to wear red underwear and eat 12 grapes tomorrow

 

For 4 weeks each year, this normally sleepy little fishing village, Zihuatanejo,  hosts a party...it's a party where the national tourists, those residents of inland cities, big and small all head to the coast to frolic and play in the ocean and the sand.  We are nearing the end of the 2 week Navidad vacation and this year, I think the tourist numbers have surpassed last year.  Within the 4 walls of our condominium, albeit in the heart of Zihuatanejo, it's easy to not grasp the full impact of the vacationers on our little town...but one stroll through our carlined streets and down to the waterfront reveals the masses who have joined the pelicans to swim on our main Playa principal...

The next busy period will be Semana Santa and the same thing happens again...but that's the end of my winter here and I dont' want to think that far ahead yet. 

  

So for now we've been focusing on our own little Xmas celebration with Eric, including his preparing me a taste sample of "goose neck barnacles -  a delicacy in Europe selling for 200 Euros/kilo and for 100 pesos/kilo here,  and looking ahead to our week with Kristen and Kyle...but first came my 60th birthday!! 

I've always been a bit conflicted about my birthday...but this past year I've enjoyed the 60th  birthday parties of many of my friends, so this month,  Gene and I decided that we'd plan a small party for me.  As many of you know, I am a big fan of a local guitarist, singer, songwriter who goes by the name of Juanito Zihua.   He has a huge personality and I would like to think that behind that personality and very attractive exterior is also a huge heart.  He makes me feel good and feeling good is all I really wanted for my birthday.  I don't need things, I crave feelings and experiences so when Gene stood up at Pozole at Santa Prisca a couple of weeks ago and asked Juanito to step outside I knew something was up.  I'm glad this wasn't a surprise as I'm bad at surprises and I honestly wanted to host a nice party...so my job was the appetizers, table decorations and the menu and beverage choices for an evening of song at our place followed by a dinner out with friends at Coconuts Restaurant...a longstanding favorite that is attractive, intimate and within an easy walk of our almost downtown location. 

I had fun, I danced and embarassed myself by singing with Juanito...but you know that at 60 you need to do whatever you have the opportunity to do...I guess he may never ask my again, but I did it!!!  I felt good and I felt young, and what more can one ask for at 60!!  Gracias a Dios for this year of my life and for allowing me to spend my birthdays in a virtual paradise...Oh, it's not perfect- I miss my other friends who aren't here and my family, but it's a place where we can be outside, in a tropical garden, with a star filled sky overhead and dance and laugh like we didn't have a care in the world! 

So tomorrow is the last day of 2011, and my birthday.  I want to spend it doing a couple of my favorite things.  I will start the day at yoga.   Yoga has become my "roots"...it's where I go when I need to feel grounded, cultivate my inner smile and acknowledge the value my health has for my life.  Today our teacher was the beautiful Angelica from Zirahuen.  She gave us a class on "Opening the Heart"....I loved it and I want to be that person with an open heart, and a flexible spine to go with it.  Having an attitude of gratitude and energy to live well are my goals for 2012...there, I've said them, now I must live them!! 

Tomorrow, for my birthday, we are going to walk the beach from Barra de Potosi to Playa Larga - a perfect, pristine 10 mile arc of white sand where whales regularly skim through the waves and seabirds dive into the surf, it's about as close to heaven as I can imagine.  Eric plans to do part of his daily workout running while I walk.  Gene will fish and drive to a favorite small restaurant we've discovered enroute called "chula vida"...the sweet life! 

And if I can stay up to midnite, I'm going to wear my "red panties" and carefully make a wish on each of the 12 grapes we will eat as the church bell in Plaza Kyoto tolls to midnite....starting one more year with one of the Mexican traditions that I love. 

The Christmas that never feels quite "right" and giving a "gift"

So for the 4th year since we moved into Casa Ceiba we've celebrated Xmas here.  Lucky for us our son Eric is staying here with us for the holidays, or what he refers to as his "kick off training camp".  We were happy to know that our daughters, Kristen and Amy were each with their partners at their family homes in Canada.  Imagining snowy farm fields in Ontario, and beach strolls on Vancouver Island - I hoped that each had the kind of Xmas that will give their hearts the little "thrill" that Xmases gave me in the past. 

Canada is a country that needs Xmas.  Just when the days are the darkest and dreariest, and the weather is beginning to show what's ahead, the country is transformed into the Xmas's of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Bing Crosby's White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street.   I grew up with every Xmas being a "white Christmas" and tried to pass along the traditions of home decorating, Xmas baking and entertaining to my kids as our Oak Bay home was the base for many happy Christmases.   The happy faces of children who "believed" made the day special for many years.

Xmas's here in Mexico never feel quite "right" .  No matter that Mexicans make a big deal of Xmas.  There are lights everywhere and it's apparent that a lot of purchasing, gift giving and visitors arrive here in the days leading up to Xmas.   Specialty foods are prepared, friends and families have parties together and homes are decorated.  But - it's not the same and as usual I had the feeling that it just wasn't Xmas.  We had already enjoyed our Xmas dinner, a frozen turkey from Chile (Amy commented hopefully that Chileans might let their turkeys run free) and the usual trimmings on Dec. 21st just prior to Amy and Pat's departure.  We had celebrated Hannukah, had a penthouse dinner party and spent a quiet Xmas Eve at home, with a delicioius steak and prawn dinner and the most entertainingly complicated movie "Prestige"...so complex that Eric had to explain the rather shocking end and the "trick" to me. 

So yesterday, Xmas Day,  Eric and I decided to go for an early swim at La Ropa beach, and Gene headed off to his bike path in Ixtapa.  Then after a late morning Xmas brunch, we headed to Troncones to meet up with our good friends Iris and Bob to listen to Jimi Mamou play music at Hacienda Eden, a little jewel of a hotel, restaurant on Manzanillo Bay.   Eric and I chose to walk the scenic beach route with Cori who is a huge fan of chasing every sea bird along the way.  

 At Hacienda Eden, we had planned to eat a light early meal as luckily we had already had the full on Xmas dinner.   Mexican restaurants are not known for producing quality food on specialty days and they met our expectations for poor food and poor service by their young staff of smiling, friendly waiters who were completely overwhelmed by the number of persons arriving for Xmas dinner...we were glad we could leave in time to drive the narrow and poorly marked stretch of highway 200 back home before it was fully dark. 

So how did I get my "Xmas on" here?   I thought back to the number of times I have donated to Xmas charities back in Canada.  It was easy, you could donate on line, through workplace hamper drives, school programs or the local food bank....the recipients were usually chosen by a committee or by agencies who held their names anonymously....it made the whole practice of giving to the needy practical, efficient and above all, it means you can do it without ever having to identify yourself or the recipient.  I always felt good about doing something for the many unfortunate who haven't been as lucky in life as I have been.  I want to acknowledge here, that I've always considered giving to others as sort of an "insurance policy".  I thought that by helping others I was, if you will, gaining points to ensure that me and my loved ones would continue to fair well in life.  I know life doesn't work that way, but hey, it's kind of like prayer, you do it when you need to and you do it with a sense of hope that it will work.  

Here in Zihuatanejo, you don't have to look far to see who the people are who are in need of a gift.   So this year we chose to focus on our "family" and  " our neighbours" .   Doraliz and her 2 sisters came for lunch on Xmas Eve.  It was so much fun to take them shopping and watch their faces light up chosing a pinata for their home.  

Our neighbours here in Colonia Madera have been greatly affected by the construction project on Calle Adelita this year. 

So when we heard that "Dona Isabel" the owner of Casa Isabel, a modest guest house and morning juice bar, had fallen and broken her ankle, and at the same time was unable to earn any income due to the road being impassable...well I went with my gut instinct that she was a person in need.  Some of my friends cautioned me that a gift that included money might be an insult, but I thought of how far a local could make a bit of money go and I chose to tuck some away in a carefully written Xmas greeting card.  I took a big risk as I don't know if giving money to a neighbour will be accepted in the spirit it was given, will it insult her, will it create an ongoing expectation???   I will find out in the days ahead as I pick my way through the road construction hoping to catch a glimpse of one of my favorite people, a Mexican senior who unlike residents of other countries, receives no government income or subsidy for the loss of income that the road project has created.  I hope I didn't offend her. 

A month of family and friends and it's Navidena in Mexico

This is the week of the Posadas...the week between Virgen de Guadalupe and Xmas Eve.  The tradition involves families and friends visiting and eating and drinking the special foods of the holiday season.  This is also the week that we are fortunate to have 2 of our 3 adult children here.    

I know that we are eating and drinking well as I am the cook, meal planner, market shopper and my days are full!   I now get why every middle class Mexican senora that I know has at least one, if not two, household staff...this cooking and eating well is a full time job.  Shopping market style is a fun experience and although we definitely have our favorites, the crowds on the streets and the heat make shopping for the best selection of produce an onerous task.  Each store has one item that is clearly superior so with any luck, I only need to visit  5 or 6 shops to fill my fruit and vegetable basket for the day.

Amy and her partner Patrick arrived on Dec. 11th and have been wonderful and adventurous guests who have an incredible amount of energy to explore and enjoy all that our area has to offer.   We did a whirlwind one day trip to the colonial city of Patzcuaro which provides a diverse experience for Mexico away from the beach side towns. 

Amy spent yesterday morning competing in the local swim competition and like last year was the second female across the line and third swimmer overall.  She could've gone faster but was a bit freaked out on the course when dolphins swam across the course route and she wasn't sure what the big fish swimming just beneath her really were...for the spectators on the shore it was magical, but for the swimmers a bit like being in a remake of Jaws. 

Eric, doing an entirely un-Eric like thing, had the awful experience of sleeping in past his 3:00 a.m. alarm and missed his scheduled 6 a.m. departure flight from Vancouver to LA.  One day later, having endured the pain of a $400 extra charge he arrived after the  red-eye LA to Mexico and Zihua connector. 

Eric hasn't been exercising at all since he finished Kona so this 3 weeks spent in warm weather is his "season kick-off" to his triathlon training yet again.   So while we walk the beaches, fish and enjoy the food at small beachside cafe's,  Eric plans his training to meet up with us in varied locations.  Today Eric swam the bay in the morning, biked for 2 plus hours from Zihuatanejo to Barra de Potosi and back to meet us at Playa Larga and then ended his day with a run on Playa La Ropa...

My friends at home will appreciate this (I've been known to have bad luck with kitchen appliances and have extended warranties on everything)....our fridge is acting up.  So my turkey and other frozen foods are in the neighbours fridges, we are shopping day at a time, and we are hoping against all odds that someone who is working tomorrow (monday) can repair it in time to meet the needs of my highly food demanding family and friends...an unlike the other senoras in the area,....its' up to me to get this happening....I'm tired just thinking about it. 

Luckily, my friend Monica has promised me that I can cook the turkey in her stove as I just don't think I can cope with the heat of roasting the "pavo relleno" for 4-5 hours on Wednesday afternoon.  We're going to celebrate Xmas a bit early with our family and then have another Xmas on Xmas Eve with Doraliz's family and Xmas day with a group of gourmet friends here....a festival of food prepared by women with love for the people they love.