Saturday 28 April 2012

Greetings from Mexico



Well here goes.........my very first attempt at blogging.........will see how it feels and if not will go back to my tried and tested e mails!! I could not have attempted this earlier as the computer mouse was sticking and the space bar too ........so all of my text ran into one. However this new keyboard is set up in English so most of the punctuation doesn't work..........the main language of the computer is German so will have to try and figure it out somehow!!

Chris and I arrived here in at Laguna Santa Maria del Oro, Nayarit last Friday after three days of travelling. We are now 5,290 miles from home staying in a house at Koala Bungalows, which is a camp, bungalow and RV site . Uwe and Marlena came here 18 years ago while on a one year trip round the states and Mexico and they fell in love with it and bought a lot!! We are 2 or three minutes walk from the volcanic crater lake. The house is good and we are looking after 3 dogs Eugene, a chocolate Labrador cross,Lexki a long legged thing with sandy coloured hair and  Lily a white and tan small thing {she really belongs to someone else}. We walk them for about an hour in the morning round the lake and then they have a swim once the sun goes down at about 6 pm. We also have 2 cats, they are brothers, Charlie and Nero.........the usual independent souls who just want food!! The owners are back in Germany and then off to Canada for 3 weeks so we are here till mid September. The house is great we have everything we could possibly want including a small Ford KA.....thankfully with air con.

It is just a tad hot...........its 2.30 and the temperature is 30 inside , outside will be about 40!! The rainy season will come in about 5 weeks but it will not be cold. It is stunningly beautiful to be at the bottom of the crater , the laguna is never the same colour 2 days in a row. There is the constant squawking of birds, beautiful butterflies and the usual collection of creepy crawlies.....including scorpions. We have a lovely garden but can only really sit out in the evenings after 6 or in the morning. 

Uwe and Marlena spent 3 days with us showing us the ropes and the routines and helping us find everyone, Doctor, Vet,beer shop the nuns........more of them another time.  We have been bowled over by the friendliness of the locals , the Mexicans seem lovely people. 
We have already had our usual interesting experiences!! Its 11km up the hill {arriba} to the nearest town with shops, bank etc but no post office or anywhere selling stamps. Tepic is the nearest city about 50 km away and we went yesterday to get some stuff and parked up at Wallmart {safest and easiest way}. We then got a taxi to the Post Office , which was 60 pesos and the 13 stamps were 175 pesos ......making each stamp one pound!! Actually the taxi was 80 coz I gave the driver and extra 20........he has already paid for two of is children to go to university, one is a doctor and the other a dentist........I know a soft touch!!Then of course we are told that the post is unreliable anyway!! But for next time we have stamps so if we drop them off at the Doctors ...........she will take them to Tepic to post for us!! Can you imagine this system in the UK ? 

I am going to the local kindergarten twice a week, there is a small class of four year old and did some counting swith them last week...........with Oreo biscuits to oil the wheels. The Thursday was a party as this weekend is a Mexican holiday...........Monday is Dia del nino.........the day of the Child. They had pinata, balloons and food.....copious amounts of sweet stuff. Two of the mums had babies 4 months and 6 months and they were given fizzy apple pop !! 
Anyway this will do as  start and hope that it proves to be the way to go?????????????