Headed South: Even The Dogs Say Mañana And Other Ramblings

One of the more interesting aspects of life here is how different the animals are compared to in the States. Do you remember when you were growing up and your dog just kind of went in and out of the house and ran around unleashed when you went to play baseball or whatever? Well, it's still 1959 (or 1859) for dogs in Mexico. They hang out on roofs, in the middle of the street, flopped over on door stoops... where ever the urge to snooze grabs them. And they are extraordinarily mellow. No fights. No yapping. No hysterical or neurotic behavior. No The Dog Whisperer.

Sleeping dog in the middle of the street.

Sleeping dog on the sidewalk.

Michael and I have opined on this matter while sipping the pre dinner cocktail and have decided that it may have a lot to do with breeding-- or the lack thereof. These are the most unlikely looking mutts to be found anywhere. It appears that once upon a time in Ajijic there was one very lusty dachshund or perhaps basset hound that bred with every other possible breed of dog creating a dog universe of long, low but wildly different dogs. As the generations progressed the combinations just became more laughable and the dispositions must have just kept improving. Because these dogs are unflappable. Not even Americans and Canadians can ruin these dogs and turn them into nut jobs. Not that they haven't tried. Just the other day, I stumbled upon a brand new, private, dog park with all kinds of dog obstacle courses and dog play gyms etc. in a meticulously lawned fenced-in area. A woman had the basic Ajijic dog (about 8" clearance to the ground, about 25" long, Chow face, Shepard tail, middle indeterminate) in the play yard and was exhorting it to run and play while it laid on its side on the beautiful grass and rested placidly. Two Mexican kids were standing at the chain link fence staring incredulously at the spectacle. "What is this place?" one asked me. "Oh, just another silly American thing," I said. "Si, si, es verdad," they said and moved along with their trusty mutt trailing after them.

Playpark for dogs.

In fairness, the Gringos have done wonderful things for the animals of Ajijic in terms of rescuing street animals, neutering and spaying and helping Mexicans to appreciate pets a bit more than they had in the past. But I can't help wondering if that very high control need so common in Norte Americanos might just ruin the docile dogs of Ajijic.

And then there is Vino Blanco. Vino Blanco is a pure white donkey that lives on the beach by the Pier Bar. Well, it is not a beach. It is a shoreline because a beach is much nicer. Well, actually now he lives outside Yves Bar and Restaurant where his owner is a frequent guest. Vino's owner is quite a character. According to some friends, he was a lawyer from Seattle in his previous life. Abandoning that personna, he donned an outfit of white linen pants and shirt with a matching white panama hat. He then festooned the outfit with all manner of artificial flowers and decorations. Flowers are woven into his long braid that trails down his back and his walking stick is likewise decorated. We promise you a picture as soon as possible. He had a dedicated stool at the Pier Bar but then they changed their music. He rebelled and threatened to take his business to Yves unless the prior music was restored. No way, so off he went to Yves. That is how things go here. Vino is, of course, also very mellow and everyone who walks by rubs his ears or hands him a carrot. Nobody cares if you feed their animals or play with them or whatever. When there is a fiesta, they fix Vino Blanco up with a hat with feathers and paint his hooves pink (why? who knows?) and he pulls a cart with small children through the village. I'm including some pictures of street dogs (we seem to have captured a rare, taller dog in the photo) and Vino Blanco and one of Siam showing how she too has adopted the Mañana attitude of SOB pets.

Siam in restful repose.

Vino Blanco

Three Strange Things We Have Noticed:

1) Birds are really, really loud here. Every morning at 6:30, while it is still dark, the birds start up. They are so loud they wake me from a sound sleep. It does not appear to be something that you get used to.
2) We are the only people in town who are still married to their original spouse. Honest. One gentleman introduced us to his wife and said : "Yes, Ellen is my first and fourth wife." Hmmm.
3) Everyone here puts rubber circles over the drains in their showers. When we asked why, we were told it is to keep bugs from crawling out into your shower. I don't even want to know what kind of bugs or where they come from. I just shut up and put the circles over the drains.

Perhaps I'll do a blog on bugs when I'm feeling more psychologically intact.

We're off to see the Wizard

Well, having been in Mexico for 6 or 7 weeks, it's clearly time to decamp. We're leaving a week from today and will visit Boston, Switzerland, France and, oddly enough, Newark, NJ. Well before the move we had arranged to meet Michael's brother and sisters families to celebrate his sister Patricia's 65th birthday (a bit prematurely I must add if I ever want Patricia to speak to me again) in France. We'll get to spend a couple of days visiting my brother, sister-in-law and friends in Boston, do Europe and then fly into Newark where we will meet up with my cousin Linda and attempt to find Alex who should be in Pennsylvania or New Jersey on the Appalachian Trail by then. We'll be back in Mexico July 5th. We may try to blog via the iPad but... well who knows how adept we will be. Don't worry if you don't hear from us. I promise to do a blog posting upon our return if not before. Take care. Have fun. Stay in touch.

Finally we will leave you with some photos of the village views.