Blog Antipasto

You know how you get the antipasto plate and you just can't decide what to eat first?  Well, I can't get a handle on what to tackle in prose first.  Our lives for the past few weeks have been a plateful of fiestas, visitors, tours and whatnot.  So, I'll just jump in.  Random, no order.  Please deal with it.

The Whole Village Did Not Ignite

In our previous blog, I proposed that the entire Village might go up in flames during the epic finale of the Fiesta de St. Andres.  Didn't happen...strangely.  For nine days each morning (circa 5:45 AM) the bottle rockets, mariache bands and church bells commenced-- to be repeated at noon and 6PM.  Each day they grew louder.  By Day Nine it was like being in Gaza.  "Incoming!" Michael and I would yell gayly at Brian (Michael's brother) and Dian (his wife) who had the good fortune to be visiting last week.  Every night at the plaza there was a massive fiesta with all the trappings.  The biggest was sponsored by the Construction Workers who have more money than any other group in the town (Thank You Gringos!).  After five or six hours of extraordinarily loud bands, dancing, the paseo (young punks and punkettes strolling counterclockwise around the plaza) and four or five plates of street food everyone was ready for the highlight of the evening.  This is what had the potential to ignite the town.  The Castillo.  Hopefully we have a picture.  The Castillo is a wooden scaffold-like structure which is a couple of stories high.  They build it directly in front of the Church and use ropes to hold it steady (kind of).  Attached to the front are all manner of fireworks that spin around shooting sparks, flames etc.  Quite something.

As the time approached, everyone ambled to the Churchyard and adjoining street.  Small children were clustered around the Castillo and delighted in stamping out the stray (and abundant) embers that flew off the Castillo at high velocity.  No one seemed perturbed.  When one spinning wheel refused to spin, a man climbed the Castillo (which was detonating at the time) and calmly gave the offending wheel a shove.  We later learned that in a similar situation a man had lost three fingers in his attempt to urge a wheel to spin. The Castillo was discontinued for a couple of years after that but then everyone said "What the heck" and the tradition was revived.  Day ten and the cessation of celebration was well received by us.

A ferris wheel is set up in the street by the plaza.

The Castillo in the courtyard of the Church of St. Andres

Mi Casa es Su Casa

I've promised a few of you a little taste of the architecture of Ajijic (besides our endless photos).  So...when Steve (Deirdre's brother) and Lee (his wife) were here several weeks ago we had a chance to go on a Behind the Walls House Tour that is run for charity.  You have a driver and go to four houses and it is really cool. It feeds the voyeuristic tendencies I have that tempt me to stare into stranger's houses as we drive by at night which I can't do here because all the houses are behind walls. But I digress.  The houses were all very different.  I won't get weird and go into elaborate detail but will just give a little background and then the photos will do the talking.

House 1.  The most typical (and my favorite) house.  Was the first bakery in Ajijic and then only two rooms.  Now 6,000+ square feet.  Narrow front but runs the depth of the block.  Restored and expanded by an artist and photographer with excellent taste.  The central courtyard is typical of Mexican architecture.  To be hacienda style all of the rooms have to exit onto the central courtyard and there is a roofed veranda that provides cover as you walk from room to room.

Guest Bedroom

Den with couch & yarn painting above couch

Artist & Photo Studio

Casbah Room

Windows in Casbah Room

Kitchen (originally the bakery)

House 2.  Money be Money.  Owned by a very nice Canadian couple with houses in Toronto, the Caribbean and here.  Their Dad owns the estate next door. Oh well.  I would live in their stables (12 stalls, nicer than our first house).  But a little soulless for me.  Lots of shiny marble.  Could have been a mansion anywhere.  Maybe I'm just jealous.

Outdoor living is a part of living here

Tile counters in the kitchen

View of the back of the house with the pool

Side elevation

The Stable for the horses

House 3.  And this could be yours for $219K USD.  This one was for sale.  Brand new and very well done.  Smallish -- 2 bedrooms and an office.  Very much a Moorish influence.  That's true of many houses here for all the obvious reasons.  Spain... Moors conquer...Mexico... Spain conquers.  It is completely possible to get a very nice 2-3 bedroom house here for $150-200K (and no bills for heat or air).  Come on down.

Intimate dining room

Living room with fireplace

Detail on fireplace

Outdoor area with fountain

House 4.  Well, it WAS a house.  Now it is a boutique hotel.  Whereas House 2 could have been anywhere, this big, old house was pure Ajijic.  Hacienda style, a bit quirky, with a touch of misplaced English baronial lurking around the edges. We were so taken with it, we came back the next day for lunch.  Excellent.

Kitchen 

Fire place in bedroom

Bedroom with library

Bathroom

Living Room

Looking down on dining room

A Couple of Odd Things:

*  Playing Lotto with the kids at the orphanage I was a bit put off when I turned over a card which pictured and labeled "Un Barracho" which is a drunk.  The next card said "El Negrito" and featured a black man.  I doubt this toy will find acceptance north of the border.

*  Goats are used to trim the grass at cloverleafs on the highway system.  They are not fenced, tethered or attended to by a goatherd.  Either goats are very smart or very cheap.

*  Christmas is HUGE in Mexico, and unfortunately as commercial as it is in the US.  Here children seem to like to try out Christmas gifts before asking Santa.  While traversing the aisles of Walmart (forgive me my more socially conscious friends) I was repeatedly struck by tots whipping through the aisles on Barbie bikes, Elmo tricycles and, most painfully, a skateboard.  I didn't observe them ripping into toy boxes but it is entirely possible.

We really had a great time with Lee and Steve and Brian and Dian and did many things and had many adventures which will go unchronicled due to space constraints.  My brother was vastly relieved to witness first hand that we were not directly in the clutches of the evil drug cartels and also learned that riding a horse too aggressively in your senior years can have unpleasant consequences.  And Dian learned that even though she isn't into shopping, shopping here can be another story. I'm not sure what Lee and Brian discovered but all assure us that there will be return visits which we are looking forward to.

Now it is on to Navidad.  Time to get the tree (perhaps cut 6 months ago in Alberta but we'll see), ship out those electronic cards and order from Amazon for direct shipping to our gift recipients over the border.  We'll let you know how all that goes.  Take care.

This is where we ate lunch, when we came back