Who Knows Where the Time Goes....

On The Road Again...

I promise I'll stop with the song titles.  Really.  It seems like we just got back from the last trip and we're organizing for the next.  Trust me, I'm not complaining, but it does seem that time is slip, sliding away (stop it Deirdre!).  Summer in Ajijic is a rather magical time.  It is extremely dramatic in that our always vibrant landscape kaleidoscopes into colors  normally seen only by people who have recently ingested serious mind altering drugs.  The mountains are shouting green and after the rains the streets run with water flowing down from the waterfalls and arroyos.  Everything is blooming and there are very few flowering plants here that boast pastel hues.  Magenta, fiery red, solar eruption orange, flamingo pink -- those are the colors we go for.  Slather them up against houses painted bright yellow with red trim or lime green with navy trim and you've got some serious color bombardment going on.  Summer also sees the onslaught of the Guad Squad and the Texans -- both fleeing their respective heat and congestion.  This is a societally combustible mixture.  Texans in Range Rovers battling Guads in ATVs (often driven by 10 year olds) each jockeying for position on roads the size of small suburban driveways make for an interesting trip to the Village.  Most Canadians have gone home so there are few calm people to act as an antidote.  We hope for the best.

Colorful outdoor art work appears on many houses.

The next several photos show the profusion of colors on the walls & from the flowers.

Marketing A La Mexico

Then there have been the Chicken Wars.  The main street going through our Village, the careterra, runs about five blocks through the heart of the town.  I have now counted at least five Roasted Chicken outlets.  First they were only Mom and Pops but recently the chain Pollo Feliz (why a chicken would be happy about being roasted escapes me) hit the bricks.  And the marketing wars began.  El Pechugon (The big breast-- another snappy name) first had the man in the inflatable chicken suit jumping up and down and beckoning folks.  Then Pollo Feliz got it's own giant inflatable chicken man.  Then they added humongous speakers blaring music at unbelievable decibels punctuated by a hysterical salesman yelling out specials.  Pollo Feliz upped the ante with balloons-- followed quickly by El Pechugon.  One memorable Sunday (always our peak day for lunacy) I witnessed the spectacular fight of the inflatable chickens in the middle of the road. There was little carnage due to their massive inflatability.  Meanwhile, the Moms and Pops-- with fewer marketing assets-- continue to reduce their prices while offering more and more vast portions.

The photos of the Chicken Wars will have to wait for a future blog. The Chickens were not cooperating when I went to take pictures.

The competition among taco vendors on the same strip of road is equally intense although we have yet to see an inflatable taco man.  However, I loved the approach I saw last week.  There was a very spiffy stand with a sign that featured a green crocodile and the name Tacoste.  Think.  It took me a minute too.  Yes....Lacoste.  For the upwardly mobile, discerning taco eating market. There is a statement about Mexico in all of this but I cannot determine what it is.  But it is entertaining.

La Fiesta del Membrillo

There is no event, person, or object too obscure that it does not require a fiesta.  Case in point -- the membrillo.  What, one asks, is a membrillo?  A quince.  What, one asks, is a quince?  It is a fruit.  It is kind of like a southern climate apple.  Or apple/pear combo.  When we were in Morocco we had a delicious dish featuring quince and I have been in hot pursuit ever since.  But the season is short so when I heard there was a quince festival we were on our way.  This is a three day event and there are two towns that each have their own versions.  We picked the more obscure village (of course we did) and were amply rewarded.  How obscure was the village?  As we walked to the plaza someone threw open their window and yelled in English, "Welcome to Mexico".  We were the only gringos in a crowd of a thousand or more.  Everybody was so nice and so excited that gringos came to their quince festival.  It is rather astounding what can be made out of quince.  Everything from liquor (Ponche), to pies, to salsa, to.....well, take a look at the photos.  There was dancing, singing, street food, stray dogs, the village drunk -- everything that makes this place so fun.  Next year we're bringing more gringos with us.

The house from which the greeting "Welcome to Mexico" issued forth.

While walking by the booths, an amazing voice caught our attention. We were even more surprised when we saw this very young chanteuse with the amazing voice. 

She also had an outstanding stage presence as these next few photos will demonstrate.

But the singing could only distract us for so long. We had to see and sample everything membrillos.

From membrillos just picked from the tree, to membillos baked into everything imaginable...

membrillos truffles and flan....

membrillo cakes and pies...

membrillo ponche, cubes and paste.

Every booth had an amazing display of all things membrillo.

Here the woman demonstrates what is known as "the kiss of the membrillo", which is the sweetest spot on the membrillo.

Good food is always a part of any fiesta. Here a woman is frying up freshly made potato chips.

This Membrillo sculpture is proudly displayed in the plaza.

In addition to the singing captured earlier, there was traditional dancing as well.

This is the first time we saw the males dancing with machetes...

and just hoped they were either very careful or the machetes were not very sharp as they flung them about.

The young girl's dancer's costumes were very colorful...

while the boys were more somberly dressed, with the exception of their red ties.

What the young girls are able to do when they twirl and dance is astounding as can be seen from this next series of photos.

Every town plaza has a band stand in the middle.

A picture of the Queen of the Membrillo Fiesta was also posted in the plaza.

Even the very young (although looking quite grown up) participated in the Fiesta activities, as can be seen in this series.

Another imaginative membrillos sculpture in the plaza.

It Takes A Village (Almost a cliche but at least not a song title)

We went to see the most amazing production a couple of weeks ago.  It was called "La Leyenda de la Reina Xoxhitl-Michi-Cihualli" and, once you've gotten your head around the title, I'll tell you what it's about.  No I won't.  Because the plot isn't what was so neat.  It was the production itself.  One of our local artists Antonio Lopez Vega thought it would be interesting to stage a play based on a legend that he had been told by his grandmother.  So, in connection with the Lakeside Little Theatre and the Lake Chapala Society he mustered a group of gringo and local Mexican adults to help the local kids pull it off.  For several months the volunteers and children worked to create the props and instruments and to learn the songs and dances (very tough stuff by the way) to be able to mount the performance. Hopefully Michael's photos (it was dark and no flash) will give you some idea of how impressive this was.  And for our local pals, the kids will be doing an encore performance at the Little Theatre on October  8th. You should check it out.

Oh, OK.  I'll tell you what it was about.  Well, here are the words of Antonio Lopez Vega: "This is our sacred story, our origin story.  It is the story of who we are.  We have told this story with ancient dances and instruments because we are all that came before us and we are all a part of what will come after us.  What are the stories that you must share?  This was my abuela's (grandmother's) story that she entrusted me to tell and it is the story of our lake, of our lives and the story of our village.  Now, it is your story too."  Nice.

The ceremony begins....

by pointing to the four ordinal points ...

and blowing on the conch shell at each point.

All of the instruments for the performance were hand made, including this intricately carved drum.

The children participated in making the props and costumes.

This was definitely one of the more interesting costumes...

along with this one.

Afterwards the performers posed for pictures in much better light, since flash could not be used during the performance.

This series of photos shows the intricate nature of the costumes and body paint.

I Can See What's Coming -- Oh, no I can't

Those of you who have followed our travels know that things rarely go smoothly.  Floods and horrific gastrointestinal challenges in the desert, more venomous/vicious/weird animals than you can shake a stick at, being lost in cartel country for 36 hours without a clue where we were.  What do you think? Miscalculation? Fate? Karmic payback? Quien sabe.  About a year ago we started planning a trip to Greece.  We were thinking Turkey but, now HERE we displayed SOME good judgement, things seemed to be heating up there so we bagged it and went for good, old (yet poor) Greece.  In the intervening months things have become more interesting, of course.  Strikes, bailouts, closing the banks, regime change, thousands if not millions of asylum seekers -- in short, all the things a Searles vacation is made of.  Stay tuned.  We'll be traveling with our sons, some of Michael's siblings and about 10,000 Syrian and North African illegal immigrants through this storied, ancient land.  With only our wits and a tragically flawed GPS to guide us we will sally forth.  So, have a beautiful end to summer and we will tell all upon our return.  And, please, let us know what you are up to.