Strange and Unusual Occurances

Back to Normalcy

It's a stretch to say that returning to Ajijic is returning to normalcy but it's our little haven of wacky. After a long stretch on the road, the rhythms of life and the smiles of the locals (after the cranky Greeks) makes you slow down and smooth out.  But the first thing we noticed when we arrived back was that the weather was pronouncedly ABNORMAL.  By mid-October rainy season should be over. But not THIS rainy season.  It just kept raining.  And then, for good measure, we got Patricia.  The biggest, meanest, most powerful hurricane in the history of the WORLD!  Of course, this being Mexico, everyone was blissfully unaware of the storm until the day before.  And, in fairness, it did build up quickly.  But as the clock clicked down everybody girded for the worst.  In Mexico speak this means that basically you talk about it a lot, take no real action, buy a lot more tequila and don't cancel your plans.  Which was good because our pals George, Alex, Vicki and Michael had chosen the very day of the hurricane to host a lawn party for 60 people.  Which went off without a hitch. Well, except the lawn part.  But it was great fun and the mountains did a marvelous job of breaking up the hurricane into itsy bitsy pieces before it ever got to us.  But it did rain for days.  We will include a photo or two of the Lake.  People who have visited us will see a tremendous difference. The level of the Lake is practically an obsession with Lakeside residents and all are delighted at its newly robust appearance.

The water, along with the lirio (water hyacinth), is up to the fifth pylon underneath the pier.

You can see the water is all the way up to the malecon and there is very little beach left.

A Mother and Child Reunion is only....

Faithful readers will remember the story of Vino Blanco (the Kentucky born burro who emigrated to Mexico).  Vino is the white burro that Pedro Loco owned.  The burro would deliver Pedro home when he became inebriated and the pair  were local icons.  I mean there is an artist (Kim) who has created a whole series of paintings featuring Vino Blanco. Well, Pedro Loco got to a point where he couldn't/didn't care for Vino very well and Yves (a restauranteur and good guy) adopted Vino and she has been a fixture at Yves restaurant ever since. Out on the lawn.  Not in the restaurant.  Although probably nobody would mind.  So, we come back into town and head out to Yves one night for dinner.  When we go through the gate into the yard of the restaurant there are TWO white burros. Holy camole!  I thought one white donkey was pretty rare.

Vino Blanco

Martini

When Yves drops by to chat at the table, we ask him what's up?  He says that the second donkey is Martini and Vino Blanco is his mother.  What?  We are flabbergasted on multiple levels.  First, because we thought Vino Blanco was male.  We digress into an argument between Michael and myself on if it should be Vino Blanca or if the adjective continues to agree with the noun even though she is female.  Yves coughs to silence us and continues the story.  One Wednesday when he had taken his herd of rescue dogs up to San Juan Cosala for a romp, he saw a white donkey loaded with firewood.  Yves had known that Vino had a foal (or whatever you call a donkey baby) about five years ago but he had been told that it had died and "was taken away by the garbage truck".  Guess not.  So Mexico.  Finding out that this donkey was five or six years old he deduced it was the "dead" Martini. Apparently, his death had been staged and the little foal sold into servitude hauling wood off the mountain. Yves dug deep into his pockets for the ransom money.  "I knew going in that I was going to pay whatever I had to that (expletive) to get that burro," said Yves.  He then showed us his video of the mother/child reunion.  It was just amazing.  She walked around Martini three times and then the nuzzling and licking began.  And, believe me, Vino is not normally an emotional animal. From there they went to racing around playing like dogs do when they crouch down on their front legs and then jump around each other. More impressive in that Vino is 20 years old.  It's a shame we can't embed the video.  Stills will have to do. There are many unanswered questions concerning Martini but hey....we'll never know... so we just move on.

A mother & child reunion with Deirdre in the background.

Yet Another Distinctive Mexican Sport 

I don't know.  Maybe they do this in the States and we're just so out of it we don't know about it.  But somehow it just SEEMS so Mexican.  A couple of weeks ago, they had a Track Hoe Boarding Event at the Lake.  Well, in the Lake.  First they drove a giant excavator into the Lake with a rope hanging off the shovel part.  Then, a contestant gets on a wakeboard, grabs the rope and the fun begins.  The excavator spins around at quite a good clip and the boarder does his thing.  I suppose you could use a boat but what fun would there be in that?  Well, we watched people bumble around and crash and burn for a while and then a 14 year old kid got up and showed how it was done.  Ah, to be 14....

The first person who tried to wakeboard with the excavator had some difficulty...

and this was the best he could do.

Then the 14 year old grandson of a gringa tried and, as can be seen from this series of pictures, he was very successful in mastering this new sport.

Same Sport (Kind of), Greater Sophistication

We were dining at La Mision restaurant when the door opened and about twenty-five incredibly fit gringos between about 20 and 30 years old walked in.  Every geriatric head swiveled in unison to observe this bizarre event.  It is doubtful that in the history of Ajijic that number of 20 somethings were sighted in a group.  What could this mean?  We shuffled over to inquire and were informed that the World Championship Water Skiing Competition would occur that weekend right here in Chapala! But on the Lake?  They could all be impaled on rebar or old tree stumps if they fell. It turns out that a fake lake had been created for the Pan American Games waterskiing event some years ago and that would be the venue for the World Championships.  So we went. It cost $7 (nothing costs $7 sports-wise in the US).  It was cool.  Photos are better than words.

It was quickly obvious that we were watching world class water skiers.

This is not something you try first time out.

No hands required.

This next series of photos clearly demonstrates the athleticism & skill of this individual.

To be able to water ski with only your foot....

and then quickly do a 180 degree turn was amazing.

After the women came the men's slalom.

Once again the athleticism of these competitor's shows in these photos.

The skiers start out with the tow rope in this competition at around 11.25 meters with the boat traveling at 58 kph.

As they successfully complete the course on each pass, the tow rope is gradually shortened until it is only 9.75 meters long.

As can be seen from this series of photos, it takes a lot of strength and stamina...

but it makes for some dramatic effects as the skier carves the water to move back & forth between the buoys.

Absent from Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead came and went with little participation from us this year.  We have chronicled it extensively for three years so just go back to November issues of previous years if you want another hit.  It rained a lot during the holiday and we just couldn't muster the energy.  Next year.

Just a Quirky Note on Mexican Fauna

I got an email the other day that was a little alarming. It was a warning that "a venomous caterillar-like insect" is in our midst.  It is called La Oruga de Puluche or in English Stuffed Toy (ironic eh?). It went on "Youngsters may think it a small stuffed animal and pick it up.  One touch can be deadly.
The venom will enter your system, causing paralysis and fatal respiratory arrest.  The larval form of the flannel moth is known by many names such as the tree asp and the Trump caterpillar due to its similar appearance to the feisty politician's comb-over hairdo."  I am not making that up.  They really hate Trump down here.  I was SURE this came from Australia, the home of all creepy animals, but no.  It's from the States.  I have never heard of it in the States so they may be making that up just because they hate Trump so much.  Quien sabe?  Check out the hair.

The puss caterpillar or Trump caterpillar which turns into the flannel moth.
Photograph by Donald W. Hall, University of Florida (Oh, I guess it did come from the States.  Florida has many creepy animals as well)

Another interesting insect encountered recently is the Velvet Ant (aka the cow killer). This is actually a wasp and the female of the species does not fly. However the female does pack quite a sting as indicated by its alias, and as experienced by Michael. Somehow this creature ended up in our bed and when Michael got up from a nap he put his hand down on the Velvet Ant. Needless to say he won't make that mistake again any time soon.

Just a Quick Quirky Note on Mexican History

I came upon this fact the other day.  When World War II broke out the Mexicans were not going to just stand idly by and let the Nazis invade Mexico.  A man named Antolin Jimenez went to work and raised 250 contingents (I have no idea what number that equates to) of Charros to defend the country. You know, Charros are the really cool horsemen who do dancing horses, roping and that sort of thing -- very well.  Now, this should not be dismissed out of hand.  Given sufficient tequila I believe they could have put up a very credible fight.  And just so people don't sell Mexico short, it was one of very few countries who accepted all the fleeing Jews that could make it here.  Nice people.  Not always intensely practical-- but nice.  To better picture the Charros taking on the Nazis check out the photo we snapped of the Charros on Revolution Day.

This next series shows some of the Charros in the Revolution Day parade.

Jalisco is the center of Charro Culture.

Revolution Day

We have spoken before of Revolution Day so I won't belabor it.  But it is my favorite parade -- well, maybe Mardi Gras is my favorite or maybe New Years Day.  But this is the CUTEST parade because all the little kids dress up as Pancho Villa or as Adelita's (fighting women with babies strapped to their backs).  So, just to give you something to smile about we'll throw in a few pictures.

These girls (starting around 5 yrs old) ride sidesaddle and gallop in intricate patterns that make me close my eyes.

I love the character in the old woman's face.  

And always the beauty queens....

The whole town always turns out.  Probably because every family has SOMEBODY in the parade.

Not sure if this refers to the pre-revolutionary government or todays.  Probably both. ("Death to bad Government")

The kids perform gymnastic tricks on extremely unforgiving cobblestone streets.  Imagine the protective gear they'd have in the U.S.

Adorable Pancho Villa

Adorable unknown governmental figure and consorts

Adorable unknown Military figure

You can't see the kids but they are behind the fans that they waved in unison (kind of).

Ben White (President) and Yoli Martinez (Board Member) represented LCS which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year

Those too small to walk the whole way get a lift

The Charros always drink beer.  Until noon.  Then its tequila.

Not that happy.  But adorable

Also not that happy but missing many teeth so who could blame him.

Charro in training

Where Do We Go From Here?

We are in the thick of it now.  The nine day San Andres Festival has begun.  This means that they have erected carnival rides and closed most of the major roads in Ajijic, the Plaza jumps until the wee hours and the cajotes are detonated at 5 and 6AM every morning sounding much like the Normandy Invasion.  This has been sweetened by the fact that the burglar alarm of the school next door has been going off almost every night for periods ranging from one to eight hours.  We didn't know it was the school for a long time, so Michael and I were riding around the neighborhood  at 2 or 3 AM in our jamies for several nights attempting to find the offending house.  Having deduced it was the school and registering decibel levels between 50 and 90  the information was taken to the Director of the school who registered disbelief that this could occur because "they have a night watchman".  We registered disbelief that he was so dumb that he didn't realize the nightwatchman was sneaking off the job.  We continue to wage the battle.....

So, that's it for this edition.  We're headed into the Christmas Season which, as you may remember, extends until February 2nd.  With Mardi Gras hitting early (February 9th) it should be wild.  Stay tuned.