Sunday morning seemed like it was going to be an ok day to hike the monolith,La Pena de Bernal. Queretaro weather was predicted to be clear in the morning with rain int he later dya. Well, as we drive there it seemed to get cloudier and cloudier. When we got to Bernal, you couldn't even see laPena. Just clouds. We changed out minds and headed back home and then off to San Miguell de Allende. Wise choice. Heather says mmm, shiney! It is a town know for metal work. Though there are wonderful things from a lot of other towns also. There are many american retirees living there. We had so much fun going through the aritsans market. Great buys. Our luch was GREAT!! Mark had aracherrar steak fajitas...oh my gosh was it tender, no joke, he could cut the meat with the side of a fork. Heahter and I ordered limonade for a drink. It was huge and wonderful.. It is made with mineral water nad lime juice and agave syup for sweatener. Kind of like a margarita withourt the tequilla, but very refreshing!
Monday Heahter and I set off down the main street of Jurica, the colony wer live in, to find the health club. Voila we made it and got past security and to the main door. there we had to wait for security to let us int he door and sit in the lobby while waiting for someone who spoke some English. The security guard did not take his eyes off us. It was gorgeous. We are now gathering all the necessary paperwork to apply for a membership. That afternoon we waited at the house for the delivery man to bring a mattress we had order. He was only 1 1/2 hours late, but hey,no problem!
Tuesday we called a taxi to come pick us up at our house to take us shopping at the mall for houe necessities. Wow were we proud of ourselves, with my limited vocabulary at this point I couldn't believe we did it. We bought dishes, placemats and napkins and a water dumper. Water is delivered to your house in 20 Liter jugs. Ther eis this dumper thing that you put the bottles in so you can tip and pour them. Hilarius trying to put this all into the taxi for the ride home. We had lots fo high fives after this trip. My qworld just got a bit bigger!
Wednesday we decided we were so good with the taxi that we would try it again and be tourists in the downtwon of Queretaro. Success! We went to the mission and convent for a tour. It is where the Aquaduct ends and is the neatest most amazing place. It was built sometime in the 1500's and had indoor plumbing and a refrigerator made with tiles and evaporating water. Too cool. We shopped and had a lovely lunch in the garden area of an old hotel. The art gallery was an old baroque building that was in excellent shape. One of the exhibits was painted white walls with blue painters tape in large shapes of eagles, woman and some other things.
Oh yeah, poor Mark, he had to work, but we had great evenings sitting outside with a lite snack and a glass of wineand good music.
Thursday was the scariest and most satisfying day! We decided I needed to just bite the bullet and start driving. the only way to do that was to drive Mark to work. so I could have the car. Carrying purchases in a taxi was difficult especially when you wanted to jump from store to store. As were were getting ready to leave ont his grand excursion, our gardener showed up with his neice to be our maid. She will teach me cooking one day a week and do some cleaning on another and shopping with me for the cooking day. Any ways, that interrupted the flow and we were then in a hurry to get Mark to work. The three of us jumped in the car and I had to drive. I felt like a 15 year old driving for the first time. We realized int eh haste of our crazy morning that we forgot the map and my phone. Heahter and I would have to navigate home from Mark's office with no fall back, no getting lost or making a mistake. Those crazy Mexican drivers!! They are the nicest people face to face, but put them behnd the wheel of a car and the are maniacs!! But...Score! we did it!! In the afternoon we went out shopping for odds and ends for hte house. We had to go down Berbardo Quintana...a very busy road. Driving here has a similarity to Michigan in that you can't make left hand turns and do these crazy things called returno...a u-turn to the rest of us. Well, those are difficult and confusing on Bernardo Quintana so Heahter and I timed our trip perfectly so that we never ahd to head back from where we came and mjust kept heading int he same direction and then straigh onot Mark's work to pick him up.. he thought that was hilarious. but I felt quite succesful that I made it driving on my first day without any problems!! pictures of our adventures to come int eh next couple days
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The past week
I arrived in Queretaro on Monday July 18th. An excited Mark met me at the airport where I arrived without a hitch with dog and 3 suitcases in tow. We settle dinto our house that Mark had already begun the cleaning and settling process. On Tuesday, he went to work and I continued the cleaning process. I successfully walked to the grocery store in the afternoon foar a few items. Wondersw never cease, I managed to purchase waht I needed, pack them into my back pack and walk back to our house without getting lost!! The backpack was quite heavy. I have learned to think about what I am packing into it now.
Heather arrived on Thursday. We were so excited to greet her at the airport, as we had not been sure, all day, that she would make it. From Rochester, she had to make a connection in Newark...which ended up being 2 hours late..so much for layover time! When she made it to Houston to catch her next plane, she had 15 minutes to deplane, get from one terminal at one end of the airport to another terminal at the far end, board and shut the door. She made it, only due to her resourcefulness. She managed to ask everyon in the rows of seats ahesad of her on the Newark - HOuston leg, if they would let her off the plane ahead of them when they landed. She also managed to get a handicap sky cab to give her a ride after she ran along side of it for a while. She went to bed soon after a tour as she was BEAT!
On Friday Heather helped set up many computer connections for me...like this page. We did a bit aoround the house, went to the grocery and enjoyed having each other's company. Mark came home from work and we all went to Old Centro Queretaro to show Heahter around and have a wonderful dinner on the square with music and fresh air. Heather ordered a Molcajete filled with wonderful taste treats including cactus, bacon wrapped cheese stuffed shrimp, chicken, veggies and sauce that was good, but spicey. She put these items into the wonderful tortillas that they served. Lovely evening.
On Saturday, we planned to go to Bernal, but the rains of the rainy season decided to begin. Climbing and hiking on rock in the rain on a steep slope fifn't seem to be the best idea for the day so we went to Tequisquiapan instead to shop for basketry and wine and cheese. Well, we found out that things don't open until after 11:00 am and it was 9:30. So we walked and looked int he rain at buildings. We canme across a basket museum that was open and decided it was a great idea to tour. It was interesting on many levels including translating spanish to english. We each made a napkin ring and went on our jolly way. By now things were open and we decide to shop. We found the most wonderful candy. Dulce de Leche candy. It came in a wide variety of flavors, Mark got coffee, of course, and Heather and I shared Lime. It was a milky sweet hunk of deliciousness. We then went to the artisan market to find the pecans that Heather had read about during a internet search of things to do int he area. The pecans were in the artisan market being cooked in a huge copper pot with sugar, honey , cinnamon and who knows what else. They were like little bites of pecan pie. A half pound disappeared in no time at all. Low and behold we did not find any baskets we wanted to buy in this town supposedly known for its baskets.. Oh well. We had lunch aoutside at a cafe listening to wonderful music played on something that resembled a marimba. Lovely. On our way home,we stopped at the Queso museum and ranch. There theyaide their own cattle to make their cheeses. Absolutely wonderful. They made a few cheeses that are ususally made of goat milk out of cow milk.. We love d it, we had a tasting of the cheeses out on the land of the ranch under a tree. Teh the rain began again and we went home. Such a lovely day!
Heather arrived on Thursday. We were so excited to greet her at the airport, as we had not been sure, all day, that she would make it. From Rochester, she had to make a connection in Newark...which ended up being 2 hours late..so much for layover time! When she made it to Houston to catch her next plane, she had 15 minutes to deplane, get from one terminal at one end of the airport to another terminal at the far end, board and shut the door. She made it, only due to her resourcefulness. She managed to ask everyon in the rows of seats ahesad of her on the Newark - HOuston leg, if they would let her off the plane ahead of them when they landed. She also managed to get a handicap sky cab to give her a ride after she ran along side of it for a while. She went to bed soon after a tour as she was BEAT!
On Friday Heather helped set up many computer connections for me...like this page. We did a bit aoround the house, went to the grocery and enjoyed having each other's company. Mark came home from work and we all went to Old Centro Queretaro to show Heahter around and have a wonderful dinner on the square with music and fresh air. Heather ordered a Molcajete filled with wonderful taste treats including cactus, bacon wrapped cheese stuffed shrimp, chicken, veggies and sauce that was good, but spicey. She put these items into the wonderful tortillas that they served. Lovely evening.
On Saturday, we planned to go to Bernal, but the rains of the rainy season decided to begin. Climbing and hiking on rock in the rain on a steep slope fifn't seem to be the best idea for the day so we went to Tequisquiapan instead to shop for basketry and wine and cheese. Well, we found out that things don't open until after 11:00 am and it was 9:30. So we walked and looked int he rain at buildings. We canme across a basket museum that was open and decided it was a great idea to tour. It was interesting on many levels including translating spanish to english. We each made a napkin ring and went on our jolly way. By now things were open and we decide to shop. We found the most wonderful candy. Dulce de Leche candy. It came in a wide variety of flavors, Mark got coffee, of course, and Heather and I shared Lime. It was a milky sweet hunk of deliciousness. We then went to the artisan market to find the pecans that Heather had read about during a internet search of things to do int he area. The pecans were in the artisan market being cooked in a huge copper pot with sugar, honey , cinnamon and who knows what else. They were like little bites of pecan pie. A half pound disappeared in no time at all. Low and behold we did not find any baskets we wanted to buy in this town supposedly known for its baskets.. Oh well. We had lunch aoutside at a cafe listening to wonderful music played on something that resembled a marimba. Lovely. On our way home,we stopped at the Queso museum and ranch. There theyaide their own cattle to make their cheeses. Absolutely wonderful. They made a few cheeses that are ususally made of goat milk out of cow milk.. We love d it, we had a tasting of the cheeses out on the land of the ranch under a tree. Teh the rain began again and we went home. Such a lovely day!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Lynda's first post
I am starting this blog so you can keep up with our life here in Queretaro, Mexico. Pictures will be posted and journal entries will be written. I am sure some days will be filled with great adventures and others will have many trials and tribulations, but that is all to be expected of this grand journey.
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