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Published: August 16th 2012
Our Street in DF
It was so convenient; our hairdresser and nails person, Oxxo store, restaurants, juice lady, market, all so close!Saturday, June 9, 2012 we were back in DF.
Terri, our roommate since December, was in the final stages of packing as she was moving to another place nearby. There was stuff everywhere, so we decided to leave for dinner out. The next day Terri had the movers in and was able to complete her transition by early afternoon. Later we left with Rosa to pick up a few things that Rosa was going to need in order to rent her/our apartment as furnished.
Both Judy and Rennie took advantage of the opportunity to visit with Fran who was still with us. First we went out for a lovely brunch with Rennie. Afterwards Judy joined us for a card-filled afternoon/evening and then we bade a fond farewell to Fran and Judy.
We spent the next week tidying up our affairs in Mexico and preparing to leave for the final time. Our 2 year commitment to Rosa for our apartment was up, and it was with great sadness that we finalized all of the details required to exit the country. We spent time with Rosa, and visited frequently with Felicia, her elderly mother.
A young American couple that
Guadalope Reyes
One of our favorite hangouts... was just a few short blocks from home, and there was always activities and a crowd there. we know have rented the apartment from Rosa. That helped make the transition smoother. We had art, pottery and other odds and ends that we were unable to bring back with us. Matt and Katie were very pleased to be able to store our stuff right on the walls where they were. We were happy to leave them there and Rosa agreed to oversee our stuff in the future.
On Sunday, we biked down Reforma for the last time. We enjoyed the Zocalo and one of the many restaurants in the area. We spent a few evenings playing cards and finishing up the bottoms of a few bottles of Mezcal with Alec and Stephanie, the young Colorado couple who live upstairs.
On Thursday, June 21st we bade a tearful final farewell to Alec, Stephanie, Rosa and Felicia. Our cab arrived to take us to the bus depot. We sadly handed our keys back to Rosa.
Our destination was Leon, Guanajato, the leather capital of Mexico, about a 5 hour bus ride north. Leon, population 1.5 million, is home to a very active manufacturing sector, including automotive assembly, chemical companies, banking headquarters and an inland port terminal where
Street Life
Always lots of people about. They even sell items off blankets right in front of the 7-11 store (some of them bought from the store), play soccer on the open space and eat their meals near the buildings in groups before they go off to sell their precious items. containers are loaded and prepared for international export. 60% of Mexico's leather goods are manufactured in that city. We arrived with all of our luggage in tow, and took a cab to the center of the city. We once again we relied on our tried and tested method of asking the taxi driver to recommend a hotel. As we were driving in the heart of the historical Centro, we came upon a sign advertising rooms for 390 pesos. We decided to investigate, and were pleased with what we were shown. After settling in, we wandered to the zocalo, only a couple of short blocks away, and enjoyed the activities that were going on there. Maurice was so excited to find yellow corn being offered instead of the usual white corn. The corn on the cob turned out to be very delicious, especially with butter, salt, sour cream and chili. Next morning, we were off to the "Zona Piel", the leather zone via the metro. Our Spanish speaking skills allowed us to follow the crowd, ask and get to Zona Piel.
Zona Piel was an area of the city filled with shoe, purse, and leather jacket stores ....then more shoe
Our Last Reforma Ride
One of the things we enjoyed the most was our Sunday morning Reforma ride with our friends. stores ...then more purse stores and then more jacket stores. There were streets and streets of these shoe, jacket and purse stores. Approximately 10 square blocks were filled with leather products that are manufactured there. There were vendors wandering the streets attempting to sell one of the 3 or 4 pairs of shoes being carrying. There was also the Plaza del Zapato, (Plaza of Shoes) a huge mall full of shoe stores. It was a site to behold! We wandered through the large luxurious mall, simply awed by the wide array of shoes on display. Luckily, we were limited in our purchasing by the weight of our luggage. We were only allowed 50 pounds each, and our bags were already full! Despite that, we each found jackets we liked, as well as some leather items to give as gifts. Friday night, we once again enjoyed the zocalo, the yellow corn and managed to visit a few churches in the area before the downpour of rain arrived.
Saturday morning, we were off to the bus station once again. This time we headed to Guadalajara, only 3 hours away. Guadalajara is Mexico's 2nd largest city in with a population of approximately
Mexico City Architecture
DF is renowned throughout the world for its unique architecture, this is an example of the many different structures they have built in the Santa Fe colonial. 5 million. Once again our friendly taxi driver recommended a hotel near the zocalo and we were very pleased with the Don Quixote Hotel, just a few blocks from the cathedral and other churches. We arrived early enough to take a city tour bus and enjoy some of the sights of this city. We found that Guadalajara exhibited quite a different flavor than Mexico City. To us there was more English and the feel slightly more Americanized.
As we disembarked the city tour bus, we noticed that crowds were gathering on the streets. We were told that the Gay Pride Parade was due. Because we knew that Mexicans love to line up, we might have had to stand on the sidewalk for hours in order to be able to see anything. So we didn't bother hanging around and returned to our hotel for supper. A walk after supper showed us that we were smack in the middle of the gay part of town, a very friendly and upbeat area.
Sunday, we took a tour out to Lake Chapala and Aijijic. There are more expat Canadians living in Aijijic than anywhere else in the world. Lake Chapala lies about
Our last Ecobike Ride
We had to turn in our cards that gave us access to these bikes for only $20 a year. a half hour south of Guadalajara and is the largest lake in all of Mexico. The international airport is located about half way between Guadalajara and beautiful Lake Chapala. Because of the proximity of the airport, the beauty of the scenery surrounding the lake, and the ideal temperature throughout most of the year, this area is very popular with both Americans and Canadians. However, as with other lakes in Mexico, Lake Chapala has suffered from pollution and is not as clean as our Canadian lakes. We walked the boardwalk, enjoyed a snack and a cerveza, and relaxed in the shade. Then, it was back in the van with the other 8 Mexican tourists, and on just a few miles to the town of Ajijic. This community is home for many North Americans and the town definitely caters to them. English was the language spoken everywhere, and even in June, there were many Americans and Canadians about. Many of those people make Ajijjic their permanent home. The streets in the town were narrow and rough, and the sidewalks were even worse. We left the van at the beach, and wandered uphill to the town square, or zocalo, where we found a
Saying Goodbye
We enjoyed Alec and Stephanie, the Colorado couple that moved in upstairs a year ago. Alec is a website technician, and Steph a teacher. small park and a few stores. We sat in the shade and shared a cup of fruit. Back in the van, we drove around in the area looking at the different types of housing in the neighborhood. Around the zocalo, there were small Mexican homes, a little ways away, there was a subdivision of nicely kept homes, many of them for sale, and our guide informed us that the further up the hill you went, the more elaborate and expensive the homes.
We then went to one of the most beautiful hotel restaurants we have ever been at for a wonderful supper in an elegant garden overlooking the lake. What beauty! We enjoyed good service, great food, beautiful outdoor garden setting, the lake before us, mountains in the background, and the warm gentle breeze blowing through the trees!!!!! How spoilt we felt! Finally, we were herded back into the van for the hour drive back to our hotel. For many years, we have been hearing of Lake Chapala and Ajijic, and we were happy to finally have the opportunity to visit the area. Maybe because we have visited so many wonderful locations in the interior of Mexico, we were
Felicia was so Sad
Tears were shed as we bid a farewell to Rosa's mother, Felicia. We have all grown so close over the past few years. not all that impressed with that particular spot. We found it small, dirty, and of course Americanized. It was lacking that authentic Mexican flavour that we enjoy so much.
Monday morning, we arranged to leave our large suitcases with the hotel until our return on Thursday, and we once again boarded the bus, this time headed for Colima.
Colima is a city located approximately 50 kilometers from the Pacific, therefore it is on the edge of what is called the restricted zone. Only Mexican citizens can hold the proper title to property located within 50 kilometers of the ocean, and Colima is on that line. So it is possible for Rennie, who is a Canadian, to own and hold free title to property in the northeastern portion of the city, on the edge of the restricted zone. Colima, population 125,000, has a low cost of living and is also a university city. Rennie will be able to retire there, find tutoring work if she so desires and possibly rent her extra space to someone. Being about 2 hours from Guadalajara, a half hour to the coast, an hour and a half to Manzanillo, Rennie liked the location, the
Our very special Rosa
Rosa made our stay in DF so special. She looked after all our needs and helped us with any situation that required Spanish or Mexico City thinking. climate, the university and the low cost of living Colima offers.
We arrived at the bus station and caught a cab to Hospedajes Del Rey, the little local hotel where Rennie was staying. Rennie met us, we got settled in, and then wandered the town, with Rennie showing us the sites as she has spent time here before. The next day we took the local bus to Comala, a small charming "magic" village only 10k or so away. After walking through the town, finding some fantastic local coffee, purchasing 3 bottles of "ponche", a local cream type of liquor, we jumped back on the bus back to Colima. At 4:30, we met the real estate lady who took us about, showing us 3 or 4 different properties, none of which Rennie found to be ideal.
After making arrangements to meet again on Wednesday, we headed downtown where we bought another large bag to put stuff in for our return to Canada. It was a lot cheaper to pay for a second bag than it was to be overweight. We bit the bullet and accepted the fact we would be returning with 3-50 pound bags instead of only 2.
Leaving DF
Heading out of the city on the bus to Leon. Wednesday, we once again accompanied Rennie and the real estate lady to view several more properties, then headed back to the bus station and returned to Guadalajara.
Thursday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we gathered our bags, and headed for the airport. We checked in, then sat outside in the beautiful noon day weather, watching the traffic, enjoying......and understanding the Spanish being spoken around us, and sadly embodied our last few moments in Mexico!
And so, on June 28th, 2012, we boarded our last flight out of Mexico, and headed for home in Saskatoon. Kristen and Kody were there to greet us and drive us to our house.....
We are SO going to miss Rosa, Felicia, Alec, Stephanie, Judy, Rennie, Fran, JoAnne, Terri, Sara, and the many other close friends who have made our stay in DF so memorable. We'll miss the efficient bus system that took us all over Mexico and Central America. We'll miss the metro system because you will never believe some of the things you will see and can buy. We'll miss the Ecobicis because we could just borrow a bike and put it back at one of the terminals when we were
Zocalo in Leon
There's always activity at the Zocalo. They love their balloons and clowns. We love the corn and the sights. done. We'll miss the hundreds of restaurants near where we lived and beyond (Maurice will NOT miss refried beans). We'll miss taco pastor for 9 pesos each at El Kaliman and our nearly blind favorite waiter. We'll miss strolling along the streets at any hour of the day or night as we could enjoy the weather, the sites and because it always felt so safe. We'll miss the sidewalk cafes everywhere. We'll miss the weather, except in December and early January, unless you were outside. We'll miss our maid Elia and how she could get our whites even whiter! We'll miss the many things to see and do in Mexico City, all of them very affordable. We'll miss the cheap or free concerts available. We'll miss how any empty space is used to play soccer or park a car. We'll miss the cheap beer and the great mezcal! We will miss the smiles on the children's faces, the willingness of adults to help us, the "bon provecho" strangers address you with as they pass by your restaurant table. We'll miss all the other little nice things that the Mexicans have endeared us with.
Mexico, we will miss you, and
Cathedral
In the historical centro of Leon yet another beautiful monument to God. we intend to return.... often and soon!
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Mallory and Warren
non-member comment
Welcome Back!
I can see why you will miss your Mexican home!! What are your next plans????? We are in Jamaica in Nov. for a wedding and an extra few week after. End of December we are heading for Costa Rica for 6 weeks and Belize for 2 weeks. Home the end of Feb.