Sunday – not-so-funday
Since the Basha died, Sundays are really hard for me. It had been our 15+ year tradition that Sundays were for jazz, mimosas, and brunch. Sometimes we went out (more when we were back in the States), but over the last 4 years, he made bacon, and I made GF, sourdough, blueberry pancakes. YUM!! Since his death, the habits of Sundays have disappeared. The day becomes chaotic and sad. My answer for this dilemma (for now) is that Sunday is…
Registro Civil and a Catch-22
It took 3 weeks for me to gather all the needed documents for the Registro Civil (equivalent to the County Clerk’s office). On 11Feb (23 days since the Basha’s death) with the documents (birth certificates and marriage license) and the CERTIFIED translations of all of them. They reviewed the documents and told me that all of the documents had to apostilled (certified as legitimate in the US) before they could be accepted. This is a problem. A good friend talked…
Death in a Foreign Language – Day 2
The Basha died on a Sunday. So the following day, Monday, my friends and I met Eva from the funeral home at the government buildings to wade through the paperwork. I was numb, and had forgotten virtually all the Spanish I’d ever learned, so having friends to guide me, and translate for me, was necessary and amazing. We went to the first office, and were told by the receptionist to leave our documents (birth certificates, marriage license) and go to…
Restarting My Life
When I decided to start a blog I had big ideas. As time wore on my ideas became smaller and life took over so I rarely posted. I am now in a place where I have to start over. Square one. Everything I assumed, and took for granted, has changed. The Doctora is restarting her life. January 19th my world disintegrated. The love of my life, my soul-mate, my best friend, and my lover, died. The Basha has left the…
Sticky Nights & Birthdays
It is not what you think! It gets VERY hot and sweaty here in the summertime. The “snowbirds” go back north, and in the height of the heat, even Mexican nationals do not come in large numbers. So to draw a crowd, and to keep the “summer survivors” happy the municipality hosts monthly FREE open air concerts at the Kiosco on the Malecon. These evenings are called “Noches Pegajosas” or “Sticky Nights”. We have had some amazing Mexican and American…
Summer in the (near) tropics
Living in the sunny climes of BCS is a dream – most of the time. The occasional hurricane – Hillary was our latest, and she didn’t produce much – and the monsoon-type rains and 100+ degree temps are the “dark side” to living here. We are mostly protected, and don’t get the brunt of most storms, but we still get our fair share, and the infrastructure isn’t built for large quantities of rain. WHY? – you ask. Don’t these sorts…
With a vengeance!
Summer has arrived – in FORCE!! The temperatures are up in the “warning” levels, the humidity is already here, and the first TWO named Pacific hurricanes are headed this way. Welcome to a climate change, el Niño, living in a desert summer! Seeing is believing! We won’t see any evening temps below the mid-seventies for the foreseeable future. The thunderstorms are the potential remnants of Hurricane Adrian. The next one, Beatriz, seems to be losing steam and may not give…
More Oaxaca: Food, Food, and Mezcal
We knew when we planned this trip that food was going to be at the center of all of our activities. Oaxaca has not failed in that respect. There are foods here that I’d never even HEARD of, even though I live in Mexico. Different region, different food. Not as much seafood (mariscos) here, but there are memelas, tetelas, LOTS of moles, empanadas and quesadillas that are very different from home, the list is never-ending! The food here ranges from…
Oaxaca adventure begins
We have been “accidental Mexpats” for almost 3 and a half years. During that time we’ve experienced “the before times”, full pandemic lockdowns, gradual easing of restrictions, flagrant disregard for a SERIOUS health threat, and eventual calming of emotions and acceptance of the “new normal”. Through this time, our dreams and joy of travel and adventure have languished behind a screen of uncertainty and health prerogatives. We are now embarking on the first of (hopefully) many adventures to new places,…
New Perspectives – Kayak
We’ve been talking for YEAR about getting kayaks. There was a lot of discussion about what specifics we wanted. Originally we were looking at sea kayaks with covered hatches and a rim for a spray skirt. Then we realized that we are living (nearly) in the tropics. The water here won’t have you hypothermic in under 5 minutes, we will be mostly in protected bays, and the weather is typically nice (no rain). We got two “sit-on-top” type kayaks. They…