It's been a while

Will continue blog when we arrive in Mexico

How did we get so lucky?

We still haven't figured this out. Why did Jeanette trust us with her most valuable possessions, her kitty Silk, and her beautiful Mexican home? She hardly knows us.

On New Year's Eve I received and email from our friend Jeanette wishing us a Happy New year and commenting that since our mutual friend Lisa was still laid up in Portland, she was looking for a house/cat sitter for her month-long trip to New Zealand. I quickly printed out the letter and asked my reluctant husband to read it NOW. When he finished I asked "would you consider going back down to Mazatlan for about five weeks in Feb/Mar?" I think he said "hell yes". Moments later I asked a similar question electronically to Jeanette, "would you consider us?" I checked Travelocity and they had 2 seats left for the time we wanted so I booked them. One hour from start to finish. I didn't sleep well wondering if there was something we forgot that would prevent us from going.

If you were ever a teenage girl you may remember making a list of what you required in a husband. Tall, dark and handsome, must have a good sense of humor, must be a good dancer etc. Never did I add "must love Mexico as much as I do" to the list,but I got it anyway. It's a miracle!! By the way I didn't get everything on the list (dancing)

I know I've been remiss in my blogging---I have so much to say I don't know where to start. So here's the beginning.

Hacienda Las Moras

The transition from sunny, warm, Mazatlan to cool, cloudy, Beaverton was not as bad as I expected. After a day or two of walking from window to window trying to get some light in my brain and dressing myself in flannel and shawls I'm back to normal. It's good to be with my stuff. (even though at my advanced age I have way too much stuff) Our trip to the hacienda which occurred on Nov 10th was so fabulous I had to write about it even though it was a couple weeks ago.

We set off about 12:15 from our condo with Gary and Carol to go to lunch and visit a tequila factory, Los Osuna. We drove up the Malecon, past all the beautiful hotels and shops in the Zona Dorada, out into the country north and west of Mazatlan. Gary, who can't see worth a whit sat in the backseat of his car with me and Marshmellow (the dog), while Carol drove with Rick riding shotgun. And we drove and drove, and drove. Gary knew where the place was but was at a disadvantage being half blind and trying to give directions from the rear. The roads are poorly marked in Mexico. Finally we found the cut-off for the road to Noria and the Hacienda Las Moras (mulberries). Gary told Carol to drive carefully because there could be goats and burros crossing the road. That verbal cue plus the visual of the Mexican landscape must have woken up an ancient memory of my first trip to Mexico in 1964. Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to stop myself from crying. My friends Nancy Teeter and Carol Gruber took a month long road trip here so many years ago.

We followed the signs for the Hacienda---difficult because there were so many side roads (dirt). On a hill we spotted a small church which belonged to the property so we knew we were close. Gary asked us if we wanted to eat first or see the tequila place first and we all yelled out in unison---EAT!!! We found the parking lot after taking a dangerous service road. Rick got out of the car and opened the gate. We were the only people there, but soon an English-speaking caretaker arrived and said the dining room was open. Someone said if it wasn't, Gary was walking home. It was 2:15

The hacienda was magical, grand and old, colorful paint, carved furniture, fountains and flowers. We walked to the covered outdoor dining room through a huge lobby(?) with very high ceilings and huge paintings on the walls. We found a big, round table and a nice waiter handed us the English/Spanish menus Carol and I ordered mango margaritas, Pacifico for the guys.

The food was delicious. I had bean soup, as did Rick, and Huatinago Veracruzana. Rick also had fonduta which was melted Chihuahua cheese covered with diced spicy chorizo.
Afer lunch we strolled around the grounds among the peacocks and roosters roaming free and down the hill to the paddocks for the horses. The caretaker came back and asked Carol and I if we wanted to see the rooms. When he opened the door, Carol took a deep breath and said, "what a place for an affair". It was beautiful, massive, antique furniture, dark colors, no telephone and no television. OH yeah!!!

All of us except Gary came very close to throwing up our hand and yelling "uncle" when we were driving around, tired, hungry, thirsty, and frustrated. I'm so happy we didn't. The hacienda was one of the best things that happened to us in Mexico. It took us twenty minutes to get home. We never did get to see the tequila place---next time.

While we were driving in the countryside we came upon something that could have been a movie scene, I swear. We came around a corner and there were, under a shady tree, two police cars one one side and a police pick-up on the other. There was just enough space for a car to maneuver through. There were at least a dozen Federales in full regalia, guns, assault rifles and bandelaros. They stopped us, of course. Gary spoke to them in Spanish, popped the trunk for a quick inspection and off we went.

I'll post some pictures which do not fully explain the feeling of being in this beautiful place. Rick says when we go back we are going to spend a few days there.

Jeanette

On our El Dia de los Muertos excursion to the Plazuela Machado, we met a woman from New Zealand with a delightful accent. She had a blond dutch-boy haircut, and was wearing a simple but beautiful orange shift and shoulder wrap that she had created. She is a world traveler, having recently arrived here from Victoria BC where she had lived for many years. To my great surprise I received and e-mail from her inviting us for sangria and "nibbles". She lives in a restored house in Centro Historico and I knew from talking to this creative woman that the house would be spectacular. I wasn't disappointed. We walked down the street from the Puerto Viajo, past the Casa de Leyendas, to her cream and terra cotta colored house. The doors to the houses in Mexico are right on the sidewalk--no front yards. You can't see what is inside until you go in. When Jeanette opened the door we walked into the living and I gasped. Tall ceilings, of course and dark tiled floors covered in some areas with Oriental carpets. The drapes covering the high windows were white, a panel of lace then a panel of plain, with rosettes spaced evenly at the top. The stuffed and comfortable-looking furniture were also covered with white slipcovers. The other furniture was perfect in that space, including a carved armoire she had brought from Italy via Victoria.
There were two bedrooms on the first floor, converted into and office and a sewing room. Each had a white covered day bed with white mosquito netting above. Colorful cookbooks were propped on the blue-tiled kitchen counter, a kitchen you could easily create a meal in. On a table leading to the kitchen there were 2-3 large ironstone soup tureens and other tasteful articles---I forget exactly what they were.
Jeanette then led us up the tiled staircase with wrought iron hand rails each of us carrying some food and drink to her bedroom and outdoor living areas. The bed was covered in beautiful white textiles including cut-work toss pillows. Her seventeen year old orange cat, Seth, making a nice contrast on the bed. There was a small covered terrace with a table and chairs on one side of the room and a huge rooftop terrace on the other. Another gasp!!! She had three green umbrella covered tables, one umbrella was like a flower and comfortable chairs placed for conversation. In the middle was a portable firepit. It's still too hot here to use it.
On the terrace there was a feast. We had red wine sangria, the best I've ever had---fruity but not too sweet. There were curried deviled eggs, nuts, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, toasted bread cups for the wonderful and colorful cold marinated large shrimp. I hope she will give me the recipe.
This remarkable woman left her comfort zone and a seventeen year long relationship because she was tired of being cold. Her other option was India but she opted for Mazatlan because it is only a four hour flight to Vancouver, BC where she has a son who is ill.
I have become Rick's little girl since we've been here. He holds my had on the bumpy sidewalks and crossing the street. I can not imagine at sixty-four years old, selling my house, doing all the paper work required, packing my household for shipping--literally--it goes to Manzanillo by ship, and then trucked to Maz--- and moving to Mexico by myself

Good for you, Jeanette. I'm really glad I met you

By the way, she know Lisa. I'm not even surprised anymore.

El Quelite and the Cock Farm

Last Thursday, Oct 29th we got up early and walked down to Casa de Leyendas to meet our tour guide for our trip to El Quelite. Of course, Rick was making friends with everyone. Glen, Sharon, Pifas, and Reyna came out to greet us. Kisses and handshakes all around......and coffee.
The air conditioned van was waiting so we hopped aboard. There was a cooler with cold water and pop in the front. We traveled up to the Golden Zone to pick up a nice couple from Edmonton, Alberta, at the Hotel Flores and further north to El Cid to pick up a lady traveling alone, from California. Miss So and So (not her real name LOL) never shut up for a second--chirp, chirp chirp. Holy Cow!! Question after inane question. She asked our driver, Jesus, how old his mother was and when he answered 70 she asked if she was a young 70.
El Quelite is about 35 kilometers from Mazatlan. We stopped first at a little village--bumpy unpaved roads and abject poverty to our American eyes. Miss So asked if they had indoor plumbing. Duh! Does this little-more-than-a-hut look like it has a shower?? Rick and I felt like we were spying on them and taking advantage of them. The people smiled and waved at us anyway.
Chuey( short for Jesus) pointed out a lot of the flora along the way. Quelite is a bush with red branches, San Miguelito, aa beautiful wild flower and morning glory beside the road. along with papaya orchards and pomegranate trees.
The next stop was a cock farm (Jesus called it a rooster farm, isn't that sweet?). There were hundreds of concrete tents line up for the cocks. They were tethered to their own tent lest they kill their neighbor. They are bred for fighting are the most beautiful birds you ever saw. Their feathers are brown, white,purple, red and gold and everything in between. It didn't bother me a bit that they are fighters. Hey, I've been to a boxing match and loved it. Unfortunately one of these birds has to die. Yum Yum, fried chicken. By the way the best breeding stock comes from the US even though cock fighting is illegal. The breeders ship them to Mexico and Thailand. Their females are kept in stacked cages in the back, 3-4 to a cage. They are brown and ugly. They put plastic eggs in their cages to get them going. Is this the equivalent of chicken porn? Oh what fun it must be for them to be with one of those beautiful cocks (maybe a should have said studs here)
You could see the cemetery across the field. Very colorful. Jesus explained El Dia de Los Muertos to us. The spirits of your dead relatives come back for the day and everyone goes to the cemetery with gifts of flowers and the relative's favorite food and drink. They spend the day there with all the family, including the kids, and tell stories about the dead ones.
Chuey's favorite place was next, the pandaneria--bakery. We got to go in the back and watch the baker shove the goodies into a huge beehive shaped oven with a huge peel. We bought some bread, Chuey ate his in the van. Mexican bakeries are a killer for weight control. I bought 8 pieces and my bill was 35 pesos--less than 3 bucks. Oh Dear God.
We then hiked up a steep stone path to a statue of the Blessed Virgin who sits in a shrine above the town. The vista was of the whole town and miles beyond.
Continuing in a religious tone we went to the town church. Ninety-five percent of Mexico is Roman Catholic. Jesus said the church was new---build in the 1890's--a beautiful little church. He told us the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Indian, portrayed on the stained glass windows. The story meant a lot to him and almost made me cry.
Finally we went to the town restaurant, La Meson de los Laurendas It's huge, many beautiful decorated rooms, colorful and imaginative. The food was great, Mexican, including a sweet warm caramel pudding. Everything was served in typical terra cotta decorated pottery dishes.
We left feeling full and satisfied. The best thing was that Miss So shut up on the way home.

Mexican Cooking Lesson

Oh what fun!! There were seven of us menopausal women, each of us having hot flashes in the very warm kitchen. Linda, Kathy, Patty, Carol, Marie and me. All but Carol, a Canadian, and I, were permanent residents of Mazatlan. Marie, a Mexicana, lived in Tuscon most of her life and had move to Mazatlan recently.
Maureen, the teacher--from near Philly--had a big pitcher of hibiscus tea waiting for us. It's called Flor de Jamaica, red and full of antioxidents. I saw a bag of it at the Mega and it will be going back to the US with me next week. White wine sangria was next--wine, cut up fruits and club soda. This may be when we all started to glisten. We made two types of salsa, peach and mango, with the typical salsa ingredients, red pepper, cilantro, onion, and lime juice. Those were used for the topping on our chipotle, mayo and goat cheese canapes. For the fish course we made Mexican crab cakes. Mo used walnuts in the breading, ground by Carol in a molcajete. Delicious--more of the salsas served on top of them. The meat course was chicken Milanese. Down here you can buy the chicken already cut thin and flattened. You know I will be going over to Cornelius, Oregon to look for them at El Grande. You put goodies, herbs, veggies, cheese etc in the middle and either roll them and fold them, pan fry them or bake them. Very versatile and yummy.

For dessert Mo made Mexican rice pudding. I thought this will never work. I remember my grandmother baking it for at least an hour. This was done on top of the stove in a half hour and it was rich, creamy and delish. she served it warn with a sprinkling of raisin and craisins and cinnamon (canela in Espanol)

Despite and the flushing and sweating a Wonderful time was had by all. If you ever get to Mazatlan, take a cooking course from Maureen Gerrity. She's a great teacher--giving us helpful hints for variations along the way.

I forgot. We made a stirfry of corn, red peppers, onions and my new favorite thing, chayote. It's green, wrinkly and delicious. It tastes a little sweet and cucumber-like. Will be a staple in the Wise household.

Rick and the Roiling Seas

I've always wanted to write that expression--the roiling seas---and I got my chance 2 days ago when Rick came stormin' in. I woke up about 5:30 and realized we had lost power sometime during the night. I stumbled around feeling the walls on my way to the kitchen to find a candle or my little Tuality flashlight. It was thundering and lightning and blowing the rain sideways. Luckily, for we coffee drinkers, the power popped back on long enough for me to hit the on button the pot on so we had nice hot coffee while we watched the natural show outside. For a little while the power made a valiant effort to stay on---the microwave kept whistling---but finally it went off for good.
And what a show it was. It rained a lot but mostly it was the wind that was scary. Rick had to lock the front door as the wind was trying to suck it open. The palm trees were swaying, some of them becoming uprooted, and coconuts were flying all over the place. When it was over, our little courtyard off the bedroom was covered with debris, mostly palm fronds and about 6 coconuts but were safe and sound. The power didn't come back until quite a bit later making me realize what a sissy I am. While it was storming Rick and I listened to "The Poet" on my Kindle just like the 40's radio. It was pretty neat, I must say.
Rick cleaned up the debris in the courtyard and swept down the terrace and we are as good as new. The weather here has changed---don't know if Rick is culpable but it's cooler and less humid. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH