Pretty Boys in Paradise

You never know what you’ll see on the beach down here. Yesterday afternoon there was a pyramid of sand which appeared from nowhere. Later, just before sunset, there was a horse and his rider heading for home after a long day’s work, but best of all was the nude Mexican guy lying in the sand just beyond our fence. His tight, oiled body was glistening in the sunshine so I had to grab the camera. Upon a closer look I found he wasn’t totally nude, but was wearing the skimpiest thong I’ve ever seen.

The muscular young man soaked up the sun ‘til well past sunset. When he finally got up, he paced back and forth for quite awhile. Pretty soon another taut, “pretty” young fellow, in a spandex swim suit, came walking out from the Padre’s casa. The men greeted each other, chatted for a bit and then did the Mexican handshake. The sunbather waited patiently on the beach while his buddy had a quick swim. Then the swimmer disappeared back into the Padre’s and his friend took off down the beach. What do you think the odds are that they’d arranged a rendezvous for later that evening? Today I keep asking myself, “What was pretty boy doing at the Padre’s?” Que sera, sera.

"Billy"

When Bruce and I were walking back to our car after leaving a restaurant the other day, we ran into this little fellow. Hopefully he was just being transferred from one field to another and not destined for the stew pot. During the day comida (lunch) is served from many stands around La Peñita and Guayabitos. Most of these stands serve large bowls of spicy Birria to the hungry Mexicans. It is a home style Mexican specialty which is usually made with lamb or goat and vegetables. It can be made with other meats, but around here the people seem to prefer it made with goat. It is a watery stew that looks more like soup to me. It is topped with finely diced onion, chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime and is served with some piping hot tortillas, fresh from the grill. I'd rather have goat tacos with salsa and all the trimmings.

Boats on the Sandbar

I’ve written this especially for Pat and Wally or anyone else who has a respect for boats.

Most of the local fisherman beach and unload their boats at the head of the estuary by our casa. Each winter the estuary fills with sand and the boats are no longer able to get to their destination. When this happens, the fishermen race in from the ocean at a very high speed to get as far as possible onto the sandbar. As soon as they hit the sandbar, the motor is flipped up. Now the boats are stuck and have to be manually pulled over the sand to the river leading to the head of the estuary.

Getting these boats from here to there provides jobs for some enterprising Mexicans. As soon as the sandbar begins to build up each year, a bunch of guys put together a few unsightly palapa shelters. Then they build a make-shift trailer using two tires and an axel. When they see a fish boat heading for shore they all run out, put the “trailer” under the boat and pull it over the sand to the river.

These squatters aren’t paid with cash for their work, but rather with fish. When they aren’t busy hauling the boats, they fillet and sell their fish to the locals. I don’t really enjoy looking at their sad looking palapas, but Bruce says they’re here to remind us that we are in Mexico.

The Low Prices of Mexican Spirits

I have arranged several Mexican drinks clockwise on the table.

Kahlua retails here at under 100 pesos per liter or about $10 USD
Don Simon red wine retails at about 28 pesos a bottle or about $2.80 USD
Sangrita retails at under 60 pesos a liter or about $6 USD
Coronado Rompope retails for about 80 pesos a bottle or about $8. USD
Crema Granade retails under 100 pesos for 750 ml or about $10 USD
Cazadores reposada tequila retails for under 100 pesos or about $10 USD
Don Simon white wine retails at about 35 pesos a bottle or about $3.50 USD
Santa Maria Rompope retails under 100 pesos a liter or about $10 USD

Mexican vodka & gin retails under 80 pesos a liter or about $8 USD

Smirnoff vodka retails for about 110 pesos a liter or about $11 USD

A case of 20 bottles of Corona beer retails for 120 pesos or about $12 USD

The cheapest tequila I've found retails for 15 pesos a liter or about $1.50 USD

Because all these drinks are produced in Mexico, they are very reasonably priced. Scotch is very expensive down here because it's imported so Bruce now enjoys sipping at a glass of tequila instead of scotch. He's found that the tequila we get from our friend, Lyle, tastes just as good as scotch.

Kahlua is a coffee based liqueur.

Sangrita is tequila’s best companion beverage. It is made from oranges, grenadine, and lime juice

Rompope is a cream liqueur made from rum, eggs and vanilla. It tastes like Bailey’s

Granada Crema is made from pomegranates.

A Gallon of Tequila and a Bottle of Amaretto from Lyle

Most of the world’s tequila is produced on the lower levels of the Tequila Volcano Mountain, just a couple hours’ drive from Guayabitos. This vast zone mainly embraces the lands and towns of Tequila and Amatitan.

The best tequilas are made from the blue agave plant. Blue agave tequilas will be identified as such on the label. Mixed tequilas may not reveal what percentage of true tequila spirit is mixed with other spirits, such as sugar cane, but there must be at least 5l percent of pure tequila. Tequilas come in silver and gold varieties which are not aged. Resposado tequilas have been aged between two months and a year. Anejo brands have been stored in barrels from one to three years before bottling. In 2006 another class was officially recognized – Maduro – which is stored for three years or more.

There is a huge range in the price of tequila. If we buy from Lyle, the guy who keeps an eye on our place when we’re in Canada and pays our staff, we get a gallon of delicious tequila for about 350 pesos or approximately $35 USD. He frequently drives up to Tequila and brings back enough to keep the Guayabitos gringos happy over the winter. For practically nothing, he also brings back as much Amaretto as we want. Our guests have been known to fill an empty tequila bottle with Lyle's liquid gold to take back to Canada. Cory and Jen recently left with some of our tequila stash, lowering the level in the gallon jug shown in the picture. The price of tequila in the stores can range from as low as a couple of bucks to a high of several hundred or thousand dollars.

Pasion Azteca, the most expensive bottle of tequila ever sold, was aged for six years. The ultra-premium one hundred percent Weber blue agave, in a one-liter platinum and white-gold bottle, sold for $225,000 USD recently. Tequila Ley .925 created this magnificent collector’s item in a limited edition of 33. Delivered personally anywhere in the world, a second crystal bottle of the same tequila is considerately included in its leather and 22 karat gold presentation box, so you can toast to your good fortune without cracking open the masterpiece bottle until the time is right. In March 2007, you can buy a “platinum and diamonds” bottle of tequila from the same company for a million USD.

They say the proper way to drink tequila is to pour some into a shot glass and simultaneously lick some salt off the back of your hand, bite into a lime and sip accompanying sangrita. I hardly think the owners of the $225,000 bottle of Pasion Azteca will be licking salt or biting into a lime before sipping their tequila.

Banda Fantastica

Once again something interesting was happening out on the breakwater this afternoon. I looked out the window to see 17 well dressed young men walking out towards the cross. I had visitors so Bruce went out to see who they were. They are members of a band called Fantastica from Tonala. Tonala is a small suberb of Guadalajara. I guess they were taking a break from the long bus ride. They were probably heading to San Francisco, a small town 20 minutes south of here, where there is a huge music festival happening this week. I'm sure they would've loved to have had a swim and cool off, but obviously didn't have their swimming gear with them. They posed for some pictures, dipped their toes in the ocean and were on their way.

Sunday Morning Breakfast, Guayabitos Style

This morning we went down to the tourist end of town to have some breakfast. We stopped at a little place called Jacqueline’s, which is on the beach, so I could do some people watching. Bruce had an omelet which arrived cold and I had some Chilaquiles which were also cold and rather tasteless. Chilaquiles are usually my favourite breakfast to order down here. It is a bunch of broken bits of tortillas which have been deep fried ‘til really crispy. A spicy red sauce is then poured over them and this is topped with finely chopped raw onion, crumbled Mexican cheese (much like feta) and a dollop of sour cream. It's a great dish which is really yummy if done properly.

Rather than eating my breakfast I decided to head to the beach to take pictures of some of the delicious looking food being prepared and sold by the beach vendors. I knew that any of one these goodies would be so much better than the bland breaky I’d ordered.

There were carts offering whole barbequed fish or prawns on a stick, grilled fillets of fish, juicy mangos on a stick, freshly squeezed fruit juices, chopped watermelon, papaya & jicama and whole pineapples served with a spoon and a straw. The inner flesh of the pineapple is removed and finely chopped and then put back into the empty shell along with spears of tropical fruits. They are then finished off with a squirt of lime juice, a sprinkling of salt & chili and a drizzle of Grenadine. Next time I'll know better and have breakfast on the beach, Guayabitos style.

The Many Bold Colours of Bougainvilla

Did you know that bougainvilla comes in many brilliant colours? It is from the rose family and by nature is a climber with stems that can reach several metres in length, usually clinging with the aid of curved spines. It can be clipped to form a hedge or trained into tree-like shapes with sizeable trunks. In the last couple of years I've been able to buy dwarf plants that only grow to about two feet high and spread to about four feet.

The true flowers are small, white, tubular, and insignificant. The bright colour is provided by surrounding bracts that appear in profusion. The plant has either pale green or variegated, green and white leaves. Cultivated plants are available in all hues, from pure white, variegated pink and white, soft pink, magenta, orange and crimson.

Bougainvillea needs full sun to flower best and prefers dry or at least very well drained soil. During long periods of dry days, the plant will bloom profusely. Hard pruning after flowering promotes bushy growth and more flowers. They do particularly well in seaside gardens except when there's a big storm and they get saturated with salt for a couple of days. Last month this happened to our hedge of bougainvillea which is near the ocean. The winds were exceptionally strong, blowing ocean water everywhere. All our plants were stripped of their leaves and blooms. The hedge is just now starting to show signs of recovery as new leaves appear each day. Within a couple of weeks it should once again be a blaze of colour.

Three Cheers for Maria and Carlos

Most Canadians and Americans in Mexico have maids and gardeners because they are so affordable. Many of the middle and upper class Mexicans also have cleaning staff. Homes in the tropics are tiled throughout, and this includes walkways, stairs, decks, carports & garages and roof terraces. These areas require sweeping and mopping frequently because of the dusty streets, beach sand, and little dead bugs and critters. The maids down here are used to hard work, and it doesn’t seem to bother their backs. We’d never be able to do this on a daily basis.

Our maid, Maria, is in her 50’s and is married to a 70 year old man who isn’t able to work. She is happy to work for us 3 mornings a week because the wages she receives are their sole income. Maria and Pedro live up in the mountains behind La Peñita with their 5 dogs and many chickens. Maria boils up batches of stale tortillas for chicken feed.

Maria's casa is a broken down palapa shelter. There is one small room with just a bed and some vegetable crates where the chickens roost plus another room where she cooks and eats. There are no cupboards or closets for storage and the only furniture is a couple of old plastic tub chairs. There are no windows, doors, electricity, running water or plumbing in her casa. The place is not waterproof and it has dirt floors. I can't imagine what it is like in the rainy season.
Maria gets up very early in the morning to do her chores and feed the chickens.

To get to work, Maria has to ride her horse from her casa to her friend’s place above La Peñita. This is about a 20 minute ride. She then walks down the hill and over to Guayabitos and is usually here by 6:30 a.m. It is now 7:13 a.m. and Maria is hard at it as you can see from the photo. Maria cleans our home from top to bottom each time she’s here and always has a smile.

Carlos works for us one morning a week. He cuts the grass, cleans the pool, rakes the garden & beach, and does whatever else needs attention. Carlos arrived at about 7 a.m. this morning and is out raking the beach garden right now. We've never been to Carlos’ home, but would imagine that it's not much better than Maria’s. Carlos has a wife, who cleans 5 days a week, and two teenage children. They are saving to send their daughter to technical school and their son to university.

We pay Maria 130 pesos a day or approximately $13.00, and because Carlos is a man, we are obligated to pay him more. His wages are 150 pesos per day or about $15.00. We actually pay our staff more than most people do and tip them regularly. I feed Maria a meal every time she’s here and give her food and other goodies to take back to her casa. They both get holiday pay and we pay them if they miss a day because of sickness or if they have something important to do. Maria, Carlos and their families get very spoiled by us at Christmas. We love to see their happy faces when they get loaded up with gifts and treats. Each year I provide all the food and goodies for their holiday dinners. Even though their wages seem very low to our standards, they are very grateful for their jobs and really enjoy working for us.

My Favourite Jewelry Vendors

There are a lot of Jewelry vendors in Mexico and more than enough in Guayabitos and La Peñita, but I have my favourites. Some of them sell from their cases on the beach, others set up a table on the street, some sell at the tianguis and others have small tiendas or shops. Most of the vendors sell only silver jewelry. My favourites are:

Armando, has a proper jewelry store in La Peñita where he sells silver and gold jewelry, watches, and some pottery. He has been around for a long time and has a well established business. He’s the only vendor who does repairs and custom orders.

Tino, has a great little jewelry store on the main street in Guayabitos. It is probably where I do most of my shopping. Tino closes each Wednesday and goes to Puerto Vallarta to replenish his stock so there’s always something new to look forward to. It’s hard to stay away on Thursdays when you know he’ll have new goodies. Arturo, Tino’s nephew also works in the store. He’s a very nice young man with whom I have long chats. The Mexican vendors love to have someone to practice their English with. Most of our guests are a lot poorer after visiting Tino's.

Benny has been around forever. He and his wife and three daughters sell at the tianguis, on the street and at both of their two stores. I'm sure they work every day of the year.

Arnie and Mary are my newest amigos. They’ve had a store in Guayabitos for a couple of years and have now opened another one in Peñita. They also sell at the tianguis. Every single day you’ll find Arnie, Mary and their two little boys in their shops, except for Thursdays where you'll find them at the tianguis.

I’ve made friends with and buy from all these hard working, honest vendors. Our guests love to have me along when they are shopping for jewelry because they know they’ll get a good deal if I’m there. Each vendor works very long hours, is open for business really early in the morning and doesn’t close ‘til mid to late evening.

Fruits & Veggies Fresh From the Fields

There were so many fruits and vegetables available at the tianguis today. There were truckloads of papayas and baby bananas, fresh crisp radishes, watermelon and starfruit, sweet potatoes dug this morning, sweet cantaloupes and just about every other fruit or vegetable you could ask for. Don't you wish we could get everything this fresh at home? The real bonus is that everything you see is very reasonably priced!

So Many Treats to Choose From

Tarts or turnovers ? Tacos or birria ? Pistachios or cashews ? Strawberry pie or flan ?

Thursday Morning Tianguis

A couple of lots to the north of our casa there is a river which runs out to the ocean. On the other side of the river is a little town called La Peñita. Every Thursday there’s a huge tianguis or street market in La Peñita. By 8 a.m. all of the vendors have set up their awnings or tarps to offer some shade to the bargain hungry tourists. There is a gathering of artisans and craftspeople who fill the square to overflowing capacity. The fruit & veggie vendors, the fishmongers, the prawn sellers, the peanut brittle lady & her husband and the candy vendors sometimes find a spot in the square, but are usually relegated to the street near the square and the church.

As you step from the square to one of the residential streets of Peñita, you come to the largest fruit & veggie stand and just past it for many blocks you’ll find the rest of the vendors. They sell such things as bras, in every size and colour, hundreds of knock-off cd’s & dvd’s, all the plastic kitchen-ware you’d ever want, leather belts & wallets, terracotta ceramic pots, makeup, clothes for the entire family, soccer jerseys & balls, blender parts, shoes & thongs and a multitude of other things.

There’s always a lot of good food to snack on if you are hungry. The same elderly Mexican gentleman, who’s been selling churros for as long as I can remember, still only charges 6 pesos for them. What a bargain for a piping hot, crispy fritter, dipped in sugar and cinnamon. You can also get a mango on a stick or a plate of freshly chopped fruit with a squirt of lime and a sprinkle of chili. The bread lady offers homemade donuts, croissants, muffins, tarts and good old fashioned bread. There’s also a good choice of taco & birria (traditional Mexican stew) stands. Last month someone opened a little Chinese restaurant, but I don’t think there are many choices on the menu and they appear to use an awful lot of Soya sauce.

The tianguis carries on for most of the day, but I don’t usually last past about 10 a.m. Occasionally if we have visitors with us, I can hang in ‘til about noon. By 10 it’s getting really crowded, and you can’t get around very well. I don’t know where all the tourists come from each week, but there are hundreds and hundreds of them and more keep coming each year. The tianguis is usually one of the highlights of our guests’ trips to Guayabitos.

Talavera Pottery

We have many pieces of pottery such as these at Casa Que Sera. The style of this pottery is called “Talavera”. Talavera was the name of a town in Spain where this style of pottery originated.

We have bought most of our Talavera-style pottery near Dolores Hidalgo, a small town, between Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. The area around Dolores Hidalgo produces attractive, inexpensive Talavera pottery. We especially like a gallery called Talavera San Gabriel. They produce a large selection of ceramic framed mirrors, tiles, sinks, lead-free dinner-ware, vases, planters and urns.

Puebla, Mexico, also produces Talavera pottery. Some of the most sought-after dinnerware in the world is made in Puebla. The tiles produced there adorn building facades and church domes throughout the area.

Rosale Dolls-Guanajuato

Last week our neighbours, Keith and Sharon, went to Guanajuato on a shopping trip and brought me back these two pretty paper maché dolls. They are called Rosale dolls and come in all different sizes. Each doll is handmade, individually decorated and given its own name. My dolls' names are Beronica (Veronica in English) and Blanca (Blanche in English). They make me smile. All Rosale dolls are painted beautiful colours which will brighten any room.

Guanajuato is a few hours inland from Guayabitos and is probably my favourite town to visit. It is exceptionally clean and well maintained. It is like an old Spanish city dumped into a Mexican highland valley. It's one of Mexico's hidden gems, explored by relatively few foreign tourists, but popular with Mexicans. It is picturesque and laden with atmosphere. Not only is it naturally charming, but a farsighted ex-governor has made it even more so by building a terrific subterranean boulevard underneath the city. One must drive this subterranean expressway, with its impressive network of tunnels, to truly appreciate the enormity of this system. Not only was a boulevard built under the town, but also they built a panoramic drive high above the town.

Guanajuato was founded in 1559 and soon became a fabulously rich town, with world-famous mines such as the La Valenciana mine. From the 16th to 18th century, the Valencia mine produced nearly 1/3 of the world's silver. The great wealth that came from this mine helped build the many beautiful public buildings, churches, schools and mansions still standing in Guanajuato. The La Valenciana mine lay dormant for many years, but has been recently purchased by a Canadian company. While we were in Guanajuato a taxi driver told us that the locals are very pleased with the economic growth the newly operating mine is generating. We have shares in the mine so I hope it continues to do well.

The vast majority of the residential homes in Guanajuato are cantilevered high above the town. Most buildings, like the streets, are irregular in shape, creating a jumble of walls, balconies, and rooftops meeting at anything but right angles. Any new buildings must be constructed in Spanish-colonial style to confirm with the architecture of the city. The central historical area of town, with its winding streets and magnificent old villas, is very much alive with university students, residents and tourists. This beautiful section of town has many lovely sidewalk cafes where you can relax and enjoy the scenery. .

Guanajuato is also the birthplace of the famous Marxist mural painter, Diego Rivera. His house, which is now a museum, houses a great collection of his early paintings. In December of last year we spent a couple of days in Guanajuato with our friends, Dan and Heather, from Qualicum Beach. We spent most of our time strolling the streets of the city and exploring its gorgeous churches and historical sites. It was such a treat to see some of Rivera's work and it was especially fascinating to visit the mummy museum. The mummies on display were exhumed between 1865 and 1985. They either stand or recline in glass cases, grinning, choking or just staring out at the visitors.

There are many artisan shops and galleries in or near Guanajuato. We visited several famous potters' workshops and showrooms. The area is especially well known for its fine ceramic ware and Talavera-style pottery. I’ll talk about Talavera-style pottery another day.

Turning 15 in Mexico

Like I always say, there's never a dull moment in Mexico. Yesterday afternoon I looked out the window just as a beautiful young girl was walking towards the cross on the breakwater in front of our casa. This cross had been erected as a memorial to someone who died a few years ago. A ceramic of the Virgin of Guadalupe was firmly attached to the cross and the cross was cemented into the rocks. Occasionally someone appears to add new flowers and candles to the memorial. Quite often we'll see a wedding or other celebration happening on the breakwater.

The beautifully attired young girl had a few family members with her plus a couple of photographers. Naturally I had to grab the camera and head out to see what was happening. Her mother told us she would be turning 15 on Saturday. This is called "La Quinceanera" an Hispanic Celebration of Budding Womanhood. This is the passing of childhood to womanhood. She would now reach maturity. Quince anos means 15 years in Spanish.

The celebration of this transition begins at the church where she is accompanied by her parents and godparents and is seated at the foot of the alter throughout the service. She will be dressed in a fancy long dress and headdress such as the quinceanera on the breakwater is wearing. At the end of the service, younger sisters, cousins and friends pass out commemorative favors to those in attendance while the quinceanera deposits her bouquet on the alter or in a niche honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe.

After the church service there is a fiesta for family and friends. In villages such as La Penita or Rincon de Guayabitos events such as these are usually held outdoors in yards or orchards. Before the dancing begins the birthday girl will throw a doll (called a quince doll), which is her last doll, to the younger females at the celebration, much as a bride would do. Throughout the big day, the quinceanera has been wearing flat shoes, but just before the first dance, she walks toward her father, who is seated in the middle of the floor, and he removes her flat shes. She then puts on high heels signifying her becoming a young lady. Now the fun begins. There is lots of raucous music, good food and drinks. There will be a multi-tiered birthday cake, dripping in meringue icing and decorated in hues to match the quinceanera's dress.

The celebration of the quinceanera remains as one of the rites of passage that keeps the bonds of the Mexican family firmly cemented. Its fancy frills and frosting abide as rich ingredients for a nina's (girl's) sweet dreams.