Beer and Cheese tasting tonight

Have had a relaxing couple of days - went to the wholesale market here in Queretaro: Central de Abastos; and got a load of fruit and veg for next to nothing. The avocados here are especially good - we got 2 kilos for the price we would pay at home for one - 90p. Just so much choice and everything so fresh. Today we had breakfast at the cafe in el Tec de Monterrey and then went shopping. Called in at the little nursery stalls in the carpark of Costco supermarket and bought a large palm (for £3) and other plants, rosemary, basil, mint and kalanchoes to put in the planters in the front garden. The lavender plants in the pots weren't very happy there, perhaps not enough sun, and the beautiful kalanchoes which were doing so well were decimated by ants one afternoon - only stalks and roots left! Tonight D and I are going to another beer and cheese tasting: not in Beer Passport like the last time but in Arco 46 Gourmet where the gorgeous cheese and breads come from. Have a busy weekend coming up as well: the 6th Festival de Comunidades Extranjeras here in Queretaro tomorrow night: the Coshquin School of Irish Dance at 18.00!; and a wine Festival in Tesquisquiapan on Saturday. Will tell you all about them in the next post x

Lazy Monday in El Mirador

Such a lazy day today. Have been living like a gypsy for the past four weeks so it was a treat to use the washing machine and get all my clothes properly clean. Blowing a gale here so a great drying day until the pots on the roof terrace started blowing over and smashing! Hard to sunbathe in a force twelve and gusting but I did my best until it got too dangerous :) Betty and I finally got the flavoured oils made this afternoon: herb, chili and garlic. She's been making really good jams and preserves recently so I had promised to give her some tips for oils and vinegars. Crochet lesson tomorrow - I've already made a cushion which looks a bit lonely on the new sofa (so I've been told)- I haven't the time left to make another so someone else is going to have to make it, like it or not :)) I had to make a decision today: stay on until June and the wedding or go home as planned at the weekend. The first option: sooo tempting. More opportunities to travel - would love to go back to Oaxaca for a week or two; the Gulf Coast before it gets too hot; Michoacan while the Monarch butterflies are there; back to San Miguel for a month. Downside: problems with travel insurance, would need to extend my visa to stay past 16th June, two plastic cards expiring at the end of this month and, the clincher: non refundable, non changeable (is that a word?) return ticket. To get back, one way, at the end of June, same route - KLM via Schipol: US$2,300!!! Also missing my friends back home now so have made the correct decision - fly home on Sunday. However, lots more still to do here so..... more later x

Last Day at La Casa

Well - my four weeks at La Casa are up. I've really enjoyed it and hope I'll be able to return maybe this time next year. What has made the whole experience all the more enjoyable has been the company of the other Volunteers and the warmth and friendliness of all the teachers and people working at La Casa. Six of us went out for a meal last night and a few (???!) drinks afterwards. In the restaurant the waiter made Caesar salad at the table: making the dressing from scratch in the bowl - I've never seen that done before. We then went on to a bar where it was still happy hour - two margaritas for the price of one (equiv of £3)he The barman asked us what music we wanted to listen to and found it on You Tube. My choice was 'Spanish Moon' by Little Feat. When I hear that track in future I'll be able to close my eyes and imagine I'm still in San Miguel. We then went on the another bar called 'La Cucaracha' - the cockroach. That one was interesting :) Killer margaritas there. I'm off now to man our Jewellery Stall at the Craft Market for a couple of hours then out to dinner again on this my last night in San Miguel. I'm returning to Queretaro tomorrow for my final week, this time around, in Mexico. The next post from there x

La Casa Fund Raiser

The Fund Raiser at Casa de la Cuesta went wonderfully yesterday. It's the most gorgeous B & B I have ever been in - only 7 bedrooms but they are exquisite - beautiful views over San Miguel, hummingbirds, a Mask Museum, Mexican antiques and sofas and cushions all over the place, fabulous patios and cool nooks and crannies. The owners, Heidi and Bill, have hosted monthly fundraisers for a while. They provide the venue, food and drinks and so all the money raised on the day goes directly to La Casa de los Angeles. They also donate all of the entrance fees to their Mexican Mask Museum to La Casa. There was a record amount raised yesterday and a record number of people there. It was great fun - Bill's Margaritas just hit the spot, the food was delicious and the music by one of the current Volunteers from Minnesota, Sarah Pray with another singer/songwriter: Jean Pascal Monzies from France; was excellent. Tomorrow is my last day at the Guarderia :( I've been in with the oldest class, the older 3 year olds, this week and it has been challenging to say the least. But today was so rewarding. I got hugs and kisses from three of the most contrary (to me) children after I had changed them into their clean clothes ready to be collected. It must be difficult for them too, having new volunteers in their classroom each week, and they're at an age when they're challenging boundaries ALL the time. It's been a great experience working at La Casa. I can't praise what they're achieving highly enough. I heard today that one of my favourite little boys from a previous class isn't coming back. He's from a Rancho quite far away - some of these Mums and Children have to walk for miles just to get to a Bus Stop, if they can afford the 20p fare that is - and it would appear that his Mum just wasn't meeting the requirements set down by La Casa for free daycare. I'm staying on here until Sunday when I'll go back to Queretaro for my final week in Mexico. We have a jewellery stall in the Saturday Farmers' Market which I want to stay for. Will post again in a couple of days x

Opal MInes and Bernal

First of all let me apologise for the layout of this and the past couple of posts. For some reason which I can't resolve I am all of a sudden unable to position uploaded photos beside text. If anyone knows how to fix this, please tell me? It's driving me crazy!! After the Daycare on Friday I took the bus to Queretaro and D & B picked me up at the bus station. Although we get two good meals a day at the Guarderia I had really had a notion for meat so we went to a Taqueria and pigged out. Experienced a first: Salads on kebab skewers? This was a really delicious Ceasar Salad with chicken. We had Arrachera, Chorizo and Mollejas (which are sweetbreads, in this case the thymus glands of a cow - totally delicious so long as you're not a vegetarian) Tacos and a few beers. That's my meat ration for another week sorted then. On Saturday we picked up the new car, a very nice BMW X3, and then headed to the Opal Mines at La Trinidad, about 45 minutes or so outside Queretaro. Mexican opals are entirely different from the Australian ones which are opaque. The opals mined here are clear with red, green, blue or orange lights in them giving them their name of Fire Opals. Since seeing them the first time I came to Mexico and finally finding a ring in Taxco last time I have wanted to visit las Minas. We were taken up the mountain in a very ancient jeep - four in the cab and the other eight in the back. It must have taken us a half hour to climb the very steep and extremely rough incline with a sheer drop on one side. We were given rock hammers( I'm sure there's a technical term) and taken up to the mine. They're still taking rock out of it so we were walking over the rocks they'd worked on.It was really rough going but extremely interesting. It was all in Spanish and I was having trouble keeping up which is why I'm not going to tell you how opals are formed, apart from saying that I heard Silicon, Hydrogen, water and pressure being mentioned. Our guide took us into the workings where the rock used to be dug out by one guy using a crowbar and the other hitting it with a hammer. Allegedly the guy holding the bar was given 5 litres of Pulque a shift so that he wouldn't mind too much when the other guy missed with the hammer and got his hand instead. We then got to look for our own opals. We had to find a large rock, porous but shiny, which sounded to me like an oxymoron, and then crack it with the hammer. I was rubbish but D got the hang of it and, whilst we didn't find any opals in geodes like the one in my ring, we did find rock with smatterings of opals through it. And it was good fun :) After we came down off the mountain we drove on to Bernal which is a huge Pena, a solitary rock, which is visible from miles away. By the time we got there it was getting dark and had got very cold - 5c!!! We were foundered! We got into the very pretty old town and quickly found a restaurant with heat inside and, unexpectedly, a guy playing piano a la Billy Joel with some classical thrown in. He was very good. We had soup to warm us up: Sopa Azteca for me; a tomato soup with crispy tortillas, Oaxacan cheese, avocado and smokey dried chiles in it and Quesadillas with the same cheese and chapulines: the dried grasshoppers from Oaxaca. They're tasty but you're finding bits of leg in your teeth for ages afterwards :)) I got back to San Miguel this afternoon for my last week here - can't believe how the time has gone. It's going to be a busy week so I'll tell you all about what's going on later x

St Valentine's Day

We all got a lovely present from Donna when we arrived at the Guarderia yesterday morning - a little Valentine's bag of goodies with her own home made cookies, some sweets and a beautiful poem in Spanish which had some of us a bit overwhelmed so early in the morning :) Danzon last night in the Library - it is so my favourite dance, so elegant - and then Heidi cooked a super Valentine's meal for us back at the house, which was really thoughtful of her and totally delicious. We had TWO desserts, a huge chocolate cake and a strawberry flan, and, despite all good intentions, no leftovers:) Am off to Queretaro, Tequisquiapan and, hopefully, the Opal Mines this weekend so more posts at the beginning of next week x

Mardi Gras

It was Mardi Gras yesterday and we had such fun in the Guardaria with the eggs the children had painted and filled with confetti. You would not believe how sore it is to have an empty egg, or ten, cracked on your head! The kids had also helped make and decorate masks of which they were very proud. There was singing and dancing before the mayhem of the egg smashing began. I pitied the poor Mums on cleaning duty having to sweep up all the mess.

Egg painting and Guanajuato

Friday was my last day in with the toddlers. Such sweet children: two girls and eight boys, full of mischief but really well behaved. With Mardi Gras being this Tuesday they were painting empty egg shells which will be filled with confetti, sealed with tape and then smashed over your friends' heads! Was a lovely messy business. Left early to catch the bus to Guanajuato for the weekend. Stayed in a really pretty hotel called Casa Mexicana - £25 a night for a double room including breakfast. It was only about five minutes walk from Los Jardines de la Union, the main Plaza or Zocalo.

Traffic can only get into the centre of the town through subterranean tunnels which are amazing: with intersections, footpaths and some parking spaces and yet they're only the width of a 4x4. The town is full of interesting architecture, pretty plazas, traditional shops, the main Mercado Hidalgo in its monster building, as many churches as the normal Mexican city all with bells announcing Mass or the time and a wedge shaped Zocalo edged with restaurants with groups of Mariachis vying with each other, playing for the customers, whether they want it or not:) I spoke Spanish all the time I was there; chatted to loads of people. That's what I need - to be totally immersed somewhere where very few people speak English. I was really pleased with myself :) That's all for now - have to go to work. Wonder which class I'll be in with this week?.........

Guanajuato tomorrow

Went to a Danzon class in the Public Library this evening and really loved it. Danzon was brought over to Mexico from Cuba over 130 years ago and is now danced in public plazas one or two nights a week. I've seen it in lots of places I've been to : Veracruz Port (very traditional), Cordoba, Oaxaca, Puerta Vallarta, Puebla..... and would have loved to have been able to join in. Usually there's a band or an orchestra in the Bandstand in the Plaza and couples of all ages, but especially older couples: women in beautifully elegant dresses with fans, and men in sharp trousers, tight fitting shirts with braces and natty hats. It's quite a ritual and now I know some of the steps! The class was great in that there were quite a few men there so the ladies all got to dance and be led by their partner. Definitely going back next week :) Tomorrow I'm going after work to Guanajuato, another World Heritage Site, for the weekend. It's probably about an hour from here by bus. Have checked into a small hotel about 2 minutes from the central Plaza which is usually filled with Mariachis and musicians of all sorts. The last time I was there the International Cervantino Festival was on and the place was packed with all sorts of free events happening. Tomorrow is also the end of my second week at La Casa, can't believe it! I've been in with nine potty trained toddlers from 2 to 2 and a half years old. Have dealt with a LOT of pee and poo this week but the children are all lovely and so independent. One of the little boys, Manuelito, who is looked after by the Nuns at the Orphanage, is so tiny and sweet. I would bring him home with me if I could. He's in the picture I shared to my Facebook page recently from Casa de los Angeles' page: http://www.facebook.com/youareanangel (sorry, I still can't get the link function to work properly)

Temazcal and the International Space Station

Last night we went to a traditional Temazcal: a type of sweat house which has been used in Mesoamerica since Pre Hispanic times for spiritual and health reasons. It was in Ejido de Tirado (see a previous post) on the outskirts of San Miguel. When we got there, after driving over dirt roads parallel to the railway tracks, it was pitch dark already. It's so dry here at the minute that there is grey white dust everywhere and it was like driving through low lying fog. We could see nothing when we got out of the van apart from the vast sky and the vague shapes of buildings. With no light pollution the sky was amazing: stars, planets, constellations, galaxies and maybe the international space station which was due to appear at 19.34 for 4 minutes. We saw something which we wanted to believe was the space station but, in truth, it could equally have been an aeroplane. We're hanging on the auspicious notion that we saw it.

We picked our way down a dirt path, past cages of gobbling turkeys which frightened the life out of us, to the dimly lit back of someone's house. The Temazcal was right there: an igloo like construction made of bricks or rocks. We stripped off down to our swimsuits and I got to be first to enter, backwards. feet first, on my knees, low down as the entrance wasn't far off the ground, through a wet hessian type curtain. When I had righted myself in this dimly lit tiny space imagine my surprise at seeing three very hefty men already sitting there. If we hadn't been with Miguel I think I might have got straight out again! Anyway, by the time the other four girls and Miguel had got in, it was very intimate indeed and even more so when the light went out! It's heated by volcanic rocks (because they won't explode) which have been been in a fire pit until red hot and then carried in. One of the men told us to inhale deeply the wood smoke tinged steam through our noses and exhale through our mouths. There were a series of different chants for cleansing different internal organs: lungs, heart, kidneys, pancreas..... every so often more water was poured on the rocks. It was very, very hot, especially if you raised yourself off the clay floor a little. It was a totally absorbing experience. I don't know how long I was in there, but four people got out before me. Before exiting you had to have two basins of cold water poured over your head and back. Coming out into the balmy night, in the middle of nowhere in Mexico, with the panoply of stars overhead was really special. I've always wanted to experience a Temazcal and now I have :) The wife of the guy who owns it, a natural healer, made us tea made with a lemon herb and honey out of a huge jar, and gave us some of her 'pan integral' which was a slightly sweet, very hard bread with grains in it which was somewhere between bread and cake. Sky and I want to go back before I leave so we'll have to sweet talk Miguel into taking us again as there's NO way we would go on our own. We did however go to a free Salsa lesson in the Public Library tonight which was fun and there's a Danzon class there tomorrow night - that's something else I've always wanted to be able to do....

Dia de la Constitucion

Today is one of the many, many public holidays in Mexico so la Guarderia (the Daycare)and the schools were closed. I didn't do much, still finding my way around the maze of cobbled streets leading to amazingly beautiful churches and ex convents. Bought an ice cream, mantecado flavour, which turned out to be vanilla, walnut and plum, from one of the old fashioned stands with the various ice creams and sorbets in lidded metal pots on ice. It was lovely. In Dolores Hidalgo, not far from San Miguel, ice cream is one of their specialities and they make it from fruits, vegetables and even fish. Last time I was there I had octopus.

I was sitting in the Plaza at 12 noon and could see four blokes high up on one of the balconies of the Parroqueria. When the main bell at the top of the church began to peal they went inside and manually rang the four huge bells below, shaped like handbells for want of a better description, but easily 8 feet tall, by physically turning them end to end. A UK health and safety officer watching would have had a stroke! There were buskers in the Plaza this morning and they were brilliant. Two banjo players, a girl with an accordian and a guy on double bass.

A refreshing change from Mariachis, good though they are as well. I hope they made a lot of money because they were really entertaining Can't describe their style, a bit blue grass I suppose, but one of the tunes they played was 'la Llorona' which is my favourite Mexican song, about a woman who I guess we would call a banshee. Thought I'd show you the photo to the right: of the street I'm living on, has a tree growing right in the middle of it which the traffic has to drive round.

Feria de la Candeleria and the Super Bowl

Hi. Would tell you who won the Super Bowl but they're still playing! At the risk of offending the entire citizenry of North America I'm afraid I have to say that I stopped watching after the third quarter. What with the 'power outage' and the ads and the interminable replays and prevarications I just sort of lost interest - and not knowing the rules didn't help either. Beyonce was great though. Did the half time show cause the 'outage' I wonder? Was Beyonce too much for the electrics - stunning as ever in black leather and lace? Alicia Keyes was pretty sensational too, but more demurely dressed.

It's been really busy here, such a difference in the volume of people because of the holiday weekend. The Plant Fair was packed yesterday morning with children and older men with wheelbarrows offering their services to transport purchases to cars. I passed a gentleman using another form of transport in one of the side streets beside Parque Benito Juarez. He was selling garden compost. I found the organic Farmers' Market and bought some proper honey for my bad throat. It's gorgeous, tastes of flowers and waxy honeycomb and is bound to be good for me. There was a amazing variety of vegetables, home baked breads and quiches, cheeses, soaps and of course jewellery. Walked up to the Plaza yesterday evening to see what was going on there: bands of Mariachis serenading lovers sitting on walls,food vendors selling corn on the cob, tacos, candy floss, ice cream. Music everywhere. Saturday night Mass in the pink Parroqueria with its hand rung bells. Made me feel quite alone for a little while until I wised up :)))

Jewellery, Salsa and Gnocchi

What a busy day it was today. Last stint with the gorgeous babies - a new class next week for me. A lady who lives here for part of the year came this afternoon to help us make jewellery from a treasure trove of findings and bits and bobs donated to La Casa. There's a fund raiser later on this month when we'll sell what we've made. Then we had a Salsa lesson at 6.30 here at the Volunteer House arranged by a couple of the teachers who are v.v. good. A guy called Aldo took the lesson and, by the end, he had all of us dancing quite well.

It was great fun. He and the teachers then danced some different forms of Salsa and showed us how it really should be done. There are five volunteers leaving within the next few days and one of them, Jason, who's a chef in his day job, made all thirteen of us dinner as his leaving present. Nice Mexican nibbles to start: tortilla chips, a smokey chorizo salsa, Queso Fresco, a freshly made cheese made from cows' milk and Quince Ate. For mains he made fresh Gnocchi with a creamy chicken, spinach, carrot and basil sauce. It was yummy. One of the American girls made a pecan pie for dessert. Well, that's all for now. Getting up very early in the morning to walk with one of the Australian girls to the bus station before 6am. It's going to be a great public holiday weekend here, lots going on: Super Bowl on Sunday, vast Plant Fair in Parque Juarez for ten days, some sort of amateur Rodeo/Bull thing on at the Bullring tomorrow - everything but the Rugby :(