January 9, 2009

Yes...we made it back safe and sound yesterday. No new dings in the car either so all is good. It's so nice and warm here. We froze our butts off the past few days and in fact when I woke up in the hotel we had in Paracho....I thought Lynda had taken up smoking!! It was so cold in our room that her breath looked like she was blowing smoke rings!! Yes....3 heavy blankets on the bed and still I didn't move a muscle all night as it was too cold to move. At times through the night I wondered if I had just frozen in place but come morning the sun brought some warmer temps and we were both able to thaw out enough to crawl out from under the mountain of blankets the hotel had provided for our beds. Not complaining though.....like many other different things we've experienced on this trip....it's just the way it is.



Stopped in Urupan on the way from Paracho to Troncones yesterday and visited the National Park there. What a gorgeous spot that is. It is right in the middle of the city and amazing for the vast amounts of water that pour from the rocks into constant waterfalls that have been formed into every shape you can imagine. There are gorgeous little bridges and walkways that wind their way through the jungles that make up the park and we enjoyed the hour we spent exploring it.

Also stopped at that little town we drove through yesterday...the one where all the women wear traditional colourful clothing. They were having their market day and so it was a perfect opportunity for us to stop and mingle with them up close. What an interesting stop it was. The market was so rustic and traditional...I don't even know if I can begin to describe what it looks like.....there were a couple of meat stalls/butchers. The stall is make shift and all wooden so hygiene isn't high on the list of issues they attend to.....meat of all types is hanging and being cut up as the women in their colourful dresses crowd around the front of the shack. There were also several tables that had been set up for the market that boasted everything from fresh veggies and fruit to bread and dishes to lace for decorating their colourful aprons and skirts. I got a couple of pictures when Lynda was buying coconut strips from a couple of young girls and then again when she was buying a loaf of bread. It was nice to know we were contributing to their economy a little and it was really nice to have been able to stop and mingle among them.

I say that it's hard to describe what the stalls look like in the market but it is also difficult to describe what the houses people live in look like in the villages and towns we passed through along the roads we've travelled all over Mexico. The best example that Lynda and I have been able to come up with to try to help others imagine what it looks like is to suggest that you go back to when you were about 10 or 12 years old and were building a fort with a friend.....you used whatever you could to make the walls and they may or may not have lined up with one and other. You may have hung a blanket for a door or you may have gone without a door at all. There was likely a combination of wood and cardboard and maybe a piece of tin that added to the stability of the structure. If you can see that fort.....you're basically looking at many of the homes we've passed along our travels here. Most of them have dirt floors and the people who live in them are proud of them and take care of them....the ground or the floor in the house is swept and cardboard is replaced as it becomes available. Again....there are a lot of differences in our small world and having the opportunity to visit many of these places is a great reminder of just how much we have in our little corner of it.



Today has been a really quiet day just sleeping in and lazing by the pool with a book. Am so lucky to know that I have another week of this before it's time to catch my plane.



Went for coconut shrimp at Roberto's tonight and was able to get the directions from the cook so will do my best to replicate that delicacy once back home again. It's like having dessert for dinner!



Hope this finds everyone well.....till next time.

Lorrie