Way behind!!!!

This should have gone up a month ago...

What with Day of the Dead, a birthday, family visiting (from both sides) and bimestral projects for the kids -amongst many other no so fun things- time flew by and I hardly had a chance to breathe!!!

Day of the Dead was really nice. My parents were here for a visit and enjoyed the time they had with the grandchildren. We took them around a little bit, they are elderly, so not too much for them. They loved going to the market to get all the Day of the Dead stuff for the altar. My dad, especially, is very proud that we carry the tradition that not even them have been able to carry with them. They so much enjoyed setting the offering with the boys; and even when we ended up without transportation for two days, they enjoyed their down time here!

We had the chance to take them out for really good breakfasts both at Casa de Campo and Finca Andrade (Coatepec), and they stayed at a wonderful hotel near downtown: Clara Luna- an undiscovered jewel! Our little (mini-house) has way too many stairs for them to be able to stay comfortably with us, but that gave my mom the best rest ever (she did not have to help around the house- not that I make her... she just has to!)

And then the colds hit us! All of us were down for a long, uncomfortable spell of colds. It started with baby boy... he had a miserable B'day thanks to a very clogged little nose! By the time my parents left, I was very miserable, and not able to take medicine either (perks of nursing).

Then, even before my own cold was gone (everyone else got healthy right away), my inlaws arrived! Hubby had to take a bus ride to Mx City at 4 a.m. to pick them up at the airport, which was with no woe for him- since he took the ocassion as a great photo opp... filled with woe for me, still nursing a terrible cold.

My inlaws visit was probably the best we've had so far! They were here for two weeks and enjoyed a lot of time with the boys. They hiked (I had asthma... so no hike for me), they shopped, they ate and had a good time over all. I think the biggest highlight was the hike to the Granada waterfall in Coatepec. It has (finally) been revamped and now has better steps (still 900) of them, and a well marked path to get to the water hole.... I hear the water is pretty cold!

We also took time to drive down to Jalcomulco so that the inlaws checked it out. They really loved it and had a nice time just walking around town. Unfortunately, La Antihua -a little hotel we like to stop at for lunch and a swim- was closed, so we had to eat downtown... but then the boys jumped in the river- all the boys including baby... Guess I have another water baby!

Feeling gray

By one of our ancestors!

It's been a long week. I am still not sleeping well, and the weather keeps changing.


Today it is raining, no, downpouring. It is not chilly at all, but the temperature is dipping since we just got hit by a cold front. I was hoping for sun this weekend, but no such luck.


This week we decided to take a day trip sans boys (only baby) to the museum of anthropology. I had already forgotten how amazing the MAX is in every way. The collection is wonderful, not too huge, but really nicely displayed and very complete. Mostly focused on the State of Veracruz and it's precolumbian inhabitants, it is a reminder of the thousands of years of history we walk on every day!


Then the building... I think I could just live in that jewel. It won, once upon a time, architecture prizes for an outstanding design. It is not only beautiful in it's lines, materials and details, but it also boasts one of the best regional/site concious designs I have ever seen. Wish more Mexican architects learnt to do architecture as great as this museum and not the obscenely grotesque blocks of concrete that are no more than self glorification of their own ignorance of place and people...


Back to the museum. It was a great day to visit since it was pretty much empty and we had the spaces all for ourselves. One of the greatests highlight is going around the gardens, both interior and exterior, with their amazing array of plants from the region. And the book store is unique in itself with a wonderful collection of Art books and music.


Now, after a wonderful trip a couple of days ago, it all seems far and distant... I think the fatigue is making me grumpy and I really hate it. Hope the weekend is not too soggy since we should start our Day of the Dead shopping. It is my very favorite Holiday and it is also a very special B'day... Incredibly, one year has gone by!

We're on a roll

Funny as it seems, we have been on a roll to do all American things that we miss and can find around here. I guess we really don't miss all that much, but once in a while we do crave a hamburger and a bubble tea!
So off to the Mall we went this weekend. Usually, weekends are not the days we choose for the Mall... we keep away from it! But it was Saturday and an overwhelming need overcame all of us to go have the full experience: shop, eat and browse. And so we did.
It was incredibly refreshing when you do not go with certain expectations and let things just flow. The Mall usually becomes packed by late afternoon Saturday, but middle of day the day is still a good time to go enjoy it. The cleanliness of the spaces does help on dilluting the crowds, but we just don't do crowds too much.
Lunch was very fun, not special, just fun. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, Carl's Junior and the local favorite Dim Sum King with a chaser of DQ (yeah, there is one at the Mall). The biggest treat was the Bubbe tea. Some entrepreneaur opened a little stand in the middle of nowhere (in the Mall- away from the food court) where they sell the concoction. Unfortunately it is frappe and very small... but after two years of not having the joy of slurpping the oversized Tapioca balls... well, it was really good! Personally, I can't wait to go back for more.
The day ended with a trip to Zara for a little shopping for Mama and Baby. Dad opted to go to the Movie theatres to get caramel corn (the best in the city) while the boys relished in video gaming... Yeah, very much the whole American experience.
Apart from the super Kitchy new addition to the Mall (soon to be populated by tacky high end stores), even the growing crowd did nothing to damper a pretty good day at the Mall. We even missed a torrential downpour that, thankfully, decided to drench Xalapa while we were safely inside Sanborn's browsing books, videos and music!

Fast food that taste like not fast food

A different DQ

I think I have mentioned this before, way in the beginning, two years ago… but I will have to mention it again because it is still mind blowing!
Last weekend we got the whole troupe together and set out to find a good, non-Mexican food restaurant to have a Sunday meal. We never do this anymore since Sundays are “crazy day” for restaurants, seems the whole city and a few towns around converge in the few restaurants in the city on Sundays! But, needing a break from Mexican food (yeah, I cook Mexican style most of the time too), we set off to search for the elusive Asian diner. We have heard comments here and there about Chinese buffets in the City, which did not impress us, but the boys were anxious for one. After almost an hour of going around town, and the grim discovery of a buffet with 4 dishes… we finally went home to eat pasta.
OK, so the outing was a disaster and the very slim variety of eateries was depressing! About 90% serve traditional Mexican fare (which is probably very good), the other 10% is divided between the American fast food chains (McD’s, BK, Dominos, etc.), the mall eateries (DimSumKing- which is pretty decent, and other really bad Chinese style stuff) and… well, maybe sushi and pizza. Yeah, not a very cosmopolitan place to eat a meal.
This Sunday we opted for a smarter move, we just went out for dessert.
Bear with me. After two years in Mexico, an American treat is very well received by all, so we drove to our local (not closest… since there are only 2) Dairy Queen. Have not seen the boys so excited for an ice cream in a while. You would swear that we keep them in a closet…
Here is where it gets interesting. Your average US Dairy Queen is housed in a cookie cutter, bad, red and white, barn house with a huge parking lot around it and a drive thru window that sounds (if it sounds) like static. The inside of an average US Dairy Queen is drab, even dirty at times, not a place to hang out. The service, well teenagers are really not the top of the service industry so, even though they make sure the Blizzards are not going to pop out of the cup (or they get it cut from their salary)… service is iffy at best. Yeah, and the toppings, the last time I had a Blizzard in Texas the toppings were still toppings, shouldn’t they be perfectly blended?
Now for the Dairy Queen in Xalapa: It is housed in an ultramodern building with windows all around. At two stories, it houses a Dairy Queen and it’s Mexican partner: Bola de Oro coffee. No, we did not try the drive thru, although we were tempted since there is no parking lot, but it seemed to be working fine for the BMWs and other luxury cars going through. We parked on a side street and walked in the ample lobby, scantly furnished with modern stainless steel and honey colored wood, modern chairs and tables. The shiny white marble floors were quite clean and the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air as we approached the DQ counter to order. It took us a little bit of time to decide since the menu is a tad bit different to that of the US but, blizzard decision finalized, we all walked up the stairs to the mezzanine with our perfectly blended, thick and overflowing cups. The Mezzanine has a killer view of the Teatro del Estado and nice modern plasma TVs for those not interested on the view. There is added comfort provided by oversized, lime green, leather chairs where a kid can curl up and actually take a nap. Now for the actual product…
As the title for this post states… not like the fast food we are used to in the US. Apart from the DQ ice cream (which I will suppose is the same used Worldwide), the ingredients they put in are very fresh and flavorful. There mixes are different than those in the US and the extra ingredient that they offer… well: fresh cheese cake chunks, toasted coconut, etc. Clearly, the prices are outrageous for Mexico, but they are the same as in the US.
So we have been out for burgers, we have been out for fried chicken, we have been out for Blizzards, and it continues to surprise us the higher quality that they offer in Mexico. Yeah, the burgers take and extra minute to be ready, but there is actually non wilted lettuce in the bun… and the bun is not flat as a pancake. Somehow, maybe because the Mexican public is pickier since they have to pay higher prices for the product, or maybe because they enjoy fresh flavors (not super processed and over preserved), food from the fast food chains has to be better: more flavorful, fresher, but not greasier or starchier… Maybe if the US public was more discerning… I don’t see that happening any time soon.

Figuring out life

Not much is new in the city of the eternal rain...
Well, everything is still really green which is very rare for this time of year. It is a treat to look out the roof top "garden" and witness the sea of green traveling towards the cloud forest. Still no fog, though, we hope that it will come later on in the year when the temperature drops a little.
A few new people have e-mailed me about the possibility of moving to Xalapa. I try to respond to their doubts as thoroughly as I possibly can, but I also realize how little I have been able to travel in the city this past few months. I did not remember how involved it was to take care of a baby and, oh, is it coming back to me now! I don't complain, though, he is my Sun, my North and my South, somedays my whole reason to go on. The other boys have grown so much and become so independent that I rarely spend much time with them anymore... yeah, they grow fast!
Back to life in the midst of the rain... people have written before about their doubts on the humidity levels on their arthritis. Well, I can say there is no correct answer anymore, there is no way of knowing if winter will be dry anymore or as wet as it has been this month! Usually, winter is the dry season... but fall is not drying out yet! Now, it is looking as the umbrella will be a constant in our everyday bag from now on. I do have to add that I look forward to the fog if this rain heralds it for the colder months!

A quick one

It's been about three weeks of classes and it's been about three weeks of non stop rain! Don't get me wrong, rain is wonderful, it keep all nature green, lush... but this is not normal Xalapa rain. Thanks to global warming, there is no more chipi-chipi... it is now an unseasonal downpour that drenches everyone and disrupts the normal course of life.
In years past, here in Xalapa, people went on with life rain or not rain. Rain was a very thin, constant drizzle that lets people do about everything... just a little bit moister. The last few weeks have had rains that hinder even the normal task of walking anywhere, and Xalapa is a walking city!
The City government decided to finally pave the street where school sits (24 years after the neighbors asked them to). Of course, they had to wait until classes resumed to start the digging, leveling, etc. Well, the plan was not too bad since September is the end of the rainy season, WAS. So, no parking even close to the school, mud pits everywhere and torrential downpours right at drop off and pick up... it has been trying for most kids and parents! But then again, when you look at it from another perspective: after 24 years of waiting, a few months of more mud cannot be too bad!

Back online

Picnic at the bluff overlooking Playa Muñecos.

Ok, so I've been back on line for about a week now, but I am barely getting back on track with life!

We moved again! We are still in the city of Xalapa, this time on the other side of the city. We are now residing near the nature park called El Haya close to the exit to the old highway to Coatepec. It was a long move, but we are finally settling in and making time to do some family trips.

This summer was interesting. It started with the non-anticipated search for another home. Usually this has taken a good month or so to find anything remotely acceptable in a decent location, it was different this time! We actually found a home in the first week looking, which could have been a relief if the house had been in better shape! It is recession times everywhere in the World, we were hoping to save some money rent wise… we found what could be called a fixer upper. It took us a good month and a half to restore the house to livable conditions, but we also shaved a good 100dlls off the monthly rent! It really impresses me how truly uninterested people are of giving any kind of upkeep to rentals (even while they are living in them!). Then again, when you think about how tight the family that lived here was (they even took every single light bulb with them!), no surprise that they would not spend a penny on hiring a handy-man to fix the leaks, broken gas line, broken roof tiles, etc. BTW, most people in Mexico will hire a handyman even to change a light bulb! So after fixing seven years of virtual abandon (it was rented all that time and no one did any repairs!!) we finally moved in!

We did take a trip up to the States and are happy to report that the road has gotten much better since our first trip down two years ago. We can also say that it is a road not to be driven on a weekend since the traffic is terrible. We are also very happy to report our baby is a traveler! He did outstandingly well both on the way up and down!

And since he is such a great taveler… well, as soon as we finished the move, and while we waited for TelMex (Mexican Phone Company) to install our phone line, we took a side trip to the beach. Without internet connection and no real weather forecast, we took our chances and headed to the Gulf. We were hoping for overcast but no rain. We left Xalapa with drizzle –very appropriate Xalapa weather-. We got to the beach (Playa Muñecos) with no rain but very overcast and with ominous clouds in the horizon. We still had a good time having a picnic on the bluff overlooking the Gulf and the boys had a blast building with driftwood and jumping waves. Unfortunately the rain cut our trip short when it finally reached our beach!

At the hot springs in Carrizal

Last week we decided to take the boys for one last trip before classes resumed. We planned on a trip to Carrizal, the water park/mineral springs by the coast. The boys love the huge water slide and then to soak in the thermal waters, but it was not to be. I guess that Carrizal closes its pool on Fridays to clean it! The boys were pretty heartbroken but eventually decided on a good mineral soak. We, on the other hand, were pretty disappointed with the whole package. The prices have gone up on admission and the water is way too hot all over the open pools (80+F water in 95F weather). We left the park early and headed to Jalcomulco for lunch and maybe a cooler pool. We arrived at one of the small resort hotels in the area –La Antihua- and were surprised to find we were the only guests around. At the restaurant the cooks got our order and sent us off to enjoy the grounds while they prepared our meals, they would call us when ready! The boys enjoyed the grounds as much as the wonderful meal that was prepared from scratch for us. We are planning to go back soon and spend more time there and can Carrizal!

Back from Mexico City (part 3 and final)

Four and a half hours on a bus with a surgical mask is a little too much for a 5.5 month old baby. It was an incredibly long bus ride and, unfortunately, we did not manage to keep the facemask on Santi the whole way home. I took off my mask in hopes that if something was actually going to be caught... I would catch it first and produce antibodies for Santi to fight it off.
As we got into Xalapa, medical personnel entered the bus and asked everyone if they felt sick in anyway... I had a headache, but that was not the kind of symptoms they were looking for. They actually did not look twice at us since we were about the only ones in the bus (that was pretty empty to start with) that had kept their mask on the whole trip!
Xalapa was almost oblivious of the Mexico City epidemic it seemed. No face masks about the streets. Not much local coverage of any Flu. Sunday was just another normal day in Xalapa with funky news coming from Mexico City. It was until Monday when things started changing a little.
School was ongoing in Xalapa even though I would have gladly kept the boys home. It was until the middle of the day, when the Government of Mexico started pondering the way the sickness was spreading throughout the country that they decided to cancel classes Nationwide. And even if it meant having two very bored boys at home, I was happy to minimize any contagion possibility, more so because of the littlest one of us.
The Flu is called swine flu but really a mix between human, avian and swine, and is otherwise known to the World as N1H1 or North American Flu or Mexico Flu. It is still a new bug and everyday more news come out about its “mottus operandi” , but it is pretty much a flu.
I had never had the Flu before living in the US for a few years. In all my life in Mexico, I never had a Flu shot or contracted the Flu. I actually think much of the Mexican population has never had either even today (no Flu and no Flu shot). I find it almost logical that with the poverty levels, bad nourishment and awful hygiene in Mexico, the population is prone to catch this bug with a vengeance and, unfortunately, succumb to it. Our bodies (ok, I already have had both shots and flu itself) have never experienced any kind of Flu bug so there is no precedent in our immune system... Ugh, that reminds me of our bleak history, when the Conquistadores came to America bearing gifts... And chicken pox! We had no chance then, we are not doing too good now. And add to the mix the fact that most Mexican inhabitants do not go to the doctor (at all) unless they are about dead. No wonder most of the deaths in Mexico have been due to complications of patients who wait to go to the hospital until the illness is way on the way!
So, we are still at home, playing it safe and sharing time together. We go out to get groceries and don our blue facemasks. I have stopped taking Santi around (he hates being cooped up!), but it is too hard to keep the blue mask on! We have more antibacterial in the car than at home and live our lives washing our hands... And consuming big amounts of vitamin C.
In all, Xalapa is far from worried about the Flu it seems. Jevon went downtown yesterday and it was like a big Holiday. All the streets were packed, the Park was bustling, the stores full and no sign of face masks. The news report no real cases of the Flu in the area, but we know better. Its here, as it is in many other places, but that person who has it has not gone to the doctor yet...
I keep receiving mails filled with rumors and propaganda.... These people really need to get a life! Or start getting informed and keeping from adding to the misinformation that is already spreading (it spreads more than the actual facts do!!!!). I just think it is important to keep it in perspective: prevent getting the sickness and not get sick worrying over it.
A) The (so called) Swine Flu is treatable and curable. (deaths have occurred due to complications for not seeking timely medical attention)
B) There is no immunization for the Swine Flu available anywhere in the World- it is a new sickness (some people are flocking to places where they are “selling” the immunization- poor dopes)
C) The illness is transmissible through droplets (sneeze, cough, saliva) from human to human- use facemask in places where you will be at a proximity of 1.5 meters or less from someone. (it is not flying in the air in aerosolized state)
D) The dried particles of saliva on objects will keep the virus alive for a while so wash, wash and disinfect your hands before touching your face (and after touching anything outside your home- supermarket carts, money).
E) It is not transmissible through pork meat, so you can have ribs.
F) Avoid crowded spaces
G) Keep your immunity (defenses) up - sleep well, eat well and stop stressing
H) You don’t get the Flu if you stand out in the rain and get cold (people still think viruses appear if you get cold!)
I) It is everywhere... Not only in Mexico... Viruses migrate better than mosquitoes! Not all cases ever get to see a doctor or go to the hospital. So prevent and don’t think no one has it in your city.
And by all means: avoid gossip!

Any who... We are still being watchful to see if any of us develop any symptoms from our Mexico City trip since they are not sure what the gestation period is in this bug- 24hrs, 48 hrs, 5 days, 7 days-. We’ll hope to stay healthy.

Back from Mexico City Part2

Photo: Outside a pastry shop in Polanco

Back from Mexico (Part 2)

So the day at the Embassy was a looooong one... Hail to the very slow bureaucratic process made worse by people not knowing how to deal with a case as simple as ours... It was here we started noticing the blue surgical masks being passed around.
For the very short part of day left after the Embassy visit, we decided to take a taxi ride to the neighborhood of La Condesa: the most up and coming neighborhood in the City. It is here where beautiful Deco and French Colonial buildings coexist with the newest, most hip architecture and design. The best restaurants have chosen to open their doors on the streets of this neighborhood. Minimalist apartment buildings rise around small mansions and urban parks making the mix wonderful and pleasant. The boys had a blast at La Condesa. First, because we got a Taxi drivers who had never driven there (first day on the job) and we had to give him directions- good thing Jevon knows his way everywhere! Second, we found an awesome rock store. The boys got nice fossils to brag about and I got some nice turquoise and labradorite to make nursing necklaces for Santi (I wear them, he plays with them). After our little shopping spree, we found an amazing playground at Parque España were the boys climbed a bit. Unfortunately, I thnik my boys are getting too big for playgrounds! We eventually made our way back to the Hotel after a great Gelato break.
Saturday was creepy quiet. We had already heard about the outbreak of Influenza but were not really sure about its reaches. We knew most public places (museums, libraries, theatres, night clubs) were closed starting Friday evening. As we waited for our breakfast at a lovely little street cafe, a convoy of military trucks drove by. Each truck had six soldiers covered with surgical masks and five big bundles (three feet by three feet) of new surgical masks. I started getting a little bit nervous.
When we arrived to the center of the Coyoacán neighborhood that afternoon, I had already asked around stores for the little facemask with no luck. Then we got another random act of kindness from the locals: I saw a family with a baby around Santi’s age wearing a facemask. I stopped the mom and asked how she had placed the mask so that the baby was not complaining about it. She said that she could help me and right away grabbed a new mask from her purse, her Mom tied an expert knot and instructed me on how to put it on Santi. She said soldiers would go by eventually with more masks for all of us and said goodbye... Santi wore his mask till lunch and then afterwards...
Coyoacán has a wonderful Plaza and it fills up on Saturdays for a street market. Most of the vendors have bad imported tiedye and Indian style clothes, some bad beaded jewelry (locals call them the Hippies), but you can find good arts and crafts and incredible hand woven blouses. We just devoted ourselves to walk around, have some juices, ice creams and pies from the stores I used to go to when I was little and living there.
When we took our cab back to the hotel, the soldiers and a good amount of volunteers from the Department of Health were giving out facemasks to all people... Actually, they were shoving a good bunch of masks at everyone and telling them to wear them.
Sunday, we had a nice breakfast at the little outdoor café and pondered the news that streamed on the old TV set inside the dining room (we sat outside). Schools were closed until May 6th, clubs, movies, libraries, museums... You name it! If it was a place of social gathering, it was closed. And us Mexicans that are such a Social breed! We use packed beyond packed urban transport (buses and subway), we live in tight knit communities and neighborhoods, we love to congregate for strikes, meetings and parties... The Government was asking for the Parks to be vacated too... No human contact unless it is part of your family.
Well, the ride to the bus station was surreal... I had never (in all the 17+ years I lived there and later visits) ever seen the streets of Mexico City with no traffic. No traffic jams is one thing.. No cars, that is kind of creepy. But it was an amazing way to actually see the city. Reforma looked amazing, green, magnificent. The air quality was better than on the days prior. Mexico City was almost too quiet to be true.
TAPO, the bus station, was pretty quiet too. The buses were running as usual, but not too many people were traveling. There were soldiers everywhere giving out facemasks and everyone at the station was wearing one. We all were wearing ours. We had a long bus ride ahead with facemasks.

Back from Mexico City (Part 1)

Photo: Diego at Chapultepec Castle (gardens)

So, after having a very quiet first 5 months since the birth of our little son, Santi, we had to go on a trip to Mexico City required by the US Embassy. We were lucky enough to start our trip the 23rd of April... just before the outbreak of Flu was announced!
Our trip began a tad bit stressful being it was the first long trip for Santi and our first bus trip in quite a while. We decided to take the bus since it is really tricky do drive in Mexico City, it is even trickier to actually enter! For some years now, Mexico City has a program called “hoy no circula” in which cars with certain license plate endings cannot be on the streets certain days of the week. This program is supposed to help curve the terrible pollution problems the city has. Since the dates were not really our choice either, we had to go when the Embassy told us to, we had no way of going around the “no circula” restrictions.
Buses are a very good way to travel in Mexico as long as you take the right one. The first class service is prompt, comfortable and inexpensive. Then there is the Executive service which offers more space than First Class and drinks, maybe snacks, on your trip. Finally there is the Deluxe which pretty much has seats that turn into beds. Unfortunately for us, the time that was best for our trip only had first class leaving... It was not bad at all, just filled to the gills. It arrived at a great time in Mexico City, but we had to carry the extra weight of drinks and snacks for the boys.
We had a pretty uneventful ride to Mx City and Santi was a trooper: no long bouts of crying! The TAPO terminal (bus station) was very quiet when we arrived. I had never been in this terminal (there are three in MxCity) and I was very surprised at the size and the cleanliness! As in all of Mexico, there were the normal twenty well armed police officers here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Taxis are a great way to go when going around a city like Mexico. Driving is never a good choice if you are not a Chilango (Mexico City inhabitant) driver! Like a tourism brochure says: Drivers are crazy, but they know how to subsist with each other... Besides, there are no such things as good signaling and maps... Well, we are talking about the biggest city on Earth! Unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, so you should never take just any Taxi, there are “safe” taxis which are easy to find, safe and very inexpensive. These taxis are available through a SITIO or Taxi central throughout the city.
Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the Embassy in the neighborhood of Polanco. Beats me why it is called like so, but that is were most of the Embassies are and it is very close to the main monuments and Parks of MxCity without being Downtown.
The first afternoon was rather tense since we had not much of an idea what we could do with the kids without exhausting them totally. No matter how out of shape I might be, Mexico City just beckoned a good long hike! We did not go very far on Reforma (the Champs Elysee of MxCIty) before the boys started complaining about being starving- Santi was sacked out on his carrier. They had been very entertained by the “Bench Sculptures” of the Urban display of usable art down Reforma (sitting on bronze couches, checking out the metal grass bench and the three story chair), but their stomach was starting to make them really uncivilized!
We ended up entering a small “fonda” (small restaurant) that was packed with locals and got the daily menu... Eat up like a king -soup, rice or pasta, meat and salad- for a mere 4dlls. And the service is super fast, too! From there we continued the hike down Reforma to Chapultepec.
Chapultepec is a 4 square km forest within the city. It is an enormous park that houses zoo, aquarium, lakes, a castle, etc. We decided we would, at least, take the boys to the Castle -residence once upon a time to Maximilian of Austria, when Mexico was under French rule-, check out the gardens and take some panoramic photos of the City. The hike up to the Castle was hard. I tend to forget Mexico City is at a really high altitude which makes it harder to breathe (then add the smog). Besides, we had not taken our umbrellas with us on our long walk and it rained on us twice! The first rain was soft and we took refuge under the canopy of the Century trees of Chapultepec, the second hit us hard at the Castle.
You tend to hear about how unfriendly people in Mexico City have become because of the violence and insecurity... Let me prove this wrong! As I was walking for cover (can’t run with Santi on his carrier) shielding him as well as I could with my arms, a local family walked by and promptly offered us a rain poncho! I accepted it and covered Santi. They smiled, waved and went on their way. This was just the first random act of kindness we received in MxCity!

March 3rd. Afterthoughts

Photo: Little toes

Well, as we face another cold at home and the tail end of another cold front, I look forward to a very warm weekend. Warm days bring little naked toes out! Oh, I had forgotten the joys of a little baby! And the hardships... The good news is that the newest addition is definitively related to us... He wants to be on the move all the time, discovering new things and visiting new places! So this last weekend we went on a day trip to Coatepec.
It is so strange to be going on a trip to the place we called home just last year. It brings back good memories, but it also reminds us why, oh why, we left Coatepec for Xalapa. Such a charming, quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet town! That is until the gas truck or the newspaper guys or the tortilla vendors blare their adds over their loud speaker attached to the top of their cars ... But still we like to drop by our favorite places, say hello to friends and enjoy the quiet, just for a little bit.
This time we visited the Coatl Organic Market at the Casa de la Culture (Cultural Center) and found that not much has changed. Change here is good and bad. Good, because change could mean more prosperity, more vendors, more products, more buyers. Bad, because it could mean not finding the products you are there to find, or the familiar faces. So, unfortunately, no, they are not doing too much better than a year ago, but, fortunately, they still carry our all time favorites! My eldest and husband went for the organic, homemade, German sausage with red pepper and onion. Baby and I went for my spices.
My sole reason to visiting last Saturday was to get a good amount of Cardamom. This is one of my very favorite spices and a must for making a killer Chai, and we are lucky that this region is the perfect climate for growing it. I have to say that I find it rather strange in many ways that, being Mexican, I can’t seem to be able to live without my Indian spices: ginger, turmeric, mustard, cardamom. I also find it even stranger, but very serendipitous, that all those spices are grown here or very close to here, so I can always find them.
So, Cardamom acquired (and a good amount of other goodies), we headed for another one of our favorite places for lunch. It is a little Japanese restaurant by the plaza called Sakura. No, it’s not much to look at and the owner just opened another similar but nicer one in Xalapa, but we keep coming to the one in Coatepec. Some people find it strange that we head to Coatepec for a Japanese lunch, but the food is good and the prices are great. Besides, my eldest is a fan of Ramen (thanks to Naruto) and there is no better place for a huge bowl with fresh veggies and shrimp. I wonder if the littlest one will embrace our diverse tastes when he gets older.

Finally, March!

Photo: Dry weather takes a toll on Bromeliads and the inhabitants.

It just dawned on me this morning that I have not written anything in more than a month! I have been slipping more and more, writting less and less. I do have an excuse, last year was a really bad pregnancy, this year is a really cute little baby...

Anyway, Febraury went by as a mirror image of last Feb. Sickness struck everyone as the last remnants of January were fading away. The first one to go down was Diego, which is normal, but he quickly came back, as is was not the case last year. Then it was Armando's turn. He usually gets them really bad and excerbates his asthma. We were expecting bronchitis for both, only one got it. In turn, Jevon had his share and finally me, which was good because baby got antibodies and escaped the cold. But as we were about to start celebrating the end of the "sick season", the vomit started.

This time it was the baby and, lo and behold, it was a nasty case of Amoebas! So everyone, minus the dog, had to get medicine to kill Amoebas.

Then, one week gone by, vomit overtook Armando and a friend of his. That one passed with no more victims... then the Chicken Pox hit!

Well, we are really not too sure it was the Chicken Pox, but it looked like it, sort of acted like it, but it was really mild. Good thing, since the only one that had not had it before was the baby. He is fine now.

Today both the oldest woke up with a cold... yeepee!

So, we enter March counting our blessings and taking our vitamin C. We are finally off the radiator heat, or at least we hope, as the Cold Front number 38 passes by. The days are getting lovlier but also drier: Xalapa looks dreadful when it gets this dry for a long time. The rain will come soon enough and then green will be living everywhere... even on our shoes and clothes!

Sometimes I wonder... does anyone actually read this blog?

NEW YEAR 2009

Photo: Aqua X pool.

Christmas was a success for our boys. They really were very happy for staying and just relaxing without having to undertake the grueling two day trek to Texas! They even had fun at their end of the cycle party at school and made jokes about singing “la Rama” around the old neighborhood in Coatepec. ( “La Rama” is a tradition of the area in which kids decorate a dead tree branch with tinsel and other ornaments and go around the neighborhood “caroling”. The neighbors then reward them with money, candy or small trinkets. The “Rama” later on will decorate the Nativity scene that every home has.) There was no Rama for us, but a very funky Christmas tree (I call it our shag tree) and a quiet and peaceful Christmas and New Years.
We just finished celebrating Día de Reyes (Epiphany) and filled our bellies with traditional bread. No tamales for us this year, there was no way I was going to make some, but we managed to have good meals for the holidays including a big turkey I roasted, some cod fish and a delicious meal at the best Italian eatery in the region: Casa Italia.
Ok, maybe we are partial to this place, but I have not had a better Pizza or Penne al Fungi this side of the Atlantic! Guido, the Chef owner, is also a good friend and really knows his food. He only uses fresh ingredients and makes sure Italian music is always blaring off the TV in the dining room. We hear from his wife (a wonderful, gorgeous Cuban woman) that they are offering Cuban food on the weekends. We are definitively going back for Cuban soon since we already tried her cooking and it is as good as her husbands! What a couple!
We also took a little trip to Veracruz to visit the beloved Acuario (aquarium). It was fun, but they are building a new dolphin enclosure so part of the outdoors is closed. It turned out to be a short visit due to construction so we decided to go eat at another favorite: La Parroquia. It is a restaurant that has been serving the Port of Veracruz for almost 100 years (my grandmother and my father used to go there in their youth). It is famous because of it’s café lechero (café au lait) that is served from steaming pots right on your table –I can’t have caffeine right now!-, still, we enjoy eating the shrimp and fish and the many people that pass by.
The boys just returned to school today and had a great day. They also enjoyed their marathon swimming at AquaX and felt elated. We all had good Holidays, but there is a certain peace in getting back to the routine, whichever it might turn out to be this year!

Volcancillo (Dec 20th)

Photo: Exit of a lava spout inside the crater.

Since we needed a little hiking, we decided to visit Volcancillo. Close to El Ciclo Verde, the Christmas tree farm, there is a signal off the main road into a little town. There you kind of have to ask around to find the beginning of the trail… yeah, the ever non existent signage!
We got really lucky on our adventure since there was a mountain biker at the beginning of the trail and he actually showed us the way to the Volcano. Although the trail is wide and mostly marked, there are no actual signs or maps that explain what the marks look like (blue paint on some trees) nor that there are other trails that farmers have made that intersect the trail! We had heard from the workers at the tree farm that the trail was about an hour’s hike, the bike guy said about 30 minutes… I think the tree guys were closer! It was a lovely hike up pine forests and lava flows, but it probably took a good hour up hill.
Volcancillo is a volcano that erupted a mere 800 years ago. The lava flow has been great seeding ground for all sorts of pines and firs, but it is still sharp, rugged and almost surreal in some areas. The crater itself is breath taking, and Vertigo inducing. It is surrounded by a series of caves and lava spouts that end up in the impressive sheer walls of the crater. Some hikers actually go into the lava spouts and come out on the precipice edge, but they come with more equipment than we did! It’s quite a view, but for the looks of some little white crosses on the edge of the crater, it is also a dangerous view!
After a nice hike (easier if you have not had a baby in precious months!) we stopped at La Joya, a town on the road back to Xalapa that is famous for its cheeses and other milk products. It was a great drive home sharing delicious La Joya Cheese and Butter Bread!

A Christmas Tree (Dec 9th)

Photo: Searching for the right one! At Ciclo Verde.

Our first Christmas in Xalapa! We just decided not to try to brave the road North with a new born, so off to get the gear ready for the Holidays in Mexico.
Since we left all our Xmas stuff back up North, it was all new for us. It was fun going as a family to get ornaments for our future tree, it was hilarious when we noticed we were picking the colors of the Cleveland Cavaliers… Go Cavs! (ok, we do miss the NBA). But it was rather depressing when we drove to four different stores to buy our tree and they had run out of them! It seems in Xalapa trees start arriving as early as November 15th. We did not want to buy it too early so that it would survive the Holiday season which spans from the 12 of December (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe) to January 6th (Epiphany), so we had waited as long as we could. Unfortunately, by the 8th of December, there were no trees around. The boys were bummed… and then we discovered Xalapa’s best kept secret… which is not a secret since even buses have ads for the place!!!
El Ciclo Verde (the Green Cycle) is a Xmas tree farm about 30 minutes out of Xalapa towards Puebla. It sits on the mountains on hundreds of acres of land that is used solely to grow pines, firs, etc.
The experience was extraordinary! We drove on a great sunny afternoon in the middle of the week and took a nice little picnic with us. We got to El Ciclo and at the gate they give you a little saw and a map, then they told us which areas were open. We headed to a parking area and started climbing the hill side were hundreds of Nordic Pines were planted. A little bit further, there was another area with hundreds of firs, and further off more and more and more acres of trees. It was not an easy task to decide which tree would come home to celebrate the season with us, but it was fun to measure the beautiful trees and try to have the kids agree on one. Finally, we found the ONE. Dad cut it as we gave thanks to the land for it. A guy from the Ciclo took it, packed it in protective net and tied it to our car. Then the funnest part began: as you drive out of the Ciclo, you get to the picnic area and a big corral with reindeer. We ate, the boys played and checked the deer for a while before it was time to head back home and decorate our beautiful tree.
We were so lucky stores ran out of trees! We wouldn’t have had such an extraordinary experience out in the mountains!

Rafting Jalcomulco (Nov 29th)

Well, with a month old child, no rafting for mom. But the boys had a great adventure in the nearby town of Jalcomulco, epicenter of ecotourism and extreme sports in the area.
Early November, a little girl from school invited the boys to go with her to brave the white waters of the Pescados River to the town of Jalcomulco. Jalco (as the locals call it) is a sleepy town about an hour away from Xalapa and is the HUB for Ecotourism in the area. The town itself is charming and has nice little eateries, but the main attraction is the Río Pescados that runs through it.
So, Dad and the boys drove to Jalco with friends from school, hooked up with a very nice outfitter: “eXplorando” (small, very professional and great with kids… oh, and cheap) and rode a bus with the equipment up river. There, after a thorough tutorial on how to use the gear and what to do if you fall in the “drink”, they embarked on a raft and a kayak (the kayak for one adult and a guide) and started paddling to get to Jalco.
Well, I was absent from the adventure, but for the raving review I got as soon as the boys got home (and the photos), I’d say the three hour trek was way cool, or as the boys would put it: Totally Wicked!
The Pescados only has a few times of the year that are good for kids’ rafting: not too dangerous. Still, I hear that there was a stretch that the kids had to walk on land while the adults passed a certain area of pretty advanced rapids. There were other areas where they stopped the raft to let the kids swim in very quiet waters and even jump from cliffs.
The boys can’t wait until the next White Water season!