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!
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!
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