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Egypt for 1 Month, then Mexico
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Egypt for 1 Month, then Mexico

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Even the shop doors are old and bigCardboard garbage collectionPruning trees with a macheteMorning bread sold on the streetsLet sleeping dogs lieWalking home

    Khan El-khalili Bazaar

    6 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Okay, I will attempt to describe what we did this morning but whatever I write you have to multiply that your thoughts about what I have said by 100. Does that make sense?

    First of all, Cairo has a population of 21,750,000 people. It is very big. People are noisy and so is the traffic with cars ‘talking’ (using their horns) to each other constantly. Calls to prayer add to the noise.

    We had the day to walk around our neighbourhood and the historic part of the city, and experience a little of daily life in busy Cairo. We have mastered the art of walking across the street and dealing with hagglers since we arrived here so we were feeling pretty confident that we could tackle the Khan El- Khalil Bazaar. We had been to it once before with a guide for about half an hour so we knew what we were in for. It was about a 2 km walk away on a very busy and seemingly chaotic market street. We didn’t see any other tourists walking there!

    Originally built on the site of an old mausoleum, local and foreign merchants have been trading at Khan el-Khalili souk since the 14th century. It is Egypt's most famous market and what a sensory place it is!

    While walking through the market in narrow alleyways and stairs, we found that we were wowed by the sheer amount and variety of merchandise on display – from sparkling silverware, gold artefacts and antiques, to stained-glass lamps, incense and handmade accessories, even carpets and fabrics. There are huge dedicated blocks of shops with everything including gold, copper and spices. Who would buy all the things that we saw? It is a truly a labyrinth of stuff.

    The market is also home to many old cafes. We had heard about El-Fishawi Cafe, one of the oldest cafes in Cairo (established in 1797) and one of Naguib Mahfouz’s favorite places to write. He is an Egyptian who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature.

    We happened to stumble upon this famous cafe so decided to sit down, have some tea and take a little break from the masses. It is in a great place to people-watch while drinking mint and ginger tea.

    Wouldn’t you know, we met our first Canadians since we started the trip! Fatima and Hamid from Ottawa and Alani from Toronto. They all spoke Arabic and understood the culture so we ended up having a great discussion, while fending off a persistent and hungry cat, about all sorts of things, Canadian and Egyptian. They kindly treated us to a delicious Egyptian food called ta’tameya.

    Ta’tameyas, or falafels as we call it in Canada, is an all-time favorite breakfast street food. In most parts of the Middle East and Canada, falafels are made with ground chickpeas. However, in Egypt, it is made with dried fava (broad) beans. The ones we ate were served in pita bread with Egyptian pickles on the side. So good!

    A funny thing happened while we were eating. The only shoes that we brought were our fantastic ON shoes. They are fabric running shoes. A shoeshine guy came up to Chris and said that his shoes were dirty. They were but they didn't need shoeshining. Finally, Chris caved and the man ran off with his one shoe. We laughed. He came back a few minutes later with a very clean shoe. We laughed harder as now his other shoe looked bad. The nan ran off again with his other shoe. We laughed again and hoped that the guy would cone back with the shoe. He did. Two very clean shoes. Lots of laughs. He said that Chris could give him whatever. It had been pretty entertaining.
    He was happy with $2,50 cdn.

    We said our goodbyes and Chris and I walked though a nice smelling part of the market - the spice market where you can buy fresh spices of any variety. Then the perfume market that has countless mixing scents of essential oils. Further on, was a section with burning incense.

    The call for prayer came on, loud and clear, and dedicated areas for praying were full of men touching their foreheads to the ground while it sounded like a sermon was being broadcast from the nearby famous Al-Hussein mosque.

    Our senses were assaulted with all the new sounds, smells and sights and we decided to head back to the hostel after a couple of hours for a bit of quiet time. In Fergus, we sure live a different life than the people in Cairo!

    Tomorrow, we will go on our last trip in Egypt - to Alexandria, once among the greatest cities of the Mediterranean world.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Not my photo but similar to what we saw as we drove past.

    Cairo’s Garbage City

    6 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Garbage is a serious problem in Cairo. Like other big cities, solid waste management is a huge challenge. The city produces more than 15,000 tons of solid waste every day which is putting tremendous strain on city’s infrastructure and their system for getting rid of it isn’t working.

    In most "civilized" nations, the recycling of 20-25% of all waste is considered a good thing and, in most circles, shows an environmentally friendly community. On an earlier tour, we drove by and had a glimpse of an area that is called Garbage City. We were curious about why it is called this so I did a little research.

    Actually the area is really called Manshiyat Nasser but it is more popularly known as “Garbage City”. It is a slum settlement with a population of around 60,000 on the outskirts of the Moqattam Hills, within Cairo’s sprawling metropolitan area.

    The village is notable for having nearly every space of it covered in garbage, including the streets and rooftops of the settlement. These piles of garbage are the result of the Cairo Metropolitan Area having never established an efficient garbage collecting system, despite having a population of over 20 million people.

    The inhabitants of Manshiyat Nasser, mostly Coptic Christians, have filled this gap for the past 70 years. These informal garbage collectors, called the Zabbaleen or “Garbage people,“ collect the garbage of Cairo’s residents in a door-to-door service for a small fee and then transport it via donkey carts or pick-up trucks to their homes in Manshiyat Nasser. Once home, they sort the garbage for recyclable material. The collecting of the trash is traditionally the men’s work, while women and children sort the garbage.

    Although it seems very old-fashioned, the efficiency of the recycling system of the Zabbaleen is remarkable. Almost 80 percent of the garbage is recycled, which is four times the percentage most Western recycling companies produce.

    Living conditions are poor in Manshiyat Nasser and the living situation is very unhealthy. We were going to do a tour to this place and it was recommended that we never open the windows or get out of the car. During the last years, the lives of the Zabbaleen have gotten worse as a result of two decisions of the Cairo municipal government. In 2003 the government hired private companies for the garbage disposal, which today the Zabbaleen have to compete against.

    Six years later, in a preventive measure against the threat of an outbreak of the swine flu, the Cairo government ordered the culling of all 350,000 pigs in Manshiyat Nasser. Traditionally, pigs have always been an important factor in the lives of the Zabbaleen, since they cleared the garbage of all organic waste and their meat was later sold to hotels and restaurants catering to non-Muslim tourists.

    The village has received a lot of attention following the release of the 2009 documentary film Garbage Dreams, which won the Al Gore Reel Current Award. Since the release of the film, Manshiyat Nasser has become something of an off-the-beaten-path tourist attraction for adventuresome individuals. We just ran out of time or we would have gone.

    Here is a blurb that I found about the documentary:

    “Conceived and directed by Mai Iskander, "Garbage Dreams" largely follows the lives of a group of four young members of the Zaballeen community as they deal with life, growing up, jobs and social expectations. The four include: 1) 17-year-old Adham, who has become the man of the house after his father was jailed for attempting to build Adham an apartment without the proper permits, 2) 16-year-old Osama, an immature young man whose difficulty holding a job for more than a month is having increasingly negative consequences, 3) 18-year-old Nabil, who dreams of opening a can-recycling shop of his own but is aware that the Zaballeens may not have much of a future in the business, and 4) Laila, a community nurse who attempts to keep the Zaballeens healthy while helping to organize their efforts to keep waste disposal in their daily lives.

    While Iskander is clearly sympathetic to the Zaballeens, she's quite balanced in the ways that she shares life in the community, which often appears as one huge trash dump with piles upon piles of all sorts of waste in streets, alleys and on rooftops. Similarly, while Iskander paints a portrait of a faithful and dutiful people, she doesn't hide away their quirks and weaknesses.

    Osama is clearly portrayed as a frequent screw-up, while Adham struggles to be the "man of the house" and frequently borders on abuse with his sister. Nabil longs for a wife, while Laila appears to be a single mother in a society where this can be frowned upon. Yet, all of them are united by a commitment to their longstanding way of life and their acceptance that this life is how God would will it to be for them. Living in conditions that even the most poverty-stricken in the United States would consider unimaginable, the Zaballeens find immense joy and happiness in living their lives humbly.

    "Garbage Dreams" is awesomely photographed, though the editing occasionally feels a touch choppy with some scenes feeling a touch disconnected and awkwardly placed such as the scene when Adham finds himself part of a team sent abroad to study waste disposal in Wales. This also begs the question "If this community is so poverty stricken who sent the team abroad?"

    Simultaneously charming and a bit humbling, "Garbage Dreams" is an entertaining and informative documentary examining an Egyptian community I dare say few even realize existed. Using the American capitalist mentality, it's easy to understand why Cairo would seek newer, more efficient ways of waste disposal, but by the end of "Garbage Dreams" it becomes clear that, despite their antiquated methods, the Zaballeens not only serve their community faithfully and effectively but are also doing more than virtually any other waste disposal firm in the world for the environment.”    Leer más

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    Daytrip to Alexandria

    7 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We are winding down and preparing to go home after an amazing month in Egypt. Our original plan included a tentative day trip to Alexandria. We weren’t sure if we would have the energy and time to add this trip in but we had a day that we could do it in, and we are here, so we did it.

    The hostel arranged for a driver to pick us up and chauffeur us around for 10 hours. Alexandria is a good 3 hour drive away. It cost us around $100, but where else can you get a good private driver for that length of time? We opted out of a guide. Between our Lonely Planet Guidebook and the internet, we were fine.

    Alexandria is a Mediterranean port city in Egypt. It was founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great and grew rapidly. It eventually became the capital of Egypt until 642 AD.

    It is best known for the huge Lighthouse of Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; it’s Great Library, the largest and most significant library of the ancient world; and the Necropolis, on of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

    Our plan was to see:
    - the Catacombs of Kom El-Shouqafa
    - Bombay's Pillar in the Necropolis
    - the Citadel of Qaitbay
    - the huge Mosque built in 1775
    - the new Library of Alexandria
    - the 10 mile long corniche or waterfront promenade

    We left at 7 a.m., picked up a couple of Costa real coffees and were on our way but … the driver Hussein wanted to treat us to some breakfast falafels and water so we stopped at his brother’s shop to pick them up. Now we were in our way.

    The traffic in Cairo is sparse at 7 a.m. so we made great time getting out of this big city, 45 minutes. The highway looks new and we just zipped along. There wasn’t a lot to see, farmland and some new ‘subdivisions’. Shortly after 10 a.m., we arrived in Alexandria and headed for the catacombs.    Leer más

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    Catacombs of Kom El-Shouqafa

    7 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The Catacombs that we visited today were just a little east of Alexandria but right in the middle of a residential area.The cemetery dates back to the 1st century A.D. and was used until the 4th century A.D. It was discovered in 1900 when, by pure chance, a donkey-drawn cart fell into a pit, and that led to their discovery. 

    These catacombs, also known as Kom el-Shoqafa or “mound of shards’’ in Arabic, are one of the seven wonders of the medieval world.

    A winding staircase of 99 steps goes around a central shaft and takes you to the catacombs and the tombs that are arranged on three levels.
    Bodies of the deceased were lowered down the shaft by means of ropes, to prevent any damages to them

    The staircase leads to a vestibule with two niches on both sides. The top of each niche is in the shape of a shell, while the bottom part contains a half round bench, cut into the rock, I assume a place to rest after descending the stairs of the tomb.

    The lowest level is flooded by groundwater so we couldn't go down to it but we were free to explore the first 2 levels. They were pretty dark and the air was damp and musty. It was kind of like going into a haunted house... eerie.

    On the first level, there was a vestibule and a rotunda. A passage lead to the triclinium - a large hall, in which there were stone benches along three walls. I guess that funeral services were organized in this room and meals eaten. At the end of the feast, all the utensils that were used were shattered because it was believed that it was bad luck to re-use the utensils used at the funeral. Tons of pottery scattered around the area gave the place its contemporary name - Kom El-Shoqfa, which means "hill of shards".

    I learned a new word today - luculi. These are grooves cut in the rock, where coffins are stored. There were lots of these down there but no coffins. Everything has been moved to a museum somewhere, I think.

    While Egypt's most famous history dates back to the time of the Pharaohs, its history didn't stop there. Egypt was also part of the Greek and Roman empires for hundreds of years. The structure of the catacombs, the way their niches are ordered, the sarcophagi and the decora­tions on the walls, show a blend of influences from the an­cient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations. And that's what makes these catacombs so special.    Leer más

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    Pompey’s Pillar

    7 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Not far from the catacombs but still in the heart of Alexandria, is an amazingly tall memorial structure that was built in 297 A.D. and called Pompey’s Pillar, or The Pillar of Masts.

    The column is now standing in the heart of Alexandria on top of the old Serapeum temple ruins.
    The Serapeum was one of the most magnificent temples in the area, it was heavily plundered and possibly destroyed by Roman soldiers or a Christian mob. Nothing much remains today except a cave that contains a small branch of the famous Library of Alexandria. It contained the overflow from the big library.

    As we wandered through the ruins, we saw lots of butterflies. So did the kittens who were in stalking mode. It was fun to watch them hide in amongst the flowers before pouncing.

    The pillar's base diameter is 2.7 m and it was carved out of a single block of red granite brought from Aswan city. The net weight of the pillar is 285 tons and reaches 26 meter high with the base. The column was built to commemorate the victory of Emperor Diocletian over an Alexandrian revolt.

    After the revolt, there was a terrible famine and the Emperor gave a portion of the corn, which was sent to Rome annually, to the people of Alexandria.

    He dropped the taxes on Alexandria during this period too in order to restore the calm, stability, and prosperity of the city. He was a pretty caring leader.

    So, in cooperation with the people of Alexandria, he built the Pompey Pillar as a sign of gratitude. There is an inscription on the base that verifies this.

    At the front of the pillar there are two granite sphinxes guarding the tower.

    Below the column, we were able to ‘enter’ the Roman period in Egypt. One set of stairs took us down into the overflow library. Niches were carved into the rock to house scrolls. I must say that it was really dark and creepy down there. Not a lot of lighting and lots of unseen steps up or down. We went back up and through another doorway with more steps going down.

    These led us into the cave-like temple (the Serapeum) of the god Serapis, who was believed to be the protector of Alexandria during the Roman era. It has been damaged due to the revolts of the Jewish population in Alexandria sometime between 89-118 A.D but rebuilt again later.

    At the end of a long, dark tunnel we met up with a copy of Anubis, the bull god of death and mummification for the Greeks . What a scary creature to meet face to face looking out from his dark burial tomb! The real bull statue had been moved into the Roman museum in Alexandria for safe-keeping.    Leer más

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    Citadel of Qaitbey

    7 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    After being in two dark and somber, yet wondrous, cavelike places it was really nice to visit the restored picturesque Fort of Qaitbay at the eastern side of the harbour

    It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest. Then, several disasters occurred and the shape of the lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function.

    During the 11th century an earthquake occurred, causing damage to the octagonal part of the lighthouse. The bottom survived and it became a watchtower. Later a small mosque was built on the top. In the 14th century there was a very destructive earthquake and the whole building was completely destroyed. In 1840, a very strategic Mediterranean fort was erected over the old foundations.

    The largest stones of the citadel, forming the lintel and doorway of its entrance, as well as the red granite columns in the mosque within the walls, were probably salvaged from the huge tower that once stood here.

    It is a lovely, bright building with wonderful views over the bay.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Great view
    Cheap but not very tastyIn front of the libraryHealthy horse and caleche in Alexandria.Giza areaCamels, horses donkeys, dogs, cats on the street. He was moving fast!Nile

    The Rest of Our Time in Alexandria

    7 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Our driver took us to a seafood restaurant, The Fish Market, that had a great view of the harbour. We think that tour guides take their groups there. Not our pick for a restaurant but not expensive
    $15 and that good view.

    On the whole, the fish dinner was served very quickly and was not the tastiest. Lukewarm and rubbery fish with undercooked rice and an okay salad. The best part of it for me was the lemon juice and the freshly baked Naan bread with 4 different dips. Overall, it wouldn’t have been a place that I would return to.

    For dessert, the driver took us to an ice cream place. He loved ice cream so he once again treated us to mango cones, sold in front of the mosque.

    We drove along the popular 10 mile waterfront corniche, or promenade, with its healthy looking horses pulling caleches. Everything that tourists see looks so clean and well-taken care of. But behind this facade, there are poorly-built, dilapidated high rises and garbage-strewn, rough streets. Lori, our cottage neighbour, wrote to us of a collapsed roof that killed 2 people in Alexandria today. We can believe it.

    We went on to the new Alexandria Library that we found out was closed due to today being a Coptic Christmas holiday. The new library is built near where the ancient library was. Along the Mediterranean shore, the modern circular, glass-covered library overlooks the same sea where Cleopatra first laid eyes on Julius Caesar.

    Most historians believe that Julius Cesar burned 101 ships that were landing on the Mediterranean Sea shore in front of Alexandria in the year 48 BC. This great fire reached the library and caused huge damage to the building of the library and its books.

    We would have liked to have had a tour of this building as it really is impressive but we can easily do a Utube video tour. The library is considered to be the first digital library in the whole world and it contains a place to include 8 million books, six specialized libraries, three museums, research centers, two permanent galleries, six halls to host art exhibitions, an internet archive, audio and visual library, a special library for blind people, a library for children, a library for teenagers, a microfilm library, a library of rare books and a conference center. It is massive!

    By now, we had seen enough and headed back to Cairo with its pyramids, the Nile, the Cairo Tower and crazy traffic. It had been a full day.    Leer más

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    Entry between mens club and the tie house

    The Yacoubian Building

    8 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We went on a hunt today.

    When Chris and I were on the boat on the Nile, Chris needed a new book to read. There was a little lending library on board and he was able to get a novel called “ The Yacoubian Building” that was published in 2003 by Alaa Al Aswany. The novel, that takes place in Cairo, was later adapted into a 2006 film of the same name. The review on Goodreads was good. (You can read it at the bottom of this footprint.)

    When we got to Cairo, Chris, just out of curiosity, did a search on Google for the Yacoubian Building and found out that it is a real building and it is located on No. 34 Talaat Harb Street, Cairo. So then he looked it up on Google Maps and FOUND IT - very close to where we are staying in Downtown Cairo! You have to love Google maps. We do. We decided to go on a mission to find it.

    This historical building was built for the Lebanese-Armenian millionaire Jacob Yacoubian in 1937. He was the head of the Armenian community in Egypt. The builder designed the building in the Art Deco style, with some classic European touches. The name Yacoubian was engraved on its entrance in Arabic and English in luminous neon lettering.

    The building was home for Cairo's upper-class during the Kingdom of Egypt - home to cotton millionaires, members of the royal family, and foreign nationals. During and after the 1952 revolution the building was used as a domicile for Egyptian military officers and their wives. By the 1970s the building was transferred to mixed use, including shopfronts and offices. Then there were physical transformations to the building, among them the transformation of rooftop rooms from laundry rooms to housing for poor.

    Over the years the building has not aged gracefully, so as we walked down the street it is on, we had trouble trying to figure out what building it was. The original building has changed so that the whole first floor has become shops with big advertising signs on the front facing the street. There is no mansion grand entry anymore.

    The only way that we could figure out what building it was, was by asking a local shopkeeper. He pointed to the building and said we were looking at the right building and that the entry was through a small doorway. So we went across the street and walked in.

    The wide stairs and an elevator were in front of us but when we looked back to the entrance we saw the Yacoubian neon sign so we knew that we were in the right place.

    The building’s rooms now are occupied by workshops and even a hostel but it was neat to see glimpses of its past glory. All the buildings in this area had been big mansions for well-to-do people but are now in disrepair. It reminded us of the buildings in Havana, Cuba… in fact the
    book that Chris read was a fictionalized story about the building which serves as a metaphor for Cairo's own deterioration.

    Our mission was completed, but once again we could only imagine what life in this building was like when it was in its glory. It’s my turn to read the book now.

    Here is Goodreads review about the book -

    “This controversial bestselling novel in the Arab world reveals the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today.

    All manner of flawed and fragile humanity reside in the Yacoubian Building, a once-elegant temple of Art Deco splendor now slowly decaying in the smog and bustle of downtown Cairo: a fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed "scientist of women"; a sultry, voluptuous siren; a devout young student, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism; a newspaper editor helplessly in love with a policeman; a corrupt and corpulent politician, twisting the Koran to justify his desires.

    These disparate lives careen toward an explosive conclusion in Alaa Al Aswany's remarkable international bestseller. Teeming with frank sexuality and heartfelt compassion, this book is an important window on to the experience of loss and love in the Arab world.”    Leer más

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    Pigeon houses
    Pigeon broth

    Stuffed Pigeon Dinner

    8 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Wherever we have travelled in Egypt, we have seen standalone pigeon houses, or dovecotes. They are constructed from mud brick and are supposed to resemble the rocky ledges and crevices in which the birds like to roost, nest, mate, and rear their young in the wild. Actually to me, they just look like big pine cones sitting in farmers’ fields.

    Egyptians have been eating pigeon, a popular delicacy since 3000 BCE, and continue to do so even today. Hamam Mahshi is pigeon stuffed with rice and onions and spiced with nutmeg, cumin and coriander. Actually the 6 week old birds in Egypt are stuffed with a interesting grain called freekeh, not rice, which is a cracked green wheat that has a unique flavour, almost nutty. The pigeon is then fried or grilled and served. Sounds tasty as long as the pigeon is healthy and has some meat on its bones.

    We have been saving eating this delicacy for our last night in Egypt, and tonight’s the night!

    We have been advised on numerous occasions, to eat this meal at a Cairo hole in the wall restaurant called Gomhorea that is known for its pigeon dish and is close to our hostel. An alternative place would be at the Kababgy El Azhar Farahat restaurant.

    Well, we did find the place by looking at Goggle Maps but we never would have found it on our own as It’s sign is in Arabic. Of course, the place was packed and everyone stared and smiled at us as we entered as we were the only non Arabic people in the place. It was really a hole in the wall type of place. In fact, the waiters entered the eating area through a low hole in the wall. Lol.

    We got a mug of pigeon broth to start and then we had to wait and wait, and wait before we could even order. Maybe, they had run out of pigeons? We watched how other people were eating their bird and then going to a big sink to wash their hands and faces. Finally, a waiter took our order - one grilled pigeon with rice and one beef plate. A salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and cilantro came with pickles, pita bread and dips. And we waited some more. Resident street cats wandered in and out looking for tidbits. And we waited some more.

    Finally, a little tiny pigeon came and a good amount of braised beef. It was really hard to find the meat on the pigeon but the few bites that we had were good. The rice was excellent and so was the beef.

    We now understood why people lined up to wash their hands and face. We were only given a fork and spoon and noticed that other people were eating the pigeon with their hands. A knife would have been useless.

    We were a little underwhelmed by the dinner but, while in Egypt, we had to give it a try. It was another new experience for us.

    I also want to add a little note about some of the tasty drinks that we had here.

    The first one is Karkade, a hibiscus-flower infusion with a lovely ruby color and can be served cold or hot. Mexico has a similar drink called, jamaica. The dried hibiscus flowers in Egypt come from Aswan. By the way, Karkade is known for lowering high blood pressure.

    A second drink is called Sahleb. It is a warm milk-based beverage that we had in Luxor that is topped with chopped nuts and raisins and is better than a dessert. It is made from the ground roots of an orchid plant. Sahleb has several healing qualities and is said to help with heartburn and indigestion.

    The limeade here is even better than Mexico’s limonada. I am surprised that I could even say that as we love this drink in Mexico.

    We have enjoyed the food and drinks in Egypt as there is a lot of choice and food is always served very hot and well cooked. We have heard of people who have had Egyptian Tummy issues but we were fortunate not to have had this I. The month that we were there. Was it the Dukoral or due to the fact that we were careful by drinking bottled water and avoiding raw foods unless we bought and washed them ourselves?    Leer más

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    Worst Of a Great Trip - the Flight Home

    8 de enero de 2023, Egipto ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Early on Monday morning, 3 a.m., we started our trek home after one very educational trip to Egypt. How can it not be educational with all of its amazing history and very different culture?

    We left our hostel at 3:30 a.m. and it took about an hour to get to the airport. We knew our driver as we had used him when we started our trip and he was interested to know how our trip had gone.

    The Cairo airport is all pretty modern but the process to get through was hectic. Foreigners couldn’t get their booking passes or book seats online because passports had to be checked in person, etc. So we had to wait in line, but we had time. We went through 4 security checks with pat downs and luggage inspection. I guess that all those young, conscripted army guys needed to be working.

    The plane was absolutely full but it left on time. It was a small plane and not very comfortable. No food was served as it was a 5 hour flight and rules have changed re when food is served. No food unless over 5 hours now. We had brought a few things to eat though.

    Heathrow was a zoo and the service people didn’t move very fast. Once again we had to go through security checks and our luggage went through scanners. It all seemed very disorganized and chaotic. Even though we had a 1 1/2 hour layover, we almost missed our connecting flight home. We were the very last people to board. Getting to the gate was our workout for the day.

    The baggage check people said that I had liquid in my bag. Something very, very small. Could they find it? No. Could I? No. It was either my mascara or a tiny bit of hand sanitizer. They were removing everyone’s makeup and putting it in a little clear bag so the lineup for this check point was long. I kept telling them that our plane was taking off in 5 minutes but they said don’t worry and continued to work pretty casually.

    In the meantime, Chris lost one hearing aid in the craziness. An employee actually spent time helping him look for it and of course it ended up being in Chris’ pocket, haha.

    We ran. Thanks heavens we had backpacks that weren’t very heavy. Down some stairs, along a hallway to a slow elevator to go down 2 floors, caught a subway to another area, rain up the elevator and to our gate. Everyone had already boarded and we ended up being the last ones to board. We were so thankful not to have missed the plane home.

     At least we got some exercise to put it mildly. We felt pretty cramped for the next 7 hours but al least we got fed about 4 hours into the flight. By then we were pretty hungry. We had counted on time to grab some food before boarding but not a chance. We were offered lots to drink though and the meal was okay.

    Toronto was a zoo too. For some reason, immigration was checking everyone who got off the plane. Once that was done we moved on to getting our declaration of goods pass. Several of the machines were not working and it took us 1/2 hour to get our papers.

    Finally, we were through. Thank heavens we didn’t have to collect luggage!

    The best part of the whole experience was the Red Car service to take us home. The driver was right there in 5 minutes and we were the only ones in the van. He originally was from Poland and offered us his house if we ever go there! He gave us his WhatsApp number and said that he’d give us ideas of where we could go in the cheap parts of Europe and where to get a cheap car rental. He even offered us his house!

    When we got home at 5 pm, everything was so nice and clean. Except us. For some reason all of our clothes stunk. I did a load of laundry immediately and we had a quick dinner. Our neighbour had picked up a few things for us from the grocery store. She’s the best.

    We tried to stay up until 9 pm but didn’t quite make it. So of course, we were up at 3 a.m. for a couple of hours. But we were okay because we had had a good sleep up until then. We were able to sleep a little longer later in the day.

    It is so quiet here. No honking horns, donkeys, people talking on the street, etc. But … a big spider was hiding in the sheets of our bed. What a greeting!    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Chacala from the top of the volcano
    Humpback whaleThe beachThe marinaSunset in Chacala

    Back in Mexico

    18 de enero de 2023, Mexico ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We have decided not to do a big blog for our time in Mexico this year. We will be revisiting places that we have been to in the past so Chris doesn’t think that there won’t be a lot of new things to see or to write about. I’m not so sure…

    We are now in Chacala, Mexico. FindPenguins just let me know that we were in Mexico 295 days ago. So funny. And in Chacala in 2020 just before Covid broke out.

    One week after coming home from Egypt, we hopped on a plane and flew to Puerto Vallarta. Originally, I tried to get flights from Egypt to Mexico but it cost way too much and would have taken hours to get here. Cheaper to just fly back home. And we saw our kids and reorganized our luggage for a hotter climate. Worked out just right.

    Chacala is a sweet little fishing village, a 2 hour drive north of P.V. Our long time travelling friends are staying here and booked a 2 bedroom apartment in a small building close to the beach. We are staying with them for a couple of weeks. Their grandson and his wife are also staying close by for a 5 day mini vacation so we were lucky to spend some time with them for a few days.

    Our first full day in Chacala was spent by first of all hiking up the nearby volcano and enjoying the amazing view of the bay and village from its summit. Then we all went to a lovely restaurant near the marina for a buffet brunch.

    Then we unpacked and settled in. We stayed with P and G in another apartment in this building 3 years ago so it feels like home to us.

    At 3 pm, we all went out whale watching and we saw whales! It was pretty exciting.

    But the fun didn’t end there. Since it was the kids’ last night before heading home, we all went out to see the sunset over the ocean and then a seafood dinner at Las Brisas.

    We love Mexico!    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp

    Guadalajara

    30 de enero de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We stayed with our friends, Pat and Gail, for two weeks in Chacala before heading to the beautiful city of Guadalajara by Pacifico bus on Monday, January 30.

    As I mentioned before, we have been to Guadalajara several times but that was many years ago. It is Mexico’s 2nd biggest cit with a population of around 5 million people..
    The historical and cultural centre is lovely and full of history and art.

    We spent 4 nights in the oldest hotel in the city, the Frances Hotel, that was built in 1610. The building is considered a national monument and is in a great location to walk to everything that we wanted to revisit. It was previously known as EL MESON DE SAN JOSE or Saint Joseph's Table. In 1980, renovations were completed with thought given to retaining its historical character.

    A doorman greets you and takes you into the lobby that has beautiful Spanish arches and stone columns and a gorgeous chandelier in the middle of the room. Very elegant. There are old paintings and photographs in dark wooden frames. Heavy furniture is thoughtfully placed about the room on hardwood floors and an old elevator takes you up to your floor or the rooftop terrace. It was definitely a step back into the old days of colonial Mexico.

    We found an early morning coffee shop and a great little breakfast restaurant, that we visited every morning, and then spent three days walking in the Zona Central.

    So what did we see? Do?

    - A fantastic laser light show on the walls of the huge Guadalajara Cathedral (1561).
    - Protests against deadbeat dads in front of the beautiful Teatro Degollado.
    - Exhibits at the Regional Museum of Guadalajara that include pre-Hispanic pottery.
    - Cabañas Cultural Institute - in 1938 and 1939 the Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco decorated its interior with a mural known as "El Hombre de Fuego" (The Man of Fire).
    - we passed on seeing the wax museum that was close by
    - Handicrafts, clothing, and food stalls that pack the huge markets of San Juan de Dios
    - Plaza de las Armas where a chiropractor was ‘fixing’ people up on the park benches
    - a trolley tour of Guadalajara
    - a haircut
    - dinner in a great Argentinian restaurant - Mil Ocho Noventa
    - we also went to the area where the electronics shops are located and bought our grandkids knockoff handheld gameboy machines with 400 old school games.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    1The guesthouse we stayed in for a week.
    1

    Ajijic

    3 de febrero de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We figured out how to get to Ajijic from the centre of Guadalajara. Rome2Rio is a very helpful app! A taxi from the hotel to the old bus station. A bus to Ajijic and then a taxi to our friend’s beautiful house, that is on the outskirts of Ajijic. I wish that travelling in Ontario was as easy and cheap to do as it is in Mexico!

    Our original plan was to visit our friend and her husband for a weekend before moving on. Since we last saw the two of them, 11 years ago, her husband had a very bad fall and is not able to get around and he also developed dementia. His wife has been caring for him for 8+ years and it finally become too hard for her. A wonderful and caring home was found for him and he has been there for 8 months. But our poor friend has had a very hard time dealing with her new life without her husband.

    Our original Mexico plan was to ‘go where the wind blows us’, so we decided to stay with her and help her out as long as we could. She has a beautiful casita and we were fortunate to be able to stay there for a month, doing whatever we could to help.

    We went on hikes into Ajijic or down to the lake. We saw lots of people who remembered us from the times that we had stayed in Ajijic previously. We were able to spend catch-up time with our ex landlady, Robin; Chris’ hiking pals, Larry and Jim; Antonio, a local artist; Miguel, a carpenter near the Six Corners; Jill who knew us from Ontario but sadly not her husband who recently passed away; Jim Garrow and Larry Lafromboise, two of Chris' old hiking companions.

    On Chris’ birthday, our friend came with us to Chapala to have a very tasty mocajete lunch in Chapala. As a surprise, she hired mariachis to come to our table to sing the Mexican happy birthday song to Chris. We even saw the voladores that is always thrilling. It was a great afternoon on the malecon.

    We were able to have a visit with her husband in the nearby town of San Juan de Cosala. We are not sure if he remembered us. His home is spacious and he has the most wonderful care. I think that only 8 people live in his house.

    Since we were in Ajijic, things have changed. All in the name of progress. Some things are better and some are not. A long, safe bicycle/walking path runs from Chapala to Jocotepec. Two hospitals have been built as well as a cardiac care clinic. Grocery stores with anything that you may want to buy have been built too. There has been a lot of new construction.

    We enjoyed visiting the square in Ajijic, as well as the lovely malecon by the lake. We found a little Russian restaurant that served very good borscht, cabbage rolls, vereniki and
    and an eggplant dish.

    But, there seems to be a lot more gringos living in town. All the waiters/waitresses speak English. So do the cab drivers and many of the store owners.

    There is only one main road running along the shore of the lake and as there are many more cars and other vehicles using it, it has become very congested. It is hard to cross the road at certain times. We are not sure how this problem can be solved.

    All in all, we loved having the time to revisit Ajijic and to see some of our old friends who we haven’t seen in a long time.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp

    Bucerias

    5 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We had a date, to meet our older daughter Amy and her family in Bucerias, Nayarit. How exciting for all of us!

    Years ago, cousin Sue, was staying in Los Picos Hotel in Bucerias and we dropped in for a short visit. We remembered that it was in a good spot with good facilities, especially for families, so we booked a week stay there for all of us. A three bedroom, three bathroom condo right on the ocean and with 3 swimming pools and a big slide.

    Travelling to Bucerias from Ajijic wasn’t too bad. A taxi to the bus station in Ajijic, a bus to Revolucion street in Guadalajara, a short taxi ride to the new Guadalajara bus station where we caught a comfortable bus with movies to watch to Bucerias. Then a short taxi ride to the hotel. About 6 hours total. Looks like it would cost a lot but no, it was pretty economical!

    Our family arrived the next night after a worrisome Sunday in emergency. Their 6 year old son had become really sick (Norovirus) on Saturday and they thought that maybe they would have to cancel their trip. The doctor felt that they would be okay to go wearing masks and he prescribed an antibiotic, just in case. So, they came, exhausted but happy to be able to go on their trip. Whew.

    The whole week was a lot of fun. The condo was perfect with a kitchen, living room and patio and looked out over a big pool area. Audrey and Matt spent a lot of time in the pool and going down the big, scary slide. By the end of the week, Nathan felt well enough to not want to get out of the pool. In fact, he even went down the slide with his dad and loved it! Audrey became a diving queen, and Amy and Matt got some free time to just relax in the sun.

    Pat and Gail came down by bus from Chacala for a visit. They were thrilled to see Amy again and to meet her growing family. A funny thing happened. Pat left wearing Chris’ sandals that were similar except … Chris wears a size 10 and Pat wears a size 13! Pat is no Cinderella so the shoes must have felt pretty uncomfortable!

    It was sad for us when the kids all left but we were so happy that all had worked out well and they were able to come down and enjoy some Mexican sunshine and a fun holiday.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    The entrance gate to the town
    The columns in front of the stores in townA typical side streetFlowers on a window sillWalking to the churchRed and white buildingsLots of streets going up and down from the main streetThe centro kiosco, bandshellThe straight bridgeThe bridgeRoses in the gardens around the plazaOur hotelOutside of our bedroom.in the courtyard of our hotelThe courtyardView from our windowOur courtyardThe restaurant on the porch overlooking the centroView of the centro

    San Sebastian Del Oeste

    14 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We stayed in Los Picos for one more night before going to a magic town in the mountains, San Sebastián del Oeste. Four years ago, we stayed for 3 weeks in the neighbouring town of Mascota but never made it to S.S., even though we wanted to. This is the year the “wind blew us” to this delightful town.

    We once again relied on taking a taxi and then the ETN bus to Estancia and then another taxi. The whole trip took about 3 hours. San Sebastián is only about 50 m away from Puerto Vallarta on a winding, picturesque mountain road.

    Our taxi came at 1 pm giving us lots of time to catch the 2:40 pm bus to Las Estancia. We met a delightful fellow Canadian, Christina, who had just been stung by a stingray in Puerto Vallarta! She was heading onward to Mascota so we were able to give her some tips.

    The tropical vegetation of the coast began to give way to the landscape of the sierra that has forests of oaks, pine trees and a much cooler climate . After approximately an hour, we crossed the Progreso Bridge, an impressive work of engineering spanning a 425-foot-deep ravine. A couple of minutes later, we stopped in the bustling town of La Estancia de Landeros. We got out and easily got a taxi ($7 Cdn) to take us to San Sebastián.

    Back on the road, we spent another 15 minutes on the winding and ascending road that leads to San Sebastián, a pueblo mágico situated 4,595 feet above sea level. We passed agave farms (for tequila) and coffee farms, as well as a chocolate factory.

    We went through the welcome arch and drove on the main street lined with giant ash trees (fresnos), noticing the local architecture, the mansions and the colourful, stately buildings, a reminder of the wealth and importance of this place during its most prosperous period.

    On entering the town, my first impression was that we were in an old time Mexican movie set. It didn’t look like a modern village in the 21st Century. Winding, cobblestone streets, old white and red adobe buildings, columned porticoes where some men were playing dominoes and drinking coffee, street dogs galore and lots of flowers. The main square has a lacey, French-style kiosco (bandshell) with gardens around it.

    San Sebastián was once was the most vibrant zone of a mining and commercial town that grew to have a population of more than 20,000 in its heyday (today it has about 5,000). In fact, during the colonial period between the 17th and 19th centuries, it was one of the most important mining centers in the country, yielding great riches from the silver, gold and lead found here. That explains why there are so many mansions/haciendas in the town. Many of these big houses have been converted into boutique hotels.

    There are 2 stone bridges in town, a straight one and a curved one. We originally wanted to stay in a hotel near the curved bridge but we found out it was being renovated so the driver took us to one called Los Arcos, right on the square. At one time, it was an old hacienda, which was later converted into a monastery and then a hotel in 1951. It has a restaurant on its porch and a large inner courtyard.

    We ended up staying in one of the bedrooms/cells for 2 weeks and really enjoyed the friendliness of the people who worked here as well as the townspeople we met.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Statue of a miner
    The new bell and damage to the trimInterior of the churchThe church museumMuseumThe City Hall, Police station and ambulancesThe stockade in front of the jailInside the jailA hatstand in El PavillonTony's TacosVendor with Cactus plantsThe bandshell at nightLadies playing lotteria (Bingo)Kids playing in the centroMore kid gamesBreakfast at Comedor LupitaWeekend market on the squareGeneral store with lots of candiesWe were Louis' first breakfast customers. Yum!Getting ready for Easter

    Places We Saw in San Sebastian

    15 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Without going far from our hotel, we were able to visit the church, the Templo de San Sebastián, constructed in 1608, to admire its neoclassical-style entryways and interior. A new golden bell had recently been put in the tower but something happened and it hit the side of the adobe church and broke some of the trim.

    There is a little church museum there, but it was pretty musty and stinky so we didn’t stay long. It was full of old church documents and clothing.

    Close by, the City Hall is another example of the historic architecture that still remains intact. On one side of this building, there was the police station and a very old arched jail with 2 cells and a concrete bed. Cold and damp with lots of graffiti on the walls. Not a very nice place.

    Strolling along the narrow, cobblestone streets, we noticed other unique buildings, with plaques in Spanish and English providing information about their history and importance.

    There is a fortified place, El Pavillon, with a secret tunnel that went to the church, where gold and silver were stored before being loaded on mules to go to Guadalajara,

    There is also a tiny mining museum in Casa Museo Doña Conchita Encarnación, which features a collection of vintage everyday objects as well as photos of the town’s most affluent families during the mining era. A lot of intermarriages occurred! San Sebastian was founded by three families who immigrated from Spain and to keep their blood lines pure, they only intermarried with each other. So through the centuries uncles married nieces and aunts married nephews. Lupita, a great, great, great granddaughter of the original family, said that her mother, Dona Conchita, married a man who was her cousin and nephew and so Lupita’s father was also her nephew, cousin and uncle!

    On weekends, vendors sell toys, trinkets and plants on the square. Tony the taco man sets up and makes a killing. Trucks come in to take people up to the highest point in the area, La Bufa. Traditional music plays on speakers and people come to drink tequila and raicilla. It’s a happening place. During the week, it is much quieter. Last week was family week and board games were set up on several tables for families to play for a few hours in the evening. They had chess, checkers, backgammon, battleship, jenga, bingo and several other games. Games like hopscotch and marbles were chalked out on the sidewalk. The square is really the hub of the town.

    We joined a tour group that was visiting an organic coffee farm on the edge of town. The family’s home and business is located in a building dating back more than 140 years. Out back they tend 11 acres of coffee trees, some as old as the house. The family handpicks 30 tons of beans each year. They’re then dried, roasted, and ground. Sometimes sold just like that, the family also makes blends such as a mixture of ground beans with cinnamon and sugar for the making traditional Mexican coffee–now hard to find. In an interesting aside, we heard that the Sanchez’s parents married early (the Don was 15), a union lasting 68 years and producing 21 children. Their grandfather did even better, having 28 children, though that took both a wife and several mistresses. Lol.

    Walking along the cobblestone road near the entrance to the town and past massive 300 year plus ash trees, we entered Comedor Lupita for a delicious brunch. Here terra cotta platters loaded fresh handmade tortillas, refried beans and something we’ve never tasted before, machaca ( a dish of dried beef mixed with spices and eggs) were placed in front of us. What a breakfast!

    In town, there are several little old-fashioned general stores, candy stores, pharmacies, a hardware store, a good cookie bakery, a shoe store and I think that there may be 2 clothing stores, one with American clothes and another with used clothing. They are all very tiny. There are also several tourist shops with souvenirs.

    Our favourite small restaurant is called 31 Pitas and the young chef is a Panamanian called Louis. He makes delicious salads and pitas and his dog, Momo, greets us every time we walk by.

    Decorations are starting to appear. People are starting to think of Easter…    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    The Curved Bridge - start of our walk
    A few houses on the roadA side trail heading upWe crossed several wet areasRoots on a stone wallRoad to the Gertrudis MineThe entrance to the mineMy police hero (whoes name is Angel!) and his police carThe health clinicA week later in the spot where I tripped, much better

    Walking to the Mines, and a ‘Trip’!

    17 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It’s Friday and it’s St. Patrick’s Day. We got up early and decided to go for a walk to where the mines used to be. For me, it was a perfect hike through a lovely mixed forest filled with birds and at the perfect temperature for walking. It was fun thinking of what it used to be like here when miners with their equipment and mules loaded with stones were coming and going to the mines that made San Sebastián del Oeste so rich a few hundred years ago. We started at the curved bridge.

    After about 45 minutes of walking, we arrived at the entrance to the Santa Gertrudis mine, which had the highest productivity in its time and remained in operation until the 20th century. It is the only one open to the public, and you can go in a few yards to take a photo.

    We continued up the road a short ways but them decided to turn around and head home. As I was coming down an incline covered in small rocks and leaves, I slipped on a rock and fell forward cutting and hurting my knee. So after cleaning the bleeding knee, but with no bandages to cover it, I hobbled back to town (3km), using Chris as my walking stick.

    On the way, we passed a house where a lady felt sorry for me so she sprayed my cut with a marijuana concoction and gave me gauze and tape to contain the bleeding somewhat. When we got to town, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. The waitress ran in and got her aloe vera spray and some clean gauze and tape. She also cut off a leaf of her aloe vera plant for me to take home.

    On Saturday morning, the cut was still bleeding and my knee was very sore so I thought it was time to see a doctor. Luckily for us, there is a tiny clinic that opened at 1:30 pm, just on the outskirts of town. But the emergency doctor said he could see me at 11:30. But how could I walk there? Wouldn’t you know, the local police commandant offered to have a police officer drive me there in his 4x4.

    After a wheelchair ride to the office and a quick check, the doctor assured us that I would be okay. I had sprained my knee and it would take a while to feel better. He cleaned up my cut, wrapped up my knee with a tensor bandage, gave me a prescription for Tylenol, suggested rest, ice, compression and elevation for at least 2 days. Then simple exercises. It all went well, and no charge. The police officer was there to pick me up and take me back to the hotel. Everyone had been so nice. Now time to do nothing for a few days.

    Chris found me a good book to read from a hotel’s trading library and I settled in. The knee got worse but the Tylenol helped. As the doctor had predicted, by the 5th or 6th day, the knee felt much better. A week later, wanting to ‘get into the saddle’, was able to slowly and carefully and with Chris’ help, walk ‘back to the scene of the crime’. I was pretty proud of myself and once again loved the walk. Hope to do it again in the coming days.

    I should mention that we returned to the restaurant and the lady recognized me and wanted to inspect my knee again. She offered me a special salve to help out the ligaments when she saw the difficulty I had while in the process of sitting or standing up..

    The pharmacist, who is also a dentist, suggested a white powder to put on the cut that didn’t stop bleeding for a week, I probably needed a stitch or two. The powder disinfected the cut and dried it up. He also suggested something to bring down the swelling. Everything that I got really helped out. People here are so caring.

    Now I have until April 3 to continue to get better before our flight home.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Dried up river bedMine entrance.Taken from the mirador and looking down at San Sebastian.A common sight

    Chris’ Solo Hikes

    18 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    While I had to rest my knee, Chris continued exploring the trails around San Sebastián for a few hours every day. Using the Alltrails app, he found lots of interesting places up in the hills. He walked to two different miradors, walked the trail to the airport, walked down the main road to an old hacienda that stored the gold and silver before it moved on to Guadalajara called the Jalisco Hacienda, as well as to several other places. The hills are full of old trails! The trail to the mines is still a favourite.Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp

    El Puente Hotel

    27 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    So, while my knee was recuperating, we stayed in the Los Arcos Hotel which was located near the square. We then were able to move into the sweet little El Puente Hotel. Remember, this was the hotel that we originally wanted to stay in but it was being renovated so the taxi driver suggested Los Arcos.

     Well, renos were now done and we booked a room for a week. It was only about a block away from the square and very close to the curved bridge. Super clean and caring owners. If we ever come back, this is where we will stay! A beautiful and quiet place.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    La Bufa from El Puente hotel
    Connie, Chris and GuillameOur first amazing viewThe trail to the top where the antennas areOn the trailThe trail upWe made it!attge topThe guardrails and straight down! San Sebastian down below.Looking at the virgin that performs miraclesThe airplane that crashed

    La Bufa for My Birthday

    31 de marzo de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    In the distance the Cerro de La Bufa Mountain towers high above the town. Everywhere we go, we can see it. It is a huge rocky outcrop 8,200’ high and for some reason both of us wanted to go up to its summit and see what San Sebastian’s number one attraction was all about.

    So, Chris came up with the perfect birthday present for me. He arranged to have a vehicle take us to the top of La Bufa. How exciting! Chris certainly knows what I like!!!

    About 9 kilometers away, it takes 45 minutes and a hired driver/guide with a 4-wheel drive to get there. Chris arranged for a powerful dune buggie-like machine to take us up. So much fun!

    The ride up the cobblestone and dirt roads surrounded by huge trees and rocks was truly an adventure. It must have taken a lot of work to carve this road out of the side of the mountain.

    We came to a point dominated by a large telecommunications antenna. Vehicles couldn’t go any further. To get to the lookout, we had to walk on a somewhat difficult path that took us about 20 minutes. Doesn’t sound far but I was being super careful as my knee still isn’t 100%. And there was a lot of loose rubble. Finally we came out of the forest. We had arrived at the top of La Bufa. What a rush!

    There are no trees up there to block the impressive views of the Sierra Madre Mountains. There were hardly any clouds so we could clearly see San Sebastián del Oeste down below, La Estancia de Landeros in the distance and 50 km away, Banderas Bay. Bucerias appeared as a line of white buildings on the sea shore.

    Our driver told us that a lot of people get vertigo as the trail is on the edge of the bluff. There is a crude wooden fence. We were the only people up there so we had an awesome experience. We were on top of the world.

    We retraced our way back to the driver who then took us to Real Alto, a very small and old mining town with wood and stone houses nestled in the mountains. I think that only 30 people live there, mostly mariachi musicians, we were told. I am not sure how they can live in such an isolated place, high in the mountain. Its main attraction is the 400-year-old church venerating Our Lady of the Rosary. Apparently, she performs miracles. Despite the church’s very rustic white facade, inside we could feel the importance through the years of this old building.

    On the way back, the driver stopped and showed us a small.plane that had crashed on the mountain. Apparently it caught fire when in the air and dropped onto a farmer’s field. There were 2 passengers who lived but were taken to the hospital in Puerto Vallarta. The plane stayed in the field and no one ever came back to claim it.

    On this special trip, we took the time to see, feel, smell and hear all that this setting has to offer. The pine trees, the wind, the birds, the dust, the peace and the beautiful views at the top.

    Chris nailed it!    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp

    Connie’s Birthday Dinner at Villa Nogal

    1 de abril de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    There are several really good restaurants in San Sebastián. Two have been mentioned or recommended, time after time. One is called El Jardin Nebuloso and the other is called Villa Nogal. Both are a short walk away near the entrance to the town.

    El Jardin Nebuloso has a unique concept where each dish is a “journey through the mountains through the season”. They take the ingredients that nature provides directly from their farm in the western Sierra Madre to create their three menus:

    - Traditional dishes
    - Snacks to eat with drinks from their extensive drink list
    - And a Tasting Menu that “surprises all the senses”.

    The restaurant is located within a beautiful garden and the service is supposed to be excellent.

    Villa Nogal has been suggested several times by Mexicans who live here as being their favourite place to eat a special meal. We made the final decision to eat there and we were not disappointed! What an amazing place!

    First of all, the walk inside the property alone sets the stage for an amazing experience. We felt like we were transported to another place and time and as we got closer to the restaurant it got better and better. The views were breathtaking as we walked into the dining area and looked out over the countryside. And that was just the start.

    I ordered white wine and Chris ordered a margarita. For starters, we had the smoked salmon with asparagus in a mustard dressing. Yum. The salmon and asparagus was so fresh and tasty I would have been happy just eating that. But they also brought in a delicious hot tapenade made of black olives and pesto to put on tiny hot rolls. I loved it that we never felt rushed but the waiter was super attentive.

    For the main course, I ordered chicken cordon blue and Chris had the short ribs. Both meals were very flavourful and presented beautifully. The grilled vegetables and whipped potatoes just melted in our mouths. So good.!

    Their website advertises that the “exquisite dishes are made with unique recipes based on fresh ingredients and natural products. The best view of the valley and a beautiful natural landscape are the perfect combination in a place where attention to detail and spending a pleasant time are the most valuable to us.” Nothing is falsely advertised here!

    We certainly enjoyed our night out and our visit to this special restaurant was an unexpected and unforgettable experience in little San Sebastián del Oeste,

    Thank you Chris for the all round amazing birthday!    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp
    Our Swoop plane coming in

    Home Again

    3 de abril de 2023, Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So, here we are again. On our way home, after being away for 4 months. To clarify, we did come home to Fergus for a week between our one month trip to Egypt and our three month trip to a Mexico. Anyways, we are happy to be heading home again.

    After my birthday, we spent all of Sunday preparing for the trip home, reading and relaxing in our lovely hotel. The two week Semana Santa holidays had just begun and the town was filling up with Mexican tourists. A busy time!

    On Sunday, we arranged for a taxi to take us to the Puerto Vallarta airport - a 1 1/2 hour car ride vs a 4 hour bus ride plus taxis at either end. A local restaurant, that made us fantastic ice tea and Cubano drinks during our stay, offered to make us club sandwiches for the flight - ready at 12:30 pm. We discarded some of our clothes and shoes and planned on taking them to the local social services offices (DIF) or church. Dinner was at Tony’s Taco stand. We went to bed early.

    On Monday, we took our time getting packed. Then we went to see Louis, the 39 Tacos chef to say goodbye and wish him the best with his new restaurant. We had had our first dinner in S.S. with him and now we’re eating our last breakfast in S.S. with him. We had wonderful omelettes stuffed with mushrooms, cheese and spinach. Refried beans and toasted pita bread were on the side. As a special treat, he prepared sliced strawberries on honey with walnuts/pecans and toasted pumpkin seeds. So good! It was sad to say goodbye to him and his pup, Momo.

    Our taxi driver arrived right at 1 pm. It was Angel! The police officer that had driven me to the clinic when I hurt my knee! How great was that!

    So we are leaving San Sebastián… During the three weeks that we were there, a lot happened and we became friends with a many of the townspeople. Lucky us.

    The drive to the airport took 1 1/2 hours through lovely countryside. The whole process through the Puerto Vallarta was easy. Actually, the trip home was easy and without hassle. We wore our masks on the plane along with a few others. Red Car was there to meet us at the Hamilton airport at 1 a.m. on Tuesday. it was pouring rain but fairly warm. We got home at 2:30 and jumped into our own beds. All good.

    On Thursday, we tested for Covid and I was positive. Luckily, Chris was negative. At least, we could deal with it at home where I had some good reading materials while I isolated.    Leer más

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  • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then MexicoLadyandtramp

    Background Regarding our Winter Travels

    10 de abril de 2023, Canadá ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Each of our travel blogs have included an introduction similar to the one below with a new add-on at the bottom regarding new plans. This introduction has been growing and growing but I like to keep this going as a summary of our life’s major adventures. I have decided to add this to the end of the book as it is too long for an introduction! This year's winter trip is number 19!

    Here's how we caught the travel bug...

    In 1999, after taking a one year leave of absence from our teaching jobs, selling our house and purging most of what we owned, Chris and I packed our bags into a van and headed to Zamora, Michoacan, Mexico, to teach English to Mexican students. Our youngest daughter Caitlin had already left home to perform for a year with a traveling group called Up With People. Our other daughter, Amy had studied Spanish at school, so she traveled to Mexico with us, helping us navigate our way to Zamora. Shortly after we got to our destination, she flew home and started her 3rd year of university. She lived in a townhouse, with two other students, that we had purchased to store 1 roomful of our valuables and to have a place to 'come home to' when we returned. During that year that we taught in Mexico, we fell in love with its daily blue skies and sun, and the latino lifestyle. We promised ourselves, that in our retirement we would return.

    Four years later, after retiring from teaching, we went back to Mexico. We spent four months on the shores of Lake Chapala in Mexico, in a beautiful house where we made lots of wonderful friends.

    The second year we backpacked through Central America from Guatemala to Panama taking a puppet theatre and puppets with us.

    The third year we focused on learning more about the Mayan culture by spending a month in the Yucatan Peninsula, a month in Guatemala, a month backpacking from San Cristobal, in the Chiapas, up the Pacific coast of Mexico to Puerto Vallarta. Along the way, we had several visits with friends. Finally, we ended up once more in Ajijic on Lake Chapala, where we stayed for a month.

    The fifth year, we felt that we wanted to venture a little further south so we did something a little different. We headed to South America following a three week layover in Guatemala where we spent Christmas and New Year's eve with our daughters and one of our future son-in-laws. We took and distributed 300 pairs of reading glasses, continued to learn Spanish and volunteered for two organizations in needy communities in both Guatemala and Ecuador. We helped to paint a huge mural on the side of a coliseum with artist, Susan Shanley. The highlight of our trip was the creation of a Grand Circus of Puppets which was performed by all the children in a Biblioteca (library), as well as 25 volunteers, in Banos, Ecuador.

    Year Six was a favourite of ours. We spent a month in Peru, three months in Bolivia and then returned to Peru to see Machu Picchu. Because we had enjoyed volunteering in the Arte del Mundo library in Ecuador the previous year, we looked for another library to help out in Bolivia. We were able to find another wonderful, non-profit organization called Biblioworks, based in the capital city of Sucre.

    <a href="http://biblioworks.org/&quot; target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://biblioworks.org/</a&gt;

    The North Carolina group who runs this project provides disadvantaged Bolivian communities, in the vicinity of Sucre, with access to books and learning materials. Since 2005, they have been able to build 12 community libraries, support teachers and students, and put countless books in the hands of adults in both North and South America. The eighth library opened when we were there and we took part in an exciting inauguration with our amazing 'boss' from South Carolina, Matt Lynn. What a wonderful organization.

    Our very good friends, Pat and Gail, who we met in Mexico in 1999/2000, joined us in February and March. Due to the generosity of many of our good Ontario friends, we took down 6 puppets which were used in a puppet show, puppet-making workshop materials (so that 200 children can make simple rod puppets), an educational parachute for games, and 200 pairs of
    reading glasses. Four classes at Greensville Public School, near Dundas, Ontario, prepared artwork which we took to Bolivia as part of an art exchange. Fun!

    The next three years were spent back in Mexico. Year Seven was in Ajijic, helping at the Tepehua Community Centre. A fantastic lady, Moonyeen King, was trying to help out the extremely poor people in this part of Chapala by forming a centre where people could eat a hot meal and have a shower once a week, get medical aid and feel that they were part of a community. We helped out by distributing food, playing with the kids, performed a Xmas puppet show and organized the painting of a huge mural on the side of the building, once again led by artist, Susan Shanley. We also travelled to the beautiful Sierra Gorda where we met two very special people, Margarita and Juan, as well as a traveling group of puppeteers. Two hundred pairs of reading glasses were also distributed.

    Year Eight saw us in Queretaro, Mexico - a beautiful old city, just on the west side of Mexico City. There we studied more Spanish and helped out a young puppeteer, Diego Ugalde. Once again we traveled into the amazing Sierra Gorda and then went north to ride the El Chepe train in the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua.

    Year Nine. Back to Mexico, but this time in a city south of Mexico City, Cuernavaca. We stayed in a lovely house with beautiful gardens, hidden behind high walls. We started this trip by flying to Manzanillo and spending a week on the ocean with our friends, Pat and Gail. Then off to Cuernavaca where they joined us for a week. We flew to Puerto Escondido for Chris' birthday and saw our friend from Panama, Scott, as well as cottage neighbours, Dale and Michelle. We helped out a young artist who was setting up a business in Cuernavaca. From him we learned how to make traditional Papel Piedra dolls. In March, we flew to Los Angeles and did something that we have never done before. We rented an ESCAPE campervan for a month and camped through South California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. Fabulous!

    Year Ten had a big change... Where did we go, and why? Well, I happened to read a blog entry entitled, "Ten Reasons You Should visit Namibia" by fellow Canadian travelers, Kevin and Ruth, and I was hooked.

    http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ladyandtra…

    I easily convinced Chris, and without much effort, in the way of coaxing, enticed our friends, Pat and Gail, to join us in Windhoek, Namibia? We went off on a camping safari trip extraordinaire in Namibia and Botswana! Of course, we took puppets for a travelling puppet show, ukuleles and a parachute to give away to a needy community. Pat and Gail flew home in February and we had a few weeks to kill so flew to Capetown, South Africa, where we rented a car and drove a couple of thousand kilometers along the beautiful Indian Ocean coast staying in guesthouses along the way.

    After that amazing trip, we had to rethink where we would like to spend a winter and we came up with a crazy plan.

    When we were in Ecuador, we heard stories from travellers about the thrill of sailing through the San Blas Islands in Panama and the rugged beauty of Colombia.

    So Year Eleven in 2015, was the year that we saw for ourselves what others have been talking about. But Colombia wasn't the only place we visited. The Yucatan and Cuba were also in the picture!

    President Obama recently made the decision to allow Americans to legally visit Cuba and we know that major changes will take place. We wanted to see the real Cuba before those changes took place. It was an eye-opener.

    So, as we ask ourselves every summer, "Where will we spend our winter this year?".

    We are in good shape, physically, and are still up for some adventure so for Year Twelve in 2016, we decided to go back to Colombia and see some of the beautiful areas that we did not get a chance to see on last year's trip. The difference will be that we will meet up with our good friends Pat and Gail and do some parts of this trip together. Ahhh, more Colombian coffee, birds plus the Amazon and good times with our travelling friends.

    Year Thirteen, 2017. We have missed visiting Mexico but still want to continue heading south in South America. So this year, we will spend a month in Uruguay (and a few days in Buenos Aires) and then fly to Mexico City. We have rented a beautiful house for 3 months in Patzcuaro, Mexico. Dear Texan friends live there. We haven’t seen them for at least ten years. It will be a wonderful reunion. Pat and Gail may also come down for a visit and we hope our daughters will have the time to come down too. (These plans sadly didn’t happen.)

    Year Fourteen, 2018/19. A big change in plans this year. We are heading to Portugal! Not just the mainland, but also to the lovely islands of Madeira and several of the Azore Islands. In fact, our daughters and their families have already bought their plane tickets to Sao Miguel in the Azores and will be joining us during the March Break. What fun we will have!

    Year Fifteen, 2019/20. Back to Mexico where we will spend Christmas and New Years close to Puerto Vallarta, in the tiny mountain village of Mascota, then three weeks with our travelling buddies from Bellingham, Washington, Pat and Gail, in the Pacific beach village of Chacala. But that’s not all. At the end of January, we will fly to New Zealand for an action-packed, two month road trip. A great place to travel for Chris’ 70th!

    Well, that trip was cut short by 2 weeks, when the Canadian government told travellers to return home due to the spread of the Corona Virus. In 2021, we did not go on a winter trip. It was the first winter that we stayed home since 2004.

    Year Sixteen, 2022. In October 2021, we took a wonderful weeklong trip to Vancouver Island with our two older grandkids, Audrey (9) and Cal (8) to visit Great Grandma Peg for her 99th birthday. We rented a motorhome in Victoria and drove to Courtenay where she lives. Totem poles, whale watching, hiking through tall trees, oh my!

    We felt that we needed to get back into the saddle and spend the winter in a warm and sunny place. Our longtime friend Jeremy Ament said that he was building a house in Majahua, Guerrero, Mexico on the Pacific Ocean. If we wanted to rent it, we could. We jumped on his offer and for Year Seventeen, we glamped in his beautiful house with a pool in the jungle, far from Covid sicknesses. A little paradise for Connie’s upcoming 70th birthday!

    Year Eighteen, 2023. Once again, we took a short trip to Vancouver Island with Chris’ older sister Barbara. Chris’ mom turned 100 on October 7, so we surprised her with a birthday party at Chris’s twin sister’s place in Bowser. What a wonderful party that turned out to be!

    In December 2023, off we went to a bucket list country for one month- Egypt! We returned to Ontario in mid January for a week and then headed back to Mexico to rest and to meet up with our good friends, Pat and Gail, in Chacala, Mexico.

    P.S. We are still contemplating several possibilities for 2024 - Mongolia, Spain, Malawi, and maybe we would go back to see more of the Azores, ....

    NOTE: The blog will be written and left in draft form. The way that you see it, is the way it was written, full of typos and bad grammar but good feelings. Lol.    Leer más

    Fin del viaje
    3 de abril de 2023