It's been five months since I returned to my little pueblo in central Mexico. Wow! time has flown by! Another year is coming to an end. It wasn't hard to settle into a nice routine in Tequisquipan, MX. I've even accumulated stuff in my little casita, something I haven't done since leaving Switzerland. I love my little casita. It's very central to everything I need within walking distance. It does get noisy as I am in the center of town and there are times I long to be out of the Centro where it is a little quieter but until I decide that I want to make this little pueblo more of a permanent place it is a perfect location. It's been nice to settle in one place for a bit and I'll probably come back next year after visiting the States and my much anticipated trip to Switzerland at the beginning of the year.
There was so much more exploring I wanted to do while I was here but life kinda got in the way. Patty came to visit for a few months and we did get out and visit a few places while she was here but we mostly hung around taking it easy. We both are use to living alone and every time we spoke with our children, they seemed to wonder how we are getting along. We've been best of friends for longer then any of our children have been alive so we know how to navigate each others idiosyncrasies.
We fostered an aging Chihuahua for a few days before finding him a great home. Victor Hugo, as we eloquently named him, looked like he had been in the streets quite awhile. He was skin and bones, missing teeth and dehydrated when he was found. I wasn't sure he would make it frankly but he definitely proved to be a survivor. It's heartbreaking to think that someone discarded VH because he was too old or maybe because his owner died. I think that I was drawn to helping him because the situation was so relatable. It is difficult for me to accept that in our culture, aging is not considered a societal asset unless you're in the medical field and despite all the hype about "70 is the new 40" the reality is there are a shitload of baby boomers who are considered more a burden to society then an asset.
We just wrapped up a pet sitting gig in Lake Chapala for some Texas friends that live in that area. I was thankful to have Patty with me since we were taking care of two dogs and an indoor cat who desperately wanted to be an outdoor one. A beautiful area up on a hill overlooking the lake, the house was amazing! Unfortunately, the weather sucked for the majority of the time, rainy season was late in Mexico and it was quite cold but we made the most of it.
The days we had sunshine, we got out and toured a little bit of Chapala, Ajjic and Jocotepec. We met up with Fran, a friend I met during my travels.
Since we were going to be so close to the coast, we decided to end our trip to the area by getting in some sun and beach time in Puerto Vallarta. We took a bus from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta and the trip was really scenic and beautiful.
We scored a great accommodation in the city center but far enough from the touristy areas near the ocean. We visited the beaches of Bucerias, ate good seafood and got some much needed sun!
I'll pack up my little casita and head back to the States at the end of the year. I have a new granddaughter I need to meet and I miss hanging with Porter.
There are still so many places I want to visit before I become the aging Chihuahua whose been kicked to the curb!
Beautiful!