After three weeks of experiencing life in this central region of Mexico, it becomes apparent that the people of San Miguel love a good celebration!! Only the barest of excuses is required to host a fiesta. The area is well known for it’s host of festivals that can easily reach 30 a year and those are just the main festivals!! Bev and I are rarely sure exactly what is being celebrated … the drumming and singing often start in the early morning and conclude with fireworks late at night! We relish and savour this joyful ambiance of a celebratory people …. I was in a shop one afternoon recently, when I heard singing and the music of a mariachi band building up out in the street. I took a peek outside just as a mob of people marched by, carrying a casket high over their heads ….. they were heading to a burial ground nearby, singing and celebrating a life!! Amazing …. it would appear from birth to death, the Mexicans sing and celebrate! A few days prior, I took a local bus and yes ….. there he was, guitar in hand, an entertainer, singing on the bus as I chugged along 🙂

Posting a few pictures of our meanderings and explorations … Bev’s husband Dave joined us this past week … we enjoyed a walk to the Canyon de la Vergen Pyramids nearby, and exploring the colonial city of Guanajuato, home of Mexico’s artist extraordinaire, Diego Rivera, life partner of Mexico’s other celebrated artist, Frida Kahlo. What a tumultuous love affair this multi talented pair of artists had, both in and out of marriage …. lives full of Mexican temper, vim and vigour!!

Met up with a lively group of Canadian ladies one afternoon to explore Delores Hidalgo region, birthplace of Mexican Independence. Jan at 91 was the oldest of us but could easily pass for someone twenty years her junior on attitude alone! I surmised her philosophy to be something along the lines of “get out there and live your life, laugh lots and don’t complain :)” …… nothing less, nothing more! …. Well, alrighty then Jan, will do!!

Mexico’s first indigenous President, Benito Juarez was credited with the declaration of independence for Mexico but it was apparently Father Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende who really got the rebellion underway and were crucial in this uprising to rid the country of European dominance! All hold hero status in this country … with good reason! Love learning as I explore!

Barely a week has gone by, but already this little Mexican city has wrapped it’s welcoming arms around us, becoming our home away from home. Bev and I have become accustomed to the sounds of the street, perhaps most noticeable at night when trying to get to sleep! People endlessly talking, sharing their days with family, right under our windows it seems :), dogs barking, relentless ringing of church bells, fireworks going off for various celebratory occasions, children chattering, trucks gearing up and down, delivering goods, picking up trash (an early morning sound) and just the basic street traffic … all unfamiliar to both Bev and I, living rural as we do in Calgary, where quiet rules, broken only by the sound of coyotes yipping at night.

Most of our waking hours are spent in the outdoors …. walking everywhere, exploring the cobbly streets, museums, churches, the outdoor produce markets, craft fairs, the myriad of interesting shops displaying all manner of handmade goods and enjoying meals at charming outdoor cafés sprinkled throughout the city. Francoise informs there are over two hundred restaurants of varying sorts in San Miguel! … we do not have a car and have yet to utilize the bus or taxi services. Found a suitable yoga class a few days ago, held of course, on an outside patio! Heaven! Alejandro, our instructor, is a gentle, soft spoken, highly spiritual young Mexican … the yoga studio is a short five or ten minute walk from our Casa! We have met up with Francoise and Donna a few times for meals and an ‘art walk’ yesterday through the Fabrica la Aurora, once the main textile factory for the area, now basically a series of art galleries and shops. We continue to enjoy the ambiance of a very friendly community of expats that make San Miguel their winter home. A few days ago, we took in an interesting talk at the local Buddhist Meditation Centre, hosted by an American, Kiranda Benjamin, an ordained Buddhist monk. Kiranda shared her experiences and insights on solitary silence retreats she has taken over the years. A plan is underway to go on a year long silence retreat this summer to the Sudarshanaloka Buddhist Retreat Centre, a 250 acre wilderness camp in the Coromandel Peninsula in Northern New Zealand …. interesting to hear a different perspective on life …. chatterers that we are, Bev and I find even the thought of retreat into silence for a whole year somewhat incomprehensible …. guess we are just not monk material 🙂

Over the years, travelling around our beautiful world as I have been fortunate to do, I have noted that celebrations and particularly religious ones, are frequent in countries with Latin roots! …… and so it was this Friday in San Miguel! …. this celebration called “Lord of the Conquest” …. celebrates the introduction of Christianity to the early Mexican inhabitants ….. It was a merging of their ancestry with Christianity, hence all the traditional dancing, drumming and costumes … the marching and dancing had started in the early morning hours …. we were still asleep 🙂 …. After breakfast, we made our way to Jardin Square, in front of the Parroquia to enjoy the festivities. Colourful beyond belief, with participants dressed in the most amazingly beautiful, intricately beaded, feathered costumes … A veritable Native Mardi Gras!! Not surprising, a little girl Aliana’s age, dancing alongside her mother, captivated me … she tried hard to mimic her mom …. so cute to watch, but still preferred jumping up and down for the most part, just like Aliana :)!!! The dancing and drumming continued long into the evening …. a truly spectacular day. We spent hours in the square just breathing in the atmosphere.

My old Springbank neighbour and friend, Bev Cenaiko and I finally did it!! At our Calgary luncheon ‘get together catch ups’ over the years we had often discussed the possibility of leasing an apartment or casita somewhere in Mexico together … plant ourselves into a foreign country for a spell, become part of the community rather than a rushed one or two week holiday …. unavoidable certainly, when one is working or running a busy household for decades as we have …. there are benefits to these so-called golden years 🙂 …… no more rushing!! … San Miguel de Allende in somewhat central Mexico, kind of spoke to us both. I had spent a week here with Brian several years ago and Bev also travelled here with her husband in more recent times. San Miguel is an old Colonial city with much history …. one cannot escape stories of the Spanish conquest and plundering of Mexico … not all of this is pleasant, as indeed is the case globally wherever indigenous people have been “colonized” by other countries.

However unpleasant the past, San Miguel today is a pleasant city in the state of Guanajuato … Population inches close to 100,000 we hear ….. that figure includes thousands of expats from Europe, US and Canada who call San Miguel their winter home. Little wonder!! The cobbled streets are charming although takes the feet a bit of getting used to … the produce is fresh and local … ie delicious!! ….. an artistic kind of vibe permeates the place …. plenty of reasonably priced restaurants, bars, yoga studios, theatre venues for various live performances, opportunities for learning Spanish and plenty of historical towns and sites to explore, all within an hour or two of SM … This is a place to learn about Mexico, it’s history, to enjoy being around the primarily warm, kind, generous Mexican people and yes, certainly also to savour the simple pleasures of a fresh bowl of locally grown fruit … a place to enjoy the Mexican ambiance devoid of the rampant coastal tourism, the five star all inclusive booze fests that have become the defining feature of modern day Mexican tourism for too many North Americans …. not all of that is bad ….. I, as much an anyone, sure enjoy the hazy, lazy ocean side of Mexico as well on any given day, but I was ready to experience Mexico from a more organic perspective 🙂

We flew into Queretaro, yet another old colonial city …. the cobbly old town section was declared a World UNESCO site a few years back …. we booked rooms there at a converted restored home dating back to the 1700’s …. the doors to the former horse stables, formed part of the back wall in the breakfast room!! …. about 20 rooms, all with different configurations, sizing and furnishings, were named after the various Mexican family members who last owned the estate. The central courtyard was surrounded by lemon, orange and grapefruit trees …. charming beyond belief …. we were loathe to leave our surroundings, so pleasant it was, just sitting in the courtyard! ….. but tear ourselves away we did, to explore Queretaro’s parks, churches, a museum and the ubiquitous courtyards and town squares … it was Sunday with church bells ringing every half hour, families milling about everywhere, a happy ambiance filling the air …. a great way to move into the Mexican lifestyle.

After a pleasant drive through the countryside on Monday, we arrived in San Miguel at our lovely Casa Pura Vida, as the owners have dubbed their beautiful home!! Bev and I are beyond delighted …. the place exceeds our imaginings! We unpack and settle in to our home away from home …. we had earlier arranged to meet my friend Francoise for dinner. Francoise, an American from Washington D.C. has made SM her winter home the past four years. It was a delight to meet up with her again … we first met in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010 where Francoise was the Global host for my team of 16 volunteers. Over a pleasant dinner of empanadas, fajitas and margaritas, Francoise shared stories of her recent adventures, and offered a myriad of helpful tidbits about San Miguel life in general …. walking back to our respective homes, we discover they are a mere few blocks apart!! … Plans are tentatively made to tie up later in the weeks to come …

Hardly seems possible that it has been over four years since I last walked these Mauian sandy shores with Mickey and Gordon! Life is just a series of fleeting moments really, that end far too soon. Nothing brings that home so much as realizing the once seemingly illusive sixties have arrived …. do I feel mature, wise, content, happy, sad …. stupid :)?? ….. all of the above of course, at various times. I do know I am more content to just ‘BE’ than I ever have … and I DO linger longer … in fact, I rarely hurry with anything any more …. even traffic jams have become only mildly annoying … certainly put to the test yesterday, driving Sarah and Aliana to the airport!! … Hawaiian Roadworks, as it turned out and we barely made the 45 minute check in cut off …. we had left the North end giving ourselves a good hour and a half leeway but make it we did and Sarah and Aliana are undoubtedly enjoying Vancouver’s spring conditions as I sit on my lanai, iPad in hand, enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine, soaking in the peaceful serenity of Kahana Village …. saw our resident turtle swimming with a partner early this morning …. just so much beauty here and so much of it, gifts of nature.

It was not a planned ‘girl’s holiday’ …. but as Rob was unable to come due to work issues, it ended up being a nice little break for the three of us regardless. We adjusted admirably 🙂 …. I am sure Sarah would have preferred her husband and Aliana, her daddy …. but …. they got the consolation prize …. Me:) !! ….. fun days exploring beaches, building endless castles, watching turtles and whales, or a washed up seal, savouring delicious papaya or a mango flavoured shaved ice …. Sarah goggled and found the one place in Maui that uses only fresh fruit as their base … not just sugary syrup …. delicious! Sarah also located the one place on the island that served cold pressed fresh veggie juices …. and probiotic boosters …. we felt sinfully healthy although flu bug did still hit albeit made but a brief visit thanks in part to finding these health boosters I’m sure 🙂 ….

As I look around me, I breathe deeply, always amazed, always thankful for the beauty that surrounds me wherever I find myself. Inner peace may come from within but oh my, the outer beauty of nature is surely a facilitator of the highest order! Mahalo

A quiet low key Christmas and New Years for the Webbs and Overmanns at Sarah and Rob’s home in Kitsilano, was as warm and peaceful a way as I can think of to end 2013 … all proceeded by a few days of boarding and skiing at Whistler/Blackcombe, where my nephew Jordan joined us all for a few days … (while the rest hit the slopes, Aliana and I played in the snow) … totally at peace with that, given the creaky protests from my knees when contemplating downhill skiing … forty plus years was enough I suppose ….. perhaps time to reacquaint myself with cross country skiing as a winter sport ….. seems to me I enjoyed it at one point! My trusty old Luminex seems to be as temperamental as a two year old toddler lately … so pictures are rare …. considering my recent resolve to enjoy and savour the moments more and photograph less, this could be a good thing 🙂 … although, dropping it in the sands of India a few years ago, causing irreparable damage was possibly the catalyst for that resolve 🙂 … in recent years, the experience of looking at life through a lens too often, leaves me feeling disconnected on some level … still, pictures sure do allow for some great experience recall ….. as always …. torn! Managed to capture some poignant family moments, however, with Sarah’s camera …. snowmen, sand castles, Aliana’s Christmas cookies 🙂 …. 2013 takes a bow and makes a quiet exit.

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