A Lively Evening of Dining and Dancing

During our first group in January, we spent one of our evenings at La Bodega dining and dancing to the wonderful music of Carol Bedford. Bill and I have lived at Lakeside now for three years, and I can't believe this is the first time we've ever heard Carol sing. That's Bill and me dancing, and Carol in the background.

I can't believe I didn't get a better picture of her! Carol is a local singing star in the area and I read on one web site that "she is blessed with "Perfect Pitch," and after listening to her this night, I DO believe! She sings a variety of music, but being a fan of ballads, I loved her renditions of Anne Murray and Emmy Lou Harris, as well as many others...too numerous to mention. I think she even sang a Patti Page song, and beautifully, I might add, but having been blessed with a poor memory (never can remember if or why I'm mad at someone!), I just cannot remember all the music she sang. I just know I enjoyed the evening thoroughly. And, since many of our participants bought CDs and danced the night away, I am positive they enjoyed themselves also.

One thing I found out recently and that many people don't know about Carol is that she was not only California's Country Music female vocalist of the Year, for two years in a row, but that she was a lawyer and a family court Judge in San Diego. Can't wait to hear her again. So glad you're
at Lakeside, Carol. Looking forward to another show soon! And this time, I'll be sure to take a better picture!

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FIDEL-ity! You can buy what in Mexico?

I have to admit, one of my favorite parts of going to Paz (the liquor store in San Antonio Tlayacapan) is the surprise some people have in the fact that you can buy Cuban cigars in Mexico.

Of course you can! There's no embargo in Mexico against Cuba. As a matter of fact, some of the expats with immigrado status here have even used their Mexican passports to travel to Cuba just to say they did it! And, some of my friends say Cuban cigars are more than a hobby. They're a lifestyle. Who am I to argue with that? And for you information junkies out there, Wikipedia says "the English word cigar is from the Spanish word cigarro, which in turn derives from the Mayan word for tobacco, siyar." I didn't know that, did you?

When Martin Schuster realized Paz sold Cuban cigars, he decided then and there he had to have one. It was fun watching him select just the right one as we all looked on. Paz has quite a selection, and as he opened the cases, I have to admit, they smelled wonderful! Am I really a closet smoker and don't know it?

He chose the perfect cigar, thick enough to feel macho in his fingers (my words, not his!) and I'm sure he enjoyed it to the last puff. He wisely chose not to smoke among the ladies! Way to go, Martin. I wish I could have joined
you just for the experience

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Fernando & the Beach Boys!!??

Fernando happened upon a store in Chapala that sold huaraches. He tried on a few pair and finally found one that fit him just fine!

You've all heard the Beach Boys song, "Surfin USA", haven't you. Well, part of the lyrics go like this:

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californi-a
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

I don't know if Fernando's a surfer, but he's got the right shoes for it now. I think I even heard him haggle...it's expected, you know! Looking good, Fernando!

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Heaven on Earth: A Shoe Mall!

Yes, you read that right...an entire mall devoted to shoes...it almost took my breath away. They also had a few extraneous shops there...like pastries and cosmetics!

I mean...could it get any better than that? After Ana drove us up to see Julie, we decided to check out the shoes. It was a perfect day. I bought two pairs of shoes; Ana bought one; Bill didn't buy any! Go figure!

You ladies will have to vote...should this be on our tour or not?

Julie Vargas Saves the Day!

We didn't know about Julie when we first came to live in Mexico three years ago. We actually ended up going to three different people to get registered for IMSS, to get our FM3s registered and to get my work papers added to my FM3 later. We had no idea what we were
doing most of the time. Julie Vargas is one of the experts who presents to our groups and answers questions about Visas, as well as registering for IMSS, the public health system in Mexico. She sure makes things a whole lot easier.

Last year we were late renewing our IMSS because no one called us. However, one office said they could help us, so we smiled and let them do it. When we turned everything over to Julie this year, she called on a Thursday to say we were not in the IMSS system last year. This was very disheartening, because we were starting on our third year (we thought) of eligibility, which means even our medication would be free. And, unfortunately, we couldn't find our paperwork to say we had paid, so we were stuck.

Julie considered this an emergency and cancelled all her appointments the next day (Friday) in order to get us registered. We met her in her office in Guadalajara around 10:00 in the morning. We got to the IMSS office around 10:30. She sat us down in chairs while she went and stood in line. The picture of Julie standing in line (at the right) is a little fuzzy, because I wasn't sure I was allowed to take a picture in a government office! The other picture (above) is of the huge, very busy, IMSS building in Guadalajara.

After about a half hour, she came to let us know she had to go fill out additional paperwork, then walk five blocks to the bank to pay the fees for IMSS and then she would be back. From beginning to end, it took about two-and-a-half hours, but all Bill and I had to do was sit there and read the magazines I had brought with me. Julie did all the work and the running around, talking to people and getting the correct papers. Once everything was done, all we had to do was sign papers, and we were finally legal again. It was wonderful. I really do think of Julie as our guardian angel. She took our problem seriously and did everything in her power to get it done as soon as possible since we obviously hadn't had any health insurance for the past year. We were just lucky nothing serious had happened to either Bill or me during 2006. And, Julie says she will remind us next year early enough so this never happens again. We're breathing easy again!

The Friendly People of Mexico

As I was taking pictures and being the annoying paparazzo the participants find out I can be, one of the other diners approached me and started asking questions: "Where do you live?" I answered, "Originally I am from Kansas City, Missouri, but I live in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos now." She introduced herself as Marcia, and told me she was at Lakeside for the weekend. She lived in Guadalajara, and she brought her family to Quilmes for dinner. She was absolutely delightful. Her son spoke English and translated what I couldn't understand.

Marcia asked for my phone number, so I gave her one of my cards. She was fascinated about Focus on Mexico, so I explained what we were doing, and she just thought it was wonderful that we were bringing groups to the Lake Chapala area. You could tell she loved Lakeside and thought everyone, Mexican and North American, should retire here! We had an absolutely wonderful conversation and I have a feeling we will be hearing from her again. That's our new amiga, Marcia, between Fernando and Bill. And, the other picture is of her wonderful family. The son who helped translate for us is at the far left.

That’s the Spirit: Micheladas, Ole

I didn't think anything could beat a cold beer on a hot summer day. Hard to imagine a beer tasting better until I got to Mexico! I had my first Michelada in Guadalajara! It's pronounced (me-chel-LA-da), and translated, more or less, as ''my cold beer.'' Our friends, Peter and Elaine ordered me one. I took one sip, and was in seventh heaven. The dark Modelo Negra had hints of pepper and lime and spices along with a tomato-y, salty taste. It was yummy!

I found out a michelada usually consists of fresh lime juice, with Tabasco, Worcestershire and soy sauces thrown in, a pinch of black pepper and possibly a dash of Maggi, the seasoning usually used for soups and stews. A lot of places also use Clamato Juice or spicy tomato juice. This mix makes up two or three fingers' worth of a tall glass of ice. Then you add the beer, and rim the edge of the glass with salt.

For some reason, on this group in January, I was into a Michelada craze and tried one at several places, trying to find the best. I think I found it! I really enjoyed the michelada at El Adobe the best. El Adobe is in Tlaquepaque and is one of the restaurants we take our Focus on Mexico participants to. This particular version of the michelada didn't have salt around the rim. We think it might have been rimmed with Maggi, which gave it a wonderfully tangy taste, and possibly pepper or some mild chile. Ana's supposed to find out for me. I don't think El Adobe will give me the entire recipe, but maybe they'll tell me what it was rimmed with. It was very different and very tasty. I'll let you know.

And, I think I gained more converts to what is fast becoming my favorite refresher. Andy, Ana, Bill and Fernando have been won over to variations on the michelada. Ana and Bill seem to like theirs with Corona, Fernando enjoys his with O'Doul's and Andy added a shot of tequila to his!

Las Tres Pelirrojas Peligrosas

A comment/warning from participants on our November 18, 2006, program.

"Las Tres Pelirrojas Peligrosas (The 3 dangerous red heads) discover Ajijic and Chapala and vow to return to the land of tequila and limes, sol y jacarandas, amistad y aventuras."

Comments courtesy of Patti Kilpatrick; picture courtesy of Katie Meyer.