I'm back

It's hard to believe that my last post here was January 18th. And now we're at April 22nd. That's more than three months without blogging. And what incredible changes the world has gone through in that time. Here we are together around the world going through a pandemic and self-isolating ourselves at home. If you had told me beforehand that this would result from a flu virus that emerged in China I would not have believed it possible. But here we are.

Here in Canada it began on a Friday Morning in early March when our Prime Minister held a press conference in front of his home to tell us that his wife was ill with the Corona virus and that our Parliament was closed and everyone should just stay at home. Since then we've seen different countries around the world start to take action in their individual ways, some more effective than others.  Now our newscasts cover nothing but Covid-19.

So from our home on Yukon Street to you, wherever you are, we send greetings and well wishes for your health, safety and sanity. It's a very strange time.

Victoria has experienced a stretch of beautiful spring-like weather lasting about six weeks. It's been really lovely and although Harry and and I are staying home and keeping away from other people, we have managed to get out for some walks in different areas, always keeping the required 2 meters away from others.  We've seen lots of other people getting fresh air, walking dogs, and chatting at a distance,  children playing on the deserted streets with their parents close by. After ignoring my camera for weeks I started to bring take some pictures again.

So I thought I'd share some photos from these walks. 




Chalk drawings on the road.

 A  view from along the waterway path in Sidney.

There are lots  of springlike blooms happening here in Victoria. It seems strange that the world continues to unfold as usual while we humans are experience such different times.  I am so grateful for the beauty though.

There are signs that things are different though... like hearts posted on windows to show support for our health care workers. 

And this sign chalked on a path in a nearby park.

It gives hope that this may not last forever. There is talk that the strict measures adopted here in B.C. may be gradually lessened in months to come.

Home to the snow

We arrived home from Mexico City on Monday to a wind and cold and a skiff of snow and the following day Victoria was blanketed in the white stuff.  This is what we experienced from one day to the next. What a contrast!

Before I leave our Mexico trip behind I want to post a few photos from places we visited around Cuernavaca.

This is the Robert Brady Museum, the over-the-top home of a rich American collector who lived there until 1986. The house was a former convent and displayed his collection of thousands of works of art, many of them Mexican.  The place is exactly as it was when he died in 1986, a private museum for him and his wealthy friends. A great spot for living vicariously.

Next up is Tepoztlan, one of Mexico's Pueblos Magicos, where we went by taxi for a day trip. It's a small town in an amazing setting of rocky mountain peaks. Wikipedia says it's famous for the remains of the El Tepozeteco temple built on top of a mountain. We didn't climb the mountain to see the temple but we did wander up and down the cobbled main street, where vendors were taking down their Christmas decorations and hikers were gearing up for the climb.                                                                                                                                                The church was pretty and the meal we had was good but there were entirely too many vendors selling trinkets for our taste.

We were more impressed with the Gardens of Mexico, also a taxi drive outside of Cuernavaca. This place is really large, the largest public garden in North America we're told. It was built by a wealthy family and rivals Butchart's Garden for sure. Like Butchart's it has an Italian garden, a Japanese garden, and all kinds of different areas. 

This large peacock greeted us as we entered. It was decorated with poinsettias and I believe the flowers change seasonally. You can see the bulldozer starting to remove the plantings in front.

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We liked the tropical gardens and the Cactus garden, but most of all we enjoyed walking around this lovely area (and taking little jitneys) in the early morning sunshine without crowds. 

Because it was just after the Christmas holidays there were very few people visiting.  It's only been open for five years so they must have trucked in some pretty large palm trees.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the lakeside restaurant and then headed back to Cuernavaca to get ready to leave the next day.  Even with the snow, we're glad to be home after a month in Mexico.

a visit to Ajijic

Weve spent the last couple of days in Ajijic on the shores of Lake Chapala visiting friends from Home. Deb and Keith live in a his beautiful spot for the winter and spend their summers in an apartment in Victoria. This is taken from their patio looking across the lake

Eleven years ago Harry and I drove through this area in our old motor home with the two border collies. You can read about that trip here. Since then this place has continued to attract snowbirds and other international visitors who live here full time. At 5,000 feet the weather is lovely and there's lots for visitors to do. Deb showed us around the three lakefront towns, Ajijic, Chapala, and Jocotepec, each with a malecon along the lake, and each with its own vibe. 

The city of eternal springtime

We came to Cuernavaca because I had heard wonderful things about the climate, and after a sultry time at the beach this so-called city of eternal spring seemed like an ideal place to relax for the last part of our trip. Plus I’ve heard it’s where many expats live and it’s a retreat for rich people from Mexico City. We’ve been here three days now and we really like the place we’re staying. The Posada Antigua is behind a wall on a busy street in Centro with cute little casas spilling down a hill.

It’s very peaceful and now that Christmas is over there are only a few guests. And the weather is perfect:  cool at night and fresh in the morning, warming up by 9:00 with an afternoon breeze and warm evenings. 

 

The zocalo and the cathedral area are pretty but the rest of the Centro is scuzzy and derelict in spots, though and the sidewalks are dangerously broken. 

We’ve seen no sign of expats or language schools like in Oaxaca. Today we took a city tour on a bus looking for some more pleasant neighbourhoods but didn’t see too much of interest. Yesterday we asked a taxi driver to take us to some nice neighbourhoods and he couldn’t think of any. Fortunately we’re in this peaceful spot and there are a few places a bit out of town that sound interesting and the taxis are cheap. 

Beach dogs at Brisas de Zicatela

We’ve spent the last few days of the year at the surfer beach down the way from Puerto Escondido. The town began about 15 years ago when the surfers moved to the other end of Zicatela beach and this area is now called Brisas de Zicatela or La Punta. There is one paved road and all the rest are sandy lanes. There are lots of little restaurants and surfer shops and vegan eateries and beachwear stores.  And lots of good natured dogs roaming around looking for scraps.

Last night was our last night here and we wandered into a burger and pizza place on the beach for our New Year’s Eve dinner. There were the usual number of dogs wandering about. These dogs look quite healthy and many of them have owners I think. But that doesn’t stop them from looking for the odd handout. At the beach we’ve enjoyed watching the surfing school and the Mexican families enjoying the waves. And also the dogs that love playing in the surf.

Our family holiday is now at and end as my brother and his family and my sister flew back to Oaxaca on the Aero Toucan  plane. We’ve had a fun time together with them exploring these two different places.

Here are some photos of the dogs and of my family. I seem to be unable to position photos using the iPad so they’re bunched here at the end.