Trip to Tonala

On January 21st my friend and neighbour Bev and I returned home from a three day shopping spree in Tonala, Mexico.  Tonala is a suburb of Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico.

We signed up on a ladies' bus trip that had 42 ladies wanting to spend, spend, spend.  We stayed at the Hacienda del Sol hotel which was in the heart of the Tonala Thursday and Sunday market area.

  We walked everywhere.  If we bought something too big to carry easily we had it delivered to the hotel.  I bought some beautiful lamps for 290 pesos which works out to about 24.00 Canadian.  I am sure that if I tried to buy them at home they would cost about five times that much; shades included.  I bought a couple of other small things and a few gifts for folks back home but nothing major.  Bev and I rewrapped the lamps in a bigger box and the shades and the gifts in the old lamp box.  Bev said she was giving me her shopping parcel space on the bus home.  I'm glad she did.  There was some (I mean a lot) of juggling of parcels and suitcases to get everything on the bus for the return trip.   The bus driver was very good but it annoyed me no end that he would end up talking on his cell phone and driving us home.  Total cost of the trip excluding meals and purchases was 1100 pesos which works out to about $100 Canadian.  That included the bus, driver's tip, tip to the first night's restuarant, and hotel room for two nights.  Do you think we could do a shopping bus trip at home for that price? 

We've had a pretty busy month.  Hubby and I took a drive up to Las Varas.  It is a real Mexican town not too far north of here.  We looked around, had lunch and then came home again.  I think we saw one gringo in town.  It looked pretty prosperous.  If you want to buy good shoes, go there.  They had lots of shoe stores for men. 

One morning the shrimp sellers came down the street so hubby and Vic went out to see what was for sale.  These crusteaseans (sp) were pretty big.  Pretty good too if I do say so myself.

Hubby and I continue to go to our yoga exercises in the morning.  Hubby is also reading a lot of books; our friends Vic and Bev were given lots of books by his brother so they've been reading them and passing them on to the library under the palapa. 

Alfredo and Erica's grandson was born December 31.  Bev and I went to the Fruteria yesterday, and ran into Alfredo, who pointed us to the store where his daughter was shopping and baby was there.  He's a beautiful baby, now one month old. Already.

There hasn't been a lot of motorhome traffic here this January.  I think we've had four vehicles come in and four move out.  Two couples moved down the street to the new rv park on the beach.  This last week we've had two vans come in.  Two of the men were from Ontario and they drove on down south after staying only two days.  Yesterday Jennifer left for the south to visit her friend.  She is a bird watcher so she stayed two days too, but she liked it so much here that she says she just might come back next season and stay longer.  She's from Ottawa and drove all the way down here by herself.

While she was here we had a beautiful sunset one evening.  Hubby tried to capture the setting sun but cameras never do the same job that God does. God being whoever or whatever one believes.

Till next time,
we are the Holoidays on holiday

Time is flying by...

Yes, I know.  I haven't written anything since January 1, 2011.  I'm glad you all noticed.  What can I say?
It must get boring for you to read that the weather is sunny and warm, with a cooling sea breeze to make every day bearable.  I guess I can say now that we have had quite cool evenings here lately.  After all it is January.  One night the temperature went all the way down to 12 degrees C.  Today we woke up and it was still dark.  It was foggy out.  We went to yoga with the fog but by the time we started the sun was out, the sky was clear, the waves were wild and noisy.            


Our yoga instructors and one of the students (in the hat)

The golfing is good; sorry Ken, they don't have electric or gas carts here so it might be hard for you to golf here unless you put Brooklyn on a trailer and pull her out here. :)  In case I haven't mentioned before; hubby golfs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and sometimes Wednesdays.  I golf Wednesday and Sundays.  This hole has an island green that is surrounded by water with only a ramp up to the green.  Kind of hard to see but it is a par 4 hole.  I've left quite a few golf balls in that water and it is so deep one cannot retrieve one's ball unless one uses a floater ball.  At this course it doesn't seem to be illegal to use one.


Signature hole #6 Field of Dreams Golf Course












We've been having a great time watching the hummingbirds devour the sugar water.  Bev and Vic went to P.V. to Home Depot and found us a real bird feeder and we've now got two; one at each end of the rig.  Our neighbours went to Guadalajara last week for a few days and their feeder ran out of sugar water.  Needless to say we had lots of visitors fighting for position as pack leader, so to speak.  The most hubby has seen around the feeder were 11 birds at one time.  This time there are five birds and four feeding at the same time, which is very unusual.  One usually warns off the others and feeds by himself (herself?)  Both of us will turn the lawn chair to face the bird feeder just so we can sit and watch them fight over the sugar water




Hubby and I went shopping at Costco in P.V. last week and on our way there and home we drive through a small village called San Ignacio.  On the highway there is a house that is a very bright green.  I had the camera and I opened the window to take a picture of the house as hubby was driving by.  I got a pleasant surprise when I viewed the photo on my computer.  I got the house but I also got the tree in the yard.  These trees are all over and they are beautiful.  I think you all will think so too.



The green hacienda with the parota tree in the front yard

Until next time,

Holoidays on holiday  < :)

First blog of the year 2011

Feliz ano nuevo mis amigos y familias,

My Spanish is deplorable so I look up words and put them together, even though it may not be correct.

Anyway I mean Happy New Year friends and family!

I'm so tired today, but not because I'm hung over.  We did go out for potluck and stayed until after midnight.

The sunset was beautiful so I had to take at least one photo; actually I took about six but I chose this one.  It really was darker than the photo shows, but cameras can do marvellous things.

We were actually talking of moving over to this rv park next season.  It is on the beach but quite sheltered and has this lovely patio to block some of the wind.  The biggest drawback to moving is that the sites are narrow and the little sitting areas are very small. 
One of the fellows who was here last year has taken up residence in the newest park at the end of the street.  It is called La Parota and has large pads,wide roads for backing into the spaces and a new laundry and restrooms.  It is also along the beach.  Drawbacks?  Yes.  It doesn't have any large trees except the parota tree at the entrance and the palms it does have are either too small still or have coconuts that haven't been removed.  Coconuts falling on rigs can sound like a bomb going off or if you are hit by one could kill you.
Pros-  just walk out your rig, down the park roadway about 100 steps and you are on the beach.

A few days ago our friend Victor made us a hummingbird feeder.  It is made out of a plastic bottle, one of my plastic containers, which I used a lot but happily give up for the sake of the hummers, flowers made out of a coke can and string from our string bin.  I think I got a bird in this picture somewhere, or maybe not.


We really worked hard today.  I have started going to Thai yoga classes in the morning and if any of you know of my sleeping habits, getting up early is not one of my favourite things.  I started with my first class yesterday.  Today after that long evening outdoors, I was up late but duty called.  Today I could not do a flipper exercise.  I knew my stomach muscles were almost non existent and today proved that theory.  I could not raise my legs to do flippers with my feet off the mat.  But, that will not stop me from getting those tummy muscles back in good working order.

Back at the rig, I went for a shower, had some breakfast and putzed around until I decided it was the day to make my friend Carol a pair of earrings.  I had earlier made the hooks for her from niobium wire and she tried them out for a day and felt she could wear them.  Today we sat and designed a pair of earring for her.
They turned out great and they look great on her.  She wore them to Happy Hour so I know she likes them.
Here they are for all to see.  Constructive criticism is welcome.  Prices vary but I only make one of a kind pairs. lol  They henceforth will be known as Carol's earrings.

After putting away my bead box Mike headed out to the beach with our buddies Vic and Bev.  I caught up to them and realized we needed to show everyone that the beach on New Year's Day was warm and sunny.  Mike took a polar bear swim that was watched by the whales (just kidding).  He went in the water for a while.  Before we left I did spot some whales but they were a long way from the beach.

Here we are wishing you all good times, a safe haven, peace of mind, kindnesses to all in the new year.

Holoidays on holiday