... MEXICANA AVENTURA

December, 2013

Arriving in Mexico... the angels are with me

so ... for all of you ... my friends ...

who are asking where i am these days...

never know where i am...really...

but ... i arrived in sunny mexico a few days ago...

my flight schedule was toronto - houston    ...    houston - guadalajara

so ... two days before my departure date, houston had a huge ice storm...

nine hundred flights were cancelled at the houston airport....

travellers were stranded for the night ... 

sleeping on the floor of the crowded, freezing airport...

 the next day ... one day before my departure date ... 

all the hydro went off at the same airport 

and people were evacuated from the airport...

stranded out in the freezing temperatures...baggage and all...

then on the  day of my departure, the sun was shining

 and all was back to normal...

except for the fact that there was a small problem at the toronto airport 

with some locking of doors and they could not get the baggage to the plane

on time....

so the plane took off a little late...

which made my connecting flight in houston VERY tight...

they actually had to scooter us to the next flight...the flight to guadalajara...

we made it... but as the plane was about to take off...

and i knew there would be no way the baggage could make it...

so when i arrived in guadalajara... to my great surprise...

one of my two suitcases actually arrived with me... 

the security people at the guad airport assured me that they 

would find my other bag and deliver it to me that very night...

 in the next town where i was headed for....one hour away...

i must admit ... i was not too trusting...

however, the mexicans...true to their word...had my bag delivered to 

my little town that very night....and found my home in the mountains...

the angels are with me...

have never known the toronto airport to be so efficient..

so... i am now settled in my little villa....staying with my friend from toronto...

here in this little mexican village..

high in the mountains... with the tall, tight, soldier- like cypress trees

 scattered about...   and the goats roaming the mountainside...

walking long distances over uneven cobblestone streets to get to the town square...to grab an enchilada and a cold pacifico...in the local cafe...

the only place where they have internet...

it is warm and sunny ... the light is golden...

the locals ever so friendly...as always...greetings with a smile and a 'buenos dias'.

we went to a tango concert last night...

the female dancers...with their hair pulled back...in a glamorous pose...

with their tight dresses enhancing their rounded, voluptuous, dancer bodies...

and the male dancers... these beautiful south american and mexican men...

their very black hair slicked back...

with their expensive suits and fancy- heeled, black patent tango shoes...

standing tall and holding their women ever so tightly...

as all women want to be held...  

as they danced...

this tango....probably the most erotic dance i have ever experienced....

their movements so fluid.... like being on an ocean wave...

closest thing to making love on the dance floor... 

we went dancing tonight....to a local club with a live band...

playing 60's music...

all the gringo men looking pasty with big stomachs...

one kept asking me to dance...i kept bumping into his stomach...

he kept 'accidentally' bumping into my boobs as he twirled me around...

       ...yuk...

the gorgeous young mexican taxi driver who drove us to the club...

juan... whom we have gotten to know from around town...

kept crawling all over me ...

under the pretence of trying to open the back door of his taxi

for my friend to get in...

didn't mind that AT ALL... probably thought i was some rich old broad...

... so we are off to the pacific coast next week... 

getting away from the mountains...

to soak up some of that moist sea air...

and the lure of the warm ocean breezes...

will be there for christmas...

missing all of you...

missing those big family christmas dinners we used to have...

with little gifts tucked under the brightly lit christmas tree...

with the magical excitement of children...

with the support and love of family around...

i know you are all still there...

but life changes....as Gerry said about his art...

(as those of you who have read my book would know)

"One of the major themes in my artwork is movement and motion...

it's as if there is a wind blowing things around.  It's like life... as much 

as you may want things to settle and remain the same, they never do.

There is always change.  Nothing settles or remains the same."

Wishing all of you the happiest and holiest of holidays....

and hoping that the only change in your life...is for the best...

                       Feliz Navidad.....  hugs  ...  Madeleine

The angels... still with me...

so... for all of you asking where in the world i am..

here i am...

but not sure where... really...

somewhere lost in the universe...

feeling like an animal in the wild...

grazing through life...

6 p.m. ... sitting on my balcony...with a glass of malbec..

watching the orange/pink skies of the setting sun...

and listening to the pounding waves of the pacific...

whales and dolphins playing in the not too distant waters...

in the brilliant reflections of the sunset...

and looking north... to my little piece of empty land..

on this magnificent coast of ecuador..

wondering if i should sell...

made it to NY a few weeks ago... magically..

a much needed visit with my family...

my son from switzerland and his wife...who just won an award for her 

choreography....both working in NY for the month...

and their charming baby..

i call her 'ma petite fleur'..she has the face of a doll and the voice of an angel..

just turned one ...

so... a cause for a celebration ...

my son and his family from LA also visiting for the week...

 a family reunion...one that rarely happens since we all live so far apart..

but a very special early birthday gift for me..

being with my grandkids...

i adore them...

but the story of getting there...

a  nightmare...

i emailed my son in NY the night before my departure from mexico ...

saying i would see them 'mañana por la noche' ...

tomorrow night..

he emailed back saying that he did not think so... and forwarded me a link..

telling of the 'worst ice storm of the century' coming next day..

day of my expected arrival....

but i somehow knew i would get there...

next day... i was connecting in houston ...

all flights cancelled out of houston bound for NY...

all but mine...

i got the last seat on the last plane from houston to NY...

and when i arrived in NY...the person sitting next to me on the plane ...

arranged for a pickup for me with a private limousine company

that he knew...

because all taxis were cancelled due to severe weather...

BLACK ICE...

so i got the last ride out of the airport...

it took us 2 hours to do then 20 minute ride...

but arrived safely and happy ..

my family surprised to see me ...

... but then i barely made it OUT of NY ... one week later..

another ice storm forecast for my day of departure... next day..

should i cancel my flight..

i decide not to...

next day ... warm and sunny ...

the storm blew over..

i arrived back in mexico...

exhausted ...

but to a very kind customs official ...

who either saw my exhaustion.. or saw the honesty in my eyes...

because he just waved me on ...

ahead of the hords of tired travellers who were waiting in long lines 

to have their baggage checked.. literally ripped apart by custom officials..

looking for drugs ???

but just one small incident...

am reading a book about the post war Italian film director, sergio leone,

titled... something to do with death..

a famous line from one of his movies...

and the customs officials...two young boys ...

knowing very little english...seeing the word 'death' in the title..

looked suspiciously at each other...

but luckily decided to let me go...

reminded me of last year ...

returning to canada after several months in ecuador...

checking in at airport in guayaquil ...

they sent me for a 'narcotics check'..

and the customs guy there ....

just joked with me about learning english...

said he would teach me spanish.. if i stayed and lived with him...

always having fun with the locals...

back in mexico..

saw a young man standing in a doorway ... yawning ...

so i said... casado? ...

thinking i was saying ... tired?

but when i saw the smile on his face.. i knew i said something wrong..

then realizing ... casado? ... means ... married?

cansado? ... means ... tired?

so i was asking him if he was married...

a small difference in spelling ... but a big difference in meaning...

in fact, sometimes i say the wrong word on purpose..

so it gets a conversation going...

always with a smile....and the mexicans always ready to help..

and the time a young salesgirl, who owed me ten cents change, ...

came running down the street after me later that day...

sayiing ... senora..  senora... cambio... 

my change...

i love their honesty ...

and hanging out at the local pool hall/bar ...

where all the local young gangs hang out...

but with my mexican friends ...

watching these pool sharks and their fancy moves...

better to be friends with these gangs ... says my mexican friend...

than their enemies...

so true.. because now they watch over us...

always greeting us with a smile..

not at all threatened by us..

as they are by some gringos ...

AND, i know mexico gets bad rep from canada and U.S.

but all the mexicans i have met have been nothing but 

kind and caring and compassionate, friendly and helpful...

the problem with some of these 'gringo' towns...

the gringos from north america often insist that the mexicans fit into their culture..instead of them integrating into the mexican way of life... 

the mexicans do not like this...

understandably...

but now... arriving in ecuador...

to check on my land and visit my new friends from last year...

being picked up at the airport by favian... a local driver...

a young ecuadorian, his wife and two young sons with him..

again being waved on by ecuadorian officials...

bypassing the long line ups...

and both my suitcases arrived with me...

a rarity...

the angels still with me...

remembering the time i was teaching kindergarten at a school 

i had never been at...

a young student...i did not know...

her name samantha..called herself sam ...

i always introduced myself as Mrs. Z(ee)...

to the young grades...

sam did a drawing for me..

wanted to give it to me ....because she said...she saw angels around me ...

it was gerry's dad 's first anniversary of his death...

his dad's name .. sam... 

we always called him...  SAM Z ...

gerry was going to the gravesite for a visit .. on his way to sheridan college.. 

he would arrive at the gravesite around noon...

it was exactly noon  ...

sam gave me her drawing ...

she signed it. ... SAM Z ...

sam for her name..   z for mine..

so ... back in ecuador ... driving late at night with favian...and his family ...

his 3 year old hacking away the whole three hour drive ...

driving along dangerous mountainous roads ...

through bamboo forests and howling monkey jungles...

to get to my little pueblo on the coast ...

'CURVOS PELIGROSOS' ...

'dangerous curve'  signs...every few feet...

hanging on for dear life...

in this little truck with rusty brakes ...

and favian stoppng at every roasteria.. . outdoor food stands along the way..

to buy roast chicken..pop...ice cream...

and kindly offering me some ...

pop spilling...chicken grease staining my white jeans..ice cream melting ...

along these sharp curves ...

no napkins... but toilet paper to wipe up...

and his young son hacking the whole way...

and all i wanted was to have a comfortable bed, after a whole day of travel ...

but their hearts ... kind ...

so primitive and untouched here...

like the africa i knew 40 years ago...

so, favian has become my friend now... and my personal 'driver' ...

taking me on drives to get my errands done ... 

to the next village through the mountains ... to the town hall ...

to pay my land taxes ...

ecuadorian administration ... 

taking all day ... just to pay a few dollars...

but stamps ...

they have to stamp everything...

and take all day to decide what to stamp..

reminiscent of going through customs ..

an outdoor office... from kenya to tanzania ...

years ago ...

needing to get my passport stamped...

but waiting all day ... 

sitting outdoors under the hot kenyan sun ...

until my passport got stamped..

third world countries ... 

they love stamps...

maybe a sign of power ...

and a birthday gift...from favian ...

driving me to small interesting villages on the coast...

along scenic coastal highway E15 ... 

the same highway as highway one...california..

just keep driving north to LA ...

all along the magnificent pacific coast...

stopping along the way, at scenic spots...

where favian thinks i should be taking photos...

but he talks incessantly... with not a word of english..

so he keeps challenging my rusty spanish brain...

but amazing how we can keep up a conversation...

explaining to each other somehow...what we are trying to say...

me with my rusty spanish... favian speaking only in espagnol...

and on the way home...

i buy a huge bag of bananas ...

for 25 cents ...

i offer one to favian.

he breaks it in half...and offers me one half...

i refuse, since i have a bag full ...

and full from lunch of pollo, arroz y patecones...

chicken and rice and fried plantain...

and cerveza, of course...

with downcast eyes ... favian explains to me ...

in ecuador ... when you share like this ...

it means you are friends...

and talks about his 'buen corazon' ...

his kind heart ... 

i graciously accept...

he invited me to dinner at his home tonight...to say goodbye...

to his barrio... in town ... where his whole family attended...

his aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters..babies galore ...

his whole family wanting to talk to me .. en espagnol..

my poor tired brain...

so, am leaving in the morning for my 'home' in the mountains in mexico...

will miss the pounding pacific ...

and the spiritual sunsets ... and the whales and the dolphins..

and the 'buenos corazones' ...

paz y amor 

hasta pronto      madeleine

My tribe...

so...my tribe...

i just arrived back to ajijic from a week in puerto vallarta

and walked by la estancia ....and peeked in...but you and alejandro 

were not there mike...and i thought of the day we really met when

we were sitting having coffee...

i was talking about sheridan college and realized your were gerry s  colleague,

of sorts... and felt a real connection...

and you introduced me to alejandro...

maybe a crazy friend for life... crazy ...but a kind soul...

so i went up to the plaza ...and leo....you were not having your 

three hour coffee...and thought of that day...the first day you just 

arrived in ajijic ... sort of lost... and you 'stole' my bench seat...

and maybe my heart...in a little way...

so i went to the pizza place below your place, marty, 

and you were not there...

i just dropped you off in guadalajara....and missing you...

and thought of the time i met you...by chance ... also on the bench

at the plaza...same bench i met leo...when you just arrived in ajijic...also lost...

 and how serendipity allowed us to meet...

and i thanked the universe for that meeting...

and then i went to maria isabella s on the lake...

and dorothea you were not there... with your wonderful, contagious smile...

and remember when marty introduced us way back when...i knew immediately when i looked into your soul..

that you and marty and i were going to be the 'tres amigas'...

you were part of my 'tribe'...

so i sat down at maria isabella s for a beer...

looking at the meditative, calm of the lake...

and remembered the last time we were all there together...

and now ... all apart... in our own lives...

and a few tear drops fell into my glass...

and after a short while... i realized i was drinking my tears..

not my beer...

maria isabella s was crowded... but i felt so alone...

so then i headed home... and went by the pool hall..

the infamous chameleon... and carlos ... the tall owner..

was sitting outside...

and i thought of our fun nights there...

carlos and i chatted a bit ... and he said...oh well ...

people come and go here...

he made me chuckle... how philosophical...

life... people come and go...

and i thought of gerry...

who went too soon..

missing him far too much..

and now talking to alejandro... and thinking of visiting him in leon..

JUST AS A FRIEND...

am i crazy...

living outside the box... is what makes me tick...

hope you are all very well.. . enjoying what life brings our way...

hasta pronto... hugs and blessings..   madeleine

Peligroso Mexico... Cuidado... dangerous Mexico... Beware

hola....once more...

Mexico...where i have lived many winters...

but they say ....dangerous...beware of mexico...

so true.. i have lived with the dangers here ...

... uneven cobblestones... up mountain roads...

where suddenly you lose your foot ...in a crevice in the cobblestone...

and roll your ankle when treading lightly over these surfaces...

and walking around corners...

very carefully trying to get my four eggs home... safely without breaking them..

in a plastic bag ... wanting them for breakfast next morning..

when suddenly a young child comes running around the corner...

and bumps right into my four eggs... they break...

my four eggs... now mush in the plastic bag...

and i trip on the edge of the sidewalk .... with the impact of the child...

the hemline of my light aqua cotton skirt ...now red...

blood stained with the scrape on my knee...blood running down my leg…

blood all over the pavement...

and the youngster...totally unaware, still running...

and in the main square of town ... the plaza...

with its many gardens and cafes...

the chairs at the cafes...VERY heavy wrought iron...

so heavy ...difficult to move..in fact, impossible to move...

especially over the cobblestones...

and if you do and ever bump them into your bare sandalled- toed toes..

hell... IT HURTS...

heard more swear words here at the cafes then ever before...

bare toes being bumped...

and on the dance floors of the many bars..

a sudden four inch drop...no warning...

treacherous with heels on...

dangerous mexico !!!

BUT ... having fun with the locals...

January 6... Feast of the Epiphany... The Three Kings..

evening and sitting in the town plaza...

with its colourful gardens and lined with many welcoming benches and cafes...

the benches...where the locals sit relaxing with their families...

toddlers running...elders passing the time away..

young mothers nursing their babies...

us gringos in the cafes...drinking too much coffee...or tequila...

the feast of the Three Kings... always a reason for a feast ...a celebration ...

here in mexico..

tonight...the elaborately dressed mexicans, parading through the square...

three young men playing the role of three kings and taking it very seriously...

elegantly dressed in their multi-coloured velvet robes and their crowns of gold...

and young teenage boys... excitedly setting off loud firecrackers and rockets...

real rockets...

but no one but us gringos seem to mind...

the locals enjoying every minute of this horror-filled excitement...

rockets landing everywhere...everyone running somewhere...to avoid being hit...

very young teenage girls... walking hand in hand ... arm in arm...

around the square...

lovingly...as the spanish seem to do...

gorgeous looking in their very tight jeans..

and new found make-up and nail polish...

nails..an art form... always with a colourful design ...

and also with the results of their new found sexuality...

newborns swaddled in their arms...

young couples...hand in hand..

with love in their eyes...

and the youngsters ... screaming with delight when breaking

all the candy filled pinatas ...

the elderly... happily being taken care of by family members...

no one alone here... in mexico... a family culture..

And at the doctors last week... to check a little spot on my arm...

having it burned off with his new laser gadget...

but first ... a little anaesthetic injected into my arm...

to ease the pain, he says...a pinch..a hurt..

no..i say... estoy muy brava... i am very brave...

no hurts for me...

the nurse attendant... eating her pizza and often on her cell phone....

marlena...laughing and saying that women have to be brave..

thinking of her recent difficult childbirth...

i recounted my days when i worked as a nurse at a student health centre

at a local university...

the big muscular football players would come in for a 'shot' ... a vaccine...

and shyly ask if it was going to hurt...

these football players who are so roughed up on the football field...

... would sometimes end up fainting...

and the young girls... not even a whimper...

dr. juarez says ... los hombres guapos... the handsome young men... not meant for pain...

 i said.. right ..they should try childbirth...

 dr. juarez says he felt his wife's pain when his baby daughter

 was recently born...

 marlena and i laugh... if only he knew...

And this morning... sitting in the town plaza... and when i got up, my sweater

got caught on a nail on the back of a chair...

i literally saw my new italian knit sweater unravel before my eyes...

but i knew of an expert knitter at a local tienda...

so i take my unravelled sweater there, but the sales girl says that maria , the knitter,

will be there at 4 p.m.

it is 3 p.pm...

not much sense in walking all the way home...

so i await the time at the cafe in the plaza...

4 p.m. and i walk back to the tienda...

maria still not there...

but she will be there by 4:30...

so at 4:30 i return to the tienda...

maria...still did not show up...

i beg them to phone her...

oh.. no problema...

she is walking over... will be there in 10 minutes...

i wait until 5 p.m...

still no maria...

i am getting annoyed....something you should not do in mexico...they phone her again ...she is on her way...

will be here at 5:30...

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEN MINUTES.. . i ask...

in my halting spanish...

oh... tiempo mexicano ..

we are on mexican time she laughs...

finally maria shows up with a smile..

and certainly no apology...

it is her right to run on mexican time...

after all, it is her country ... not mine..

and promises of having my sweater repaired and returned to the tienda

... mañana exactament las cinco en punto ... tomorrow...exactly at 5 p.m...

bueno.. i say... pero no a las seis...o las siete...o las ocho...

good ... but not at six or seven or eight..

no tiempo mexicano...no mexican time... i plead...

so next day, i decide to be at the tienda at six p.m

no sense in going 'on time' and waiting around...

so when i arrive at 6... the sales girl laughs and says

maria had the sweater there are 5 p.m. sharp...en punto...

now, she says, we are on your time ... and you are on tiempo mexicano ....

a few laughs help bring our cultures closer....

the locals...always a smile and a 'buenos dias'...

like the young mother of the youngster who ran around the corner

and broke my eggs...

was so distraught at the broken eggs...

went right into the grocery store and bought me four fresh eggs..

much to my insistence not to...

no... no necesita, i say... tengo pan y queso para la desayuno...

no ... not necessary ...i say... i have bread and cheese for breakfast...

but she insists...

and walking to my home...up the mountain roads...

the short cut way...have to walk through the barrio..

the barrio...at the lower end of the road...

and at the top ... us 'wealthier' gringos..

but every early evening... a group of frightening looking

young boys...smoking something with a sweet aroma...

sitting all over the sidewalks...

am unable to get through...

at first was quite frightened to walk through,

as they eyed us up and down...

but then...decided to join in ... without fear...

with a smile...and a 'hola'

and a 'buenas noches'  ... como están...?

good evening.. how are you...?

and immediately, they stood up and made way for us to walk through...

and have acted like gentlemen ever since...

so ... am experiencing the 'dangers' of mexico...

and its wonderful people...

... off to New York tomorrow, to visit my family....

my sons and their wives...and my adorable grandchildren...

who will all be there... some working...some visiting...

will miss Julian and Yasmina, who will not be able to make it

to New York from L.A...

deadlines on the editing of his next film...

but Julian's birthday tomorrow...

Happy Birthday....Julian...

and wishes for a year full of love and magic...and many blessings...

My love and God's light be with you... in all that you are and in all that you do...

i love you....mama

hasta luego