Weather

Where did that Canadian woman get to you might ask? Well Sid…I have been here in San Antonio for 6 weeks, and have discovered painting….I have not had time to write a single line about what we have been up to. Needless to say we keep really busy. Tonight for example is the MAS Flamenco dancers performance and first thing tomorrow morning is the cruise on Lake Chapala with the Canadian Club. We have been to Guadalajara to the Met broadcast in Hi Definition and are headed there argain thsi weekend. My husband has joined a men’s discussion group at the LCS, I take painting lessons 2 to 3 days a week for 3 hours at a time. May I say that for the excellent instruction I am receiving from Javier Ramos I pay only 200 pesos per session. I feel very privileged to be in his classes.

We have had birthday celebrations at wonderful restaurants, into Chapala for the amazing arts and crafts show in November, back again to the train station for the art show one afternoon. Thursdays we often hop the bus to Jocotopec for a market treat and goat soup. We also hopped a bus and went to Puerto Vallarta for a week and can say with total honesty that the condo I own over by the ocean has lost it’s appeal. We could not wait to get back here. It was humid and hot…crowded and noisy. It is a beautiful place by the bay but our hearts seem to be located right here.

My brother and his wife were here and one downside to this great area was the fact that she experienced problems with her blood pressure, due to an existing unusual heart problem, and they had to return to sea level. How sad for them as they loved it here in the Chapala area and were expecting to stay for 6 months. A rare experience but it does happen I hear.

Other friends arrived in August and are building a new home, More friends came down for first time and are here for six months also. Yesterday folks we met here last winter arrived from Ottawa and are staying for 4 months. In January we have 4 more friends arriving for 3 months. As you can see we have done some talking up of the Chapala area and have them all connected with the Chapala Club web site.

So you can see that with our travels, our interests and our friends we have limited time to sit in front of the computer. When we do have the computer fired up we might mention to Canadians living here that CBC’s The National with Peter Mansbridge, a Canadian news icon, is available on their computers each night after 9.20. We certainly do love to keep up with what is gong on back home as our television only gets limited stations. We do rent it is not going to change. We love our rental place and our kind and considerate landlords. Talk of buying comes up once in a while then we decide that our 6 and 6 life style suits us perfectly well. Then again if that condo in PV sells we might be in the market for a home in The area. Who knows , life is a changing mystery and we enjoy it all. Carol

Still enjoy reading the articles….you do provide a great service and we will keep spreading the word.

Sid, I am planning a trip down for possible relocation. I get conflicting info on the weather at Lake Chapala. Maybe I haven’t looked hard enough. I understand that the “official weather reporting station’ is in GDL. I know that lake chapala is supposedly 10 degrees cooler n the afternoon than GDL and about 5 degrees warmer in the morning. After 30 years in PHX I really have come to dislike the heat and with no AC in most homes, that would be a definite concern for me. How often does it get in the 90′s at the lake? Thanks, Gary Irelan

Hi. Sure hope Carol will take up your writing offer as I enjoyed learning the things she has found to do. I see in her article that some friends are building. Are there buildable lots for sale at waters edge? If si, what are some asking prices? Do you have any idea what sq ft building costs and permits run?
Thanks, Yvonne

Thanks, Sid.
Sounds good. Maybe when I come down in March you can show me what’s 4 sale at that time.
Yvonne

Neglectful? busy, lost the art of fingers to keyboard? not me. Hi Sid
I was going to write some time ago but life got in the way, things change and we change with it. I was in my charming little rental apartment last winter in San Antonio but on my own. Aha another single woman in the area. Do not worry gals I am too busy and content to become available. A funny story…my daughter was down last winter just to check out her Mom’s chosen place, by the way as with all of us she fell in love with the area. She went on a run one morning and stopped for late breakfast in a local restaurant where a gentleman asked if he could join her. She is open to all folks, married and happy with that arrangement but she said sure. “After all Mom” she said “he was old enough to be my father.” Anyway she is a councellor back in Canada and he must have sensed that so he told her lots about his personal life…”more” she said “than what she needed to hear”. She told him that maybe he could use a little help from a therapist and he said ” No my dear, all I need down here is an event planner”. I tell my gal friends that available men are at a premium here but that gets to be true everywhere as we women seem to have staying power.
I continue to paint, some of my work is in local galleries.
now. Mexico has become, even more the place that makes my heart sing and my paint flow. My daughter and her husband are considering retirement in the area and my son, who has lived in Vallarta for 12 years is currently looking at property in Ajijic. He is looking to start a businesss and move over to the climate that is so to his liking.
I myself am going to become a full time resident starting in November, I have still the snowbird option open to me but since I produce my best work when I am there it is telling me that at 71 I sould follow my heart.
I still get involved in a few other activites. this winter I want to do the english as a Second language at LCS