A Day in the Country

We sort of got stood up on our dinner party Wed night….not sure what happened, but it all turned out for the better. Kelley and Penny Crossman, our new pals with the old orchard outside of town called and invited us to drive out deeper in to the Sierra Madre Mountains, into the Sonoran Ecological Reserve. They are good friends with Stephanie Meyer, a naturalist/scientist that is running and managing a few very large, as in 8000 acre, rancho’s deep in the reserve areas for an International Conservancy group similar to The Nature Conservancy. Anyway, we drove out with Stephanie on Thursday and spent the night with her, her ranch hands, and the Crossmans, and returned Friday.
Totally, totally wonderful. It is virtually the only road east of Alamos, and heads straight in to the high Sierra’s. We drove only about 20 miles, but it was an incredibly steep, bumpy, rocky, insane 3 hour drive nearly the whole distance in 4-wheel drive low in her old Isuzu Trooper. I swear we each lost 3 pounds just bouncing around her truck with her dog. But she is a very talented naturalist and biologist schooled in the tree’s, blooming desert trees and cactus, as well as all the wildlife. So we got a great lesson the whole way out and finally got to see what we looked out and wondered about…what lies behind all these mountains!
The ranch is deep in a canyon on a river….with 2 small 2-room adobe buildings, a thatched roof outdoor cocina/kitchen, and a series of corrals for work mules and horses. She and one of her ranch hands fixed a fabulous dinner or fresh tomatoes with basil, sautéed carrots and kohlrabi, and a fried coconut chicken…we brought wine and beer, and all ate til we could eat no more, sat around under the Sierra Mountain stars and talked about Tarahumara Indian life in the surrounding villages…very cool.


The morning dawned cool and beautiful, and Lis and I took a short bird walk before coffee as the sun was rising up over the canyon walls. Coffee was served cowboy style, just grounds tossed in hot water…thick, rich, chewy black coffee…yum! Stephanie then fixed us all a local ranch-fresh scrambled eggs, sweet rolls, fruit, and fresh made corn tortillas made that morning by the ranch hands….more yum!
We then went on a long slow desert bird watching walk along the river…the giant old growth Cypress hugging the shorelines with trunks knotted and gnarled over 5 feet across!! Only to be outdone by the massive old growth Strangler Fig trees…incredible Banyan like trees that easily spanned 10 feet at the base….and filled with roots and trunks that looked like solid concrete…I’ll try to post a picture or two.



We saw Road Runners, Large Black Hawks the size of eagles, Blue Buntings, Green Kingfishers, and large flamboyant Magpie Jays; topped off with finding a 6 foot long, completely intact snake skin-shed from the tip of its tail to the tip of each jaw…cool! A beautiful walk, and a rare opportunity to glimpse some of the interior nature preserve lands of the rare Northern Sonoran Desert Tropical Hardwood Forest. The bone jarring ride back home was another 3 hours of backseat bouncing and shock rattling craziness…and this time we got tossed around with 2 dogs!
Tonight is my “real” birthday dinner! We are going to one of the most beautiful small elegant rustic hotels you can possibly imagine. It is right here in Alamos, but world famous…Hacienda de los Santos…check it out at www.haciendadelossantos.com. We had dinner here 3 years ago, and to this day, Lisa swears it was the most romantic dinner we have ever had..I agree.

Saturday is a day of lounging in Alamos again….and by virtue of meeting Stephanie, we are signed up to travel back to the coast…the scene of the sting ray crime!!!!....to take a boat trip up and through a large estuary/bird sanctuary where the Rio Mayo river meets the Sea of Cortez. This is a major western fly-way stop over for thousands and thousands of migratory birds…just beginning their way back to you all!!

Monday is going to be the departure date for the week in the Copper Canyon. If you have not read up anything on that…google Copper Canyon and hunt around a little. Its pretty awesome. We will spend a week traveling one of the great rail journeys of the world, which rises 7,000 feet in less than 150km, as well as hiking and exploring the rim, and the interior of the canyon.

(Sat) The Hacienda was all we expected again. It truly is the most romantic, intimate, gorgeous rustic hotel and restaurant we have seen anywhere in the world. The website does not do it justice in pictures…I took one here from the Cowboy Bar…and one fro dinner. It was a great evening. Here too is a few pics of the Strangler Fig roots pouring down the Cliffside…these trees are just mind boggling; we were told there is one in Aduana, about 10 miles away, that is a world famously photographed tree….we missed it! We might have to bike back over there in a couple weeks just to see it. And one last pic of the Rancho we stayed out in the Sierra’s.

This is probably the last you will hear from us in a while, as we are off on Monday am for the Canyon, and the Estuary early tomorrow for bird watching. Hasta luego!

Lazy Days

Thanks for the birthday greetings! We started the day Tuesday, biking out of town about five miles to an old 20 acre orchard that some folks we met at movie night Monday now own and are developing or restoring….the Crossman’s. Wonderful people…very down to earth, and are now growing heirloom tomatoes, arugula, and different organic herbs and stuff for the local restaurants here in Alamos. They spend Sept-April here in Alamos, and live in Colorado…good examples of people still “working” in the states, and doing “some work” here in Alamos using the internet.

The orchard or farm had a nice assortment of chickens, an old burro named Firecracker, and a few horses…so Lisa got a nice fix of farm critters! They are having a l little market today in town selling their organic produce…we are going to go there this am after I write this.

My foot is not progressing like I wish it was…still feels quite swollen, though does not look it, and it still feels very “bruised” and is tender to walk on…It does not look at all infected, so I am just hoping it’s a slow progression of getting better.
Birthday dinner last night consisted of the most highly recommended eat-spot in all of Alamos…the weenie man. There is a guy who is only open in the evenings making the worlds best hot dogs. People flock there every night…he sets up half in his yard, half on the street…and grills up big fat dogs wrapped in bacon…laid in a huge fresh bun packed with fried onions, homemade salsa, mayo, jalapenos, and cheese….man o man…he could give any Chicago Dog vendor a run for his money!! We pulled up plastic chairs on the dirt yard, and joined the throngs of local families, and wolfed down a big birthday dog!

We finally saw a small cloud in the sky last evening…thought it was worth noting. And for the second night in a row, saw a free range horse outside the gate to our house eating all the decorative grasses that they plant along the wall….not sure if that is an “auto-mower” of some sort, or just a smart horse that has discovered a local treat….need to check with the gardener.
We have our second dinner party tonight. It is fun to meet some of the characters and ex-pats making a life here…we learn more from each conversation…and meet new personalities. Everyone shares a little something different. It all seemed so exotic and exciting on the way down here…but the more people we meet, the longer we are here…it is amazing how much people are so much the same where ever you go…people living their lives, doing their work, raising their families…traveling, anchoring, whatever…no matter where you go…there you are!

A social day

We had a really nice day Friday and it was filled with new faces. We wandered over to the square in the morning because we had heard there was going to be a Childrens Parade for Benito Juarez Day...but no parade. But since we sort of stick out as gringo's we met the Chief of Police as he was preparing his troops for reviewal by visiting dignataries for the day...Sr Hector Clarke. So now we are dialed into the troops at the highest level...nice guy...we chatted for a quite a while in broken English and broken Spanish.

Then he introduced us to the Director of Tourism for Alamos, and we chattted a while with him on the street and he gave us a few tips for visting local Pueblos for Easter celebrations...not sure if we can get to them though because we have no car.

Last night we went to a local bar for some live music from some ex-pats and met a friend Louise that we had been corresponding with via the internet for the last few years...she lives here. She invited us out to dinner and bocce ball on Wed to her ranch outside of Alamos...we'll try to bike out there.

The table next to us chatted us up, and they ended up inviting us to their house on Monday nite for movie and a pasta dinner...they are projecting "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" on the wall outside the house at dark...sounds like fun. And....we met the owner of our dream house...Casa Esmeralda...dining alone, so we invited him over to join us...all in all a busy social day. Lisa said she needs a few days off now.....

Sting Ray info

The ray...upon a little more research was most likely a sting ray. (I think). Anyway....for those of you who are dying to know more...here is a link: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stingray_injury/article_em.htm

All is well...a little rawness and swelling today, but I am walking around fine. Lisa is feeling better too...a little hollow, but we are gonna take a bike ride today. 86 and sunny...yee haaa

Adventure #2

Lisa woke just a little too queasy to make the trip to the beach at Huatabampito, so I joined our friends Marins and Francine from Montreal alone. It is an hour and half to the beach from Alamos. Huatabampito is a pretty remote outpost…a few local small sea food restaurants and a long long stretch of beautiful sand on the Sea of Cortez. We found a spot on the sand and sat down. It was clear as a bell and 85 degrees but with a good breeze so it felt fantastic!

I decided to try a short swim. I waded out into the cool aqua water…mild waves lapping at my legs. I could feel the sun cooking me reflecting off the water…I thought briefly of the cold damp melting snow, the freezing rain, drizzle and what you all are calling a warm spell at 42 degrees…smiled to myself, and prepared to dive in the sparkling waters of Mexico.

Suddenly…WAM!! Something quick, hard, and searing ripped at my foot…it felt like a razor ripping open my little toe!! I completely freaked out, with images of piranahs, sharks, or sea creatures chewing on me! I turned and ran and galloped as fast I could the 40 yards back to the beach…the hair on my neck standing up and my heart pounding….what had happened!? I got to the sand and lifted the side of my foot and saw a trickle of blood…oh no…now what? I hopped up the sand to pull out my towel, and said to Marins, “I think something bit me!”…he turned and asked if was sure, just as a deep, throbbing, vise-like pain began to envelop my foot….it was like a combination of a vise crushing my toes while at the same time, my foot and toes began to swell and felt like they were going to burst open.

I dropped on my towel and lifted my foot…it was then I saw the bottom of my foot, crimson and dripping like a stuck pig. Oh crap…I thought…what the hell happened? Marins and Francine were sort of shaken up…as was I…and kept asking if I wanted to go to the hospital. I don’t even know if there is a hospital…we are out on a long stretch of remote Mexican beach, for crying out loud! A couple of kids saw me run from the water, and drop and holding my foot…wincing and moaning now from a crushing, aching pain…they ran over, and said quite a bit that I did not understand, and they ran to the restaurant. I few seconds later the owner came out with a glass of water with some alcohol in it and lifted my foot…watching him wince too…and pour the warer over my foot, made me queasy…damn it hurt like mad!! “Manta Reya….”, he said. I got hit by a manta ray!!

He whistled over the beach patrol…two Policia on motorcycles cruising the beach…they exchanged words quickly and one helped me to my feet, and lifted me onto the back of the motocycle…and we tore off down the beach. There were no foot pedals for my feet, so I had to hold onto his shoulders, and hold my feet out. My own leaking blood down the sand as we raced along. I asked..”Esta cerca de aqui?!” …Is it close by? He said yes, and we raced along about a ¼ mile, and he pulled up off the beach, and there sitting pretty as you please is a paramedic truck, and 4 Paramedics just waiting for something to do! Oh my lucky day…

They pulled me off and I could tell they were all talking about what had happened, they had me sit on the back of the truck in the sun…I was panting from nervousness, pain, and dying of thirst. I asked for water, as a few started grabbing supplies, and bottles of liquid, gauze, and syringes…no, not syringes!!

Well, they got my name and address here in Alamos, asked if I was allergic to anything, diabetic, and all that…and then said yes, you got stung/bit/hit by a Manta Reya….and they had to clean it and give me a shot. The pain was numbing…my foot was visibly swelling, and I just wanted to get on with what ever it takes to end it…they were very good, quick, and professional. He held up a couple of bottles that I thought said Lidocaine…but I was not sure. Once they cleaned it up, he took a long syringe, and asked if I was “ready”?....I held my breath….and I swear to God, he must have stuck me 4 or 5 times with that thing in 4 or 5 places around, in, and under my little toe….I nearly passed out.

They gave me a pill, I assume was for pain, and some more water. They taped and bandaged my toe and edge of my foot, and said everything will be “OK”, and they smiled…..one asked if had been drinking Tequila…I said no, but I am going to now!!!

Just then, Marins drove up after driving around trying to find where they took me…and we thanked them, and I asked what I owe them…nothing Senor…Bienvenidos a Mexico! Welcome to Mexico! We drove back where my stuff was, and hung around a little….they packed stuff up on the beach while I sat in the shade under the restaurant palapa and had a cold Negra Modelo beer. We chatted a while and they asked if I wanted to go back to Alamos…I had no reason to go back, I just could not walk around the sand anymore. So we drove down the beach and had an awesome fresh shrimp dinner…a couple of ice cold Mexican beers…and then drove home. That’s my day on the beach……

Headed to the beach

We met a really nice couple from Montreal that are renting for a couple months, but they leave this weekend. They invited us along to the beach today...so we are taking them up on that since we don't have a car. The beach is Huatabambito. You can google it for more (maybe) info if you want. It is about an 1 1/2 we think. It is a local beach on the Sea of Cortez...not a real resort town...minimal facilities, but supposedly incredible restaurants with fresh daily seafood catches....one guide book talks of a place to get giant grilled prawns and shrimp "the size of kittens" so my mouth is watering over that prospect!!

Lisa has spent almost two days in bed getting over a flu/cold...hopefully she is up for the beach trip today. It has been a little lonely wandering the streets alone, but she is on the mend!

Watched a wonderful movie the other night at one of the hotels having a pizza-movie night. The history and perspective of Mexican women...particularly those in the arts and singing. One quote really struck with me. An older woman talked of Mexico, the magic, the dreams of Mexico...she said "Mexico is a land of dreams, a place for dreaming! Nobody "dreams" of Venezuela...nobody "dreams" of Uruguay or Columbia...people around the word DREAM OF MEXICO!"

I loved that.....:)

A week has gone by

Today marks a week of the trip, including a couple days getting here. Knowing it’s a longer trip has made this week go slow which is really nice. One of the purposes of this trip was to try to “feel” the town and get an idea of what it is like to be here longer than a 1 or 2 week vacation.
We have just been wandering, exploring, resting, reading, and more wandering. We “live” on the top of Loma Guadalupe. Like you saw in the pics, on a pretty good size hill looking over Alamos. It s a nice mix of local small modest homes, and a few newer bigger spreads like ours that have been built over the last 10 years on some of the best view lots. We have made a friend walking up the hill a few times everyday…Foxy. A local dog that looks like a large fox. He spots us coming and gets up to greet us and eagerly walks us up the hill and to the gate where we leave him each time…a great escort to help us navigate the plethora of guard dogs, street dogs, and mangy mutts that appear in the shadows at all times. They get more interested in him than us.

Each and every day so far has dawned clear, cool, and sunny. We love how it goes from cool morning to warm days and back to cool evenings….perfect weather. We have been living off two meals a day as part of a budget…and a diet. There is a small local breakfast spot in a home that has awesome huevos rancheros, or chilaquiles. I love the chilaquiles…it is basically sautéed corn tortillas with chicken and peppers in either a red, or green sauce….yum!!! Lisa of course has to have her two eggs a day.
We have mostly been stopping at street vendors (see pic) for those delicious tacos at night. We did buy a roasted chicken from the market the other day and have been making our own tacos and my homemade pico de gallo. Today, Sunday, there is a pretty large farmers market so I went down early and got some more fresh fruit and veggies, along with some homemade chorizo…can’t wait for that! Lisa has a little of Montezuma’s revenge today, so she is laying a little low. All part of the experience.

We have met a few people, just talking on the square. Mostly expat types sharing their stories of moving here, living part time here, and some of the local flavor. We hope to rent bikes still and wander a little further. We found a local Naturalist of sorts that we hope to hook up with later next week for a bird watching trip to a regional Estuary. It is Santa Semana, or Holy Week, so this and next week all of Mexico has school off and there is a great deal of travel. The beaches will crowd with locals, and Alamos here is what is known as a Nacional Pueblo Magico (Magical Pueblo) and will be visited by quite a few regional and even national Mexican tourists…should be fun. We are learning a little more about the Copper Canyon too…and will push our trip there out a week until 2 weeks after Easter just to avoid more of the national tourist/vacation crowds. So we have two weeks ahead of us here to just relax and enjoy the slow beautiful pace of Alamos…Pueblo Magico.

The Realtor

This pic here is inside the Hotel Colonial courtyard which I use as my office. They have free WIFI here, and its peaceful and beuatiful So all of these posts are written right here with this view of the fountain!!

I would be lying if I told you I was not really really looking forward to meeting the realtor in Alamos. I spend a lot of dreary Minnesota evenings surfing the web for dreamy warm weather real estate alternatives. Not like we are looking to move, but I just really love getting to know the values of those places where I pine to be in the dark cold tundra days of Minnesota winters.

Today was the big day. We had emailed Everardo, a friendly local Alamos attorney and realtor, back last fall when we knew we would be coming. We wanted to look at 5 or 6 different places for sale. Ranging from restored colonial homes in the center of town, to new and restored Hacienda type properties with a little more room and space on the edge, and even further outside of Alamos in country.
It was a beautiful day, we saw some very interesting and lovely places….fun to dream. We did a little market shopping and picked up a bunch of fresh veggies, peppers, etc for home made pico de gallo, and some fresh tortillas made each day by a local woman, and then a fresh slow roasted whole chicken….we are gonna feast tonight at home. We have been eating out, albeit just at a small café for breakfast, and then trying the different street vendors’ fresh grilled tacos and salsa…man oh man…I can eat those until I simply blow up! I have been good, in that I limit myself to 3 tacos…I could easily eat 8 if I put my mind to it! Maybe one night, just for kicks, I will eat these babies until Lisa has to carry me home….that would be sweeeet!

Its day 3 in Alamos…and like the forecast had said…80 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in the sky…every day. Beautiful cool mornings around 48-50….perfect. Here are a few shots of the place we liked the best today…Casa La Esmeralda Viaje (Old Esmerelda). Some of you may remember the old colonial ruin that we fell in love with when we were here last time….well, its no longer a ruin, it’s a storybook Restored Mexican Hacienda….and it just came available on the market….again.

Trying to get you pics....

I am trying to upload pics...but first try was no good...how about this one?

Hey!!! There is one!! This is waiting forthe bus in Navajoa...8:30 Monday night.....

Here is Lizbeth taking in coffee the first morning from our house. We are on one of the high hills surrounding the main town with a gorgeous eye popping view of the old colonial town center...

A view of the outside living spaces. Part of what I love about Mexico...the outdoor living spaces are as, if not more important than the inside spaces...quite different from worrying about heating systems, energy efficient windows, insulation...blah blah blah...

And this is to show my employer I am working from morning til dusk!!! Nice office eh?!

Let the Adventures Begin

Adventure Number 1

Well it did not take long for the wonder of Mexican travel to rise up and greet us. We left Phoenix after a perfect and generous afternoon and evening with Joan and Urban Thoennes, family friends of the Catton’s, and caught a cab at 4:45 am on Monday for the bus station.

We boarded the bus at 6:30am bound for Navojoa, Mexico where will be changing buses for Alamos. We had been wondering a little about the whole bus thing when it comes to Mexican Customs and Immigration at the border. The people who offered information on the topic said not to worry, the bus stops and you get out and get your passport stamped, get a visa, and get back on the bus……

We stopped in Nogales at the border, and were part of only a small handful of gringos that needed visa’s, but were told where to go. Our two large luggage were unloaded, not sure why, and our valuables and money we kept on our backs in backpacks. We felt a little uneasy just leaving our luggage there on the sidewalk. We went in…filled out our forms, got stamped, and the man said to go “outside to the bank, pay the fee, and come back and get stamped again.” Easy enough.

We walked outside and did not see any bank. It’s here where you usually look for a line of other innocent, naive looking northerners. An official looking guy waved us over through an iron gate to a bank window. There was just one guy ahead of us….With a stack of bill of lading for the border crossing as tall as a breadbox! We waited. And waited and waited….

I kept glancing over at the bus. It was there, idling away, so we felt good. Then a local guy got in line…what you would call…just ahead of us….or but, as they say. We were getting a little impatient, and Lisa decided to tell him that he was behind us in line. In a pretty funny exchange of Spanish and English…she started wagging that Catton finger saying “no no no…behind us”. We lost the argument, but he had only one document to pay for, so we did not make a big deal of it. I glanced back and saw the bus waiting patiently for us….25 minutes had passed.

Finally, we got up to the window….and after 5 minutes of banging on keys on the computer, and looking through all sorts of paper, and lists, and Mexican FBI Most Wanted lists, I presumed….she finally told us we owed her $23.00 a piece. Lisa pulled out the money and as I glanced back…the bus was gone!

A few more frantic minutes of getting stamped and change, we ran back to the Immigration Office to get the last stamp and tried to ask where the bus went??!! Blank stares is all we got. We walked outside, in a mild state of pandemonium, and noticed all our luggage was gone, and the bus was nowhere in sight.

We flagged down one of the Immigration guys, and got across to him that the bus left without us, and has all our luggage. I think the only part he got was that we needed a bus to Alamos….and took us to the ticket office. No no , we tried to explain…we have a ticket, but the bus left and has all our stuff! Emergency language and speaking on their part and our part gets a lot faster, so nobody knew what the other was trying to say…a young woman who spoke pretty good English helped us out, and it was determined that if we hustle…we might be able to flag a cab and catch up with the bus.

What?! On the highway?! We are gonna try to run down the bus and get him to stop?! A security guard had a fast conversation with a taxi driver, and off we went…speeding helter skelter through the streets of Nogales! After about 10 minutes of careening through traffic, we looked at each other and just laughed…”Welcome to Mexico!”

As it turned out…the driver took us across town and pulled into the Nogales Tufesa Bus station, where our driver was sitting idly smoking a cigarette waiting for a few new Nogales passengers to board….we checked he had our luggage…skipped the argument over what happened and why he left, and just got on the bus, and settled in happy to be on our way!

China Jet Lag

I just got back from my 8 day China trip and am sooo looking forward to Mexico! It was 75 and sunny in Hong Kong, and 14 and snowing here on the farm. Makes me scratch my head.

I am learning a tremendous amount in interacting with the Chinese, and trying to manage the overseas manufacture of the Vibramat. ( see www.vibramat.net tell everyone you know...its a pretty cool product) The cultural and language differences are really rearing their ugly head in trying to make progress. The western project management processes, and the communication expectations are simply a very foreign concept to the Chinese...oh well. Its always good to learn.

I won't bore you with a China trip recap...save for the highlights: We golfed at Mission Hills Golf Club (www.missionhillsgroup.com ) The worlds largest golf club, 216 holes or 12 courses. The World Cup of Golf was recently played there...Shenzen China. Cool. Ate fried jelly fish, fried pig stomach, and the best was a soup made from an ancient Chinese herb: the worm grass. In the bottom of the bowl was literally what looked like a green caterpillar. It was actually a grass. The caterpillar eats this grass seed, the seed spouts in the stomach of the worm and the worm gives up its life and becomes one with the grass...it looks like, and in fact is 100% grass...but looks like a caterpillar. Scary..but supposed to be a holistic ancient herb for total life wellness. So I have that going for me.

So...I have 3 days to get over jet lag, pack bags and get ready for 5 weeks south of the border. Can't wait. Hopefully next post will be from Alamos Mexico, with a review of the bus ride from Phoenix to Alamos.

Send along any questions...and I will do my best to answer them! Thanks for reading