Along the road to Queretero 

countryside on the way to Queretero still looking very green and at its best 

a better picture of aqueduct made of stone with giant arches 

giant aqueduct in Queretero 

Hunting and Gathering

House will now close on Monday, Ojala.

I drove to Queretero a couple of days ago (60 km). They have a Home Depot, a Costco and a Walmart. I am not interested in Costco but was talking to a fellow from Vancouver who with his partner are in the second year of running a small open-air burger joint on an unused parking lot here (best in town he claims) and he goes to Costco to get his prepared burgers because they have just the right amount of fat. He asked that I not let CRC know of his business in SMA.

I was interested in Home Depot to see what they would have that I might need for the house. It has a definite Mexican flair – not much in the way of carpets but lots of tiles for instance. I was also interested to see if I could find any pipe tobacco in Queretero, which is quite large and modern. I found some but it was over-priced and not very good. I have encountered since, three other pipe smokers in town (a drummer, a plastic surgeon, and a sculptor) and each has his own horror story about finding pipe tobacco in Mexico. In the end they all rely on friends and relatives to bring in supplies from the States. The sculptor is so intense about his pipe smoking that he orders in several types from his NY supplier and blends his own. He also insists on blending light and dark beer to the consternation of his bartenders.

Getting a good cup of coffee is apparently a challenge in Mexico although there are several places here that make a good cup, including espresso and cappuccino, although they do not give it away. Often a conversation will turn to where the best cup can be had at the best price.

Margaret, who is 80 and lives here in the hotel complex, went to Queretero the other day with a couple of friends and their ‘98 Nissan broke down halfway there, fortunately close to a roadside garage. The mechanic found it was the clutch but felt he could get take his motorcycle and get parts in Queretero and fix it in a few hours. A taxi from the village was willing to take the 3 women to Queretero and chauffer them around to various shops and return them to the garage for $45. The bill for the new clutch was $35. She is now advertising her newfound mechanic’s advantages and several others from SMA will be going down the road to use his services. A local garage in SMA charges $60 for an oil change apparently.

I was looking in the library for books on gardening in the area. None exist but they did offer me a free copy of a book done by a couple of Canadians on some of the interesting plants in and around the area. I called the trees around el Jardin “Box Elder” incorrectly. They are Brosimum alicastrum of the Mulberry family commonly called Breadnut Tree. It is native to tropical America but not SMA. Apparently the city was very afraid they had lost them all from a cold snap in 1997 when they had several degrees of frost and some snow. They all turned brown for a month or so but have since come back. I also learned from this book that Poinsettia (spelled correctly this time) is native to Mexico and named after a US diplomat to Mexico (J.R. Poinsett) in the 19th century.

I heard a new artists atelier was opening and decided to have a look last night. It was weird. The organizers publish a local art review and have set up this very large tent in which they intend to do photographic, film, fashion and high-wire attractions of various kinds. Most people I have met and a couple thousand more were there - all ages from tiny kids and babies to geriatrics. Someone even had a dog that was well behaved but spent a good part of his time scrounging hamburger bits and sitting on center stage – at times in the way of the acts. It was quite disorganized – it was supposed to start at 7 but didn’t get underway until 9:30. In the meantime there was a cash bar and burgers were served outside from a backyard grill while everyone milled around and chatted reminiscent of a diplomatic cocktail party. Musical entertainment was provided by a quartet featuring a female accordionist and when they got tired a local disc-jockey. The featured attractions were a fashion show with clothes from a local designer followed, an hour later, by 6 or 7 acrobats using long bolts of silk as props for their act a la Circ de Soleil. The local models were cute but untrained with the possible exception of a pair of very pretty gay boys. Have I now seen the action in SMA?

Day of the Dead decorations in front of Cathedral in el Jardin 

...and more form in front of Cathedral 

This part of the more elaborate alter in front of the Cathedral 

another example. It got a little windy and some of the hard work was blown around a bit. 

an example of the elaborate alters at el Jardin. The design on the ground used to be made from seeds and flower pettles but are now made largely from colourd wood shavings. 

Alter set up at the hotel honouring dead people inthe lives of the hotel owners