BajaNomad

Time to pack away

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 06:06 AM

Many of us who live here part of the year have a ritual of packing up for the hurricane season before we head off in our different directions. Most in my neighborhood have alreay left for the North, I look around now, up and down my street and see the windows are boarded on most the homes that surround my own.

Now it is time too for me to take the pictures off the wall under the palapa, clay cooking pots on the upper shelves, bowls and cups that could fly away in a hurricane will be put away in my closet. As one friend said yesterday, it will be like Christmas to find my treasures again when I come home in half a year.

I Love it here and don't really relish schlepping my suitcase across Mexico, leaving my home is not something I joyfully do, it is a teary process saying good bye to my beautiful little space and family.
Alas, I do not do well in the heat, I sweat buckets these days, yep, it is time to migrate up into the cool highlands of Vera Cruz, I know I will be happy once I get there.

Truly, I have the most lovely little house reserved for the summer; it is the same place I Lived last year, the front door opens on to a quite Coldasack of the city street, the back door overlooks a meadow below with cows and sheep, furtur off a rain forest back dropped with mountains and sky complete. It is an ideal setting to paint in, even with constant cloud cover the light coming in from the giant windows on the meadowside is gentle and sweet. I have friends there who will greet me with open arms, the Casa de Culture with it's Saturday Organic market is just so neat. In the end, it not such a bad deal to be me, I just have to get thru this one hot teary week.

[Edited on 5-28-2011 by Eli]

shari - 5-28-2011 at 06:24 AM

that was lovely Eli...you are fortunate to be able to live in two beautiful places....lucky you...please continue to post here and send pics of your summer life there. Have a magnifcent summer quieria amiga.

BajaGringo - 5-28-2011 at 07:25 AM

I love Veracruz and am familiar with the area where you are heading. It is a beautiful place Eli and Baja will be here waiting for you when you get back.

Have a wonderful time and make the most of each and every day...

deportes - 5-28-2011 at 07:59 AM

Where in Veracruz are you heading too? Mexico has so much to offer!. GL Eli

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 08:30 AM

Baja Gringo, you are right, each day is a precios gift to be cherished, thank you for reminding me.
As I sit in the shade the moment is kind. Yesterday evening I finally gave in and turned on the A.C. for an hour to cool down my space enough to fall asleep. Here in Southern Baja, it is a time to walk gently, move minimally, stay near a fan, and one can still beat the heat.
Ay Que Mi Shari, Mi Hermana del Alma, while I am gone, I will look forward to your posts to bring me back in my minds eye to our beloved Baja. I love Your perspectives.
Deportes, I am headed to the small Colonial City of Coatepec, it is near Xalapa, about 2 hours West from Puerto Vera Cruz and the coast. Think San Miguel de Allende without tourist, a coffee growing region and a whole lot greener, and you will have a clear vision of the place.

deportes - 5-28-2011 at 09:40 AM

Good luck on your journey, do you have views of the tallest volcano in Mexico?

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 09:55 AM

deportes, somedays when the clouds disperse as I walk from my place to downtown I can see the volcano you are talking about.

Bob H - 5-28-2011 at 10:25 AM

This is one sweet message from the heart! Have a great break from Baja and then you will have fun going back down later on.

drarroyo - 5-28-2011 at 10:28 AM

such a tease!! donde photos?

Iflyfish - 5-28-2011 at 10:57 AM

Safe travels and a wonderful summer!

Iflyfish

Bajatripper - 5-28-2011 at 12:43 PM

That is truly a beautiful area you are heading to, and so much history, too. It must serve as a wonderful counter-balance to our own gorgeous Baja scapes. Enjoy the trip and stay safe.

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 01:30 PM

Bob H. I THANK YOU for your good heart.
DrArroyo, fotos would be nice, someday maybe, meanwhile there is always GOOGLE.
Iflyfish, I will continue to study Your "Rainbows of Green" while I am there.
Tripper, keep posting Baja, it does feed my Soul.
And all of you thankyou for your well wishes for a safe journey, I travel slow and easy, after all, Grandma's have it made in Mexico, you know.

tiotomasbcs - 5-28-2011 at 01:54 PM

Morning rain and the freshness it brings, verdad? Sweet smelling flowers fill the air. Now you've done it! We all want to go!:biggrin: Good bus transportation in and about? Affordable living? I'm sure it's beautiful if you're returning again. Feliz Viaje, Senora. Tio

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 02:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
Morning rain and the freshness it brings, verdad? Sweet smelling flowers fill the air. Now you've done it! We all want to go!:biggrin: Good bus transportation in and about? Affordable living? I'm sure it's beautiful if you're returning again. Feliz Viaje, Senora. Tio


Yes Tio, all of the above is correct, it does rain a lot, gentle rains, kind rains, morning, afternoon and night rains. Thank my lucky stars I love the rain.

It is a half hour walk to downtown and a 17 peso taxi ride home if I am loaded with groceries. There is a fantastic peoples market aside from the Saturday Organic market.
I have several options on how to get there. I could take a bus or collective straight from the airport to Jalapa, appx. 6 hours. Or take a bus from the airport to Puebla 2 hrs. and spend the night there, taking a mid day bus for 4 hrs. to Xalapa which is 15 minutes in a cab to Coatepec. Or, I might stay a couple of nights at a friends house in Mexico City, see how I feel next week.
Cost of living there is about 1/2 of what it cost here. Although, I don't pay rent here, and there I have a small but beautiful super deluxe furnished to the max comfy home which I am happy to pay top $ for.

Want to Visit! Want to Visit!

Gypsy Jan - 5-28-2011 at 02:42 PM

Safe voyage, Sarah.

GJ

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 03:21 PM

Thank You Jan.
For those truly interested in checking it out, just google El Retoņo Ecolodge Coatepec, this is where I first stayed when I strayed to Coatepec last season.

Sallysouth - 5-28-2011 at 05:23 PM

Dear Sara, What a great life you live!It is so good that you know your way around the country and have two sweet places to live, switching one for the other as the season suits you.Once again, another year, we will not have lunch and chat, but I will always have fond memories of our brief afternoon together when Mi Ninieta was so young.Safe travels my friend.Maybe next year......

Eli - 5-28-2011 at 06:51 PM

Thank You Sally, Yes I hope next year life will permit us the luxury of another visit. Meanwhile, I hope all goes well for You, Juanita and the rest of Your girls.

bajajudy - 5-29-2011 at 07:26 AM

Buen viaje, mi amiga!
See you next fall.

Eli - 5-29-2011 at 07:47 AM

Thanks Judy, You know, as always, I will be counting on you to let me know which way the wind blows. Have a safe with enough but not to much precipitation season.

woody with a view - 5-29-2011 at 07:49 AM

Eli

have a great time in VeraCruz. it's one of my bucket list places....

Eli - 5-29-2011 at 09:50 AM

Thanks Woody! I hope You make it there someday, it is worth the visit. The waterfall in "Romancing the Stone" with Michal Douglas is an easy drive from where I will be staying. After all my years of living in Baja I am in awe as to the amount of water flows in this part of Vera Cruz.

Marc - 5-29-2011 at 01:10 PM

Vera Cruz. Filmed on location.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YEwZ8cSxqo

BajaBlanca - 5-29-2011 at 03:06 PM

Eli - have you been to Lake Catemaco ? It was one of our favorite places during our 6 week trip on the mainland ..... quiet and non-touristy and absolutely gorgeous and not expensive and lush and


need I say more ?

Eli - 5-29-2011 at 03:23 PM

BajaBlanca thanks for the tip, just googled, looks beautiful and the culture there sounds intriguing, well worth a visit. How hot was it when you were there? I am such a woosh when it comes to humidity and heat. Last Oct. I spent an afternoon down in Puerto VeraCruz, there was so much to see, but alas, HOT, short visit and I was running for the hills of Coatepec.