Pollywogg Holler Happenings

Doors And Knockers Of San Miguel De Allende

2008-03-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

I have always been interested in doors and consequently have built quite a few. However, the doors in this town have blown me away. Try picturing walking the narrow, solid walled, coble stone streets of this historic city and the only indication of what lies behind these walls are the doors that invite you in or maybe not. Some are elaborate, some very old and still functioning; some dilapidated but still elegant and attractive, at least to me. So set back and enjoy "The Doors and Knockers of Old San Miguel"

Music, Color and Sunshine

2008-03-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Music, Color and Sunshine

This guy with this Harp like instrument comes into the Internet Café every morning and fills the room with the most relaxing music you can imagine. The Holler needs one of these.

This wonderful Bronze Sculpture of a Mariachi greets visitors to Chapala. A fitting tribute to the many musicians that constantly entertain the many visitors and inhabitants of Chapala

The common method of fishing here in Lake Chapala is by nets. These fishermen provide a steady supply of wonderful, fresh, affordable, fish to the community.

The Malecon (seawall) where we walk in the mornings, is some what disserted this time of the day. However, it fills up every afternoon and on Sundays it is a constant source of entertainment.

We heard drumming and mosied over a couple of blocks to witness this parade of amazing feathered costumes, performed by indigenous people. Don't know what the parade was all about but the drumming and dancing lasted all afternoon and way into the night.

Don't have a clew of what these Masked Hotties were doing in this parade but they could sure "shake that thing"

Even the children took an important part in this amazing parade

Amazing feathered headdress. The brilliance and detail of these elaborate costumes were breath taking.

I hope that you can imagine the brilliance of these elaborate headdresses. At first I thought them to be Pheasant feathers but never heard of a four-foot pheasant tail feather.

This shot gives you a little more detail of their costumes. I am sure that these shots do not do them justice. We piled into bed at 10 pm and the drumming and dancing was still going strong

Wally and Sue took us to their favorite Botanical Garden just up the hill from their house. The grounds were pristine and extensive. Following is a series of shots of cactus, don't ask me the names of them, just enjoy the beauty.

San Miguel boasts a population of two hundred thousand. I am not convinced as it retains a small town flavor. From the lofty outlook of our town house, one can see many Cathedrals all date back to the mid 1500's

The Majestic environment of these immense Cathedrals is very humbling as intended.

Even the doors are gigantic and they have inspired a series of "The Doors and Knockers of San Miguel de Aliened" which will be coming up soon. Hold on, not that kind of knockers, I mean Door Knockers. However they have plenty of the other kind as well.

Street beggars are fairly common, however not imposing. The locals say that it is an industry and not to worry about them. But I am an easy touch and always managed to come up with a few pesos, but not with out a photo. I came across one and only had a fifty-cent coin, which I offered along with a photo. She indicated that it was not enough and wanted a dollar. Oh well what is a dollar. I am easy.

Just one of the many highly skilled paintings found through out the city.

OK this one got a dollar. But I loved the color combination and her ability to extract the extra money.

Sue had Spanish classes till 1pm so on many mornings, Wal, Barb and I went exploring the local mountains and with out a local map, which we tried, again and again to find, with no luck. Oddly enough we could get a map of the neighboring State but not one for here. It was almost more challenging and fun with out one and Wal always had a way of finding water, like a horse in the desert. What a fisherman.

I call this "Shovel Art" look closely, these mask are made from discarded shovels, way cool

Bare with me, I just could not resist one more Cathedral Shot. Built in
1550, WOW.

This shot was taken form inside the house that Wal and Sue had rented and shred with us. Very tasteful contemporary architecture and no mistake on the placement of this window. What a view.

Sorry about the previous statement. This is the woman the demanded the Dollar for the shot. Love it.

I will close this session with one last shot of our most precious host and long time friends, enjoying just one of the outrageously wonderful meals together. I know that the meals were good and perhaps it was the wonderful host that made it so satiating. Stay tuned for the Doors and Knockers of San Miguel.

Trip To San Miguel

2008-03-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Barb and I just returned from a two-week stay with dear friends, Wally and Sue up in San Miguel de Allende. A real precious time, filled with old memories, amazing walkabouts, Great food, Art everywhere. San Miguel, is in the mountains and dates back to the early 1500's, so, many of the buildings that you will be seeing are over 500 years old. I am starting with a colorful shot of the Sun and Moon (to catch your attention), so sit back and enjoy San Miguel, as seen through the lens of my camera.

San Miguel is a five hour, pleasant, buss ride from here at Lake Chapala. We can guarantee you that these busses are loaded with all the amentias and much more pleasant than any plain ride that you have ever been on. Very spacious comfortable seats that recline almost to a horizontal position, air conditioning, a bathroom and a place to serve your self coffee and tea, clean windows, movies, and smooth ride. So set back and enjoy this trip.

San Miguel fell into an economic depression around the mid twenties. Land and buildings were abandoned and readily available. Much like the So-Ho story of lower Manhattan. So the Artist picked up on this fact and moved in. The government took notice and built a big beautiful Art University here and thus the story unfolds. Art, Culture, entertainment of all sorts, diversity, and pleasure. Ahh, life is good.

This place was selling art from found objects. Wally was particularly
Interested in this rather unique motorcycle. Although we did not have time to get it running, he allowed that brother John would have it going in no time.

Wal figures that this one would be much easer to get going but may be a little more challenging to handle.

San Miguel was founded for its rich silver deposits. The Spaniards had a way of figuring this out way back in the mid 15 hundreds. You can only imagine how the Silver Art/Craft has developed in the past 500 years.

This magnificent cathedral was constructed in the mid 15 hundreds when this settlement was just a simple little mining town. Apparently the Spanish Conquistadors could see that this was a major location and built things to last.

This is the front Door of the Cathedral, just to give you a little glimpse of the magnitude of this structure. By the way, San Miguel is all about Walls and entrance doors. Following will be a Blog just on the Doors and knockers of San Miguel.

Just one of the amazing meals and camaraderie that we shared on our visit.

Another Mystery, We came across this ancient foundation during one of our mountainous ventures. Anyone's guess.

We occasionally came across an abandoned building that for some unknown reason was passed by in the new renovation/development.

Narrow streets, side walks and alley ways is what it is all about here in San Miguel, we just happened to be staying in a beautiful home on this alley way.

A pleasant return home after a fulfilling day. The pleasant soft lighting of these narrow cobble stone streets are pleasure in themselves.

Barb and I collected a few of these Bark Paintings, years ago. I was overcome with the beauty of this one for a mere twenty dollars. Sorry, over budget.

I have figured out that one way of keeping things looking ole is to employ Old methods. It is easy to imagine that this old paving method has been used for hundreds of years. What a great way of preserving the past.

An invite from Wal, to climb the mountain behind us, for a spectacular view of the city, proved every bit the worth of the arduous ascends.

This 30-inch pipe delivered water from the head of this canyon, to San
Miguel, for over one hundred years, which ended in 1970. It is hard to imagine the engineering involved with this incredible fete, let along the pain and suffering by the men that built it.

This stone dam, lies at the head of the canyon that we walked up.
Constructed around 1870 it was surely an Engineering marvel as well as the 30-inch pipe that delivered the water to San Miguel for over one hundred years.

Thought that I would leave you with a sampling of the Doors of Old San
Miguel. My next blog will be a collection of my obsession with the Doors and Knockers of San Miguel

2008-02-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would start this new Blog with a shot from our favorite Cocktail Balcony. The rare thing about this shot is the billowy white clouds, a rare sight indeed and the first ones that we have seen in three months, simply beautiful. As I said, the temperature does not vary much. We have seen a high of 77 and a low of 60, this includes day and night and no weather channel and the people don't talk about the weather, it is always the same.

Well, it is Chili Cook off time again. This is a big event here at lakeside, 30 years running. All profits go to local charities. A wonderful opportunity for the Expatriates to give back via the fine local charities. This wonderful example of some local artist is but a sampling of more fine art to come.

What can I say but color galore. This years art vendors simply blew my mind.

The displays of these fine hand woven colorful rugs were very tempting.

The versatile calabash gourds can be found through out Central America, but never have we seen any as intricately carved as this collection of shakers.

A poor shot of some great artwork. These traditional scary masks are used in a local annual ritual. Adorned with real ram's horns and various animal skulls, these mask do a great job of being scary.

The high quality workmanship in all the pottery here was unbelievable. I tried to figure out the symbolism on this vase but it is anyone's guess at this point.

This painting was screaming out to me. Such color, action and lighting. I would love to take it home but would probably loose it to customs. Cockfighting is illegal in the US.

This hand crafted leather coat at $170 was very tempting, nope got to stick with the budget.

These fast moving colorful dancers are a real treat and a fine example of Color in motion

I call this shot "the Myth Buster" Local legend has it that these colorful dancers don't ware under paints for air-conditioning reasons. I think that it is a ploy to get the boys to pay attention.

Color Style and Grace, These dancers have it all. What a performance.

Let's see where was I, Oh yes, Chili Cook off. I don't know if Larry Allen won or not but he should have gotten some kind of a prize for his shirt.

We sampled so many entrées that everything became a blur. They were all great I don't have a clue as to how they chose the best one. After 20 samples, no dinner necessary.

I didn't catch the name of this band but had I not known better I would have swore that this was Santana. What a kick ass performance.

Sunday after the Cook off, our friends Chuck and Carol (the couple that introduced us to Lake Chapala) took us to lunch at this open restaurant that seats 600 people. What a treat to be with the two of them and their Mom's, Evelyn and Muriel. Great entertainment, food, company and of coarse Tequila

These huge open-air restaurants with their fire pit cooking are very popular through out the area, especially as you get closer to Guadalajara. Delicious And Yes, you can expect to see one of them at the holler this summer and enjoy first hand, this unique way of cooking

The ever-present Mariachis were great and right next to our table. This trumpet player could easily have performed alone. What a thrill

Time for another Sun Set Shot. This was an unusual windy evening and the choppy water with the brilliant Sun Set combined for a compelling shot.

As most of you knew, the 20th was a total eclipse of the Moon. We hired a boat to anchor in the middle of the lake for cocktails, watched the entire sky come ablaze with the glow of the setting sun and toped off with a total eclipse of the moon. Definitely an overload

How about some vibrant, aromatic, Red Roses for a beautiful lady. 6 of them for 90 cents, this was a win-win expenditure

OK one last sunset before we head up to San Miguel de Allende to visitWally and Sue for a couple of weeks. The next Blog will be all about our trip. Stay tuned. Bill and Barb

Carnival Fun and Spa In The Sun

2008-02-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

BANG!! It is Carnival Time. Once again the Carnival was great. It is all about loud music, entertainment, food and people watching with cocktails.

As promised, here is another Fisherman Shot, hope you don't mind.

Like I said, one of the big attractions at the Carnival is the food so
lets start with some great sweet bread.

More food. This method of cooking meat is referred to as El Pastor, which was handed down by the sheep herders. This thin sliced beef is layered on this vertical skewer and placed in front of the fire. The Chef turns the meat occasionally and as the our side gets cooked to golden brown, he shaves off a thin outer layer and this meat is served in Tacos. Delicious.

More Sweet Bread, what else can I say but the aromas had me salivating.

One of our favorite past times at the carnival is to get a couple of
cocktails and find a comfortable place to watch the river of people pass by.

Two double Margaritas $4 each. These twin goblets were a lot to handle and boy were they good. Yummy.

No Carnival is complete without a Rodeo and no Rodeo is with out Cowboys. And even they need a little shot of Tequila Courage.

This Cocky Young Bull sure gave the Cowboys a run for their money. Lots of colorful action. I don't know how the horses keep out of reach of those horns.

Bull Riding is a very dangerous game. We watched as three Riders had to get helped off the arena, one on a stretcher. We thought that one clown was killed right in front of us, but he got up, shook it off and was back in the game.

Another Bull and a little more Courage. This is a very dangerous game and it is unbelievable that more people aren't hurt. Every so often a young cowboy (full of liquid courage) would jump down into the arena and out run the bull and jump back out as the crowd cheered him on. Everyone was drinking and seemingly having a great time, what danger...

Parades are also a big part of the Carnival and of coarse you have to have a King and Queen, precious.

The little folks were a big part of the Parade. Make believe playing and really shaking their booties.

Talk about "eye candy" Wow, these young girls could really Shake that
thing.

Back to some more Colorful Carnival Food. How about some Rabbit or
Chicken. The aroma was intoxicating. Time for another Cocktail ;-)

These Native Dancers, with their flamboyant costumes, Flute music and
clicking heals, presented a breath taking performance.

These fast moving traditional dancers were hard to photograph with out
special equipment. One hell of a performance.

After a week of partying at the Carnival, it is definitely time for a Hot Spring Spa. You start with four Hot tubs, first is Salt and Minerals, 105 degrees for 15 minuets. Then on to the Herbal Tea Tub, then to the Flower Tub (precious aromas) then it is time for the Mud Bath. Ahhhh Life is good. And a whole day here is only $15. A once a week must, at that price.

This is the best, first you smear this clay/mud all over you, in your hair face, beard, you got the picture. Then it is lounging in the sun for an hour as it dries. You can really feel it pull on your skin as it dries. Then it is in to the Mud Tub and you Walsh of the mud, then shower, then the foot reflexology. I am about beat at this point.

After a nice warm shower, it is time for foot reflexology. This warm
stream bed is lined with round stones. So hang on to the hand rail and
discover the tender parts on you feet. This gives you just enough of a boost to get you into the Steam Cave where, the floor is covered with Eucalyptus Leaves and you can get a branch and whip yourself in to revitalization. Now it is time for Cocktails and a rest by the Hot Spring Pool

After Cocktails, it is definitely Hammock Time, to the gentle sound of the Hot Spring Waterfall. Soothing sleep comes easy. We were too tired to go for the Massage, oh well, next time. Totally De-Toxified it is time to amble up to the road and catch the 70 cent bus home. What a way to go.

Totally relaxed, we arrive back in Chapala just in time for a leisurely
sunset. What a close to a perfect day. So long, till the next Blog Time.

Trying to get caught up.

2008-02-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our daily dose of Colloidal Silver (which I talked about earlier, look up www.silverfacts.com) Barb and I are able to enjoy the true flavors of Mexico. We like going into the little villages where most tourists would not dare to go, let alone eat the local offerings. It is in these remote spots that we find True Mexico. The aromas and flavors available, emitting from these Timeless Kitchens, have evolved little over the ages, precious.

This Ban lancing act of concrete and ceramic tile, covers the side entrance of our favorite park. Frank L. Wright, the master of cantilevered concrete, would have been proud of this tribute to his work,

Barb and I love these cobblestone streets and when given the opportunity, we walk on them, and feel that is a form of foot and ankle workout. Repair work, for various reasons, is an on going project and the method is the same used for centuries.

So the guy went from working from the ground, fine, then to a table, OK, then to a chair on the table, I don't know, so what is next, a stool on the chair on the table on the ground? I don't think sooo. The next day he had finished and the mess cleaned up.

Tickets for the Dylan Show is $150 front row and $30 back row. Guadalajara is a city of 12 Million people. I would not go there to see the second coming of Elvis. I will settle for Margaritas at the waterfront and I-Tunes

To get a zoom shot I use my little tripod and set the timer for the shot, as to not blur the photo. I set the timer and just as the shot went off this Squadron of Pelicans flew past. Good timing or what.

Not sure if playing the trombone makes the fish bite better or not, But every morning as we do our sunrise walk, there he is and the music and sunrise and exercise, is a wonderful way to start a day.

The woman weaving these colorful wall hangings for $20 are here every day

These joyful groups of graduates were posing for photos and I just could not resist

This is the back bar of our favorite watering hole. Tequila Galore. Even if you don't drink this still makes a colorful shot

These low-fired ceramic containers are in every market and kitchen. Not sure what they cook in them. I just like the earthen tones and the lighting of this shot.

These weavers sit in this position for hours at a time. I could not sit like this for 20 minuets. When ever I see one of their weavings I think of the pain and hours of labor for just a few pesos.

I watched helplessly as this little boy took a bad spill. He was rubbing his head and expressing pain but as soon as his sister came to his aid the tears turned to smiles for my camera.

This pair of young artist were so engrossed in their work, that I did not bother them with photo permission. Precious

These musicians are a regular in the Park. We love to set and enjoy, a cocktail and view of the sunset, from a near by bench

The pan flute is one of my favorite instruments. Great listening as we sip our cocktails and await the array of sunset colors, as they fill the sky

Extensive work on the waterfront here in town has resulted in a new Sunday afternoon pleasure of setting on the beach

The beauty of youth comes naturally But (next shot)

What is a day at the park with out the colorful balloons for sale or slowly drifting toward the billowing clouds?

As I said in the previous picture, the beauty of youth comes naturally but TRUE Beauty can only be acquired through ageing like in a fine Wine

This parking lot fills up every Sunday, with groups of young people,Drinking beer with stereos blaring. I was readily accepted with offers of beer and photo ops as I moved through the area

Thought that I would save one of my favorite shots to end this Blog secession. What else can I say but I love photos of fisherman.

Back Up And Running

2008-01-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

Hello All, We apologize for the long delay with our continuing Blog. We were experiencing technical difficulties, but thanks to tech. support of our son Quentin, we are back on line.

I thought that we would start off with a little Mexican color. In fact Mexico is all about color. It is actually winter here but definitely one of the most colorful winters that you could ever imagine. And of coarse Butterflies migrate to Mexico from all over the US and even Canada, so we are blessed with a lot of them.

One of our main objectives of this trip was to get some dental work done for Barbara. We can't afford to have dental work done at home so we wait for our southern winter migrations.
Barb says that her Dentist is one of the best she has ever worked with. Cleaning, one and half hour in the chair, $18. This included a thorough examination with explanations and recommendations. Result, one root canal and one crown, for a total of 8 visits for a total of $270. So if you don't have insurance, for the price of dental work at home, you can fly to Mexico, have a great vacation and get your Dental work done.

These Giant White Pelecans are a real pleasure. We love setting at the Board Walk and watch as they skim the water with their nine and a half foot wingspan. These guys migrate to as far north as Canada. We watched giant squadrens of them as they left to go North, when we were here last year, very impresive.

The atmosphere and aroma at this "Open Pit Fire Cooking" The breeze would circulate with whiff's of wonderful sweet smoke of misquete, with an awsome aroma of BBQing meats. This guy was preparing sausage, quail, pork, beef, rabbit, and chickens. This little family run business just out side of town, is only open on Sundays. Four of us shared a platter for four. It was delicious, The bill including two rounds of drinks came to $27. What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. This is as close to the Holler that we have ever seen.

This is one of those compelling shots that I just had to get. I asked this little girl for permission to take her Photo and she replyed with a shy nod of ok. I later showed her the shot and she was very fascinated by it. She stared intensely at it for at least a minuet and I would love to know what here thoughts were. Precious

This wonderfully presented wreath of bread is a typical Christmas Tradition. It is eaten at a family gathering, imbedded in the bread is a little plastic baby representing the birth of the baby Jesus. The person who gets the little baby in their slice of bread is responsible for the next family party.

I am constantly fascinated by these colorful boats. Working on setting up a Sunset Cruse. Where by, we will get 8 people to go in together, take cocktail, and snacks and a little music and have the boat just go out in the lake and drift into the sunset while we enjoy. These boaters are traditionalist and sunset cruses are something new and they are not quite into it. I need a good translator, oh well, one day.

Barb and I have always enjoyed the typical Mariachis. The only thing you can do when they are playing is to shut up and listen cause it is just too loud to talk. We found this pair of "talented twin trumpeters, tipping Tequila between toots," to be very entertaining.

I am going to attempt to capture a great Sun Set Shot. This is not easy but this is my best to date. Please be warned that more sun set shots will be coming.

Our morning walks include this lake side board walk, which is frequented with many long legged birds. The Eagerts are quite skidish but this one was cooperating for a photo.

Some times you see and interesting dog and wonder what kind of dog is this. Well there is no question here. This is obviously a Irish Setter. When ever we walk up or down the main drag, there he is setting there, calmly looking up the street and down the street. The most mellow dog that I have ever met.

I mentioned that we are into Sunsets, well, we're also into Sunrises. We walk the lake side park almost every morning and the sights are amazing. Like with the sunsets, this will not be the last sun rise that you will see.

Another Fisherman, what can I say.

What an inspiring shot for a painting.

We have mentioned before how crime free this Lake side community is. We feel that it is due in part to the ample police presence.. The boys in white, are the special Tourist Police, they ride bicycles and can be seen every where. As true Civil Servants, they are quick to return a friendly greeting and offer directions or help.

Quest of Affordable Retirement

2007-12-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Having celebrated Thanksgiving a week early so that our children could celebrate Thanksgiving with their respective in-laws, we chose to fly on Thanksgiving day to avoid long lines and crowded terminals. Rochester Airport looked disserted and there was only a hand full of people on our flight. Ah Yes, life is good and thus we started our "Quest of Affordable Retirement"

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A view from our new apartment ,Mirador, overlooking our neighbors ¨Mirador
or roof top patio. These Mirdors provide a great views, fresh breezes and
relaxing space.

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This is a street's eye view of our apartment, we are on the third floor . Our landlord, Chris, wants me to build him a Wood fired brick oven on the very point of the building, and plans on opening a restaurant. Her you go, Pollywogg South. This modest completely furnished apartment is $360 a month and includes, utilities, cable TV, High Speed wireless connection, daily garbage pick up, one, half day a week Maid service, Wonderful views of Mountains and Lake, Great neighbors, and easy walking distance to everything. This crime free, perfect climate town is certainly a slice of heaven.

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This $3 bowl of Sopa del Mar or Sea Food Soup is all that you can hold. Add a couple of smooth shots of well aged Tequila and we are ready for a Siesta.

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Sorry, but no room for this tempting dessert, just looking at it is a rewarding treat.

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our neighbors to the West. These dome shaped roof structures provide light and ventilation. Very attractive both inside and out.

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To the South is the lake, mountains and a beautiful lake side park. Notice
the clouds, very rare this time of the year.

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Across the street to the East is this comforting shot of the local Red Cross. Ya never know when you may need a quick ride some where. Mexico is famous for it's modern hospitals, affordable, excellent, medical care and very proud of it's well trained Red Cross, emergency response Teams.

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Another quick lunch and we are on our way to another adventure.

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A stroll out on the local pier affords wonderful views of the Town, lake and surrounding mountains.

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A view from the light house at the end of the pier.

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The many, ever present fountains provide relaxing comfort. Something
lacking in our busy lives at home.

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The destination of today's adventure, Mascara Island. During the 16 and 1700 This Island was a Spanish Fort and Prison. It is very significant in Mexico's history, for it is here where a small band of Natives took over the fort and held it for four years. At which point the King of Spain granted them amnesty for their bravery.

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We visited this Island Fortress Ruins last year and appreciated the
various state of despair. However we were delighted to see that the
Government has decreed this Island as a National Heritage and has allocated
a lot of money to restore it. There are over a hundred craftsman working
here on this five year restoration project.

There are several Catholic Churches in town. This is the closest one, which we attend. There are four masses on Sunday, all a full house and daily masses which are also full. Perhaps this could hold the secret of the low crime rate.

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We will conclude this posting with dinner on the veranda overlooking the
lake. Stay tuned to our next posting which will include a trip to the beach
at Puerto Matazalan.

Thats all for now.