My word for today is linger.  Our rushed day-to-day style at home whether retired, still working, student or homemaker is always fraught with some style of push and hurry. Even sometimes when we think we are relaxing, it’s hard not to make lists in our head, grapple with something we think so important, but are we losing the joy of just being?

This quote from the latest Oaxaca Times is such an inspiration!

“Over the last ten years I have kept close at hand these words from the great Mexican journalist German Dehesa: “Getting to Oaxaca is not a question of trains or planes: it requires an adventurous spirit and open heart… I suspect that Oaxaca’s location is neither geographical nor historical – it is mythical.”

It is getting close to leaving time here and I will miss the simplicity of this artistic oasis, and yet will welcome the ease of living that San Miguel Allende will provide-however there I will have to always ask them to converse in Spanish instead of English!

I walk by the street vendors with unwashed hands slicing food, the outstretched hands of beggars, and suddenly next door a delightful coffee shop like Starbucks with great treats. Contrasts in every way.  A burro now and then and a newly-renovated Textile Museum.

Two different days in Teotitlan.

This village, about 30 minutes by bus, fills my eyes with wonder at the natural process of traditional rug making and even the silk weaving. The entrepreneur in Mexico struggles, but it also is heart-warming to see the small hole-in-the-wall shops, instead of only the tourist shops.

Tiny ninas in crinoline practice their ballet, and teenagers are plugged in the same as home.Fashion is either mod or traditional, usually depending on age.  The amazing feat is  young women and the wearing of four inch heels on the cobblestone sidewalks. On the way to our most recent hotel, the large door to the casket displays catch our eye.  Lovers (often very young!) nuzzle and kiss openly under the large trees in the square.  Old people hold hands and mothers and daughters do too.  South of the border, life is more about relationships than time.  Buenos Dias is a given and Gracias is more than a perfunctory mumble.

Four of us residing at the B&B El diablo de la sandia hop a collectivo for a drive into the hills, A special glimpse of  the small village tourists don’t see, a tour of a watercolor paper factory ( a craft of many skills-hand labor!) There is so much to see, not a lot of time to post photos with the text always, but please see the link to my photos.

The Touch of Beauty

Daily the soft air in the morning later gets replaced by sights and sounds of  busy vendors with their varied wares. Long balloons shoot up in the church yards, and museums display the gentleness and also dark sides of Mexico’s culture. At dusk colored lights under the palm trees show embracing couples and restaurant patrons reading menus.  Maybe the  marimba players are still in the zocalo. It is the beginning of my love for Oaxaca.

January 25, 2012

Prior to leaving on January 16, I joyfully annonnced to all that I would be oh so faithful in these posts, but I lied! It’s been such a busy time, delightfully so.  Read on and though this is old news by now, it is at least a beginning !

Ah, this” South of the border down Mexico way”  has been  a challenge of patience for me and Mary and Mavis, my traveling companions, so it took four more days for the luggage to get to this warm and delightful spot of Oaxaca.

(Oaxaca link in Dutch, but check out the pics)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=MX&v=tHidaF9pl_U

In the meantime, Alaska gave us permission to “buy necessities”.  Mary asked if that included a $400.00 top (U.S.)she saw in the  Mexico City  airport! We got a cab to Wallmart-and though I eschew  them  invading Mexico, it came in handy. Me amigos took advantage, one even buying Nike cross trainers because she couldn’t walk in her heeled boots.  I was very conservative.Take a look! We are ensconced in a B&B by the patio  just 5 rooms here. The owner I s Maria Crespo,  a very special 29-year-old lady who has travelled a lot and was  raised in Guadalajara. She’s lived in California, Canada and England.  Her English is impeccable. From classical music on her ipod, to her exquisitely laid-out breakfast table (different color scheme each day)  to the Wi-Fi and  great discussions, it is wonderful.  Then there are other interesting guests that come and go. Here is a great link so you can visualize the glories we find.

http://oaxacaculture.com/2011/10/el-diablo-y-la-sandia-bed-breakfast-in-oaxaca/

 We already miss Luis Enrique Oliver,

http://virilesoulcreations.weebly.com/

a free spirit artist who has had a studio in Victoria for three years and probably already ready to move on.  He has been a clinical psychology professor in Ottawa and was born in Uruguay. Of course, many other stints, including yoga.

(update since I didn’t get this off, we did get our luggage four days late, and unfortunately in Seattle Mary had at the last moment transferred her Kindle and laptop into her checked luggage.  Someone stole them in those four days!!

Hey everybody-the big day is January 16, when I embark on a sabbatical for two months to enjoy life south of the border in wonderful Mexico.  Think positive- I will be careful.  Watch for my news’ pods and photos and enjoy my journey with me.