Life in the 1990's...adventures with a teenager in the house...

Our daughter's Blue Ribbon Challah Bread - 4-H Project (with help from Mom...)

David, with our daughter and me - Family photo, May 1991

 This was our daughter's school picture when she was 13. Long hair gone...pretty face...sweet disposition...so far, so good!

 Grandma Rueber lighting our daughter's birthday cake...the Jordan girls and Katie Tveiten look on...

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This photo may have been taken at our daughter's 13th birthday (not absolutely sure of the year...) Here, left to right, are Ann Rueber (Grandma), Phil Jordan (next door neighbor to Ann with two daughters...), Lisa (I think) and Katy Jordan, our daughter, and Katie Tveiten, her best-bud.

In August of 1992, we rented a small motor home, and traveled across the country to Olympia, Washington, where David's brother Mark lived. Mark was getting married, and the whole family was gathering for the occasion.

On our way out there, we stopped briefly at Gilford Pinchot State Forest in Washington for lunch and a little hike in the woods.

 Our daughter and David wade across a stream in Gilford Pinchot State Forest, Washington.

 

Here is the family photo from Mark and Jill's wedding. Standing, left to right - Betsy Rueber, Craig Timmermann, Bill Timmermann, Jill and Mark Rueber, Carol Rueber. Front row, left to right - Joel Rueber and Tabitha, Lois Timmermann, Ann Rueber, David Rueber, our daughter, and Madelyn Peregrim.

David with our daughter and me - Mark's wedding in August of 1992

After the wedding celebrations were over and everyone else was heading back home, David, our daughter, and I took the rented camper around the Olympic peninsula, rode the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidby Island, and then drove up into British Columbia, Banff, and the Icefield Parkway. 

 We were camped with the motor home at Driftwood Acres Campground west of Olympia, Washington - Copalis Beach. It was on this beach that I found a very cool piece of driftwood, and took it home. It became a Santa Claus wall hanging that I still hang up every Christmas. Later in my blog, I will post some of my holiday decorations, and this driftwood Santa will be in the collection.

We had our Sheltie, Lady, with us on this trip. Here our daughter, Lady and David are hiking the Bow Summit Trail in the Canadian Rockies. I am up there too, taking this photo!

Somewhere I have photos of the rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula, the receding glaciers in the Canadian Rockies, and some of our trip through other parts of the Canadian Rockies, but for now, I'll just post the photos that I've saved to gold disks for our daughter. I'll add more travel photos as I locate them.

This is beautiful Lake Louise, and there was a Tyrolean horn player performing as we hiked past on our way up the mountains to Agnes' Tea House. 

On our hike up the mountains, we passed a couple of lakes, and ended up at a well-known tea house at the top of the mountain called Agnes' Tea House. This is the railing on the porch of that establishment, and here is a bird, hoping for a crumb or two. Beyond you can see the lake. Students often work up at the tea house all summer, and just live up there. I was interested to find out that the water used to make the tea comes directly out of the lake. It is still so pristine up there that there is no need to treat the water beyond boiling it for your tea. It was chilly up there, but invigorating, and I am so glad we made the effort to hike up. It was indeed a 'mountaintop experience!'

This is one of the photos I took as we hiked. I should make a watercolor of this scene...it is truly beautiful. You can almost smell the pine trees and feel the cool air as you look at it!

This is foggy Lake Agnes...with the person on the far right and those at the bottom of this photo, you can get a bit of perspective of the grandeur of this place. The railing is part of the porch on Agnes' Tea House. Fabulous experience!

On our way home, we stopped at Calgary, Alberta. David has always had visions of taking a ride on the luge, and the Olympic Park was located at Calgary, so we went there to see if he could get a ride. Well, turned out only the bottom quarter of the track is open, and with the warmer weather in the summer, it was expensive to keep even that part of the track iced, so if you wanted a ride, you had to pay 'big bucks.' He decided he didn't need to go that bad. (Later, I saw a commercial for York Peppermint Patties that showed a man reclining in his chair at his home, eating a York Peppermint Patty and imagining that he was feeling the 'cool' and experiencing the thrill of riding the luge. I told David about it, and asked him if he wanted me to buy him some York Peppermint Patties. He said, "No."

We drove through the tar sands in on the plains of lower Alberta...nasty stuff, sulfur smell was overpowering. I'm absolutely sure we don't want the Keystone Pipeline dredging up that stuff, and shipping it over the Ogalalla Aquifer (source of most of the drinking water for huge parts of the Midwest) in leaky pipes that can break and create a monstrous environmental crisis!

We drove through Saskatchewan, and found a campground on that huge prairie that was not only shady and cool, but very interesting as well. It was 'Buffalo Pound' campground, and as we approached it, there seemed to be only scrub brush around, and we couldn't see any trees, but when we got closer, we saw that the land dipped into a big depression with a lake and plenty of shade trees all around. This place got its name from First Nation people using it as a place where they could drive bison herds and drive them over a cliff into this depression, and then harvest a lot of meat and hides for their people. Now, there is a fenced in field with a small buffalo herd, and the campground was very pretty and cool. We had a nice evening there, and explored some of the place the next day. 

After that, we went to Regina and visited the Science Museum there. I had a bit of a scare at one exhibit because I sat my purse down on the floor beside me, and forgot to pick it up as I moved on to the next exhibit. But, someone had found it and turned it in, and nothing was gone. Whew! (One nice thing about a self-contained camper is that you can leave the dog in it, if it's not a hot day - and even then, if you have an electric hook-up and can run the air-conditioner. Cars are not that forgiving...you have to take the dog with you most of the time...)

We drove home through Manitoba and into North Dakota, then on home. It was a great trip...and time for school to start that fall.

Here's her school photo at the age of 14. Such a great smile...and a lot of hair when it was permed. I am jealous of all of that hair, now that I'm losing mine bit by bit...

Here are our daughter and Lady (can hardly see Lady with all of that black fur...good thing she had a white chest!) Winter, 1992

Sort of caught our daughter in an odd pose, but here we are, sitting on our couch in the living room at the research farm...shot of me is not too bad.

And, here's a nice shot of our daughter and David...winter outside, warm inside!

So, that's all for this post. The 1990s were a busy decade...our daughter was in junior high and high school, and then she graduated and went to Coe College. Our lives suddenly got very quiet...and sort of sad. Hard to adjust to not having a kid around at all...

Come on back...I'll post on Facebook each time I finish a blog post so you can link to the blog that way as I go along... At this point, my mother was living in her apartment, but as the middle of the 1990s approached, she found out she had macular degeneration, and reading became impossible for her. She was never a television person, so David's mother suggested getting a tape recorder and books on tape from the Iowa Commission on the Blind, and Mother did that. I know that helped her pass the time, as her physical abilities grew less reliable. But, until she reached her 96th birthday, she was still able to cook, clean and stay alone. More on her life as we get to those years...

Later, folks...

Mexico...an amazing place...so much to learn from such an ancient people...

It was the 4th of January, 1991, and we were heading back to reality.

During the night before, I got up to use the bathroom, and a little lizard whizzed down the wall near the sink, and under the counter. That was the only time I saw one in our room, but who knows how many 'played' around while we were sleeping. They aren't much to be frightened of, but they can startle the heck out of you when you are barely awake, and when your head feels sort of like a huge papaya!

We arose and got ready to leave. We enjoyed a very nice pineapple (yes, we ate the whole thing!) It was very sweet and juicy, and so much larger than the ones we see here in the states. 

We left the hotel, well-burdened with all of our packages and suitcases. We took a cab to the airport and check in at about 9:55 a.m.

Our itinerary took us first back to Mexico City, and from there we were supposed to fly into Dallas. The flight to Mexico City was fine with only one stop - at Guadalajara. Upon reaching Mexico City at about 12 noon, and getting our bags checked, we went through customs. The customs official would not let our daughter take her bow and arrows on board (when they asked me what was in the newspaper-wrapped package, I told them toys, but when that didn't seem to be understood, I mentioned 'toy weapon....bow and arrows'  ....WRONG! Never suggest that you may be carrying a weapon, even if it is just a toy. Anyway, we had to go back and stand in line again to get the package labeled for the baggage area. When we finally got our turn, the people at the desk said they would give it to the airline attendant, and she would give it to us when we landed in Dallas. 

We went to our gate after eating lunch in a restaurant in the airport. We all had ham and cheese sandwiches and a beverage. Upon arriving at the departure gate, we found out that the plane would be delayed because of ice in Dallas - no planes were landing or taking off from the Dallas airport. So, we waited until 5:15 p.m., when our plane finally took off. During our time with the customs agent, we explained all of our food purchases, and had no trouble getting through. David had even gone to the American Embassy in Mexico to see if it was okay to take the brown sugar (piloncillo) and chocolate out of the country. They didn't envision any difficulty, and they were right.

We did get to our gate in time at Dallas, and took off about 8:30 p.m. We arrived in Des Moines about 11 p.m., and it was snowing pretty heavily when we landed. During the descent, my left ear gave me quite a bit of discomfort and it was plugged almost all night - but finally it cleared up. I was just glad my eardrum hadn't ruptured!

On the return flight we met a man from Forest City who has had a real adventure during his life. His name is Dr. Christian, and he was an instructor in Spanish at Waldorf College there. He spent his early working years as a medical doctor in Central and South America. He said he at one time had an area the size of Iowa as his territory, and there were no roads. He did all his traveling by canoe! At the time we talked with him, he was taking tour groups down to Mexico and Central America during his breaks from teaching. He took our address, and I was thinking of inviting him to come down to Kanawha some time for a Mexican meal (but I never did that...and in fact, I had forgotten all about him until I read this journal again, all these years later...)

We spent the night at the Hampton Inn in Des Moines and took our time getting going in the morning. We ate the motel's continental breakfast with Dr. Christian, and enjoyed visiting with him again. 

Then, we dug out car out, loaded up, and headed for home. It was interesting to leave tropical Puerto Vallarta with the humidity and warm temperatures, and to arrive in Des Moines with snow coming down. All the same, it was good to be home. 

I would love to go to Mexico again...if health and money would permit. It is a very interesting country - and we saw so little of it. 

Since our trip (now 25 years ago...), we still cook from our Mexican cookbooks fairly often, and we like to buy the mole sauce that can now be found in grocery stores. In fact, Waterloo has a good Mexican grocery store, and I plan to go there now and then to get ingredients that are not available in other grocery stores. Even though we don't travel out of the country all that often, at least we 'travel' through our meals!

Below are the sayings we saw at Las Tres Huastecas, the restaurant in Puerto Vallarta - "the writings on the wall"

"La pobre madre lloraba al ver que su muchacho en nada le ayudabapues era un gran borracho y de tanto que tomaba se le murio de un empacho." (Your poor mother is crying to see her son doing nothing to help her because he is falling-down drunk, and is acting stupid.)

"Esto lo dice Vicente bonito es Puerto Vallarta Ingar de mucho ambiente Playa los Muertos y Yelapa lo vista muchagente." (This is to tell Vincent that Puerto Vallarta Ingar is a very beautiful beach, and Yelapa is also a good place where many people come to visit.)

"Aqui digo lo que siento queremos atenderlo bien para que se vaya contento pero nos entienda tambien. Su servicio requiere tiempo. 

                                                   Su amigo El Querreque"   (I tell you to sit here - I want to take good care of you, and I want you to go away happy, but there is never enough time. Your good service requires more time. Your friend, El Querreque)

"Yo vi a una presumida por las Calles de Vallarta se hacia la engradecida se paseaba de corbata sin saber que en la vida no es mas quela misma gata." (I see a conceited lady on Vallarta Street who makes a big decision to promenade with her bow, knowing that in life there is nothing more vain than the she-cat.)

"En el Rest Las Tres Huastecas cuando este verso escribi uno se estaba asomando pero antes una sopa pedi enseguida un huachinango y que sobroso comi." (In the restaurant of Las Tres Huastecas when this poem is written - one brief appearance - but before one eats the soup, demand immediately a red snapper, and what an abundant feast!)

"El amor, la bondad, la delicadeza, la dulzura, le economica y la esperanz traen la felicidad. La audacia, el carpicho, la colera, el temor, la desesperacion y la envidia traen la destgracia." (Love, goodness, delicacy, gentleness, economy, and hope bring happiness. Audacity, whim, anger, fear, despair, and envy bring the misfortune.)

So, folks, that's it about our trip to Mexico. We haven't been back, but who knows?

Keep reading my blog. My mother was 92 in 1991, and the rest of her life's story, along with our busy lives will fill the coming posts. See you later...

Our last full day in Mexico...and back to snowy, cold Iowa...

I woke up about 7:15 a.m., and ate a roll and some yogurt on the porch. By the time I finished eating, David was up and shared one of the huge oranges with me. It was delicious! A man was sweeping all the cobblestone sidewalks again. It must take quite a few people to run a place like this, and it provides a lot of jobs for locals. It was very relaxing to sit on the porch and eat, write, and listen to the surf, watching people walking and jogging along the beach. It was sort of hazy that morning. I was hoping for some fantastic sunset shots with my camera, but I found that it clouded up every afternoon, and the sun couldn't be seen as it set.

I went to the bank to cash some traveler's checks, and then went to the market. David and our daughter rested at the room. I found some sterling silver earrings, a nice serape which I wanted for a table cloth, and a chess set made of marble. The chess set was really heavy, and I knew I would be carrying it as we left Mexico, because I didn't want it to get broken. When I bought the chess set, I had shopped in the central market in the center of Puerto Vallarta near the Ocean. The market was similar to the indoor markets in Mexico City, and offered just about anything you could want. They even had a whole row of stalls selling fresh fish, fresh meat of various kinds, and lots of onyx and marble chess sets. I began to bargain for a small onyx chess set, and got confused on the value of pesos, so I backed off, telling the fellow that I changed my mind. Later, when I passed their stall again, he came out and offered me the same chess set for about half of what I had offered the last time. I said, "Really?" And, he shook his head, and turned away from me, saying, "I changed my mind!" Ooops! I guess I had offended him, but it was not intentional. Anyway, I was glad I hadn't bought that one, because when I found the marble one that I really wanted, I got a very good deal for it - and didn't get lost in the bargaining. (Later, at home, my son Dave told me that my set was missing crosses for the tops of the 'kings' crowns...oh well...) I did find that prices in Puerto Vallarta were higher than in other areas we had visited. They get plenty of tourist business, so they can afford to lose one customer, I guess. But, everything is so reasonable anyway, that you really can't complain. Of course, just when I was getting good at bargaining, it was time to think about leaving!

After I returned from the market, we went to Las Tres Huastecas restaurant for lunch. This place was recommended in the travel guides as a good restaurant. It was quite a small place, and not so fancy, but had sayings displayed on the walls which were interesting when translated. I'll post those after I complete posting this journal of our trip.

I ordered red snapper with garlic sauce for our main meal at Las Tres Huastecas. David had Fish Veracruz, and our daughter had a hot ham and cheese sandwich. After dinner, we decided to get some vanilla at the market. Then we went to swim in the ocean near the hotel, but the surf near that beach is dangerous and too rough, so we swam in the hotel swimming pools. I enjoyed laying in the sun for awhile, and we all sat in the jacuzzi and visited with a couple from Wichita and a man from New Orleans. The man from New Orleans said our daughter had 'lily petal skin, just like her mama.' I enjoyed that - I had always thought I was just plain pale!

 Who is that lady with the 'lily petal skin?' (Sunbathing at Molino de Agua)

 The man from New Orleans and David in the jacuzzi.

We returned to our room about 4:30 p.m. and got ready to go to the Bouganvillas Sheraton for their Mexican Fiesta. We took a cab to the Sheraton which was around the Bay of Banderas to the north of the city. (I was amazed at how the shocks on those cabs could hold up - Puerto Vallarta has a rule saying that all streets must be cobblestone - to help retain the fishing village atmosphere, I guess. But it has to be hard on the vehicles as they drive speedily from here to there, trying to get their clients to their appointments in a hurry so they can pick up another customer.)

I was feeling really pretty miserable by this time because of my head cold. My head was plugged up and I was coughing. I'm sure the people who had to share our table at the Fiesta were wishing I would go back to the hotel. Anyway, I enjoyed myself as best I could in that condition, and I did try to cover my coughs.

The Sheraton was huge and very nice, but I still prefer the Molino de Agua as a place to stay in Puerto Vallarta - much more cozy and not so touristy. When we arrived, we each received a small red clay mug on a yarn string to hang around our necks. The mugs were filled with tequila for David and me. Our daughter had to pass, of course. We all received a miniature serape attached to a tiny sombrero as a lapel pin. The food was presented on a banquet table, and looked great! Lots of serapes and candles, flowers, etc. decorating the serving tables and the patio where the festival was held.

Before eating, some mariachis played and sang. Then the emcee had a few drinking contests - the other tourists seemed to enjoy that. There were a lot of college-age people in Puerto Vallarta when we were there, so that kind of entertainment (?) goes over well with them, I guess. A lady who was supposed to be a famous Mexican singer gave a short concert of Mexican songs. Then, the meal was served - lots of variety, but David and I agreed later that it was pretty bland. During the meal, the mariachis played, and after the meal, some young couples performed folk dances and one fellow did some rope twirling with a lariat. I guess we were a little disappointed with that part of the evening. We had been spoiled by the excellence of the Ballet de Folklorico. Nothing could top the troupe we had seen in Mexico City. I would certainly go see them again, if they came to Ames or Iowa City - the Ballet de Folklorico, that is!

After the Fiesta, we took a cab back to the hotel and went to bed.

Here are some random photos I took while we were in Puerto Vallarta. Our daughter and David did swim in one of the motel's pools near the ocean, and while we were on the beach outside the ocean entrance to the hotel grounds, a little girl came around selling Chicklets... that was sort of a common occurrence in various places where people gathered. 

 The ocean-side entrance to the Molino de Agua grounds. You can see the Bay of Banderas to the left. 

 This is the pool near the ocean-side entrance to the hotel grounds. There is a bar that you can see in the background. The whole complex is very nice, and we really enjoyed our time staying there.

 This was the view of the ocean and pool from inside the bar area.

Here David and our daughter are enjoying the ocean-side pool, along with another unidentified kid. Very nice...

 David and our daughter sitting on the porch outside our hotel room...such a relaxing spot!

 When we were in town one day, I took some photos of the area near the Bay of Banderas. This is a pretty archway, and like in this shot, people enjoyed posing near it for photos.

 Near the arches was this sculpture of two dolphins, leaping. There was also a sculpture of a Zeus figure, but I seem to have misplaced that photo. One could probably see it online after a search for Puerto Vallarta photos.

This was the 'sunset' shot I got of the Pacific Ocean on our last day...not very colorful, but still was beautiful in a way in which cold, snowy Iowa would not be able to compete!

In the next post, I will tell about our trip home, and will post translations of some of the sayings that were on the walls of the restaurant - Las Tres Huastecas. Come on back!

Puerto Vallarta....so very glad it was not destroyed this past week by Hurricane Patricia!

January 2, 1991 - David and my 16th wedding anniversary. A very nice place to spend it! - When I woke up the next morning in our pretty hotel room at Molino de Agua in Puerto Vallarta, I went out onto the porch and saw men sweeping the sidewalks and raking the lawn. We got dressed and walked across the small foot bridge to an outdoor patio restaurant right on the grounds. The floor of the patio was brick, and the tables had marble tops. There were a couple of hammocks hanging beneath a huge rubber tree next to the patio. It was really relaxing and beautiful!

We ordered our breakfast, and enjoyed the outdoors while waiting for the food to be served. The sky was brilliant blue, and the surf was crashing onto the beach beyond the trees. It felt pretty close to heaven there...

The Breakfast Pation at Molino de Agua

Here's our daughter posing beside a huge terra cotta jardinere. Wish I had a couple of these for my front porch!

I had eggs rancheros with beans and tortilla chips, cafe con leche (coffee with milk); David had corn tortilla cut into strips with cheese and a mild tomato sauce (and to David's dismay - not picante! (spicy); and our daughter had her usual pancakes and hot chocolate.

We decided to go swimming in the ocean, so we got some beach towels - the hotel gives them to you, but if you misplace them, the charge is ridiculous! Something like $30.00 U.S. I'll bet not too many people take them home as souvenirs! Anyway, we walked a couple of blocks to a shaded square where van buses stop, and we bought a couple of bottles of pop for our daughter and me. We also bought some beach hats made of straw with brightly-colored woven bands on them. The sun was very intense in Puerto Vallarta, and we did not want to go home with bad sunburns. We rode the bus as far as it went because the driver forgot we wanted to get off at Punta Negra, a white-sand, fairly private beach across from Mismaloya (the beach where 'Night of the Iguana' was filmed.) Anyway, after fearing for our lives as this fast driver took the mountain curves at a pretty good clip - the van door was left open, and the seats were vinyl, so as you sailed around each curve, you slid across the seat until the armrest on the other end, or another person's body stopped you! We really could have enjoyed the ride more if the guy hadn't driven quite so fast, but I felt that in Puerto Vallarta the people look at tourists as a necessary evil - to be tolerated for the money they bring in, but not to be liked very much. On this ride, we did meet a couple of people from Portland, OR who have a condo in Puerto Vallarta, and spend several weeks down there each winter. Anyway, after dropping off a couple of little Mexican girls who spent the entire ride grasping the armrest for dear life...we finally reached our destination - Punta Negra Beach. 

 The Beach at Punta Negra...Notice the 'black' rocks for which this beach is named.

  Sandpiper on the beach at Punta Negra

Black rocks on the beach at Punta Negra. Notice the sandpiper...

The path down to the beach was a pile of big rocks, and then smaller rocks. We stumbled down the path, found a shady spot which was not too cluttered with litter, and put down our towels. We shucked our shorts and shirts to get down to our bathing suits, and David watched the stuff while we two ladies hit the beach. We walked out into the ocean, bouncing over the swells, and tried to stay on our feet. After awhile, I went onto the shore, and David went into the water with our daughter. They spent some time trying to catch some big waves to do some 'body surfing.' We watched some Mexican boys who seemed to have the best method - they also had a small surfboard, which seemed to help the cause. We spent several hours there, enjoying the water, watching a little sandpiper tip-toe around the rocks and sand, and watched a couple of pelicans perched in the trees on the black rock cliff which stood guard over the beach. 

 The big surf at Punta Negra Beach

View of Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay in the distance, as seen from Punta Negra Beach

Mismaloya Beach - site of the filming of the movie 'Night of the Iguana'

David and our daughter doing some body surfing in the Pacific Ocean

We had liberally applied sunscreen, but it was nearly worn off, and we were concerned that we might be getting too much sun. We were also getting hungry, so we put our clothes back on over our nearly-dry swimsuits, and caught a bus back to town. (We also had to sweep a lot of sand off, and get it off our feet before we could stand to put on our shoes.) The bus was nearly full when the three of us got on it, but it managed to squeeze in two more passengers as well. There we were, packed in like sardines, sliding across the plastic seats each time the bus sped around a curve - an interesting mode of transport! We arrived at a stop a few blocks from our hotel, and walked the rest of the way back. 

We took showers to wash the sea salt from our hair and skin, and changed into street clothes. Then we walked across the bridge near the hotel, found the steps down to the island in the middle of the river, and went down to eat at the restaurant situated on the tip of the island facing the ocean. The restaurant was called 'Franzi's' and was empty except for ourselves and the waiters, as well as some rather bedraggled-looking cats. The trees sheltering our table on the patio continually shed some kind of seeds, leaves and who know what else, causing the waiters to continuously sweep off the table tops and chair seats. The cats came over to see our daughter, and we noticed that a couple of them were blind, or nearly so. I wondered why they chose to sit beside her - do animals instinctively know who likes them? We ordered beer, and pop for our daughter (sin hielo - without ice). Then she ordered a cheeseburger with bacon; David and I got fish and chips. The fish was very good, and was served with lots of fresh lime chunks. After we ate, David and our daughter headed back to the hotel to swim in one of the hotel pools (they had three), and I went exploring on the island where there were lots of little stalls of crafts and tourist items for sale. I found a nice sterling silver bracelet from Taxco, which I purchased. After looking over all the other craft places, I went back to the hotel. David and our daughter were ready to quit swimming. The pool where they were swimming is a beautiful blue mozaic tile pool surrounded with bright pink cement walkway. The entire hotel grounds was really a tropical paradise. You would have never known that a place such as that could be nestled in the busy part of town, and be so well-hidden from the traffic on the street.

Rio Cuale, the little river that goes between Hotel Molino de Agua and the Franzi's Restaurant where we had our lunch that day. You can barely see the restaurant patio in the trees on the right side of the photo. The hotel is on the left side.

David and our daughter enjoying the pink and blue pool at Molino de Agua.

 Our daughter diving into the water of the pink and blue pool at Molino de Agua.

This is the patio where we had our breakfast, with willow trees and the ocean beyond...

These were the parrots in the cage near the entrance to our hotel.

That's our daughter coming around the big fountain in the front courtyard to our hotel.

This nativity scene was set up near the registration desk in the courtyard of Hotel Molino de Agua. Be sure to notice the red devil above the creche.

Big banana trees and the cobblestone walks between the buildings at Molino de Agua...very pretty!

Chona - a monkey in its cage inside the courtyard at Molino de Agua.

The beautiful courtyard at Molino de Agua in Puerto Vallarta.

The restaurant and bar at Molino de Agua in Puerto Vallarta.

While our daughter got dressed, I went shopping for stuff for breakfast. I found a supermarket and bought three different sweet rolls, two huge oranges (about 4" in diameter) and three cartons of liquid peach yogurt. I took the food back to the hotel, and we headed across the bridge to find our supper. We found Helados Bing, the ice cream store similar to one in Mexico City. After standing around awhile trying to figure out the ordering system, we realized you were supposed to pay first, take your receipt to the clerk at the window, and then order your flavor of ice cream. It really would be nice to be fluent in Spanish! Our daughter got a double dip of pistachio, David got one each of pistachio and mamey (tropical fruit), and I got coffee and coconut - delicious! It tends to be very hot and humid in Puerto Vallarta in the afternoon and evening, even in the winter, so the ice cream melted quickly. We had to eat very fast!

We saw an art shop with fantastic sculptures of mermaids with small fish for scales on their fin/tails, a lion with a man's face and hands rather than paws, a man with a face inside his chest (behind bars!) and a cage over his head (more bars) and holding a mask of his own face in front of the cage. Lots of weird, deeply symbolic work - fascinating!

Then we returned to the hotel, sat at the restaurant by the pool, listened to the piano player and waited for our 'complimentary' drinks. We didn't order dinner so our drinks were not delivered in a timely manner! After a long time, we were asked if we wanted anything else. We said we were waiting for our drinks. The waiter made a big effort to seem like they were at fault and that he had forgotten, but I think it may have been intentional, since we didn't buy our dinner there. Oh well - we finally got the drinks... I had read that the service at Molino de Agua was slow, so maybe I was expecting the worst. I had a margarita with crushed ice - and I waited to see if I would get turista, but I lucked out! Maybe there is less chance of that in the popular tourist areas where it is known that people from other places are not immune to the local 'bugs.'

We slept very well, this time with the windows open and the fan turned off. And, the sound of the ocean lulling us to sleep...

Just a little more time to enjoy Mexico's entrancing different-ness...and then we had to head home...but we still had another day to enjoy!

Come back to read about our last day in Puerto Vallarta, and our trip home to Iowa...

Mexico City...more to see!

Our daughter headed back to our room at Hotel Geneve, and David and I went to get rolls and fruit (pan y fruta) for breakfast. We bought some cookies for supper and enough rolls for breakfast, as well as a nice papaya and three oranges. We also got three bottles of 'drinkable' strawberry yogurt - our usual! We looked around trying to find a shop we had spotted earlier called 'Alita' or something like that so we could take a photo of it, but we weren't successful. I was tempted to buy one of the dolls being sold by the women sitting on the street. We saw little girls with shawls tied on their backs, with their dolls inside, just like Mom's! Also saw a couple of street artists doing 'space-themed' spray paint pictures. They used poster board - sprayed with two base colors just in the focus area (blue and green, or red and orange). Before the paint was dry, they put a paper on it and 'printed' it with a daubed design. Then they placed a paint can or two different sized cans on the area and sprayed more red and orange (or blue and green) around them, emphasizing the base and corners. White and yellow was sprayed in one corner to suggest sunlight. The whole thing was then sprayed with flat black, splattered with white (the artist sprayed the paint onto his palette knife and 'splattered' the wet paint onto the paper from the palette knife). Red (or blue) was then sprayed along the bottom, a piece of poster board was placed vertically on the lower area and pulled down, scraping and going from side to side to make a zig-zag effect. The artist then took the cans off, exposing the 'planets' beneath. They he scored the wet paint around the planet with their palette knives making 'rings' around the planets - sometimes leaving them plain also. Black was then sprayed lightly across the bottom and paper was made to create jagged rock shapes forming a 'crescent' frame on the bottom of the poster board. Then they used the palette knife to scrape away rectangles in a pyramid shape, with the bottom area large, getting smaller and smaller as it progressed upward. Antennae-like projections were then scratched into the 'roofs' of the pyramid-like structures, and the artist signed his name in the wet paint at the bottom. The surface was continually sprayed with clear mat paint to keep it from getting too dry to work with. Then he softened and shaded the edges of the planet shapes with black. When the artist was satisfied with the work, he sprayed a can of clear sealant into the air, setting it on fire, and dried the paint on the picture with the flame from the torch-like can. These sold for only $7.00 each, U.S. money. Subjects included in these paintings were unicorns, planets and stars with two white birds on a blue color scheme. Very interesting, and surely pleased the crowd!

We went back to our hotel and changed our clothes to go to the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. The tour to this performance cost us about $110.00, U.S., but we felt afterward that it was worth the money for all three of us. When we went down to the hotel lobby at the designated time, there was our tour guide, Moses. On the way to the theater where the ballet was being performed, Moses took us past Alameda Park which at one time was an Aztec marketplace. During the time of the conquistadores (mid-1500s), it was the place where heretics were burned during the Spanish Inquisition. Now it is a lovely park, and on the night we drove past it, it was thronged with people - so many people that in order to walk, they had to go out into the street in some places. The park was lit with a huge display of Christmas lights. All of the streets up and down the Paseo de la Reforma were strung with white lights, as well as lights strung across the streets, and the park itself had designs strung with so many lights as to seem solid colors. The attraction in the park itself were many stages which were situated every few yards, and were involved in performances, interactions with children in the audiences, and other attractions. One stage was built to look like Russian buildings or churches with onion-dome towers painted beautifully as I imagine the authentic Russian buildings to be. The people standing on these stages were dressed in costume, giving plays, holding small children from the crowd, etc. Some participants were dressed like the three kings, and there were one or two Santas we could see. Our guide told us that Santa has come to Mexico - but the people still wait for the visit of the three kings on 'twelfth night.' It was an amazing sight - and I was glad we were in the bus. It would have been hard to negotiate in the crowd, and not being familiar with the park in daylight, we would have been lost pretty quickly. And, Moses mentioned that it was a good opportunity for pick-pockets. I wonder if he mentioned that caution in order to keep tourists taking his bus to see the sights, but I guess there are incidents, and we were just lucky, or cautious enough to avoid becoming victims. Traffic was quite bad in that area, as well as in the Zona Rosa, with traffic policemen directing the flow of vehicles.

We were not able to see the ballet in the beautiful Bellas Artes Theater, as it was closed for a month for some repair work. The theater we went to is called the Teatro de la Cuidad (theater of the city) and is a turn-of-the-century auditorium just a block northeast of the Bellas Artes Theater. It was an interesting building, but as in much of Mexico City, the place seemed quite shabby and in need of refurbishment. I don't know how this country will be able to do such projects due to the pressing demands of the increasing population. But, the seats in the theater were good, and the performance was outstanding, so the building's interior soon became unimportant.

The theater was filled by 8 p.m., and what a show! A couple of dances were based on Zapotec and Maya cultures. There were lots of drums, rattles, and flutes - the dancers were very reminiscent of gods we have seen in carvings, as their costumes and Indian 'look' almost made you feel as it you were witnessing a rite which might have occurred on the steps or platforms of the pyramids. The last dance of this nature had the performers dressed in huge head dresses of orange, red and yellow feathers. There was a large sun-like prop hanging above the stage background, making it seem very convincing. Four male dancers then entered wearing peacock feather head dresses almost identical to the one we had seen at the Museum of Anthropology. Fantastic!

The first Indian dance illustrated with props included the image of an eagle eating a snake perched on a cactus. This was done in black, blue and gold, and was symbolic of the image supposedly predicted to the Aztecs as the place where they were to settle. Unfortunately, the people who were already settled there didn't appreciate their arrival, but eventually were overtaken by them. In one source, I read that the original name for the tribe later called the Aztecs was Mexica (May-she-ka). Some think this was the origin of 'Mexico,' but was simply mispronounced by the Spaniards. In any case, this dance was fascinating and primitive in its choreography.

Other special dances were the dance of the horse, the love dance, and the rope dance. The horse dance - men wearing horse figures around their middle as if they were riding actual horses was reminiscent of little kids playing horse with cardboard boxes held around their torsos. This dance represented the assassination of Poncho Villa. In the rope dance, a man twirled a lasso the entire time - I don't know how he could keep it going so long, and in such a large circle - sometimes jumping through the rope loop, sometimes encircling himself and a girl with the lasso. There was also a dance with papier mache giants - a black boy, a brown-skinned girl, a clown, an Indian woman, the devil, a weeping person, an angel, and a figure they called The Moor - a bird. It was both fun and beautiful. I was wishing I knew more about the significance of the characters. The deer dance was also very special, done by one man dressed as a deer with antlers, and pursued by hunters, eventually to be killed.

After an intermission, there were rattle dances, the dance of the Michoacan, the Concheros with feathered head-dresses. The final dance was fun because at the finale, the dancers threw thin, colored paper streamers out into the audience. The streamers looked florescent as they unfurled over the crowd and as people tried to catch them.

It was a great evening, but quite long, and we were tired from our train trip. Also, our daughter was getting a stuffy nose and cough, so we went back to the hotel and to bed.

The next day was New Year's Eve Day, and we ate breakfast in our room, having our usual rolls, yogurt, oranges and tangerines. David went shopping for an onyx cup or mug for his collection while my daughter and I shopped in the Insurgentes Mercado again. I bought a black obsidian egg for my egg collection, and a nice 'square' sterling silver ring. Our daughter bought two mini-serapes, a marionette, and a silver box with an inlaid shell lid. She then went back to the hotel room to rest, and David and I continued looking for a mug for him. He finally settled on a black onyx cup with an insized design of a figure with a hunting bow. We then returned to the hotel where our daughter was watching HBO. There were some good movies on for us to watch as we rested - 'My Left Foot,' 'Steel Magnolias,' 'Nobody's Perfect,' 'Weekend at Bernie's,' and 'The Naked Maja' (dubbed in Spanish). Our daughter said she missed our dog Lady, the grandmas, Tabitha, 'being home,' Katie, everybody she knows, Bunny, the computer, etc. She really didn't feel so well at that time, so I guess anything that represented home would have been better to her than being in a foreign country. While she continued to rest, David returned to the Zocalo, and I went to shop for stuff for breakfast. As I returned from shopping, I relented and bought a doll from one of the ladies on the street. I asked her how much she wanted for the doll and she told me $10,000 pesos - about $3.00. I gave her the requested amount without any bargaining. I figured she had been sitting there for so long (every day that we were there), and that she could use the money. The shoeshine man standing nearby decided that I was an easy target, and followed me half-way back to the hotel, actually shining one of my black leather high-tops with a black polish as we walked along. I had a hard time turning him down, but you just can't help them all.

When David came back, we went for a stroll and ate a dessert meal at Salon de Te. We had eaten such a big meal at Passi's at lunchtime that we again didn't need much for supper. While David had been gone, I had washed the dirty clothes in the bathtub, and we both hung them up in the bathroom with our handy nylon wash line. This time it wasn't quite so crowded since the bathroom was quite a bit larger. I called Linda's friends again and told them we were leaving the next day for Puerto Vallarta, and that we appreciated having their phone number available in case we needed assistance. They were a bit concerned about us because I had forgotten to tell them that we planned to switch hotels, and they had tried to contact us at the Century, but found that we were no longer there. But, we really didn't have much time for socializing, although it would have been nice to meet them.

We all went to bed about 10 p.m., to the sound of many people on the streets, celebrating New Year's by attending many of the discos in the area, and by generally being up late to socialize. Our room was nice and quiet, so we slept pretty well - I had a couple of nightmares about earthquakes, but other than that, I rested well.

On New Year's Day, we awoke about 6 a.m. Our daughter took a bath, and then I had my turn. We ate breakfast and packed while watching 'Steel Magnolias' on HBO. About 9:30 a.m. we stored our luggage, checked out of our room at the Geneve, and took the metro to the Zocalo. Since it was New Year's Day, the same holiday atmosphere permeated the city - quiet metro, relatively quiet streets, with few vendors. But, as we entered the Zocalo (a huge paved square surrounded by buildings including the National Palace, and a couple of cathedrals - it is the largest paved square in the Northern Hemisphere), there were a few people beginning to set up their stands of food and souvenir items. 

First we visited the Metropolitan Cathedral which is sinking into the spongy subsoil of Lake Texcoco which Mexico City is built upon. This is most evident when viewing the facade from across the square. (According to one piece I read about this cathedral, the church has sunk 12 feet into the subsoil.) Construction began in 1573 on 'the most famous cathedral in the New World' (according to information in the Fodor's travel guide), and continued intermittently over the next three centuries, although one figure I found said it was completed in 1667. The style of the cathedral is Baroque and Neoclassical. There are four identical domes inside, supported by rows of columns. The supportive columns are Churrigueresque style, an extremely decorative form of Spanish baroque from the mid-17th century. The cathedral has five altars, and 14 chapels, and shelters the tomb of Agustin Iturbide. According to Wikipedia, Agust Iturbide was known as Augustine of Mexico. He was a general whose troops took control of Mexico City on 27 September 1821, effectively gaining independence for Mexico. No wonder his grave is located in this famous cathedral. 

As we arrived, there was a mass being said, so we had to wait awhile to get into the main part of the cathedral. We took this time to explore some of the chapels around the perimeter of the main portion. There was a lot of scaffolding in the church, so there still was work going on, either to continue construction, or to repair damage from its settling into the lake bed. 

 Catedral Metropolitana - Main Plaza in Mexico City. The towers of this church are so heavy that it is sinking into the spongy soil of former Lake Texcoco which lies under Mexico City.

El Sagrario Chapel, next to Metropolitan Cathedral

Detail of El Sagrario Chapel facade

We explored the National Palace, which was initiated by Cortes on the site of Moctezuma's home and remodeled by the viceroys. It is the seat of government now, but Cortes staged Mexico's first bullfight in the inner courtyard in 1526, according to Fodor's. The striking images of Diego Rivera's beautiful fresco murals which cover the interior walls of the palace are captivating to visitors. As we wandered around, we were able to get into groups of visitors who were getting an English-language tour of the building, and it made the murals much more understandable in their symbolism. David suggested that we get a book about the murals, but somehow we neglected to do so. I'm now thinking maybe we can find one on Amazon.com or from a book store here in the states. My photos of the murals are nice, but the colors aren't really true, and it is hard to understand the meanings of the murals without some explanation. The subjects covered the history of the Mexican people, so parts are easy enough to figure out, but it would be nice to understand more...

I am going to post the best of my photos of these amazing fresco paintings, but will not attempt to tell about them, since my explanations might not be quite right. In any case, you will be able to see the masterful way that Rivera incorporated the figures, settings, and ideas he was intending to represent. 

Notice the amazing masks represented in this mural. It appears that there is some kind of artistic craft work happening. Notice also the carved panels below the murals. 

I especially like this one, with the colorful costumes worn by some of the people represented. 

 This mural seems to depict the methods those people used for dying cloth, and decorating it. The more I look at these photos, now that I have posted them, the more I want to find out what is happening in them...just have to try to find a book on Diego Rivera's work!

 This mural is somewhat dull in appearance due to poor lighting, but you can imagine that having all of these huge depictions of the history of the people of Mexico would give anyone seeing them a feeling of wonder at how amazingly detailed and colorful they truly are.

 This carved panel and fresco shows the rubber tree and the latex streaming out of the slashes on the sides of the tree and into the container below. Until plastics were invented, rubber was a terribly important commodity. I'm sure there is still plenty of use for it today, still.

This is the courtyard of the National Palace.

About this time, our daughter began to feel quite tired, so we looked at the Cathedral a bit more, then headed over to take a look at the Templo Mayor. This pyramid was discovered beneath this part of the city in 1978 by an electric company repairman. It has since been turned into a small archelogical site and museum (which unfortunately was closed because of the holiday).

Templo Mayor - This ancient ruins was discovered not far from the Zocalo, and contains the Pyramid of Huitzilopochtli. It was the center of Aztec religious life. Spanish missionaries accompanying Cortes pulled down the ancient temple and constructed a smaller edifice of the Metropolitan Cathedral over it. That smaller cathedral was torn down in 1573 to allow construction of the present cathedral. The Aztec culture thrived in this area before Cortes arrived in 1519.

Museo del Templo Mayor (behind the ruins of the actual temple) in the Zocalo of Mexico City.

Portions of the unearthed Templo Mayor.

More parts of the unearthed Templo Mayor. It is rather amazing to think that all of this building was covered over to try and reshape the religious beliefs of the indigenous people.

As I walked around the pyramid site, there were some men sitting in a spot along the sidewalk selling something that looked suspicious to me. I had read in 'Mornings in Mexico' by D.H. Lawrence that Mexicans at one time sold small pots of human excrement to be used as a tanning agent in making items of leather. In fact, it said that the Mexicans laughed at the American tourists who sniffed the huaraches to see if they smelled bad before they would buy them. I also read in a book about the capture of Mexico by Cortes written by one of his soldiers, Bernal Diaz, that the Aztecs actually had places hidden by shrubbery where they would go to eliminate, and the excrement was then taken to be used for this purpose. So, when I saw the little pots of brown, oily-looking 'logs,' I just walked on by. I had no desire to sniff the material to see if I was correct! I also saw a line of clothes in a parking lot, and a family selling the souvenir dolls just outside this fenced-in area. I wondered if that was what they called 'home.'

Anyway, our daughter was feeling pretty miserable, so we returned to the hotel on the metro, ate a huge breakfast (too early for the lunch menu at the Geneve - 11:30 a.m.) Our daughter and David had scrambled eggs with jalapenos, tomatoes and beef jerky - I had an omelette with oysters and baby shrimp folded into it. We also had chocolate abuelito - 'Chocolate Grandma' - hot chocolate with cinnamon. Our daughter felt better after eating, but my nose was beginning to get stuffy, so I decided I would probably be the next on the not-so-well list. She and I had been taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C, and a prescription of medicine suggested by our doctor as a preventative, and I think it kept us from getting really sick. We both recovered in about three days. David didn't take the medicine or the vitamins and he didn't get sick in Mexico, but he got sick after we got home, and was sick with it for about 10 days - and pretty miserable. I don't know if the stuff helped or not, but I like to think it did. 

Here is another interesting building we saw as we headed back to the metro station. Not sure just what it was...maybe another church...

We walked around the Zona Rosa to kill some time - our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:35 p.m., so we spent most of the afternoon in the lobby of the hotel, reading, resting, etc. Nothing was open in the Zona Rosa due to the holiday. I did see our guide, Moses, and asked him to write his name down for me so I could remember how to say it. He even had some trouble remembering how to write all of it; no wonder he uses the name Moses! He told us that he was learning English from a Japanese person, and he apologized for not being able to speak as well as he would have liked. We shook hands with him and he wished us a 'Happy New Year.' After telling us that he had worked in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, we imagined that he did migrant labor when he was younger. He was a nice person...

At about 3:45 p.m. we hailed a cab (not hard to do when they are practically pulling you into their vehicles every time you leave the hotel anyway!) and left to go to the airport. After we were about five blocks from the hotel, I asked our daughter where her jeans jacket was - yes! it was still at the hotel... So, we offered the drive 10 mil. ($10,000 pesos) to turn around and go back to get it. By then my Spanish was getting useful - at least I could make him understand what we needed. The jacket was still in the hotel lobby, so we left a second time for the airport. I had read that we would need $12 each to leave Mexico, but was not aware that there was also a tax on flights within Mexico. So, after we arrived at the airport, I went searching for a change booth (cambio), and found one. But, it was closed! For the holiday, of course! Then, I went to the place where you purchase the tax stickers. He said, 'No,' but that there was a bank part way down the aisle that was open. So, I hurried down to the bank, cashed a traveler's check, and rushed back to the tax booth. The guy gave me three stickers and change. I returned to the baggage station, gave the man there the stickers, and he placed them on our boarding passes. Then we all went up to our gate, through customs inspection, etc. When we arrived at our gate, I checked in, only to find out that the tax guy had charged me for international departure, not for domestic (which is about 2/3 cheaper!). So - back I went to the baggage check area to retrieve the other half of the stickers from our luggage, and then back to the tax booth to point out his error. Of course, there was only one man working at the booth by then, and not the one who had made the mistake, so I had to explain it to this new guy what had happened - all in my insufficient Spanish, and his insufficient English. He had me wait while he helped some other people (thank goodness we had arrived with plenty of time to spare!) Finally, I had the proper tax stickers ($4.83, rather than $12.00 each) and I returned to the baggage counter, left the necessary stickers there, and went back through customs and to the gate waiting area. Whew!

Finally I could relax until our flight was ready to board. We boarded at 6:05 p.m. and took off about 6:35. The first leg of the flight was to Ixtapa/Huatulco, and we all had very sore ears from the congestion from our colds. (By now, we all had slight colds.) The next leg of our trip was to Guadalajara (second largest city in Mexico). Then we took off for Puerto Vallarta, with not very many people left on the plane. We arrived in Puerto Vallarta about 10 p.m., got a combi-van (cab vehicle) and went to the Hotel Molino de Agua. As tired and uncomfortable as we were with our plugged ears, I was still very impressed by this hotel. The entrance was a huge wrought iron gate with lots of plants on either side. You walked down a few steps to a courtyard, and off to the right was the registration desk right out in the open. There was a beautiful fountain in the center of the courtyard, and parrots and monkeys in cages in the area as well. The sidewalks were paths of cobblestone and cement winding among large palm trees, rubber trees, willows, and what I decided were papaya trees. The buildings were mostly white-washed cottages scattered here and there along the walkways. They had red-tiled roofs. A man led us to our room after we checked in. We were given a room in a four-plex building. We were on the upper floor, and the building was set back from the ocean a bit, but it had a porch with two wicker rockers and a wicker table on it. The porch railing was made from rounded red tiles stacked upon each other and with a white-washed railing on top. It was very pretty. As the bellboy opened our door, a couple of the little lizards scurried up the wall in the corner of the porch. There was a note in the room to please not disturb the little creatures as they help keep down the population of mosquitos and other insects. The lizards seemed to like to hang around the porch light, hoping for a meal. But, so far, even though Puerto Vallarta was very tropical and humid, we didn't have any problems with mosquitos. Our room had an air-conditioner, and the room was very warm since it had been closed up all day, and since it faced the sunset. So, the bellboy turned on the air-conditioner. We set it so just the fan would run before we went to bed, as the room had cooled sufficiently by then.

The floors of the room were tan tiles, and there were very interesting wood furnishings with inlaid designs. the coffee table even had an inlaid checker board on the top. The bathroom was large with red tile counter top, and white 1" tiles on the floors and the wall of the shower. It was all very nice and very clean. We all took showers and felt relaxed for bed. The room had two double beds with flowers painted above the beds rather than a headboard. There were also flowers painted on the wall above the dresser. The room had a small couch and a couple of woven rugs, a bedside table, and luggage racks at the foot of the beds. There was plenty of storage along the hallway by the bathroom. The windows were large, had screens, and the one off the porch was covered with a wrought iron grill. The closet had louvered sliding doors. We went to sleep with the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing onto the sand outside, and we slept very well.

The dresser and wall art above it, and the coffee table in front of the couch in our room at Molino de Agua in Puerto Vallarta.

Our daughter relaxed on her bed as she waited her turn to take a shower before we went to bed. The flowers look nice instead of a head board above the beds. We had a good night after our long day...

Come on back. More sights in Puerto Vallarta, a nice resort town on the Pacific Ocean (not so busy as Acapulco, but just as nice...) I am so very glad that Hurrican Patricia did not do a lot of damage or cause loss of lives as it slammed into the Pacific coast of Mexico this past week!