I must admit that my expectations for the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics were not very high considering the Beijing opening and closing ceremonies.

However, I was soon filled with pride as I watched all the aboriginal groups of Canada walk into the stadium. Every aboriginal group was represented from coast to coast to coast and proceeded to do ceremonial dances for over an hour in full native dress as they welcomed the athletes from 82 countries parade in front of over 60,000 cheering fans.

My family and my excitement was further heightened by the stunning visual (more…)

This morning I was enjoying a leisurely morning at Yoly’s Beauty Parlor (manicure, pedicure and hair) when I overhead a man talking about wanting to move to Mexico from Durango, Colorado but was having difficulties in convincing his wife to make the move.

I totally related to this as it took 10 years for my husband to talk me into making the move from Toronto 15 years ago.

As I have often said, I wish he had found the right words sooner as I have enjoyed every minute of every day since arriving in 1994.

This is not uncommon as many couples are not always on the same page as one party or the other is dragging their feet.

There are many reasons for this. Fear of the unknown is at the top of the list along with fear of language challenges.

Also leaving family, children and grandchildren, aging parents, homes lived in for many years and familiar surroundings give many pause.

I understand and have experienced all of these doubts along with the worry of raising our children (then 10 and 12) here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Two things finally pushed me into agreeing with my husband to make the move. First was the coldest winter in Canada for over 50 years and second, the huge increase in our real estate taxes we were about to face.

It was my husband’s mother who put to rest of my fears about my children by telling me (more…)

A few weeks ago there was a 6.1 earthquake in Port Au Price in Haiti which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Normally, when disaster strikes there are neighboring communities that can pitch in but such is not the case here. Everyone is very poor and thousands of people were killed. Thousands more left homeless, hungry and desperate for news of their family and friends.

Help poured in from many countries and, of course, the US, but it took some time to coordinate the immediate needs and the best way to access the airport to get aid to the people.

Food, water, blankets were vital and shelter and protection for the children left without parents.

Medical attention was crucial and workers to help find any survivors and dig them out of wherever they were trapped. They had neither the manpower nor the equipment necessary for such a mammoth undertaking.

CNN’s Dr. Sanja Gupta has been there from the outset and has joined other medical teams in providing whatever help they could to those who needed it but the numbers were overwhelming.

Aid organizations have been trying to organize who was going to what and (more…)

Being Christmas Eve Eve an’ all, my musings might be a little shorter than usual but I thought this information would be useful to all the holiday travelers.

The Terminal Terrestre cost 20 million pesos to build and will represent major savings to people arriving at the Guadalajara Airport wishing to come to Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Previously, one had to be picked up or take a cab from the airport to the Lake Chapala area which would cost a minimum of $200.00 with private limos costing a lot more.

The new bus terminal has opened at Guadalajara’s International Airport just in time for the busy holiday season.

Passengers will be able to takes buses from the terminal to various points in the Guadalajara metropolitan zone and surrounding areas, including Chapala. The cost for this service (more…)

Yesterday and today President Obama had a North American Summit with Filipe Calderone, President of Mexico, and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada.

Many things were on the agenda for the summit including money, drugs, H1N1, climate change and the new mandatory visas for Mexicans visiting Canada.

There has been a spike in violence and over 11,000 have been killed in Mexico due to drug related activities. The US has been more than willing to share the blame for this drug violence as the US provides the necessary market for these drugs and also has supplied approximately 95% of the guns used by the Mexican Drug Cartels. President Obama is reluctant to supply more support until he is assured (more…)

One of the many wonderful reasons to live in Ajiic, Lake Chapala is the many quaint day or overnight trips one can take to explore further the magic that is Mexico.

One of our favorites is Tapalpa which is about 2 hours from Ajijic on the road to Manzanillo.

It is high up in the mountains and has many good things to commend it. First, and most important to some, is a golf course.

There is a wonderful place to stay called Casa de la Mati which is a renovated original hacienda. The rooms have stone floors, and fireplaces and wood is delivered to your door. There are very comfortable king sized beds with fluffy duvets and are very quaintly appointed. If you think it would not be cold enough for an open fire you would be wrong. As the altitude is higher it is cooler, especially at night, and there are very aromatic pine trees everywhere reminding some of their northern roots.. When we were (more…)

Living in the Ajijic, Lake Chapala area there are many little side trips to some of the colonial cities near by, that you have to visit! I celebrated my birthday this Saturday and thought I would love to see more of my surroundings. I have lived in Mexico for a number of years now, and have yet to travel outside of my Ajijic box to see some of the charming little towns nearby.

Friday morning we packed our bags and we were off to Guanajuato! I had heard so much about San Miguel de Allende, what a beautiful town it is, and how nice the people are, that I decided I would like to visit the neighboring city of Guanajuato. Because we were only going away for the weekend, I thought San Miguel, with so much to see, would be too much to tackle in two days.

When we arrived in Guanajuato, 4 hours away, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never seen photos, or heard a lot about the area. I was once told it reminded them of little Italy and there is a great mummy museum, but that was the only information we (more…)