Hello, Chicago!

Just a quick note to say...we are in Chicago! We had arranged to bring some Mexican sunshine with us, but I think it hopped on a different flight because it hasn't arrived here yet!

Goodbye, Hacienda Contreras...

Last night was our last night. We are leaving Sherman behind and heading out to new adventures for the next five months or so. We spent a lot of time here this winter and enjoyed every minute of it.

Back to Day 1

Ruth has been diligently working to get all of our old blog reports up on this site. Our first year or so was done on the old tripjournal website and the reports were never available to read here.

Cinco de Mayo

A little history lesson this morning on May the 5th (Cinco de Mayo). Our son asked if we were going to any celebrations this weekend to mark the event. But Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico. Here's why...

Saying goodbye to new friends

Our new friends Doug and Nancy headed out yesterday morning on their way to the coast. I should tell you the story of how they made a decision to come to Mexico.

Business cards and breakfast

When we travel, we meet a lot of people. And when you meet people, you want to stay in touch. We learned when we set out almost five years ago that we needed "business" cards so that it's easy to give out our email address and website address, and now our Facebook page.

Another fiesta by the big tree

A fiesta and a feast that is.

Who says you need a reason for a fiesta. Barb and Sal invited some of their friends and relatives and we had a little party by the big tree!

April, 2012. Our cheapest month ever.

But the cost of having an inexpensive month is that we didn't really do very much. That was the plan though, because we were due for a break after a busy March when we took in the sights of both Mexico City and Las Vegas.

A donkey and a flower

Just a relaxing day around the park yesterday to rest up from the 10 km hike we did on Sunday.

A big hike

There are four different high points surrounding the valley where we are, and we had hiked to the top of three of them. I wanted to get that fourth one in before we left here so yesterday was the day of the big hike!

Another Mexican wedding

Yesterday morning, Barb and Sal were going into town so we hitched a ride with them. Saturday is market day, and that's when we buy our supply of fruits and veggies for the week.

Quitupan and a parade

We relaxed for the morning yesterday and then we hopped in a taxi with Doug and Nancy to go visit the nearby town of Quitupan. We had never been there before so it was a new experience for us all.

Company

Well, we have some company here at Hacienda Contreras! Long time readers Doug and Nancy arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time for happy hour.

Planning

Well, our time in Chicago next month is almost all figured out. It's going to be a busy five days! And our trip overseas in June is coming together as well. There's going to be another month of downtime in between the two, but then it's going to be a busy few months after that!

Interesting stuff

Guatemala, Romania, and Bulgaria. What do these three places have in common? They are all on the list of the 50 cheapest places to live in the world.