FELIZ NAVIDAD!

The week has been busy with pre-Christmas activities, drinks with friends, dinner with a returning friend, a small entertaining event and baking for my contribution to Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners at different friends’ homes.  It’s great fun. 

There was one concern threading through the days’ events though.  My son-in-law, whom I love like the son I don’t have anymore, was facing a complicated surgery on Friday.   

He has come through it better than his surgery team anticipated!!  What sweet relief.  This is the best Christmas gift one could possibly receive.  

His recovery is anticipated to be rather lengthy, but, knowing him, his energy and his determination, that will likely be cut short. 

This good news has coloured my Christmas with the most festive of Christmas light and beauty.  My mind is at ease!  I am completely open now to the enjoyment of this special time of year.

The anticipated influx of Mexican families to Villas Eureka where I am living for the winter doesn’t seem to have happened to the degree I was expecting.  It is still quiet here, but the traffic in town has swelled enormously, almost doubling the time it takes to get from A to B.  To add to the density of the traffic at this time of year with so many vacationing Mexicans arriving, is a dedicated bicycle lane on the main street that has replaced one of three driving lanes heading into Manzanillo Centro .  I have yet to see a cyclist using the dedicated space and my taxi driver, Jose, told me he sees very few cyclists.  

A transportation trend that is growing here is that of many small, single person motorcycles on the roads.  In a climate such as a great part of Mexico this makes a great deal of sense, particularly for younger people.  It’s going to be interesting to watch how quickly this trend develops further. 

As I sat on my patio writing this on Saturday morning, there was a very loud “thud” followed by my villa shaking!  It felt like a tall tree falling on my small building or a truck slamming into the front of my villa.  

I sat, rather stunned for a moment, then got up to look around.  Nothing back, front or inside could be seen.  However, Tino, Goyo’s right hand man, was standing in front of my villa speaking on his cell phone.  I asked him what happened but he looked puzzled and said that he felt nothing nor did he hear anything.  

We noticed two cleaning ladies down the walkway a short distance so he called to them.  They said it was a ‘tremblor’ – an earthquake!  I have felt many small earthquakes over the years I have been coming to Mexico, but never the loud noise followed with violent shaking of the building for a few seconds.  

Mexico immediately posts location and intensity of earthquakes on the internet.  The quake was a 4.7, and only 14k from Manzanillo.  All is well, buildings today are made to withstand earthquakes - not even a crack in the villa anywhere.  But it did cause some excitement amongst the residents and a new topic of discussion for the day. 

My blog this week is a little shorter than usual.  I have written it mainly to wish all my readers a Very Merry Christmas and to send my best wishes for a happy, healthy festive season, surrounded by your loved ones and good friends! 

Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!  Happy Holidays!