“Anger is as a stone cast into a wasp’s nest.” Pope Paul VI
And that is what I encountered when opening the jacuzzi’s mechanical shack – an angry, active wasp’s nest. I didn’t realize they were attacking me … as I quickly retreated like lightning; thrashing and flapping my hands. But one stung me on my upper lip. OUCH! Oh, the pain! Instead of backing off, I located the water hose and drowned the nest to oblivion. For the next few hours, my lips hurt, itched, and ballooned to look like a Botox treatment gone haywire. A goop made of baking soda and water was made by nurse David (thank you, Arvada) and helped ease the pain of inflammation.
We dragged our guest, Erin, to Guadalajara’s Centro Histórico for a visit to the World Heritage Site and my favorite – the Hospicios Cabañas and its Orozco murals. They’re extraordinary, immense, and overwhelmingly beautiful masterpieces. Every time I view them I see some new hidden detail in his work.
Lunch was planned at our favorite restaurant in Tlaquepaque, but the waiting time was 45 minutes to an hour ~ translated to Mexican time that’s sometime in the near future. Since we were starving, we opted for our second choice, Casa Fuerte, which again did not disappoint: frozen tamarind margaritas and their queso fundido served floating on a bed of tomatillo salsa .. as it melts you spread it on a warm tortilla … will someone pinch me, please, having attained nirvana.
Finally, we took Erin to the Chapala Tianguis on Monday. We’d never been so it was a shared experience. It’s about 2 1/2 times larger than Ajijic’s but more utilitarian in its purpose. There were just a few other gringos wandering about the rather rustic venue.
David took his second art class and this time the result was a beautiful monarch butterfly maceta (flower pot). Meanwhile, I attended a Spanish language showing of “Avengers: Endgame,” a very long, but enjoyable rumble through the Marvel Universe. And by universe I mean every character, and where Paltrow’s 45 seconds of screen time and spoken lines sounded like “Dora the Explorer.”
We’ve been studying for our Mexican driver’s licenses; so last Friday we had arranged with Manuel to drive us to El Departamento de Transportación. Little did we know that half of Guadalajara would be there – the line wrapped itself around the building. It was a very hot, sunny day, and “no way, Jose,” were we going to spend hours slowly snaking along … so with all the required documents in hand, we retreated home to try again another day. Next time we will make a “cita” – appt.
Last Monday a fire was spotted above the nearby mountains of Ixtlahuacán de Los Membrillos, the last town before the canyon pass into Chapala. It was started by careless campers….so over this week it has been spreading Saturday morning it could be seen on the mountains that form the backdrop of Ajijic. They’ve been using helicopters with giant buckets which scoop water from the lake and dropped onto the affected areas. The air’s very smoky, but we have yet to be affected in our area.
On the menu this week: Mexican Lasagna! which we shared with Juan Diego and Laura (the goat farm’s passionate young owners)…. besides the pasta noodles what made this lasagna Mexican was the fillings (layers of Mexican requeson (ricotta), leeks, and spinach, and corn, onions, rajas(roasted poblano), Mexican squash … all doused in salsa roja and crowned with Oaxaca … with thanks to PBS’s “Pati’s Mexican Table” for the delicious recipe.
