LOS GALLOS PELEAN (FIGHTING COCKS)

Yes, I know you hate that.  It is a blood sport where one combatant will either die or will be severely wounded.  I could not watch it myself.  But it is a subject I will bet you know very little about.  So be quiet and read.  You will learn something.  Did you know that the sport (yes, it is a sport) goes back 6,000 years to Persia.  It is the oldest spectator sport in the world.  Next to soccer, it is the most popular sport in Mexico.  Bull fighting has been banned in many states in Mexico, but never was as popular with Mexicans as Cock Fighting.

Some of my regular readers may remember a few years ago when I wrote about my friend Elvis being interested in buying some fighting cocks.  He found that Alabama raises the best cocks in the Americas (wouldn't you know, Alabama the most backward state in the Union).  I found Red Fox Farms and we read all about them and the various breeds.  It is illegal to ship them out of the state, let alone to a foreign country.  They do however transport them (with hens) for "breeding purposes".  What else would those "breeding purposes" be other than for cock fighting?  I refused to be a part of the purchase or transport.  Somehow he arranged to have some sent to Texas where they were smuggled across the border. He bought one rooster and four hens.   At the time of my last writing on it (two years ago) I showed where he was raising them on a farm owned by a friend's mother.  At the time they were just little chicks.  Well they grew up.

The only big town next to where Elvis lives in the Valle de Banderas is Bucerios.  By the way "Banderas" means flags, not bandits.  Every year they have a one week festival celebrating the town.  Every little town or city in Mexico has their own festivals at various times of the year.  (another chance for Mexicans to get drunk)  The main feature of these festivals is the annual cock fight.  In fact very few cock fights occur except during these festivals.  This year Elvis decided to enter some of his cocks.  It is quite expense.  It cost him over 5,000 pesos to enter seven of his cocks (the price included a special trainer to work with the birds).  Their spurs are covered with little rubber boxing gloves for the training.  For the fight they are equipped with metal spikes.  EEKKS!  His birds will fight with another breeder's seven birds and one side must win four out of the seven in order to win the prize.  His won five, tied one, and only lost one.  Unfortunately the bird that lost was his favorite. (losing means "dead").  This one fight greatly increased the value of all the cocks he has raised.

After his great success, he and his friend who also breeds them had some kind of a dispute (it did not translate to me in English).  Anyway he took his cocks and brought them to his house.  The back yard and side yard are solid with cages.  Can you imagine what mornings are like there with fifteen cocks crowing?  Fortunately his nearest neighbor over a block away.  He lives in the middle of nowhere.  He built his home in a new development five years ago.  There are still very few completed homes in the area.  Next to the house he built another building for all his gym equipment.  I was anxious to see what else he had done and see the birds.  Their cages are just a couple of feet from his dinning room doors.  The black one with the red mane is the meanest.  Even Elvis cannot get near him, and yet he has never been entered in a fight.

They are quite beautiful.  He has only roosters now.  I was surprised when I asked when he would enter another fight.  He said he did not think he would.  Then I asked when he would start to sell more of them.  He wasn't sure about  that either.  You see, they have become pets to him.  He doesn't want them hurt and he doesn't want to sell them for that purpose.  What he will do with all of them, I am not sure.  What surprised me most is that he can pick them up and pet them.  The one with the yellow feathers is his best cock.  He has one two fights and never got a scratch on him.  Yet, even I could hold him and pet him.  Elvis never ceases to amaze me, along with his three businesses,he has taken up guitar lessons three nights a week.

From my last blog, you know I have been waiting for almost a month for TelMex to install my internet.  Of course they called while I was in Bucerios.  I handed the phone to Elvis and he explained that I would not be home until 4:00 and they  agreed to come then.  Luckily I go home a little after 3:00 for they arrived at 3:30,   The installation was a mess they drilled holes in the wall and strung new cables (of course leaving all the old wires hanging).  I am told that the internet is much faster now, but I am so slow I can't tell the difference.  Then I had to return to IZZI to return their box and cancel my contract.

Again I called Filipe for the ride and to tell them why I wanted to cancel.  The large brand new, modern IZZI office is so cleverly hidden we passed it twice.  It is also on a one way side street that is also difficult to get on to.  Mexicans are great at finding ways to make everything harder to do.  At the office I handed in my old modem and asked to cancel my contract.  She wanted to why.  "Well, because you cancelled all the English channels".  She seemed to expect that answer and asked for some identification.  Why??  I do not know but they always do and I forgot to bring my passport.  Of course I had their old box, my old contract with Telecable.  With reluctance she accepted a photo copy I keep of my passport, otherwise it would have meant another trip.  After doing something in her computer, we were told to go to the next room and pay the cancellation fee (one month) in the machine.  I guess they do not want her handling any cash (I wouldn't either).  Then after getting a receipt go back and stand in line again to give her the receipt.  She spent another ten minutes playing with her computer and they gave me two forms to fill out. (things like my name, email, telephone number; and reason for cancelling - all of which she already had).  A couple more stamps later, I had the paper work and we were finished with IZZI (Yeah!)  As soon as I got home I turned on the TV and found the TV was a blank screen even though I had pay for the month (some things they are very efficient at)  We will see how I manage.

p.s.  I am always delighted to get comments on my blog (especially when they are complimentary) but frustrated that I have no way to answer them.  So I am using this space to answer one.
"Dear anonymous",
I was happy to hear how much you like my blog, but upset that you were using it as a reason not to retire in Mexico (I think you said Mazatlan)  There are problems when one lives in a foreign country.  You have to be very patient and learn to "go with the flow"  cursing and screaming will change nothing.  But as I have said, most of my posting are about the problems that occur living here because they are more fun to write about.  There are compensation, like it is warm, cheap, and the people are wonderful.  Also  something is always happening, you will never be bored, so try it.

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MEXICO PUEDE HACELO LOCO (MEXICO CAN DRIVE ONE CRAZY)

You have already heard me tell you how horrible Telecable  ("The terrible") is.   My TV cable and internet access has been "iffy" for six years.  The service is almost nonexistent.  You may recall that once it took me ten days to get them to fix my internet.  So, when I learned that a new company had bought Telecable, I was happy.  They could not be any worse (but I was wrong).  There was no notice at all, just a new bill for IZZI (is that a dizzy name or what?)  Instead of getting my regular bill, I got a strange statement from IZZI  It did say Cable Television, but no where did it mention Telecable.  I asked around and sure enough it was my new cable bill.  It asked for a payment by the 17th, but arrived on the 20th (they are stupid enough to use the Mexican postal system).  I had already paid Telecable on the 1st, which I have been doing by internet.  I tried, but it was not possible, but it did say I could pay the bill at the local OXXO (Mexico's 7- 11, and they are everywhere).  I was happy to see it was a little less, but the next month it was more.  No explanation, in fact the bill does not have any breakdown at all.  How much do I pay for the cable and how much do I pay for internet?  My old bill did break it down.

Of course the service was no better a couple times a week it would shut down for an hour to a day,  So when one day it was out again, I waited (big mistake).  On Friday I asked my neighbor and landlord and he said his was out too and he would call.  I waited and when nothing happened by Monday, I spoke to him again.  He said I had to take my old box (modem) down to the new office and get a new one.  I had Filipe take me (not just for the ride, but for translation for I knew no one would speak English)  We waited about an hour or so and finally got to speak to someone.  He said I had to call and get a technician out.  They do not hand out modems at the office.  I told him that was impossible for me and asked him to call.  He tried for at least 15 minutes and never got anyone, so he went onto his computer and said a technician would be there the following afternoon.  I have been here before and waited a week.  I had Filipe ask about the rumor that you had to turn in the box and sign a new contract.  That is true for the television, but you have to wait until they shut the service off.  "WHAT??"   I was sure Filipe had misunderstood, but he said "No"  Sometime next month, my television would go off and at that time I must return to the office to sign a new contract (at a much higher price) and get a "box" for the television.  Currently I have no TV box: it is connect directly to the cable, but apparently, no more.

This was ridiculous.  Why would someone buy a company that had the worst service record in Mexico and make it worse??  But they did!  So I had Filipe take me to the competitor called TelMex. They  had been purchased by AT&T and were putting in fiber optic cables all over town..  Just one month earlier they installed two huge cables to my building for the boutique shop below me.  But when I tried to sign up, she told me that my street did not have the cables in yet.  I told her that I saw them there a month ago for two days working on it.  She said, "Well, it isn't finished, but should be in a few weeks."  So I asked about getting television.  They have four plans from 180 to 800 pesos a month, but none have any English channels.  "WHAT??"  Again I was sure she was wrong or Filipe had once again misinterpreted it.  I asked her to check with the manager.  NO, No English! Now I realize that I live in Mexico, but Puerto Vallarta is a resort town with a winter population of about 30% English speaking.  Not to mention most of the population able to afford the service speak English.  Is this stupid or what?  I decided to sign up for the internet anyway and she said they would call when it was ready.  After I got home, I went into the boutique and asked them about TelMex.  Oh Yes! they have had it for a month and love it for it is so fast.  Apparently the office was never informed that indeed the fiber optic cables have been installed.  But you get no where arguing with a Mexican, so you wait.

I had asked IZZI for service in the afternoon.  Just to complicate matters this happens to be The Festival of Santa Cruz so my street is closed to traffic for three blocks  I had no idea where he would park and if he need the truck for the ladder to reach to telephone poles, we would both be out of luck  I decided to go to the gym so I would be back before noon.  When I got home there was a note that he had been there at 11:00.  Now in Mexico lunch is at 2:00 so how could he think at 11:00am was afternoon. The note had only one number on it.  It was the number in Guadalajara that no one answers.  Then I remembered that they said they would call.  Sure enough my phone has a "missed call"  (I do not take the phone to the gym).  but it does captures the number so I called.  On the third try someone answered.  I tried in my best Spanish (which is awful) to tell him who I was and I needed some help.  I think he said "mas tarde" (which could be later or afternoon) or manana (which could be morning, tomorrow or never).  I panicked and decided I needed help.  I was going to my neighbors store when I spotted Jorge (my little friend).  He does not understand or speak a word of English, so I tried my best to explain what was happening to me.  He offered to go to IZZI but I told him that was kind of him, but not necessary for I have a telephone number of the technician.  He spoke to him for several minutes and told me that the guy would be here later today.  Apparently he understood Jorge's Spanish better than mine.  I now have internet, or I would not be writing this blog.  Oddly enough I saw my neighbor that night and he said he still had no internet and he is not only Mexican but his aunt owns the entire block.

I planned on waiting to see if TelMex shows up and see if it really is that much better then I will try to go to IZZI and sign up for TV cable only (what are the odds).  Then I read an article in the local English newspaper about IZZI.  It is true that one day my television will cease to work.  There will be a notice on the television to go to IZZI and sign a new contract and pick up a digital box. (Do I have a digital T.V?)  Colonia by colonia (neighborhood by neighborhood) they will shut off your T.V.  He went on to say that you must sign a new contract for a much higher price (55% increase) but when he did, he discovered that his favorite channels were gone.  They do not carry NBC,CBC, ABC. or CNN. Is this crazy??  I actually watch very little television anyway for I never know what programs are on or where they are.  (We have no TV Guide in English or Spanish).  Every morning I do turn on CNN but I am not sure why, as the news is the same as it was the day before.  Then Jennifer told me to just get Nexflix for $8.00 a month and I can get any program I want.  I am going to try it and hope (if TelMex connects me to their internet) to go back to IZZI and tell them to Shove their service where no sun shines!!  It has been two weeks since I signed the contract with TelMex.   They did give me the modem, but not a copy of the contract.  (maybe the technician will bring it)   I have received an email, two text messages and two calls from someone that may have been TelMex.  I had a friend translate the messages and he said that all is says is they are glad I signed up and a technician will come to my home.  WHEN??

While I am writing this I am being assaulted by loud speakers blasting out music while the dancers are stomping on the metal platform in front of my house.  It gives me a great view of the show and I have invited 7 people over for the May 3rd fireworks spectacular.  This may present another problem.  The dressing rooms are directly under my balcony and from my door to the curb the sidewalk is blocked off to pedestrians as well.  I went out my front door to take a few pictures and found myself in their dressing room.  People stared at me and started pushing around me and I thought about saying,   "Hey, I live here.  This is my street" (in my best Spanish of course).  This year they are calling it The Festival of May instead of Santa Cruz (which is the name of my church).  Odd since it started around the middle of April and ends with the huge five story fire works display on May 3rd.  Every night troupes of entertainers, sing and dance (a lot of stomping of feet) but one night they did the tango which was really beautiful and all the costumes are fantastic, but the finally  is what we all wait for.  For two weeks I have an amazing floor show just below me.  Yes, it is noisy, but it usually ends by 11:00.  The dancers are amazing coming from all over Mexico and as far away as El Salvador and Honduras and Chili.  They arrive and leave by tour bus.  My camera flash does not reach far so I shot a view of the stage and dressing rooms and one while a group was practicing while it was still light.  It will show the proximity of the stage and dressing tents to my balcony.

Everyone at my party was amazed by the spectacular show and fireworks which is better and better each year.  Two people had never seen it before and couldn't believe that the best show in town is not that well known.  It is almost exclusively attended by Mexicans  (I would guess at least 2 or 300 this year).  They set up an altar on the stage and five priests came out and did their little thing  I assume they were all priests as all had on red robes (Puerta Vallarta does not have a cardinal)

Then the choir came out.  They are fantastic.  I love listening to them every Sunday.  I can sit on my terrace drinking under my palapa and hear them inside the church. When one lives in Mexico you do not really need television to be entertained  Yes, there are lots of problems and frustrations living in Mexico.   But where else could a near octogenarian with very little money have such an interesting and fun life?  You have to admit, my life is certainly not boring.

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LA VIRGEN DE TALPA (THE VIRGIN OF TALPA)

Can you believe it!  I went on a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Talpa?  Now, the Virgin of Guadalupe is well known, being the Patron Saint of Mexico, but who the Hell was the Virgin of Talpa?  I tried to look her up and found there are three "Virgins" just in the state of Jalisco.  You know by now that I think all of this is just hokum, but when I thought about it, it made sense.  Half of the teenage girls in Mexico are pregnant, so I guess there is a reason to worship so many virgins.  All religions are just nuts to me, not to mention the cause of most of the wars and mass murders of the world.  Now we have the radical Islamic's slaughtering innocents in the name of God.  A thousand years ago it was the Christians who slaughtered anyone who did not believe in Christ.  Look what the Catholic Church did to the indigenous  people of Mexico.  More recently Hitler tried murdering all the Jews.   How could a benevolent God (or any other) demand the murder of so many innocent people?

Maybe Buddhism is the exception.  As far as I know Buddha never called for the mass slaughter of non believers.  A Buddhist friend of mine in Japan told me that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy.  Not really understanding the difference I express a desire to know more.  She gave me a book entitled "Buddhism for Catholics".  I tried.  I managed to get through the sound of one hand clapping.  Then it asked me to conjure up the smell of the color blue.  I gave up.  I could not get it. Maybe it was because I was not really a Christmas anyway.

My favorite bartender told me one night that he had to make his annual pilgrimage to The Virgin of Talpa.  He explained that when his baby boy was so sick, he prayed to her and promised to go to Talpa once a year and bring her flowers if he recovered.  He asked if I wanted to go with them.  My first reaction was that it would be sacrilegious for me to go, but then I thought "What the Hell do I care?" I  have wanted to visit some of the small towns around here, and he said we would stop in Mascota for breakfast.  I have heard what a beautiful colonial town Mascota was, so I decided to go.  Then I thought about riding in the back seat for two hours with a five year old.

While I was waiting outside my apartment for Filipe to pick me up, I was joined with two more Mexican friends.  That would make five adults and one child in the car.  I opted for the front passenger seat.  I will say that Ian was a very well behaved five year old.  He appeared to be a little intimidated or maybe afraid of me.  Maybe because I was a gringo or maybe I was the oldest person he had ever met.  In any case, I decided it was in my best interest allow him to continue with that thought.  It was a long arduous trip anyway.  We made a stop on the way to Mascota at a rest stop just before crossing a huge spanned bridge.  If it looks like a real highway, it is not!  It is a narrow two lane roads that winds up and down the mountains.  The rest stop sold drinks, snacks and had bath rooms.  But no water!  I realized that the toilet did not flush, but did not discover the water problem until I had lathered my hands with liquid soap.  There were no towels either. So I had to go all the way to Mascota with soap drying on hands.  Where is Lily Pons when you need her? After two hours we arrived at Mascota.

It is a very charming little town as I had been told.  Judging from the downtown buildings, I would judge that it was a more once a very prosperous town.  The building are more stately and elegant than anything in old Vallarta.  I think it is also older.  Most buildings have very tall windows and doors with a cornice on top.  It is also much cleaner with trash barrels everywhere (no garbage on the corners like Vallarta).  There were many beautiful restaurants with lots of potted flowers.  But we did not eat at one of them.  Instead we ate at a small Mexican restaurant in the market.  After looking at the menu, I decided a club sandwich would be the safest to order.  It was delicious and huge.  It not only had the usual ingredients, but had shredded lettuce, cumbers and peppers.  Your local country club would never recognize it.  We toured the city and the ruins of an old church that looked much like what remains of the Mission of San Juan Capistrano.

After another hour we arrived above Talpa.  There is a look out tower which overlooks the valley.  I managed the hundred or so steps to the top.  Talpa looked more like old Vallarta, but cleaner.  We first visited the Church to the Virgin.  The story I was told was that in the early 1800's a poor Indian (recently converted to Catholicisms).  Found a small statue of the Virgin Mary either in or near a river (not really clear which).  He took her back to his home in Mascota, that night she went back to Talpa.  He brought her back several times, but each time she managed to return to Talpa.  He told his friends about it and they said it was just a doll and he was crazy (WELL ??)  But somehow he managed to convince The Church and it was declared a miracle and he was made a saint.  (Do not ask what I think about this).  All the way from Mascota to Talpa there is a sidewalk beside the road with stone replicas of the virgin where people make the pilgrimage, some on their knees.   I was told that behind the church was a museum that would explain the entire legend to me.  But it was closed.

The original doll (or Virgin) is the small gold statue at the top of the altar.  The church is quite beautiful, but I could not get a good close of of The Virgin,  I took a picture of one of the many replicas that are sold in shops surrounding the square.  I watched my friend and his family approach the altar, praying and offering the flowers.  I was happy they did not made the trek on their knees as many do, but was impressed with their pious prayers.  For a brief moment I wondered if I would be better off if I did believe in something, but I do not.  When I learn more about the other Virgins of Jalisco, you will be the first to know.

PRIMAVERA EN VALLARTA

Those of you in the Frozen North probably think we do not have seasons down here.  This is not true, of course we have no snow. The summer is hot, rainy, and humid. Autumn is well, about the same, but not so much.  Winter brings cooler weather with cool breezes off the water or cold breezes off the mountains. It can get below 60F at night.  (I know that is a warm summer day to you), but it is down right cold to us.  Then spring bursts forth in a riot of colored flowers and trees.  The primavera tree (named for Spring) is the first to blossom out in bright yellow blooms.  The Amapas tree is a cousin with leaves and flowers that look exactly the same, except they are pink.  It follows the primavera by about one month. The blossoms only last a few weeks, but they are spectacular. (Sorry all photos of these spectacular trees went with the stolen computer)

On my own patio  the orange thing in a pot is full of blossoms and the bright red crown of thorns is just beautiful.  The bougainvillea will also come into full bloom, but I would rather it did not.  It blooms at least twice a year and the all blow the patio and down the stairs into me kitchen.  We have all kinds of odd blooming vines and trees.   The pink blossom is just one of my three new plants.  My halcyon has just started to put out its drooping red blossom.

Four years ago the city started to underground the electric lines.  Most of the streets in town have new wide sidewalks with lots of planters and trees.  They are laying down fiber optic lines that have reached as close as one block from me.  Of course my street remains the same with the broken sidewalks and pot holes in the cobble stoned street.  The Flower Club has been responsible for almost all the new planting in old town.  They built all the planters along B. Badillo (other wise known as Restaurant Row).  They sold  commemorative tile plates on the planters.  They started with primevera trees and added lots of bougainvilleas.  The City told them the wires would be underground within a few months (this was four years ago.  Nothing is underground)  The flower club also took over the Plaza Cardenas and the new pedestrian mall going down to the new pier.  They also replanted the median leading to the airport. They have done a tremendous job.

I thought that no where is spring more evident than at the Botanical Gardens, so I planned a trip there with a friend visiting from Canada who had never seen the gardens..  It had been a year since I visited there and at the time the Orchid pavilion had now yet been finished.  After ,my last trip there when I was eaten up my mosquitoes, I covered each of us with repellents and then sprayed our clothing.  Not one bite, but also not so many plants in bloom.  The Orchid pavilion was disappointing.  Then I thought of my friends from Marbella Spain and their gorgeous garden.  One morning a took a cab to their home in Los Gaviotos)  and tried my best to capture the garden.  But, alas, I am not a good photographer.  But here is what I got.  The garden is on two large lots separated by a high wall with an iron gate.  The back of the front door duplicates this view.  They keep three gardens the year round, even though they are only here during the winter.  Recently I had dinner there (20 people at a sit down dinner in the garden)  Life is lovely here for the rich.  Now of course, we must soon face summer but Vallarta will still be in bloom somewhere.

PERILS OF LIVING IN A POOR COUNTRY

Mexico is a very poor country.  The shame of it is that Mexico is very rich in natural resources and blessed with a very hard working population.  Somewhere I read that Mexicans work longer hours per week, than any other civilized country. But the politicians are all very corrupt and steal all the money.  Six families own 60% of all the wealth in Mexico.  I have no idea what the "official" rate of unemployment is in Mexico, but the minimum wage is about $4.00 a DAY!  This is what most of the laborers, bartenders and waiters make here.  Of course the bartenders and waiters also make tips.  So even the employed hardly have enough money to feed their families.

Puerto Vallarta is one of the most expensive cities in Mexico to live in.  Few Mexicans can afford it, so they live in outlying areas. Huge villages spring up around the city dumps.  These people live in cardboard and tin shacks and depend on what they can pull out of the dump to either sell or eat.  In the midst of all this poverty, you drop in a few million gringos who pay over $100 a night for a hotel room, or $1,000 or more for a tiny apartment.  There has been a lot of talk in the political debates in the U.S. about the discrepancy between the rich and the poor in the U,S,  When Mexicans hear this, it sounds like a joke to them.  I truly believe that 90 to 95% of the people here are honest and hard working, but a fraction on the population can wreck a lot of havoc.  In view of the above, no one should be surprised to hear that there are robberies here.  Even in a popular tourist destination like Varrata, there are few jobs.  Ninety percent never go to high school.  Education is free here,  If you are bright and want to become a lawyer or a doctor, the government will pay for your education.  It isn't that they do not appreciate the value of education,  For most of them by the time they are 14 or 15, they must work to help support their families.  Therefore most of the work force are unskilled laborers, which is why labor is so cheap here.

Somehow, for over five years here, I felt perfectly safe.  I had never been robbed, never been accosted or threatened on the streets.  Call me naive and stupid,  HELL I call myself that all the time is this blog.  For over three years I have lived in my present apartment.  I am the only gringo within several blocks, but I know all the Mexicans who live and work here.  I also believe that I am well liked so I always thought they would watch out for me.  In a previous posting I told you about leaving my door open on the street while waiting for the Ciel Water man.  But I laid down and fell asleep.  Talk about STUPID!  It really shook me up to find that money and my camera had been stolen.  I no longer leave that door open when waiting for someone to arrive, so I was beginning to feel safe again.  One Sunday I took off for the beach carrying a beach towel and beach bag.  To anyone watching, it was obvious that I would not be returning soon.  I will never know for sure, if my first robber was the Ciel guy, or a professional burglar who seeing the open door took advantage of it.  He would have seen the computer and TV, but with my sleeping in the next room, probable did not think that he could disconnect them without waking me up.  So, he decided to come back at a later date.  I have been told that they watch you.  There are always guys standing by the tienda, or sitting on the curb drinking.

The first thing I noticed when I arrive home was dirt.  It was on the window sill above the sink, in the sink and on the floor.  I thought some kid must have thrown a dirt clod through the window.  I made a note to speak to Saul about it as his kids play in the yard behind me.  Next I saw paper flowers strewn across the bedroom floor.  I used them under my desk in an attempt to conceal all the wires.  Then I saw that the computer was also gone.  Later I discovered that $300 US dollars were missing from my wallet.   I do not carry that wallet in Mexico but keep it on top of a chest in my closet.  A few days later I was at Frida's talking to a friend of mine.  He was sorry to hear of my loss and said it has happened to him as well.  He has lived here twice as long as I have.  When I told him how odd it was that they removed the bills and then put the wallet back.  He said,"That is what they do"  He went on to say that they are not evil, just desperate.  They think that no gringo would really miss a few hundred, but know that taking the wallet with identification and credit cards would cause us no end of grief.  I was leaving for The States in a few weeks and my passport was also there.  Had they taken it, I could not have left the country.

Why not the credit cards?  In Mexico you cannot charge more than 100 pesos without identification, certainly not a Mexican with a U.S. credit card.  They also left the TV, but not as any act of kindness. When I lock the door, you cannot open it even from the inside without a key, so he had to take every thing back out through the window.  Elvis told me the day I moved in here that the window was a problem.  It was the only window without protective iron bars.  Since it was two stories above the ground I was not concerned,   The thief scaled a ten foot brink wall, inched across a steel beam and then somehow spanned the five feet distance between the bean and the window. .This robbery really shook me up.  When would they come back?  Also I was leaving in a few weeks for California.  I could not leave that window unprotected.  I called Saul and told him I wanted bars added to that window. He asked, "When" and I said, "Now"  He brought the iron guy over and I explained what I needed and wanted it done before I left.  He told me that he would be back in 5 or 6 hours.  Sure enough he showed up with an iron frame and a welding machine.  I had just asked for plain bars, but instead he made it with the same wavy lines that are on all the other windows in the house.  He charged 980 pesos (less than $60.00)!  Can you imagine having such a thing hand wrought, painted and installed in 6 hours for so little.  But that shows that even the skilled workers with their own shops earn very little (I gave him a heavy tip)

With the doors and windows locked the only way into my place would be to break the lock on the front door.  The door is metal and it is a double lock, so unlikely.  Still you are left with an uneasy feeling.  Later someone asked me what if they produced a gun.  They don't have guns.  Being caught with a fire arm will result in heavy jail sentences.  Oh Yes, the drug cartel has plenty of machine guns and grenades, but not your average crook.  Unlike the U.S. where there are more guns than people.

When I returned everything was still here.  I had given Filipe some money just to water my plants while I was gone.  He also came back to turn lights on and off so it looked as it someone was here.  He had also sent his wife over the clean the whole place.  Yes, there are thieves among us, but the general population is really nice.

MARDI GRAS EN PUERTO VALLARTA

They say that Mexico is 98% Catholic.  Well maybe, but I only know one Mexican who regularly attends mass.  They will tell you that they are Catholic, but most only visit a church for a christening, marriage, or a funeral.  But that does not mean that they shun all the holidays.  Mexicans love any excuse to party and get drunk.  Now Christmas is mostly spent at home with families, but the first twelve days of December celibrate The Virgin of Guadalupe with parades and parties.  Easter is the  biggest holiday going on for two weeks.  Santa Semana is the week before Easter when Mexicans flood into the coastal towns for a week of beach, drinking and partying.  The following week is when the wealthy Mexicans come to Vallarta.  No, I have no idea why.  My personal favorite is The Festival of Santa Cruz.  It is supposed to be 10 days but often lasts longer.  My street is closed to traffic and a carnival is set up with kiddy rides and booths.  There are candle light vigils,  Indians in colorful costumes dancing in the street.  Now, what the Indian dances have to do with the Holy Cross no one has explained to me.  It ends with a four story fire cracker.

Mardi Gras is a Catholic celebration although I do not know what the Vatican's official stance is on all the revelry.  In Vallarta it is mostly a gay event, almost like Gay Pride week.  It is certainly not Rio or New Oleans, but it is a very fun celebration. The parade is of made up  of floats of balloons on trucks, or crepe paper on cars consists mainly of half nude men and drag queens.  I can only imagine what the Vatican would think, if they saw Puerto Vallarta on Mardi Gras.  Our previous mayor also had a dim view of the festivities and decided he wanted it to be a "family friendly" event.  "Family friendly Mardi Gras ?  Really !!  He discouraged the gay participation and moved the parade strictly to the Malecon.  It was a disaster! This was the same corrupt  mayor who completely emptied the city treasury before leaving office.  Our current mayor took office with no money to pay anything.  The trash collector threatened to stop picking up the garbage on the street, so the mayor fired 75% of the police department in order to have money for the trash collection.  A smart move in my opinion.  The police are so corrupt, they do little to enforce the law anyway.  You may think this is an awful situation, but personally I like living in a country where you can buy your way out of almost any problem.

The parade route for Mardi Gras has never been closed to all other traffic and this year with almost no police, it was even more hectic.  People just trying to get home or to dinner get caught up in the parade.  For the most part they are good natured about it, and roll down their windows and wave to the crowd.  It starts at the Sheraton Hotel downtown winding it was across the river and ends on Olas Altos.  This year they said Thirty Thousands spectators lined the streets and sidewalks for the couple miles of the parade route.  It lasts for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Jennifer was to finish the make up for one of the bartenders who was on the Frida float (really just an open jeep with balloons).  I took a picture of it from the balcony before it left.  I met her upstairs at Fridas  There isn't a downstairs anymore.  The night before the ceiling collapsed.  The bar has been in decline for years.  I only go there to see my friend Filipe.  It happened at one in the morning, so there weren't that many people in the bar. Most were seated at tables (probably no longer able to stand).  One  poor sole was at the bar when the fan fell on the bar.  He interned on crutches and left in an ambulance.  I was told it was his first night in Vallarta and while certainly memorable, I doubt he will return.  No one else was hurt that badly, just some cuts and bruises from the falling plaster.  When Filipe saw the fan fall on the bar he went out from behind the bar to shut off the electricity just when the ceiling came down.  Always a little excitement here.  Two days later The City closed it down and condemned the whole building until repairs were made.  My poor friend Filipe is now out of a job,

We then went down to a new bar that opened on a corner with a good view of the parade route.  There must have been over 100 people packed into a bar smaller than my living room.  Most spilled out onto the side walk.  There are no laws against drinking anywhere, but you could not take glass outside the bar.  I still have trouble with night photos, but managed to get in between some people to get a few shots.  Each year it gets bigger and better and attracts more and more people.  Once it was over I left Jennifer there and headed home.  By this time she was dancing in the street and she later told me that from there, they went up to La Noche's roof top garden and then back to Fridas.  I would have passed out by then. From my recent blogs you must think that we have a party every week. Sadly sometimes it seems so to me too.

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AOL.COM UGH ! (NO TRANSLATION)

When living in a foreign country, the internet is essential.  You need it to handle finances, pay bills, make travel reservations, and mostly for communication.  Yes, I do have a Magic Jack phone line, when the internet is working.  I have already told you of all the problems with dealing with Telecable.  To further the chaos, there is AOL.COM.  For forty or fifty years, I have used AOL for my email account.  Every morning, I check it and usually one or more times a day.  For all these years, all I had to do was click on "Mail" and there were my messages (as long as I was using my own computer) Since I have friends around the globe, that is the only way I can keep in touch with people.  The postal system here is so bad that even the Government Utility companies won't use it.  They send their employees to each house to deliver the bill every other month.  A friend in The States once sent me a Christmas card, and I did get it.  IN MARCH!!   Although I do have a Mexican phone, most  of my "snow bird" friends to not, so they use email to communicate while they are in Mexico.

For the past many months, when I try to log on AOL they want me to sign up again.  First they ask for my user name.  Once I type that in the "password" automatically pops up.  But when I click "sign in", it rejects the password.  I did not type it in, AOL put it up.  How could it be wrong?  So you click on "forgot password", but the problems just starts there.  They want to send me a new password to my cell phone or an alternate email account.  Well, of course they cannot send it to the only email account I have because it won't open.  But I do not have an alternate email account, nor do I have a cell phone in the United States.  It will not accept my Magic Jack number because it does not take text messages.  I have tried my Mexican cell phone, but it has too many digits, so I am stuck.  Nothing to do but to click on "Help".  They take you through of series of possible problems, none of which is any help to me, while they also try to sell you new programs.

You have to page through reams of stuff before they finally offer a phone for "custom service"  What a misnomer that is!  I have files for everything  including one for AOL where I had written down a telephone number for them, but of course it was disconnected.  I have also written down all the different passwords they have made me come up with, but none are any good.  So I call the new number and wait, and wait and wait.  Finally someone for whom English is obviously not their native tongue (I think India or maybe Pakistan)   Of course I was not in a good mood having been trying to get to my mail for nearly an hour.  Apparently she did not like my tone of voice because she hung up on me.  (Or maybe it was when I apologized for not speaking Farsi)


The next time  I try to be a little more civil.  After explaining my problem with no alternate email or an American cell phone, she gives me a temporary password.  It is all caps, but my user name is lower case.  So it takes me a few attempts to get it right.  Then it wants a new password (typed twice, why I do not know)  I type in my usual password and they say they cannot accept it as they already have it on record.  Well then Why in the Hell did it not work??  So I come up with a variation of the number which I immediately wrote on my AOL file.  Once it opened I asked her again why this is necessary every few months.  She said it was for my own security.  Security for what?  I am not accessing my bank accounts or credit cards.  It is just stupid email (most of it spam).  It is not as if I carry secret classified documents on it.  Then she said that I must have a "bug" and for $4.99 a month they can fix that. AHA!!  Now I know why they are doing this.  They want to start charging me for what is supposed to be a free account.  Who ever said, "follow the money" knew what they were talking about.  I think it was Deep Throat (no not Linda Lovelace)

So, for the time being I have email again and can get and receive messages.  Of course this very blog was set up over 5 years ago as a way of letting my friends around the globe follow my life in Mexico with my having to write each one of them (another example of my laziness).  But I now have more readers than I have friends (dead of alive).   My blog server has a stat mode they tells me how many readers I have per day and per month. This month it shows 330 readers (more people than friends than I have had in my life. .  A map of the world lights up from light green to dark green depending how many readers I have in that country.  According to the map, I have more readers in Alaska, Russia and China than any country except The U.S.  Who are you?  Not to dismiss my Alaskan readers, but I am most interested in China and Russia.  One would think I would be banned in those countries.  Or, maybe Putin and Xi Jinping actually encourage readers to my blog as an example of the decadence of us Capitalist Pigs!   I would love to hear from you.  A few of my friends send me comments, but not many.  Don't be afraid to expose your email account.  You know I do not sell anything on my blog and I promise not to barrage you with stupid email jokes (too lazy for that).
With that in mind ......

Hasta Lluego!

lagunalary@aol.com