Nuevo Leon
The trip-odometer showed 998 miles when we pulled into the driveway last night around 10pm. We figure its a 400 mile 7hr drive from here to Villa de Santiago, the first town south of Monterrey on Mex 85. Though on the way down on Monday it took us about 12hrs. Except for buying Mexican insurance we left as if we were going on a local camping trip. Which was fine, except we weren't carrying our latest registration papers for the 4-Runner, and we had neglected to renew the registration on our popup camper at all last October. So that meant about three hours, fairly leisurely spent walking around Laredo, TX to get the registrations updated before heading back to window #4 in the Mexican border office to get our sticker. The toll road to Monterrey cost $27, was straight and very fast -- about 2hrs. It was about 4pm when we got to the outskirts of Monterrey, so with our vague map we decided to attempt circling the city to avoid traffic on our way to Santiago. We paid some more tolls, which turned out to be completely unnecessary, and drove on some rough roads which turned out could have been avoided. But once we stopped in to a drive through beer hut for some Carta Blancas and began drinking and driving, it felt like our mini-vacation had finally begun.

It wasn't much farther to town, where after two or three stops to ask for directions, we made it to our campground home. The Bahia Escondida Hotel claimed to have a KOA Kampground - something I would avoid in the US, but the description I read said only 26 sites and the pictures looked nice. We soon found we were the only ones in the campground, and it appeared in the entire sprawling complex which contained a big hotel and various swimming pools, racket courts and lounging areas (all closed up more or less for the season, which was fine by us). The camping area was pretty small. Perhaps too small for today's big-rig 40' RVs, which again was just fine with us. We enjoyed having the place to ourselves, except for a few regulars, employees of the hotel, who used it as a trail to some place. And Sharon noticed the women's shower had been used one morning, though we never saw a single woman in the area. It was right by the water and except for the especially affluent neighbors across the inlet, was very quiet and private. After getting set up and fiddling with the circuit breakers in the unoccupied gate office to get power to run a light and our coffee maker (yes, we've evolved in terms of what we call camping), we had a great night's sleep. Dreams became ever more vivid each night we stayed there, much more so than my dreams at home. Was the same when we went to San Miguel de Allende several years ago.

We awoke to find the view much fuller with craggy mountains than we had realized since it was getting dim when we arrived. Over the next three days we explored the town. First day was nice and slow. We wandered around the streets from the pretty plaza central in the town of Santiago, and had pizza at one of the two Italian restaurants surrounding the small plaza. Had dinner back at the campground. Next day was kind of overcast, so we walked the market just north of town (Las Cavazos) -- roadside shops selling the latest designs in pine furniture, corn cakes and barbeque buffets of descending price as we walked around the circuit. Most people seemed pleased to see the somewhat rare sight of people walking a dog in their town. Having Victor made things interesting. He seemed to get people offguard a little and we were hardly accosted to buy anything in the market. We met and spoke with Jesse, the 84yr old ex-baseball player with biceps of steel (we felt em through his White Sox jacket), who ran a cute little shop selling artisan stuff from Oaxaca and Guanajuato. He parlayed to us one of his poems - a sweet ode to his beautiful wife who passed away 30yrs before.

Later in the afternoon we drove back down the road we had come in with (Mex 36) to see the very impressive Cueva de la Boca, and chatted with the delightful owner of the roadside beer stand, who lived across the street and made it his business to know as much as he could about the bats which inhabited the cave. When we were ready to leave, arrived Toni, a short squat older man with slick black hair who seemed to be bragging -- about being a professional photographer (we kinda doubted it), and having a friend with a boat who could show us and around. Toni also had a weekend cabin up in the mountains to which he said we must join him tomorrow night. All a bit fast -- but we did follow him back in to town where he met his friend with the boat who Toni hastened to go out and buy a six pack of Tecate's which the four of us enjoyed on his tour boat. The boat, accessed by a short runway of old plywood planks over the ever changing shoreline of the lake, was rented out to tours and had its own built in mini discotheque. It started to rain, and Toni bid his friend to go roll up his windows for him. Our impression of Toni was consolodating. Probably just a lonely guy with a misguided approach to winning friends and influencing people. He called his wife on the cell, telling her she may have guests at the cabin this weekend. Well, we were leaving in the morning, and even if we liked Toni we felt like exploring on our own rather than being guided around by someone already familiar with all the sites.

The skies cleared again the next morning so we went to Cola de Caballo (Horestail Falls). I'd been to this area and seen these falls a few years ago when I was working in Monterrey. Worth a second look, especially with the one you love. Hardly anybody else there as it was mid week and definitely the off season for this town. Things get much busier on weekends, mainly from Easter until September. We spoke with the young man working the t-shirt booth at the top of the walkway to the falls. He spoke very clearly, and like the bat-man the day before, was great at correcting my Spanish. Both were also eager to practice their English. The t-shirt vendor said he came here from Veracruz where the pay was about US$30 per week. Here he could make 3 or 4 times that much. The majority of people in Monterrey are from someplace else.

After the falls, we did take Toni's advice, and continued on the mountain road up to Laguna de Sanchez. It was an extremely gorgeous drive, but I'll leave the details to this great translated description, which tells it as well as any picture could (and we left the camera at home, on purpose).

Friday morning I chatted with our campground neighbors that had pulled in the night before. Two french-Canadian couples from Edmonton. I'd never met french speaking people from out west before. "There's 35,000 of us", the man told me, and I felt quite ignorant about my own country. He told me a great story...

This Canadian man lost his arm in a combine accident when he was young. Now retired, they often took trips to Puerta Vallarta. He met an eighteen year-old Mexican man working in a hotel who had recently lost his arm - in a dough-kneading machine in his families tortilleria. The amputation was in the same spot on the same arm, and the Canadian man thought his prothesis would fit. The Mexican kid tried it on and was shown how it worked. The Canadian man also gave some advice: "You can do anything you set your mind on" A few months later, back in Edmonton, the man got a new prothesis, and sent the old one down to his new friend. Some time later, a letter arrived from Mexico telling about the young man's progress, how he got a better job and was saving money to buy a tortilla making machine in order to open his own tortilla shop. He did just that, causing a rift between him and his family. The mexican man is doing very well with his business and the Canadian's family are treated like royalty now when they go back to Puerto Vallarta. "You are my angel sent down from heaven", the young man tells him when he comes to visit.

I thought this would make a wonderful screenplay, clichés and all. I didn't get either man's name, but figure it would be easy enough to track down the one-armed tortilla shop owner in Puerto Vallarta.

On the way back we stopped for lunch at what we think of as the best seafood restaurant in Monterrey, -- Los Arcos. Then after a long stretch of traffic heading north out of town we were on our way (I think the circular route we took coming in was worth it, despite our getting lost). The whole trip was a big learning experience. We'd both do it again anytime we have a stretch of time. So much for the senses to enjoy.

  posted by John : 5:58 AM

 
Wheel of Time
We watched this Werner Herzog documentary tonight, about the especially large pilgrimage of Buddhist monks to Bodh Gaya in India. Most indelible were the images of the young man making his way across the high plains scooting forward 5 ft on his hands then standing in prayer after each stride (another man interviewed said it took 3-1/2 years to cover the 3,000 miles from his home to the Ganges this way).



Life for these people is about as opposite to ours here as I can imagine.

Early tomorrow morning Sharon, Victor and I will take off on a trip to a campground just outside of Monterrey, Mexico. A bit far to go camping, but its more about getting our feet wet in the realm of travel by car in Mexico, being as close as we are to the border (4 to 5hrs from here to Laredo, another 2-1/2 to Monterrey). Hopefully making this trip will help shed all the aversions so that we can continue to explore the wonders of our neighbor to the south.

  posted by John : 7:31 PM

 
I'm not quite ready to Kill Bill yet. Never saw it before, and parts 1 and 2 have percolated at the top of our Netflix queue for a while now. But after reading about how the film Sullivan's Travels inspired the Coen brother's O' Brother Where Art Thou?, I decided to put a bunch of Preston Sturges movies on top. Sharon and I have been spending most of our time working at her mother's house, cleaning and making improvements for her as she comes back home from the hospital today. Old slapstick comedies will do us well in the evening.

  posted by John : 6:01 AM

 
You know its time to go to bed when you find yourself enjoying the archives at the dullest blog in the world.

  posted by John : 8:33 PM

 
Web-search triggers memories


While googling for "Sault Ste Marie", I came across an email from Reg Hartt posted to the web. Reg Hartt runs the Cineforum from his house on Bathurst St. in Toronto. In time and space, in my mind, Reg cross references to Crad Kilodney. Who doesn't remember Crad's numerous booklets, self-published and self-peddled year round on the streets of Toronto, with great titles like Blood Sucking Monkeys from North Tonawanda? Hadn't thought of him in a LONG time. Now I see his little self published books command big $. Though more down to earth prices are listed on abebooks.net. He has a slew of recent writings and a complete bibliography on his web site: www.cradkilodney.net. I rememeber we read almost all of those (Pork College doesn't ring a bell). What ever happened to those copies - of Excrement, Who Chewed Mrs. Ewings Raw Guts, and all the rest? Dan??

To show how little things have changed, this blogger, who also used to stop to chat with Kilodney back in the day, says that Crad is willing to write, if he could just get paid.

  posted by John : 7:33 PM

 
Digital pens
Sleepless, I began to think it was time there were some decent pen-input devices for computers available. So you could draw pictures and add them to an email easily, without a scanner. I haven't actually tried using any kind of pen-device since propbably 10 years ago, when they were slow and not very useful for handwriting. But I got sidetracked from looking into devices that interact directly with a computer, like digitizers and tablets. Instead I found there are a breed of devices that interact with paper. Specialized paper, from Swedish company Anoto, that has tiny dots on it to help the pen orient itself. A wee camera on the tip captures what is drawn relative to a sheet of paper, and allows export of the finished page to a computer (or cell phone) with USB or Bluetooth. This could actually be useful in my job, where I'm often taking copious notes and recreating cryptic drawings from whiteboards in my notebooks. And it would have a high wow factor as a new gadget ... "Oh, this old thing?". The only one that seems to be available outside Europe/Japan is the Logitech io2. A report of a recent such device, with shapes of things to come: LeapFrog's FLY pentop computer

  posted by John : 4:13 AM

 
Separated at birth?




  posted by John : 7:53 AM

 
Z-Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
Last night we watched this documentary by Xan Cassavettes (daughter of multitalented John). It informs of the pay cable TV station which hit the air in L.A. just prior to the time when films were available on VHS. I don't think there's been anything like it since. Here's a list of films discussed in this doc - a good reference when searching for yet another film to rent.

  posted by John : 10:56 AM