Sunday 12th February 2017...a quick trip down memory lane!!!

I was going through my photos in my album and came across this folder with these shots in ...would like to share them with you great memories!!!

Newfoundland!!!!

Some where in New Zealand!!

Bryce !!

My girls San Miguel de Allende...

DANIELA                                                                               PAOLA



The Jardin SMA!!

Vancouver Island!!!

Retirement is not ALL play and enjoy!!!!

After my Dad the two men who touched my life!!!
KEN!!!

and ROY!!!

One of the most amazing sights in Mexico on Three King's Day!!!

Those girls again!!!

Somewhere on a mountain in Mexico!!

Dinner with special friends Paula and Jerry!!!

My Mum and my first day as a Policeman!!!

I have this for my mantra!!!

Never knew why my Mum would put me in a dress!!!!!!!

My Dad with his Great Grandson Tom!!!!

I enjoyed those hope you did too!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Friday 10th February 2017..... a lovely hike!!

I went to Gail, Arlene, Larry and Doug's hotel this morning at 8.30 am and escorted them out of town they are on their way to see the butterflies in a sanctuary about 3 hours away..it was so nice to connect with them all again I am blessed with marvelous friends.

I then went to the local grocery store where I had advertised on the civil list forum if anyone wanted to join me on a hike and three lovely ladies showed up and off we went to the Pressa.

I liked this photo..

On the way we passed this huge expensive development and they have  a huge horse arena and a large meet was taking place!!

Never seen a horse dressed like this!!!

The day was sunny and warm and the Pressa was calm and peaceful!!

We had a good walk and stopped here for a bite to eat and watch the birds!!!!

Traffic on the way back!!

Also took them to see this......

In the 10 years I have been coming here this property has remained unfinished no idea of the story but it is a wonderful piece of architecture and must have cost a lot of money...I am surprised in all these years it remains intact and not damaged or subject to graffiti!!

We were gone just over three hours and they ladies enjoyed themselves we will meet again and do another hike next Friday!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Thursday 9th February 2017...tour guide!!!

My wonderful and special friends arrived in town yesterday afternoon and I went to their hotel after poker and it was so good to sit and chat and catch up.......I have known Gail and Larry since 1980 and we have a great bond.....Arlene and Doug have been good friends for a few years now.......I invited them to come to my  English class last night and my students just loved hearing their stories we had a great class!!!!
Afterwards we went out for a really nice dinner and I promised them today a full day guided tour!!!!



I went to their hotel at 10 am and with Larry driving away we went......
The first stop was one of the two miriadors(look outs) that give a magnificent view of the town.....

                                      LARRY              GAIL                ARLENE             DOUG


Then it was out of town to one of the biggest trees in Mexico.....see Doug trying to get a close up!!!!

 Then to the beautiful world heritage church at Atotonico.......I could not figure out how to turn my flash off so I could not photos inside the church but trust me the ceilings are full of these amazing murals..it is on of the nicest churches I have seen!!!

 Love this shot!!!

Then it was time for R & R at the La Gruta hot springs.....we spent a few wonderful hours here with lunch and enjoying the warm waters...one of the special features here is that off this pool below is a 50 foot passage leading to a cave where a small waterfall flows and you can stand under and get refreshed....

 It was a great day..I left them at their hotel and I went home and got cleaned up and went down town to a small fish restaurant where I had been invited to meet with my students from my class two years ago....I love meeting with them it just thrills me that they want to  see me and we talked and had a lot of fun as you can tell, sadly only a few of them were able to come!!!

Afterwards I went to where I had recommended G&;L and A&;D to have dinner and we sat and chatted a while!!!

great looking friends I have!!!

It has been really special for me to connect with them again and I look forward to next time sorry it was such a short visit safe travels back to the coast!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Tuesday 7th February 2017...who would want to be here??

For those of my readers who do not know about Ramona here is a brief history....

When I retired in December of 2006 I bought myself a brand new Motor home and named her Ramona and for the next 6 years we spent over 1300 nights together, traveled 88000 miles and covered most of Canada, USA and Mexico.

In 2011 when I decided to move to San Miguel I sold her to my local barber and he still has her and here you see here parked in his driveway in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island......this shot was taken yesterday.....

So I ask who would want to be here???

On a more serious note look what happens when we cut down too many trees without a good reforestation program in place!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Monday 6th February 2017....a special day for Mexico!!

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February 5th is the official date when the Mexican constitution was formed in 1917 after signing of a convention by Venustiano Carranza. Up until 2006, the day was celebrated in Mexico on 5th February itself. However, following the new labor law, the day is now celebrated on the first Monday of February, irrespective of the date. The day is celebrated to commemorate the formation of a new Mexican constitution.

The constitution of Mexico has undergone several changes. It was in 1910 that the people of Mexico began getting restless with the old constitution of Mexico which was established in 1857. This led to the Mexican revolution in 1910, resulting in the ouster of General Diaz, who was known to be an oppressive ruler. What followed was a series of fights among the Mexican rulers themselves, resulting in assassination of quite a few political leaders.

It was in 1913 that Pancho Villa formed a huge army which fought inside forces on the side of those in favor of a new constitution, namely Venustiano Carranza. After a long struggle, Pancho Villa was successful in ousting the rebellion forces and Venustiano Carranza was sworn to presidency. It was in 1917 that Carranza signed an important convention which resulted in the formation of the new constitution. The new Mexican constitution laid emphasis on land reforms and fair land distribution among the poor. The constitution is in effect till date.

The day is one of the major public holidays in Mexico. All the offices, schools and most businesses are closed on this day. The day is celebrated with grand parades across the nation, much like the celebration of Constitution Day in other parts of the world.

A lot of music concerts and other festivities are also arranged on this day, and people can be seen enjoying the day with great pride and honor. Sale of liquor is banned 3 days prior to the day up until the day itself. Exchanging of gifts and pleasantries is also not uncommon on this day, as this is one of the most important festivals in the country.

Yashi Kochi!!!

Sunday 5th February 2017...a day of Mexican culture!!!!

Today I went to the big city of Querétaro about one hour's drive away to attend a wonderful event called a Charreada...




A charreada is held within a marked-off area of an arena consisting of a lane 12 meters (13 yards) wide by 60 meters (66 yards) long leading into a circle 40 meters (44 yards) in diameter.

The participants must wear traditional charro clothing while performing.

Preceding the events is an opening ceremony in which the organizations and participants parade into the arena on horseback, usually accompanied by a mariachi band playing.

The charreada itself consists of a number of scoring events staged in a particular order—nine for the men and one for the women. Two or more teams, called asociaciones, compete against each other. Teams can compete to become state, regional, and national champions. The competitors are judged by both style and execution. Unlike rodeos, most charreadas do not award money to the winners.This is due to the fact that charreadas are considered an amateur sport, not professional. Under Mexican laws it would be illegal to receive a monetary reward for participating in a charreada. At times there are such prizes as saddles or horse trailers.

Charreria

Men's events
Cala de Caballo (Test of the horse); The charro puts his horse though various commands to demonstrate his ability and the horse's training. Controlled slide, left and right half, full, and triple turns, dismount and mount, and reverse walk are performed.

Piales en Lienzo (Roping of the feet); a horseman must throw a lariat, let a wild mare run through the loop catching it by the hind legs. Three opportunities are given. Points are awarded for distance needed to stop the mare. This is done in the rectangular portion of the arena;

Colas en el Lienzo, or Coleadero (Arena bull tailing) similar to bull dogging except that the rider does not dismount; the charro rides alongside the left side of the bull, wraps its tail around his right leg, and tries to cause the bull fall and roll as he rides past it. Points are given for technique, time, and roll of the bull.

Jineto de Toro similar to the rodeo event. Bulls are smaller, between 990 and 1320 pounds, and are ridden until they stop bucking. Two hands can be used on the bullrope.  Points are given for technique. The charro cannot fall off, he must dismount and land upright. After the charro dismounts the bull he must remove the bullrope and bellrope so the Terna en el Ruedo can follow.

Terna en el Ruedo (Team of three); a team roping event in which three charros attempt to rope a bull - one by its neck, one by its hind legs, and the last then ties its feet together. They have a maximum of 10 minutes. Points are awarded for rope tricks and time.

Jineteo de Yegua (Bareback on a wild mare); similar to bareback bronc riding. Yegua means mare. A wild mare is riden with a bullrope. Two hands are used and the legs are held horizontally to the ground.

Manganas a Pie (Roping on foot) a charro on foot (pie) has three opportunities to rope a wild mare by its front legs and cause it to fall and roll once. The wild mare is chased around the ring by three mounted charros. Points are awarded for time and rope tricks as long as the horse is roped and brought down. Extra points are given for the tirón del ahorcado (hanged pull) in which the rope is around the charro's neck and he uses his body to cause the mare to fall and roll. Points for all three attempts are cumulative. Eight minutes are given.

Manganas a Caballo
or (Roping from horseback); a charro on horseback has three opportunities to rope a wild mare by its front legs and cause it to fall and roll once. The wild mare is chased around the ring by three mounted charros. Points are awarded for time and rope tricks as long as the horse is roped and brought down. Points for all three attempts are cumulative. Eight minutes are given.

El Paso de la Muerte (The pass of death) a charro riding bareback, with reins, attempts to leap from his own horse to the bare back of a wild horse without reins and ride it until it stops bucking. The most dangerous part of this is if the charro performing the pass falls under three other mounted charros that are chasing the wild mare around the arena ring. This is done backwards at times for show.

Women's event

Escaramuza (Skirmish): Since the 1950's, this breath-taking event adds beauty and elegance to the Charreada. During this event a team of 8-12 women riding sidesaddle and dressed in colorful Adelita dresses perform a variety of precision riding techniques. Years of training by the rulebook make this event art, sport, and an extension of the culture that is Charreria. It is usually held between the Coleadero and the Jineteo de Toro.


Enjoy the photos I took!!!

I have never seen anything quite like it and it was very entertaining , colorful and a lovely day out mixing with the local people who were so friendly!!!

I was home in time to watch the last quarter and the overtime of the Super Bowl that was exciting too...

Yashi Kochi!!!!

Saturday 4th February 2017...an easy day!!

It was the usual Saturday morning gig up at 7 am and watch a live soccer game from England..this was a good one to watch because my brother's team were playing so when ever the camera's scanned the crowd I kept looking for Malc!!!!  He would be a happy camper as he team managed a rare victory!!!!

I then got on my hiking boots and went for a nice long hike..first down to the tracks and as you look at the shot below where the track ends up on that big hill is a cross and that was where I was heading...

Told you there was a cross there!!!

 Great views looking back over the town

 or ahead over the Pressa!!!

 The railway track that goes through town...

 and finally looking back up at the cross!!

I then walked into town and this is St.Paul's church love the outside and the gardens!!

For two weeks every February Parque Juarez turns into a huge flower and plant sale site!!!

 You can purchase any kind of flower or plant you want it is a huge sale and always well attended!!

 and I treated myself to these for 75 pesos!!!

Tonight I went to a one man play at the small and lovely Shelter Theater...it only holds about 40 people and it was sold out and good reason the play was wonderful and the actor incredible!!!

Home in time to watch the Vancouver Canucks hockey game!!!

Yashi Kochi!!!

Wednesday 1st February 2017...a new month already!!!

You know by now on the first of the month to start the day with rabbits, rabbits, rabbits for good luck!!!!

Poker this afternoon and I was back on the winning track only 15 pesos but a win is a win!!

It has been quite a difficult few days with lots going on and tonight at class all my students were there and we talked about the loss of Martha and how it impacts our lives and I felt they just needed to talk for a while and then to get on with our studies.....as it is Wednesday it was pay it forward day and I always get amazed at them the things they do for other people without question but we all say the same thing it feels so good to us to give or to do something for a stranger.....they have so accepted the concept and I see in the body language and their thought process that they do get it and they are passing it forward to everyone they meet.......we ended the class we me giving them chocolate and we all hugged and told each other we loved everyone...quite moving!!!

Blessings to all my readers!!!

Yashi Kochi!!