Waking up in Mexico

Waking up in Mexico is not like waking up at home. We are in the mountains and you can hear the city buses whining as they try to climb the steep roads. Besides the buses, taxis, cars and motor bikes are plentiful. Dispersed between the sounds of various motor vehicles are dogs barking. German Shepherds are on roof tops and behind the gates of home owners garages. Dogs roam the streets without collars scrounging for food. I expected them to be roving in bands, but really all I've seen is one here or there. They have all been smaller than my own dog and mind there own business and pay little attention to pedestrians, except to keep their distance.

Occasionally a rooster will crow. A few days ago, a man with a burro carrying heavy side packs came walking down the Panoramica (Ashley's road). It seems strange to have the farm animals right here in the city. Almost no one has any yard to speak of and the houses are not all separate even, you may share a wall with your neighbor.

I was surprised that there was no hot water in the kitchen. I didn't even know that they make dish liquid for use especially in cold water. There is hot water late in the morning, when the pipes have warmed up, but that is the only time. The bathroom however has all the modern conveniences, and I enjoy a long hot shower. Why do they have hot water in the bathrooms and not the kitchen? I like what Ashley has to say about it....it's just a different way of doing things, it's not wrong or bad it's just not the same as we are used to. My daughter, Ashley had told me that very few people have dryers here, they hang their clothes up on the roof tops. I hung my clothes outside for probably the first 15-20 years of being a housewife and I still love the smell of air dried clothing. I've helped Ashley fold the laundry and I must confess I've done my share fair of sniffing them. I don't believe any amount of fabric softener can make them smell any better than the wind the good Lord invented.

I've heard some cool exotic sounding bird calls, when we've been out for a walk, but I haven't been able to locate the bird. We saw some lizards yesterday, small dark colored ones. Ashley said she hasn't seen them before, so they must not be plentiful like I thought they would be.

I look out the window and see mountains as far as I can look in both directions. Houses are lining the streets as they wind up the sides of the mountains. The first day I was here, I watched two men and a dog walk up the mountain. Here and there on the mountain tops you can see large crosses. Some times just one, as is on the mountain I was referring to and sometimes there is two or three in a cluster. Ashley & Miguel showed me the one she & Miguel climbed, she said it was unbelievably hard to get to the top. I think I'll pass this trip.

The cold tile floor greats my feet as I climb out of bed. I brought my own General Foods International coffee with me and make myself a cup in the microwave. Everyone uses bottled water and a street vendor goes by every morning chanting in a loud drawn out voice, "gas" and "agua" (water), so you can buy it from them without a trip to the store. Yes, waking up in Mexico is very different from waking up in Michigan where I will soon be taking the dog out to potty behind the snowbanks and drive the slippery roads to work. I think I'll climb back in bed and dream of spending my winters here in Mexico.