Water, Water, Everywhere . . .

Found in a restaurant in Patzcuaro, Michoacan.  Works for me!!

No duct tape here!

Clear packing tape and twine works for many things in Mexico!!

Only in Mexico!

Notice the power pole ascending directly through the building (inside the living room upstairs) and out the roof? I presume the building was built around the pole, but then, this is Mexico, so who knows . . .

Further down in this section on Mexican Moments you will find another photo along these lines.

What Architect?

I can't imagine how this front door was designed to be so far from the sidewalk. And then need such tall, skinny steps to reach the door threshold. The architect (yeah right) who designed this house obviously didn't measure correctly in order to get the floor of the house even close to level with the sidewalk.

Have Chop Shop, Will Travel

I came home from breakfast and the old blue car that had been sitting across the street for months, without moving, was being taken apart by two industrious men.  The car couldn't be driven to the junkyard and a towing fee was out of the question, so the "chop" guys came to the car.  By mid-afternoon, this was what the skeleton looked like.

Working with nothing more than a small crowbar, a mallet, a hacksaw and a sledge hammer, by evening all that was left sitting on the street were the two ripped up seats.  Everything else had been carted away in pieces.

Tourist Trip to Michoacan

My friend Susy and I recently took a 3 day "tourist" trip to Michoacan. We've been to this state southeast of Jalisco many times, but usually to look for new artesania or artists. This time we decided to see some sights like tourists.

Here are some atypical-colored street dogs resting under a truck.

This is another one for my Mexican Moments file. If you run out of room on your sign, just keep going on the next line . . . This sign is advertising "Coctel de Frutas con Chantilly" which translates, "Fruit Cocktail with Whipped Cream".

In the middle of a very small village we found a church with it's altar wall of gold. It was very dark inside the church, hence the poor quality of the photo, but it gives you some idea of it's splendor. We were told that the local priest was caught stealing gold from the church, so now there is someone to watch over the church day and night. When we were there a woman was sitting in a pew reading a newspaper, but keeping a close eye on us.

In the plaza of this same tiny village we found a carnival with children's rides. This old truck really stuck me as something special. I can image hours of fun to be had by kids riding around and around in circles.

In the churchyard of the Growing Christ (A statue of Christ was taken out of it's glass coffin to be cleaned and when it was returned it no longer fit. The foot portion of the coffin was extended about one foot to accomodate the growing statue.) we found these very old olive trees growing. I imagine they were planted back when the church was built in the mid-1500's. Their trunks were large around and looked like cork, with spindly growth at the tops.

Portable Fire

In the doorway of this woman's house was a wheelbarrow in which she had built a fire and was cooking tortillas on her comal. I backed up and jumped out of the car to ask if I could take a photo. She graciously said yes while her adult daughter laughed at the gringa. I think they are inventive and resilient. What do they think of US . . .?

Watch That Last Step!!

I've driven past this site many times but never saw this staircase. I don't think I'm so in LaLa land that I would miss this unusual sight, so I assume that it has recently been built.

Mexican Moments--another ongoing post

The dicatomy of Mexico is so evident in daily life--Mexico is the 19th century running headlong into the 21st. A perfect example is the day I saw a man along side the road riding his burro and talking on his cell phone. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a photo. However, since then I've kept my camera handy to record the peculiar things I see in Mexico; things that simply wouldn't happen in the US.

If you run out of room on your sign, just keep going on the next line . . . This sign is advertising "Coctel de Frutas con Chantilly" which translates, "Fruit Cocktail with Whipped Cream".

Here's a guy along the highway herding his burros home. The fire wood may be for heating his home during the winter or for daily cooking.












The owners extended the upper floor out over the sidewalk, not thinking that perhaps the power pole might be in the way. Can't move the pole so correct the construction to fit the circumstance. Didn't the architect or planning department notice? What planning department? There are building codes?--not.

Blueprints don't seem to be used much here either. IF there's a blueprint at a building site, no one involved in the construction can read it. There don't seem to be any building codes either. A light switch may be behind a door and anywhere from 3 to 4 feet from the floor. Oh, well . . .

ESSSSS MEXICO!