Playing piano is a hobby that I’ve tried to incorporate more into my life (as in, practicing more) since I stopped working at a job at the end of 2019. I have gotten better, though it doesn’t always seem that way!
Here’s a piano rendition of one of my favorite tunes Recuerdos de la Alhambra (originally written for guitar).
On to the final part of the Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta!
I was a little worried about morning traffic from Chapala to the Central de Autobuses de Guadalajara in Tlaquepaque, but I needn’t have been. An acquaintance of Chris and Terry’s who drove a cab picked me at the designated time and got me there in less than half an hour.
The ETN bus ride took about 6 hours. Once in PV mid-afternoon, I called an Uber from the bus station (which is in the north of the city, not too far from the airport, actually).
In PV I also stayed at an AirBnb. (In fact the only hotel I stayed at the entire trip was the Real Maestranza in Guadalajara.) It was on a crazy hill (see photos). I can’t say that I wasn’t warned, as the place description and the all the reviews mentioned it.
PV is well-known as one of Mexico’s premier beach resort cities which is also extremely popular with the LGBT community (both Mexican and foreigners). The week I happened to be there coincided with Gay Pride Week there, so there was probably even more going on in that regard than usual.
It was great to end the trip in PV for a few reasons, not the least of which is that I had three friends who happened to be there: Michael, a friend from LA who lives in PV about half the year; James, another LA friend who was on vacation for a few days there; and Jim, that friend who moved to Mexico City who was also on a little vacation in PV (and who has since moved from CDMX to PV).
I have to admit that as I get older I’m becoming one of those people whose fascination with the beach ends at the edge of the sand, looking out. It’s so pretty! It smells so nice!
But I don’t really want to lie in the hot sand with my body slathered in oils (to which the sand will stick) to frolic in waves of questionable cleanliness. (I guess I’ve turned into that guy.)
But I was down for long walks along the Malecon, which was the best way to get from where I was staying, a couple of kms north of the main touristy area, the Zona Romantica (which is also the gay area).
One of the best things I did was go to dinner with James at Casa Kimberly, a fine restaurant located in Liz Taylor‘s old Puerto Vallarta house. Here’s a photo of me on the footbridge there:
One of the days Michael took me to the Vallarta Botanical Garden (along with Billie, his pup). Well worth the trip. We walked around the grounds, looked at flowers, plants and some fauna (I saw an iguana! In the wild!) and then had lunch. A perfect activity for the men of a certain age (and dogs of a certain age). We took a cab back into town and I thought that would be the last ride of my life – the guy was constantly passing on the two lane cliffside road.
But — here I am. Adios Mexico Trip: Puerto Vallarta – till next time.
The bus trip from Guanajuato to Guadalajara took about four hours. I had been here before, and also to Lake Chapala, which is about 30 miles south of the city. The Mexico Trip: Guadalajara/Chapala began with a ride on the city’s newest rail line (Linea tres), which conveniently went directly from the bus station to the Centro.
I stayed at the Hotel Real Maestranza, just a couple of blocks from the Centro stop so I was able to walk there on a lovely afternoon. It was a beautiful modern hotel, with a gym I didn’t get to use (sadly). Price-wise it was extremely reasonable. I’d go back anytime.
I mainly wanted to see my friends Chris and (his husband) Terry, who were old friends of mine from California and who’d made the move to Mexico. They owned a home in Chapala and also had an apartment in Guadalajara, not far from where I stayed.
While waiting to connect with Chris, I did do a little walking tour of the University area, which is just to the west of the Centro:
This statue of Antonio Alcalde is somewhat imposing and it makes him look quite frightening but Wikipedia says:
“The people came to respect their bishop and knew him best for his gentle and affable attitude while noting him as a jovial but direct individual. He had a bed of simple sheepskin on the bare ground and would use wood as his pillow. He wore a rough blanket in the winter and fasted often. He often fed on vegetables but would sometimes add meat to his meal on some occasions”
Among other accomplishments, he was one of the founders of the University of Guadalajara – so perhaps not as scary as the statue suggests.
I spent several days in Chapala (also seeing Ajijic, the adjacent town) at an AirBnb, just a couple of blocks from the lake itself. Apparently the lake is safe enough to swim in, though I did not see any swimmers while I was there.
It’s Mexico’s largest lake and quite beautiful (see photos). Close enough to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city, it’s a popular and convenient getaway. Also, Lake Chapala and environs (including Ajijic) have large expat communities from the U.S. and Canada.
My old friends Chris and Terry have lived there now for about three years (from California). Some of the views below are from their rooftop mirador in the neighborhood San Antonio Tlayacapan, along the lake between Chapala and Ajijic.
A great few days for the Mexico Trip: Guadalajara/Chapala. Next, and finally, on to Puerto Vallarta.
I wanted to spend a few days on my Mexico Trip in San Miguel de Allende, or SMA as I’ve seen it short-handed. It’s long been a place with lots of immigrants (or expats or whatever you want to call them) from the U.S. and Canada.
Even though I read somewhere that it was kind of “Disneyland version of Mexico for expats” I really wanted to check it out for myself.
Was only there for three days and nights but I found it delightful.
Situated on a number of hills in a kind of “bowl,” there are amazing vistas of the town from all over but especially along the rim.
The older, colonial part of town spans a few different hills in the center of the city. At the top of the biggest one stands the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, a beautiful church, somewhat salmon-colored.
Across from the church is the leafy plaza Jardin Allende. As you might expect, a central gathering spot for tourists and locals alike (or at least it seemed to me). Lots of food, vendors, musicians, people watching.
Here’s some photos from the Centro Historico area of San Miguel de Allende:
One of the places I would not miss is the Botanical Garden, or El Charco del Ingenio, which sits on the edge of town up on a ridge.
It has a few pretty easy yet private trails showing flora and some fauna from this area of Mexico’s Central Highlands. It also is the location of an old aqueduct which still has a lot of the ruined infrastructure from that era still visible.
I spent a few lovely, quiet hours there and had some fresh juice and water before leaving. Since the (short) way back to town was all downhill, I decided to trust the GPS on the phone and walk. It was a hot hike but worth it, as I had to go through some of SMA’s tonier areas. So, if you’re adventurous. . .
Photos from the Jardin Botanico:
This time (as opposed to CDMX) I did take a few photos of the Airbnb. It was on three levels: ground floor was a full kitchen with a table and chairs. Up one flight of outside stairs was the bedroom, closet and bathroom level. Another flight of stairs led you to the roof deck (sometimes they call this a mirador in Mexico).
Thus ended my Mexico Trip sojourn to San Miguel de Allende. Back to the Bus Station to catch the ETN to Guanajuato (next post). Some random shots to end with. . .
My trip to Mexico City wouldn’t be complete without a set of photos which may seem to be random. Maybe they are — things that just caught my attention in the moment and decided to take a picture.
That’s what we do these days, right? Anyway, will try to explain the images in the captions.
The neighborhood I stayed in, a few blocks north of the Angel de Independencia.
A lot of these photos below were taken from the tour bus I took to Las Piramides de Teotihuacan. (so at street level but raised a bit)
Some of the nicer neighborhoods in central CDMX that I walked around in – also my friend who’d moved there (at the time), Jim, lived in Condesa.
From Mexico City I took an ETN bus to San Miguel de Allende. Next post!
Trip to Mexico, Mexico City Part 3: Mexico City has a signature park in the center of town, iconic in the way Central is for New York or Golden Gate is for San Francisco. It’s Chapultepec, and was within easy walking distance of my AirBnB.
One of the sights in the park is Chapultepec Castle, originally built in the 18th century for Mexican heads of state (read about it here) and now a museum. Also on a hill, so it provides some vantage points for Mexico City.
Some photos from the lovely day I spent at Chapultepec Castle:
The Frida Kahlo Museum in CDMX is literally the house she lived in with artist Diego Rivera, repurposed. It’s in a barrio called Coyoacan, which was a small town at one time but has been long since swallowed up by Mexico City.
It was about 20 minutes away by Uber. One of the great things about Mexico which I haven’t yet mentioned is that if you’re a senior (a persona mayor) you can take advantage of lots of discounts. I got one for the entrance to this museum which (if I remember correctly) was the peso equivalent of $1.50, so like 30 pesos or something.
To be honest, I did not know much about Frida Kahlo before going to the museum, which is odd I know because she’s so popular. You can read about her life and art here.
Here are some shots I took of the house and its contents:
The neighborhood surrounding the Frida Kahlo Museum was also quite lovely – quiet, leafy, narrow streets, old buildings. A church and a square, a fountain (with coyotes, which is what Coyoacan means – place of the coyotes) and markets, etc.
I was there on a Saturday and some quinceanera photos were being taken while I was in the square. Here are some photos of Coyoacan:
I have some random photos of CDMX I’ll share in a subsequent post, so that’s it for Trip to Mexico, Mexico City Part 3.
Continuing on with the Mexico Trip: Mexico City. On the first full day in #CDMX my friend Jim took me to the Centro Historico, where the Catholic Cathedral is as well as the Zocalo (giant public square) and many other historical and Mexican government buildings.
I found it interesting, if not surprising, that the Cathedral was built in the same location as the Aztec temple (Templo Mayor, which is also being excavated, and you can go see those ruins). The conquistadores wanted to establish their dominance, and this was one way of many.
(Of course that is understatement. I don’t have the expertise or the space to really discuss the actual history, but hope to provide you some insight into my trip and, through the photos, how I look at things.)
Not to be missed! One of the most regarded museums of its kind in the world, and hugely instructive for me.
I only took a few shots there, as I figured if I wanted to go back I could go online where there’d be better photos than I could ever do, but I did take several.
The Sun Stone is probably the most famous piece the museum has. It is from the end of the Aztec era and was buried during the Spanish conquest and then unearthed in 1790. For about 100 years it was displayed along the side of the Cathedral before being moved to a museum. You can read more about this astounding piece here.
I took a few other snaps of items I found intriguing there:
I could not visit CDMX and not go to the pyramids, though they are a short way out of the main part of Mexico City (did I say it was enormous?). Anyway, I took a tour.
It’s all quite amazing — from the barrios you have to drive through to get there, which do show you some of the ways much poorer Mexicans live, to the pyramids themselves, gigantic as well as so numerous there are still lots of edifices half-buried under dirt and plants.
In fact, when this site was “discovered” in the 19th century, the pyramids looked like oddly shaped hills with dirt and vegetation covering all. It wasn’t until they started dynamiting it that they learned it was really a group of ancient pyramids.
Quite a fascinating story and you should read about it if interested. To get you in the mood, here’s a gallery from my visit there:
There’s an additional blog covering the rest of the Mexico Trip: Mexico City to follow.
I took a superbly interesting trip to Mexico in May 2022. Almost a month. The first stop was Mexico City, where I stayed for a week.
The idea was to get a sense, if only a quick one, of what a certain swath of Mexico was like.
So what better start than the capital, one of the world’s great cities.
In Mexico City, I stayed at an Airbnb in the Colonia Cuauhtemoc, a neighborhood just north of the Angel de Independencia glorieta on Avenida Reforma.
That “Angel” is often the image we see in the media to rep Mexico City, which is kind of vast beyond measure.
Of course, I did see some sights, but most of all I just enjoyed hanging out and walking around and looking at things. Some of those things:
Like any trip or vacation, there were museums and art as well. These murals are found in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Centro de CDMX.
The murals were amazing and a little bit overwhelming to take in all at once. This website has more detail on the art found here.
The Palacio de Bellas Arts building itself is a work of art.
This is Just the first post, there’s much more to come on the trip to Mexico!
Normally I don’t think of myself as kindred spirit to wildlife. But perhaps, especially this day after Earth Day, I should. Especially in regards to mountain lion P-22, we’ve got a lot in common.
People who know me realize I spend a lot of time in Griffith Park, and have for decades. One of the largest urban parks in the United States, it’s also mountainous and provides Angelenos with a wide variety of hiking options.
I do a good amount of my cardio there.
So it’s no surprise to find out there’s another aging bachelor who’s roaming that expanse, except that he’s a cougar, a puma, a mountain lion!
Of course, I’ve known about P-22 for years. In fact, I wrote my city councilperson when I first heard of the big cat making his home in my park. I thought it was irresponsible that the city would allow this alpha predator wild animal to roam a public park. A park that was full of people day and night.
What kinds of havoc could P-22 be responsible for? This is a copy of my email from August 14, 2012:
Dear Councilmember Krekorian:
So the good councilmember ignored my letter (never got a response either time I’ve emailed this unhelpful civil servant. The other letter was about speeders on Chandler Blvd. and the danger they present to pedestrians and cyclists).
The truth is that in the subsequent almost 10 years that P-22 had been calling Griffith Park home, I’ve never read of any untoward encounters he’s had with humans.
I’ve never seen the cat. Which is not surprising since they are mainly nocturnal (I don’t ever hike at night) and take great pains not to be seen anyway. I hike only on wide trails or actual roads, to minimize any chance of running into him.
For a while I’d pick up a rock or a stick or something that could serve as a weapon just in case. I came to believe this was unnecessary, as P-22 seems to have had a good upbringing.
By that I mean he doesn’t consider humans to be food. Otherwise, we’d have plenty of evidence in a quite grisly form. So, kudos to P-1 and P-whoever was P-22’s mom.
Will P-22 finally leave the park to find a mate or will he live out his life there? I suspect the latter, and it makes me a little sad. I don’t have any plans to stop my own roaming in the park, partnered or not. I guess for now we’re just part of that distinguished gentlemen’s club that knows many of the secrets of Griffith Park.
See, P-22, we’ve got a lot in common.
Did you even wonder if an important decision you made long ago was the right one? I do it all the time! Yet a recent visit provided reinforcement that I was right about Palm Springs.
Right about Palm Springs? What am I even talking about? (or, what kind of first world problem is this?)
Here goes: I made a decision to sell a condominium I owned (and lived in) out there in the desert in 2011 basically so that I could retire early and fund the gap between then and the time I’d be able to collect Social Security.
It was the end of the Great Recession awfulness and job prospects were dim, especially when you were 55, as I was that year (2010). I’d gotten laid off and I didn’t want another corporate-type job anyway, and when I weighed options on how to support myself, using this asset seemed to make the most sense.
Also, I had determined I was an urban person, not a suburban or small town guy. I wanted to go back to the big city for those social and cultural benefits.
Through the ensuing years I was happy about that part, but did miss the condominium itself — the space, the design, the patios, the complex with the pool and especially the Jacuzzi.
I also missed my friends out there. Turns out, after all was said and done is that it’s hard to make new friends, it’s hard to renew friendships that have lapsed, and I think all of this gets harder as one gets older.
All that made me wonder if I’d made the wrong decision back in 2010-2011. In the 10 years that have passed Palm Springs has become unaffordable to me, and in Los Angeles I’m locked into a rent controlled apartment. On the one hand, that’s good, because the rent is below market. Then you realize you can’t move anywhere else in town because everything is so expensive.
So I’ve joined the ranks of friends and relatives in cities like San Francisco and New York who’ve lived in the same rental apartments for 40, 50 years. And now I understand why.
So back to Palm Springs. I recently went out there for a couple of days, for some R & R. The weather was great, very warm but not too hot, dry, and I was reminded of what I’d loved there — the stillness. That wonderful aroma of dry. The general ease of doing things.
But I also remembered the unease. The claustrophobia I felt living there was back right away as soon as I drove into town. The suburban ethos of the civic design — which means you need a car for basically everything. The smallness of the place itself — which I could see in total from a perch on Mt. San Jacinto during a hike.
So it turns out I was right about Palm Springs. It was not the right place. For me, anyway.
Here’s Eve Babitz, from her story “Bad Day at Palm Springs” in the book Slow Days, Fast Company:
“The peace that some claim to find in all that sand will never happen to me in Palm Springs, no matter how I hope for flat dry hot air so bloodless that I won’t even have to breathe or think.”
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