Saturday, 01/16

Still in San Miguel. I had a conference call for our HOA meeting this morning, went to a coffee shop. Could hardly hear anything - they are tearing up the street, putting electricity under ground to get rid of the millions of wires they had hanging above the streets.
Yesterday: Thunderstorms all day long. Had to hopp from coffee shop to coffee shop on my way home to avoid getting soaked. At the end I stoped at a small "Taqueria". Awesome. Last week in South Texas, Jael took me to a Taco place an hour away 'cause they are so good - these were even better! (Sorry Jael, you need to come down here if you want to try the truly "best"!)

Today the sun is back - and it feels like Mexico again. ;-)

In the afternoon I happened to come across a wedding. The newly-wed couple walked out of the church just as I came by. I don't believe they had any groomsmen or bridesmaides. It varies over here. I've been to Mexican weddings where they had them and once where they didn't (majority). I also found out that it's only 500 pesos to get married in that church (~$40). Bastante barrato.

Thursday, Jan. 14th

I'm sitting in the garden in el centro again. The picture shows the view from my spot. I got a root canal this morning. Despite various words of caution from friends in the US. It was a very good experience. My local dentist here took impression for the crown yesterday, and sent me to this guy in Queretaro (~ 40 mins away) for the root canal. The guys is a specialist, does only root canals. Same x-ray equipment my dentist in the US has. Plus some other high-tech gadgets I've never seen before. The whole thing cost me $180. My dentist in the US would have charged $1,000, a specialist he said would charge about $1,400. The whole thing was almost painless. He gave me a folder with a sheet showing before and after x-rays for the local dentist who will make my crown. Seems legit enough for me.
I met up with my friends Adriana (local) and Greg (her American husband) yesterday. Went to Happy Hour with them. They wanted to set me up with a girl that was sitting next to me at the bar. I backed out. Not on my agenda right now. This afternoon we'll have Mexican bbq. First real test for the root canal. ;-)

Arrived in Mexico

Change $ to pesos - check;
Hand in I-94 to US immigration - check;
Mexico-Visa and sticker for car - check;
2 breakfast burritos - check;
Sufficient windshildwiper fluid - damn, no;
Got into apartment - check;
Have a beer at la Coronela - they are out - Ha??

Free Wifi in the garden in el centro - priceless!

Everything went great. More later.

Heading South

I left Knoxville on December 29th, around 5pm. So far everything has been super-busy, so no feeling of excitement yet. After stopping for the night in the "Executive Inn" in Little Rock, AK (which was not really that "executive"), I arrive in Dallas on the 30th to visit Lance and Holly (as well as their 7-month old son, future linebacker Wade Cox). New-years comes around. No hangover. I visit my friend Shaily, who takes me to this "total-fitness" workout. Three days of absolute soreness, horrific pain when trying to brush my teeth or any other activity involving lifting my arms. I also finally order maps and a guide book for Central America, which I have send to a friend's house in south Texas.
On the 5th I continue on to San Antonio, where I visit with my friends Carolee and Mike for a day. After some great time outdoors (including some horse-riding and stable-cleaning), I take off on the 6th for south Texas. Driving down Highway 281 evokes nostalgia, and a feeling of going back home arises in me. How these kinds of emotions work, I don't know, but they sure felt nice while viewing the sunset over the prairie of south Texas.
Today is Sunday the 10th. I'm finally bringing this blog up to speed. On Tuesday morning I'm heading off to Mexico. I have to. If I stay until the 13th I will be an "illegal". Strange feeling after more than 10 years here.
The past few days have been awesome - been able to catch up with so many old friends. Thanks to all of you - it has been great to see you again. Almost all my preparations are finished. But no feeling of excitement yet. Maybe it's because I trained myself in past years not to build up expectation before going somewhere. I don't know. Enough for now. You'll here from me again from Mexico. Hasta luego ...

Preparation

So once I made up my mind that I was gonna go through with this, the prepping started. Reading blogs of people who have done something like this. Talking to people. Searching for health insurance, car insurance, etc.
One big issue was which type of vehicle to take. My budget is quite constraint - so recommendations for Landrover Defenders and such quickly got discarded. But life threw me a bone on this one. Turns out that Jason, who works in service at MF Automotive (my VW shop in Knoxville), has driven various ralleys and is like a dictionary for cars. He was also really excited about my plans and has since provided me invaluable help.
Most big, outdoor-worthy vehicles are not only gas guzzlers, but are also hard to pull out if you ever get stuck in a ditch. Most smaller, more economical vehicles are not rugged enough for the terrain I might get into. So Jason's suggestion of a Subaru Outback became the winner - rugged, yet not too heavy, good gas milage - and I can sleep in it if I need to.
So at this point - thanks to MF Automotive for all their help and to Jason for all the help selecting and making the vehicle as reliable as possible.