Plaza Mayor: Guadalajara, Mexico
Greetings, friends, from Guadalajara, Mexico. We fled here in November in search of warmer temperatures and cooler politics. We have not been disappointed, with daily highs in the 70s and lows around 50. This is the dry season, which usually means only sunny days, but in another manifestation of global climate change, it rained hard for 18 straight hours one day and we’ve had a few random showers since then. People we’ve met say they’ve never seen such rain in the dry season.
We enjoyed cosmopolitan Bogotá, with fewer elevation changes than Medellín but cooler weather. We had selected a better apartment and We started 2018 in Medellín, Colómbia – also had friends there whom we met a new country for us. We selected our on our first trip to Peru. Unlike Peru, location from a 2D map, forgetting it’s a Colómbia has incredible beef, so we 3D world. Our apartment was perched on feasted on lots of good steaks. The the side of a mountain (as indicated by above photo was taken at a steak the yellow arrow at right). The nearest house that covers 6 city blocks, wine store was half a mile away and a seats 2500, has tons of 300-foot climb, so we got lots of exercise entertainment for kids and adults, since we weren’t going to quit drinking. and still manages to serve delicious We felt safe most of the time but won’t food. We were treated like the be joining the growing community of royalty we are! expats who call Medellín home. Outside of Pablo Escobar, the most famous person from Medellín is Fernando Botero. He's famous for paintings and sculptures of figures that, in his words, have volume. He's been generous to his hometown, donating 23 large sculptures for a city plaza and numerous paintings to museums. In 1995, a 20-pound bomb was set off under his sculpture The Bird during a concert in a local park. 30 people died, but Botero insisted that the damaged sculpture remain as a “monument to stupid.” We liked his painting of the dancing couple.
Near Medellín we climbed the 740 steps of “The Rock of El Peñol.” Guatapé and El Peñol were sleepy little Andean villages until the government built a large hydroelectric dam. Both villages were partially flooded, but the parts that remain are prospering. Guatapé is famous for Zócalos, colorful bas-reliefs that skirt the exterior walls of almost all the houses in town. They depict the cultural heritage of the village or the personalities or purpose of the business.
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Zipaquirá, near Bogotá, has converted a former mine into the amazing Salt Cathedral. Complete with chapels, naves, and a dome, its Sunday mass holds 3000 people and has such outstanding acoustics that the London Philharmonic once performed there. Salt extraction has been an important industry in this area since pre-Hispanic times. Salt represented wealth before being replaced by gold, which was also abundant in Colómbia.
Our Colombian jaunt ended in in the delightful port town of Cartagena, which was once Spain’s door to South America. Located on the Caribbean coast, it has a laid-back beach vibe and a walled Old Town, beautiful colonial buildings, and a Spanish fortress to explore.
After staying in Colómbia long enough to satisfy Peru’s visa rules, we returned to Miraflores and our beloved Malecón, one of our favorite places on earth. In our continuing and often fruitless quest to speak Spanish, we took classes, drank beer with our professors, attended conversation groups, and hosted a group of Limeños at our apartment each week – some of whom traveled an hour by bus to participate – just to practice their English. We visited the small town of Ica, where we toured the Tacama winery, founded in 1540 and the oldest in South America. In an interesting twist, Tacama sent grapes to Chile and Argentina to start their wine business – and today we drink wines from both of these countries but haven’t yet developed a taste for wine from Peru. From there we caught a tuk-tuk (mototaxi) to Huacachina, a surprising little oasis in the middle of the desert, and Mike belly-surfed down the sand dunes.
Mike turned 65 in April, and we celebrated with a birthday party at our school. He was serenaded by mariachis (a Mexican import) and was obligated to dance with all the lovelies. In this small place, we feel lucky to have made “Spanish” friends.
Most people just make a day trip to fly over the Nazca lines, but we enjoyed spending a few days in the sleepy town of Nazca and received a big welcome from locals. The lines themselves are incredible, but since they weren’t discovered until the 1920’s, the Panamerican highway (which replaced an early roadway) cuts right through the tail of “The Lizard.” We believe it’s known HOW they were made but no one knows WHY. There are many crazy theories, including the work of visiting extra-terrestrials . Callao, Peru’s main port, is surrounded by Lima and used to be one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. It has been transformed into a vibrant art center with incredible street art, private galleries, and a growing gastronomical presence. Our walking tour was conducted by this fellow, a Callao native featured on the mural behind him. Callao also has a really cool old fort. Just be sure and leave by dark.
We returned to the U.S. in mid-May to Dallas, where we caught up on personal business. We bought new bikes to replace those that were stolen from the RV in Austin (Christmas 2013), and then launched into several weeks of visits to family and friends, finally settling in Lincoln, Nebraska in July. It was time to quit fleeing and to fight for a while, so we spent the summer as volunteers. Mike was a Democratic Block Captain and worked for Jane Raybould on her ultimately unsuccessful run for the US Senate. Suzanne volunteered as a receptionist at El Centro de las Américas, the Hispanic Center. Callers who were bilingual immediately switched to English upon hearing her Spanish greeting while others had to slow down and make do. We enjoyed Lincoln and the opportunity to We stayed in Lincoln until election day see old friends, including many of Mike’s but fled just as the serious cold set in. grad. school profs who came back for the We didn’t escape it until we reached Comp Sci Department’s 50th reunion. We Mexico. Guadalajara has been didn’t play as much golf as planned but pleasant and a time to return to made great use of Lincoln’s extensive healthier habits. It’s a beautiful city system of bicycle trails. Mike’s brother Mitch and we’ve had an opportunity to see and his family kept us well supplied in fresh old friends in the area. Happy holidays, garden vegetables, and we almost and as always – we have 2 bedrooms “foundered” on BLTs. But it’s nearly and wonderful avocados. Come visit! impossible to buy a decent avocado there.
Suzanne & Mike
suzanne.shelton2@gmail.com
136 Rainbow Drive #3646 • Livingston, TX 77399
mikesump53@gmail.com