Guadalajara and home again.

Last week I took a trip to Guadalajara under the guise of work. It was both work and vacation but mostly vacation, since shopping was the work part and shopping is super fun!
I had a wonderful guide, Luis, who is a local (they call them Guanatos) which made it so much easier.
We took the 5 hour bus ride from Puerto Vallarta, which goes up the coast then winds through the mountains. Arriving there late in the evening, and not having a hotel yet, we ended up walking around the plaza looking for a cafe w/WiFi so we could find some options online. We walked to the presidential palace where, sitting against the wall, was a line of young people on laptops using the free WiFi. We joined them and found the cheapest hotel in the area. We stayed there for one night, it was like being in a Mexican jail. I couldn't hang.
We then found the wonderful Hotel Posada San Pablo, right in the center of town, affordable, balcony, cable, WiFi, shared kitchen, and really nice staff.
We walked all around the beautiful center of Guadalajara seeing all the historic places, ate wonderfully affordable and delicious food, went to the downtown indoor market, ate more great food, got drunk in a Mexican bar (I guess all the bars are Mexican here, but this one had the music and the people to prove it), went to Luis' friends Reggae club, went to the hippie/alternative outdoor market (it was like the Berkeley flea market in spanish), spent a day shopping in the amazing market in the colonia Tonala, ate tortas ahogadas (tortas drowned in a chile sauce) and cried and sweated cause they were so spicy, and had a generally great time.
Guadalajara feels like the kind of city I could spend a lot of time in and hope to do so more in the future. I have to say though, on the last day we were telling someone about Yelapa and I started to really miss my little fishy sleeping village. I took a plane back to Puerto Vallarta with all my goods, stayed in Vallarta for the night and went to my favorite taco place, got up in the morning and took the boat back to Yelapa, and was so happy to return home.
The house is looking great and the purchases are perfect. Next time I'm taking a truck and filling it up!

Bees are moved!

Last night we had a lovely dinner with fish caught by Mateo and lettuce from our friend Johnny's garden. After dinner in the cover of dark Mateo and Jerry donned the bee suits and moved the bee box to their new spot. It went smoothly for the most part and it was satisfying to get that done, as it had been weighing on my mind since I got here.
After the bee move we had a shot of Fernet and off to bed.
Today I woke up with apprehension for the bees, that they would return to their original spot. The rule is that you have to move them at least 7 miles so they don't return to the spot they were before and we were not able to do that yet. As of now some are still returning to the topanco but most seem to be going to the new spot. It is amazing to me that they are trying to enter the same side and area of another trunk that was next to the one with the hive that we moved.
Anyway, I am hoping they all eventually adjust to the new place we have set up and are not too upset by the move.
Jerry has gone back to the states so we are on our own now, but feeling excited and confidant.
Now for honey!

Adventures in bee keeping 2.0

Keeper: a. An attendant, a guard, or a warden. b. One that has the charge or care of something.

Yesterday my bee mentor, Jerry, and I (with Mateo documenting) donned our suits, smoker, calm attitudes, and extracted the masks, and a small amount of honey from our trunk of bees in the topanco. It's a weird thing to be so close to so many little stingy creatures and not feel any fear. It's liberating and truly awe inspiring. I find that I love these bees more than I could imagine. I think I always had the love somewhere but this experience has solidified it into something tangible. We first smoked the entrance then opened the lid. I held it open while he smoked the hive. We began to extract the masks carefully. They had already began to attach propolis to a couple of the masks, to start building the hive onto them. I am amazed at how fast they work. Jerry said they had built a few more combs in the few days he'd been here. We then smoked them a bit more and went for the combs. Jerry took a scraper tool and cut two combs from the top of the box. We brushed the bees off into the box and closed it carefully. We had to smoke and brush some more bees off the combs then went back down stairs. Mateo all the while about 10 feet away, not wearing a suit mind you, and safe. We removed our suits, sat at the table, and tasted the first of our jungle honey. It was sweeter than any honey I've ever tasted...but I might be biased. They are my bees after all, or rather I am their keeper. Next task is to move them to their new spot which we may do tonight. I hope they like it and are happy and productive, as I strive to be as well.

Adventures in bee keeping 1.5

We have more or less let the bees take over the Topanco as we were not sure how to proceed. Reading and learning about bee keeping, it turns out, is not the same as dealing with actual bees. The man who lived in the house prior to us, Jerry, asked if there was room to stay here as he wanted to jaunt down for a last minute trip. We said that sadly there was not since the only free beds were upstairs with the bees. He said-great no problem, I kept bees as a hobby for 10 years!
Totally amazing and perfect! This is a strange and wondrous world and Jerry will be my guide into apiculture. Today we will start. We will open the box and remove the masks and try to get some honey. Tonight we will try to move the whole box to a spot we have picked near the house. Eventually we will need to move them further.
I learned a good lesson about being careful just now. I was trying to move a box next to them and bumped the hive box hard. Within seconds I had been stung twice and was being pursued by a bee all the way down the stairs and across the house. She was pissed and rightfully so. Sadly it was her or me. Killing that bee was something I should not have had to do...it was my stupid fault and for that I feel much remorse. And a good deal of pain where she stung me! (which I totally deserved)
So now I got the first, of what will likely be many, stings out of the way and am ready to get to bee keeping. Photos and more stories to follow soon...wish me luck and most of all the ability to stay calm in case of disaster.

A new year full of new adventures.

Hello loyal followers! Sorry to have left you alone without my brilliant wit and fascinating stories for so long ;)
But really, I do feel I have been too distracted by life to even write about it...a good thing I think.
After my short trip north for the Christmas holiday I returned to Yelapa exhausted and a bit sick. Of course that is when my brother Mateo, his guests, and 2 of my guests all arrived here. I was in bed for a day or so before I could join them in the world of the living. Once I did join them we had a lovely time full of laughter, food, and general good times.
New years eve here in Yelapa is a big deal. Usually people have dinner out or with the family then head to the Yacht Club (no actual yachts nor is it a club really) and the Casino (not a place for gambling just a big dance hall) around 12:30amfor the major party. This party lasts until everyone goes home at around 6, 7, 8 or 9am. I lasted til about 11:30pm, not even making it til midnight. I was a bit sad to miss this fiestota (big fiesta) but figure, there's always next year (unless the world blows up on Dec. 27th). And woke up new years day finally feeling pretty great after a long time of feeling pretty physically wrecked.
Our guests have left us, sadly. However that does mean I get to move into the Tortuga (a little casita off the main house) and finally unpack my bags after about 3 months of living out of them, yay! I will spend the rest of this week nesting and working on my tan (I promise to use lots of sunscreen and wear a hat). Come Monday it's time to get to work! Tons of things to do in the house and also some possible exciting new endeavors of which I will write more soon.
I hope everyone has had a wonderful new year so far. I feel it is a time of lots of change and upheaval, but truly for the best. Feliz año nuevo amigos!