We have been to couple of interesting events since last time that we wanted to share to give you more of a flavor of Mexico. The first was we went to a Mexican rodeo with all the charros fully dressed in their large hats and special chaps. We had a special invitation by the owner of the ranch, and three large tour buses took the group from Ajijic to the rodeo. It was very fascinating to see the difference between rodeos here and in the States. There was horse roping, bull wrestling and the proverbial bull and wild mare riding. Since the event was sponsored by a tequila producer, for those who wanted, the tequila was flowing freely. However, we wanted to see the rodeo. Here are some pictures of the rodeo. We also took some videos to give a flavor of the rodeo activities. A video of charros riding formation in the arena. One video shows an event where the charros had to demonstrate horse control by how quickly they could stop the horse from a full gallop. Here are videos of a charro lassoing a horse, one lassoing while riding a horse and another from the ground - notice how the horse, as it is going down, drags the charro. Another video of a charro riding a bull and one more of riding a wild mare, notice the suede leather "horn gloves" on the bull. And a video of wrestling a bull to the ground by grabbing its tail and flipping it. After the rodeo we were guests at a very elaborate lunch with delicious authentic Mexican food. It was outdoors and decorated like a wedding. Here are some pictures of the special outdoor lunch.
A few weeks later we attended a wedding of some friends we met through JUCUM, which is the Mexican equivalent of YWAM. Dale is from the Bahamas and Lisette is from a village called Tapalpa in the mountains of Jalisco. Not only was the wedding of interest but the mountain village was absolutely beautiful and very interesting. The village is at an altitude of 7,000 feet and after a very windy road we got to a plateau on top that was reminiscent of the Route 120 access into Yosemite Valley including, of all things, the large pine trees. We thought we were back in the Sierra Nevada. Since there are a lot of trees, wood is used extensively in their buildings, as opposed to where we live, where little wood is used in building. The walls of the houses line the street right on the sidewalk and are all white with red trim and wood frames around doors and windows. We noticed that all the roofs are sloped, unlike in our area where they are flat, and the sidewalks were very high off the road. We found out why when during the wedding it poured like crazy, and the sloping roof allowed runoff and the streets became flooded. Here are pictures of Tapalpa. The wedding itself was interesting. They actually were married in the Bahamas a couple of weeks earlier and this was the brides wedding for her family in Mexico. The wedding included many Mexican traditions. The one we really liked is when the couple danced and people would break in to dance with them and then had to pin money on their clothes. Here are some pictures of the wedding.
Other happenings: Walt built a kitchen island for some friends. Karen bought some pasta machines for her husband's birthday; Bill is a fantastic cook. However, their kitchen counter made it difficult to clamp the machine down to work it. So the solution? They asked Walt if he would be willing to make them an island, complete with granite top. So with a few pictures and rough measurements Walt, the newly bona fide Mexican craftsman, designed and built the island. Then, true to Mexican fashion, payment was through the bartering system. For his efforts we got a pasta machine, pasta drying rack, pasta cook books and two free meals!! Here are pictures of this endeavor.
One morning last week we were surprised to see what looked like a twig off a pine tree stuck on the screen door. Closer inspection revealed this to be an interesting insect in disguise. Here is a picture of this guy. Note how the green and brown really do make it look like a pine twig, but what pine twig has four perfectly spaced needles?
We are heading to Oregon this week to see Nancy's parents, and then a long weekend in San Diego to visit Kirsty and Will, with a quick trip to Disneyland as well. Kirsty and Will celebrate their one year wedding anniversary on September 27 !
