Sights In Mineral De Pozos

The Girls In The Band (and Les):

The Star Of Her Church Production:

Rainstick

Today we took a drive to the nearby old silver mining town of Mineral de Pozos. It is about an hour’s drive northeast of SMA. Our friend Les came with us and we followed our neighbours Terrie and Nancy from Nova Scotia and Whit and Jan from California. It was a very nice day with a lot of exploring of the old mine sites and buildings.

The highlight for me was a sidestreet shop with a sandwich board out front announcing that the artist inside made Pre-Hispanic Musical Instruments! We went in and the artist was happy to demonstrate his work. We admired a beautiful, intricately carved Mayan Rainstick. It is a two foot long carving of a snake filled with dried corn that flows through a maze of cactus thorns producing the sound of falling rain. It is a beautiful work of art and we did not attempt to bargain down the asking price of $1200 pesos or $99 CAN which we thought was a bargain. It is signed by the artist and will be a treasured item.

That's our rainstick in front of the drum!

La Siesta RV Park

Rae asked to see the RV parks we stay in so here is the La Siesta in SMA. It is behind the La Siesta Hotel a half a block from the glorieta (traffic circle) at the south end of town. There is a Mega grocery store very close as well as the Pollo Feliz restaurant from whom we are “borrowing” a WIFI signal. We will go there for dinner one night to repay them for their generosity. La Siesta is not the only RV park in town. There is another closer to the Centro but it enters from a very narrow street and rigs over 26 feet cannot make the turn. The cost is $300 pesos per night or just over $200 if you stay a month. The central Jardine is a $30 peso ($2.70 CAN) cab ride, or a 45 minute walk, away. Here is our park:

Put To The Test

Tonight a young man came to the door. He explained, in perfect English, that his high school fees were due tomorrow and he needed help. His mother had $500 pesos but the dues were $900. He wanted to borrow $400 pesos until Saturday when his father would be home.

We took a chance and gave him the money. We told him we had never been cheated in Mexico before and we did not expect to be cheated now. We told him if he came and washed the motorhome and car on Saturday, he would owe us nothing. I hope we were not foolish in our trust.

None Of My Business, But....

I agree with Howard Dean. Congress should kill the current health care bill and start over. The idiotic "Lieberman modification" guts the bill and leaves nothing but the shell. Abandon it and wait until there are enough votes to put through a Bill that will provide a proper health care system for all Americans. Yes, this is Socialism! For situations like Health Care this is what works. Suck it up! What you have left is NOT "better than nothing". Like I say, It is none of my business...

Rainy "Happy" Hour!

Seven Canadians and two Americans (who act like Canadians) under an 8X20 awning with rain, thunder and lightening in the background!

Rain And More Rain

It started raining after dinner last night and we were entertained by a lot of thunder and lightening. It quit shortly after bedtime but started up again around seven this morning but without the accompanying thunder and lightening.

It would be a great day to lay around and read but Norma has a nail appointment up at the Liverpool Shopping Centre and I have to drive her. She is not a good Mexican driver - she is too easily intimidated by suicidal bus and truck drivers. I will take the laptop and amuse myself in the Italian Coffee Company (Mexican Starbucks) while I wait for her.

EDIT: Well, that was frustrating. The coffee place has free WIFI but nobody knew the WEP Key! They told me that it was "theitaliancoffee" but I knew that was not it because that is not a hexadecimal number. I tried it anyway, the waitress tried it and the manager tried it. Nada, although they all insisted that that was it and there must be something wrong with my computer! I walked back to the hairdressers where Norma was and the woman there, who spoke better English than me, told me that was normal in Mexico and in fact they even had WIFI at the beauty parlor but nobody knows the password, not even the owner. I guess they just keep paying the bill and don't worry about it. I would find it a little frustrating myself, but that's just me...

Not a big problem because we have excellent WIFI at the RV Park, thanks to my Hawking dish and the Pollo Filiz.

Hidalgo’s Church

This is the Church from which (the soon to be excommunicated) Father Miguel Hidalgo issued his “Grito de Dolores”, the cry for Independence from the hated Spaniards.

More Sights From Dolores Hidalgo

After a stop for a delicious brunch:

We explored the city, starting with a pottery shop:

Linda will love this - $9.00 boots!

I love the doors down here. Talk about character!

Dolores Hidalgo

We took a drive to nearby Dolores Hidalgo today. This is the city where Miguel Hidalgo, at 5:00 AM on September 16, 1810 rang his church bell, calling his congregation to hear his “Grito de Dolores", the call to arms to end the Spanish occupation of his beloved Mexico.

His Church in Dolores Hidalgo is recognized as the birthplace of the Revolution and is the destination of millions of Mexican people who make the pilgrimage to see where it all started. If any of you think that Father Hidalgo was acting on behalf of the Church or that the Church had any sympathy for the millions of aboriginals tortured and murdered by the pious Spaniards, you would be wrong. The "Holy Church" supported Spain in their conquest and enslavement of the Mexican people and quickly excommunicated Hidalgo when they heard of his revolt. Today Hidalgo is honoured as the ‘‘Father of the Nation’’.

Miguel Hidalgo:

His Church:

The Actual Bell he rang on September 16, 1810 Starting The Revolution:

Hidalgo’s Monument in the Centro with his Church in the Background: