Living at Lucy's

 High above Guanajuato
It is quite wonderful to be at Lucy's guesthouse high above the town. From the big patio outside my room, the expansive display of the sky and clouds provides continual beauty.

This morning I was awakened by the sound of heavy rain. It is still dark, with the lights of the town shining golden below. I am drinking my coffee and getting ready to go back upstairs to do my morning meditation practice before heading out to my Spanish language classes. Hopefully the rain will ease by then.


This is Lucy, making eggs for her breakfast on Sunday morning. She is three years older than I, with a kind and sometimes rather directive style. Which doesn't bother me overmuch, since I am able to say no if necessary.  Unfortunately, our talks are often conducted on Google's Traducir, because we lack skill in each other's language. And if you've every tried the Google translator, you may notice that it is strange at times. Actually it is wacky at times. Try it, you will see.

Lucy's husband must have been a renowned painter here because when you tell a taxi driver where you want to go, you can say "la casa del pintor" the house of the painter, and he will know what you are talking about.

We have many things in common, including a love of natural medicine and herbs, meditation and astrology. She is metaphysically inclined. So we get along nicely with each other, prompting Lucy to say that I am her sister and that I am really a Mexican.

The next friend I made here is a woman from Poland named Barbara. I prefer to call her by her nickname, Bashka. She is 34, very pretty and easy to be with.

I met her at Escula Falcon, the school where we are both studying Spanish. Today I went for a long walk with Bashka after our classes were over. We had some chai, then walked further until we arrived at Villa Maria Christina, the 5-star hotel where she provides massage, and she gave me a massage in the hotel spa. Quite a luxurious and peaceful spa it is too, with lounge chairs, a lovely small swimming pool, and all the other amenities one can expect from a high-class hotel.  That was a fun and relaxing massage. I did a hypnotherapy session for Bashka the other day, and the massage was her part of our exchange.

It has been overcast all day today, quite a change from the bright sun I've experienced here since I arrived. Around 2:30, it began to rain a gentle, soft rain. I was glad I had my bright blue umbrella.

On my way back from the hotel, I found that I was hungry, so I stopped in to have some Sopa Azteca and cerveza at a small place near the Jardin de Union.

Sopa Azteca is very good, with a somewhat piquant tomato base, long thin strips of fried tortilla and avocado. Just the right thing on a wet, cool day.

It's hard to believe that I have been here for 13 days and have not even had any flan! I will have to remedy that soon. Flan is one of my favorite desserts.

It took awhile to catch a bus up the Calzade de Guadalupe today. Because of the rain, each bus was jammed. Finally, however, one arrived with a bit of room. Now I am back up at Lucy's, ready to finish this post and then study some Spanish for tomorrow's classes. So far, I find that the vocabulary is relatively easy, but my attempts to master the grammar sometimes makes my head spin.

Bashka and I went to the Diego Rivera Museum the other day. It is housed in the casa where Diego Rivera was born. The house itself is beautifully furnished, an elegant reminder of how families lived in Guanajuato at the turn of the century. In addition to the beautifully furnished family rooms, the museum contains a variety of Rivera's art, including landscapes, portraits, sketches for his big murals, etc. It was a great outing.

One of the things I often missed living in southern Oregon were museums. Guanajuato has many, many museums.  Probably there are not as many museums as churches. I am just guessing about that but it just seems to make sense. I must check into that.

This is Mariana and her husband Abraham. Mariana is a friend of Lucy's and she has become a friend of mine too.  When we first met, Mariana told me firmly that my name was actually Lupita. She had a very mischievous look in her eyes when she assigned that name to me.  She is so loving and funny. I really enjoy her.

 

Mariana and Abraham have been married for 14 months. They are such happy newlyweds. They live in a small town called Puentecillas outside of Guanajuato. Lucy and I went there on Sunday and had a very enjoyable time. Coco, Mariana's mother, was also part of our group.


I loved their place, which is very artistic, both in design and furnishings. Red couches, a counter made of a piece of mesquite wood, plus art, books, colorful window coverings--the kind of things that make a house beautiful.

Abraham, who is an engineer, built their house over a period of 2 years, working every weekend.

I had my first taste of mole there. Mariana served a delicious mole, which we ate with chicken and tortillas. Doesn't it look marvelous? Believe me, it was....








Abraham took this picture of me during our walk. Mariana, who is a painter and photographer, took so many pictures of me that I felt like some kind of visiting celebrity.

Maybe Lupita is a visiting celebrity. It is possible. Lupita doesn't care one fig about celebrity, but she does enjoy pomegranates and other tropical fruits.

This is the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which I pass every day as I go up and down from Lucy's house. I haven't been inside it yet. It is such a marvelous color.

This is another church dedicated to the virgin. Lucy says it is the virgin of Guanajuato.

The churches here are all gloriously ornate, with high curved ceilings, big chandeliers and many statues.

I feel overwhelmed by the number of churches, but it is not surprising that there are so many, because Mexico is a country filled with devout Catholics. When we take a taxi, the driver will often cross himself every time he passes a church.

I like being in a country where people are religious in a peaceful way.  And it makes me miss Tashi Choling Center for Buddhist Studies, the Dharma center I helped to found in Ashland many years ago.
I am here in Mexico to take a break from many years of living in Ashland, and to explore whether I want to live here in Mexico.

Somewhere. Where could it be?

I have no idea really.

And I do not have to know because I am just at the beginning of my journey, which could last until March or April.

So I continue with my assignments, including my assignment to learn Spanish, a most lovely and nervewracking language.

And as a semi-reformed Type A overachiever, I continue my assignment of relaxing, being in the present moment, seeing the sacred in everything, and doing my best to be awake and open and loving.

This is the Plaza of San Fernando and it is one of my favorites. Such a beautiful, tranquil place.

Of course, I hope the sun comes out again tomorrow.

And I want to say thanks to all the friends who have been writing to me about what I post here and on Facebook. I love hearing from you.

Que te vaya bien!

I am signing off for now...
Your friend, the elder nomad, Lupita