Driving in Central Mexico - a unique experience...!

(excerpts are from previous email)

The location: Central Mexico
Here in this part of Mexico, the weather is usually great with a high of 80-85 (degrees F) and a low in the 55-65 range. Queretaro sits at a lower latitude than the entirety of the US, minus Hawaii, but just under 7000 feet altitude and the landscape is essentially mountainous desert, but with a lot of foliage and larger trees. Heading off-road, the terrain becomes quite rugged and only the well-prepared should dare venture in those areas. Help can be a very long walk in any direction, should you require it.


The Roads - Welcome to Land Rover Country!
The roads, in general, are a good mix of brand-new highway, city street, cobblestones from the 17th century, diesel truck route (potholes that swallow VW's!) and the occasional burro pathway they call a 'road' - truly Land Rover country - glad I brought it! The good news is, that 90% of the places that we gringos wist to get to are reasonably finished, some actually brand-new, financed by the rush of incoming dollars/euros/yen, etc from the many factories operating here in the city and just north of it.


Another big push that is occurring in Mexico is the RUTA 2010 project, which is also a big influx of pesos to prepare certain roads for Mexico's Bicentennial. coming up next September 16. If you plan to be anywhere in this country at that time, it will be a huge celebration and Queretaro is essentially their Philadelphia, so welcome to 'ground zero' for the festivities.

Driving in old San Miguel:
The other weekend, I was driving in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, (about and hour NE of Qro.), which is built partially on a mountainside and its historical center is almost all cobblestone, some of it still from the 1600's, so I'm told. Several of the streets are nearly a 45 degree incline (not exaggerating, either!). Going down them is relatively easy but you have to literally stand on the brake and switching-on the LR's hill function helps also. Going up them is actually fun in the Discovery as you put it in LO and do a nice, steady climb and leave all of the others green with envy, haha.


The only thing that tends to be an issue is the Land Rover Discovery's width: there were a few streets that were so narrow that I didn't dare attempt them. At one point I had approx 1" clearance for each mirror! I had the whole street's attention as they watched to see if the 'gringo loco' would end up having to back up the whole way, but luckily they were not given such a spectacle. I found a parking spot (whole separate issue - jeez! maybe I'll cover that in a later entry) and walked over to the Starbucks (yep, even here...) for a well-earned coffee and relaxed in the courtyard there, cira 1810, I was told.


Life is good here.


frank

Personal Ad Secrets

How to Read Personal Ads:

WOMEN'S ADS

Adventurer - Will sleep with all your friends
Average looking - Has a face like a basset hound
Beautiful - Pathological liar
Redhead - Bad dye-job
Contagious Smile - Does a lot of Ecstasy
Emotionally Secure - Medicated
Outgoing - Loud and Embarrassing
Free spirit - Junkie
New-Age - All body hair, all the time
Friendship first - Trying to live down reputation as a slut
Fun - Annoying
Gentle - Comatose
Open-minded - Desperate
Good Listener - Borderline Autistic
Athletic - No boobs
Old-fashioned - Lights-out, missionary position & nothing else!
Passionate - Sloppy drunk
Poet - Depressive Schizophrenic
Professional - Certified B**ch
Romantic - Looks better by candlelight
Social - Been passed-around like an hors doeuvres tray
40-ish - 49
Young at heart - Wears 'Depends'
Widow - Drove first husband to shoot himself
Curvy - Fat
Feminist - Fat ballbuster
Voluptuous - Very Fat
Weight proportion w/ height - Huge and Fat
Reubenesque - Fat as a house!
Wants Soulmate - Stalker


MEN'S ADS

Athletic - Watches ESPN all day
Educated - Patronizing jerk
Good looking - Arrogant jerk
Very good looking - Dumb as a board
Likes to cuddle - Insecure mama's boy
Free spirit - Will try to bang your sister
Open-minded - Will try to bang your roommate
Friendship first - As long as friendship involves nookie
Stable - Arrested for stalking, but not convicted
Fun - Good with a remote and a six pack
Honest - Pathological Liar
40-ish-52 and looking for 25-yr-old
Mature - Older than your father
Physically fit - Does a lot of 12-ounce curls
Huggable - Overweight and more body hair than a bear
Average looking - Unusual hair growth on ears, nose, & back
Poet - Wrote ex-girlfriend's # on a bathroom stall
Sensitive - Cries at chick flicks
Very sensitive - Gay
Spiritual - Got laid in a cemetery once
Thoughtful - Says "Excuse me" when he farts

Frank
(aka: Huggable, lol)

howdy from (way) south of the border ...!

Scene:
a man oddly-dressed stand atop a hillside and appears to be creating massive explosions with the wave of his hands.

They call me, frank...?

yet more explosions and then a bit of applause.


Life has taken an interesting turn - even moreso than what is my usual, which my friends will agree is quite dynamic. Between the all of the trips and projects undertaken, even I lose track of where reality stops and my life takes over (...if that makes any sense, lol).


A little about me:

I'm an aircraft/aerospace guy who's spent most of his time on this '3rd rock' building, flying, studying, repairing, researching, busting his knuckles on, and in general, immersed in airplanes. Ever since my dad gave me a model of a wood & fabric fighter from the Great War, I have been smitten with the damned things and even when, " ...I tried to get out, they pulled me back in."
I know that the profession, and my resultant lifestyle has at least in part, left several once-great relationships in it's wake. I feel that while I'm very lucky in my work to be in my current position, it has come at, some would assert, great cost to those I have tried to build a life with. To them, I say thank you for trying to be patient with me and I'm especially grateful that they did not get angry enough to stab me in the shower. lol
I try not to annoy my friends with the subject, for those not interested, please forgive the occasional digression into the subject.

Further, I found that my once-dabbling into the area of musicianship had become a major focus in my life, at least on a semi-amateur level while working as a consultant on the Gulf Coast of the US. One thing that that experience taught me was how the live music industry works, at least on the lower levels, and that it is a real pain in the ass! I can remember spending entire days on the phone and traveling around, trying to find gigs for my band and the logistics required certainly added to the grey hair that Boeing initially gave me.
This was the impetus for 'Gigbag'.

As the blog's title suggests, I and my friends both near and far have embarked on an Internet project called 'Gigbag.com', which, with a lot of hard work and just a bit of luck will become a part of the lives of anyone who enjoys and/or is involved with live music. But more about that later...

Now, due to my current change in constraints, I find myself deep in the heart of Mexico still consulting for the airline in the US, (which I travel to on occasion), yet living in a fascinating place called 'the cradle of independence'.

To not document it would be a loss to posterity, in my most humble opinion.

Btw, I'd also like to include some fun into this blog so as to not make it too serious. I include jokes, etc also to give insight into my so-called sense of humor. I promise to only post the ones that really make me laugh and not just something to fill the gaps, so-to-speak.



Blog entry No. 1, here we go:

(crafted from an earlier email)

Just doing the usual, sitting here at the patio of Harry's sipping on 2-1 margaritas (goooooooood tequila for about $1!!!), working on the laptop. The rum here is also exceptional, with the top-shelf brand being Havana Club 7 Aneos (aged seven years in Cuba); amazingly good and quite inexpensive, of course.

I have a new home! I spent the weekend house-hunting and found a cute little penthouse very near the center of town. It has a decent view and, unlike most of the places down there, it's quite modern. The owner/builder of the penthouse is an old ex-pat Scotsman who has lived in the city for several decades and re-built the whole building almost completely, leaving the original facade outside, which is required by the city preservation laws.

The entire area is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site as most of the buildings date back to the 1600/1700's. When I look out my patio, to the right about 50 ft away, I see a wall that was constructed about 300 years ago and you can see how the builders used a decorative spiraling brick pattern, just to an a little elegant flair to it. It makes me happy every time I see it knowing that centuries-old creations, even minor ones, can connect people from such different times and cultures. It can be a magical place, this Mexico.

There is a smaller international airport just outside of town, designated airport code QRO. It's serviced once a day by Continental through Houston Int'l, who flies CRJ's as their primary regional fleet.

For about $85/night, you can live in a former palace of what was once the seat of government when Mexico was once the largest jewel in the Spanish empire. Weekdays are nice, but weekends are the best time to be here as that's when all of the big festivals happen - a big party practically right in my front yard.



Yes, life is really good here in Mexico, but a bit lonely not being fluent (yet!). Luckily there are enough people that I meet who do speak at least some English, and all of them are happy to have someone to practice their English with. With time and a lot of practice my Spanish will improve so that will change very soon.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

frank