Many of my readers know my position on the current immigration laws. These laws include some real hardships for good people that simply want to travel between two neighboring countries where they have ties within both.

My friends Harvey and Mati have been working on getting a visa for Mati, a Mexican national, to visit the US where she has adult children legally living there and where her husband Harvey was born, lived many years and is a US citizen in good standing.

Emily and her husband are a young couple starting out in life. They are married and have a new baby boy. Her husband had entered the US illegally when they met and fell in love. They are a wonderful interracial family like Anita and I. They too face problems getting him into the United States. I have been emailing with them for a couple of years as their story unfolds.

By way of the Forum I have been introduced to David. He and his wife have a similar problem. I will let David tell you in his own words:

Some might wonder why I’m in Mexico so let me start from the beginning.

I was living in California working for a high tech company. The truth is I’m a workaholic. I often work late into the night. At my work place my wife to be worked as a janitor at night. Because of my late working hours we often saw each other. Soon after we started seeing one another at work we started dating in late summer of 1999.

I didn’t speak much more Spanish than “Hola” when we first met. She didn’t speak much more English than “Hello”. But as our different language skills improved we fell in love. We had our first son Andrew in 2003. The following year in November of 2004 we were married

My wife had come to the US by jumping a fence and walking through the desert. She was what some refer to as an illegal immigrant. We never really talked about her immigration status, as it just didn’t seem of any importance.

In November of 2003 my wife’s father became ill. She had not seen him in almost 4 years. We made a tough decision. She would go back to Mexico without me. Later we would get married in Mexico. I would stay working in the US. We thought once we were married it would be easy to come back to the US.

After we married in November of 2004 we submitted the first set of immigration paperwork for my wife. I was still living and working in the US until December of 2005. My employer at that time would not let me work from Mexico.

I found a new job within my company in December of 2005 that would allow me to move to Mexico. There I would work remotely until my wife could get a visa.

On March 28th, 2006 our second son Dylan was born here in Mexico by c-section. A couple of weeks later in April of 2006, after submitting a thousand dollars and some 5 forms my wife obtained a visa interview in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Following the interview she was denied a visa. Current immigration laws barred her from returning to the US for 10 years because she had been in the US for more than a year without a visa.

We were aware of this law before the interview but were hopeful they would approve us anyway. Though the law bars my wife from US entry for ten years they offer the possibility of a waiver. But in order to have the law waived one must wait an additional year and submit a request letter along with supporting evidence of extreme hardship on the US Citizen, me. No one can tell you exactly the definition of extreme hardship, but they do say family separation is not considered extreme hardship.

Currently we are waiting on a decision by the Department of Homeland Security to consider, based on evidence provided, that I do indeed face extreme hardship. The only other possibility for my wife to enter the United States legally is a change in the current laws that bar entry to the US of a US citizen’s foreign husband or wife.

Because of these conditions and my own personal experience more than a year ago I co-founded a non profit group called American Families United www.americanfamiliesunited.org . The sole goal is to change the law that prevents my wife and other’s spouses from entry into the US.

There are some members of our group whose spouses have been barred for life for being accused of making an oral claim of US citizenship. Often times they are accused of many years ago declaring that they were American citizen to a border guard. It can be very difficult to prove that your spouse didn’t in affect say that x years ago.

In the time I have lived here in Mexico I have really fallen in love with it. I really enjoy living here. I would stay if work allowed it. The sad truth is the fact that I am living here in Mexico may actually hurt our chances for a waiver. Additionally, it is very sad that at times my wife has been unable to travel to the US even for a few days to see my family.

David

This situation and that of the other two families I mentioned are typical. These people are not a threat to anyone’s security. The threat is to the security of their children, their relationships and the credibility of the governments of these two nations. Go to David’s web site and have a look. Read his comments on the VivaVeracruz Forum. Decide for your selves, is he and his family a threat? I hope you will like me see how ludicrous these rules truly are.

Being an interracial couple is something that has seldom come up between Anita and me after being together for more than 20 years. Frankly I don’t notice. I doubt whether in their day to day lives it is ever an issue for Harvey and Mati, or Emily and her husband, or David and his wife?

If we are such a high technology society why do good people get lopped in with situations that have nothing to do with them. Why are these rules and laws so general that good people are hurt by them? If this weren’t such a dangerous world to live in right now we as people of the planet earth with the incredible communication and travel systems we have in place would be tearing down the barriers of distinction between one country and another realizing full well we are all one.

Stay Tuned!

In the news, Jim and Mindy have started moving items to Carrizal. They have secured their new location and have keys. Mindy has installed a new beefy hasp and lock to their Air Stream entry door. They plan on moving the Air Stream within the next 10 days – we will help.

Gordy is back safely in Vancouver, Canada. He plans on researching the whys and wherefores of the limitation of the 90-day Visa by airplane into Mexico. We look forward to his report on that. Gordy Mexico misses you already amigo!

A number of people have asked about Julian. He continues his working career in Southern California. He has a girl friend now. His mother is concerned, but then what 16 year old doesn’t have a girl friend and what mother doesn’t worry on that subject?

I keep prodding him for pictures – his reply is he is very busy – hmmmm. More on master Julian soon. It has been 10 months since I have seen the boy, ugh don’t get me started on how much I have missed him.

We didn’t see the Academy Awards, but did see the morning shows yesterday. The beautiful people are beautiful as always. The selection of qulaity films was really thin this year. I suspect that it won’t go down as one of the better Award shows or seasons for film.

Interesting phenomenon with our satellite television reception. We have a too small dish for proper reception but as Pete would say I am too cheap to go out spend $160 USD on a new more grande plato. So we are using this 33 inch model that gets us very limited reception. We still get a half dozen pay per view channels as well as the A&E, biography and History channels. This is probably more television than we need anyway – but I love choices.

We also get the regular network feeds from Denver and Chicago; but they fade off around three in the afternoon, not to appear until morning again??? I have no idea why this is other than to suggest it seems to work the opposite of AM radio where the stations all skip in at night. Here the television programming skips-in the morning and disappear at night?

I hope to bring back a proper sized dish next trip. Harvey in Puerto Escondido and quite a bit further south from us has a massive plate on the third story of his fabulous abode just a couple miles from the Pacific Ocean. I NEED a larger dish!
We are off to Xalapa this morning for plastic storage bins and whatever from the big city. I hope to scope out the hand made cigar store to report on the Forum as well as finally actually figure out the directions to our favorite bootleg video store. You’ll have to get on the Forum to read the results of that.

I leave you with some visual candy. Jonna, my in Mexico Internet amiga, deposited a link to an interesting visual of an updated Volkswagen hippie van – check it out. Jonna had a ‘warning’ about the music? I turned it down. Anita was sleeping. You will have to be the judge on that.

http://www.verdier.ca/

Finally, when we are in Xalapa today as always we will see street jugglers. Some of the college students stand in the intersections on some of the main thoroughfares juggling fire-laden pins or brightly colored balls. Apparently they supplement their student loans and parents life savings with inter-section traffic donations. Sometimes they are dressed in circus suits with face paint. Here is a short YouTube video of one of our local entertainers. I think you will agree this lessens the waiting pain at the average stoplight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOhCY737Xu8

Mexico you gotta love it! Stay Tuned!

The Internet – Dancing with Strangers

Have you ever met someone you have written with on the Internet? Anita and I met with Kathy, Jamie and their 4 children (Jesse, Pike, Sissy and Ellen) yesterday afternoon. We have been following their adventures for more than a year by way of their Blog.

Meeting face to face was fun and pretty much supported our image of them as we have read about theirs travels and seen many pictures of the family. They are a charming and erudite group.

They arrived fashionably late at El Meson on the main drag in Xico sometime after three in the afternoon. Anita and I had gotten a table for two, as we were not exactly sure we would see them. Kathy and I were emailing regarding the plans but our final messages as to whether we would actually meet didn’t get to us on time.

As the six of them straggled in to the restaurant we asked for a table to accommodate ocho. We were seated at a huge round table and the meeting began.

It started off rather chaotic as one might expect with four energetic children who had just been released from the confines of an hour in a van. Couple that with introductions interspersed with conversations in Spanish with wait people – pretty much a madhouse kind of start for two people that had just got off the hill where we had been in reclusion for the last four days.

After a time things settled a bit. Kathy remarked that this was the nicest restaurant they had been to this after looking at the menu. I assume the prices may have been a bit overwhelming – what with six to feed. Kathy had fed the children chicken in the van on the way over to assuage the financial burden of feeding four starving children (smart that). They have systems in place to fund their travels no doubt.

Jamie and Anita both wanted entrees with shrimp as an ingredient. The food ordering process was very frenetic. At some point well into the ‘meal’ they were informed that El Meson was out of camaron (the requested shrimp). Ugh! Requests were modified and we drove on; food took a back seat to meeting and chatting. I think I ate the best of the lot – but then I had been there many times before.

Their children speak volumes for home schooling (or lack thereof they would say). Jesse and I had a few interesting conversations – he is quite the intelligent little man. Sissy explained the care required and names of her bag of lizards – she is really lovely, charming and giving (unusual for a child of her age). Pike was tired but had moments of enthusiasm. I got the feeling Ellen really likes desert.

Afterwards we all walked up the Boulevard towards the huge Church, Hildalgo street ends at the stairs leading up to the massive mission. Along the way we stopped in to see Pedro at Mole Garcia. I had been touting their mora and mole to Kathy via emails way before we set eyes on one another.

Pedro was his usual gracious self, serving samples of his elixirs. Kathy and I bought a few bottles and we moved on up the road. Jamie popped into a small coffee roasting tiende returning with a smile on his face. He apparently is delighted with all the coffee commerce in our area.

The children stopped in a shop or two coming out with coffee flavored marshmallows. Jesse had a pocketful of cacahuete dulce; a particular sweet that I like and often buy as well. We shared our pleasure for the light brown discs of peanut sugar.

The air was thickening as it so very often does in our sub-tropical climate. The sunlight was dissolving into a darkened gray sky. We all agreed it was time to head back to our vehicles and get on our way before dark set up.

We said our goodbyes and off we went to the Casita and they back to the balineario (bathing resort) as Kathy calls their parking locations.

Kathy’s command of the Spanish language comes with a terrific handle on the twang- she has it down – most impressive. I got the feeling that Jamie and my command of the foreign language was about the same. We talked bikes a bit as he managed the chaos of four bright and active kids very well.

It was a good meeting albeit too short. We wish we had more time to spend with them. They reminded us that they have been loping through Mexico already two months and needed to get further south soon. This morning I imagine they will shortly be packing up and headed down the road.

Some meetings of people you have been in conversation with on the Internet are better than others. This was one of the good ones. It endorsed the fact that the Internet can be a good place to get to know and occasionally meet others. Our interest in their travels will continue and has become more personal now. Stay Tuned!

A beautiful morning here in paradise. We have plans to head down the hill and meet up with Kathy, Jamie and their four children this afternoon (their Blog is HERE). Later this evening we will see if I can bring in the Academy Awards with the dish.

Back a few Blogs ago I wrote about the improvements being made to the bridge that leads into Ursulo Galvan, Poor Man’s Shangri-La. We were told the construction will be about 15 days’ mas o menos (more or less). The Municipio of Xico decided to fix this rather dangerous single lane bridge.

The majority of the danger was to pedestrians. People walking on the bridge needed to get to the side when cars came through. We always wait for people to get past the bridge when they are walking on it as we approach with our huge truck. Lydia says other drivers are not so courteous – not surprising to hear this. It is pretty much an every man for his or her self when it comes to traffic-and right-of-way.

We have been taking a rather circuitous alternative route since we came aware of the closed off puente.

At noon yesterday a couple hombres showed up here at Calypso Campo. They were in our yard just beyond the gate with quizzical looks. Anita and I went to the entry area, “Buenos Tardes. Que pasa?” One of them had a folder. This to us usually means there is some sort of a collection about to be requested.

OK here let it be said we do not begrudge progress and are more than willing to contribute. But, I don’t know if I have reported this story, in the Hood there were a couple hombres collecting almost weekly for a long time. They were collecting for a pipe that would provide more and better water to the Colonia. Each time they came we gave the requested 100 peso’s (about $10.00). Our names were checked off their record and we even receieved a receipt. I think we had contributed somewhere between 6 and 8 times – maybe more?

Come to find out upon our return this time around the hombres collecting ran off with the money. Now losing 80 bucks is not the end of the world for us First World people – but the folks in the Hood paid dearly for that fictitious pipe. It was sad and disheartening. Amigos and Hombres in the Hood that I talked with were angry and dismayed. Collection for improvements was going to be tougher to obtain from here on out.

So back to the now here are, these guys seeing our not so happy faces wondering what this was about. One of these two had shoes with just a string between two eyes of the shoe holding it together on his foot, there were many missing teeth between the two of them. They were not your typical US government types I can tell you. After some discussion where we gleaned from it that there was roadwork to be done. The calle would be closed to vehicle traffic for a time.

A view of our road – 2 miles of tough terrain up to Calypso Campo from the town of Xico.

I said to Anita tell them about the bilking we took in Ursulo Galvan. Further that we are willing to contribute, but only when we see the road work in progress. If they needed our dough to get started there is going to be a problem here.

They both listened politely and intently as Anita relayed our (my) position on the matter. The one with the folder produced a paper that apparently was explaining what they were trying to tell us. The more official one wearing a cowboy hat explained that if we wanted to donate money that was fine, but they were only here to notify us that the road would be closed for about two months. They were not here for money. Apparently this was going to be on the City – great!

“Dos meses!” (2 months) I asked?

“Si” they replied

They explained that the work would begin a week from tomorrow, Monday (Lunes). We clarified as to whether we would be able to get here on foot – confirmed. OK well this changes our plans a bit as we have been and planned to spend more time up here.

We asked if they were with the Municipio? “Si.” They had us sign the paper I had been handed. I assume to confirm we understood we were to be inconvenienced in the name of progress.

I found it curious that we have been here for two years dealing with the dangerous bridge going into Ursulo and the somewhat terrible road going up to the Campo, and now both accesses are in for major repairs. Good – better would have been not at the same time.

Can you imagine the road being closed to your house for two months and it being a two mile hike up a steep hill to get there. The price paid to live on a cobblestone road in a Third World Country. Who are we to stand in the way of progress – Mexican style – it is different. Stay Tuned!

Those of you on the Forum may have read yesterday that the Calypso family is the proud new owners of an LG refrigerator at Calypso Campo. We had been operating up there with a cooler and mostly warm beer for the last couple of years.

We had been looking and looking since early last year for just the right cooler box. Our requirements were heightened by the fact we had a 25” or so space to accommodate the refrigerator or move out some shelving that Harvey made and we liked where it was.

We found the perfect fit and an excellent deal in that LG decided to come out with a new model with an additional cubic foot. Early yesterday morning we drove to Chedraui in Coatepec. This is a good time to shop by the way, before nine in the morning. The place was empty of shoppers.

We have mentioned before about extra caution needed when buying appliances in Mexico: examine your purchase to be sure you are getting in the box what you bargained for at the demonstration area. Keep in mind that the delivery people often are contracted. The seller may not stand behind the quality and care of their delivery. We opted to have them place the big box in the back of our BIG Ford truck. We would drive it up the steep hill to Calypso Campo ourselves assuring as best we could that it would get there safely.

We got it installed. We are now happily enjoying cold foods and adjusting to the new noise in our casita.

While waiting for the in the box refrigerator I picked up a flyer inviting patrons to get a Chedraui Tarjeta de Credito (a Chedraui Credit Card). It had a handsome picture of the card with the Chedraui logo and the Visa logo. The flyer included some special opportunities if one gets the card. But down in the lower corner in fine print was “Costo Annual Total 74.40%” – yikes!

The median net worth of a Mexican family is about $10,000 USD or 10 % of that of their neighbors to the north. Heretofore Mexicans haven’t had much ‘opportunity’ for credit. This relatively new financing has really brought the loan sharks out. While many may need access to credit they are in danger of becoming victimized and because of their economic standing, rising household debt is a serious concern here in Mexico.

One of our neighbors in Poor Man’s Shangri La has a refrigerator similar to our new one, a Mabe brand unit. In discussing the pros and cons as it related to our ongoing search we learned that it cost 4000 pesos in the store, but with the one year of interest loan it had cost more than 8000 pesos. In other words they paid double for the privilege of making a payment every 8 days for one year.

In my way of thinking this is criminal. Citigroup charges 40% interest on a standard credit card in Mexico. America’s credit card rates are fairly low on the international scale. India’s APR’s appear to be the lowest while Brazil has the highest credit card interest rates.

Locally here they are paying as much as 6%, or more, a month for financing. It breaks my heart to see these people being abused this way. Yes, we can all argue about truth in lending and they could always say no – but with life being as hard as it is around here – to just say no is not easy when your kids are hungry and you are all cold.

When I was starting out in life some years ago there were loan shark type lenders where one with limited credit worthiness could acquire a loan for as much as a whopping 25%. These Mexican interest rate percentages are staggering in my mind. I don’t think there is a good end to this story unless someone institutes regulations that will keep these wolves from mauling the Mexican common man in debt. Stay Tuned!

On the subject of Mexican stuff. When we were in Jalcomulco the other day we walked into several shops where they were selling the kinds of things you see in tourist shops.

A View from Rio’s Edge in Jalcomulco

The Mexicans are a clever people. They sell items made intricately with simple materials in as much as they have more time and talent than pesos for materials.

Entry to the Walking Bridge (Click to ENLARGE)

I particularly liked this wicker and bamboo standing lamp. I thought it would fit in with the bamboo décor we have started at the Campo.

The Lamp

We had a problem with the white wiring thinking brown would have been more pleasing and suitable. Anita brought this point up to the sales Senora to no gain. They had white wire – there it is.

Wire and electrical items are not inexpensive in Mexico. In fact, I try and bring electrical pieces and parts each trip down. Their electrical outlets and wall switches are poorly made and usually two wire sans ground.

Here we have a wicker base, bamboo shaft and gourd shade – basically free materials gleaned from the local environment. Add to this a little wire a lamp socket, and a light bulb – then a little varnish over the many hole drilled gourd and you have a native lamp – crude and yet elegant in shape and design.

This beauty was offered at 130 pesos or at today’s rate of exchange $11.86 USD. No one is getting rich on this bright idea. In the end we didn’t buy it. Anita seemed less than enthusiastic and I am trying to control my quick to decide purchasing habit.

Today I wish I had bought it. Stay Tuned!

Jalcomulco foot bridge taken from the traffic bridge in town.

Yesterday we visited Jalcomulco (or Xalcomulco) and Carrizal. Both of these towns are part of the Biosphere Reserve of Los Tuxtlas.

The two towns are known for their rafting and kayaking as well as mineral baths. They are a tourist destination or tourist trap (more on this later).

It is a short drive from Xalapa – about 45 km. We drove to Jalcomulco from our Casita in Xico. It is about a five mile drive to Coatepec from Xico (or Xalapa). At the crucero on the northeast end of town you head around the circle and then south. You will immediately see a sign to Jalcomulco (I think it reads 30 km – Anita says 31?). Follow the rafting signs and a few Jalcomulco signs and you won’t likely get lost – we didn’t.

The drive from Coatepec is scenic and enjoyable. The roads have a lot of potholes so it isn’t twenty minutes to traverse the 19 or so miles – more like 40 minutes. When you get to Jalcomulco you will know it. It is smaller than I imagined after hearing so much about it. Also it was dead there. I mean there were a few natives; I saw no tourists – other than us.

I suppose that this is the time of year? But February in Mexico and 80 plus degree sunny weather seemed to me like there should have been some tourist. We walked on the big cement bridge at the end of the town watching a few kayakers launch out from just under the bridge.

But really on a beautiful sunny day the place was without people. The raft rental stores were full up with stacked rafts.

I saw a typical Mexican police truck actually picking up the towns garbage – I guess the policia double up as the city garbage haulers?

The Policia load and haul the towns garbage away

We walked around. There are a number of shops selling basically the same things. This seems to be very typical Mexico. All the shops sell the same type of items. In this case they had gourds shellacked and shiny made into lamps, and hard wicker baskets, planters, lamp shades and even shrimp baskets.

Anita was shown a shrimp basket. The senora explained that meat was put in the basket. At night the shrimp would go in to get the meat and not get out. Kind of like the monkeys captured with the nuts in their hands in bottles I guess?

Anita examines a shrimp trap basket

Gourds and Wicker Work are the Shopping Picks

As we walked around the few streets that comprised Jalcomulco we came upon a hotel with a lovely look to its entrance. It was closed for lack of business I guess. Later I looked on the Internet and found possibly the reason. “$ 235 USD per person Includes meals for double occupancy.” So this La Villa motel is $470.00 a night for two people plus 15% IVA tax – yikes! This after a few weeks ago being in beautiful Puerto Escondido in a motel right across the street from the Pacific Ocean with a swimming pool etc. for $13.63 USD a night TOTAL. Marvin paid under $10 USD for his single occupied room. What are these people thinking???

Sign at La Villa – MUCHO Dinero!

Entrance to La Villa – charming and nice – I like the chairs!

We got directions from a cab driver on how to head on to Carrizal. It was about 20 minutes and perhaps another 10 US miles to Carrizal. We came in on the sleepy end of town but later discovered it was a larger than expected and busy town. We saw signs for the Carrizal Banos or baths but headed into the center of town. We wanted to see what Jim and Mindy were going to have available to them living there.

Where are their Highway Numbers – Don’t count on Signs in Mexico.

On the Forum Kathy (Harvestmoon) mentioned how expensive the motels were in Carrizal and that they were moving towards Xalapa for less expensive accommodations. Judging from the prices I have seen on the Internet for the Los Tuxlas area and the price of La Villa I certainly can see how they needed to move on.

Ironically Jim & Mindy rented a small casita on the line of ours including a place to park their Air Stream trailer right in Carrizal for 300 pesos a month (about $27.35 USD).I have been told that those expensive tourist trap motels and rafting adventure businesses are mostly owned by gringos – I can believe it. I a sure you with a little extra effort inexpensive accommodations and reasonable water sports activities can be had – but probably not for the people making their plans from the States or Canada.

We drove into Xalapa on the free highway 140 making the entire 62 -mile loop without incurring any tolls It was a lovely outing and we know more about our area. In spite of their high prices Jalcomulco and Carrizal are worth visiting. We will go back and further discover the Los Tuxlas area – certainly when Jim and Mindy are residents there. Stay Tuned!

I have written about my friend Gordy who is a Canadian citizen and owns a home in Puerto Escondido. It should be noted that the house in Puerto was put in his son’s names within a fideicomiso trust. Gordy wrote the follow comment on yesterday’s Blog:

I may not be here when you return, the immigration office here is unbelievable, when I came through Mexico City in [November] the immigration would only give me 90 days, when I showed them my return ticket dated the end of April, they said no problem,,, now they want 15000 p for every thirty days of you visa extension, plus photocopies of all of the pages in my passport, plus traveler cheques or bank statements to prove solvency, plus 237p for the extension… and then I transfer money into interact[tive?] account, company account, for the write-off, but account isn’t in my name, company name,, go figger that one.. add in the cost of changing the ticket and this guy could have another laugh at the expense of the tourists that bring dollars to this country.. the reason I bitch is that several people I know got 180 days and were only staying a month or less.. they know that they are putting the bite on you when they should put 180 days when your staying for 150 days, but decide to screw you for the 237p , photocopy, and additional costs and expense.. and there is no way to find the immigra[tion] that said no problem… Aarrrggh!!! lgordo alive and kicking,, think I’ll make up a plan to impress them with my take on the situation,, later dude G

My first question has to be: “Am I reading this correctly, ‘…they want 15000 p for every thirty days of you[r] visa extension…’” Is it possible they are hitting Gordy up for $1500.00 US for a 30-day extension or did Gordy mean 1500 pesos or about $150.00US?

Then I have to ask as I always do, “Who are these people that have been given the right to stop other human beings from going anywhere on this planet?” Of course that always gets rolled eyes – but seriously, who are these people?

Now getting back to reality, my understanding is that 90 days is the maximum Mexican Visa one can get when flying in to Mexico. If you drive there is little problem to obtain a six-month FMT visa – at least that was the case about 5 months ago when I got mine. I don’t know if the Mexican Government is working in cooperation with the Bush administration or what on the 90-day fly in visa; or was this their policy before 911?

And really what exactly is the difference between 90 and 180 days allowed in Mexico – Wouldn’t any subversive activity be able to be performed within 90 days? What exactly are they preventing with this policy???

Going from a place where Saudi students with US visas are flying airplanes into buildings to preventing US and Canadian citizens from traveling essentially freely in North America is a real stretch and imposition on freedom. I have to wonder with all their technology how they must lop everyone in to one basic terrorist threat – guilty until proven not a terrorist; or could this simply be about money

With the new law that started in January where a family of 5 needs $700.00US plus worth of visas to fly to Ensenada, one can only wonder what are the mighty US and little Mexican neighboring governments thinking – really? Mexican tourism is going to suffer as US tourism has because these people can’t sort the wheat from the chafe. Modern technology indeed!

I am closer to the United States when I am in Xico than I am to my friend John Paul in Chicago when I am in Pueblo, Colorado. And yet in some ways it is as if I am half way around the world.

Gordy and I go way back to the early 70’s where we were together involved with rock n’ roll music entertainment – hardly a National threat to any country. OK bring out the drug-sniffing dogs if you must – I can understand – but this nonsense is just beyond reasonable and only smacks of how inept their systems must be when they go to such lengths to inconvenience regular proletariat.

I hope Gordy gets this straightened out before he has to leave the country. Stay Tuned!

   This morning while getting the US news from the NBC Today Show I heard that Anna Nicole Smith died February 8th – where have we been  – in MEXICO. Also we saw a clip on Britney Spears clipping all her hair off – self inflicted at a Valley salon where the proprietor refused to make the twenty bucks for shearing her locks to skin head level – have we missed TV or what – NO!

Later in a less important segment we learned that 17 billion dollars is spent each year in the US for women getting their nails done. I have to write that this was the most appalling news of the day – even more so than the Anna Smith news.

I read Jon’s Blog about the poverty in his area and of course we live in a heart of poverty
Here in Veracruz and our Poor Man’s Shangri La more particularly. My head swirled with that figure as I looked at my clean and personally groomed nails thinking how much better spent that 17 billion on helping hungry people.

The actual piece on NBC relating to the possible hazards from the fumes one is exposed to during that process of gluing on things to the topside of one’s fingertips. It just seems so ludicrous for a people to spend that kind of money for that while there are so many needy people – frankly I don’t get it. I suppose that is why I am here and not there???

Stay Tuned!

Mobile phone in use (Click to ENLARGE)

When you last tuned in we were leaving the seclusion of Calypso Campo. We bid adios to the workers still doing obra (construction work) on the grande casa across the road. Twenty minutes later and a mile and a half down the road we encounter the scene captured above. I said to Anita, “I have to get a picture of that for my Blog.”

Here we are in a third world country, driving along a one-lane cobblestone road cut through the jungle in the hills above Xico, Veracruz. We come upon an oft seen site; an hombre on foot trudging up the calle along side another hombre riding a burro that is packed with a shiny canister of raw milk and a bag of coffee beans.

The older of the two has one bad eye and worse teeth – why is he on foot and not the youth I wonder? Obviously these two are Ejido from the communal community of Micoxtla just up the road from Calyspo Campo.

So here is the perfectly natural setting for the area except the younger campesino is in conversation on his cell phone astride the burro. Where does a kid with a string holding up his trousers come up with a cell phone – what’s more why and whom is he calling? An unsolved mystery.

I get my photo. The two were very pleasant and cooperative. When I was processing the photo I noticed the youth’s trousers rope was color coordinated with his baby blue t-shirt. The young are fashion conscious at all levels I suppose.

We continue into town where we buy a kilo of tortillas for 6 pesos (up from 4.5 not too long ago) and a 4 peso white onion. A kilo of white onions is going for more than a kilo of avocados.

Anita buys two arrangements of cut flowers, one for her amiga Lydia and the other for our enjoyment. She thanks me for the flowers as if it had been my idea.

We drive along our usual route of three and a half miles to Ursulo Galvan, the Hood where our Casita is located. But, in route with about a half mile left to the Casita we are stopped at the bridge that crosses the rio. The same water way that passes by the south end of our property.

They let horses and riders pass by (Click to ENLARGE)

As you can see a whole lot of activity going on at La Puente. The small Virgin of Guadalupe shrine is gone and a new metal foot walk way is being added.

The bridge has always made Anita a bit nervous, as it is very narrow and quite high above the rambling creek. Wayward vehicles that were saved from quite the plunge have damaged many of the vertical cement posts. The thick metal wire that runs through the cement posts is stretched and missing in places. A tall sign prominently displayed explains what is going on.

We realized another route to Poor Man’s Shangri La was required. Again I asked if I could take a photo. One of the three Policia standing by told Anita the construction would take another quince dias (15 days) or so.

While this is inconvenient the repairs and improvements would be worth it. Anita was very happy. It is quieter in the Hood right now as no big buses can get up the hill while the bridge is out of commission. Many of the 1500 inhabitants now have to walk the 7/10 of a mile to the main road to catch the bus.

Progress all around us. We live amongst poverty conditions and the poor, but there is always building and ‘advancement’ going on all around. Where there is building there is hope I suppose. Five days in seclusion we come back to changes and ‘progress’ in our third world community. Poor man’s Shangri La will have a sparkling new bridge leading in. Stay Tuned!