The fine weather continues and I am enjoying a relaxed routine.  Went to the cine many times and one play.  We had a Thanksgiving dinner party with students and teachers in the casa on Thursday that was a huge success.  I run almost every day.

I’ve been in Guanajuato for a week now and am very content.  The photo above is the view from the roof of the casa.  It has been sunny and warm every day.

I’m enjoying going to Spanish school and I don’t think I have every spoken better, which is very encouraging considering that I’ll be here another 16 weeks or so.  I go to school Mon-Fri, 9-12.  It’s about a 15 minute walk to the school.

Up to now I’ve been eating out.  A nice multi-course meal of the day costs around 75 pesos including tip ($6 Cdn).  Also there is lots of street food of course.  Saturday morning is when I enjoy tamales for breakfast in Plaza Baratillo.  I made salsa roja last night and will eat in tonight.

I’ve been physically active every day, either running or hiking.  I walk everywhere and everything is a short distance away.  There are many options for entertainment including my favourite CineClub at the university. Just like at home, I usually watch Spanish telenovelas on YouTube in the evenings before turning in.

Life here is very tranquilo and comfortable.

I left Guanajuato on Saturday and took a bus to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city.  The historic Centro is impressive, the surroundings are typical.  I only saw the old city and that was enough.  I took a bus to Puerto Vallarta on Monday.

I ended my trip in 2007 in Puerto Vallarta and I am staying in a cheapie hotel right beside where I stayed last time.  I have said that I don’t like PV but now I must admit that it’s a great place for English-speakers.  Vallarta is beautiful and comfortable and a great place to own property.  However, its success is its weakness.  It is packed with non-Mexicans, and it’s tough to speak Spanish here.  North and south of PV are many beautiful beach communities, both inundated with foreigners and not.

Last day of school today.  Tomorrow I take a bus to spend a few days in Guadalajara.  I fly to Vancouver on Tuesday from Puerto Vallarta.

Last night I took my teachers out to play pool and yes there was beer too.  We finished off the night with tacos in the street.  Perfect!  My teachers have been my friends here and we spent a lot of time together in school of course and occasionally outside of school.  I will miss them.

In Mexico Christmas is traditionally celebrated starting in the evening of the 24th.  Many go to an evening mass then return home or to a relative’s home to celebrate.  A Christmas dinner is served shortly after midnight and the celebration continues until early morning.  Christmas day is more relaxed and a day off for most.

For me yesterday was completely normal.  Today I went for a walk to take a couple of pictures.  The city centro was very quiet however a few shops were open including the cafe I patronize.  You can see the sky above.  The temperature dropped down to 8C and may reach 18C later today.  Chilly but better than YVR.  I will probably have dinner with some other students later today.

If I allow myself to recognize my progress in Spanish,  I am now very functional.  I understand most of what I hear or read, and know the grammar quite well.  However, I still commit errors when speaking, sometimes more than others depending on the topic and my stress level.  I find this frustrating and am now focusing on speaking better.

The 12 weeks of school ends next week.  I was going to go to the beach for January 3-13 and I had hoped that some teachers would also go.  That didn’t work out so I decided to stay another week in Guanajuato and take private conversation classes.  Luckily I am able to stay in the same apartment an extra week.

I will take a bus to Puerto Vallarta Saturday January 10 and I fly to YVR on Tuesday January 13.

Arrived back in Guanajuato last night after travelling by bus Mazatlán- Guadalajara- Guanajuato.  The apartment feel like home as does the old city centro.

The trip was a complete success.  I travelled around 3,600 km mostly by bus: Gauanajuato – Guadalajara – Mazatlán – Los Mochis – El Fuerte – Creel – Batopilas – Creel – El Fuerte – Los Mochis – Mazatlán – Teacapán – Mazatlán – Guadalajara – Guanajuato.

Finished week 10 of school and was sad to leave.  I caught an early bus to Guadalajara and transferred to a bus to Mazatlan.  Total journey was about 14 hours.  We passed through a couple of police inspections including one where they x-rayed all the luggage.  The police are friendly enough though.

Arrived in Mazatlán around 8pm.  Was going to catch a local bus to the hotel but when I asked for directions I was advised not to walk about, so I took an open air taxi to the Belmar Hotel.  The location of the hotel is perfect.  The hotel is clean but run down.  The bed and pillows are hard, and there is no hot water.  Going to pay a bit more when Karen arrives and stay just up the street at La Siesta.

Was up early today to walk around.  Found the market and had a good typical Mexican breakfast.  I then walked to, and up to the Faro.  It’s hot and humid here compared to Guanajuato.  I then walked north towards gringolandia but did not go all the way.

My first impressions of old Mazatlán are: it is very residential, there are as many Mexican tourists as gringos but waiters still want to speak to you in English as in Puerto Vallarta, but it seems to be more relaxed than PV.

I just bought my bus ticket to Mazatlán for Saturday November 22.  I’m starting to get excited about the trip and the change of pace.  I’m thinking that a short break in the middle of 12 weeks of school is a good idea for next time.  I return to Guanajuato around December 13 to finish off the trimester and have rented the apartment until January 3.

The bus will arrive in Mazatlán around 8pm.  The bus station is very close to old Mazatlán and I’m planning to stay nearby at Hotel Belmar.  The hotel is old, cheap, and right on the beach.

Subsequent to writing above, in a planning mood I decided to check out flights home.  Pricing just after New Years is high so the airlines convinced me to head for the beach on January 3.  I booked a rewards flight home on January 13 from Puerto Vallarta.

Last weekend was El Dia de los Muertos.  We built an alter at the school on Thursday.  On Friday a group of students and teachers went out to play pool, followed by bar hopping.  I was the first to leave the party at around 2pm.  Saturday was a quiet day of recover walking the streets, viewing the tapetes, and visiting el Panteón.

This week’s highlight was the 18th Tour de Cine Francés.  I remember attending at 2007.  This week I saw 6/7 of the films and enjoyed them all.

I start week 9 of school tomorrow.  My spanish is/has advanced.  While I still make mistakes, I self-correct most and am conscious of advanced grammar issues.  Had a Spanish literature class last week that I really enjoyed and the class will continue this week.

I am half way through school and am getting more comfortable with Spanish.  Still have to force myself to think before speaking so as to avoid stupid errors.  Next step is to talk more in the street with locals.

Last Thursday at about 11 am one of the teachers (my favourite) received two complementary tickets to a performance of flamenco at the Ex Hacienda de San Gabriel de Barrera.  The performance was at 12 pm so I skipped classes to attend.  It was my best experience of Cervantino 2014 which ends tonight.

On Friday after classes the students and two teachers played soccer with the teacher’s team for practice.  Lots of fun and I did pretty good for a 60 year old.  The average age of the players was around 25, the youngest being 15.

After the game and a shower at the house, I headed back to the school to participate in a general Friday night social.  Having the most disposable income I bought the beer, lots of it.  It was a small gathering.  We started playing cards then sat around talking and listening to music and danced a bit.  The teachers normally drink all night and this time I stuck it out until 4:30 am, getting to bed at 5.

Had to get up at 8 am to get money as I was meeting the organizer of the home stay at 10:30 to pay my bill and to watch the soccer game between Real Madrid and Barcelona.  After that I went home and took a siesta until around 5pm.  Went out for dinner but returned home early to relax watching my telenovela.

I’ve decided to rent my own apartment here in Guanajuato and I was able to find a place close to el Centro on craigslist.  Met the property manager and saw the apartment this morning.  I’ll be staying there Nov 1-21 and Dec 13-Jan 3 at a cost of $125/wk.

Living with a family has been great but after six weeks I felt the need for more privacy, independence and a location closer to el Centro.  I think I got lucky finding a place so easily.  I’m looking forward to a different experience having to do shopping and cook.