After arriving in Cusco from Lima, we went exploring the town. Near the main square in Cusco, Katie and Jill spotted a local farmer with one of her alpacas. Super cute. I offered her $2 to take her picture….she wanted $5! HA…silly me! And yes, the local Peruvian women still wear the traditional dress, complete with beautiful skirts (Polleras), shawls (Mantas) and of course, the cool hats (Montera’s). Depending on the region, the clothing would vary slightly.

Just down the street from the other woman and her nearly full-grown alpaca, sat her daughter with a baby alpaca. You had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t a doll…it never moved. Check out the amazing colors of her handmade clothing. They use only dies made from local ingredients.

On our first day exploring Cusco with our guide, Vidal, we visited a local llama and alpaca farmers collective. That morning, it snowed in May for the first time in 18 years. The animals of course, loved it. They raise llamas and alpacas and the local women hand-craft the amazing textiles for sale in the store (yes…we bought some). They use the fleece from the alpacas and the softest (and most expensive) garments are made from 100% pure baby alpaca wool, which is only from the first shearing at around six months of age. I thought it was softer than cashmere….amazing.

A llama/alpaca petting zoo. Since none of us had ever seen a llama or an alpaca in person, we didn’t know what to expect. They were super friendly and came right over to the fence. I’ve since learned that the alpacas are smaller and more gentle and used only for the fleece. The llamas, on the other hand, are larger, stronger and are used for pack animals and meat production.

The woman in this picture was demonstrating how they dye and spin the wool to get it ready. It’s very labor-intensive…they wash it three times to get rid of all the impurities, then dye it with hand-crafted dyes made from local plants and bugs (yep!). Check out the smoking pot in front of her where she washed the wool. She was very fluent in English and was training to become their marketing person.

The baskets in the background were full of already dyed wool, as well as the berries, flowers and bugs from which they make the dyes. She showed us how they use a local bug (barely an 1/8” in diameter) to make the unique red dye. Hanging on the wall was previously dyed wool that was drying.

When you see the finished products, it’s hard to believe that these amazingly talented ladies make them from scratch, using centuries-old techniques and hand-held looms. It was fascinating to watch. They said it can take a week or more to make one table runner or quilt.

We stood and watched this amazing lady using her simple, hand-held loom to work on a new table runner. How she gets the lines so straight and the designs to fit perfectly is a mystery. True artists.

Underneath this simple shed, the local families display and sell their amazing products….blankets, purses, quilts, ponchos, hats, socks, table cloths, sweaters (they were amazing) and much more. The prices were so reasonable, we felt almost guilty paying what they were asking. Once back in the big cities like Lima, double or triple these prices. Katie, Jill and Claudia all bought some great stuff. If we lived in a cooler climate, I would have bought a sweater for sure…they were beautiful.

Here’s a shot of Claudia picking out a table runner and Katie getting ready to buy a blanket. We could have spent a lot more time and a lot more money there! Good thing we had to head to our next stop….the amazing salt flats of Maras.

The salt harvested at Maras is a community effort to support families whose land isn’t very productive due to the salinity. About 650 local families work thousands of these salt pools and the income from the sale of the finished salt helps provide them with additional income. We purchased some of the salt and wished we’d bought more, as it’s delicious and totally unique to that area. The Incas discovered that a stream flowing out of the mountain was very high in salinity. They were the first known people to harvest it.

This is a view down the main street, showing the Peru Rail tracks that run right down the middle of the town, as well as some of the shops and restaurants along the street. We loved this town…full of really fun people, great cocktails (some of the best Pisco Sours we had) and some beautiful hotels right on the banks of the river. A special place for sure.

Having a quick lunch at Munaycha in Agua Calientes with our guide Vidal (what a super guy!). Busy day tomorrow….as we head to Machu Picchu. We loved this town. Really fun waiters and great food (which became a pattern in Peru…the food was exceptional. The back patio overlooks the Urubamba River.

After a journey of 3,500 miles and a combination of planes, trains, cars and buses….you walk up a steep set of ancient stairs and emerge onto a grassy area and….you look out at this. It literally takes your breath away and you realize that everything you’ve read and all the pictures don’t even begin to do it justice. It’s absolutely magnificient.

A group of tourists can be seen heading into the massive site. The Peruvian government now limits the number of people who can visit the site to approximately 2,500 daily. Most groups (including us) use a local registered Peruvian guide on at least the first day. The knowledge they have about the site is extraordinary and they’re understandably very proud of it and the history it represents.

This room is the most important building at Machu Picchu. Only the high priests and other spiritual leaders were allowed inside. The windows are aligned with the Summer and Winter solstice. Another shot I took shows how this room was built on top of existing stones in the mountain. This is significant, as the Incas worship the Pachamama (Mother Earth) and believe she controls many things, like planting, fertility and even earthquakes (Machu Picchu sits atop two fault lines).

Claudia, Katie and Jill with our guide, Vidal, looking out at the beautiful mountains in the sacred valley. From this vantage point, you can see Machu Picchu, as well as its sister mountain, Huana Picchu. The Incas built temples and residences atop Huana Picchu where religious leaders are thought to have lived.

There are over 200 structures at Machu Picchu, divided into urban and agricultural areas. The Inca’s had no written language, no metal tools and no concept of the wheel. The complex had running water throughout and all of the walls had small drainage channels at the base to funnel off excess water and route it to one of the fountains in the town. it worked so well that the workers at the site monitor the small “gutters” daily to make sure the rainfall doesn’t erode any of the structures. Yep…they figured this out in 1450.

There are approximately 120 terraces at Machu Picchu, divided between upper and lower sections. The Inca builders were so skilled that approximately 1/3 of the stone terrace walls are below ground level, to act as a foundation. Our guide said if the foundations are what has kept the terraces in place since 1450.

These amazing terraces served two purposes….first to provide plantable areas to grow food (experts think the food grown here could sustain around 300 people) and second, to hold the stone structures above in place (which they continue to do to this day). There are terraces on all sides of the mountain and most of the stone and all of the fill dirt was hauled many miles from nearby mountains. The terraces are as perfect today as they were in 1450 and only need occasional cleaning to remove moss from the stones. It’s impossible to convey the vast vertical and horizontal space they occupy, until you look closely and see a person way off in the distance.

This photo shows one of the hundreds of beautiful stone walls and a path leading to the thatched roof building in the distance. The stonework is remarkable and in this section, they incorporated existing rock outcroppings into the wall for strength, a skill they used throughout the city.

What you’re looking at in the foreground is a grassy area our guide said was used as a social gathering place, a place for celebrations, etc.

Notice the different color and textures of the stone walls. it is estimated that it took around 100 years to build the complex. Over time, they became more and more sophisticated in their building skills and the later walls are of a much higher quality.

The buildings with the rock walls (they would have had thatched roofs) in the background were residences. All of the residential buildings were situated so they had a commanding view of the Sacred Valley. The Inca’s worshiped all of nature….the earth, the rivers, the sun, the stars. The location of Machu Picchu was no accident. It sits high atop a sacred mountain and close to everything they revered and worshiped. It also gave the high priests an unparalleled view of the sun and the stars, which they used to chart the seasons.

A view looking up from one of the lower terraces gives a perspective on the immense amount of labor and materials it must have taken to build Machu Picchu. It’s estimated that it took about 100 years to build. I asked our guide if historians have an estimate on how many workers it took to build the complex. He said there are no written records, but estimates are that there would have been many thousands there at one time. It must have been quite a feat to provide food, water and shelter.

Katie and Claudia walking the path to the buildings seen in the distance. Vidal, our guide, said these buildings functioned as social gathering spots and possibly as a market for the picked crops.

A Peruvian guide approaches, leading his tour group across one of the terraces.

Many of the windows are aligned to capture the light on different…and significant…days of the year, such as the Summer and Winter Solstices. Note the stonework of this window….the Incas figured out that any window or doorway arch needed a supporting stone at the top, called a Lintel. A small detail, but a very important one….especially when no mortar is used.

The light on our second day was amazing….a beautiful warm tint. At this elevation and in this valley with no industry anywhere nearby, there is no air pollution. There aren’t many areas you can travel to anymore where this is the case.

The Incas worshiped the condor and believed it linked the earth to the heavens and held many powers. They used natural rock formations to depict the condor wings (one can be seen slanting upward and to the right of where I’m standing) and added to the effect with their own stone work. On the floor beneath where I was standing is a carved rock depicting the condor’s head and carved neck feathers. This is one of the most popular sights at Machu Picchu, as it highlights their artistic abilities, their incredible stonemasonry talents and most importantly, the esteem in which they held the condor.

A partial view of the Temple of the Condor stone work.

Another view of the Andes Mountains off in the distance

Since the Incas used no mortar in their stonework, each stone had to be hand cut, roughly polished (they used other rocks and sand to do this), then lifted into place. Machu Picchu sits on two active fault lines and these stones rattle during active quakes, then fall back into place. Amazing. The locals call this phenomenon “The Dancing Stones”.

Most of the walls at Machu Picchu are slanted back from vertical. To say they were incredible stonemasons is a really big understatement. And….they did all of the stone shaping and cutting using only rocks as tools. Shaping and smoothing was done using sand and flat stones.

Leading to a small cave, this natural rock formation sits directly below the Temple of The Sun. Our guide said that historians aren’t totally sure what this room was used for, but when first discovered it held a mummy and religious artifacts, so it’s believed that it was a very special place.

Note the stone work in this passageway. It looks like it could have been laid 50 years ago, not 600 years ago.

After coming down the mountain and back into the charming little town of Aguas Calientes, we had some Pisco Sours to celebrate. These are delicious and it’s no wonder that it’s the national drink in Peru.

Made with Pisco (a brandy made by distilling grape musts and juices). Combine pisco brandy, simple syrup, egg whites, lime juice and Agnostura bitters.

A carriage tour near Battery Park. Beautiful carriage and a majestic horse pulling it. As a side note, there’s a big controversy in Charleston about the horses being used this way. Many see it as very harmful to the animals and there’s a movement to stop it.

This is one of the homes used in Gone With the Wind.

Historic Charleston has blocks of beautifully restored Civil War era homes, many still owned and occupied by descendants of the original owners.

Claudia and Tuck strolling down Battery Park. An amazing place for sure.

Get Tuck around water and it won’t be long until he finds a way to go in…which he immediately did here at the fountain in Battery Park. Fortunately it was early in the day and not many people were around. He loved it and bless his heart, it was already a really hot day.

This shot reminds us of France….beautiful flowers and colorful shutters. Magical combination.

I poked the camera through an iron fence to take this shot of a beautiful garden.

An unusual house….one side has curved balconies and the other has the typical straight ones. Guess they couldn’t make up their mind, so they did both. Maybe if we take a carriage ride, the guide can explain it.

Another view of the home with multiple balconies. And why not…it faces the harbor and Battery Park.

A carriage ride is a great way to see and learn about Charleston. This one was easing by Battery Park and as we listened to the guide, we learned that the house across the street from this one was used in the film Gone With the Wind.

I’m glad I don’t have to maintain one of these…but then again, if you’re rich enough to own one, you’ve got the money to keep it up.

Check out this house….it’s maybe 12’ wide. As in many old cities, land in town was very expensive and you were taxed on the size of your lot…hence the narrow home you see here. It was perfectly restored and super cute.

The main fountain in Battery Park. Check out the cruise ship in the background….a real blend of old and new. There’s no doubt in my mind that the fountain will outlast the cruise ship.

This gives you a view of the scale of these homes….they’re massive!

Just as in many cities in Europe…a lot of the homes didn’t face the street, but the narrower alley between a row of homes. The carriage guide was telling his riders that one of the reasons was to avoid the smells from the street, which were apparently very bad during the mid 1800’s before indoor plumbing.

Another view of the beautiful trees in Battery Park.

Another shot of the beautiful walkway. Notice the cruise ship in the background. Charleston has a very deep harbor and it’s used by cruise ships, merchant ships and US Navy ships.

One of the giant canons mounted at Battery Park in Charleston. These were used to protect the harbor during the Civil War. As with everything in historic Charleston, they’re beautifully preserved.

Battery Park is absolutely beautiful and it sits right on the harbor. It’s a must see when visiting Charleston.

One of the brick walkways in Battery Park….beautifully done and spotless. You don’t see any trash in downtown Charleston…they keep it pristine.

Flowers are everywhere in the old town.

Many of the old carriage houses have been repurposed into very expensive homes. Here’s a great example.

As we walked along Battery Park, I took some quick shots of the homes across the street. These homes look out on the harbor and it’s amazing to me that they survived the Civil War intact.

A beautiful flower garden on the path. Out in the distance is Ft. Sumter, where the first shot was fired that started the Civil War.

As we walked down Battery Park, members of a local auto club drove by. It’s fun to think of all the changes in transportation these old homes have seen since the mid 1800’s.

Another beautiful mansion by Battery Park. Notice again how some of the homes faced inward and away from the noise and smells of the street.

Entering the Kennedy Space Center.

Claudia leaning against one of the early Gemini capsules. The cockpit was about the size of an old Volkswagen.

A model of the new Orion capsule that will be used for the upcoming Mars voyage. The astronauts are already in training for this mission, which will take six months each way, plus the actual time spent on the surface.

This is a shot of the two rockets and the giant fuel tank in the center that were used for all of the shuttle launches. It was this rocket that caused the Challenger to blow up on launch. The rockets are assembled in sections and one of the “O-ring” gaskets failed. The controllers were powerless to stop it, as once a solid-fuel rocket like this is lit…it can’t be shut down.

The cargo bay of the space shuttle, with the remote payload arm sticking out. This arm launched the satellites, space station pieces, etc.

The Atlantis cockpit. When it landed, it was put on display…space dirt, burn marks and all. NASA wanted the public to see it exactly as it was when it returned to Earth.

A scale model of the giant Hubble telescope. After decades in space, it’s still sending back amazing images. It will be replaced with a much more powerful telescope in the next couple years.

An actual suit and backpack used in the space walks. The backpack contained small jet nozzles used to move the astronaut around….pretty scary when you realize that there was no safety line connected to the ship. One malfunctioning jet and you were launched into space forever, with no hope of being reeled back in. Yikes!

Another shot of the cargo bay. The space station is a series of long tubes assembled into larger rooms. The reason for this is that no section could be larger than the cargo bay.

Claudia reading the interactive information boards…which held videos, pictures…hours of information on each one.

A little closer shot of the cargo bay with the port used to dock the shuttle to the space station.

The giant rocket exhaust nozzles of the shuttle. Not only were the launch rockets powerful, the shuttle itself was equipped for reentry and maneuvering while in space.

This is a close-up of one of the shuttle rocket engines.

A close-up of the shuttle dock mechanism. This is how they docked the shuttle to the space station and once docked, this was how the astronauts moved back and forth between the two ships.

Unlike most airplanes, the exterior of the shuttle had no screws or rivets…all the panels were glued in place. Pretty amazing.

A close-up of the docking port. The springs helped ease the bump when the ships docked. Since there is no weight in space, even small springs like these were sufficient to do the job.

I tried to show the tiles that lined the underside of the shuttle. Many thousands were used. It took over 12 years to perfect the tiles and the glue used to hold them in place.

The underside of the tiles look like alligator skin.

The mighty Atlas V rocket. To this day, the largest rocket ever assembled and flown. It stands as tall as a 34-story building and dwarfs all of the other rockets. It has been retired and a new launch system is nearly ready for use in 2020 and beyond.

They call this the “Rocket Garden”….all of the rockets with the astronaut capsules on top used by NASA are displayed here.

The business end of the Atlas V rocket.

A 2-man Gemini capsule. Hard to believe the astronauts spent days inside these capsules.

An example of an early suit used for inside the capsule.

A view showing the two seats inside a Gemini capsule.

A statue of Alan Sheppard, the first US astronaut launched into space. When you look back at how little we actually knew about space travel in 1962 when he launched, his heroism is amazing.

Red rock formation on the Overlook Trail

The snow-capped Verde Mountains as seen from the road to Needle Rock park.

The Overlook Trail looking down on Fountain Hills

A cactus field on the Overlook Trail near Fountain Hills.

Snow capped Verde Mountains near our home. Yep…it snows here!

A look at the Verde Mountains and the Reservation.

McDowell Ranch mountain biking area.

Needle Rock Park about two miles from our home.

A view of beautiful Sedona, AZ. It’s hard to top the views here and we’ve only seen a small part of the area.

No matter which direction you look in Sedona, you’ll find amazing views. It’s no wonder the native Americans view this area as a sacred place…or at least it used to be before all the tourists moved in.

Taking a lunch break on the way up Schnebly Hill in Sedona. This is a famous drive in Arizona. It’s a steep, twisty, unpaved (but wonderfully scenic) route that drops more than 2,000 feet from a wooded mesa into the outskirts of Sedona.

There really is water in Arizona! We took Tuck out for a quick trip to the Salt River….which actually is more of a lake and has absolutely no salt in the water. Hmm…….where did they get that name?

A view of the Verde Mountains near our home. Most of this valley and the mountains you see in the distance are on the Yavapai Indian reservation.

The entrance to the Rio Verde subdivision and golf course…about a half mile from our home in Tonto Verde.

A view across the Tonto Verde golf course near our home. It’s a beautiful course…too bad I’m not a golfer!

“The Old Man”….that’s what I call this amazing Suguaro cactus in our side yard. The locals estiimate that it’s about 150 years old. It’s about 40’ tall. Very majestic.

El Capitan in the late afternoon light. This place is gorgeous in any light, but especially in the early and late hours.

Tuck goes for a swim in the VERY COLD Tenaya Lake. Tenaya Lake is located in Yosemite Park. It’s fed only from snow melt and local rains, so the water is crystal clear and very cold. Of course Tuck, being the labrador that he is, loved every minute of it.

The iconic Half Dome in Yosemite…one of the most photographed locations in the states.

When we last visited Yosemite, we really lucked out. Heavier than usual snow melt really showcased Yosemite Falls. Since there were no fires in the area (like they are experiencing this year), we had super visibility.

Claudia and Tuck in the meadows with the beautiful Yosemite Falls in the distance. The vertical drop of the falls is about 2,400’.

A view of Bridal Veil Falls from the road approaching the entrance to Yosemite.

Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words…what a happy time!

Tuck resting with “Bear” on the Groveland Hotel balcony.

Main Street in Groveland, CA. We stayed here a couple nights on our last trip to Yosemite. We stayed at The Groveland Hotel, which was constructed of adobe block in 1849 and it has been open ever since.

Mama bear and her cubs….on the road into Yosemite. The rangers were there to make sure the bears didn’t get close to the road, but they never moved. Just kept on grazing.

Yosemite…on the path up to Yosemite Falls.

Taking a lunch break in Yosemite. Tuck is eagerly waiting on a handout!

Yosemite….beautiful view leaving the park.

El Capitan…a very popular vertical rock wall that draws climbers from all over the world.

Yosemite…a beautiful, clear morning to view the falls.

Our picnic spot below El Capitan.

One of our absolute favorite locations….Mendocino, CA. A lovely artists town that sits on a beautiful section of the coast.

The beautiful coastline of Mendocino, California. Of the many areas we have visited, Mendocino stands out as being a great combination of natural beauty, a cool little artists town with lots of great places to stay and isolated from the rest of the state. It is, without a doubt, one of our favorite places on Earth.

Our little Isetta and our Volvo PV-444 at the Grass Valley, CA car show. I’m not sure how we ended up with two vintage cars from 1958. The Isetta ended up winning the “Most Unusual” category at the show.

A view of the sand dunes in Death Valley Park, taken from Zabriskie Point. For those of you who are film buffs, this is the area where parts of the 1970 film “Zabriskie Point” was filmed. Harrison Ford starred in the film.

This is one of my favorite pictures ofTuck. He’s lounging on the rocks at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley. Dogs aren’t allowed on some of the trails, so we took turns walking to the top for the view. Tuck was happy just people watching. He was not only a beautiful dog, but a majestic one….and he loved everyone. RIP Tuck…miss you everyday.

A beautiful rock formation near Tucson, AZ. These huge formations are everywhere in Arizona.

The beautiful Flaming Gorge reservoir, taken from the ranger station, which sits right on the edge of the canyon. This area had some of the best camping spots we’ve ever seen…most either right on the canyon rim or across the road. Update, 6/23/22….this beautiful reservoir is now being partially drained to help out the dire water situation in Lake Mead. Locals are irate. The water situation out West is critical and is not receiving near enough attention.

One of the giant redwoods. The tunnel was carved out in the 30’s and the tree still lives on. Pretty amazing. We tried to get the RAM through the opening, but we were way too big.

An early morning view of Crater Lake, in South Central Oregon. The lake has no inlets or tributaries and the water is some of the purest in the world. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the states with a depth of about 2,000’. Yikes!

On our visit to Crater Lake, we stayed in a restored ranger cabin from the 1930’s. This cabin used to be located high up in the woods. It was moved to this location years ago.

Claudia and Tuck checking out the surf on the Oregon coast.

The beautiful Point Cabrillo lighthouse near Mendocino, CA. This lighthouse has been in continuous use since 1909. The fresnel lens was constructed in England and shipped around Cape Horn. It consists of 90 lead glass prisms and weighs 6,800 lbs.

Claudia and Tuck get out of the truck to explore the Bonnieville Salt Flats. This is one of the flattest spots on earth and is the site of the annual speed trials, where all of the world speed records have been set. As a funny side note, we still had salt falling out from under the truck frame months later. Definitely not good!

A view from the rear of the ranger station in the Great Basin National Park. This is a really cool place and due to the fact that it sits many miles from any town, it’s one of the best locations in the states to view the stars. The park has been designated an International Dark Sky Park. The rangers supply telescopes and lead star watching tours on selected nights from April through October. Sadly, no pets are allowed, so we can’t attend.

Walking into the ghost town of Bodie. When the last of the residents left in 1942, they left dishes on tables, school books on desks, poker chips in the small casino (yep….those miners needed to drink and gamble) and newspapers in the post office. Poof….they were gone.

A giant wheel used in the mining operations at the ghost town of Bodie, CA. This wheel is about 15’ in diameter and was used to raise and lower miners in cages down into the gold mine.

One of the fun “leaning” buildings in Bodie. The park service now protects this quaint little town. The mine was in use from 1876 until 1942. After WWII, the mine was shut down and the town was abandoned.

Convict Lake in the Sierras. This lake is near the big ski area of Mammoth Mountain. A beautiful lake fed only by snow melt and rain water.

Tuck going for a quick stroll around Convict Lake…in the Sierras.

Loading the Volvo for the trip to Mexico. Somehow, there was room for Tuck! Bless his big heart, he never complained during the whole trip, even though it was extremely stressful for us and him.

Claudia loading the roof rack…bless her heart. Since I’m not allowed to lift anything over my head for at least a year, she has to do the heavy work.

The sign greeting you at the border crossing station in Nogales. Yikes….here we go!

This is one of the stations at the border crossing where you hand over your passport, your car title, etc. in order to get your temporary visa. The guys behind the counter were very nice, but the language barrier was pretty difficult at times. It took about an hour and a half to get everything sorted out and get on our way.

This little guy (I named him Pepe) showed up by our car at the border crossing….bless his heart, he wanted to jump in and go with us!

The pool at the Best Western in Navajoa….a welcome sight after a hard day on the road.

This is the boardwalk (malecon) in Mazatlan. We stayed here the third night (read the blog about that adventure). Once finished, this is going to be a showplace, but it’s got a long way to go. The locals say it will be done by February 2019, but Claudia and I think more like February 2020.

Tuck at the vet’s office with Dr. Luis….without a doubt the sweetest vet we have ever met. As you can tell….Tuck loved him.

Claudia and Tuck outside Dr. Luis’ vet office.

An example of the Dia de los Muertos displays that were near the town square. On this one, the clothing is made from corn husks. Pretty cool.

I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible when taking these pictures. In this shot, a family member is putting the finishing touches on a Day of the Dead shrine for his son Sergio. Colored sawdust is the medium used for the floors. Lots of work!

At the Hotel Victoria, Tuck met Marguerita. She loved Tuck and wouldn’t leave his side the whole time we were there. She was a typical Mexican street dog….tiny and very sweet. Tuck, on the other hand, is already known around town as the “mucho grande perro”, the very big dog!

How cute is this? Our hosts at The Victoria Hotel dressed for Dia de los Muertos….headed out for a parade through town. Rob and Colin were super fun. Both are from Canada and moved here to “get away from it all”. From what we could tell, they won’t be returning.

As we were walking around the other day, we noticed that the town was gathering up all of the Day of the Dead statues for storage. They looked as if they were dancing.

A modern art mural near the seaside walkway. This is actually a wall that makes up part of the skateboard park.

Claudia and Tuck on the Ajijic malecon. It gets crowded in the afternoon, but mornings are wonderful.

On nearly every large, flat wall in Ajijic, there are great murals painted with historical scenes and some with a more modern, hip look. There are lots of galleries in the town….several on every block.

A view of one of the streets near the town square (aka “centro”), decorated for Dia de los Muertos.

A statue along the malacon. This particular type of sculpture is pre-Columbian art that depicts a reclining figure with the head turned 90 degrees to the body. There are many examples all through Mexico and South America.

A close-up of one of the Dia de los Muertos shrines. This one is for their son, Don Rafel. So sweet. I think I’ll ask Claudia to make one for me. :-)

Claudia walking Tuck on the Ajijic malacon

The entrance to the Lake Chapala Society….the central meeting spot for Americans, Canadians, Brits and other ex-pats to get together, learn more about the area, find out about rentals, homes for sale, attend film screenings, follow and learn more about local and international politics, take Mexican language classes and…they have the largest selection of English library books in the country. The society has been around for over 60 years. The members help the local residents with many things. I think “give back”, or “pay it forward” is a central theme and a great one to blend our cultures together.

This the the old cathedral located in the town square.

Just chillin’ on the malacon in front of the Ajijic waterfront sign.

Another of the murals that are everywhere around town.

What do you do when you don’t feel like driving into town…why, you take your horse of course! What this picture doesn’t show is the ancient cobble stone street. We were thinking traditional cobble stones. Nope. These were basically round stones, set in sand….maybe 100 years old. Almost impossible to walk on and in fact, the lack of sidewalks in the town was such a major drawback that we constantly wondered why all the YouTube videos skipped over this very important feature of the town (along with the traffic).

An apple desert with “crema”….and decorated with a smiley face. A nice touch, don’t you think?

Claudia’s breakfast crepe. Fresh squeezed OJ, local coffee and cream and a chef trained in Paris. Not bad for a small Mexican town.

The daily menu at La Vie en Rose. Everything is fresh and made daily at the restaurants here.

Me and Tuck walking on the malacon at dusk. Beautiful evening, low humidity and temps around 65-70.

Lake Chapala at dusk…viewed from the malacon/boardwalk.

A view of the mountains from the malacon.

A local shop featuring manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, botox (yep), orthopedic care and more. This is down the street about two blocks from where we are renting.

One of the buildings in town has a side wall lines with pottery skulls. Each one has a small shelf to place a candle. Once a year at Dia de los Muertos, they light the candles to honor the deceased.

One of the local weavers, located in a sort of art gallery about a block from the main town square. Beautiful work!

One of the coy ponds located on the beautiful grounds of the Lake Chapala Society.

Claudia and Tuck checking out the beautiful woven goods. We pretty much wanted to buy everything in the shop. I’m sure before we leave, we’ll end up with something from this shop.

The display in front of the garment shop where the weavers were doing their magic.

Now that’s how to protect your little kitty from the street dogs! I’m sure he could have squeezed through, but I think he has more fun teasing the local dogs from his perch.

Check out this little guy…his mom ran one of the baked goods shops at the organic market. He was the hit of the crowd….and no wonder. Notice the hat. A lot of the local kids wear these. The last time we saw these was in a travel documentary of Tibet.

Another example of the mural art in Ajijic. If there’s a smooth wall, chances are there’s a mural.

A partial shot of the organic market…we bought tamales, eggplant zucchini, multi-grain bread, cheese, local eggs, custard, pastries and berries. We found out that Driscoll (the berry people who sell all over the world) have a huge operation just across the lake from Ajijic, where they grow blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Their operation here is one of the largest in Mexico.

Need a new tee? This cute shop is run by Rick, who moved here 15 years ago. Funny guy! He’s owned two restaurants here and now just chills with his cute T-shirt shop. He decided the restaurant business was just too labor-intensive. Good call.

They have the coolest cloud formations over the lake here. Every night, we get a different one.

Awwww…..how sweet is this little guy? His owner is one of the maintenance workers at the park (by the malecon) and I guess he rides him to work in the morning.

Check out the cool swinging turnstyle door at this gallery. It’s made entirely of copper. There are some amazing artists in this town.

This is one of the streets that we use to walk down to the lakefront malecon…and back up. As in most of Europe, most of the homeowners build walls around their properties for privacy and protection. These two homes are estates….really large and beautiful homes. The bougainvilla grows wild around here and lines the walls. Stone work here is amazing. The skills are handed down from generation to generation.

We walk by this mural everyday….it’s really well done.

Claudia and Tuck on the steps of one of the old cathedrals in Ajijic. Beautiful warm late afternoon light. There are two cathedrals in old town…this one was built in the 1700’s.

A view of the town square and the little cupola in Ajijic. Ficus trees grow wild here and they ring the square. The largest trees in this area are ficus trees…they can grow to heights equal to any hardwood tree in the states.

After leaving Ajijic, which we now look back on as a total failure, we headed to the coast. After our first destination rental proved to be a disaster (we left and never checked in), Claudia and Katie found a place to rent for a couple nights. As for what happened next…well, that’s another story.

Sunset on the beach at Bucerias. The bay here is shaped like a giant bowl, with mountains on two sides, a beach on one side and an opening to sea.

This is a condo development about a block from our home. Beautiful grounds!

The view of the pool and the hacienda behind it where we are staying. When we first checked in , we thought we had died and gone to heaven. The estate was beautiful and the owner was a delightful lady. We were given a lovely second floor apartment. All was wonderful until the weekend crowd from Mexico City checked in. As near as we can figure, the four people below us drank a case of tequila in two nights. They partied all night (literally), never slept….and neither did we. At this point, dead tired and beyond disappointed, we gave up, dropped Katie off at the nearby airport in Puerto Vallarta and headed back to Ajijic to pack up and head back to Arizona. Will we ever return to Mexico? As I write this, it’s doubtful….too many bad memories.

Another view of the local hat vendor. This guy was a hoot…he had all kinds of jokes and spoke enough broken English to get a laugh out of everyone passing by. To say the Mexicans are resourceful is a massive understatement. This hat vendor was one of our favorite memories of the entire trip.

I loved this guy. He called himself “Hatman not Batman”. Really funny guy. I bought a beautiful sombrero for $7.50, which will come in handy in Arizona.

Just a quick view down the street by our house to the ocean at the end of the street. This was in Bucerias. Lovely homes along the way. It’s obvious that there are some beautiful places here and we sure wish we had been able to visit under better circumstances.

The grounds of the home where we’re staying. It’s lush and you can’t see the street or the surrounding homes. Julia, our host, said this is a new phenomenon and that this area used to be arid. How’s that for a climate change!

The pharmacy’e here are a BIG business! There seems to be only one company and they have a store on nearly every block. Really nice, clean, modern stores with licensed pharmacists behind the counter. Way nicer than Walgreens or CVS, that’s for sure. You can walk in off the street and buy medications that require prescriptions in the states. Xanax is an example. Pain killers of all types. Anabolic steroids anyone? Perhaps I’ll come back looking like Arnold…”I’ll be back”. The actual amount you can cross the border with is still a bit of an unknown. Apparently, if you’re stopped, you must first produce a receipt for what you have. Second, we think they only allow a 60-day supply. If I find out the answer, I’ll post the answer.

There are some beautiful condominiums here. All have sweeping views overlooking the ocean. Very contemporary architecture.

There are a lot of art galleries in this town. Last night was a gallery walk from 6:00 - 9:00. A nice thing about beach towns is that the restaurants and galleries stay open late, some until 11:00. A lot of the art (especially the gold and silver jewelry) is beautiful, but also expensive. I think the days of finding really good jewelry at discount, street prices is way over.

A view down the beach…looking towards Puerto Vallarta. The cruise ships were too small to see from my vantage point…but if you look towards the mountains on the horizon…that’s where they dock.

One of the bedrooms in the home we rented in Bucerias. A lovely place. Too bad the whole thing was spoiled by a bunch of drunks who were renting below us.