Beachy Scene

Valentine's Hike

2.15.10 Yesterday was Valentine's Day which is even celebrated here in Mexico!!! Unfortunately for me, my husband is one who could care less of holidays, especially one as insignificant as Valentine's Day. This statement alone should answer any pending questions on whether or not I got showered with roses, and candy. No I did not. However, we did go as a family on a hike up to the top of a mountain that is nearby. I don't know if the mountain has a name but it does have 4 very large white crosses in which the towns people hike to the top cross once or twice a year and pay their respects to whichever God and do worshiping of some kind. We did it, just to do it. And it was HARD! I was definitely reminded of how OUT OF SHAPE I am. To give you an idea, I was huffing & puffing before we even got ON the mountain, however, with 5 Nalgene's and plenty of breaks, we were able to get to the top! I believe it took us 2 hours to get to the top at which point we had a picnic consisting of hummus, egg salad sandwiches and fresh cut carrots, jicama and cucumber all of which Porfirio was kind enough to carry in a large backpack himself. OH food never tasted SO good! We stayed up at the top for maybe 30-40 minutes enjoying the wonderful view of Jocotepec in it's entirety. After which we then made our way back down. Simple you say!?!?! Ugh, it wasn't much better going down aside from the fact that it took us less than half the time it took to climb it. Me & my boys were wearing shoes that are not fit for hiking (and that is due to the fact that we gave our hiking shoes away before we came to Mexico!) Needless to say the four of us were taking fall after fall after fall, while my “sure-footed” husband was able to hike downhill with a toddler on his back not stumbling once. I've always admitted that I am clumsy and no where near graceful so for me to fall several times is no surprise.

Now here I lay more than 24 hours later, never having received roses or anything resembling a Valentine, in extreme pain complete with mild sunburns on the few random spots my sunscreen did not get placed and a series of bruises trailing from my mid-calf all the way up to my butt. My TOENAILS even hate me. If my buttocks had a mouth surely it would be screaming. And my thighs...my thighs have gone on strike. It is because of this, I have made an executive decision that I will not be hiking any time in the near future.Not only because of the injuries I sustained but also because I just don't like it!

Valentine's Day hike

The red arrow is pointing to a little white dot which is a giant white cross, and that's our destination!


And so it begins.


This is Jocotepec from about 1/4 of the way up the mountain. That is the bull fighting ring in the middle there.


A different view of beautiful Lake Chapala.














These spikey lookin things are agave plants from which tequila is made and what put the state of Jalisco on the map!


My irreverent husband. The sun was in the perfect spot for this!




Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Favorite Hang Out Spot...Lake Chapala

These pictures will give you a good idea of why the Romero's have dubbed Lake Chapala as our favorite hang out spot here in Mexico. First of all... it's a mere 4 blocks away from our home! Secondly, the city has taken great efforts to get this lake not only cleaned up, but deemed it worthy of two lighted boardwalks, cute red benches that stand out against the perfect blue sky, peculiar fish sculptured chairs surrounding a fountain and of course palm trees! For us, walking to Lake Chapala and spending time together there makes an enjoyable Sunday afternoon spent. I'll let the pics talk for themselves!

Joco's Catholic Church