Settling in...

Our first Sunday at the new home has been delightful! We awoke refreshed after a good night's sleep. The morning sun hits our back patio, and I laid out under the energizing rays for a bit. Then I hit the rebounder for about 20 min. This was followed by an invigorating shower in my cute new bathroom. For breakfast, Jack made us fresh squeezed tangerine juice. Sooo good!

He left for the daily mercado run while I chatted up my mom and sis. I am like a little kid when he returns, all excited to see what goodies he got. This is the veg bounty he brought home:

Locally grown lettuce so fresh that the roots are still attached, plump baby cukes, carrots, avocados, ruby red bell, and ripe tomatoes. We are going to have a hoppin salad tonight!

I am now drinking a banana-date-mango smoothie. So rich & satisfying. Our fruitarian lifestyle most def got a much needed boost here. 

**HOME SWEET HOME**

With this image of the papaya tree (boasting its first fruit) planted by the previous awesome tenants, I say hello to our new home in Coatepec :)

Exhausted after a day of moving, I had an excellent night of sleep last night. It is so peaceful, so tranquilo out here. Welcome change from sleeping in a hotel room facing a busy street in town.

Jack made us fresh squeezed o.j. this morning with his super citrus juicer. It was the best we have had yet. Sweet, pulpy- fab meal! We split a cherimoya before heading into town to continue our hunt for furniture. We have our basics (beds and a couch set) but we still need more. 

Later in the afternoon, Jack, with a tuff yet lovely girl we hired to help with our transition, left for Xalapa. We have a long list of need now items: glasses, plates, bed sheets, etc. With him gone, I am kickin' it with my fave hip-hop (he's not a fan). We configured two sets of speakers to AirTunes and it sounds wicked in here! The acoustics are incredible thanks to the non carpet floors and spacious front area of the house. I promise pics once we have fully unpacked and settled in.

Aaah, dinner was just delivered. The restaurant called La Papa, next door to our hotel, made us scrummy salads. Now that we have moved, they deliver- $7 for two salads!! So far, not missin the U.S. ;)

Toured the town today!

Today is Sunday and with Jack's encouragement, I got on my scooter and we enjoyed the town together. He has been walking around all week so he knew the places to take me.

We went to the central park of town, and it was filled with families enjoying the surroundings, playing, and eating.

We went to the fruit mercado where I tried a NEW fruit. It looked like a small, round golden cherry and had a distinct tropical fruity flavor. We didn't buy any today but will go back for some- more details in a future post. The new fruit experience didn't end there! We tried a soursop (guanábana).

It's a member of the cherimoya family and v delish! The ladies at our hotel prepared it the traditional way for us- deseeded and blended with water for a creamy, frothy drink!

We visited a lane of quaint shops with artwork and my favorite, clothes! Didn't buy anything today but a dress from the vanilla town of Papantla caught my eye :) We stopped for a bit and each drank 2 glasses of fresh squeezed o.j.

I LOVE it here! The transition hasn't been easy but we are making strides in the right direction. After a week of hunting, we found a lovely house with a salmon colored exterior to rent. Three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths- perfect for our needs. We move in on the 21st, I am v excited!! 

We will be busy furniture shopping the next few days. There is a nice offering of rustic, colonial style furniture to choose from. Fun, fun!!

Acclimation to our new surroundings

We have been in Coatepec for a week now and with some ups & downs, are adjusting at a pretty good pace. These are the elements we are dealing with:

Weather

Coming from 100°+ temps in TX, the weather here has been absolute joy. The days have been sunny and breezy with highs in the 80's and 60's at night. We LOVE it!!! I especially like the no AC atmosphere. I have always had a strong aversion to the unnatural cold of the AC and kept my thermostat at 82°. If the temps in TX ever dipped below 90°, I would open all the windows and enjoy the flow of fresh air. Here, it's like that nearly all the time. The winters don't get too cold either with low temps in the 40's - 50's.

Higher Altitude (4100 ft)

The concentration of oxygen at sea level is about 21% and the barometric pressure averages 760 mmHg. As altitude increases, the concentration remains the same but the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. This one has kicked our butts. Jack and I both felt winded, lightheaded, and had daily headaches for the past week. The reduced O2 intake also exacerbated my neuro symptoms especially the dizziness. Given time, the body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days. We are slowly acclimating and starting to feel better. 

Language 

I first learned Spanish when I was 12 and lived in Mexico. I studied Spanish in high school and

spent a month taking Spanish lessons in Guatemala during my post-college travels. I catch about 65% of what is said and need to practice my speaking. Jack also took Spanish in high school and spent years in Mexico in the late 90's. We get on fairly well and are going to make a concerted effort effort to improve our Spanish skills. 

Culture

Two words sum up the people here: Calor humano (human warmth). There is a genuine show of affection and thoughtfulness shared. I truly feel at home amongst the kind people. On the flipside, patience is key when dealing with them. Efficiency is not a strong suit here and though a job usually gets done, it often takes longer than we're used to.  Tranquilo....

Food

It took Jack a few days to connect with the local mercados and figure out who to buy from. But once he did, we have been eating so well. Papayas, mangos, pineapples, tangerines, and creamy baby naners have filled our days. We end the day with delicious red & gold bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado on a bed of lettuce.

Getting around

Coatepec is so beautiful, allow me to share some pics from the Flickr photostream of quetzalcalli.

Taxis are the best way to get around town, and the drivers have all been super helpful in walking me in and out of the cabs. As a a really nice expat said to me, "For disability standards, the Mexican buildings, streets, and sidewalks may not be up to code, but the people surpass the standards with their helpfulness." I couldn't agree more!

It's Sunday and the streets are quiet, not crowded with cars as they usually are. Jack thinks Sundays are likely to be the best day for me to explore the town on my little scooter. Should be fun!

Fruitarian Lifestyle Challenges

I LUV living the fruitarian lifestyle.

Fruit is colorful, vibrant, delicious, and the cleanest burning fuel available for human consumption. Eating a diet of primarily fruit does have its difficulties. One of the burning reasons we left the States is that it became increasingly tough to find a consistent supply of sweet fruit. Except for bananas which we pretty much lived off of, but even they are shipped in from thousands of miles away.

Finding fruit definitely got easier when we entered Mexico. Now that we are settling in, the game is on. This morning, Jack bought us mangos, a large papaya, and plump baby naners. All had a delectable flavor but needed a few more days to ripen to peak sweetness. And, baby, peak sweetness is where it's at! The key is to buy enough fruits in advance to have it ripe and sweet at every meal. This is easier once you get to know your local markets, get a sense of what to buy, and when to begin the storing & ripening process. Very intuitive. Sounds like a lot of work cuz it is :) 

We are still learning about the fruits in town and how long we need to ripen. We are dealing with cooler temps here than TX so it's a longer time curve than we're used to. The streets are lined with taquerias and sandwich shops. It would be so easy to go in one and be fed, no worrying about ripeness or sweetness. But honestly we don't want to. So we have eaten a bit skimpily the last day or so. Jack just got back from talking to the owner of the fruit market down the street and we may be in better shape in a day or so.

No doubt, eating this way often presents challenges. But the benefits are SOOO worth it! 

¡Viva la fruta!

We're here!!!

Five long, arduous days of travel and we have finally made it to Coatepec!! Posada San Jeronimo will be our temporary home. It is a charming and beautiful place with a warm and friendly staff. Here is a pic of the view outside our room.

 V  lovely. Well, I am knackered. Gotta get some rest.

Getting closer to our destination...

After leaving Cd. Victoria around noon, we drove into Tampico in the late afternoon. It was our shortest drive yet but we were both exhausted and happy to be greeted by the city.

We looked for a place to stay and after finding the ridiculously high prices offered by The Hampton Inn, we found a pleasant hotel down the street with a salmon pink decor and a more authentic local feel. They offered internet via ethernet LAN in the room and the first thing I did was setup a wireless network with our Airport Express- can take the girl out of Apple but can't take Apple out of the girl ;)

I vid chatted with my sis which was great. Jack and I then reviewed our travels for tomorrow using Yahoo! Driving Directions- Google Maps does not trace routes in Mexico :( 

We ate so well today that I must share :)

Breakfast: fresh squeezed, super-sweet o.j.

Lunch: papaya & mango chunks- great combo

Afternoon snack: orange/papaya juice- sooo good!

Dinner: large veggie salad prepared by the hotel restaurant chef specially for us - muchas gracias!

¡Hola from Ciudad Victoria!

After a hot, grueling day of travel thru Texas and an overnite stay in McAllen, we crossed the border this morning. We had been warned by many that Mexican immigration can be a bear to get through, and we had braced ourselves for a 2-3 hour ordeal. To our pleasant surprise, we were given an immediate green light to cross, and Jack obtained our six-month tourist visas within minutes. We were utterly delighted at the ease of our crossing and breathed a deep sigh of relief as we began the journey to our first stop: Ciudad Victoria

As we left the bordertown of Reynosa, I saw an older couple selling cut fruit from the back of

their pickup truck. I pointed them out to Jack who pulled right over. He had them cut a few papayas and fill our large container. Talk about fast food to go! In the U.S., you can find fast food joints on almost every corner selling unhealthy, toxic, processed junk. But you would be hard-pressed to find fresh, sweet fruit cut right in front of you. As we enjoyed our delicious papaya for lunch a couple of hours later, I thought, "Aaah, yes, we are finally here!"

The 200 mile trip to Cd. Victoria was lovely. The roads were lined with pretty, green vegetation, and delightful butterflies crossed our path for miles. The locals were kind and helpful at every stop we made. As we approached the city, the view of the mountains were spectacular.

After settling into our room at the Paradise Inn, we hung out on the big comfy couches in the lobby to access wi-fi and surf the net with our Apple laptops - MacBook for me and MacBook Pro for him :) Then we had a delish dinner at their restaurant: large veggie salads, guacamole, fresh salsa roja, nopales salad, and pints of fresh squeezed o.j.- YUM!!

We average about 50 mph in our trusty VW Westfalia. It's a total non-luxury van with no AC and pretty hard, upright seats that don't recline. Jack has pimped out the ride a bit though. The sound system is excellent with the iPod hooked into it and the speakers are killah. My seat was fitted with a lumbar support pad and a thick cushion. I can still only bear being on the road for a max of 6 hrs so we have decided to cover about 200 miles a day. Our next stop is is the seaside town of Tampico. 

Luego!

¡El Día Final!

Today is our last day in Austin, TX. While I am thankful for all this city and this country has given me, I am truly happy to be moving beyond it's borders. The last year and a half has taken me on a difficult and heart-wrenching journey. Hard work with the love & support of Jack - he'll be 'Diego' en Mexico :) - has strengthened and prepared my body for our travels. 

Physically, I have progressed quite a bit from the girl who couldn't even move around in bed or sit up on her own a year ago. It's my brain, namely the cerebellum, that still needs major healing, and my central nervous system needs regeneration. It's like my logic board needs repair ;) As a former Apple employee, I am used to troubleshooting and resolving technical issues. If only the human brain could simply be rebooted :))

The silver lining of my personal tragedy is that it has paved the way for us to do what we have always wanted- move south to a land where we are surrounded by lush nature, loving people, and fresh, sweet fruits. The pain and suffering I have endured has also brought me closer to becoming a more gentle, selfless, loving, and spiritually attuned woman.

I am hopeful and determined to make a full recovery. I believe this new environment we are moving to will provide the elements I need to heal. I am excited to begin this new chapter in my life.

Stay tuned! I plan on sharing my travel stories once we get settled and have internet.

¡Adiós para ahora!