Livin la vida buena :)

It's been 3 months since I last posted, and time has just flown by! Let's see...in October, I celebrated my 36th birthday, and it was a really sweet day. I started the day early with a strong workout. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and I felt sooo good that I decided to commune with the divine cactus which added a joyful sparkle to my day. A fellow expat, Jay, stopped by just to say hi. He drives a comfy, red SUV and though I love our old VW Westie, I was eyeing his car for a joy ride. I mentioned it was my bday and how fun it would be to tour the area. Jay was game, and I got to take in the beautiful sites around town for the first time. Later in the afternoon, I got a massage from Andrés whose touch always leaves me feeling stronger and energized. We ended the day with friends gathered around me & my homemade fruity chocolate pie singing happy birthday in Spanish. It was a yummy good time!!

Then in mid-November, we had our first visitor. An old friend, Jen, sent me an email in Oct. saying that her baby sister (19 y/o) would be traveling solo thru Mexico and asked if she come visit us. Of course, your sister is my sister! Sofí stayed with us for 3 weeks, and we had a fab time!! She was very caring, and it was sooo nice having another female in the house to connect with. Here she is happily smiling by the local waterfall in Coatepec.

The last few months have also been about finding labor to assist me and help our household run smoothly. The right people have fallen into place, and each is a delight to have around. We started with Olga who helped us move in and continues to work here cleaning our house 3x/week. I LOVE the fresh feeling she gives the house. Then there's Ana who I consider to be our kitchen angel. She works 6 evenings a week to prep our raw foods. She makes fresh mandarin and grapefruit juice, cuts up ripe fruits such as papayas & pineapples, and creates scrummy, artistic salads.

She also brings one of her two precious daughters with her: Casandra, 3 y/o & Cynthia, 6 y/o. I love spending time with them, and we have a blast! I bought coloring books, crayons, a sketch pad, color pencils, and a bouncy ball for fun times at casa de shayla :) Ana also comes in the mornings 3x/week to help me take a shower and tend to any girly needs I have.

Last but certainly not least is Kenya, a 19 y/o who is shiny pretty and very industrious. She is a kind of jack-of-all-trades and helps us with different projects around the house 3x/week.

Recently, a new career has found me. I started studying astrology back in '97 and it has remained a passion of mine. In Sept, the opportunity came to write astro articles for a website. I took it and even amazed myself at how solid my astro skills are. I also had my first astro client and gave her a reading thru online chat, aah the internet...

I love it here, and I am the happiest I've been in a long time. Estoy muy contenta :)

It's hasn't been easy, but definitely worth it

...life in Mexico that is. It's been over a week since I posted. What's been going on? Let's start with diet, of course! We are in the midst of the Virgo lunation, from Aug. 30th to Sept. 29th, with a full moon this Monday (Sep. 15)!

Fruitarians in Mexico

The quality, availability, and price of fruit here is a definite step up from Austin, TX. But it's nowhere near what we would like and ultimately need to thrive. We are finding the same issue here, the fruit looks good but is not sweet. We are able to get decent papayas, mangos, and bananas fairly consistently along with pretty sweet citrus. This is what a day might look like:

11 am: we split a pitcher of fresh-squeezed citrus juice (orange, mandarins, grapefruit)

2pm: naner smoothie w/papaya or mango

6pm: more citrus juice followed by a large salad w/homemade citrus tahini dressing

Jack makes the mercado rounds nearly everyday and digs for the best he can find. We have learned that most of the fruit is brought in from other parts of Mexico and the local, rich fertile soil is used to grow coffee. Some bananas are grown here. Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of locally grown food (especially fruit) and begin a permaculture. Jack has a green thumb, lots of experience, and looks forward to growing our own food. I have already picked out the seeds we're going to get.

We are definitely unique in our raw, fruitarian diet. Everyone eats a cooked food diet, and they don't know any different. It's wonderful how accepting the people are as they don't seem to find it a bit strange that we exist on a diet of primarily fruit. Not once since we entered Mexico have we heard the dreaded question "Where do you get your protein?" NICE!!

Physical Fitness Routine

I am sooo loving my stationary recumbent bike. It is kickin & workin my booty! The first time, all I could crank out was a 10 min ride. Within a week, I had worked my way up to a 40 min trek which left my lower gluts sore the next day:) I have since settled into a routine of 20 or 30 min rides per day using the various workout programs. All this to phat electronic house beats! Feels exhilarating!!

I continue to bounce on my trusty rebounder for 15-20 min at a time. Keeps the lymph system pumping and works the knots out of my back. I can do the whole session on my own now. Jack used to have to come and bounce me. Now, if my legs get tired, I do other movements like marching before resuming a steady bounce again.

At times, I follow the bike ride with upper body weight work. Bicep curls, triceps, shoulder presses, etc. I started with 2 lbs the first week, and am now up to 3 lbs. Building muscle and strength is empowering. BFBM! Burn Fat, Build Muscle!

One of the last things my physical therapist, Paul, mentioned as a key to getting fit is stretching. I have been incorporating yoga whenever I can in both seated & floor postures. We will soon begin looking for a local yoga instructor to give me private lessons en mi casa. I have been fortunate to find an excellent massage therapist, Andre, who came over to give me a therapeutic massage with lots of stretching. It was awesome, and I truly felt like walking when he was done.

Social Life

In many regards, we are still pretty isolated. Patience, we know that it takes time to meet people and create friendships. Our sweetest interactions have been with the ones we've hired to help us. There's Hector, the handyman, who worked with Jack to transform our house into a home. He's macho, funny, sensitive, and sweet- great fun to have around! Then, there's Olga who works at Posada San Jeronimo (our home in Coatepec for the first two weeks) and moonlights here in the afternoons 3x a week. She helped us with our move in and has been a delightful presence leaving our fruit cut and home sparkly clean. 

Hector introduced us to his 26 yr old daughter, Miriam, who needed some healing energy for a persistent sore throat. She hung out with us for a day eating fruit and salad, treating with ozone, and enjoying my music. We had a good time, and I was able to practice my Spanish quite a bit. 

Acquisition of Stuff

We brought everything we could in a van load. I knew the difficulty of getting specific goods before coming here, but it's still been a challenge. Gone are the days of needing an item, ordering from Amazon, and having it delivered within days. Jack has made a few trips to Xalapa to get us some necessities, but the prices are high with limited selection. We American consumers have been spoiled. There may be a trip back to the States soon to get stuff ;) 

Considering we have been in Coatepec for 40 days now, we are doing remarkably well. We secured a nice house, sufficiently furnished it, hooked into good produce sources, and found reliable help. Time in grade is what we need in this town to begin progress. I can't forget that underneath it all is the REAL reason we came here: To set up a space where I can strengthen my body and HEAL. I know I have a greater purpose to serve, and I want to recover and get on with it. 

Striking Beauty

With the moon in Libra today, I thought to share my simple beauty routine:

Eating a fruitarian 811rv diet. Low fat, salt, and spices leave my skin clear and glowing, without the need for any makeup.
Regular nude sunbathing. Nothing like being sun-kissed all over :)
Wash my face daily with warm water then gently rub in 3% H2O2. Oxygen is a superb cleanser & encourages regeneration. This has helped smooth out the acne scars & soften blemishes from my cooked days.
Coconut butter- a luxurious oil that is a real treat. I swirl a tiny bit into my thick, wavy hair after washing. I use on my skin as needed or when I feel indulgent. It's the only oil that I let my dark Mexican male masseur use.
Liquid gold- my urine. It's full of urea, and the skin just LOVES it. And because my diet is clean & rich in vitamins/minerals, my urine is lovely. My skin just laps it up and gets a rich hue when I apply it. (Did you know that the female body makes mother's milk from urine?)

It's nice to receive a daily gift of beauty naturally with minimal effort and inexpensively :))

I'm a Libran (with 4 planets in Libra), and beauty has always played a vital role en mi vida.

Satyam, Shivaram, Sundaram

Truth is God, God is Beauty

Truth is Beauty

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.