A Card from Switzerland

When I returned from Mexico last week, there was a Christmas card from Switzerland waiting for me.  It was sent by my cousin Vera.  Last year she sent me a card that was an example of "Scherenschnitte", a traditional Swiss art which translates as "scissor cuts".  I had told her how much I liked it, so this Christmas she sent me another one.

"Scherenschnitte" is an art form which dates back to the 16th century.  Beautiful intricate designs are cut by hand out of black paper.  Although the cards are machine-made, they are based on original designs by Esther Gerber, a noted "Scherenschnitte" artist.  I now have two of them.  I plan to have them framed, and to take this bit of Switzerland with me when I make the move to Mexico.

Vielen Dank, Vera! 

Rain Instead of Snow

I was not around to experience most of winter this year in Ohio.  However, there was not much winter to experience.  During the entire time that I was down in Mexico, my friend Frank who housesits for me only had to use the snowblower once.  There were numerous days in which the high temperature was in the 40s, 50s, or even in a few instances the 60s F.  Instead of snow, it frequently rained, and when we have heavy rain, the back yards usually flood.

On the day that I returned, the high temperature had been a balmy 61 degrees.  Last Friday it started raining lightly in the late morning, and continued throughout the afternoon, becoming heavier as the day progressed.  By evening had lakes in the front and the back yards along my street.  Much of the water had receded by the next day, but yesterday my neighbor still had a lake... and it is still there this morning.

 It's fortunate that all that precipitation was not snow, or we would have been buried!

The long-range forecast calls for the possibility of some snow later in the coming week.  But since the high temperature each day is going to be above freezing, I doubt that there will be any accumulation at all.

Flying Back (Part Two)

My flight from Mexico City to Washington Dulles Airport landed twenty minutes early.  I have never particularly cared for Dulles Airport, and I usually try to avoid it.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that there was no wait whatsoever to go through immigration, even though flights from Zurich and Frankfurt had recently arrived.  That might be because international passengers whose final destination is Washington are put on buses to go to a different immigration area.  However, once I passed through immigration and customs, going through security seemed very disorganized with a long, slow-moving line.  I will say that we were not required to take off our shoes.  They also had new x-ray machines that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, and we were not required to remove our laptops from our carry-ons.

I still had over an hour and a half before my flight to Cleveland was to begin boarding.  I headed to the concourse where my plane was to depart, and fortunately there was a United Club lounge.  I popped in and had a free lunch there.

I was at the gate for my flight about fifteen minutes before scheduled boarding.  The plane had just arrived, and a seemingly endless stream of passengers from the previous flight were exiting.  Then they had to clean the plane.  I really didn't think that we would be able to board and take off on time, but somehow we did.  We were up in the air and making the quick, one-hour trip to Cleveland.

It was twilight by the time we began our descent, but I could still clearly see the shoreline of Lake Erie.

There was no snow in Ohio.  The high temperature that day had reached an unseasonably mild 60 F.  However, I looked down and saw an area of snow.

It had to be one of the ski resorts to the south of Cleveland.  They were obviously using their artificial snow-making machines.

In moments we were over the eastern suburbs of Cleveland.

Then the break wall of Cleveland harbor and Burke Lakefront Airport were visible.

The small airport serves mainly private aircraft, some cargo planes and charter flights.

Then we were directly over downtown Cleveland.  Although the football season is over, the lights were on in the Cleveland Browns Stadium.

We continued in a southwestward direction.  The suburb of Lakewood to the west of Cleveland was visible, and we were making our final approach to Cleveland Hopkins Airport, which is about 12 miles from downtown Cleveland, and just 4.5 miles from my house.

My friend Frank was there at the airport to meet me and drive me home.  Now I am in Ohio for just over month until I return again to Mexico.

Flying Back (Part One)

My good luck with airline travel continued on Wednesday when I flew back to Ohio from Mexico City.

Alejandro drove me to the airport around 7:00 A.M.  In the morning light we could see the vague outlines of the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl through the haze, but by the time I boarded my plane they had disappeared into the smog.  Usually, we have breakfast together at one of the airport restaurants before I head through security and go to my gate.  However, Alejandro had to take his father to a doctor's appointment, so we said our farewells after I had checked in.  I had plenty of time, so after I went through security, I went into the United Club lounge and had a decent breakfast there for free.  My flight boarded and pulled away from the gate on time.  We didn't have to wait as long as usual on the runway for our turn to take off.  There were only three planes ahead of us.

From the tarmac, you can see behind the airport terminal the hill which is known as the "Peñón de los Baños" (Rock of the Baths).  I just did a bit of research on that craggy hill which I see every time that I arrive or leave from Mexico City International Airport.  The hill was once a small island in the lake that once covered most of the valley.  It is the site of thermal springs that were visited by Aztec nobility including the Emperor Moctezuma (Montezuma).   The mineral waters, considered to be of therapeutic value continued to attract notable visitors, such as Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota, through the 19th century.  A bathhouse drawing water from the springs still exists there, although the neighborhood is not a very desirable area today.  

We took off into the hazy skies above the vast metropolis.

Can you spot below us the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacan situated about 30 miles north of Mexico City?

Zooming in with the camera, you can see running diagonally from the left the so-called Avenue of the Dead, the main street of the city.  Halfway along the avenue is the Pyramid of the Sun (one of the largest in the world) and at its end the Pyramid of the Moon.

Before long we were flying past the coast of Mexico and out over the Gulf.  This time I was not going by way of Houston or Chicago, but through Washington, D.C.  Thus, our flight path took a more easterly route, and we were over the Gulf of Mexico for a longer period of time.

When we came over land once again, judging by the flatness of the terrain, and the many lakes and canals, and from the flight path shown in the airline magazine, I suspect that we were over Florida. 

Soon the clouds completely obscured the view below us.  It was not until we had begun our descent to Dulles International Airport that the clouds broke.  We flew over the Virginia suburbs of Washington.  The airport was visible in the distance.

We circled around the airport, and flew over a river (which, thanks to Google Maps, I later verified as the Potomac).  I suppose that if I had been on the other side of the plane, I might have been able to see Washington, D.C.

Rounding back, we approached Dulles Airport from the east.

We arrived at the gate about twenty minutes ahead of schedule.  I had a layover of more than two hours before the final leg of my journey back to Ohio.

Turning Another Page

March is here, and I return to Ohio today.  It will be a busy month, filled with appointments, filing income tax returns, calling contractors about some repairs that need to be made on the house prior to putting it up for sale, and of course socializing with my friends during the brief time that I am back in Ohio.

As I turn the page of the calendar that I made with photos from the Cleveland Museum of Art, we see an exquisite piece of 18th century Chinese porcelain from the museum's extensive collection of Asian art.

Another Trip Comes to an End

 

After almost two months here in Mexico City, tomorrow I will fly back to Ohio.  The time has flown by, and yet, when I look at my old posts from January, I think, "Oh, yeah, that was on this trip."  I will not be gone long.  I already have my flight reservation to return in early April.  I will be back down here for Easter and for Alejandro's birthday.

This time I am returning home as a married man.  The simple wedding was a milestone in my life, but only the first step in the changes that I hope to make this year.  The owner of the condo I rent will be retiring in March, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to purchase it in a timely manner.  Then comes the even more daunting task of selling my house in Ohio.  The real estate market back home is no longer hot as it was before.  I hope it does not take forever to sell it.  Then comes the permanent move to Mexico.  

I hope that well before the end of the year I will be changing the name of this blog from "Travels of a Retired Teacher" to "A Retired Teacher in Mexico City".      

A Family Gathering

I have mentioned on previous trips Alejandro's Aunt Araceli and Uncle Salvador.  One of their grandchildren, Eric, lives in Guadalajara with his wife and children.  This weekend they were back in Mexico City for a visit, so that, of course, called for a family gathering.  The group included not just Araceli and Salvador's family, but the in-laws from Eric's wife's family.  So, I did not know half of the group.  Even Alejandro didn't know many of them.

The setting for our get together was Cuemanco Park which is in Xochimilco on the south side of the city.  

With more than 1000 people in the park enjoying a Sunday afternoon outing, it could hardly be called an idyllic location.  However, it is a nice place for family gatherings.  A spot had been reserved for us.  A canopy, tables and chairs were provided. 

In addition to the pop, beer and snacks which everyone brought, Eric had ordered "tacos de canasta" (basket tacos).

"Tacos de canasta" have that name because they are transported and sold from baskets.  They are tightly packed into the basket to keep them warm.  It is amazing how many tacos are in one medium-sized basket, up to 150.  There were enough to feed us all, and each of us probably had at least four tacos.

The fillings for the "tacos de canasta" were the traditional frijoles, potato, "chicharrón" (pork rind) and "adobo" (a kind of sauce).  The tacos are bathed in oil, so they are very greasy... but very tasty.  I've always considered the "tacos de canasta" that are sold on the street, to be a good way to get "Montezuma's revenge", but (fingers crossed) I have not had any ill-effects.

At these large social gatherings, I always feel a bit like a wallflower.  My mind can't keep up with all the rapid-fire conversations going on in Spanish all around me, and I feel ashamed that I can't remember the names of all of Alejandro's relatives.  Nevertheless, it was a pleasant afternoon.  And hopefully, someday I will be able to keep track of the names of all the members of Alejandro's large family.