Tapalpa... what a great day!

 Today was perfect! After a great night’s rest in our cozy room we walked to the plaza for breakfast. Keith has had carne asada for nearly every meal, this morning in a yummy burrito. I always have Huevos Mexicanos, eggs with chopped tomato, onion & peppers served with beans & tortillas.

We walked around town with full bellies stopping to watch tortillas being made and carpenters moving bricks. We looked unsuccessfully for a pair of sunglasses for Keith to protect his eyes from the intense Mexican sun. We stopped by the Casa de Cultura and had a great visit with the director. We have found the people in the small town of Tapalpa very friendly.

 Around mid-day we returned to the hotel to meet up with the young woman who wanted to show us around her town. Keith napped while I read in the sunshine on the porch. When she hadn’t stopped by at 2 pm we decided to walk around the city and enjoy the beauty of the day.

As we came around a corner a woman asked us if we wanted to look at some beautiful woolen goods in a small store where her friend was looking at sweaters. In less than five minutes she had invited us to lunch, we readily agreed to join them and how glad we are that we did!

 Alicia owns a home in Tapalpa that she inherited from her ‘nana’, her nanny, not grandmother. She had it beautifully restored. Alicia and her life-long friend, Genoveva, live in Guadalajara where Alicia is owner/director of a Kindergarten (ages 2-5) and Veva arranges flowers. Both women are a bit older & much more distinguished than the two travelers they ‘picked up’ today; we loved spending time with them!

At the end of our lunch Alicia took a sip of her refresco and a bee stung her lip, poor woman, her lip was swelling quickly while her dear friend pulled out the stinger. After paying our bill we all stopped by a homeopathic pharmacy where she was given a tincture, which helped a great deal.

 She invited us to her home, which is full of beautiful wood and many antiques! Keith had found a quick friend. Alicia was anxious to introduce Keith to the best carpenter in town so we loaded into her 4X4 and off we went to Ramone’s workshop. The ladies were very patient while the two carpenters talked.

Ramone made some phone calls and before we knew it the five of us were driving to a very upscale development some fifteen minutes out of Tapalpa to see some of the multi-million-peso homes Ramone had constructed, very nice work and an interesting tour.

 After returning to town we stopped for a ponche and discussed both politics and religion before parting ways in the moonlit night.

How I hope our paths cross again somewhere in the world with our new friends!