Last Weekend

Last weekend our wonderful neighbors (and social sponsors from the Consulate) took us with their family to a place that sounded like Balnearia "Wheats-lah". Obviously I don't quite have the spelling right on that last word, but that's what it sounded like. The actual word had an X in it, and any Spanish word with an X confuses the heck out of me. Except "Dos Equis" -- but I don't think that counts.

"Balnearia" literally means "seaside resort." The place we went wasn't a resort by any English translation I know, but instead was a very hidden collection of hot springs that feed into each other. There were concrete stalls for changing, and concrete bathroom stalls, along with barbecue stands for guest use. We had to drive on a mostly-dirt mountain road for a ways before reaching the quaint village (we're talking 5 houses-ish plus a "tiendita" (small store)) that lead to the gate of the balnearia, passing Mexican burros (donkeys) on the way, and catching some breathtaking mountain scenery. "This looks like Hawaii!!" Birdie kept saying. The hot springs were natural springs, but in order to serve the local public, concrete pools had been built around them to allow for varying depths and temperatures. The girls loved it. (Have we mentioned that they are both swimmers now?! Crazy how quickly that has happened.) On a bathroom break to Wheats-lah, Nick ran to buy some fresh Mexican corn on the cob (I differentiate because the corn wasn't what you'd expect back in the States - it's tougher and heartier, almost yelling to be ground into a tortilla) from a roadside vendor. We grilled that along with the sausages and other food everyone had contributed for the barbecue.

It was so great to do something! N told me about the Saturday plan on Thursday, saying that we'd been invited to tag along on an outing. "Where?" I asked. "Does it matter?" said N. That is sort of where we are :). Our van has yet to arrive, so we basically only go to places we have to go to -- like work (N shares a taxi or gets a ride with neighbors), or school (we have a permanent driver for the girls now, so no more hauling car seat and cranky Cubby around every day!). Seeing parts of Guadalajara beyond those two destinations was thrilling to say the least.