Ixtaczoquitlan

It's October already and after nearly 4 months in Orizaba we've managed to find a huge needy vacant home here in Ixtaczoquitlan. Its a small town just outside the city of Orizaba. The house has been vacant for over a year and is in disrepair. We'll continue to follow our same routine on this trip and stay for free, and in return fix the place up. It's a large house with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths! After two weeks we have the electric repaired and turned on, the water pump re-plumbed to supply the rooftop tank for pressurized water in the house, and of course a garden started. This house is pretty much all concrete and copper plumbing. Kev's getting his welding skills refreshed! Here are some pics of the house....(Click to enlarge)...

The rooftop views are fabulous (we can see Pico de Orizaba....)

 

...the town's clock-tower......

Towards the back, at the base of this mountain, is the spring Los Siphones....

We'll call it Casa Guano because of the bats living in the house when we arrived.....this one is in the kitchen!....

In the 3rd week, we now have the house fixed up pretty good with running hot water, electric, internet and a fridge! Ixtac is a mellow little town but we like what it has to offer. We have street markets on Wed and Fridays that sell pretty much all we need. It's fairly flat so we can ride our bikes around town. There are these great street vendors that pass by selling an assortment of things like tamales, homemade ice cream, fresh coconuts, bean and cactus salads, and here's a good one......fire roasted platanos (big bananas) on wheels , Delish!

Another nice feature is the fabulous walk down the lush canyon to the river where there is also a spring called Los Siphones, for swimming. Here are some pics....

Here's the spring....

 

It's very fertile here. Along the walk you can see coffee growing under Dominica bananas, growing under fruit trees....

Recently we were invited to a fiesta. Among other things, they had prepared 300 bean tamales and a huge clay cauldron of mole sauce.....you can see the ornately corn husk wrapped tamales here....they were scrumptious.....

We will be thinking of you all as we enjoy these bad-ass beet-burgers with homemade tofu mayo and oven baked french fries.....till next time.....hasta luego!!!

Summer and Flowers in Orizaba

If you remember from our last post, we are spending the summer in Orizaba, Veracruz. So lets start this post out with a 2nd floor view from our townhouse. The cable-cars run from the city center up to Cerro del Borrego about a 1,000' climb in just a few minutes. At the top there's an eco-park, museum & you can catch a glimpse of the snow-covered Pico de Orizaba. (Click on images for larger view).

One of the many things we like about this city is the flower market. Most of the flowers here come from Puebla, about a two hour drive up on the central Mexican Plateau and also from some smaller communities nearby. There's a great variety of affordable flowers and they are very popular. The market is always busy and you can find many different artsy arrangements or just big bundles....

 

or five gallon bucket-fulls. Flowers seem to permeate Orizaba....

 

They are found in one of our favorite snacks here, the Memela. It's a hand-made corn tortilla topped with salsa, fresh cheese, and squash flowers.....yeah baby! I'll take two please!

Here's KT cooking some at home....

Oh the house needs some life....Oh what should I get?? Sunflowers, roses, mums, dahlias, hmmmmmm...

 

OK nice choice Jane, these are going to look great in the townhouse....

Now the coffee flowers out in the front yard have already turned to beans, so here's KT filling up the coffee bean bucket.....so many beans so little  time!

The weather here has been perfect for us. Warm days, cool nights, plenty of rain in the evenings & at night to make everything grow. There are millions of sights here in Orizaba, here's one to leave you with. Stay tuned for more images of this great little city we have been so lucky to wander into. Peace and Love, KnJ.....

Back to Orizaba

Its now May 2015 and we've decided to return to Orizaba, Veracruz to enjoy the mountains and cool air for awhile. We were there back in January and found that we liked the tropical coolness of the area. It's at an elevation of 4,100 ft. so it doesn't get really too hot nor too cold. There are pine trees and coconut palms growing together here. It's a fertile area close to Pico de Orizaba, the 3rd highest mountain in North America at 18,491ft (5,636 m). This post will show some of the highlights of our trip from Quintana Roo westward to Veracruz......

One nice thing about driving across Mexico is the roadside fruit....here we have a nice selection of mamey sapote and mango ataulfos...

Shooting across the Yucatan peninsula in the '86 Vanagator we decide to spend the night along the shores of a small town called Isla Aguada on the Gulf of Mexico in the state of Campeche. We find a nice quiet spot on the water to call home for the night.....

Crossing into the very tropical state of Veracruz its pineapple central...

with miles of fields...

truckloads...

 

Then, from trucks of pineapples, it's trucks of sugar cane....

Here's one driving thru a grove of oil palms....

The highway of fruit continues for hours with bananas.....

But the ultimate fruit for us is most likely Jackfruit, these guys are truly fruit-giants. I think they are the largest tree-fruits on earth....and the taste can't be beat with a cross between mango, apple and pineapple. Some are over 100 lbs but this one here must be around 25lbs....

With all the stopping to check out fruit and road construction it was a long, slow driving day.We were not sure, again, where we would be staying the night, when we came across a little city named Acayucan in the state of Veracruz. Not only did we score a nice hotel, but it was Carnival too. We partied hard at the central bar and the parades on the main street were great. Here's a video of the Kings partying on.....

 

We like the place so decide to hang out for a couple of days. Here's a shot of one of the churches of Acayucan....

Up early after two nights of carnival and it's upward & onward to Orizaba. We finally pull into the city later the same day and find a Hotel to stay in while we search for an apartment. We end up there for two night before deciding on a townhouse rental for 3 months. It's right near the Alameda, a large park named after the big Sycamore trees here.It is furnished and includes cable TV and WI-Fi internet! 

We'll be settling in here for awhile surrounded by the mountains and enjoying the cool summer breezes. Stay tuned for upcoming life in Orizaba!
Be well,
KnJ

Belize back to Quintana Roo Mexico

Well its the end of April and we have crossed the border into Belize today and headed into Corozal town. Corozal reminds me a bit of the Bahamas with the small colorful wooden houses. After searching awhile for a place to park the Vanagator for the night we happen to come across an old large hotel that's been out of service. It was called the Inn at Corozal Bay. Of course we have to pull in to check it out!

Well its been rented to a Donna, a Canadian woman who's been working hard to get it back in shape. She has a small crew of Belizeans helping her. Donna and the gang are really great and we are able to stay in the van on the property in exchange for some electrical and plumbing help. What a deal!
We're invited that night to shoot the shit and drink some rum. Over the next week we get the toilets flowing again and get some light too. Donna, Danke, Mark, Eric and the rest of the gang are what this place needs to get back up and running.

Look like she'll change the name to Lost Paradise or something like that, so look it up next time you visit Corozal Town. Thanks again Donna and keep in touch!




After a great week in Corozal town we head back into Mexico and the lake to get our plants we left behind. Glad to see they are doing ok. Its the weekend here and so the place will be hoppin with Mexican locals coming to enjoy the excellent water. Jane sets up some of her sale items like handmade bags and extra clothes and things we don't need....

Since we've returned from Belize the local thatch-roofer has made good progress on the new bathrooms here. This palapa roof will have about 5,000 Sabal Yapa palm leaves, carefully tied onto it.

One reason we like this area so much is because of the incredible fresh water rivers and lakes.
They are perfect for swimming.....

No crocs and truly better than swimming pools....

 Here's a video....

Here's a typical Mayan palapa we came across as we were searching for the river....

Its off on the Mercurio tricycle to get more water.....go KT go!

See you on the next Post.....

Tulum....The forgotten files part one

Coconuts and Chachalacas ....




Fresh dried shredded Coconut ...another great use of the old solar-oven. It been a staple for awhile...
the oven has proven to be very useful for many things. Thanks BEAR!

 

And now for the great Chachalacas.....

 

Among the first sounds of morning in Tulum. They're really a cool looking big bird and big. The Mayans tell me they taste like chicken but I wouldn't think about eating them~!

April 2015, Tulum to Belize

APRIL 2015_____
What the heck! OMG Holy Shi............!
We've been having so much fun on this trip we keep forgetting about the blog. So here's another update from the adventures of KnJ!
Our six month visa will expire soon and we're all packed up ready to leave Tulum town for Belize so that we can re-enter Mexico for another term. We soon find ourselves pulling into a purely Mayan town called Philipe Carrillo Puerto. It borders the enormous biosphere "Sian Ka'an".

The Vanagator is need of a seam-rust repair job and we were referred to a body-guy here in town.
Its a two day job so we're hanging out for a little while. On a walk around town we find its loaded with tropical fruit trees everywhere. These purple Mangoes we find in some lady's yard and she graciously offers us some. They are superb!

She also has some chickens so we get some "Huevos de Patio" or Patio eggs as they call the local eggs here. All organic baby***



Another common fruit-tree is the Nance, with these great flowers and cherry-like fruits.

And here's another Mayan house in town. Its simple, cool, and made with all local materials including the palapa roof. My kinda style! That's a Thrinax radiata palm on the right, they're everywhere here, and one of our favorites...

So we meet a local mayan named Cristobel. We are invited to ride our bikes with his family into the bioshpere for a swim in a beautiful lake.

Its very remote and they say there are no crocs here so it's time for a refreshing swim. The water is perfect and we spend the rest of the day swimming. We meet a couple local kids at the lake and they are very eager to practice English, so Jane recruits two students for free classes in the plaza for the remainder of our stay.



After a few nights in a hotel we meet a local veterinarian and his family who live right on the plaza in town.

After talking awhile with them, they invite us into there historic home. Made with local hard-wood and stone, it's really nice and has a small waterfall in the center of the open air home.   What a place!

They even invite us to stay the night.

 We get our own room with private bath and a great view that overlooks the plaza and clock tower.

We really like Philipe Carrillo Puerto. There's a nice balneario,

a LOT of nature, and even venison tacos. Can't beat that......

The Vanagator is done and we are pleased with both the job and the price. Its nice knowing the rust is taken care of.
...One day left before we have to leave Mexico so we say our goodbye's and head for another little village we know near the border of Belize. On one of the most beautiful lakes ever, and its warm! One of our favorite spots in Quintana Roo.

We stash our collection of potted plants here....

to pick up after we get back from Belize. (YES potted plants in the Vanagator too! - where do we find the room??) Been living in the van for 6 months now and this is true paradise....swim swim swim
Till next time everybody.....Feliz viaje!
KnJ