Almost ready to go

Yes we're still here in Summerland but as of this time next week we will be in Mexico. We have finally decided on the route we are going to take. We won't be going through Nevada and Las Vegas but going through Oregon and California instead. The scenery will be more spectacular. We will be very close to Yosemite and although this is more a quick drive through than a leisurely drive I know we will have to time to stop and do a little sightseeing. We have to be in Mexico, Lake Chapala to be exact on November 1st. I've rented a cute little apartment for the first two weeks. From there we will be able to take our time, explore and figure out which village around the lake we would like to make a more permanent address. Hopefully we will love it there and will want to stay at least 3 months. I know there are a lot of expatriates, particularly in the town of Ajijic so we may want to avoid that particular destination but who knows we may end up loving it there apparently it's very beautiful. It will truly be a voyage of discovery but then that's the thing about traveling it should always be about discovery.

Still here in Summerland

I don't want this to turn into an online diary. We are looking forward to our trip to Mexico. It will be our first road trip so it should yield a lot of observations. We will be going through the U.S. and haven't traveled there by road for at least 15 years or more. I want to see some of the toxic changes wrought by 8 years of Republican rule and W. We will be crossing at Nogales and then working our way towards Lake Chapala. I'm a little worried about going through Culiacan where the narcotrafficantes have been very much at work. Headless corpses have been turning up on the streets on a fairly regular basis. It's a struggle for turf but innocent bystanders have been caught in the crossfire. Lately this fight for control appears to have spread elsewhere in Mexico. In the heavily touristy area of Cancun a dozen headless corpses recently made a very impromptu appearance. The trend seems to be catching. Across Mexico kidnappings are significantly up. While foreigners are not the target, at least not yet, it's still far from reassuring. Near Lake Chapala 3 Mexicans were recently kidnapped and two were killed. There was some drug connection, the details are sketchy but this happened in the small town of San Juan Cossala which is a little town close to the main town of Lake Chapala. In any case it should make for a very interesting journey. I'm starting to get itchy feet.

Joe Bageant: Life in the Post-Political Age

Joe Bageant: Life in the Post-Political Age

Bonjour de Josiane

I haven't really started any of my travels yet. We will be traveling to Mexico in the fall so I will probably have a lot to write about as soon as we start our journey. I will be going to Montreal soon and will start blogging from there.