Marion's Blog

Your Time is Valuable so Outsource your taxes to H&R Block

When I was a director at Sun Microsystems I attended a meeting for women directors where the speaker was a woman engineering vice president. This woman grew up and was educated in India. She was highly effective and highly respected. The purpose of the talk was to help other women move into positions of senior leadership.  I will never forget one thing she said. It had a big impact on me.

I think the impact was so big because I really did try to do it all. When my daughter Shannon was about 12 she gave me this sign as a Mother's Day gift. She didn't intend it as a joke. She thought maybe we should start using it.

I grew up thinking that woman could do it all, have a career,  raise children, nurture friendships, exercise, cook, maintain a clean and beautiful home, maintain household finances.... the list goes on and on. Once I had a family and a career I learned that the reality is that you can't do it all. There aren't enough hours in the day. I came to the conclusion that if I tried to do it all I would be mediocre at everything.

The woman VP who was speaking to us that day said that she didn't understand why American woman tried to do it all themselves. She said that in India woman have help and don't feel guilty when they rely on help to allow them to focus on the important things. She recommended hiring help. She called it outsourcing. It made me realize that if I hired help I could focus on my career, my children and the other priorities in my life.

As I said I didn't follow my own advice very well. I outsourced very few tasks but some of the  things which could be outsourced are cleaning, cooking, laundry, paying the bills, driving the kids around, and doing taxes. I used to think I had to do them all myself. If I was starting over I would figure out a way to have someone else do many of these things. I would create a support organization for me incorporated.

If you are a woman or a man today with a busy life I suggest that you think about hiring help. Instead of spending hours doing your own taxes have H&R Block do them. One of the benefits of doing them yourselves is you learn how taxes work but if you have someone like me do your taxes you will save time and you can still make it a learning experience. Allow me to do the detail work and you can focus on asking questions and understanding how your taxes fit in the big picture of your life.

Another advantage of having H&R Block do your taxes is that for just $35, you can purchase the Peace of Mind® Extended Service Plan. If you owe additional taxes due to our error in the preparation of your return, we'll pay up to $5,500. But more important if you get an audit or an IRS letter you can outsource the handling of it to H&R Block and you can focus on the important stuff.

As I was writing this post it occurred to me that over the years I didn't do a very good job of following my own advice. But I still think it is pretty good advice

As you know I am a tax preparer for H&R Block. Obviously all the opinions in this blog are mine and mine alone. I do not speak for H&R Block.

Tamarind to make Pad Thai

I subscribe to a  magazine called Cuisine at Home. A few days ago I decided to make the Pad Thai recipe out of the latest issue.

The recipe called for several food that are unusual to me. (sambal oelek, tamarind paste, fish sauce) I was able to find everything but the tamarind at my local grocery store. I had never heard of tamarind paste before and had no idea even what I was looking for. According to the recipe "Tamarind is a staple in Thai cuisine and gives the dish its sour note with a tangy, dried fruit flavor that tastes somewhat like raisins and lemon".

I tried  two grocery stores yesterday and had no luck, The staff I asked were no help at all. So I gave up. Today I went to our local Mexican grocery store.

Right away a man asked if he could help me and showed me where to find the tamarind paste.

Tonight I made the recipe. Although the paste said it was seedless I did have to take out a few seeds but other than that the recipe came out well.

 

 

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Last Wednesday I led the discussion for the Book Club of the  Reno Newcomers Club. We discussed Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I originally read Wolf Hall about a year ago. To prepare for Book Club I listened to it on CD. 

I enjoy English history and studied it when I was in High School in Australia. I remember that when we learned about Henry VIII we learned the ditty:

Henry the Eighth had six wives

Divorced, beheaded, died

Divorced, beheaded, survived. 

Wolf Hall is mainly about the period when Henry is trying to divorce his first wife Katherine so that he can marry Anne Boleyn. The story is told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell who rose from a blacksmith's son to become the first Earl of Essex and Henry's chief advisor. The book starts out with Cromwell, as a young boy being beaten by his abusive father. It ends when Cromwell is at the height of his power, Anne Boleyn has been crowned Queen and has given birth to daughter Elizabeth, and the English church has broken free of the Roman Catholic Church.

Wolf Hall is 532 pages long and can be confusing to read at least initially until you get a feel for Mantel's prose. Mantel uses "He" to talk about Cromwell even when she has just been talking about someone else. I loved the book because I really felt like I was sitting on Cromwell's shoulder in the early 1500's at Henry VIII's court.

YouTube has a three part interview with Hilary Mantel at a book store called Daunt Books. It is fascinating to watch and listen to. I really recommend it. Here are links to the three parts:

Part 1 - Hilary Mantel at Daunt Books

Part 2 - Hilary Mantel at Daunt Books

Part 3 - Hilary Mantel at Daunt Books

Mantel is working on sequels to Wolf Hall. The first, which will focus on the downfall of Anne Boleyn apparently will be titled, Bring up the Bodies. The second which follows the rest of Cromwell's life after Wolf Hall will be titled, The Mirror and the Light. 

As I was reading Wolf Hall I kept wanting to know what happened to the characters. For example I wondered how Thomas Cromwell was related to Oliver Cromwell who was Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth in the mid 1600's. In preparing for the book club discussion I researched the answer. Thomas Cromwell's sister Kat had a son named Richard. Richard is a significant character in Wolf Hall. After his parents die Richard becomes Thomas Cromwell's ward and changes his last name to Cromwell. Richard Cromwell is the great grandfather of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.

I also wondered about the sweating sickness that killed Cromwell's wife and daughters. In my research I learned that the English sweating sickness is a disease that no longer exists and has intrigued medical historians. It only occured in England and Wales. It came out of nowhere in 1485 and disappeared without a trace in 1551. It was characterized by sudden onset, profuse sweating, prostration,  and death or recovery within the space of only 24 hours. 

Some of the interesting Wolf Hall reviews I read include:

• A Blog by Linda Wolfe
• Christopher Tayler's Review in The Guardian
• Joan Acocella's review in the New Yorker

Thomas Cromwell has mainly been portrayed as a villain in history.This was the case in Robert Bolt's 1960 play A Man for All Seasons and in the Showtime series The Tudors. Hilary Mantel portrays Cromwell very believably  and sympathetically. I loved Wolf Hall and I really cared about Cromwell.

 

 

The H&R Block Tax Class

Last September I decided I'd like to work for H&R Block doing taxes during the 2012 tax season. I took and passed the H&R Block tax class during October nd November. The class was 7 weeks long, 4 days a week 3 hours a day. It cost in the neighborhood of $200. The class was a prerequisite if I wanted to work for H&R Block. 

The class was well worth the cost even if I wasn't looking for a job. In fact the books alone were worth the cost. They were amazing. They were very well written and they made what is a confusing and convoluted subject easy to understand. There was a text book, a work book with 50 case studies and a California tax book. They added up to 4 inches and 8 pounds of books!

All those case studies were a lot of work. We started out doing all the returns by hand which accomplishs two things. One, you really understand how taxes work. When I took my CFP tax class at UC Santa Cruz I memorized that taxes  = income - adjustments - deductions + credits.  After doing 50 returns by hand I know it. I can visualize it on the forms. I know how the forms work to determine taxes owed.

The second thing that doing returns by hand accomplishes is that it makes you really appreciate the computer. About half way through the class we started also doing returns in the computer. I love computers!!

Doing the returns by hand meant that we had a lot of homework. This class was a lot of work. I spent literally hours reading and doing returns.

Another good thing about the class was the people I met. Going through a challenging difficult process with other people forges friendships. One of those people was Susie Iventosch who has written a fun cook book about taxes called Tax Bites and Tasty Morsels: Who's Been Eating my Pie?

Finally I have to say the class was fun! I have the kind of logical mind that likes puzzles, spreadsheets and challenges. Finishing a return and getting the right answer was a moment for celebration. Yes! I solved it! It reminded me of completing a difficult puzzle or solving an adventure game and discovering you have found the prize.

I would highly recommend the H&R Block tax class. I feel prepared to do real returns for people accurately and with confidence.

 

 

 

I'm Starting my Blog again and I'm an H&R Block Tax Professional

Last February I posted about ending this blog. Since then I blogged about our six week trip through Mexico but that has been it. One of the things I pondered in my last post was why I blog. A reason to blog that I didn't mention because I was retired is that my blog helps define and publicize the Marion Vermazen Brand - Me Inc! It helps people know who I am. But now I am no longer retired. 

Last Fall I decided to take the H&R Block Tax class. I'll talk more about that experience in my next post. Taking the class is no guarantee that H&R Block will hire you as a tax preparer but in my case I was hired. So when the H&R Block offices open for the tax season next week I will be working at Reno's H&R Block Keystone office.

I'll be building my client base and I'll be continuing to learn more about taxes. Those of you who know me or have followed this blog for a while will know that while I was still working at Sun Microsystems I started to take classes in Personal Financial Planning at UC Santa Cruz. I completed all the required classes to get the certificate in Financial Planning and then I took and passed the 2 day Certified Fanancial Planner certification exam. I am not a CFP because I didn't complete the required two years of practical experience but I am looking forward to learning more about the tax aspects of finanacial planning working at H&R Block.

I'm starting this blog up again partly to help build my client base and help people get to know me. But mainly I am starting the blog again for me. I enjoy talking about my life. The picture above was taken at Christmas. It is of my Father, me, my two daughters, and my two grandchildren. I'm sure I'll be talking about them  and I'll be talking about my H&R Block experiences and about me and what I'm up to, what I'm reading, what I'm learning, what I'm knitting, where I'm hiking, what I'm thinking. Hopefully it is obvious that this is a personal blog and everything I saw is my own opinion and does not in any way represent H&R Block.

I'm a bit nervous about starting doing taxes. I'm confident I'll be good at it so maybe the nerves are a good thing. They will just make me better and I have the H&R Block guarantee behind me! So if you know someone who needs a smart, accurate and professional person to do their taxes just send them my way. You don't even have to be in Reno. 

Starting up this blog again feels good. It feels fun. My friend Linda gave me a little books called How to Make a Journal of your Life by D. Price. Thanks Linda you inspired me.

Tips for Driving in Mexico

Duke and I just finished a 6 week road trip. A month of that was driving through Mexico. We drove down the gulf coast to the Yucatan then through Oaxaca and Mexico City and back north crossing  into the U.S. at Nogales.

Here are a few things we learned about driving in Mexico

• Topes!  The thing that you notice immediately when you start driving in Mexico are the topes. Topes are everywhere.  A tope is a speed bump. They can be big or enormous or occasionally small. Duke did all the driving on the trip. Although he always slowed down to a crawl to go over the topes we must have scraped the bottom of the car at least once a day. Sometimes on the smaller roads vendors will build topes on the road themselves so that drivers will have to slow down to look at what they are selling.

 

 

• Maps -  If you are going to drive in Mexico you have to get the Guia Roji Mexicoan Atlas. I can't recommend it highly enough. The maps are up to date, accurate and easy to read. I love this atlas!

•  Motels - For most of our trip we looked for a place to stay when we arrived in the town where we wanted to spend the night. Early in the trip we were looking for lodging and saw a place that looked secure - It had high walls and garages - and it looked clean and new, We pulled in and immediately did a U-turn when we saw the sign with room rates by the hour! In the following g days we pulled into motels in other towns. One even had a drive through check in with a drawer to put your money in so you never saw the clerk. They all had walls and garages or curtains across the parking spots, and hourly rates!

Towards the end of our trip Duke asked one of the teachers at our language school about motels in Mexico. He found out that motel has a different meaning in Mexico than it does in the U.S. In Mexico motels are for private assignations. If you are on a road trip like we were you probably don't want to stay in a Mexican motel!

We often saw motels with romantic names but my favorite motel name was Motel Dix :-)

• Cuotas and Libres -In general the Mexican roads we drove on were good. Often there are two routes shown on signs. For example a road sign might point to Oaxaca Libre and in a different direction to Oaxaca Cuota.  The Cuota roads are toll roads. They are fairly expensive but usually they are much better roads than the free (Libre) roads. Although this was not always the case. A few times, especially around Vera Cruz the toll roads were terrible. We also traveled on some great free roads. On one libre road we did have a detour around some construction that was actually through a lake!

• Driving after Dark in Mexico is probably a bad idea. We made a point of never driving after dark in Mexico. While this is probably a good safety precaution a very good reason to not drive after dark is that hazards are often poorly marked, A hazard could be a big tope that you don't want to hit at speed  or it could be a big rock in the road. On one Cuota in the mountains we came around a corner and there was an enormous bolder at least 15 feet in diameter right in the middle of the road. It may have come down on the road very recently but there were no warnings. I can't imagine trying to avoid it on a unlit road. Hazards aren't usually that bed but roads are often poorly lit and you can come upon construction, an animal or a slow moving vehicle very fast,

 

• No deja piedras sobre pavemiente - This sign was a very common sign on many roads. It translates "Don't leave Rocks on the Pavement".  It seemed  like a very odd message for a sign. Duke had to explain it to me.  Frequently when a car breaks down people will put rocks in the road to warn oncoming traffic that the car is in the road. In the U.S. we would be more likely to use flares or cones for the same purpose. The sign is instructing the driver to remove the rocks when the broken down vehicle is moved.

 There are lots of other tips for driving in Mexico. They include things like buying insurance and getting your permit to bring your car in but you can find that information in lots of places. The information above is just some of the odd stuff that I never found explained any where else. If you have questions about our experience. Please leave a comment.

Mazatlan, Alamos and San Carlos

Friday morning we drove to Mazatlan. Duke had booked a room on Priceline for two nights. It turned out to be a beautiful resort on the beach north of Mazatlan. When we checked in we agreed to be signed up for the Saturday morning time share presentation. For attending we would get $150 in food credit at the resort.

We went for a swim in one of their pools and then drove down into Mazatlan where we found a restaurant on the beach and had shrimp and fish for dinner.

It rained all day Saturday which was kind of nice because it was still warm but the lack of sun made it not too hot. Our time share sales pitch turned out to be really interesting. Our sales guy was originally from Minnesota,but has lived in Mexico for seventeen years. He wasn't too high pressure and we learned a lot. He said because so many Americans are afraid to travel to Mexico they are selling and marketing more to Mexicans. We had a tour and a great breakfast. It is a beautiful property.

After the sales pitch we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the veranda reading and enjoying the stunning view.

 From Mazatlan we drove to Alamos. We visited Alamos on our trip in 2007. It is a wonderful old colonial mining town. It is very small and fun to explore. We wanted to stay where we stayed in 2007 but it is now a private residence. Instead we found a wonderful eco lodge El Pedregal run by an American couple who moved to Alamos almost 20 years ago. We had our own quiet little cabin and the best bed we had on the whole trip.

We explored Alamos Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning we had a great breakfast at El Padregal and a fascinating talk with Dave and Jennifer, the owners. They lead tours and built El Pedregal a few years ago. the state department travel warnings have really hurt their business and make no sense to them. I think a bird tour with them would be a lot of fun.

 

Monday morning after a wonderful breakfast on the porch at El Pedregal we headed north again to San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez. We've been here before too. After checking in to our Best Western we explored the coast a bit and had a great shrimp dinner. This morning, Tuesday we are leaving for Tucson and the end of our Mexican adventure. It has been wonderful.

Teotihuacan, Queretaro, and Tequila

As we were leaving Mexico City on Tuesday morning the valet who brought our car up from the Sheraton's garage told us that on Tuesdays cars with license plates ending in 7 or 8 are not allowed to circulate in the city. We thought about our options and decided to make a run for it. Luckily traffic was light leaving the city and we made it out without being stopped by the police!

We drove to Teotihuacan which is only 50 kilometers northeast of the city.Teotihuacan was Mexico's biggest ancient city. They think it had 125,000 people at its height between 250 and 600 AD.

Teotihuacan has two very large pyramids that you see from a long way away as you approach the site. The biggest, the pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. Only the largest pyrmid in Egypt and one other pyramid in Mexico are bigger.

The site is 20 square kilometers. We walked up the mile long Avenue of the Dead and climbed the Pyramid of the Sun which is 230 feet tall. I was huffing and puffing when I got to the top but the view was worth it!

From Teotihuacan we drove to Queretaro to spend the night. A lot of important events in Mexican
history happened in Queretaro. It is a really pretty colonial city that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. We walked around the historic center, went to the art museum which is in a beautiful former Monastery and sampled the gorditas for which Queretaro is famous.

Wednesday morning we drove from Queretaro through Guadalajara to Tequila. We thought that getting through Guadalajara might be difficult because of traffic on the city streets but it was a surprisingly quick drive on good roads. We arrived in Tequila and checked into the same hotel on the town square that we stayed in four and a half years ago when we were in Mexico. We have a room overlooking the square. This is the view from our room.

We really enjoyed the Mundo Cuervo tour last time so we took it again. It was interesting to taste the roasted agave that is squeezed to get the juice. We also got a lesson on how to taste and evaluate tequila and a margarita at the end of the tour. I didn't realize that Cuervo means crow. They have a crow named Jose in a big cage in one courtyard and a statue of a crow in the entry courtyard. This is a picture of the agave pinas as they are delivered to the distillery.

Today we awoke with a thirst for more tequila so we went exploring. There are many working distilleries in Teqilla and the ruins of many more. We went on the 1:00 tour of the Perseveranda Distillery which makes Sousa Taquila. It was a very interesting tour. Our guide was great. We sampled some more tequila and a different mixed drink with tejin on the rim of the glass.

While we were sitting on the porch of the Hacienda were the founder used to live, sipping and chatting with our bartender, it started to rain very hard. We had to stay at the bar and continue to evaluate and help with some quality control of the various tequilas produced at Souza. When we finally left (it took some time to find the exit) it had ceased raining, but the streets had turned into rivers. We made it back to our hotel and took a siesta, as is the custom here.

For supper we had tacos from a stand in front of the market, we had tacos of tripe, beef, tongue, chorizo, and pork. Dinner came to a total of $2.95 for the two of us. Later we shared an ear of roasted corn from a stand in the plaza.

Mexico City

On our way from Oaxaca to Mexico City we spent Friday night in a nice old hotel in the center of the town of Tehuacan. Tehuacan is famous for its mineral water. On Saturday we toured the underground springs at the Pinafiel plant that are the source of the mineral water. It was a fascinating tour.

This is our hotel in Tehuacan. You can see the door of our room on the right.

Our tour guide for the underground springs was very eager to practice her English and we were the only ones on the tour.

We arrived in Mexico City mid afternoon and checked into a great Sheraton Hotel next to the American Embassy. We walked down to the historic center of Mexico City, the Zocalo. Mexico City has an amazing energy, some beautiful wide avenues, and some car free narrower streets. The crowds on the way to the Zocalo on Saturday night were enormous.

Sunday morning when we left the hotel we discovered that all the roads were closed and the Mexico City Marathon was ready to start. We had great fun watching the runners and walking towards the Chapultepec Park where many of the museums are located. Because there were no cars we could walk down the middle of the road.

Our first stop was the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. What a wonderful museum. In my experience it is one of the best I have ever visited. We spent several hours there and didn't see everything. One of the highlights was the Sun stone which was found underneath Mexico City's Zocalo in 1790.

Our second stop was the Museo Nacional de Historia. it is a castle like building sitting on a hill overlooking the city. At one point it was the home of Mexico's president. The museum and building were great but perhaps the best part was the orchestra and choir putting on a concert on the top level.

Next We stopped at the Museum of Modern Art and then went back to the hotel for a rest. For dinner we went to a Mariachi restaurant and had a great time.

On Mondays the museums in Mexico City are closed so today we visited several markets,the Monumento a la Revolucion,the cathedral, a 137 year old candy store and the Departmentof Education which has 120 Diego Rivera Murals. For dinner we had steaks at an Argentinian Restaurant.

Our stay in Mexico City was great. It is a beautiful city. The parts that I saw were very clean. All the people were friendly and it had a real energy. I'd love to go back some day. .

Oaxaca

 
We arrived in Oaxaca on Saturday night the 20th of August. We stayed in the new annex to the wonderful B&B The Bugambillas. The annex has four guest rooms, a very nice sitting area and kitchen, and a patio and roof top deck. The staff call it El Secreto.  think we were the first people to sleep in our room. It was one of the nicest places we have stayed on this trip.

On Sunday we explored Oaxaca and then on Monday morning we started taking Spanish lessons at a school called Oaxaca Spanish Magic. Monday through Friday we had  four hours of lessons each day. Duke was in a class with one other student and I had a teacher to myself. I couldn't believe how intense it was to speak and listen to Spanish exclusively for four hours a day. I even discovered that this kind of extreme brain exercise can actually give you a headache! Monday afternoon we moved out of the Bugambilla and into a home stay which was cheap but turned out to be a disappointment. Never the less the school and the Spanish lessons were wonderful. I had a great teacher and I think I made great progress on my Spanish.

Tuesday afternoon we went to two artisan towns south of Oaxaca. One of the towns specialised in black pottery and the other one specialised in colorful carved wooden creatures called alebrijes. It was fun to explore the countryside and we bought some souvenirs in both places.

Wednesday afternoon we visited the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca. It was a marvelously interesting museum with exhibits about the history of Oaxaca up to the present. The best part of the museum was the wonderful building in which it is located, a beautiful former monastery. later we had dinner in a restaurant over looking the Zocalo and had fun watching a band and dancers.

Thursday afternoon we invited two other women from our classes to join us when we explored a couple more towns north east of Oaxaca. one of the women was from France and the other one was from St Paul Minnesota. We all had a great time. We went to see a giant tree in front of a church in El Tule and a little bit farther out of town we visited Teotitlan del Valle. We stopped at one workshop and had lunch in their empty restaurant and then the owner showed us how they make the yarn and dye it. He showed us how all of the colors are made from natural products like bugs, indigo, bark, and other plants. Then he showed us how the yarn is spun and how the rugs are made. The whole process was fascinating. After getting back to Oaxaca we sat in the Zocalo and listened to the municipal band.

Oaxaca also has wonderful chocolate which I sampled a couple of times.

Friday after class we headed out of Oaxaca. It is a great town and I would love to visit it again.

 

  Friday night we spent the night in Tehucan.

Palenque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Oaxaca - Friday and Saturday August 19 and 20

We spent Thursday night in Palenque in a very nice hotel, The Hotel Chablis. After a beer on our patio overlooking the jungle we had dinner in an open air restaurant next door and had the best meal so far. I had soup and a garlic rubbed grilled fish and Duke had a mixed grill. I can't remember the Spanish name for it but it included some wonderful steak and plantains. After dinner we went for a walk. Duke thought about climbing these vines.

The ruins at Panenque are just a few miles south of the town  where the mountains start to rise from the plains of the Yucatan peninsula. The mountain jungle setting made them very different from all the other ruins that we have seen. We were there fairly early which was good because it was already hot. We climbed around and enjoyed ourselves. I was especially impressed with the magnitude of Palenque.

The museum at Palenque had things found at the site. I liked this timeless Mom.

Driving south from Palenque into the mountains the roads became very windy. There was no way we could be in a hurry. We stopped first at the Misol-Ha Waterfall. It was very high and beautiful. We hiked up behind it

Next we stopped at the Aqua Azul waterfall. it is very different. Duke was here many years ago and there were only a couple of people and no vendors. When we were at the falls there were a lot of people and many many vendors.

 

We also stopped to buy some shirts from a road side vendor. The children were fascinated.

We spent Friday night in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. It is a big town. We walked around the square, had a good dinner and got on the road early to drive to Oaxaca. The drive to Oaxaca was long. Some of it was on very good toll roads and some of it was on very windy mountain roads. We did stop and buy some Mezcal along the way.

Wednesday and Thursday August17 and 18 - Coba, Laguna Bacalar and Palenque

From Tulum we drove down the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula and then across the base of the peninsula. But before we headed south from Tulum we went inland to see the ruins at Coba. Coba was very different than the other ruins we have seen because it is all in jungle. We had to walk quite a distance between the various ruins at the site.The paths are old Mayan stone highways.

The town that is now the ruin at Coba had around 40,000 people living in it at its peak between 800 and 1100 AD.

We saw the ball court.

And we saw several other impressive structures. But the most awe inspiring was the pyramid. It is 42 meters high and is the second highest pyramid in the Yucatan peninsula. We climbed it. The view from the top was of endless jungle.

On the road back to Tulum from Coba we stopped at a road side stand and bought a cold coconut. The vendor opened it. We drank the coconut juice and then the meat. We added salt, chili powder and lime to the meat. It was really good.

We spent Wednesday night at Laguna Bacular on the second biggest lake in Mexico. We ate dinner in a little restaurant on the square and walked around the fort that the Spanish built for protection from British pirates. We were only a few miles from Belize.

From Laguna Bacalar we drove to Palenque almost 300 miles on some not very good roads. Palenque is right at the edge of the mountains.It also has  big Mayan ruin. it is amazing how many ruins there are. we only scratched the surface. And we visited five. I'll talk about our visit to the Palenque ruins in my next post.

 

Monday and Tuesday August 15 and 16 2011 - Cancun and the Mexican Rivieria

While we were in Cancun staying at our friend's house we did laundry and got food from the grocery store for our meals. It was a nice break in our travels.

I didn't realize that Cancun is a recently created city. In the 1970s Mexico decided to create the resort of Cancun. Pretty much everything we saw in Cancun, all the roads, restaurants and over the top resorts, is no more than 40 years old.

We drove through the hotel zone which is a 10 or so mile long strip of land with very impressive resort hotels. We parked near the Ritz Carleton and walked through it down to the beach. Later we went swimming near there. The beaches are sparkling white and the water is a stunning azure blue. This picture was taken a little farther down the road at an overlook point by the public beach..

While we were in Cancun we also spent and hour checking out the gambling at the Dubai Palace. They had an electronic black jack table with no cards but with a dealer. It is the first one like it I have ever seen. We lost a bit but it was still interesting and fun to play someplace new.

We left Cancun Tuesday morning. Tuesday night we stayed in Tulum about 80 miles south of Cancun on the Mexican Riviera. On the drive from Cancun we saw lots and lots of very fancy resorts. We stayed at a hotel called Green Tulum. We had a second floor cabana room that felt like we were in a tree house.

 In the afternoon we explored the ruins at Tulum. It was a walled city that was thriving when the Spaniards first sailed along this cost. The ruins overlooking the white sand beach and sparkling blue water are stunningly beautiful.

After a dinner of fish tacos in an outside restaurant we watched the moon rise over the Caribbean.

From Tulum we head south almost to Belize.

 

Sunday August 14, 2011 - Merida to Cancun

From Merida we headed east to Cancun. After almost always going south in Mexico it is a bit of challenge to orient oneself to driving east to west.

Sunday our big stop of the day was Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza is on the cover of both of our Yucatan guide books and is the most visited of all Mayan sites.

There was never a single monolithic Mayan empire. Instead thee were independent city states in an almost constant state of shifting alliances. This reminds me of the city states of Italy.

The classic Maya era is considered 250 AD to 900 AD. Chichen Itza is the one city in the post classic Maya era (900 Ad - 1500 AD) to surpass the glory of the classic era.

In contrast to Edzna which we visited on Saturday, Chichen Itza had a lot of visitors when we were there. Partly because it was a Sunday and partly because Chichen Itza is at he top of everyones must see list.

Chichen Itzu is impressive. As you walk in the first thing you see is El Castillo. It is huge!

 

As we wandered around the site which covers a lot of ground it started to rain. It rained hard for about 15 minutes. This actually felt really good. The cool rain was a nice change from the heat and humidity.

We continued to explore and bought a few souvenirs.

Back at the car we changed into dry clothes. One really nice thing about southern Mexico so far has been how many butterflies (mariposas) we see. They are ubiquitous out in the countryside.

In Cancun we are staying at our friends' house. Unfortunately they are on vacation back in the U.S. right now so we don't get to see them.

When we got here we went out to the store and bought food for dinner and breakfast. It is great to be able to do laundry and just relax. We are at about the half way point for distance on our trip.

Here Duke is eating a Pitaya or Dragon Fruit. It was good.

 

Saturday August 13 - Campeche to Merida

Saturday we drove from Campeche to Merida in the state of Yucatan. Along the way we stopped to visit our first Mayan ruin and to do some shopping.

The Mayan ruins at Edzna are mainly from building done between 600 and 900 AD. Edzna was at the height of its power from around 250 BC to 150 AD. As we were entering the site we saw this sign. I thought the alien bit was entertaining.

We had the site almost to ourselves. The size and complexity of the ruins is really impressive. I know next to nothing about Mayan history and seeing Edzna made me want to learn more.

Our second stop of th day was Becal. Becal is a town of 6,400 people and is the center of the Yucatan panama hat trade. According to Lonely Planet about one third of the adult population make their livings weaving hats. The hats vary in price based on the fineness of the fibers used and the tightness of the weave. We saw hats priced well over $100.

A bike taxi showed us one of the back yard caves where the hats are woven from the fibers of the huano palm tree. The cave was about the size of a small room and we entered it using narrow stairs in the shop owner's yard. The hats are woven in the caves because the humidity keeps the fibers pliable.

The hat remains very pliable. It can be crushed and will go back into shape very easily. Duke did some bargaining and bought a hat for about $27.

In Merida we stayed at the Gran Hotel which was opened in 1901. The hotel was indeed grand. I suspect that much of our room was original. Although it was a bit worn it was still good.

When we left Marida on Sunday morning most of the streets around our hotel and the main square were closed to traffic. There were lots of people strolling, bike riding and out enjoying the day.

If you would like to see all of my picture they are on Flickr here. If you have questions or if there are other things about our trip you would like to know please leave a comment or send me an email.

 

To the Uneso World Heritage Town of Campeche

Friday morning we left Ciudad del Carmen and headed north east along the coast to Campeche. To quote Lonely Planet:

"Campache is a colonial fairyland, its walled city center a tight enclave of perfectly restored pastel buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, fortified ramparts and well preserved mansions"

 

Campache was first settled by the Europeans ini 1531, making it almost 500 years old. Multiple pirate raids prompted Spain to eventually build a wall around the city. parts of the wall and seven of the bulwarks are still standing.

We stayed at a wonderful very reasonably priced hotel  recommended by Lonely Planet The Hotel Lopez. This is the view from our room. The building we saw through the window is of the Ex Templo de San Jose.

The hotel is located only a few blocks from the main square. Friday afternoon we explored some of the parts of the old wall and the Mayan architecture Museum.

This picture is of  the main square and the cathedral.

Apparently I never played fort as a kid because I couldn't figure out what Duke is doing in this picture. I guess you put your hat some place as a target and look over the wall someplace else so the pirates will shoot at the hat not at you.

After a siesta at the hotel to get away from the heat and humidity we went out for a walk along the ocean front. We sat for a while and watched the daily dance/exercise group and the sunset which was out over the gulf since Camache looks west.

While we were sitting on the sea wall some people came along handing out these for world youth day. They gave it ti Duke!

After dinner we sat in the square and listened to music and people watched. I really like Campeche

I thought you might be interested to know that gas is $2.94. There is only one oil company the government oil company Pemex

 

From Veracruz to Ciudad Carmen

Tuesday morning we left Veracruz and drove to Catemaco on Laguna de Catemaco. Duke remembers the lake and the surrounding area from his travels 29 years ago. We found a nice hotel, Playa Azul on the lake, checked in and took a siesta.Then we went for a drive  through the ecological reserve to the coast at Monte Pio, We had sodas at tables on the beach. On the way back we found the dirt road to the remote hotel Duke stayed at when he was there in 1982. We decided not to risk driving the car down the rocky road. Back at the hotel we had a great fish dinner. After dinner we sat and enjoying the warm night and the beautiful Laguna de Catemaco and the jungle around it.

Wednesday morning we found a friendly taxi driver who agreed to take us back to the coast and then down the dirt road to the Playa Escondido Hotel. The road was rough but the taxi driver was great and we had a nice chat in Spanish. When we got to the spot Duke remembered, the hotel was a ruin being overtaken by the jungle. The people there told us that the hotel had been closed for 11 years. You could see how stunning the restaurant had been on a cliff overlooking the coast.

Our taxi driver took us back to another rustic hotel right on the beach below the Playa Escondido Hotel. The Parador Icacos is right on Playa Jicacal with an open air dining room and about 8 rooms. We got a room, went swimming in the gulf to cool off, and then sat in the shade and read all afternoon.

We had fresh fish for dinner and went for a walk on the beach. The rooms didn't have hot water or air conditioning so we did get a bit mosquito bitten but the whole experience was still fun.

The owner of the hotel had 3 sons and an enormously cute 4 year old daughter, Maria. She showed us her magic tricks, her bucket full of crabs, and she tried to each me some Spanish words.

When we were ready to leave Thursday morning the owner and his family offered us a ride back up the dirt road. We dropped Mom, Maria and the youngest son Oscar off to register Oscar for school and then a bit farther down the main road the truck stopped and everybody else got out  to cut grass on the side of the road. They were taking it to a horse farmer they know. We got a ride the rest of the way back to our hotel in a mixto, rural taxi (a truck with seats in back). with ten or fifteen other people.

At the hotel we got  into our car and drove south to Ciudad del Carmen. It seems to be a very prosperous oil town with lots of oil workers both American and Mexican. The most expensive hotel in town was full but we stayed at the Holiday Inn and enjoying the marble floor, shower and air conditioning. The ironic thing though is that although it cost 5 times more than Icacos Parador, Holoiday Inn didn't have hot water either!

 

 

 

From Matamoros on the the border to Veracruz

Saturday morning bright and early we crossed the border into Mexico. Crossing took a while because we got there before the offices opened but by 9am we were on our way south. Our goal was to drive a long way our first day. The quality of the roads varied widely but we made good progress and finally stopped for the night in the town of Cerro Azul.This is a picture of Duke outside the door of our motel room.

Coincidentally just before we stopped for the night we were caught in traffic behind a guy named Ron Farmer who is running from Pole to Pole to raise money for the Red Cross. While we were eating dinner he caught up with us and came into our restaurant to eat with his support people. We chatted with his Mexican organizer and photographer who was from Cancun.

Sunday morning we caught up with and passed his motorcade again about 3 miles south of Cerra Azul. A few miles after we passed him the main road was closed and we had to take a detour on dirt roads for while. We even crossed a river on a causeway with water over the road..

When we reached Veracruz we parked and walked around looking at hotels. We ended up in a wonderful room at the Gran Hotel Diligencias. Our room is on the fourth floor overlooking the swimming pool, the cathedral, and  the main square (the Zocalo).

We immediately went out and had a snack on the edge of the square.

For dinner we ate at the hotel restaurant. We ordered fresh fish. It is priced by weight. The waiter brought out three fish for us to chose from. We chose the snapper and the waiter took it back to the kitchen where they grilled it for us. It was fantastic.

Last night there was a concert in the Zocalo by Mane de la Parra. It was fun to watch and listen. From our room after the concert we watched security rush him through the crowd of screaming girls to the hotel.

Yesterday and today we have been exploring Vera Cruz. It is very hot and incredibly humid here. We walk for a while then come back to the room, relax and enjoy the air conditioning.

Veracruz was first settled by Europeans over 400 years ago. This is part of the original wall around the city.

The terrapins in the pool in front of Faro Carranza reminded me of our turtle at home. My friend Linda tells me that he is starting to call her Mom.

 The pictures from teh mexican part of our trip are on Flickr here.

Spanish Learning resources that I use and Like

Before our current trip to Mexico the last time I was in Mexico was in January of 2007. I wasn't posting pictures to my blog back then but if you would like to read about the trip the posts start here. On that trip I spoke zero Spanish. I relied on Duke. He is a fluent Spanish speaker. The trip was so much fun that I resolved to start learning Spanish. I started to work on learning in fits and starts. I've made quite a bit of progress in my Spanish learning and I am excited about the opportunity this trip provides for me to actually use and improve my Spanish.

I plan to use my blog posts to chronicle my progress and my experience trying to use the Spanish I have learned. Duke and I crossed the border yesterday and today was the first day I have been out of the car and able to try speaking Spanish. I've spoken to a few waiters and made small take with people in elevators. I'm understanding quite a bit and surprisingly people understand me when I say things like hace calor (it's hot) :-) In any case I am having fun

If you are interested here are some of the resources I have used to learn some Spanish on my own, (or I should say with help from Duke.)

Coffee Break Spanish and Showtime Spanish from the radio Lingua Network. I have found these podcasts to be fantastically useful. Coffee Break Spanish consists of 80 lessons of 15-20 minutes each starting at the very beginning.

Showtime Spanish is for improving  listening skills. I can definitely tell that I am improving when I compare how much I understood a few years ago and how much I understand now. I've even managed  to learn two jokes that I can tell in Spanish.

There is premium content available for these podcasts but so far I have not purchased it.

Fluid in Three Months is a blog written by Benny Lewis which I find really inspiring and interesting. Benny made me realize that I have to actually speak Spanish in order to learn to speak Spanish. I purchased his language hacking guide and like it. He also made realize there is no point in worrying about sounding foolish. So I am just diving in.

Lang-8 is a web site where you can write in your target language and have native speakers of the language correct your writing. I think you have to be a member to see my Spanish journal but if you sign up my user name is MarionV.

Flashcards Deluxe is a great flashcard program that I use on my iPod Touch but of course you can use it on a smart phone too. I set it to repeat the words that I am having problems with. I created some of my own decks and I also downloaded some public decks that are available.

When I have grammar questions I usually find the answers in The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice .

When I first started learning I worked my way through the exercises in Madrigal's magic Key to Spanish. I liked it a lot. The only down side was that it doesn't teach the familiar forms of the verbs but it does make learning easy.

Duke and I joined the Reno Newcomers Club Spanish group which has been very helpful.

We are  in Vera Cruz tonight and will be here tomorrow night too. I'll write a post more about our travels and what we are seeing tomorrow. This is the view from our hotel room overlooking the main square.

 

 

 

 

 

From to Tucson, Arizona to Brownsville, Texas

Since we left Tucson on Wednesday morning we have traveled over 1000 miles. Now it is Saturday morning and we are at the southern tip of Texas in Brownsville. Along the way we stopped at  Kartchner Caverns State Park near Tucson, Calsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico and visited my cousin Carol in San Antonio.

Carlsbad Caverns and Kartchner Caverns are both caves but they were very different.

Kartchner was discovered in 1974 and was kept a secret for years until the discoverers could work with the owners and the state to create a new state park which was opened in 1999. The cave has been preserved. The discovers went into the cave through a sink hole. To enter the cave when we were there we went through new sealed doors to a new tunnel entrance. The doors are sealed so that the cave will not dry out and die. IKartchner has beautiful formations and is beautiful. But the most impressive thing about Kartchner is that it is a living pristine recently discovered cave.

Carlsbad on the other hand is stupendously big and awe inspiring. At Carlsbad caverns We took the self guided hiking tour which goes into the natural entrance of the cave. The entrance is a big hole in the ground. We hiked down switch backs on a trail down into the big hole. We went down, down, down. Every time I thought we were at the bottom we would come around a corner and there would be more switchbacks going down. It literally felt like we were descending down into the bowels of the earth and it was as beautiful as it was awe inspiring.

We descended 750 feet almost straight down and when we got to the bottom we explored enormous caverns full of impressive structures. The Big Room that we explored is 8.2 acres big and has a ceiling that is immense. We took the elevator back to the surface.

Carlsberg Caverns were fantastic they were totally different from Kartchnar Caverns. Both of them were fascinating.

From Carlsbad we headed to San Antonio. We had lunch with my cousin Carol and her husband in San Antonio and then drove on to Brownsville where we are now. Today we are crossing into Mexico.

We ave been having picnic lunches most days. Thursday we stopped In Pecos, Texas and bought some local cantaloupes and then had one for lunch. Boy! Was it good. The 100+ temperatures are pretty impressive too!