Dia de los Muertos – Wednesday - Part 1

01/11/23 Wednesday (Getting used to Méxican date format)

Dia de los Muertos – Atlixco

Part 1 

Highlights:

The night before my flight, I was unable to get everything done that I had wanted to do. I ended up disposing of a lot of my notes that I didn’t have time to scan, and I had to throw away a lot of stuff that I couldn’t find a home for. Between trick or treaters and the new owner stopping by with her husband, I just ran out of time. I had to leave the house as a bit of a mess. I emailed the agent that I would pay for clean up, if necessary. 

My grandson, Jesse, gave me a ride to the airport motel and took back the car that his father had loaned me when mine died. I repacked one of the suitcases that I knew was overweight and ended up leaving behind a bunch of items that I decided weren’t worth the overage charge. 

In the morning, everything went smoothly with the Uber to the airport and the check in. I had a small SNAFU when I called Martha, my guide and guardian angel in Atlixco, and found out the we had a miscommunication about my ride from the airport and that I would have to take the bus from México City to Puebla City and hire and Uber or Taxi there, which turned out not to be such a bad problem.

The porters at the México City airport, called maleteros, helped me get my stuff to the bus and my Airbnb host volunteered to pick me up in Puebla City.

 When we got to Atlixco, the Dia de los Muertos celebration was in full swing. This celebration is pre-Christian and takes place on November 1st and 2nd. On the final approach to the house, we got behind a parade, so it took us almost 45 minutes to go the last 3 blocks.

 My host speaks very little English, and my Spanish comprehension is poor, so it was challenging to converse, but we did okay. She graciously offered to take me to an event in a nearby city on Thursday, but I told her that I needed to just rest and recuperate. She pointed out a tiny store a couple of blocks away that could provide fruit & veggies and a small selection of about everything one might need, but mostly snacks & drinks. She said she’d bring a large water bottle the next day left.

 This is a lovely place with a small yard surrounded by bougainvillea, with a lot of daylight coming in, which makes it quite cheerful. Between the flight, the bus and the car ride, there weren’t many places to get a drink, so I was quite dehydrated and drank a couple of liters of water in a short period. After that, I unpacked a little, took a shower and hit the sack. I ended up sleeping about 7 hours, which is quite a long time for me.

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