La Cascada and a Concert

 

Spending a few pleasant hours at La Cascada

 14/01/24 – 27 /01/24 - Two Weeks

Changes at Work

There have been some changes at work. Our crew has been shrinking due to the closing of some buildings and the underpopulation of others, both of which are due to fewer people coming to the office daily, which, in turn, means that we need fewer people to clean the buildings. We also had one of our managers get a well-deserved promotion to his own account. Because of this, my start time has been changed to 9:00 AM. I asked for permission to take every Thursday off and maintain my 10 hour week by working longer days during the week; permission was granted. This should work out for my benefit in the future, as I will explain below.

La Cascada

My friends, Tony and Shirley suggested that I might enjoy a day trip to see La Cascada, the waterfall, which is a little feature about 20 minutes away from Atlixco by Uber. I tried to go see it on Friday, the 19^th, but I may have been waiting in the wrong place to catch the bus. I waited for almost 1½ hours and the bus never showed up, so I called it a bust and headed back home, stopping at the grocery store on the way.

I decided to try it again on Sunday, the 21^st, and took an Uber instead, with plans to take the bus back home. This worked out well for me. I got to the park and spent about 45 minutes just exploring the area, hiking up and down hills and washes, looking at small waterfalls and whitewater on the river before getting to the main attraction. The large waterfall was a wonderful sight, with several splash points on the way down from the top. I took several pictures, as well as a couple of movies. I just loved the sound of the falls, and I may go back and sketch it one of these days.

After spending a few hours in the park, I paid 6 pesos to use the restroom and hiked back to where the bus should stop. There was no shade, but the bus came in about 15 or 20 minutes. On the way back, we were halted for about 10 minutes while a cowboy rounded up some cattle and some horses and urged them down the road and away from the bus. I was unable to get any pictures of him nor his charges, alas, and have to be content with the image in my noggin. After that, we proceeded the rest of the way without incident. We passed through a town called Metepec which I would like to visit someday soon.

Tony and Shirley told me that I could accompany them sometimes when they take their day trips if I could get off of work on Thursday. Since I would like very much to do that, I arranged to have Thursdays off in the future.

The Guitar Concert at the Teatro Octagón

Tony found out that there was going to be a guitar concert at the Octagon Theater at 6:00 tonight (Saturday, the 27^th), and I made arrangements to meet him as well as another gringo couple, Anthony and Shirley. I walked there, about 1.5 km., and we all went in at about 5:45. The first act was a young man (they ALL seem young to me these days), a virtuoso, who played many different styles, but all of the songs were in the German classical idiom. His first 2 songs seemed a little experimental, some kind of modal arrangement. After that he slipped into a more traditional classical style and sounded great; his playing was romantic and very “buttery.”

After he played, a large group of younger kids came out and played very well for their skill level. It was obvious that some were much better than others, but together they made a pleasant musical noise which I enjoyed immensely. They closed with the only song that I recognized all night: Beethoven’s An Die Freude (Ode to Joy). They did a very musical and innocent instrumental version of the Beethoven piece, and I left feeling buoyant. The other couples wanted me to accept a ride home after the concert, since it was dark and they were worried that I would fall and end up dead on some dirt backroad. I told them that I was capable of walking home and that I didn’t need a mother, I already had one. When they saw that I wasn’t going to budge, they decided to accompany me. I was very touched by their concern and enjoyed their company as we walked down the dark, sketchy backroads and paths of Atlixco at 7:30 PM.

I made it home, safe and sound and now I am ready for bed. I will post this tomorrow morning.

Hasta luego.