We really cannot believe how quickly the year has shot by. It certainly seems to be coming upon us more quickly each year.
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| The blue dot is where we live on the Island |
We have enjoyed lots of time with them since their arrival. I am pretty sure they are glad to be in this rather more temperate climate than that being experienced in Alberta right now.
We are currently enjoying 6°C, while Calgary is at -12°C and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories at -36°C really puts the weather into perspective here.
While out on our walkabout today, I noticed large buds opening up on some of the trees on the street and the beginnings of green leaves peeping out from within. In our yard, the daffodils, Lillies, Iris and Crocosmia bulbs are pushing through the surface and the heather is blossoming already. Our hummingbirds never left. They are still at the feeders so we had better keep an eye out for them and keep the feeders full of sugar and water.
As I type this, our Winter Solstice is only eight days away. After that, a few days later, the nights will shorten, the days will begin to lengthen and the sun will begin tracking ever higher in the sky once again, heralding the approach of spring and a new spate of lawn mowings and yardwork.
I don't mind that at all, as I love to see all the flowers out in the yard. It's something that keeps me a little more supple with the constant bending and stretching, tending to the plants and gives us both something to do.
As a treat, 2020 will see us celebrating Donna's daughter (Kath's) 40th birthday and, a further bonus is that we will at some stage fly down to Guadalajara, Mexico, where friends will pick us up from the airport and take us to the accommodation Donna has reserved for us in Ajijic (pronounced Aheeheek) about an hour away.
Ajijic is a small town right next to Chapala on Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake which is over 50 miles long. We have never been there before so we are looking forward to that vacation as we count down the days until we go.
Donna did well renting this house, as it has a heated outdoor pool which is a real treat. The weather down there is around 75°F or 24°C almost every day.
We looked at renting a vehicle while in Mexico. That's what we did when we were in Costa Rica and Panama. Initially, it sounded doable. You can rent a vehicle for as little as $6 a day, but the insurance is where they get you.
Insurance in Mexico for a vehicle can be well in excess of $45 a day so we plan to hire our own driver down there which will take off the liability factor and reduce costs to a minimum. Besides that, I need the exercise walking.
One thing to note, many different Credit cards such as Visa say you are covered for vehicle insurance down in Mexico. Some however do not. That may be the case but, that's not how it works in the real world, as the Mexican vehicle rental companies refuse to accept Visa insurance - presumably as they have had issues claiming for accidents down there from the credit card companies representing people who rent the vehicles who have had accidents and who come from outside Mexico.
Our friends who are picking us up from the airport are renting a home just an 8-minute walk from the place we will be renting. They actually drove all the way down. They were stopped on the roads a few times by police asking for money as they had US license plates and targeted by the less scrupulous individuals but, I believe, they refused to pay and stuck to their guns. Rather them than me.
Liane and Jerry were neighbours of ours when we had our home in Mesquite, Nevada. They also flew down to Panama and stayed for 5 weeks with us in the house we were renting. We had so much fun together.
Apart from driving in Panama City, everything was great, but driving there, was like trying to drive a Land Rover on a tightrope on two wheels fifty foot up in the air..... Dodgy? - Very dodgy.
If you don't mind vehicles coming at you from eight different directions at once with absolute disregard for rules of the road and you can ignore the constant honking of the horns of the driver's vehicles, then you will be fine. It was no different when we were in San Jose in Costa Rica.
In our last blog, we had indicated that we were considering going to the SE of the United States, to Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida but by the time we had added all the costs up, it was going to be too expensive, so we decided to give it a miss in favour of the trip to Mexico which is half the price. It's a good job, as we have come to the realization that once you hit the 70 years mark, travel and health insurance costs skyrocket.
I personally haven't had an opportunity this year, to enjoy the salmon or halibut fishing trips my friends have enjoyed because of the surgeries I have been through but hopefully, this coming season will be different.
They were kind enough to give me some Halibut and my goodness what a wonderful tasty fish it is. My rods are ready to go.
So, in conclusion, we sincerely hope you all have a great Christmas and a healthy and happy 2020.
Please don't forget, that anytime you are out on Vancouver Island, we would be delighted to see you all, as we don't have a lot of opportunities to see as many people as much as we used too.
Best wishes to you all for Christmas.
Ken and Donna Carter
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