Last night we had our first sense of rain, albeit it didn't rain, but the thunder and lightning was simple amazing. In B.C. we rarely get any sense of lightning or thunder, but here in Ajijic that is definitely not the case. The locals say that when the rain birds start to sing it will be about three weeks before the rains come. From what we understand "rain birds" are not rain birds, they're actually "caciadas" (spelling).

Well, as I said yesterday, Jan our neighbor thought I should make my way to the doctor, so her husband George drove me to the clinic where I got a chance to see Dr. Alfredo Rodriguez Quintana at the Hospital Clinica Ajijic located on the main Carretera. No more than three of us in the waiting room and all Gringo's so that was good as well.

When I got a chance to see the Dr., he was great, his English was great. What would normally have been a 60 second visit to my doctor, we spoke for about 20 minutes as he wanted to do a brief history on me before he prescribed the medication. All seemed fine in his office with medical certificates on every wall (apparently he started his practice in the U.S. and returned to Mexico). No muss, no fuss just paid the $200P ($16.00) for my visit and took my prescription across the street Farmacia Ajijic to get my seven days worth of pills and cream for my leg. All fixed and done for a total of about $50.00 - just hoping that we can clear the infection in the next few days.

Tonight is Fussilli Florentina for dinner, once we can figure out how to turn on the oven. The oven and range operates on propane and we've never operated one of these before. The oven is state-of-the-art GE Profile, but still the concept is a little strange to us. Deb feels heat inside, and there's no fire so I guess we figured it out.

It's Day 4 without any TV - apparently Enrico from CP Electronics is coming by tomorrow to get us fixed. I thought I'd check the wiring from the satellite disk on the Mirador that runs down to the receiver, so when I went up to the roof, there's definitely a satellite - but there were NO wires coming off the back of it - yet there was wiring going through the roof down into my TV. Strange - yes, so I followed the wire along the top of the roof and saw quite clearly that the wiring for our TV went out and over the roof to our neighbor's casa - Katherine & John. Apparently he knew about this - seems my owner is "borrowing" the SAT signal from them. Anyway we hope to get this resolved by tomorrow so that I can watch a little hockey.

We're also scheduled to go out with Katherine (above) as she works for a group here called FOCUS ON MEXICO - which is a company that assists EXPATS with relocation and information services in Mexico. Katherine's going to take us to a number of different gated communities in and around Ajijic so that we can get a feel about other properties pricing and general layouts. While there are still 3 or 4 lots still available here in El Dorado, most of the choice locations have already been built on. Construction prices here for lot and a 3 bedroom home will run about $250,000 US, while there are a couple of units that are up for sale now with price tags in the $350,000 furnished range.

Reasonably quiet day today, allows us a chance to recharge for the next adventure which is likely to going to be to TLAQUEPAQUE (pronounced Te-la-k-pok-ee) which is a area renowned for mexican handicrafts and furniture. Most of the locals have purchase their interior furnishings from either TONALA (pronounced Tone-e-la) or Tlaquepaque. Nothing booked as of yet, but that seems to be the next plan on the agenda.

I want to say thank you to those who have been keeping up with my postings. While I realize this is more of a diary for me so I can build one of my travel books when I get back, I really appreciate those who've taken the time to follow our comings and goings down here in Ajijic, it's really appreciated.

Stay tunes for the next adventure...........