Too Much Growth!

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

 

Today started out to be a pretty lazy morning.  I did some prep work for my trip tomorrow to Corpus Christi, washed some clothes, and Juan made a really good huevos rancheros breakfast. 

 

We had a family mass to go to in the afternoon but first thing was to wash the cars.   I don't do that much anymore, I have gotten pretty lazy.   Our road is not conducive to a clean cars but it has been sunny and hot the last two days giving me no reason not to do it.  Plus, when you travel it's nice to be in a clean car.

 

Heading out for the mass  we drove all the way through Monterrey to the north side of town.  We were so far that we could see the exit to the highway leading to Saltillo.   On our way though, we discovered how fast and how much the city is growing.  Condominium towers shooting up as high was 40 stories, shopping malls and now the fastest growing trend is a gated community.   In the pics below you can see just a few of the many we passed in a short two kilometer stretch.  These neighborhoods run from 1,000,000 pesos to 3,000,000 pesos and we're not talking an exclusive part of town.  One major advantage is that builders are being forced to provide decent infrastructure in terms of good streets, parkways, green areas, LED and solar street lighting.  Take a look:

At mass, we were surprised to see an American priest.  Padre Scott speaks perfect Spanish and has a beautiful accent.  The church has three levels inside and must have had over 600 people in attendance.  They have mass every hour on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.   The place was packed and the singing group or choir was excellent.  He baptized 15 babies during the mass.    He read the list of family names we were there to honor.

 

After, we went to a niece's house for tostadas with beans, cheese and salsa along with a plate of asado de Puerco and rice.   Fantastic afternoon and good to get everyone together. 

 

Now for a cocktail and off to bed.  Tomorrow is a long day.  I figure if I leave here at 7 a.m. I will be at the bridge by 10:30, an hour to cross because tomorrow is a Mexican holiday (Constitution Day, Feb 5th celebrated tomorrow), go to the office for materials and then 2.5 hours to Corpus Christi.  Yikes.