Thanksgiving 2025 - Christmas Is Coming

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It was a fast ten days in San Miguel de Allende.  One of the strangest trips down the highway as well.  Our friends Paula and Jerry are in SMA along with their friend Pat.  We met Pat back in 2014 in Nova Scotia on our Canada RV trip.  

It was a fun time, going for walks, visiting the markets, and showing Pat around Mexico.  She stayed for a week and went home just after we did.   It was interesting to get someone's view on Mexico who had never visited before.  SMA is not a real picture of Mexico, only a small part, but it does show several facets of the country.

Christmas is everywhere, and you can see in the picture that it is becoming more and more commercial even in the south of the country, known for its traditional and cultural aspects.  We went to the mall to do some banking, and it was well decorated.  

We hadn't made any special plans for Thanksgiving, and most of our friends had made theirs weeks in advance.  Canada had already celebrated their Thanksgiving in October, so we put it off.  Then, one morning, I thought we could at least stuff a chicken.  I rang up P & J, and they agreed to dinner.  No one had to do anything.  We bought a few things, and I set out cooking.  Juan makes a truly delicious green bean casserole with bacon, small potatoes, and mushrooms.   

I made the dressing using day-old ciabatta and multigrain from the Canadian bakery.  Delicious!  I don't mean to brag, but it always turns out great.  Homemade mashed potatoes and gravy.   It was a fun evening, and a good time was had by all.

Few things we don't like, and some things we don't buy because of our favorite go-tos.  Our friend Cheryl had us over a few weeks ago and served some warmed brie with honey.  It was fantastic.  I decided to do the same, and it was great.  Add that to the list of favorites.

Here's the bird.  Turkeys this year in Mexico are very expensive.  I'm glad that we didn't buy one more for all the leftovers since there were only three guests.

Homemade cinnamon rolls!  

Christmas decorations give somebody a photo opportunity!

Many of the restaurants in town have become high-scale and very expensive.  This is the restaurant inside the City Market.  It's pretty fancy, but the prices are very accessible. 

On one of our walks, we came across this iris.  My mom was well-known for her flowers and flower beds.  After she passed away, my sister dug up the bulbs and shared them with all of us.  30 years later, my sister still has a flower bed with the irises.  

While making a reservation at the famous La Tratoria, Juan came across this photo of the fork in the avenue where the restaurant is today.  This dates back to 1963.  Much is the same, and yet a lot has changed.

I'm still trying to get used to the empty driveway.  Good times with that RV, and it was a great place to go to for trip planning and happy hours.  Oh well.

Van Builds - Hindsight Is 20/20

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

An example of what we would like to do.  It has to have a shower and toilet.

Hundreds of floor plans and ideas to choose from or to modify to your needs.

Now that the travel trailer is gone, it's time to move on.  We've thought about a van for quite some time and have met many people who have them and watched dozens of videos. There are floor plans for all brands and models of vans, including pre-built containers that slip right into the van of your choice.  From cheap to very expensive, it's all there.   The main purpose is stealth, to be able to travel without being harassed or extorted by police, Guardia Nacional, and military, mostly in checkpoints.  

First thing is to find a van.  We considered importing a used Class B from the U.S.  The problem is, our infamous president made a change to the import program.  If you import a vehicle, you can have it legalized in Mexico, but you can't take it out of the country.  Many unsuspecting persons who imported a vehicle crossed into the U.S. for many reasons, and upon return, had their vehicles confiscated.

I'll begin looking locally first to see what we can find.  I would prefer a vehicle purchased originally in Mexico.  Price is the first criterion and then year, length, and condition.  I need to check on the above information about importation, as many of the vans I have found in the past were imported and may apply to the new rules.  

Now on to the latest events in Mexico.

This was painted on the 10-foot-high barriers put up before the demonstrations began.

A lot is going on in Mexico right now, and that has allowed me to reflect on many things.  Yesterday, the 15th of November, three important marches took place in the country.  In fact, 55 cities were involved.  

1)  The Sombrero Movement was started by the now deceased Carlos Manzo, ex-municipal president of Uruapan.  His grandmother led the march from her wheelchair in Mexico City.

2)  Generation Z  The mobilization adds a public dimension to the debate on generation: social participation, youth visibility, and questions of origin.  Mexico's youth are concerned about their future; safety, employment, direction of the country.

3)  Farmers have been on strike now for over a month, blocking major highways, especially the routes from Mexico City northbound.  They are asking for an increase in the price per ton.  They are about $90 US short per ton compared to international corn market shares.  It's a lengthy story about a fraudulent campaign initiated by AMLO to provide more resources to rural areas, aiming to create a stronger socialist agrarian society.

Many people in the U.S., Canada, and expatriates in Mexico were not aware of the marches and the current news developments.  Get with it, turn on the television, watch some local Mexican news stations, and get out the translator for the headlines.  Pick up a local rag and review the headlines.  Get the old head out of the sand.  I know, most people really don't seem to care as they don't have a stake in the country.  When Mexico heads south, tourists and expats will head north.  Guerrilla wars are taking place in many parts of Mexico, and they are creating havoc: extortion, cobro de piso, kidnappings, disappearances, and tens of thousands of murders.  

Our sticker was similar to this one.  I recommend that people put some type of satellite pic, or GPS sticker on their vehicles.  Mexican companies use them on their vehicles.

My hindsight came into play with the marches above and all the organized crime activity taking place.  When we had our travel trailer, I had a sticker on the back 20cm x 60cm that had a satellite icon and the GPS letters.  We didn't have an issue with bad guys attempting to push us off the road, cut us off, or anything of that nature.  I took that sticker off before we went to the States in December for our Quartzsite trip.  I'm wondering now if I had not taken it off, we wouldn't have been assaulted.  Who knows, the whole thing is a crap shoot.