Going, going, still going. ...

We're still the energizer bunnies, but I'm learning to conserve my energy and catch little naps when I can. The girls come alive at night and their giggles and gabfests bring me joy. Here's what's happened lately: May 10-12 Poncitlan; May 12-14 LaBarca; May 14-16 Tepatitlan; May 16-17 Arandas. The stop in Arandas was not on our itinerary, but we're happy it was added. It's tequila country and after a tour of one of the big tequila plants, La Charra, we were each given a bottle of the best of the aged tequilas. These people are way too thoughtful and generous.

While in Poncitlan, one of the highlights was to visit Foco Tonal in Cuitzeo, an energy center where if you stood in a special area, you could hear your echo resound within your body. The Rotarians of Poncitlan are hoping that our district can assist them with a matching grant to use plants to upgrade the cleanliness of the water. They gave me a CD to share with our Rotary clubs, explaining the need in the area. They also said that if we had supplies to deliver, it is safer and more likely to arrive if we send things through the Red Cross ... from our Red Cross to theirs.The photo of Foco Tonal and a couple from our trip to the island that was once a prison are included here.

We traveled to LaBarca where we were met by very energetic and happy-to-see-us Rotarians who brought along a friend to serve as translator. They directed us to a hotel in the downtown area so that we could shop and hang out. Photos of my room and the exterior of the hotel are included here. But one of the rooms had a smelly bathroom. In the end, we asked to be moved to another hotel mainly because the girls said they didn't feel safe there. The Rotarians accommodated our needs and in their serious and generous effort to please us gave us more gifts than we deserved, in my opinion ... from jewelry to cookies to caps and T-shirts. All the Rotarians that we have met are proud of their cities and I believe they have taken really good care of us. They also seem to enjoy our presentations. The effort to get us to vocational sites has been genuine and we've seen clinics for drug rehab, orphanages, places that serve the needs of the disabled and victims of violence, hospitals, museums (photo under a horse sculptor which is supposed to bring luck), lots of churches and many results of matching grants with other Rotary clubs, including vans with lifts (photo), wheelchairs, clean water filters. ...

A Rotarian businessman, Victor, showed us his chicken enterprise. We saw some 30,000 chickens housed 4-6 in a crate eating and pooping and laying one egg a day as they were being prepared for sale. Not a pretty sight, in my opinion.

Chuey and Juan drove us to Tepatitlan; they're really nice guys and I'll miss them. In Tepa, we interacted with PDG Manolo and his wife Susana. Manolo is the organizer for their District Conference. He arranged a meeting with the mayor (photo) and a tour of the city. It's good for me to be involved with him and what he has done. Our itinerary has been sketchy, so Manolo helped put some order to my confusion.

There's an American couple from Ridgecrest, CA, living here that we really like. They've been helpful and went shoe-shopping with the girls as well as give them the heads-up on the area. It's Cultural Week, so of course there are more fiestas, and we watched singers and dancers in the center of town at the Cultural Center (photo).

We washed three loads of clothes and unfortunately, our T-shirts turned a "brighter shade of pale." We've still got a few that are white and with the trip being close to over, we will survive it.

We gave a presentation to a small group at Manolo's ranch (photo) and he in turn showed videos of his daughter's wedding and of tango dancers. The tequila kept flowing. Oh, yes.

We went off our sketchy itinerary to go to Arandas mainly because there's a tequila factory here and Manolo has to get ready for the District Conference. Not a problem! In the late afternoon and evening, Annie, Amy and I sat at the swimming pool club, swam and steamed, sang with the Rotarians, and had a relaxed evening with them. Anna, whose back has been hurting, and Gabriela stayed at the hotel. Today we leave for Guadaljara. Time is starting to fly.