Woke up this morning to the gushing sounds of hot air balloons in the sky outside our bedroom window. One by one they float gracefully from below the hillside on the north side of San Miguel upward high above the city. No doubt it’s chilly up there in the early morning, but I’m certain the view is worth it. There were a total of seven of these multi-colored globos de aire caliente.
Looks as though the horizon is hatching balloons.
The balloons slowly emerge, one-by-one, then gradually drift in the direction of the prevailing morning wind.
Took this one with my zoom lens. Early morning light very dim.
Tried to get close enough with my zoom lens to see inside the basket. Not quite. Sunrise tinting the clouds.
Lavandería
Doing laundry at first was an issue. We were going to look for a lavandaria close by because the washing machines we have access to are just too dirty to use. Marisol, our wonderful housekeeper, told us, however, that a new washer and dryer were coming last weekend. They never arrived. But this is not surprising. In Mexico we have learned time is a relative concept and not easily nailed down in Gringo terms. When Marisol says en Sabado o Domingo, her time frame is not linear; it could mean any weekend in the future; of course, I automatically assumed the “upcoming” weekend.
But in Mexico, time is always flexible, of little real urgency or attention, and is, therefore, an unlimited quantity. The future has no hold in the sense of “upcoming.” Most everyone is familiar with the Mexican concept of mañana. Literally, the word can mean “morning,” “tomorrow,” or even “later.” The word and its concept has to be understood in context.
Example: Some things, of course, are the exception, especially when dealing with specific services, like water or laundry. If we need a leaky faucet repaired, mañana applies; but if we need un garrafón de agua, it gets delivered to you right away.
And such is the case with our laundry. We need it done one a semi-regular basis, and we need it picked up and delivered. Last winter when we were staying at Weber’s RV park, Carlos came to the campground twice a week to pick up our laundry and then delivered it the same day. I got his phone number from Hans Weber, gave Carlos a call, and he picked up our laundry the next day. Laundry problem solved.
Call and Response 
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