MULEGE We went to Mulege on the bus last week. We started the day off with breakfast at the hotel in Santa Rosalita that was built by the French in the late 1800's and is still furnished in that style, what a great way to set up a day.
Muelge was a wonderful spot. We bused through desert hills for miles and miles
and then all of a sudden we were in an oasis of date palms, lush vegetation and a river. What a change in vegetation. We asked about a path we saw and we told that the old monastery was that way, where the lookout was, so off we went, Barry and I and the couple from Decade Dance, Betty Lou and Dave from Indianapolis. We walked across an old cement and stone damn and then up to the church. The church was built by the Franscian monks in 1776 and it is still standing. If there was a hurricane in this region I know I would want to head here, the walls were 3 feet thick.
and then all of a sudden we were in an oasis of date palms, lush vegetation and a river. What a change in vegetation. We asked about a path we saw and we told that the old monastery was that way, where the lookout was, so off we went, Barry and I and the couple from Decade Dance, Betty Lou and Dave from Indianapolis. We walked across an old cement and stone damn and then up to the church. The church was built by the Franscian monks in 1776 and it is still standing. If there was a hurricane in this region I know I would want to head here, the walls were 3 feet thick. 
After visiting the monastery we strolled on down the road and I saw a fellow sitting making a fire outside this ornate fence, and of course, I wondered, what is going on. Making the mistake I made almost a year ago I encouraged everyone to wonder over. The fellow was cooking clams on a fire. The home was one of the big landowners in the area and as I discovered a little further along, yup once again we had been trespassing. There were no signs and no harm done and we interacted with the populus. This fellow didn't ask us in to view the grounds, though, just went in the gate and shut the door. This time it helped though because Dave had been a peace corp volunteer in the 60's in El Salavador so his Spanish was pretty good and there were no awkward moments of minunderstanding.
We spent the rest of the day wandering around visiting the shops and restaurants in town. There was a tienda that sold wonderful gringo supplies, like brown sugar, Kraft dinner, sharp cheddar cheese and a big container of nuts (that we are keeping for guests). It was a great trip and I even managed to find a few Christmas presents. When we got back I quickly wrapped them up and Betty Lou said she would mail them once they got to Indianapolis, YIPPEE!