Two blogs ago, we were in the process of moving from Prince George, British Columbia to Montreal, Quebec.
Those plans were abruptly changed when on July 7 Barbara received an unexpected job offer in Victoria a place we had grown to love during our four-month stay in that city in 2006.
To live again in Victoria - the beautiful capital city of British Columbia was an opportunity we could not turn down. According to a 2008 reader's survey in Condé Nast Traveler, Victoria is tied with Quebec City for third place in the list of Top 10 Cities in the America's.
ards/readerschoice/cities
On July 9, after a moving sale, the movers picked up the remainder of our furniture. Ironically, it was all carefully labelled to go to Montreal but instead, the furniture and boxes went into storage in Prince George awaiting the day when we have found permanent accommodations in Victoria.
On July 13 we turned over the keys of our condo in Prince George to the new owner and headed south in the direction of Victoria with only the barest necessities and camping equipment in the car.
So here we are back in Victoria again in search of a condo. The only difference is that Victoria is among the most expensive real estate markets in Canada notwithstanding the economic crisis. This point was brought home by the fact that a similar condo to the one we had in Prince George sells for about $200,000 more in Victoria. But as a friend of mine says, that's only chump change!
Our preoccupation with finding a new home here in Victoria leaves little time for blogging. Nevertheless, one thing is for sure, I am still keen on finishing up this wonderful (from our perspective) blog - MEXICO: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months - even if it will take several more months to finish it.
Being back in Victoria continues to be an amazing experience as my encounter with an octopus on my first morning walk along the Strait of Juan de Fuca will attest.
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First Time Reader? ......here is the background to this series of blogs:
tries/lobo/9/1233502800/tpod.html
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Mexico: 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months
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Oaxaca
no. 18 of 23 destinations (this is not a ranking)
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Oaxaca - San Agustin Etla
This trip started innocently enough, as we were making an excursion to a little town located 17 kilometers from Oaxaca. In the end our surprise and enthusiasm couldn't have been greater. How was I to know that on this afternoon we were going to make a little side trip to Provence in the south of France.
Getting here was not as easy as it sounds as there are several destinations in the area which include the name Etla. So our first attempt saw us going completely in the wrong direction. By asking a lot of questions along the way we finally got to the bus station on the outskirts of Oaxaca from which the buses that pass near San Agustin de Etla leave.
Even then it took a wave of a hand from the bus driver to notify us that we had arrived at the intersection where the road leads to our destination. From here we took a colectivo or collective taxi (cram in ...
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Photos from this trip:
1. - stop talking about Provence! - this is Mexico
2. - our first view of San Agustin Etla
3. - inside of church
4. - another gorgeous day in Mexico
5. - colourful even at this time of year
6. - could be olive trees in Provence
7. - village street
8. - this church up the hill was our destination
9. - so Provence-like
10. - one Frenchman who recognized the similarity
11. - cool shade in the heat of the day
12. - scene I have seen many times in Provence
13. - classic scenery
14. - entry gate
15. - its a dry climate
16. - getting closer to our destination
17. - question of security
18. - apartment for rent
19. - various types of evergreens
20. - pamogranites
21. - vistas on way to white church
22. - irrigation
23. - we did not have time to go to swimming pool
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Video Spot - Relax Bar 27 de Dic. 2014 - Colmillo Norteño & Sonora Dinamita
Este sabado 27 de diciembre 2014 ven y disfruta de la musica en vivo con COLMILLO NORTEÑO & SONORA DINAMITA cover 100 pesitos estamos ubicados a un costado de plaza las americas en el libramiento.