My husband Will and I have developed the habit of spending part of November and/or December in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. During our visits these past four years, we’ve noticed that as soon as the Day of Dead (Nov 1-2) celebrations are over Christmas decorations appear on buildings and streets. We northerners find it a bit jarring to see Santa Clauses in snowsuits and boots, reindeer, and our traditional Christmas trees juxtaposed with palm trees and swimsuits.
No doubt Mexicans display these decorations partly for snowbird tourists, but they seem to enjoy the festivity. Our hotel desk clerk was pleased when I admired the suggestion box she’d creatively decorated. I wonder if part of the appeal is that red, green, and white Christmas colours happen to be the colours of the Mexican flag.
Most Christmas decorations we saw for sale were similar to ones available at Canada Walmart, although occasional stores sold Mexican piñatas. Unfortunately, they were too bulky and fragile for us to bring home in our suitcases to add a Mexican flair to our own Christmas decor.
Mexico is a predominately Roman Catholic country and Christmas is ultimately a religious celebration. From December 1-12 some 400 processions wind through the streets of Puerto Vallarta and culminate at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. These parades commemorate the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the peasant Juan Diego on December 12, 1531. Our hotel organized a procession for staff members and invited hotel guests to attend. They asked to wear white although the dancers appeared in colourful costumes.
The candlelight processions include both Aztec and Christian costumes and motifs, mariachi bands, and singing by all participants (the organizers gave us song sheets). Food stalls filled the park in front of the destination, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
We found it a beautiful way to welcome the Christmas season. With luck we’ll continue our Mexico habit next year.
On today’s BWL Author Blogspot, I write about Christmas celebrations I encountered on my recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/
My new novel, A Killer Whisky, takes place during World War One, and I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the subject for research. The books have made me realize my ignorance about the Great War, as it was called at the time, despite having watched numerous costume dramas set during that era (Downton Abbey springs to mind) and visiting sites on the Western Front during a 2015 holiday in Northern France.
Canadian National Vimy Memorial commemorates the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge, France
This September, I travelled to Croatia and Slovenia in the former Yugoslavia, which was a battleground for three wars in the twentieth century. A Serbian nationalist set off the First World War when he assassinated the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and, as part of the empire, Croatia and Slovenia were conscripted to the side of the Central Powers. Italy joined the opposing Allies and attempted to break through the Slovenian mountains to capture Vienna. The result was 12 Battles of the Isonzo (Soca) River. Italy’s efforts largely failed — the mountainous terrain favoured the defenders — and accounted for half of the Italian military deaths in WWI.
Our September drive through Slovenia took us by the Soca, which originates in the Julian Alps and is one of the world’s rare rivers that maintains its emerald-green colour for its full length. Today, the region is popular with hikers and others who enjoy wilderness activities.
After WWI, the victorious Allies carved Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”) from the Austria-Hungary empire. When WWII broke out twenty years later, German, Hungarian, and Italian forces invaded Yugoslavia and divided the regions among themselves. A Yugoslav resistance movement emerged led by Josip Broz Tito. After the war, Tito’s communist party (the only party on the ballot) won victory. Tito served as national leader until his death in 1980.
Tito’s former summer home on Slovenia’s beautiful Lake Bled is now a luxury hotel. You can rent an economy room at Vila Bled during this current off-season for about $230 CAD a night including breakfast.
Vila Bled, Slovenia
A decade after Tito’s death, ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia erupted into civil war. During our trip, we encountered the most evidence of that war in Dubrovnik, Croatia. In 1991, the fortress on Mount Srd outside the Dubrovnik Old Town became the last stand for this southern part of Croatia against the Yugoslav army, composed of Serbs and Montenegrins.
When they couldn’t capture the fortress, the Yugoslav army bombed and blockaded the Old Town, killing 92 civilians and damaging half the buildings. This map on a city wall marks the property damage.
Most of the damage was reconstructed during the next 30 years. The city’s Sponza Palace features a Memorial Room dedicated to the city’s volunteer defenders who died during the seven-month siege.
The fortress on Mount Srd now contains a museum depicting the war’s events. We overheard a young tour guide point out her father in this photo of the volunteer defenders.
The siege ended when Croatia finally got its army organized and drove out the attackers. Between 1991 and 2008 Yugoslavia became seven separate nations. The ones we visited seem peaceful now, but the war’s history is startlingly recent.
None of this detail appears in my novel, A Killer Whisky, which takes place on the WWI home front in Calgary, Canada. But the war in Europe is a constant presence in the story and my characters must deal with its impacts on daily life, the uncertainties the war creates for their futures, and sudden, unexpected deaths — since the book is murder mystery. A Killer Whisky is also the 12th and final novel of BWL’s Canadian Historical Mystery Series. https://www.bookswelove.net/authors/canadian-historical-mysteries/
This day after Remembrance Day, my BWL blog post is about the impact of war in Croatia, which I visited earlier this fall. https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/
In September my husband Will and I flew to Split, Croatia, to visit our son Matt, who is living there for a year. Before leaving, Will plotted a 10-day road trip from Split through mountains, lakes, and charming towns in Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia. Matt took a holiday from work to join us.
Our trip began with a couple of glitches – the long range weather forecast predicted rain and unseasonably cool temperatures and the airline lost our luggage with our warm and waterproof clothing. Our first stop on the drive was the Mall of Split, where we bought rain ponchos, umbrellas, toothbrushes, and spare t-shirts, underwear and socks.
Day two was Plitvice National Park, about three hours north of Split on the scenic mountainous route. We spent six hours at the popular park walking by hundreds of waterfalls and clear, green lakes. The views were awesome and we were comfortable in our five layers of clothes. The rain held off until the end of our walk, but I wore my poncho the whole time for warmth.
Selfie on the lake boat ride
The following day, we drove to Slovenia. The highway wound past cornfields and picturesque towns, including Novo Mesto, birthplace of Melania Trump. At Ljubljana airport we were reunited with our luggage, which Split Airport had eventually located and kindly flew to our next destination. Dressed in our warm jackets, we enjoyed an evening walk in Ljubljana’s downtown riverfront cafe area which buzzed with people and activity. It was lovely to see the castle, buildings, and bridges lit up on a dark clear night.
In the morning, we rode the funicular up to the castle that dominates Slovenia’s capital city. The highlight was the tower lookout’s 360-degree views of the surrounding area. The recent precipitation had fallen as snow on the mountaintops, which made the city’s backdrop extra spectacular.
After our Slovenian lunch of sausages and cabbage soup, we had dessert and cappuccinos at the rooftop restaurant in Nebotičnik Skyscraper (12 stories) for more panoramic views until rain chased us into the National Museum of Slovenia. The museum portrayed the history of Slovenian peoples from Neanderthal to the present time.
Oldest musical instrument in the world – 60,000 years old Neanderthal flute from the Divje babe cave
From Ljubljana, we settled in Lake Bled for three nights. On our first walk, the lake was stunning in the late afternoon light.
In the morning, we walked up to Bled Castle and around the lake. At the far end, we hiked to a viewpoint with views of Bled Island and Bled Castle. The day’s weather was perfect – sunny and high of twenty degrees Celsius (68 F).
A lite lunch at the Bled Castle cafe Bled Island with church in middle of the lake, Bled Castle at the far end
On our second full day in Bled, we did a day trip to Vintgar Gorge. Since COVID, the Triglav National Park has set up a system of timed entries and one-way trails to reduce congestion during the crowded summer season. We found the gorge didn’t outshine similar ones in our Canadian backyard, but the return path with views of Bled Castle and valley villages made the trek worthwhile. The park charges 10 Euro per person which includes helmets for protection from falling stones and banging your head on the rocks jutting out from the side of the gorge’s narrow boardwalk trail.
The following day, we set out for the Julian Alps, took a wrong turn, and found ourselves in a five-mile tunnel. Half-way through it, Matt’s phone pinged: “Welcome to Austria.” Oops! Our car rental was only insured for Croatia and Slovenia. At the Austrian end, a lineup of delivery trucks stretched for miles.
To avoid getting stuck in the lineup, Matt found us a route through Austrian villages and a mountain pass back to Slovenia. We stopped at Kranjska-Gora, a resort town that reminded of us of Banff in our home province of Alberta.
For several hours, we drove the fifty switchbacks (they are numbered) up and over the Vrsic Pass. We stopped at viewpoints with vistas of craggy mountains and a Russian Chapel constructed by WWI Russian prisoners of war who built the road. Many died in the process and are buried near the chapel.
Mountain sheep brought traffic to a halt on a switchback turn
Saturday was caves. First we visited Predjama Castle, built in the mouth of a cave. Guiness World Records lists it as the world’s largest cave castle. The original owner was a robber baron who possibly used the 12 miles of tunnels leading into the mountains to hide his booty.
View from castle cave window
Postojna Cave was massive, impressive, and fun. A 10-minute train ride took us deep into the cave. A guide led us on an hour-long walk through the multitude of formations. The walk ended at aquarium of olm, a cave salamander completely adapted to life in underground water. Since food isn’t plentiful in caves, olm only eat every ten years. Scientists estimate their average lifespan is 68.5 years.
Matt, Susan, & Will on trainOlm in aquarium
After the caves, we left Slovenia, re-entered Croatia and headed for the coast. Our last days of the road trip were sunny and warm. We took the slow and winding coastal route back to Split, stopping at seaside towns and villages.
The summer-like weather prompted us to swim at one of the numerous beach coves along the coast. Quite a change from our cool, rainy days at the start of our drive and a fabulous finale to our road trip.
When I was a child, I read numerous novels written over a century ago, such as Anne of Gables,Emily of New Moon, and The Story Girl by L. M. Montgomery. Characters who got sick in these stories routinely mentioned taking laudanum. I hadn’t heard of this medicine but assumed it was similar to our everyday modern drugs. So I was surprised to later learn that laudanum is essentially opium.
Anne of Green Gables took opium?
She almost certainly did. From the 18th to the early 20th century, laudanum was a common drug found in most household medicine cabinets. People took it for headaches, coughs, diarrhea, and “female complaints.” They fed drops to babies to ease teething pain and colic.
Drawings reveal that the juice and seeds of the opium poppy were used as medicines in ancient Assyria and Egypt. Opium treatment emerged in Europe in the 1660s, when doctors dissolved opium in liquor and added cinnamon, cloves, other spices and sometimes honey to mask the plant’s bitter taste to create a drug they called laudanum. The medicine worked quickly and more effectively than other drugs available at the time and came to feature in about 25 % of all prescribed medications. Opium was also the secret ingredient in 19th century drugs advertised and sold under innocuous brand names like Dover’s Powder and Winslow’s Soothing Syrup.
While doctors appreciated the value of opium, they were aware of the dangers. Overdose, called “acute poisoning,” could be accidental or intentional. Opium was the most common method of suicide in the 1800s and too many drops of laudanum tragically resulted in infant deaths.
Addiction, or “chronic poisoning,” was another problem. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s medical treatments led to a life-long laudanum addiction. His famous poem, “Kubla Khan,” was inspired by an opium dream.
In the early 1880s, researchers isolated the active ingredient in opium and named it for Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep and dreams. Morphine is ten times as strong as the same amount of opium but can be more precisely measured, preventing overdose. Hypodermic needles were invented to inject morphine powder and soon people could buy hypodermic syringes in the Sears catalogue for $2.00.
Next Bayer pharmaceuticals developed the even stronger heroin and marketed it with its other new drug, aspirin. Some people thought aspirin carried higher risks because it caused bleeding.
But many doctors and members of the public pushed for restrictions on dangerous drugs. In the early 20th century, governments passed laws making opium and its derivatives only available by prescription and requiring companies to list ingredients on drug labels. Researchers gradually developed effective medicines with fewer serious side effects. Laudanum is still available today but is mainly prescribed to control diarrhea when other medications have failed.
Why am I interested in old time medicine? It’s because my new historical mystery novel, A Killer Whisky, deals with common drugs of the early 1900s. These also included cocaine – great for nasal inflammation – and whisky. During Prohibition doctors were allowed to prescribe liquor to relieve stress, pain, and other physical and mental ailments. Many people took advantage of that legal loophole and enjoyed the medicine’s intoxicating side-benefits.
References:
Halpern, John H., MD and Blistein, David. Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World. New York: Hachette, 2019.
Inglis, Lucy. Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium. London: Macmillan, 2019.
Malleck, Dan. When Good Drugs Go Bad. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2015.
On today’s BWL author blog, I write about some of interesting research I did for my historical novel-in-progress, A Killer Whisky.https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/
When I was a child, I spent all my summer vacations on Deer Island, New Brunswick, where my father grew up. Most of my relatives on his side of the family still live in the area. This summer my husband Will and I spent 10 days in that Canadian Maritime province. It was our first visit in 10 years. While there are more than 10 things I love about New Brunswick, here are 10 of my favourites — not necessarily in order. 1 The ocean The minute I arrive near the ocean, I breathe in the tangy, salty air. Ocean breezes kept us cool during the hot days of our trip and we loved the views of water, lighthouses, and fishing boats.
2 . Bay of Fundy Tides: the highest tides in the world! Due to the outlet’s unique funnel shape, billions of tons of water fill and empty the Bay of Fundy twice daily. A photo of a tidal scene looks remarkably different six hours later.
Cars can only drive to Minister’s Island, St. Andrews, at low tide. During high tide this land bridge is covered with water.
3 Bilingualism New Brunswick is Canada’s only officially bilingual province, guaranteeing equal rights, status, and privileges for English and French. Over thirty percent of residents speak French regularly at home. My father’s southeast area of the province is as unilingually English as it gets, but it was originally part of the French colony of Acadia. French place names survive with English pronunciations. Our rental house in St. George was on the L’Etete (Luteet) road near my aunt’s home on the St. Croix (Saint Croy) River. In contrast, since the 1960s the City of Moncton has made great strides to become fully bilingual. Our walking tour was advertised as French only, but our bilingual guide conducted it in English since we were the only tourists who showed up.
Monument commemorating the mass deportation of the Acadians.
4 Seafood The Acadian town of Shediac calls itself the “Lobster Capital of the World.” A 90-ton sculpture named The World’s Largest Lobster greets visitors. Highlights of our whole New Brunswick trip were local haddock & chips, scallops, chowder, and lobster rolls.
Lobster Roll platter
Seafood chowder with half lobster roll and chips
Shediac “World’s Largest Lobster”
5 Wild blueberries & raspberries One of my favourite childhood holiday activities was picking wild raspberries and blueberries. This year I plucked some raspberries from a patch on Deer Island Point and found them far more flavourable than ones I buy in Calgary or grow in my home garden. No wonder I liked picking berries so much.
6 Ferry Boat rides
We chose our L’Etete road location for its twelve-minute drive to Deer Island to visit relatives and familiar sights. The ferry ride itself is worth the price and not only because it’s free. Locals make fun of tourists who get out of their cars to enjoy and photograph the views, but I do it every time.
7 Historic Saint John Saint John, a ferry ride and hour’s drive from Deer Island, is Canada’s oldest incorporated city. The downtown core and scenic parks highlight Saint John’s history.
Will Arnold and former Saint John resident Benedict Arnold in Wolastoq Park
King’s Square two-storey King Edward VII bandstand
Market Square on the waterfront
8Parlee Beach Provincial Park Parlee beach, located on the Northumberland Strait that flows between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, boasts the warmest salt water north of Virginia. The shallow water, soft sand, and sandbars caused by tides make it a great playground for children. It’s also fun for adults on a hot day.
9 Lack of crowds & rural lifestyle New Brunswick’s entire population totals around 776,000. Only about half of the province’s residents live in the urban regions of Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton. Through our trip, we enjoyed the gently rolling farms, the rustic fishing villages, and having the roads to ourselves much of the time.
10 My family – lastly but far from least New Brunswick residents tend to be salt-of-the-earth down home people who don’t put on airs and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else on earth.
Aunt Kay and me on the wharf in Fairhaven, Deer Island
At Calgary’s When Words Collide Festival for Writers and Readers this weekend, I’ll be moderating a panel titled “Mastering the Macabre: Techniques in Crime, Mystery, and Thriller Writing. The session will explore the techniques used to create heart-pounding narratives that keep readers hooked until the very end. Hear from panelists as they discuss how to craft compelling mysteries, develop intricate crime plots, and evoke suspense. Ideal for writers seeking to sharpen their skills and fans of the genre. Join us Saturday at 9:00 am for a discussion that I expect to be both enlightening and entertaining.
Panelist Juanita Rose Violini created this chilling poster:
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