Living on Mexican Time

I was telling Mel and Carl that this experience of living in an actual mexican town is in an observing way kind of like peeling an onion. First you notice all the standard things like the main streets, the beach area and the Old Port where all the restaurants and tourists are. I have been lucky enough to spend some time walking around the sandy streets with their dog Shadow and really taking a look at the locals and how they live. Mel and Carl are the only gringos in this neighbourhood. Shadow and I walk around the streets and I can't help but have this big wide grin on my face. So I am mostly smiling and everyone smiles back. The little kids want to pet Shadow and he is very gentle with them. I walk with my favourite music on my MP3 and feel like I am walking in heaven! Half my duty though is to fend off the other dogs. They are friendly enough but love to bark and run after Shadow. They never come all the way and Shadow just prances along like they don't matter a bit. It's funny to watch.

The next thing I have noticed as there are a ton of small mom and pop stores on every street. Mel thinks you don't need a permit as they are everywhere and cheap! I bought a burrito today for 60 cents... unbelievable.

Yesterday Mel and Carl were busy and I decided to go to town on my own and shopped and had something to eat on the water. The pelicans were swooping hunting fish and the sun was hot, hot, hot. I shopped and bought my niece and nephew some things then took a cab home. Two dollars for a cab - it turns out that is the price for any local taxi's!

Today Mel and I went to the beach. 91 degrees and very humid. Shadow and I walked some more and later this afternoon it was hammock and book time. We are off to go to the Old Port to a restaurant I discovered yesterday. 1/4 of the price of the fancy one up the road and the only real difference seems to be the quality of the chairs. Heck - we'll stand for 75% off!

Good times!

3rd Day and I want to stay........ forever!!!

2






I have traveled a fair bit and have to say this is one of my favourites already. The food, music, beaches, sea, atmosphere, people and of course, Mel and Carl, make it incredible. I have never had a distinct retirement plan but have found it. I am moving down the street when I grow up but I have yet to tell M&C!

We have been busy in a slow and steady way. At night when I retire to my 25 x 20 room I can hear the mexican music in the street. The boys across the way have a weekly poker game and like to listen to loud tunes... it's all fun as it feels like I am somewhere like "hmmm... Mexico". The mornings I have been waking for the sunrise and can hear the roosters and dogs waking up as well. There is no time here so I have been reading then going back to sleep for a couple hours which is sheer indulgence.

We have been eating like Kings and Queens. Last night we went out to a restaurant just a half block up from the water and the food was amazing. The feast we had would have been 5 times as much as home and the quality was superb. Tonight we are having clam linguine. 50 cents a pound for fresh clams. Earlier we went for shrimp taco's at a well know place right on the water... $2 each. I can't get over this.... taken from a gal from Yaletown, Vancouver!

Last night I took Shadow for a walk. It was dark and there was no fright. Here the kids play in the street and the parents have their door open just in case. It's a catholic town so of course their are many children. The older ones watch the younger ones. It is very refreshing! Almost like going back 40 years. Innocence and splendor.

Today I took Shadow for another walk. I put my headphones on and it was complete bliss. Walking in the hot sun with my favourite music and being on an adventure. The roads are all sand and there are no street signs. Dad - I have no green lights to follow! (private joke) There are so many little shops and stores you would never find if you were driving as they are small store fronts selling sodas/tacos/household products etc. which are just an adjacent room to their main dwelling.

This afternoon was another great walk. Me, Mel, Carl and Shadow walking on the beach in the sand and sometimes the water - just to cool off.

Have I told you lately that I love it here...... hehehehehehehehheheeeee!

Four Dumb Gringo's - actually 3 dumb Gringos and a smart dog

Four words of advice: DO NOT COME HERE!!

They say they want visitors but really they want slaves. They make me cook, clean, walk the dog, grocery shop, go to the beach, splash in the waves, eat lobster size prawns, sleep in king size guest room with my own bathroom.... Well I was trying to deter at first (so no one will take my new found guest room that I want to move into full time) but I soon digress as this place is true paradise!

My cousin's Mel and Carl happened to be going up to Phoenix for a book show while I happened to be there. How convenient! We arranged a pick up time and they drove me to their home in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. I love it here! This is the real Mexico I have been looking to find for many years. Not the Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Mazatlan but a authentic mexican town. Everything is a 5 minute drive away and the choices of what you want to explore and experience in a day are fantastic. There is the residential town where Mel and Carl live, the beaches where we were today that were literally empty (at least 1/2 km to ourselves) and the port town which is a busier and more touristy. You pick the mood and there is a destination to fulfill it.

We spent most of the day on the beach under a roof tent - just blocks the sun but the sides are all open - and relaxed, read, waded and swam in the water and walked down the beach. The shrimp boats were in full form today and we took advantage of it by buying the HUGE prawns again for dinner.

We all take a part in the cooking - Mel is the best vegetable chopper, Carl is great on the BBQ overlooking the prawns and I just fill in where I can.

Their place is beautiful with gorgeous floor tile throughout, very large spacious rooms, nice art and a hammock and palm tree in the back (hence the photo!)

Having a great time and the 12 oz of watermelon juice for $1.50 is to die for.

Rhonda

3 Dumb Gringos mange-free!

The vet, who spoke a little more English than we do Spanish, said that Shadow had flea-bites, which surprises us considering we're giving him Revolution doses monthly. Those must be some hungry Mexican fleas. We don't have fleas in the house, you understand, he just gets a few bites now and then - maybe from rolling merrily in the sand?

The vet kept Shadow and gave him a medicated shower to kill any pests, and gave us antibiotic pills for the injury to his cheek (Probably caused by him scratching a bite), and also for worms in case he has them. And an antibiotic ointment for his cheek, and a shampoo we need to use to bathe him once a week. Guess we're covered!

Luckily the lady who's taking him is super-cool, says she's given so many pills and rubbed on so much ointment in her time that this will be no problem. So Carl gets to go to his Book sale!!

LARGE WAREHOUSE SALE - 250,000 ITEMS!
Books , CDs, Videos , Books on Tape

We leave super early Friday. Like 5:30 AM. We have a long shopping list, so it's drop Carl off, shop til I drop, then pick him up and head over to my uncle's. That will be fun, we haven't seen Peter for a long time.

Sunday we pick up Rhonda and head back down here for fun. Perfect beach weather. OK, I'm sorry everyone, but I have to say I just went out and laid in the hammock for half an hour in my shorts, it's about 25 degrees, stars, the palm tree, a light breeze.. and if you call Shadow, he'll come over and let you use him to start the hammock swinging before he goes off to do his doggily duties, which consist of monitoring other dog activity in the neighborhood.

No blog for a few days, maybe a week, take care everyone!

3 dumb gringos get mange?

I had planned on taking pictures on the walk I took tonight, but after this one the batteries ran out. Looking back at our street and the ice cream store.

Well, it's countdown to Rhonda now! She's coming on Monday, or else we are going to pick her up in Phoenix on Sunday. There's a big book sale, and my uncle Peter will be in Phoenix by then, so we'll have a place to stay. But we needed a place to have Shadow stay, and his friend Baron and owner Ron are still in the US.

There's a lady here who has 7 dogs (she rescues street dogs, nice lady), and she would take him for a reasonable amount. We went to visit today, and left Shadow for about an hour. He was excited when we got back, but not overwhelmed. We might leave him there so we can do this Phoenix trip.

She said that this spot on his cheek, which has gotten larger in just a day, is probably mange. She told us what to give him and where to buy it, but I think we'll see a vet to be safe. Anyone ever seen mange? This just looks like a raw spot, but it is getting bigger fast.

Remember this necklace I bought on the beach the other day? Lost it already.



We got lightly rear-ended by a cab today, but he just lightly bent our bike-carrier, and he didn't want to do anything but leave, if we were ok. We knew that if we decided to call the cops, both vehicles would be impounded until they decided who was in the wrong. His vehicle took some damage, but ours was ok, so we shook hands and he left. It would have screwed up his business for days, and our weekend as well. We think it was the right decision.

So, maybe we'll go to this big book sale on the weekend. We already have a big list of things to buy in Phoenix that are hard to find here. That's one of the benefits of being so close to the border!

Our Sunday

We must be getting into the relaxed lifestyle. Slept till 8, did a little computer work etc, watched The Terminator, then showered and took Shadow to the beach. Beautiful day, 30 degrees, light breeze, calm water. Threw the kong for about an hour, bought a shell necklace, went for a swim myself, then we came back home.

Got the car into the driveway and gave it a wash and vacuum, then showered again. Looked over some emails, called Mom, made a list of what to get for dinner, went to the mercado.

Drove down to the old port, went to Tequila Jack's, menu was too expensive, had 2 beers, also too expensive, went down to Mr. Fish, our fish guy. Bought 3 and a half pounds of fresh red snapper for 100 pesos.

Now I'm having a read, and soon I'll make red snapper Veracruz (tomatoes, onions, cilantro, olives, jalapeño) and rice. A very relaxing day!

Thoroughly Mexican Melody (and Carl)

Yesterday I went to get a key cut at the Ace Hardware, where they are a little unhelpful sometimes. They were really busy, so after 10 minutes I decided to try the local Ferrateria (hardware store). It's counter-type place, not one where you can browse. I held up the key to the lady and asked, "¿Pueda copia?" She said, no, so I smiled and asked, "¿Donde?". She said- in Spanish, and I understood it, :" Go to the boulevard, turn right, and down three, maybe four or five blocks, there is a place called Nande's". I couldn't actually find the place, but I'm sure that's what she said. It was so cool!! She must have been speaking slowly for my benefit.

When we were out with Oswaldo at the jazz festival, he told us that in October, all month, there were travelling groups of musicians called bandas that wandered the neighborhoods and would play for anyone, as long as you wanted, as long as you kept the pesos coming.

Yesterday, Carl said he was sure that was what he had heard on Friday night until really late. Last night I was on my way to bed about 10:30, and Carl called me outside. He said, "that's what I heard last night!" I said, "Oh, f**k it, let's go!" They weren't far away by the sound. So I got dressed, we took some pesos and cervezas (con hielo), and off we went. They were just on the next block, in a little courtyard with people dancing. We came to the entrance, and I know we looked unsure, because a gentleman gestured for us to go in.

We grabbed a seat and spent the next hour and a half or so listening to this great band. They had tuba, sax, two trumpets, two clarinets, two trombones, timbales, snare, cymbals and bass drum. They had a mike for the sax solos, and man was it loud!! It was in a small enclosed space.

I got asked to dance, and I was as pathetic as you might imagine. Carl didn't even try. There was a young couple, her in a tight short red dress, I don't know what he was wearing, but they were great! He gestured to us that we should get up and dance, too, but everyone there could DANCE. So we listened instead. At one point the band stopped, and the crowd called out, and Carl heard the word pesos, so he got up and gave the band leader 200 pesos (about 20 bucks). That was a popular move! He got a little applause.

Finally the band took a break, and we headed home. But I dreamed about it all night. What a great authentico Mexican experience! Here's some more info for those interested in the genre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_music

Pickled Onions and Shrimp Boats

Carl is quite fond of the local pickled onions, so we decided to make our own- they're great on everything. Sliced onions, a hot pepper, salt, vinegar and a ton of lime juice.




Here are a few pictures of the Uncommon Women event. It was a lot of fun.

The wall we painted.



The women described briefly:

Actually working:


The Cuban Restaurant with dancers:






And yesterday, we watched the shrimpers headed out to get our supper:

Our first visitor!

My cousin Rhonda's coming down! She's taking the bus-to-Ajo adventure, and will be here at the end of the month. I sent her this:

We can't wait! The weather is getting nicer than ever- we had a pretty swift wind the last few days, which makes for a very dusty and sandy day. But it's died down, the humidity is normal, and the temps are around 30. The air conditioning hasn't been on for days!

Last night was my 'Uncommon Women on Common Ground' meeting, and it was a hoot! A great group of down-to-earth ladies, we painted a wall then had Cuban food and dancing. They are ex-nurses, dentists, seamstresses, business owners, real estate salespeople, authors, etc. and they've all lived here longer than me. The Cuban restaurant is very near here, I'll be going back there, it was delicious.

We got our papers on our house finally! A huge folder of papers, all embossed and stamped and official-looking. Now we can get the water bill in our name, and hopefully can get our FM3 visa.

I think I know where to get potting soil for the seeds Cheryl sent me. This should be exciting. How long do mint seeds take to grow? Because that's how long it is until my first mojito.

Our beach walks now take place at 9 AM, because it's not so hot as it was. The beach has been fairly empty the last couple of days. Today Shadow had an appreciative audience of a small Mexican family who applauded his leaps over the waves and dramatic swimming to reach his kong. He loves an audience!

I want to send out a big GET WELL to Pattie, along with an "Ouch!!". Take care, Pattie, talk to you soon.

Transportation alternative

Hi, all,

For those who don't want to rent a car but find the shuttle too expensive, here's an alternative:

The fare for the AJO route 685 from Phoenix is $5.00, the bus runs Monday-Saturday with limited times. On the weekdays it leaves the Desert Sky Mall at 5:10am, 10:30am, 1pm, 4pm and 6pm. On Saturdays it leaves at 11am and 3 pm.

I could then pick you up in Ajo, a two hour drive for me. (So much better than Phoenix, 4-5 hours). For those who are truly adventurous, there's another bus from Ajo to Why AZ, but it means a bit of a wait in Ajo. Then you're only an hour 15 minutes away.

Look what I found in the Salmos store yesterday:


And these are kind cute:


This morning we took Shadow out to Mirador. The beach was relatively empty, and it was about 20 degrees. We threw the kong out into the ocean for him for an hour. A beautiful sight, watching him crest the waves. A couple came by admiring him, and the guy said,"Tell him to stop having such a good time! It's a shame to see a dog suffer like that.".

Here's our weather forecast for the next 14 days:
Sunday Oct 12
Very windy in the a.m.; sunny
Low: 12 °C
High: 27 °C

Monday, Oct 13
Sunny and pleasant
Low: 14 °C
High: 27 °C

Tuesday, Oct 14
Bright sunshine and nice
Low: 18 °C
High: 31 °C

Wednesday, Oct 15
Plenty of sunshine
Low: 20 °C
High: 34 °C

Thursday, Oct 16
Sunny and very warm
Low: 19 °C
High: 35 °C

Friday, Oct 17
Sunny and very warm
Low: 19 °C
High: 34 °C

Saturday, Oct 18
A full day of sunshine
Low: 14 °C
High: 33 °C

Sunday, Oct 19
A full day of sunshine
Low: 13 °C
High: 31 °C

Monday, Oct 20
Mostly sunny and not as warm
Low: 11 °C
High: 26 °C

Tuesday, Oct 21
Sunshine
Low: 11 °C
High: 27 °C

Wednesday, Oct 22
Sunny
Low: 11 °C
High: 27 °C

Thursday, Oct 23
Sunny
Low: 11 °C
High: 26 °C

Friday, Oct 24
Sunny
Low: 13 °C
High: 27 °C

Saturday, Oct 25
Brilliant sunshine
Low: 14 °C
High: 29 °C

Sunday, Oct 26
Abundant sunshine
High: 32 °C
Low: 16 °C

I love that they have to find different ways to describe the sunshine: Plenty of sunshine, a full day of sunshine, brilliant sunshine, abundant sunshine. Like the Eskimos have 72 words for snow.

Rocky Point Times and neighborhood pictures

The Rocky Point Times is the local English-language newsletter, comes out once a month, although October's running "a little late", they say. They have a ton of information and local ads, and I thought I would share some with you. Click on the images to enlarge. First, here is a list of shuttle services from Phoenix to here, for those of you leery of driving.


This just amuses me, because MOAB stands for Mother of all Burgers.



Oswaldo insists we should go on this sunset cruise, so we will, when we have guests who want to go.


A Taste of Penasco, coming soon



Here is some fishing information:


And some information on the weather. by the way, today it's a gorgeous 27 degrees C.


Short tour of neighborhood:

This map shows a few local landmarks:
1- our place
2-the big school up the street, This is on the same street (Simon Morua) that the Ace hardware and the local textile store is on.
3. The Mercado
4. A little used furniture store-they wanted $70 for a little table and chairs. sigh. I know the locals wouldn't be asked that. However, I did have a good Spanish lesson here. The woman came up and asked a question, and instead of saying I only speak a little Spanish, I made that evident by saying, "Necessito un mesa por trabajo". I can feel Cheryl wincing. It sort of means "I need a table for working". So she showed me around, and we established that one table was too short. So that actually went quite well. I've also decided that when I need to ask a long sentence, I can write it down and hand it to the people, rather than make them suffer through my pronunciation. This is just for more complicated transactions, like "Can I take a swatch of this fabric?"
5. The Ferretaria, see below.
6. The pescaderia, see below


What is a Ferretaria? I keep my new Spanish-English dictionary (and a pair of reading glasses) in the car, just for a question like this. It's a hardware store.

This is the soon-to-be-famous Diego's Tacos. It's where we went with Oswaldo and Mary-sol last Saturday. Doesn't look like much, but the food's terrific!


A pescaderia we sometimes use. They don't usually have a big range of stuff. Byt the way, today we are going to try to get some fresh clams and have Linguine con Vongole!


Tequila Factory-I went! And purchased a bottle of 25-27 month old anéjo. Smoooth! The tour and tasting are fun, and for those who don't like tequila, there are liqueurs made from tequila, and they'll make you a tasty shooter!



Quick update: As I was publishing this, a truck went by with a loudspeaker, selling something, it was hard to catch just what (Although the words are starting to separate themselves out now, I can catch individual words, very exciting). Carl looked out and said, "melons!" and I ran out and bought this little beauty for 20 pesos. (The triangle is the tester he cuts out for you):

Beach Bumming

It was Hawaii 5-0 down at the beach today, again with apologies to the younger crowd. Remember that opening, with the rollers crashing in? Like that. Shadow and I walked for about an hour, then I picked up a copy of the Rocky Point times.

It's a common theme in books and movies that the people you pass, while unimportant to you, have their own interesting lives filled with pathos and humor. For some reason, walking on the beach down here, that seems to be in my mind a lot, as I hear snatches of English from young couples and families. Not that I'm eavesdropping, you understand, just paragraphs drifting by.

My question is, does that come from the circumstances of living here and hearing mostly Spanish spoken, except for weekends on the beach when you see English-speaking people briefly, and know you'll never see them again? Or is it simply a symptom of age? Any 50-60 year olds care to comment?

I have a day off today, and not too many commitments. I have to meet Oswaldo at the water bill place to straighten a bill out, that's about it. So I'm going to start working on Roman Blinds for the living room. I might also get out to Laguna Shores, I'd like to walk around the estuary and see the bird life out there. I saw a couple of new ones today, one that looked like a smaller lighter version of the sand pipers, and was maybe just a baby sandpiper. And one that looked like a white tern.



There's a shop up the street that sells used things, and I saw a table that might make a good work table for the garage; I need something to sew on if I'm going to attempt these blinds. So I offered them 50 pesos, about $5 US. It's really an old, beat up table, I could probably get it for $5 in Canada. He shakes his head, so I say, "¿escríbalo, por favor?"

He nods, goes inside and writes it down. And shows me that he wants 500 pesos, or 65 US $!! I laughed, he laughed, and I went on my way. So I'm still looking for a cheap work table. Unbelievable. He must have thought I was made of money, AND stupid. I am neither.

When Shadow and I were near the end of our walk today, we saw a group of three Mexicans trying to get their utility trailer un-mired from the sand. Given that I was rescued from the same situation just the other day, I jumped in and put my shoulder to it. They were appreciative until Shadow started jumping around and barking at us, which seemed to unnerve them. But by then we were out of the hole, so we carried on, and so did they. Now, off to the bank, off to get dog treats, and off to buy a cheap table! Happy Thanksgiving! (Thanks, Licia!!)

Plumbing success

It turns out the low flow in the bathroom faucet was due to the aerator being clogged. It was frozen on with lime deposits, so we took the whole thing off, gave it a soak in hot vinegar, and now it works great! We are damn proud-that's two plumbing successes in a week!

Not much to report today, sorry-Worked a few hours, did some plumbing, wrote some emails, and I'm in for a big evening of TV. But here are some pictures that other people took, but of places we've seen/been, for your enjoyment:

Plumbing, Pizza and Playa

Faucet report- we thought that the faucet in the ensuite bathroom was just a trickle because of a problem at the pump, but I took a hose off the faucet and ran the water, and there's plenty of pressure. So that's good in one way, but means we have to take the faucet apart and clean it with hot vinegar, because the parts are clogged. I think.

We also still need to replace the full faucet in the kitchen. So anyone who knows a good "here's how a faucet works" website, please pass it along.

The longer you're down here, the more often you say, "This needs hot sauce!" I had the pizza again tonight, only this time I had to have the sauce. Last time it looked too scary.

Both my boys are sick today, I don't think it was my cooking, but both are hot and thirsty and achy (although only Carl actually vocalizes). Shadow came to Playa Bonita with me today, though. My very first official beach visit! I took the cooler with lots of water and a coupla cervezas, a sandwich, two towels and a good book (Accordion Crimes by E. Annie Proulx). We drove up behind the beach on a sand road. First I parked in the sand, where other cars were parked. And I felt my right passenger wheel SINK. Into a pothole full of sand. And I was stuck. Luckily there was a really nice guy there with a truck who spoke English and towed me right on out.

We parked (on the pavement)just up the beach from the ramp where Lucky lives:

Hard to explain where this is, it's about halfway down the beach on our usual walk, and Lucky comes down the ramp to greet Shadow.

Then we walked down through a ...?restaurant? Maybe? Closed for business but open for walking through. And onto the beach, where there were a couple of canopy-covered frames with tables, chairs and a lounge chair. We settled in for the afternoon. Shadow was off-leash and a very good boy, although he inexplicably drove Lucky off when he came to visit. dogs. who knows?

The tide was way out, but the water level seems to be the same high tide or low tide- you have to walk out quite a ways to get it over your knees. It's still warm, though, the only time I felt a small chill was the other morning at 6:30 AM.

So a very nice day, and hopefully the boys will be better tomorrow.

Oh- forgot to mention, I got an invitation today:

Hi Melody – since you are living here fulltime, thought you might want to meet some of the ladies with Uncommon Women on Common Ground. We are meeting next Tuesday to paint over graffiti on a wall in town. Then dinner at the Cuban restaurant.

I of course accepted.