Author: paddington98

When we first came to Melaque 15 years ago, we knew very little Spanish. The first day that the guys went out for breakfast I looked at the menu in consternation. Then I noticed a couple of words that made sense ‘Omelet de champiñones’ I was saved. My cornflake box French saved me.

Rosalie was determined to learn the language and took some courses. I went with her for a few but Classroom learning doesn’t work for me so I gave it up.

Several years later I was frustrated with Mexicans trying to talk to me, so, with the help of Google translate  I made up a little Spanish phrase: “Mi Espaniol es pequito. Mi esposa habla mas” This is not correct but I was understood. (“I speak a little Spanish but my wife speaks more.”) When I first used it the guy said “si’ and went to talk to Rosalie.

Up to this point, I thought that I was too old to learn a new language but this tiny exchange encouraged me and I picked up more as we went along.

This year I decided to try harder to learn, so, now, every day, I dig into it for a least a couple of hours and am picking up more and more. I know hundreds of words by using flash-cards but putting them together to make a sentence is really challenging.

Rosalie rested from the learning process for a while but lately has really gotten back into it. I’m happy about this as she is a great mentor. I give her a challenge though as my pronunciation isn’t that good yet. 

We also use the internet to learn more. In one lesson I had to learn about eight new words relating to location: under, over, behind etc. I put them on flashcards and eventually managed to remember them but it took about a week of daily review. Rosalie did the same lesson and remembered them right off. I’m happy that I have her for a tutor.

She also has a bit of an advantage as she has a French background. As in French a lot of sentences are back to front like Spanish.  As a minor example “I am hungry” in Spanish is “Tengo hambre” which literally means “I have hunger.”

As I walk around town or listen to Spanish conversation it’s like a cloud of words, some I understand and some I don’t. I’m finding that I’m slowly picking out more and more that I do know. This, I think is progress.

My English grammar was unused for a long time so I have had to learn all over again. Now a lot of it applies to Spanish. We were both struggling with Spanish conjugations but have come up with a formula that we found on the internet and it’s helping a lot. It’s amazing that one verb can have as many as 70 different conjugations.

Rosalie said that if I conjugate too much I’ll go blind. I wonder what she means?

Me after conjugating in front of the computer for a few hours.

Now we have to get into subjunctives. I think it might drive me mad. However, there are patterns there also so I think eventually we will get it.

I have found though that the more I learn, the more I want to learn and the more there is still left to learn. I’m not afraid to ask for help or to try a new sentence out on anyone especialy Rosalie. Sometimes I get a blank look but mostly I’m understood. I’ve learned a lot in the past two months and want to learn more in the next three remaining months of this season.

Hasta Luego.

We are over the holiday festivities and looking forward to the new year. It’s already been interesting, just a few days in.

It rained. How dare it! We had a fairly heavy downpour a few days ago and it was great. It made a nice change from continual sunshine. We also got a kick out of people running by who got caught in the deluge.

Me in my rain gear buying my camaron

Little Camila next door thinks it’s great fun to sneak up and watch us through the gate. She doesn’t say anything just stares. I think we should be worried. Her big brother Ivan has a three-wheel plastic contraption that he rides outside our place and makes a whole bunch of noise. Mostly he’s a real good kid and it is his country after all. But still…

An iguana who thinks he’s a squirrel amused us for a while by walking along the cable tv lines. I was expecting him to fall off but he seemed to realize his mistake and reversed his course and went home.

Our local squirrel was not impressed.

We went for dinner a few nights ago with Linda, Art and Art senior to their casa in west Melaque. We took a taxi and asked for it to pick us up again at eight-thirty. We knew we were taking a chance on this but what the heck. Eight forty-five came around and we decided to walk.

We got a block away and there was another cab sitting in a side street with a bunch of guys hanging around. One of them was pretty well drunk but the taxi driver was sober so we squeezed by and got in. Before we left, the drunk guy climbed in the front seat and away we went. When we got home a lot of ‘Feliz año’ and handshakes were exchanged but we arrived safely.

Just watched the local tourist cops drive by on their quads. The first one was driving with one hand and texting with the other. Such is Mexico.

Rosalie was also not impressed

I finally signed up for a VPN service today. I’m having trouble getting hockey games lately so this was very important.

I thought things would be a little different this year, but no. The f**king rooster still makes a racket during the night and the ice cream truck still drives by with his insidious music playing. I would be tempted to blow the thing up but he does have good ice cream.

We still use our charcoal BBQ quite a bit. I have to be sparing with the starter gel, not because we are cheap, which we are,  but the stores seem to run out quickly and it’s hard to light it with dried-up tortillas and coconut husks.

I’ve just been trying to delete a period on the computer until I realized it was a bit of dust. I really need to stop drinking.

I’ll catch up again soon. I’m waiting for some other exciting thing to pounce. I just hope it’s not in the form of a spider.

So, we had this Piñata that we didn’t know what to do with. We had stuffed it with the candies that we hadn’t eaten so it was all ready to go.

I suggested that we get Rubii to help us as she would know what the protocol was. She agreed to meet us at 3:30 for the big event at 4:00.

I had already arranged for Gerry to block our side of the boulevard with his van so the kids wouldn’t get run down. I had also run a cord from a palm tree to our bedroom window.

When Rubii arrived she not only brought Josué her “hombre”,  but a much heavier rope and a homemade ladder. Josué strung the rope to a bigger palm tree and then to a hydro pole on our building. I hauled on it and the rope immediately broke. Rubii toddled off and came back with a much stronger rope.

They brought a pully to raise and lower the Piñata so the kids had fun trying to hit it. I forgot to use it though, I am after all just a newbie at this.

Remember to click on a picture to see the larger picture.

There weren’t as many kids as we had expected but it was our first time. We wanted to have Camila go first as she was the youngest at 3 years old but she was too shy. Another little girl stepped up and started to pound away.

Several kids later, I decided that they were too small to do much damage so I got Rubii’s son, also Josué, to have a go at it. He had obviously done this before as he first pounded off all the glitter and just left the cavity in the centre.

One more whack and the thing fell to the ground and shattered much to the delight of the kids. They rushed in and grabbed as many candies as they could. The little lad across the street works with his parents at a taco stand and missed it all so when he came home I gave home a big hand full of candies.

We had hauled chairs onto the sidewalk so that we could watch the action. After it was all over we sat there drinking and talking until the rest of the crew turned up for appies which we also ate in the street.

Soon the time came for the eight of us to go to Salamandra’s for dinner. Gerry and Elaine had other plans so we said our goodbyes.

At the restaurant, they started us off with a complimentary glass of tequila with lime so we knew we would have fun. Some of us ordered ‘gigante margaritas’ with our meal, and so it began. It was Barb’s birthday so we incorporated that into the festivities as well.

The entertainment and the food were great. The guy singing was was Dr. Lalo Woo who happens to be the husband of Raquel our new landlady for next season.

We left about 10:00 and went back to Bill and Connie’s place to see the New Year in. As midnight got closer the fireworks started to increase so we went down to the beach for the final countdown.

Boom! Midnight! The main event started and the sky lit up with dozens of fireworks as well as many, many globos. Then we were wishing everyone in sight “Feliz Año.” Some Mexicans came by and we wished them the same and got big hugs in return.

We finally started to tire so returned to the casa for a nightcap and a well-earned sleep. What an awesome New Years’ Eve and start to 2020.

Feliz Año to all our friends and family.

When the neighbours moved in across the street they not only brought the noisy dogs, with them came this nasty, vicious chihuahua.

For a while, he was wandering around minding his own business. Then, he started to take an interest in us. He would wander onto the patio from time to time and me, being un-neighbourly would chase him off. I didn’t want him doing his business here.

One thing I noticed about this dog was that he has attitude, and I respect that. He would make a worthy adversary. If I try to chase him away he stands and growls at me. Not to be intimidated, I stand there and growl right back. We got the so-called silent whistles but it’s taking a bit of time for him to get it.

When Rubii was cleaning the place she put the garbage outside to be taken away. The dog saw this and started to close in. I immediately attacked: growling and blowing the whistle. It’s hard to growl with a whistle in your mouth, but I managed it. He gave me a vicious look and just stood there growling back. Finally, he wandered off and I sat back and relaxed.

But I had underestimated the cunning of this guy. He tried to sneak back at an angle so that I couldn’t see him. I once again confronted him and the growling and whistling continued. The neighbours must have been killing themselves laughing. A tiny dog and a full-grown male locked in mortal combat.

Then I brought in the heavy artillery: I ordered up a cup of water from Rosalie. I had to ask her to get it as I couldn’t take my eyes off of this guy for a second. He crept in closer and closer and I struck. He was pretty fast though and didn’t get too wet. He finally backed off and I thwarted him by taking the garbage away, putting it in the bin.

Later Rosalie and I went to the local cafe for a coffee. As we walked back all unsuspecting, we were confronted by a pissed-off chihuahua. I was a bit worried as I had no water with me and I had to protect Rosalie.

We stood facing each other. Me, looking down at him and him looking up at me as we circled each other. Rosalie managed to escape unscathed as I held him at bay. Finally, I too slipped away.

I don’t think I’ve heard the last of this guy: I’m sure he’s holding a grudge. We will have to be more cautious when we’re out and about.

He was almost as big as the spider I fought last week.

Christmas day we were invited to our neighbours Gerry and Elaine’s for dinner.

One of the guests, John and I were talking when his wife said: “Did you hear about John’s fish?” That’s all I needed was another fish story. However, this one was a bit different.

John and a few other guys were out on a charter boat run by Jerry, a Mexican. They were a long way out and taking 20-minute shifts on the rod.

When John’s turn came around he got a hit. They started to play it but lost it again. But then it hit a second time and the fight was on. It took them two and a half hours to get it to the boat. They had caught a huge Blue Marlin.

When they tried to get it into the boat it almost swamped them. Two guys had to sit in the bow to balance things out.

When they got to shore there was a crowd to meet them as they headed to the weigh station. The problem was that the scale wasn’t big enough for the fish. They got a bigger scale and tried to weigh the thing. It was 12 feet long and was weighed with the tail still in the boat. It topped out at 302 Kgs. or 665lbs. John told me that his arms hurt for the next couple of days.

Cleaning it was a breeze. The locals took over because they knew that they were about to get a steak or two. After the guys that caught it had got what they needed, the rest was distributed to the skipper and the locals.

The best part of the story is that they couldn’t wipe the smile off Jerry the skipper’s face. He got great advertising for the third largest fish caught out of Barra. Not only that, there was a pool by the local fishermen that went to whoever brought in the first fish over 150 kg. He won between 10,000 and 12,000 pesos ($690 – $830.)

Check this link. It’s in Spanish but the pictures tell the tale.

We are slowly getting used to having Christmas in the heat. 22c in the morning and 26-28c during the day. The humidity has eased off so it’s a lot more comfortable now.

Last night after watching the sunset with Bill and Connie we went up to the square to see the parade. As these things are always late starting we arrived fifteen minutes late. Guess what! For once they started on time and we missed the whole thing.

Yesterday we went up to the square to see what was going on. On the way back we picked up a piñata for the local kids. We thought it would come with candies but discovered that it didn’t.

We met up with Bill and Connie and went to Albatros Restaurant for Christmas Eve. The food was great and the entertainment a little different.

The little kids in the picture were trying to copy the dancers. At one point the little lad went down on one knee and the girl jumped up and balanced on it to the roar of the crowd. Hilarious! The two dancers then did an energetic version of the Can-Can.

Later we walked up to town again but it seemed to be quieter this year. So we walked home and had a nightcap before turning in.

On Christmas morning we walked into town to get candies for the piñata. We bought quite a few because there was a huge cavity to fill. When we got home we found that we had a lot leftover. I’m sure we can take care of them though. I’ll let you know later what happens with the Piñata.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad to all our friends and family.

5 am, kaboom! I usually go back to sleep but only dozed until the next round  of explosions at 6 am. I lay awake for a while and at about 6.45 decided to get up and go on the roof to watch the sun rise. Rosalie was up by this time so I grabbed a couple of chairs while she made tea and we went up to the roof.

When we got up this morning it was the coldest so far at 22 deg. On the roof it was quite chilly as there was a breeze blowing. I stood it for a while and then had to get a better shirt on and Rosalie grabbed her shawl. Perhaps we should have done this when the weather was hotter. At least then we could cool off.

Sunrise was expected at 6.57 but as this is Mexico it was late and we didn’t see it until about 7.15. It was quite beautiful though and worth the wait. It was bright red due to the pollution in the air but doesn’t look that way on the photo.

We sat and enjoyed the sunrise and surrounding country side and eventually had to go and get cleaned up as Rubii  was due to clean the house.

Rosalie has had a few minor issues so we went across to Barra to see Dra. Linda Rubio. Afterward, we walked along the Malecon before stopping for lunch in one of our favourite restaurants.

We had a great meal of Pescado de Veracrusana. Fish smothered in a fresh tomato sauce. Delicious! And of course we had to have a drink with it.

When we had finished and were seeing off the rest of our drinks, a young lad  of about 4 years old came up and started to talk to us in Spanish. I asked his name and he said something like Owen. However, ever time we tried to say it he shook his head.  I listened intently and finally pronounced it to his satisfaction as he pointed at me and nodded his head.

We thought that he wanted us to take his photo but it turned out that he wanted to take ours. He got hold of Rosalie’s phone and we posed. Dang, it was one of the best pictures we have of us.

 

He didn’t stop there though. Rosalie checked later and he had taken pictures of the floor, the table, Rosalie sideways on and even a few split second videos. He then professionally scrolled through to check that they were good enough.

That evening we had a dinner party with some friends from Spider lake Resort. We talked the night away and had a great old time.

We were supposed to go in the Christmas parade but Rosalie is having some side effects from the drugs she’s taking so we had to beg off. Perhaps next year.

As we went to bed last night I encountered a huge spider in the bedroom. The first one I’ve seen down here. Not wanting to kill it I rushed down to the kitchen and grabbed a plastic container to catch it in so I could throw it out side.

It was bigger than our wolf spiders in Canada and twice as fast. I had a terrible time trying to catch it. Eventualy, I damaged it enough that it didn’t have a leg to stand on and victory was mine. Rosalie proclaimed me as her hero and I accepted the hugs and kisses for being so brave.

Valerie has returned to Canada after five weeks and we hope to see her back next year.

 

As we had the rental car a few weeks back, we had to use it to get our moneys worth. Rosalie suggested a trip to Tenacatita and then Punta Perula. Perula is about an hour and a half away so a nice day trip.

We left fairly early (for us) at about ten am. Just outside of town they are doing a major upgrade to the road so we had to struggle through some very bad road conditions while following a huge tanker truck. At one point the dust was so bad that I had to back off by about a hundred metres so that the back seat drivers could see. Parts of the road had been watered down so the car got quite muddy.

They have flag people on the road but it was still confusing. The first one we saw was a scarecrow made of sticks with a hi-vis vest and a flag. At one point on the way back we were on a single lane part of the road with traffic coming toward us. I didn’t see a flag person so I don’t know what happened. I managed to move over until all the vehicles had passed and then just carried on.

Tenacatita is a bit of a way off the main highway but has a beautiful beach. We were there a lot of years ago and it seems a lot better than when we were there last. I vetoed the trip to Perula so we settled in for a day at Tenacatita.

We found a restaurant by the beach and ordered some food and cerveza. Rosalie and I each had a fish dish which was delicious. Valerie had a hamburger and enjoyed that too. We knew the fish was really fresh as we watched the guys cleaning them on a bench in the corner.

After lunch we picked up our cerveza to go sit on the beach. Valerie and Rosalie went for a swim in the surf while I ordered another cerveza. I figured I needed a lot of booze to face the trip back through the road works.

While Rosalie was in the water she got turned upside down by a wave and lost the new very expensive sunglasses (140 pesos. About $9.50) that we had bought the day before.  She tries to play with the big kids but this time went out a little too far.

While there we got a call about Rosalie’s cell phone. They wanted the password to get in so that they could check if it worked. I wasn’t about to give it to them over the phone so said I would call in later.

We somehow returned safely to Melaque and all had a nap for an hour. Then I went to get Rosalie’s phone so that we could change the password before giving it back for the final repair.

When we got it back it worked just great. Now, two weeks later, it’s bust again. The guy thinks that Rosalie has been too hard on the thing. We will see. We want it to hold out until we get back to Canada, as we want to get her a new one from Koodo.

1st December 5 am. Boom…Boom! The festival of Guadalupe has begun.

Every morning now the explosions start at 5 am and then again at 6. We also hear a few during the day, as well as the odd parade comes by. This will continue through until 12th December We are pretty well used to it but we met some Canadians who were here for the first time and didn’t know what it was until we clued them in.

We are lucky because the parade comes past our house so I get to video it. The song they sing is always the same but I don’t know what it is.

Rosalie and I woke at 5 this morning and watched a small parade go by in the near dark. They play the same music as they walk and are always preceded by a statue of ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe.’

This guy walks behind the parade and is responsible for all the kabooms.

It’s still very humid down here but we are used to it. Valerie is finding it somewhat difficult as are a few other newbies I’ve met. We keep the floor fans going all the time so it’s not too bad.

I’m trying not to drink too much alcohol but it’s difficult when you have to take in lots of fluids. We have been drinking ‘Jamaica’ (Hamika). It’s made from hibiscus flowers and Rosalie cooks up a concentrate in her Instant pot. She does it just right, not too much sugar.We just add water and a whole bunch of ice, some lime and away we go. We can also get it in the local restaurants.

For some reason It seems to me that there are fewer Nordeños this year. I guess they heard that I’m here again. The vendors in the market seem a little more aggressive so maybe they’re having a hard time getting business. It usually picks up again in early January so we will see.

Bill and Connie dropped by the other day. They came to pick up Rosalie and went to pay for our Christmas Eve dinner. When they came back they invited us to go shopping in Manzanillo. We had a great day. We spent way too much but that’s how it goes when you try to stock up.

On the way to Manzanillo there are a number of small towns. Crossing the road in these towns are large concrete pedestrian walkways. They are rarely used as it’s a two lane road and the locals just wait for a break in the traffic and walk across. There are also large concrete bus shelters that seem a bit of an over-kill. Well that’s Mexico.

Mike got a new tattoo. I don’t like tattoos generally but I like this one. Notice the marching soldiers in the feather.

Our neighbours on the way to the festival. Mum Adriana, Camila and Ivan (pronounced ‘Eeban’)