Mexico – Aged but not deceased

Banned!!

Rosalie and I went up town to get yet more money from the ATM. This, of course, is extremely hot work and needing to cool off, we headed for one of our favourite restaurants on the beach.

We sat at a table which was under a palapa but on the sand. After ordering a beer each we set to saving the world. Halfway through our first beer, Rosalie suggested that we go and sit at a table on the actual beach as it was closer to the waves. So that’s what we did,

We sat for about an hour and a half and drank five beers between us. The problems of the world were slowly getting sorted when we decided to leave. I asked for the bill but got quite the shock when it arrived. The five beers we had came to 180 pesos but there was an additional charge of 200 pesos. I called the waiter over and asked him to explain. He informed us that it was for use of the umbrella at our table.

Yea, right! I wasn’t about to pay that and told him to go back and adjust the bill. He said okay, but I had to pay him to pay him for the beers first, which I did, adding a tip.

As we were leaving, an old lady, whom I suspect is the owner’s Mum started yelling at me. From what I could get, she was telling us not to come back. I informed her “Yo no turista” and we went on our way. Our bill had been overcharged the last time we were in so I think they took us for tourists who didn’t know any better.

It is the custom to charge for the beach tables here but you are normally informed of the charge beforehand. The reason for the charge is that Mexican tourists bring all their own food and booze and just use the tables. When we were there the tables were empty so we weren’t stopping anyone from sitting on the beach. Also, the charge of 200 pesos was way too much. Oh well, there are lots more restaurants to get thrown out of.

This morning, Chrismas Day, we were told that the restaurant in question had a fire last night. Someone getting too silly with fireworks. And no, it wasn’t me. Karma perhaps!

Those are the notorious tables we sat at.

We visited another of our regular restaurants the other night. The entertainment is good and this is the same band that we will see New Year’s Eve.

Our next door neighbour has a couple of lovely kids so we bought a soccer ball for Ivann who is about 10 and a doll for Camila about 1 1/2. They much appreciated the gifts and their Mum made them say “Gracias”.

We must be getting acclimatized as, when we get up the temperature is about 20-21 C and we feel quite chilly. The same in the evenings. It’s going to be hard coming back to Canada in April.

It’s Christmas and we wish all our friends who read this, ‘Feliz Navidad’.

Ole, Ole

What a night!

Mike and Pat sent an email on Saturday asking if we would like to help with the Christmas parade in Barra on Sunday. All we had to do was sit in the back of his tricked out VW Bug and toss candies to the kids.

It started well. We got to their place in plenty of time and had a few margaritas to get us started and keep us warm. We had picked up a few beers on the way so these went into the cooler in the back seat with me and we were all set.

Mike and Pat’s Mexican friend Cruz and his wife Candy were with us as well as Cruz’s friend Joshua. Cruz had his dune buggy with a boom box strapped to the front and flashing lights all over. He went first as we didn’t want that blasting at us from behind. Mike’s car was decked out with lights and came next. Joshua followed with a car covered in lights. All the vehicles had advertising for Cruz’s body shop business stuck on them.

After we joined up with the rest of the vehicles driven by a lot of Canadians and the parade was on. There was a police car leading the way which, apparently, was quite rare.

**We’re a bit fuzzy as we had already had a margarita**

It took us some time to wend our way downtown as they don’t stop the traffic, people just get out of the way. As the parade got closer the crowds got denser. Rosalie and I were throwing candy to the kids as we went along but Pat warned us to try to save some as we were going to go to the village of Jaluco because the kids there don’t get a lot of stuff. We were also going to do a bit of Melaque. It was tough as we wanted to give all the kids some. I’m sure they didn’t suffer though, as all the vehicles were throwing candy.

I’ve never seen so many kids in one place. We tried to target the little ones but often the bigger kids got in the way so as the bigger ones bent down to pick up the candy we would throw it over their heads to the little ones in the back. I would slyly give one or two to the adults as they like candy too.

The thing I liked best was just seeing everyone having so much fun. And the Mexicans really appreciate the parade. There’s nothing official about it; no permits or red tape, just a bunch of people getting together and doing something for the kids. And lots and lots of noise.

After finishing up in Barra we took a pit stop at Mike and Pat’s before finishing the rest of the trip. The parade through Jaluco and Melaque was small, just us three vehicles but it was still a lot of fun.

At the end of the evening, our small parade ended up at our place and invited our next door neighbours in. All the time Cruz’s boom box was blasting away. He finally shut it down and turned off the lights because they didn’t want to kill the battery.

Rosalie and I weren’t prepared very well, but next year we will be, should we be invited again.

Kids and ‘orses

The kids down here are just beautiful. We have a little neighbour, Caramila, who tries to break into our front patio. Her little hand sneaks through the gate and she tries to undo the latch. As soon as we say “hola” she takes off.

The families are very tight here. We often see older kids looking after the younger ones. Caramila and her brother Alan, often pass by and she likes to wave at us. We saw her outside one day in a traditional Mexican costume so we had a great photo op. When we take photos of kids the parents are very proud.

Bill and Connie had just arrived and dropped by for a glass of wine. People do that here: just drop in. After a while, a horse and rider came by and Bill jumped up and Yelled “Chris.” I was somewhat startled and wondered what the hell I had done now. As it turns out, Christian was the rider of the horse. Bill and Connie have known him for some time.

Rosalie and I were introduced to Christan and his horse also named Chris. It was like a Chris convention. Christian runs a horse tour business so it looks as though we may be going riding one day; although I still haven’t gotten over that nasty rental bike saddle yet.

I offered Christian a cerveza as he looked hot and he happily took it. We chatted for about half an hour and then he rode off. About an hour later he returned and we chatted again. I think maybe he was looking for more cerveza. We’ve seen him around town a few times but didn’t manage to talk again.

Our bits and pieces are starting to build up so we have to find a storage locker for the summer. We have a lead on one so we will have to go and secure it on Monday.

Our social calendar is going to have to slow down. We’re getting too old for all that dancing and stuff. Although we do still enjoy it. Also, it gets quite costly going out, night after night.

We tried a Tequila liqueur at Mike and Faye’s place that Rosalie liked so much she decided to order some – 5 litres. At 92 pesos ($6.01) a litre, she thought it was a deal, which it was. When we got it home we found that instead of coffee flavour we had gotten almond. Several phone calls later we got it exchanged and all is well.

While we were exchanging the liqueur, we met Mike and Faye’s pet iguana. They named it “Iggy” but I was going to suggest Raphael. They feed it bananas and it isn’t in the least bit afraid, even of me. They invited us to stay for dinner but we didn’t fancy Kentucky fried iguana so we grabbed our hooch and went home.

Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle

After trying out Gerry’s bike the other night I wondered if I could ride it sober. We wanted to buy a couple of bikes but decided to rent some for a day to see if we could do it and if we liked it.

We went to the adventure tour shop and looked at a few bikes. Having made our choice, we paid 180 pesos ($11.68) for both of them for the day. Rosalie hadn’t ridden for some time and got off to a bit of a rocky start. She wobbled down the road expecting to be hit by a car at any moment. But I think only one car passed us on the way home.

When we did get home, however, she had remembered how to start but was not too good at stopping. She wiped out onto the concrete and scraped her leg.

We rested up for a while and after a few tips and checking with Gerry to see if he had any training wheels, we were off again. That’s my girl, tough as they come!

She did way better this time. We rode over some pretty bumpy roads and I had a terrible saddle so have a few saddle sores to show for it. Rosalie was leading so I think she did it to make me suffer as well. Also, my bike was a bit big for me so if we buy one I have to remember that.

So we took a trip into town to get some more money for our trip to PV. We went through some traffic as we were going the wrong way up a one-way street like most people here. I managed okay but Rosalie was a bit apprehensive. On the way back she was a lot more confident but we still drove the wrong way up another one-way street.

The following morning we had to return the bikes as well as get ourselves to the bus depot with our little carry-on case. I had planned to take it on my bike but couldn’t figure out a way to do it. So, we strapped it to Rosalie’s carrier. I watched with some apprehension as she wobbled up the road but she seemed stable enough and made it safely.

How I feel riding into town. Note the rooster I was about to strangle.

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

“Queen”

Settling in

We are starting to settle into a somewhat normal routine. We still don’t do a lot but we are having fun doing it.

We don’t have lunch on the beach as much as we used as it does add up. So we have lunch at home and then go and sit on the beach and have a beer and discuss the language. We’re picking up more and more Spanish and use it whenever we can. Mostly when ordering food.

We came home a few days ago and a gecko dropped out from the door frame. It startled me as I was thinking: a great big spider. I almost stood on the little guy but somehow we managed to avoid each other. I call him Ramon. We also have a wee one roaming around. Rosalie found him this morning trying on her jewelry. I think we’ll call him Brucie.

Rosalie has been walking around with an absolutely stupid looking hat so we decided to buy her a new one. As I had just got my new one too we make a great looking couple. I call this photo”Miss Marples and the old Geezer”

We sleep with the bedroom windows open at night to let a breeze in. The only downfall is that we have a rooster with a sore throat right behind the duplex who loves to wake us real early. We are getting used to him, as we often sleep right through his morning recital.

The temperature is hovering between 28-30 C with 76 humidity. It is quite humid but doesn’t bother us too much. We read that Sage leaf tablets help cope with the heat so we have been taking them from before we left. It does seem to help or perhaps we’re just used to it.

There are a few more tourists coming into town. You can tell who they are because when you say “hola” they come back with “Hi”. Heavy sigh, there goes our quiet solitude. This week starts the influx of our friends. We look forward to seeing them again. Even though we saw some of them just a few weeks ago.

I’ve been trying to include shot video clips in the blog but have had some technical difficulties. (I don’t know what I’m doing). I seem to have sorted it out though and will try to grab the local scene.

This one happened when we were walking uptown. The little bar at the side of the road is opposite where we stayed last time and we know it as a party place so we weren’t surprised to see the band.

Living here does have its downfalls. We lost a brother-in-law this week and wanted to head to Prince George but when we started adding up costs it became too expensive so we will have to send our thoughts and prayers instead.