Tomorrow’s the day that I start saying, “My last –day.” I have one Friday night left before I head home, so the one-week countdown is on! I can’t believe the winter is basically over. And unlike a lot of other winters, I don’t have that feeling of dread that it just slipped through my fingers. It’s not just the fact that I know I’m coming back that makes departure something I’m looking forward to rather than dreading, but the fact that I lived so much in my months here.

I had a huge amount of work to do for today and set my finish time for 6:45 so I could go get hot dogs and not have to work again after. That meant pretty much working through the day with only short breaks.

Around 4:00, I went for a quick walk to check on the truck and found it on blocks with all four wheels off. I kicked myself for forgetting my camera, so I made a note to bring it with me when I went out for dinner.

Somehow, I managed to finish work a whole 15 minutes ahead of schedule! It’ll be more of the same till Wednesday, but being done for tonight was an amazing feeling, like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

I took off, with the plan being to hit the truck for pictures first, but something told me to check the hot dog stand and it was closed. What?! I want a sit down dinner at Miguel’s my last night here, so that means no more hot dogs till next fall. I’m sure my body is happy about that. 🙂

Most Friday nights, I have exact change for the hot dog lady, but tonight I left with a 50. So, being famished and rather set on meal I didn’t cook myself, I decided to get a hamburger and fries instead.

That restaurant is just past the workshop, where there were signs of life.

She looks rather forlorn, doesn’t she?

Hey, there’s a wheel back on. Or maybe it was on when I came by at 4:00?

At the restaurant, I placed a to-go order and said I would be back in about 10 minutes. No sense waiting around, might as well go for a walk!

The little place I discovered that knows how to make French fries!

I love how brightly coloured everything is in Mexico.

I knew from the last time I ordered a burger that a quick loop by the panga and elementary school would be just about the right amount of time.

The elementary school.

There was a school related shindig going on at the playground near the school, with lots of music and people enjoying elote (sweet corn on the cob with mayo and chile powder), ceviche, fried tacos, and more.

It was overcast and drizzly all day, but finally starting to clear up and the air felt so fresh and sweet. There were lots of people out and about. Everyone is so friendly and the folks I see most often know they can chat with me, so I got asked about where I was headed on the way out and what I was having for supper on the way in when I had my bag of food. There’s an intellectually challenged man who plays a guitar on a balcony right in front of the restaurant and he always grunts to get my attention as I walk past him, plays me a few notes, blows me a kiss, and then waves. I always applaud and wave back. It’s our little routine.

There are lovely trees in bloom this week:

What a pretty tree!

I love those pink flowers.

My burger was being wrapped up as I arrived. My $10 in change was given as such, ten 1-peso coins!

The mechanic was at the shop when I walked by and he told me to come look at some parts he pulled. He was very apologetic in that he really needs to recommend a completely new brake job, rotors, pads, calipers, etc., so the price really is going to be $4,000. He had hoped to surprise me with a lower bill. I assured him that I’m fine with the price and to do what needs to be done. I reiterated that I’ve had major break work done on a Ford and can recognize that he’s not lying to me.

He says he should be done tomorrow (!) and that he’s expecting me late Sunday morning with the balance of the money. So I’ll head out super early Sunday, get a pastry and coffee at Panamá’s for a treat, and be back in time to get some, I mean, lots of work done.

He also gave me a heads up that there is a lot of rust in the undercarriage and that I should look into have it washed and undercoated soon as I get out off the coast. I’ll have to look into how much that will cost.

I got in and my supper was thankfully still hot.

Yum!

For some reason, they omitted the cheese and jalapeños tonight! I added my own cheese and was shocked to discover that I rather missed the peppers! But don’t get me wrong, it was still an awesome sandwich and I have to confess I wasn’t too disappointed about the hot dogs. 🙂 I also finished off my bottle of sweet relish!