Month: April 2015

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Last Golden Zone Jaunt

I got up early today and typed like mad with the hope that by 2:00ish, I would be ahead enough in my current project to do one last jaunt to the Golden Zone to get coffee. I had such a debate with myself over the last few days over whether I needed to do that since I had plenty of coffee left to get me to the States. But then I remembered that I still haven’t found a grocery store coffee in the States that I like. Might as well treat myself to one last pound of the Veracruz!

Big ship in port today!

Big ship in port today!

By 2:30, I was ready to go. I made my way to the corner of Gutiérrez Najera and Juan Carrasco, certain that I could catch there the bus that goes to Soriana, Mega, and on into the Golden Zone. It’s cheaper and closer than the bus that I take on del Mar.

So gorgeous!

So gorgeous!

This truck is obviously loved.

This truck is obviously loved.

But after waiting a half hour and cycling through all the buses, I never once saw the one I needed. Granted, I wasn’t 100% sure what I was looking for, but I knew Mega would be written on it. So I’m a little flummoxed as to where to catch it. Next year, I’ll have to ride it in the opposite direction and find out. But now that I think of it, I didn’t even see it once while in the Golden Zone, so I’m thinking that perhaps it doesn’t run on Sundays.

Giving up on that bus, I walked the last few blocks to del Mar and caught the bus there, riding it up to the taco place I discovered last time I was in the Golden Zone. I didn’t get chips this time and I think I’ve finally figured out why I get them sometimes: they come when I order a limonada. This has happened at a couple of establishments, so I’m thinking it’s a customary thing for restaurants in the area. I really did not need chips and the giant plate of cucumbers provided a suitably crispy and bland surface on which to deposit heaps of salsa! I also got radishes this time and do NOT suggest having this spicy vegetable with a spicy salsa, but rather with the avocado salsa. Your tastebuds will thank me. 🙂

Since I didn’t have chips, I headed across the street and got an ice cream, going for cookies ‘n cream, and boy does Thrifty’s know how to make that flavour! Since a sugar cone was the same price as a bowl or regular cone, I indulged. 🙂

Next stop was the bank. I went by a bunch to hit the Santander just before Rico’s… but the ATM was down. So I would have to double back. Dang!

I got my coffee and didn’t even try to speak Spanish with them today. They were out of 1lb bags, so I they packaged my coffee into two 1/2lb bags and were rather apologetic about that. I’m happy because that means half the batch will stay fresher.

While waiting for the coffee to be ground, I read an article in El Debate, a newspaper, that many, many, many little grocers in the area are being shut down because they are cash only businesses and do not keep the proper records for tax purposes. I I wonder if that will affect businesses here on Isla. I only know two where I can get a receipt, and the City Deli is not one of them.

Coming out of Rico’s, a bus was just within sight, but I had to let it go since I needed the bank. I walked back down to the Banamex, the first in a series of banks in a row, since it has a low withdrawal rate (lower than Santander), I’ve never had problems with it, and I wasn’t hurting for small bills. Also, if this one gave me any trouble, I could just try the next bank and so on until I found one that worked!

The withdrawal was fine and I hope it will be my last one, but it was a very conservative amount, so we’ll see. I just don’t want  to do my last fill up of gas in San Carlos and find myself with more than 700 or 800 pesos in cash. I’d like to keep about 500 pesos for the fall for the trip from the border to San Carlos, but no more. I’m on a tight budget to get home and I need my money in USD right now, not pesos. I know I have plenty to get me to San Carlos and pay for the hotel. Once there, I’ll see if I have enough left for the last tank of fuel and tolls and if not, I’ll get another small withdrawal to cover that.

I didn’t have to wait long for the bus after and decided to ride it to the corner of Aquiles Serdan and Zaragoza, rather than get off at the Fishermen’s Monument since it would save me a few blocks.

Untitled

I saved myself quite a few steps tonight!

This being late Sunday afternoon, Zaragoza was eerily silent and I didn’t dawdle to get to the embarcadero!

What I discovered today is that pointless bus waiting not withstanding, I can get to the Golden Zone and back with lunch and lots of walking in about 2.5 hours!

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Counting Down

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?

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?

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!

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

I love how brightly coloured everything is in Mexico.

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.

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!

What a pretty tree!

I love those pink flowers.

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!

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!

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The Mecánico

I went back to the shop this afternoon to see how things were going. My truck was not being worked on as the mechanic was in town picking up the filter and the oil. It seems that he works late in the day, but gets things done when he does.

I was told I needed to come back around five to confirm that deposit for the brake work so that the mechanic could go get parts for that. So how things work at this little shop is that they only do one thing at a time and they have you pay half up front so they can get parts. I’m absolutely fine with this since I’ve gotten some testimonials about the shop.

As for the tailgate, the handle was fine, but there was a broken rod inside, not something I could have fixed myself! There are TONS of tailgates lying around since they are removed for the pickup truck taxis and he got the part from one of those.

I was also told that the total for the brakes should be actually closer to $4,000, not $4,500! That’s a 40CAD difference that means a lot in Mexico as it would cover the hotel and a nice dinner with a beer in San Carlos!

The fellow I’ve been dealing with called the mechanic to confirm that I really do want the complete brake job done and put me on the phone with him for a verbal confirmation. The reception was really bad and we settled on my returning to the shop in about a half hour to speak with him rather than returning at five.

Before I left, I had a laugh. The fellow said that he Google Saskatchewan last night. “It’s 4,000KM from Mazatlán to the US/SK border. How much further do you have to beyond that?!”
“Only 75KM.”
“I take it 75KM from the US border is safer in Canada than in Mexico?”
“Most of its parts. And most Canadians live within 150KM of the US border.”
“Oh, right. Just north enough to be Canadian, but not so north where it’s very cold.”

“Just north enough to be Canadian…” LOL!!!

So I returned in half an hour and the mechanic was yet another person who speaks way better English than I do Spanish who opts to deal with me in Spanish. So FINE. I speak Spanish! ¡No poquito, mucho! 🙂

The mechanic wanted at least $1,000 to go get parts in Maz, ideally, $2,000. I had no problem giving him the $2,000 and told him that the soonest I can get to the bank for the balance is Sunday morning (that’s actually the soonest I can get there without throwing my work schedule into chaos!). That’s fine and work likely won’t be done till Monday anyway. I told him that if he needs more money for parts before then, I have another $1,000 or so and his helper knows where to find me.

(Croft, he remembers the really tall guy with white hair and the ancient Honda! 😀 )

I said that I need my truck back by the 23rd at the absolute latest (a week from now) and they say that won’t be a problem. I’m hoping it’s sooner as I want to start packing it, but the 23rd is fine.

I’m really glad I went with my gut instinct and had the truck checked before I left! I’ll be able to leave with peace of mind that everything is good with it.

The guys on my Ranger forum think that the brake issue could explain my increasingly worse gas mileage and that I might be pleasantly surprised when I get going. When I get to the States and am able to get receipts with my fuel purchases, I’ll crunch some numbers.

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A Shock

The garage in Assiniboia that did the out of province inspection on my truck in late ’13 claimed that everything was good. I specifically asked about the state of my brakes as the garage in New Orleans had said I should start thinking about them and I’d done quite a bit of mileage since then. The guy in Assiniboia said, “Oh, your pads are newish, you’ve got over 30,000KM to go before you need to think about them.” Well, I haven’t done nearly that much driving since then, but I thought that I might as well get them checked here before going into the mountains for peace of mind, right?

I’m not a mechanic and even I could see that everything was NOT GOOD with the truck with the tires off today. Like, really not good. The mechanic said he was shocked and that the brakes needed FULL service ages and ages ago. I need completely new brakes. I went through this with Miranda and know from what I saw that they’re not exaggerating.

Let’s just say I’m glad this was discovered before I had an accident. And that I just busted my truck maintenance/repair budget. 🙁

The brake service will be 4,500 pesos (363CAD), which, frankly, sounds like a bargain to me, plus 1,200 for the oil change and tailgate handle and an undetermined amount for the windshield wiper pump. So I’m at 5,700 and it’ll probably be closer to 6,200 when I’m all done, putting me 1,200 pesos over budget, or about 100CAD. This isn’t dramatic, but that means that if anything else goes wrong with the truck on the trip home, I am going to have to dip into other buckets to cover the deficiency.

I’m so glad this happened before I got underway as it’s a really good reminder that I will need to firmly tighten the purse strings for this very long trip home. I planned to do a lot of motel stays along the way so I could work, but I’m trying to come up with creative solutions to avoid doing that, like taking a campsite with electricity and working from my front passenger seat (which is more comfortable than working at a hotel table anyway!).

I also need to make a run to town before picking up the truck on Friday because I don’t have enough cash to pay the bill. So that throws off my work schedule somewhat, but I’ll figure it out.

Needless to say, I’m not having my air conditioner looked at!

(By the way, a lot of the mechanical terms in Spanish are close to those in French, so that’s why I had no trouble understanding the mechanic.)

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Mecánicos, Tacos y Zapatos

I helped some friends move yesterday, which meant I had to work longer on Sunday and postpone a trip to town. I decided to make the trip today. I didn’t ‘need’ to go, but rather wanted a change of scenery and one last beer and meal off the Malecón.

I did some work this morning until noonish, then took off for town. En route, I stopped at a mechanic Contessa recommended and whose work Croft was pleased with. There’s no building, just a pit in the ground!

There’s no way I’m doing a 4,000KM trip without having my truck looked at. I know at the very least that Moya needs an oil change and to have her brakes checked.

The mechanic wasn’t there, but the other guy working said he could get all my info. Between my Spanish, pointing, and pantomiming abilities he understood that I want the oil change and brake examination as well as to figure out why my windshield wipers aren’t squirting, repair my tailgate handle,  give me a quote for repairing the AC, and that I need the truck for the 23rd. He said I can bring my truck by around 9:30 tomorrow morning and they will take a look at it and come up with a price for everything.  I told him I would write everything down and that he could put the prices on my list. This way, there shouldn’t be any confusion.

There are tons of Ford Rangers just like mine (similar vintage, too!) both on Isla and in Maz, so I know that parts will be abundant, another reason why it makes sense to have the work done here, never mind that labour will be much cheaper than in the US or Canada! I have a figure in mind of what I’d be able to pay to get everything done, but I’ll be surprised if I have them touch the AC.

Then, it was off to town, the plan being to get in a long walk before eating.

Here’s the exact route that I took. It’s just over 6KM (3 3/4mi).

My exact route, minus the slight backtracking for gelato. :)

My exact route, minus the slight backtracking for gelato. 🙂

By the time I neared the Fishermen’s Monument (B) I was, as usual parched, never mind famished, so I asked for pulp in my grapefruit juice. Pulp=pulpa; octopus=pulpo, another pair of words not to mix up!

I sipped my juice as I ambled down the Malecón. It wasn’t particularly busy, but there were a few people on the beach and a handful of vendors.

Looking north to the Golden Zone

Looking north to the Golden Zone

Looking south towards Olas Altas

Looking south towards Olas Altas

Looking north to the Golden Zone again.

Looking north to the Golden Zone again.

For lunch, I had my heart set on tacos from Copa de Leche. They’re pretty pricy since they’re at a sit down restaurant, but soooo good. They have tender beef, grilled onions, and avocado; very simple, nourishing, and healthy!

carne asada tacos

carne asada tacos

I think of Copa de leche as being a ‘Gringo’ restaurant because it’s on Olas Altas and I really don’t see many Mexicans eating at those restaurants, but my entire service, including an oral bill, was in Spanish with zero attempt at speaking to me in English, plus the prices and food are more Mexican than touristified. However it can or cannot be defined, I really like Copa de leche and their low to the ground loungey chairs that aren’t comfortable for eating but wonderful for relaxing with a cold Tecate! The bill was $95 and I added $10 for a tip. My server actually thanked me for the tip, which I don’t think was particularly generous since his service wasn’t great! I’m glad he was pleased.

BTW, here are the steps to learning to eat Mexican sauces like the one in the above picture:

1) Innocence: Add sauce to your food without thinking, take a bite, lose three quarters of your taste buds.

2) Fear: Avoid all sauce.

3) Exploration: Realising that Mexican food is sometimes bland without sauce, start tasting sauce. But you put it on the tip of your tongue and burn it and remained convinced that spicy sauce is not for you.

4) Knowledge: You get smarter and add sauce to a small bit of food so that the heat can be diffused rather than tasting it directly. A bit or two of saucy food is enough.

5) Love: You know all sauce is delicious and embrace the fact that all sauce is also intent on killing your taste buds. Add a little to your meal, take a bite or two, and add more if needed.

Next stop was the little Panamá’s by the Plazuela Machado (the original location, I believe). A vendor rattled off info about a bunch of pastries after I hemmed and hawed for a bit. She highly recommended some stuffed with cheese, but had me at the apple-stuffed thing dusted with coffee and cinnamon and sprinkled with black chocolate, which will be breakfast tomorrow. While I was there, I used their bathroom. I will confess to frequently buying a pastry just so I can do that. 🙂

Then, it was a tiny detour to the gelato place. One of my new phrases this winter is ‘¿Puedo probar ___? (may I please try) and I used it to sample their ‘Snickers’ flavour, which was sooooo good; vanilla ice cream with caramel, peanuts, and chocolate. I got a small scoop in a cup.

Waldo’s and the Mercado were next by way of the bank. My priority at the Mercado was footwear!

The ‘dressy’ sandals I bought in Kingsville, TX, ahead of my last ‘trip to Mexico’ have served me incredibly well, but I’ve worn them clear through with all the walking this winter and by the time I got to the Mercado today, my heels were sore and I admitted it was time to let them go.

When I got here in November, I saw some pretty slip on leather sandals that I really liked at the Mercado and that would be good for light walking days, but I was quoted 400 pesos, a much higher price than I could afford at the time.

I went back to the same vendor today and said that I’m an American size eight (which is five in Mexico), wanted them dark, and without anything between my toes. The lady read my mind and pulled out these:

so pretty!

so pretty!

She showed me a few other models, but there was no point. I was smitten. 🙂 I asked her how much… Now, remember this was the exact same vendor who quoted me 400 pesos in November. Today, she started at $250.

I looked at her and said, “What’s your best price?”

She laughed, “$230 is the absolute best I can do. And only because I’ve seen you spend a lot of money on dresses and other clothes from other vendors this winter and you speak to us in Spanish.” (Not sure why buying from other vendors was relevant — maybe because it meant I might be a repeat customer?)

So deal done!

They are super comfy, with a thick foam sole and leather upper. I know the sole will wear out before the upper and I’m willing to bet it’ll be cheaper to have them resoled this time next year than to buy another pair. But for 18.80CAD, if I get only a single season out of them, I will have gotten my money’s worth!

As my friend Dale used to say, another great day in Maz!