Personal

by

Number Crunching Day

The ‘new year’ is just an arbitrary change of number that could really happen at any time. So I don’t really treat it as a special event. Last year was the first December 31st that I can remember since that of ’99 going into ’00 that I did anything. I’m sure it’s not the only one, but the night is such a non-event that I’ve have to go back over old journals to see if there are others.

I’m more of a follower when it comes to social engagements, attending parties and other events if I get an actual invitation, especially on a super busy night where going out on my own wouldn’t be much fun anyway. No invitations for last night came, so I stayed in. I’m not sure I would have accepted one anyway. I’d been up since about 4:30 a.m. and was not sad that I was able to conk out at 9:00, despite a loud party going on next door!

January 1st tends to be a bookkeeping day for me. It’s always quiet and I can start to close the previous year’s books, open the new year’s, and take stock of my goals for the year. For 2016, the goals are to find another steady client who pays well and to end the year in Mexico with a residency visa. I’d like to spend the summer in Europe, but I wouldn’t consider having to put that off as a failure. It’ll all depend on whether the current income levels continue or not.

2015 was an extraordinary year. It started and ended in Mazatlán and ended up being the year where I spent the bulk of my time outside of Canada! I was only home for about five months, spent just about a full six months in Mexico, and just about a full month in the U.S. It was the year that I started to figure out how I’m going to manage to see the world, by renting apartments in the locations I want to experience. It was also the year that I was able to look back on all the grief I’ve experienced and think, “It was so worth it!”

Happy 2016 to all my readers!

by

So I Finally Had a Shrimp Burger at Tony’s…

Today was another very full day! I got my work done ahead of the deadline and waited for my client to confirm that he had received it, which he normally does promptly. Half an hour later, I got an email asking where the work was. I had successfully sent it, so I went to downdetector.com and learned that Gmail was having serious issues. So nothing I could do about it other than slip the job into a shared FTP folder on my server, Skype my client to let him know where to find the file, and to wish him luck with his email issues.

The not fun part of the day done, I had a late breakfast and then greeted Janet around 10:30. It was just the two of us again today for riding, but we didn’t go out on our own. Daniel was in a feisty mood, with today’s Spanish lesson being fall of naughty words! That Monday morning hour and a bit is so special and magical. As if riding on a beautiful tropical beach wasn’t enough, we get the linguistic lesson thrown in as a bonus. I really treasure my Monday morning ride.

I got in around 12:30 and put together a few things so I could run a very specific errand in town. First stop on the other side was lunch! I’ve been hearing so much about the shrimp burger at Tony’s in the mercado from several unrelated sources, including Chris and Juan, that it was time to have it even if the last thing I needed after all that holiday food was a burger!

This is what I got for $60:

IMG_0932

I like how they avoid having to wash dishes…

It’s pretty clear from the picture that the burger is all about the bun. There were barely any shrimp (related, I’m sure, to the shrimp fishermen having a hard time this winter), but what was there was perfectly grilled and fresh, so points for that! There was also lettuce, tomato, and crema. I found that it was missing something and I was about halfway through when I realised that all reports of the shrimp burger had it with avocado on top. What was there was delicious. I like how the bread was toasted and there were definitely some spices or seasoning, plus the veggies were very fresh. I’ll have to try again on a day when Tony himself is cooking because while it was good, I was underwhelmed after all the hype.

Next stops were the two Parisinas (fabric stores) near the Mercado. One has more fabric, the other has more notions. I was looking for fabric for head scarves. I was a bit disappointed by the selection of fabric at hand, not finding any stretchy cotton, only polyester, but I came out with enough satisfactory material for eight scarves for just $120 between the two stores. I’ll have three in solid colours and five with patterns.

I was carrying a rather heavy bag with a scarf pattern; sample scarf; and two dresses, one of which I was hoping I could add to my order (hemming and straps) and the other being the model, so I didn’t do any other shopping and instead headed straight for the seamstress. It’s not my fault that my favourite nieve de garrafa vendor was on that route… 🙂 I haven’t been there much this year and I was still recognised! The owner told his helper to give me two scoops of prune and one each of my two other choices even before I had ordered! So that was four scoops for the price of three. They are small! Four scoops is less than a standard scoop of ice cream, and not nearly as rich since there’s no cream in them. I sat on a bench in the Plazuela Machado for a break to eat my treat.

From there, it was a few blocks to the Costura Express on Carnaval. The lady I had spoken to last week wasn’t there, but her sister was. Between my Spanish and her limited English, we figured out what I wanted and she even called her sister to confirm my order and find out if she could do the dress, too. Yes, for $80, which puts that dress at the same price I would have paid if I had bought it finished. Perfect! I really understood their conversation, including where she bargained the dress price down for me since I had the fabric for the straps. I will get to pick up my order on Saturday! I’m so excited since I’ve been wearing the same three scarves for ages. The new scarves will be $70 each, plus $15 each for the fabric, for a total of $85 each, 5USD at the current exchange rate. I paid 30USD each for my current scarves! It will be nice to have that dress finished, too. I’ve worn it strapless around Isla, but it’s way too casual to wear into Maz.

I then headed back to the mercado to pick up some fruits and veggies, stopping at a few vendors until I got most of what I wanted. I was ready to drop by this point, but still stopped in at the Ley on Melchor Ocampo, which has been totally revamped! I got some more fruits and veggies (half each of a cabbage and pineapple) and meat.

Thankfully, my friend Sue was on the lancha coming home, so we were able to walk a good part of the way home together, giving me something besides my exhaustion and heavy bags to focus on! 🙂 I got in, had a break, then made a ginormous veggie and beef stir fry for dinner. I really like how the beef is sold in such thin strips here since it marinates in no time. I just threw it in a bowl for about 20 minutes with a minced clove of garlic, the juice of two (tiny) limes, soy sauce, and sushi vinegar and it came out so tender and flavourful!

No map of my day, sorry, since Google Maps aren’t cooperating. It was about a 5KM excursion.

Now, time to unwind so I can get to bed on time and be up and at ’em for 5:30. It is going to be a tough day tomorrow because there will be no power on the whole Isla after a transformer blew up in the Colonia yesterday (a guy who lives two doors from where that happened told me all about that on the lancha coming home). Needless to say, I’m worried about work. Hopefully, TelCel will work well enough for me to get through my day. I am also going to try plugging my modem into my inverter to see if my TelMex connection could work that way (the only reason it would be down, I’m told, is for lack of power, so…). My truck battery has a full charge, so I’ll have enough power, even if I have to charge my laptop for a bit. There’s no sense fretting about this until power actually goes down tomorrow. I’ve been told the outage will officially be 6AM to 2PM (my entire shift!), but that, in fact, it shouldn’t take more than three to four hours. We shall see!

by

A Rare Four Cruise Ship Day in Mazatlán

rhere were four cruise ships in harbour today, a very rare event! My friend Grant lives along the route between the docks and the Plazuela Machado and reports that it’s “raining Gringos” today! Too funny. There are apparently 10,000 extra people in town. Maz is a fairly large city, almost half a million people spread out over its metro area, but these 10,000 folks are concentrated in Centro and the Golden Zone. It’s probably rather crowded on the other side!

Since this was such a big deal, I made sure to take my camera on my walk this afternoon and so was able to note of a few things along the way.

One of my neighbours has a patch on his house that looks rather like a rat. Someone else seemed to think so and chalked in a tail!

IMGP2818

This was quite a shock the other day. We’re right at the end of my street and the grove there was clearcut to make room for a house site!

IMGP2819

I visited the upstairs flat in this house recently.

IMGP2820

You go up those terra cotta stairs to a really lovely landing and the little balcony is off the bedroom. Brand new construction, one bedroom, bathroom, and a small kitchen/dining/living room combo (I think the covered landing is meant to be the living room proper). Not to my taste and way more than I’d want to pay, but I have to say that I loved the view from up there. I’ve been seeing a number of properties lately since friends of mine are shopping for friends of theirs and I get to come along as the translator!

I saw one house that I would have considered for next year, if I was coming back next year and knew I could get internet there. It’s not a ‘Gringo’ house at all, very Mexican with a bit of an odd layout, bright blue tiled floors, orange walls, and no glass in the windows, with a porch overlooking the harbour. I saw another place where the living room and kitchen are open to the outdoors and only the bedrooms and bathrooms are properly closed off. Not sure how I feel about that for long-term living, but it’s been neat seeing the variety of houses available for rent.

Coming to the embarcadero, I saw the first two of the four ships.

IMGP2821

And the other two as I rounded the corner to head back towards Calle Principal.

IMGP2823

The Titanik was also in dock. 🙂

IMGP2825

Crown Princess.

IMGP2826

Norwegian Jewel.

IMGP2827

I love looking up at the mountain that is right smack in the middle of Isla. It looks like any mountain back home until…

IMGP2828

I see the cacti.

IMGP2829

This building has been under construction since last year! It’s been interesting to see how construction is done here. The buildings are made of brick walls, which are then rendered by hand with cement.

IMGP2830

I love this grove of vines near the rear of the El Velero restaurant. They are thick enough to seem like a building!

IMGP2831

Miguel’s has updated some of its signage.

IMGP2834

They have a pizza oven now, but the pizza business is not going well. Folks find the pizza too expensive.

IMGP2835

This is the house being built on the lot at the end of my street that was vacant last year. You can see the brick that’s behind the cement. It will be cut out for the windows. Friends of mine and I are wondering why such tiny windows when there is such a view from that vantage point…

IMGP2838

I love the tropical vibe at the back of my house, and if I wish there was just one window back there.

IMGP2839

And I still can’t believe this lush backyard with palm trees is part of the place I call home!

IMGP2840

by

Discoveries

I am heading out on a much needed mini-break tomorrow, three nights in the neighbouring city of Durango! This is the trip I postponed last year. I think I will enjoy myself more this year, being more comfortable in Mexico, less concerned about the truck, and not facing snow. I’m losing a shift because of the American Thanksgiving, so I’m taking advantage of that to be able to go have a few days in Durango and still be home (most likely) for riding and my dentist appointment on Monday.

There is a possible big storm incoming, but I’m not too worried about that. The absolute worst case scenario is that the Durango-Maz road will be washed out by mudslides and I won’t be able to get home as planned on Sunday. Solution: alter my plans to include bring my computer (which I otherwise have no intention of looking at all weekend) so that if I do get stuck into the work week, I can just work from wherever I am. The second worst case scenario is that the Isla road could be washed out. Solution: park my truck on the Maz side and take the panga over, then go get my truck when the road is clear. I’m not getting my ‘DON’T GO’ prickly feeling at the back of my neck, so I’m leaving on schedule sometime late tomorrow morning!

I therefore needed to do a withdrawal before heading out. There is actually a Scotiabank right by my hotel in Durango, but I didn’t want to have to look for it upon arrival tomorrow, having only enough cash to cover fuel and tolls to get there, plus spending money, but not enough to pay for the hotel room. So after my shift today, I headed to town. I had just pulled into the Maz-side embarcadero when I suddenly felt unwell and realised that I hadn’t eaten anything since about 7:00! So I got out of the lancha and made a beeline for the pan dulce lady, picking up a tasty bun of some sort for $5, which did the trick.

Normally, I would just walk down Gutiérrez Nájera and turn right on Juan Carrasco, but today I decided to turn right much sooner and meander through a residential neighbourhood. I had a route to get to Ejercito Mexicano, but, of course, that didn’t work out because of no road signage, construction, and landmark closures. No biggie. I just wandered in the generally correct direction. The houses were a mix of what I would consider tenements and really nice structures, making it hard to get a feeling for just what sort of neighbourhood this was, economically speaking (much like Isla). The few people I passed on the street were friendly.

Just as I was bitterly regretting not popping into the last abarrotes I had seen to get a water, I spotted an oasis, a fruit juice stand! That was a pretty good clue that I was very near Juan Carrasco/Ejercito Mexicano. I ordered a small grapefruit juice with ice and was told to pay the ‘special’ price of just $10! Wow! I pay $15 to $18 for a juice in Centro and near the Malecón. Two blocks from there was Ejercito Mexicano, so now I have a juice place that is almost on my route to the bank, big Ley, and big Waldo. Getting misplaced paid off!

I ended up just a couple of blocks from the Scotiabank, so I darted across right away when the traffic cleared. For once, the machine worked perfectly for me. I then went inside to change my $500s for smaller bills, and I’d even written down how many $100s, $50s, and, especially $20s, I needed. The exchange rate is getting worse and worse. November 12th, 4,800 cost me 392.39CAD. November 23rd, they cost me 399.00CAD. Today, they cost me 399.80 CAD. My daily withdrawal limit is just 400CAD, so I cut it really close today!

After I was done at the bank, I debated going up to the big Ley to have lunch at the Chinese place and decided it was too hot to do that extra distance. I headed back towards Gutiérrez Nájera, only this time I walked on the Scotiabank side. It’s amazing the new things you discover when you walk on the other side of the street!

I passed a couple of interesting shops and then a tiny restaurant advertising sushi and Chinese food, a similar setup to the restaurant by the big Ley. I popped in and had a look at the food on display, which appeared very fresh. The exact same meal that I have at the other place was a couple of pesos cheaper and, overall, better! I didn’t like the main quite as much (the chicken was a little mushy versus crispy), but the hibiscus water, rice, and spring roll were tastier. So now, I have a better (and closer!) place to get  Chinese food when I get a craving for it! Never mind the sushi, though. These stores have Mexican-style sushi (very heavy on the cream cheese), which is not to my taste. I prefer to pay more and have it on Olas Altas or in the Golden Zone, where I can get more authentic fare and super inexpensive octopus nigiri.

I passed this hilarious sign in front of a bar on Gutiérrez Nájera:

IMG_0815 copy

Roughly translated:

Husband Daycare
Does it get heavy around the house?
Does he bother you?
Do you need a break?
We have what you’re looking for!
Leave your husband here and pick him up later!
It’s free. Just pay for his drinks!
We have never lost anyone!

(That last bit especially cracked me up.)

So I’m off tomorrow. I don’t know how vocal I’ll be over the weekend since I’ll be avoiding the computer. I will check in on Facebook now and then.

by

A Day Full of Treasures

I decided to split up the work due tomorrow so that I could take this afternoon and tomorrow morning off. I wanted to go to town to try a restaurant, the reviews for which I stumbled upon on Trip Advisor, and also go to the bank and the grocery store. Tomorrow is riding, of course. 🙂

I wound covering a lot of ground today! Here’s a bird’s eye view (click to embiggen).

map

I started by walking from the embaracadero to Parisina in Centro (red line at the bottom). Parisina is a chain of fabric stores. I wanted something to cover the surfaces in the office because, surprise, a plastic table cloth was unsuitable to cover a desk in a hot humid climate! I forgot just how inexpensive fabric is in Mexico and realised as I browsed that I didn’t have to get something that would to have have another purpose later because I would be paying so little.

I wound up with some super cheap cotton in colours that sort of match the bedspreads on the twin beds in the office:

IMG_0813

I love the purple flowers and that’s quite probably my favourite shade of blue. It was only $40 (3.25CAD or 2.50USD) for two metres! Aesthetics were the only reason to cover the tables. This house is like a prison, with its neutral colours and the bars on the windows, so it’s proven very difficult to make it cozy and homey. This year, I’m adding colour where I can and that is making a huge difference to how happy I am in the house.

I then crossed the street (Benito Juárez) to catch the bus to the Golden Zone. The Sábalo-Cocos ‘local’ bus passed before the ‘tourist’ bus that goes up Avenida del Mar and that was my sign that it was finally time to figure out this bus route because it’s the one that goes by the big Waldo and passes Soriana (multiple ones, I was to learn), Home Depot, and Mega. The ‘local’ buses are super uncomfortable, with hard plastic seats that are so close to the ones in front that my knees are bruised from the ride, but the cost is only $7 versus the $10 for the tourist bus.

Go back up to the map to see the ride I got taken on (blue)! It was a long one, but very educational. What really impressed me is that I knew where I was at all times and was able to correctly guess when we were about to turn onto Rafael Buelna. Now, I know that I can catch this bus at the big Ley or Waldo, or even Soriana or Mega, and take it back down to Juan Carrasco/Gutiérrez Najera if I have only a bit of shopping and don’t mind walking from the intersection to the embarcadero. But the route is way too long to make it worth taking it back from Soriana or Mega with a ton of groceries.

Once we hit Camarón Sábalo, I knew to get off in the vicinity of Panamá so I could head to Playa Gaviotas.

I’ve seen the ads for this guy a few times. I doubt his name is truly Dr. Backman, but, then again, I once knew an electrician named Yvan Laprise (literally sounds like the French for “he sells the electrical outlet”), so who knows!

IMG_0796

The restaurant didn’t open till 1:00 and it was about 12:30, so I wandered around in super touristy Mazatlán, saying “No gracias” a lot to vendors.

Being so early, I decided to check out the “Seashell Museum” (Museo de Conchas), which is really a store full of tchotchkes, with some tiny exhibits upstairs. But you HAVE to go there because of the fountain! I think I stared at it for a full 10 minutes and I’m very annoyed I only had my crappy iPhone camera to capture it!

IMG_0798

IMG_0799

That fountain is a Work of Art. I couldn’t find an inch of it that didn’t absolutely delight me. If I were ever to buy a home by the sea, I would commission an artist to build something like this with seashells for me, perhaps a bathroom counter.

Then, I wandered around in the general area looking for the restaurant, Zab Thai. The address and the claim that it is near the Seashell Museum helped me narrow things down a bit, but it was extremely hard to find. I asked a few people, but no one could be bothered to help if I wasn’t a customer. I finally had the bright idea of putting other businesses into Google so I could essentially triangulate the location I needed and found Zab Thai at the end of a very lonely looking alley:

IMG_0800

An alley that leads to a beach:

IMG_0801

IMG_0802

An alley that holds another business named “Lucky Bastard”!

IMG_0803

I went into the restaurant, which had an English menu but a server who was quite happy to serve me in Spanish. They had just opened and I was the only one there. They apparently do more takeout than eat-in business. The reviews I’d read claimed that Zab Thai is the place to go for authentic Thai in Maz.

I just ordered the chicken Pad Thai, but asked for two stars of spiciness out of three (!) and, for the first time, requested no egg. Pad Thai is something that I crave all the time, but which I haven’t had much luck finding to my taste in quite a while. I can’t articulate what it is about Pad Thai that makes it to my taste or not, I just know what I like.

When the meal arrived, it was alarmingly red:

IMG_0804

(I can’t believe I’m still traumatized by that ketchupy Pad Thai I had on Jarvis Street in Toronto 15 years ago! :D)

I took a tentative bite and almost fell out of my seat. This Pad Thai was perfect. The flavours were just right and I think the red might have come from Sriracha, with the spice level being just right for me. When it was a bit too much, I nibbled on some of the cabbage. I do have to say the chicken was a bit bland, but that’s just being nitpicky. I can’t believe I found this meal in Mexico. I’m pretty sure this Pad Thai is the third best I’ve ever had, after the ones at Siam or Bangkok Palace in Ottawa, Ontario, and the one at the Starfire in Skagway, Alaska! Pad Thai with chicken or pork was just $95! I think with shrimp or a mix was $115. Either price is a bargain for such a great Pad Thai. I find it interesting that two of the best I’ve ever had have been in such tourist trappy-type destinations.

Then, it was time to go to the bank (red route at the top). On the way, I passed this place that has never been open before and so I’ve never noticed it:

IMG_0805

That’s a drive-thru beer pickup place, folks. And I thought ‘Muricans are ridiculous (and terrifying) for having drive-thru liquor stores…

I cut across the McDonald’s parking lot and came across this RV from France!

IMG_0806

IMG_0807

I actually waited a few minutes, hoping to catch the drivers, but gave up.

The walk-in ATM at Scotiabank was down, but, thankfully, their drive-thru one worked. My landlady is going to be so happy to get her December rent early. I don’t think I paid December rent till the 15th or even 20th last year (which I had told her on the day I moved in and she was okay with).

Look at what Soriana had: LEMONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMG_0810

But check out the price compared to the little round limes:

IMG_0811

The Persian limes that look like green lemons were $14 a kilo, still a much better deal. That picture was worse than the one above. I have no idea how people take lovely pictures with their iPhones…

I decided to take a chance and buy some meat (went with hamburger) and saw this in the freezer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen rabbit sold at the grocery store before!

IMG_0812

One of the things on my list was chocolate almond milk for a recipe, but they didn’t have any on the shelf, which surprised me since the little Ley has it and Soriana had every iteration of the plain. A store clerk tapped me on the shoulder, had me turn around, pointed to a pallet in the centre of the aisle, and told me they were having a two-for-one sale on almond milk, one plain bundled with one chocolate!!! $44 for two containers was a steal! I started stocking almond milk last summer for cereal and am glad it’s so inexpensive, even here in Mexico, since I’ll be able to use it to make fruit smoothies!

From Soriana, I took a taxi (green) back to the embaradero. I decided to walk home on this side, sorely underestimating how heavy my shopping was (thanks to the beer I bought in town, which I’ve never done, because I knew the City Deli would be closed, and the almond milk). But there was a ton of traffic (possible funeral procession), so I actually wound up getting home faster than I would have in a taxi, even with all my rest stops!

It’s been a rich, full day!