Mazatlan

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Monday Ride

Mondays are usually my quiet day, so I was happy when riding day changed to it. However, I am having an INSANE Monday! I’m working on a standby project for which I need to be chained to my desk in order to start files immediately when I receive them in order to send them back as fast as humanly possible.

Thankfully, a time zone difference meant that the riding block could still be accommodated, so I got some much needed social time and exercising.

At one point, Janet commented that my English was a bit strained and that I was searching for words. I’ve been doing a lot of transcripts lately from non-English speakers and was working with Hebrew this morning, so I’m finding English to be rather muddled today! My Spanish was in fine form, though, and I chatted at length with our guide about my work and home back in Canada. The informal language lessons are a real bonus!

Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t so great. I rode Diamante again and he was just not there today. He would occasionally stumble, try to trip the other horses, buck, and just stop randomly. I cantered a few times, but he wasn’t in the mood and the rides were not smooth to the point where I was worried about falling off. I requested a different horse for next week and will get one.

It was still a pleasant couple of hours, though! The beach was gorgeous and we did a brief spell through a coconut grove. What a life!

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Breaking Large Notes

I just got back from a quick walk to the City Deli (main Isla grocery store). I wanted to get hot dogs for dinner tonight, having skipped last week, but only had a 200 peso note. You just don’t buy 28 pesos of stuff from a small vendor with a 200 peso note! I also needed more tortillas and you most certainly do not buy 5 pesos worth of tortillas with anything bigger than a 20!

I needed paper towels and yoghurt anyway, so there was a good opportunity to break my big bill. My total was 30 pesos and I got back a 20, a 50, and a 100. I asked if I could have the 50 as two 20s and two 5s (coins). The clerk had no problem with that and asked me if I was heading next door for tortillas! Guess I’m not the first person to do this. 🙂

Now, to break my damn 500 peso note. When I was out at the Mercado on Monday, I made the mistake of buying my blouse with 100 peso notes. I figured that I could get Waldo’s to take one of my 500s, but they refused it, which meant either leaving my purchases or scraping together the money with all my small change. This would mean that I would not have the means to pay for lunch since you don’t pay a 40 peso tab with a 500 in small establishments!

I knew that Dale could spot me for lunch, so I went ahead with the purchase. Thankfully, the apron vendor had heaps of change, which meant that I was able to cover the beer tab and give Dale back the lunch money.

Whew. I guess 500 peso notes are good for the budget in that they make it very hard to spend money, but what a pain! Next withdrawal, I’m going into the bank to ask to have all my 500s broken into 100s. 200s are bad, but having 500s is pretty much like having no money at all, they are so hard to spend unless you are buying very close to 500 pesos of stuff!

And by the way, quinientos, not cincocientos. 🙂

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Early Morning Chill

I always put the laundry on first thing when I get up and I was blasted by cold air when I stepped out the door around 6:15! It was only 9C/48F outside! I started the machine, then went back inside for a cardigan and a five peso coin before heading ‘downtown’ to pick up some tortillas.

Isla residents rise early, so there was already quite a bustle on the streets. It’s neat to watch children and workers not only leave Isla to come to work, but also arrive on Isla for work. I encountered one of the servers from a beach restaurant arriving from Maz, which surprised me. Isla feels so much like a suburb, not an employment destination!

Tortilla production was in full swing when I arrived. I now know how to order them like a local. The Gringos usually use their fingers to show the stack size they want, but locals arrive with exact change and specify a monetary amount. Five pesos is just right for me to have some the first day and then pop a few in the freezer for the next day or two. I’ve been buying too many eight peso stacks from the boy who goes door to door and they go stale in the freezer before I can finish them.

Bread is cheap in Mexico, but whenever I buy tortillas, bread comes off as being expensive! I’ve been having too much bread lately, not aided by the fact that the veggie guy has been selling some really nice buns. So I did the smart thing, bought a bunch of buns, got them out of my system, and now never want to see another bun for the rest of my life (or at least the winter 🙂 ).

There’s really nothing nicer in the morning than a still hot from the tortilleria tortilla with bit of grated cheese that just softens, not melts, from the residual heat. Well, unless it’s also accompanied by strong Mexican coffee! 🙂

Off to work I go. Going to be a full few days into next week, but nothing too tedious and I’ll have my evenings off.

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Horseback Riding, Safari, and Language Lessons

Well, it’s been another amazing day on Isla! I went riding for the second time and our one hour ride turned into TWO! Wow! We were taken all over Isla to the point that most of us were completely lost. Remember, Isla is not actually an island and there is a lot of ground to cover!

We started on the beach.

Heading onto the beach for the first part of the ride. We did lots of cantering!

Heading onto the beach for the first part of the ride. We did lots of cantering!

Love low tide on the beach.

Love low tide on the beach.

What a great surface for a canter!

What a great surface for a canter!

As if any reminders were needed that I have the best life ever. :D

As if any reminders were needed that I have the best life ever. 😀

And then we headed inland.

Heading into the coconut grove.

Heading into the coconut grove.

We saw several coati (téjón). Our guide was adamant that they are not raccoons and I look forward to telling him next week that they are in the same family as raccoons. 🙂

Fields of squash.

Fields of squash.

And then our ride turned into a safari. I wasn’t very quick with the camera, unfortunately.

We passed a turtle.

We passed a turtle.

Mrs. (?) Turtle posed for a picture.

Mrs. (?) Turtle posed for a picture.

I saw cranes and FLAMINGOS here!

I saw cranes and FLAMINGOS here!

I saw where mangoes come from!

Heading into the mango grove.

Heading into the mango grove.

It felt like a whole other world in there!

It felt like a whole other world in there!

The mangoes are just starting to come in.

The mangoes are just starting to come in.

We did some literal bushwhacking:

Heading into the bush. Our guide was ahead hacking a path with a machete!

Heading into the bush. Our guide was ahead hacking a path with a machete!

These cacti looked like an alien creature.

These cacti looked like an alien creature.

We came to a part of Isla that was once used for playing baseball.

We emerged on a flood plain.

We emerged on a flood plain.

The remains of a horse.

The remains of a horse.

More of the alien cacti.

More of the alien cacti.

Coconut graveyard.

Coconut graveyard.

We passed a people graveyard.

The old cemetery.

The old cemetery.

And came to a new graveyard. I was riding in the back and the guide yelled out “Chica that speakay Spani, comay translate!’ (with all due respect to him and his accent!). We all joked that our rides are just a cover for language lessons!

The new cemetery. The folks resting here are all immediate family of our guide.

The new cemetery. The folks resting here are all immediate family of our guide.

Those of us who had been to New Orleans were reminded of its graveyards.

Those of us who had been to New Orleans were reminded of its graveyards.

Heading back towards the main road.

Heading back towards the main road.

This truck is just like mine. It once passed me on The Road and the driver yelled out 'Hola, gemela' (Hi, twin)!

This truck is just like mine. It once passed me on The Road and the driver yelled out ‘Hola, gemela’ (Hi, twin)!

Pretty flowers at the stable.

Pretty flowers at the stable.

Pretty dang good value for 100 pesos, huh?

I’m not nearly as sore as I was last week at this time as my saddle and stirrups were much more comfortable. My horse was a little headstrong, did a lot of head tossing, and was uncomfortable to ride at walk and trot, but was soooo smooth at canter! I could have cantered all afternoon on him!

We’re riding again on Monday. Can’t wait!

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Monday Lunch Date

Dale confirmed this morning our tentative plans to meet at the Mercado today for lunch. I’d been up early working and was eager for a break, so I took off around 10:00 to do some shopping before meeting her at noon.

My first stop was the clothing aisle in the Mercado, where I wanted to buy a peasant blouse in dark purple or rose. I found a shop that looked promising and had lower prices than the one where I bought my dresses.

I thought that the clerk was very good. I said I wanted a blouse and didn’t know how to say peasant style, so I showed a dress with a bodice in that style and she understood. We then went through colours and she dug deep to find exactly what I wanted. I didn’t feel pressured.

I love the detailing at the sleeves and down the front, but not the boxy shape. I'll see if I can find someone who can nip in the waist a little.

I love the detailing at the sleeves and down the front, but not the boxy shape. I’ll see if I can find someone who can nip in the waist a little.

I was able to knock 60 pesos off the quoted price and got it for 290 pesos.

It’s been so long since I’ve bought nice new clothes that the prices never cease to amaze me, but, really, $24 for a nice top is nothing!

Then, I did an amble around the area, just to see what was open on a late Monday morning before ending up at Waldo’s to get a few things on my list. Dale was coming into Waldo’s as I was coming out; good timing!

She did her shopping, then we went back to the Mercado for a bit before going upstairs for lunch. Unfortunately, my enchiladas today, while tasty, were nowhere near as yummy as they were last time. Dang! But we still came out of there stuffed for 90 pesos, including the tip, for both of us!

We did a bit more shopping after and I finally found an apron in the style I’ve been looking for, which I was able to bargain down to a mere 70 pesos, so I snatched it up. I’ll have to see if I can find a seamstress to put a few darts it as it is definitely made for a stereotypically corpulent abuela, but the price was too good to not grab it!

Pinafore-style apron, a bit shorter than what I would have liked. The colour scheme is acceptable and I love the pockets in the front. It is *huge* though! :)

Pinafore-style apron, a bit shorter than what I would have liked, but I’ve never seen in person an apron in this style in any length. I bought my last one on Etsy! The colour scheme is acceptable and I love the large pockets in the front. It is *huge* though! 🙂

I was initially quoted six dollars in English and I asked in Spanish for a price in pesos. That wound up being 75 (15 pesos less than the USD price). I countered with 60 pesos and the lady said the best she could do was 70. Shop in the currency of the country you’re in, folks! 🙂

Dale then wanted to show me a new bar she’s discovered that has photographs of old Maz along the walls. It’s called Edgar’s and the beer was cheap. Two Tecates were just 37 pesos!

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The sign made me laugh “Ladies welcome (GentlemAn also)”

We looked at a bit more clothes after as Dale was looking for a blouse and I was looking for a skirt, but we struck out. We parted ways at the corner of Leandro Valle and Aquiles Serdán, where she got on a bus and I headed off towards the panga.

En route, I stopped in at Ley to see if they had my favourite yoghurt in stock. They had one, yay! There was another flavour there that made me curious as there was an ingredient I wasn’t sure about. I asked a lady next to me if ‘pasas son uvas secas’ (literally ‘pasas are dried grapes’) and she looked at me for a moment looking rather bemused before smiling and saying yes. I will try the raisin one the next time I see it!

I can’t believe it’s quarter to four already as I have work to do unless I want to be working by 6:00 again tomorrow. But I have to say that the break in routine was really welcome!