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I couldn’t believe the dog I woke to this morning. I crouched down to greet Bonita and she jumped up and almost knocked me over! She’s also getting much better at coming onto the couch by herself and will come back even if she jumps off to investigate something. I’m thinking I’m going to have to drape the couches in sheets since she’s starting to want to lounge there even if I’m not in the living room and she doesn’t always stick to her blanket. I don’t want to discourage that since I want her on the couch when I’m there and I don’t want to confuse her about whether or not it’s okay. If she was younger, I’d train her to only come up when I’M there, but at her age, there are battles not worth fighting. It makes me happy to find her snuggled on a comfy surface rather than lying on hard pavement or tiles, even if the tiles are cool.

I had a short errand planned for today. Ever since I went to the Slow Food Market way back in August, I’ve been hankering to go back. But it’s not the kind of place that’s fun to visit if you’re on a super tight budget. Things are going pretty well right now, even with the visa renewal and new passport fees coming up, so I decided that I’d find 90 minutes or so today to pop down there, pick up a few treasures, and then come back to work a full day.

Bonita is doing really well with these short absences. It wouldn’t be fair to her to go out all day, but going out for a few hours is proving to be absolutely fine. Absence makes the heart fonder and all that!

Getting to the Slow Food Market from my house is absurdly easy and convenient. Click on the map to embiggen to see where I caught buses. The bus down is just one house from me and I didn’t have to wait for one this morning. I got off at the corner of Calle 62 and Avenida Cupules and then just had to walk two blocks to the market. When I was done, it was just shy of about four blocks down 72 and Avenida Colon to catch a bus on Calle 60 by the Hyatt Hotel. Then, off at the Instituto Tecnológico on Calle 60 and three blocks to home!

When I first heard about the market, I thought that it was a “Gringo thing,” but not at all. I’d say there were more Mexican vendors than Gringos and customers were about 50/50. The products are all local and mostly “organic.”

I wandered a bit at first to see what was available and then I started to avail myself of free samples. First thing that went into my shopping bag was a jar of pesto. Then, a bakery tempted me with loaves of apple/cinnamon/raisin and sun-dried tomato bread. I knew I’d have to slice them up and toss them in the freezer soon as I got home as there was no way I could eat them before they went bad! I found a basil plant that I need to find a pot to put it in and which I plan to really nurture. I’m almost out of the dried basil my neighbour Caroline had me take with me — really at the rationing phase — so it’s time to grow and dry my own!

Some Americans were selling pork ribs, pulled pork, and bacon. I was able to sample everything and it was hard not to buy one of each! But I have not bought bacon since I came to Mexico (!) so I splurged on their maple bacon. Next to last stop was one of the many vegan vendors, a lady who had nice trays of prepared lunches. I sampled a bunch of things and bought a tray of her lentil cakes with a side of cherry tomatoes. Finally, I sampled some spread made of cocoa and agave syrup and splurged on that.

The bacon was $80, the chocolate spread was $155, I believe the bread was about $140 for two loaves, the pesto was around $80, the basil was only $30, and the lentil cakes were $50. So I spent about $535 (about 37CAD). The chocolate spread was really the only thing that made me go woah, but this was a morning where I promised myself I’d buy anything I sampled that I liked, so I did!

I hadn’t eaten before setting out. There are a couple of restaurants at the market, but the one that was most appealing for breakfast I could not figure out how to get service at, even when asking the harried waiters. I decided that they didn’t need my business and instead found a couple running a tiny stand selling burritos, tacos, and tostadas. I got two tacos with chicken, peppers, rice, beans, cheese, pickled onions, and hot red sauce — think of Tex-Mex-style burrito filling on corn tortillas! I paired those with a delicious strawberry and watermelon agua fresca, all for $50. YUM! Sorry for the lack of pictures — my hands were full!

I left around 9:15 and was back around 10:45, mostly thanks to not having to wait for buses. Nice easy trip! I definitely could not justify going to Slow Food every weekend, but hopefully it’s a treat that I’ll be able to fit in every four to six weeks from now on.

I was on standby to transcribe a hearing today that got cancelled due to a big snowstorm. So that probably makes me the first person in the tropics to get a snow day!

I slept pretty late and planned to hang out a bit with Bonita then take advantage of the cooler(ish) weather and the overcast conditions to walk to centro just for a leg stretch and a change of scenery. But then I remembered that I’m expecting a courier delivery and that Thursday is water delivery day so I decided not to stray too far from home.

Bonita had had quite the night. Yesterday evening was the first time she jumped onto the couch on her own when I wasn’t there and I found her IN HER BED this morning. Not even a week here and she’s learning to appreciate soft things!

Once I sat down with my coffee, she not only joined me on the couch on her own, but SNUGGLED!

We sat for a couple of hours and when she decided to go for a leg stretch, so did I. I went to the full service vet clinic on Calle 60 to see if they had her meds and to get an idea of how much their services are (very pricey compared to the clinic in Chelem, but they are convenient). The meds were $405 but I didn’t have to pay for any of the ones she came with as they had been donations, so I’m getting off easy. I did have to pay a $550 adoption fee for her, so with food and supplies I’m at over 150CAD spent on her in a week. She’s worth it. 🙂 I know I couldn’t have afforded a dog in Canada!

I puttered for the rest of the afternoon and when the water came a bit early, before four, I decided to head to centro on the bus, arriving at 4:15. First order of business was an ice cream and then I just wandered aimlessly, sort of looking at clothing as I need a whole wardrobe, but I’m having a hard time finding cuts and colours and fabrics that I like. I hit the central market and was impressed by how its recent refreshing actually has made a difference — it smells like spices and cooking food now instead of urine and damp.

I’m really not sure how I killed two hours, but to my surprise, I did. The food carts were coming out and having had tacos last night, a hot dog was appealing. I found a cart where there was still room to sit and ordered a hot dog with everything except mayo. The cook still confirmed that I wanted the jalapeños (yep). The dog came with the chiles plus bacon, onion, ketchup, mustard, and “nacho cheese,” which I have to confess I really like with jalapeños. It was surprisingly huge so I’m glad I only ordered the one, and it was only 8.50 pesos (about 56 cents). Cheap supper!

As I headed to find a bus after, I popped into a store that seemed to have nice affordable things and got some real help! A clerk sized me up and helped me select some dresses, skirts, and blouses that she thought might suit. The tops weren’t really to my taste, but I wanted to see what a local thought would be fashionable and look good on me. Of the nine pieces I tried on, only one really fit — my curves are in the wrong place! But the piece was a pretty skirt with embroidery that would go with everything I own and at $180, the price was more than right! I was very happy with the experience. I really need a new wardrobe, so this was a solid start. I did learn that like in the US/Canada, I’m a medium here and the clerk thinks that numbers-wise, I’m probably a 38 (same as in Spain), so that was helpful as now I’ll be able to more easily browse.

I then found a bus with no trouble and next thing I knew, I was popping into the beer store to get a cold one before walking the final block to home where…

Bonita was super excited to see me and came up for cuddles!!!! What a greeting! Soon as I settled on the couch, she joined me and she’s snuggling again. <3 She’s been here a full week now and her real personality is coming out. After a few days of her being so scared and sedate, it’s wonderful to see her running around playfully. She’s still not a the point of wanting to play with me, but I can see that that will come. A week ago, she did spend a few evening hours on the couch with me, but it took coaxing and she was at arm’s length. Right now, she’s here of her own volition and snuggled against me. This is much better and faster progress than I anticipated.

I thought my snow day would stretch into a four-day weekend, but, of course, work has come in so it’s back to the grindstone tomorrow. I’m grateful I got my snow day and so much quality time with Bonita!

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