Restaurants

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A Perfect Day For an Impromptu Beach Lunch

I was having a frustrating work day, so at 3:30 I decided to go for a late lunch/early dinner on the beach to regroup. It was a perfect day for an impromptu beach lunch because it was cold and overcast. So the beach wasn’t busy and there was service at the restaurants.

Something told me to go to El Velero, so I did. I wasn’t going to get anything heavy to eat but then conceded that the reason I wanted to go to El Velero was for the coconut shrimp with the pineapple dipping sauce. So I indulged. 🙂

My timing was perfect since I ran into friends who are heading back to Quebec tomorrow. So we and another couple had a beer together, I ate, and we gals perused the jewelry from our favourite vendor!

Last week, I found a “placeholder” pendant to tide me over until I find something more permanent to replace the scarab I lost on the beach:

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The gals have several years of experience buying jewelry on the beach here and confirmed that the $150 I bargained the pendant down to was what it’s worth. So I’m pleased with my bargaining skills. I know an octopus wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, but it sure is to mine (literally — yum!) and I love the detail on the legs with all the suckers.

Today, I picked up a pretty ring:

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I don’t need to haggle with this vendor since he always gives me his best price, in this case $100! Again, that’s pesos folks, so just 7.70CAD for the ring.

It wound up being a longer break than I had expected, but the social time did me a world of good. Now, back to typing!

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Crap, the Revenge!

I was invited today to the Crap Grudge Match at Palapa El Mirador/Chivos Beach. I wasn’t going to miss my chance to take my revenge and possibly win the trophy! I arrived around noon and was one the last to show up, contrary to last time. Thankfully, everyone had waited to start!

Chivos Beach was pretty as a postcard.

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Here’s one of the two targets with some rocks in it, just to give you a visual on what the game looks like (go to my previous post to get more details).

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Even though I’d had three beers before my first round, I still managed to win it at the very last second and go to round two! There, I was profoundly defeated… Oh, well. 🙂

Lunch was the shrimp quesadillas, which were very tasty and came with a nice smoky salsa that wasn’t too spicy.

The tide was very low on this side when I walked home around 3:30.

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Lots of people are going home in the next few weeks, so a lot of goodbyes were said. The winter is winding down…

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A New Dress and Lunch at El Fish Market

I went back to town today in search of my friend’s elusive publication as I had finally ascertained that it was going on sale today. I left around 11:30 after doing some work.

The embarcadero on the Maz side has had a new ramp since I got back from Mérida. Was very pleased to see that since the old one was starting to get scary.

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The lady who works the deli counter at the City Deli was on the lancha with me and asked if I wanted to split a pulmonía. I was tempted, but I really did want the walk so I declined. She was taken aback by the fact that I was going to the Mercado on foot and said, “In this heat?!” I replied, “It’s just normal heat…” “Well, you’re strong!” I’m not the only “walker” I know who has no trouble doing so in this weather. Just stay on the shady side of the street if possible and hydrate!

I got to the Mercado and asked a few vendors about the publication, but no one had heard of it, unfortunately. I know that it’s a European newspaper with an online American edition, so it’s probably like getting a UK newspaper in Canada where you can only find one at specialty shops in larger cities. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck with a digital edition.

Next stop was a dress vendor. I really love my pink dress and always get so many compliments about it. It is a very flattering style on me and I have been thinking for weeks of trying to find another one that is very similar. Here’s the pink one:

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It has some really nice embroidery at the bottom:

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And the bodice has some gorgeous detailing.

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I sort of remembered where I bought the pink one and started in that corner of the Mercado. A vendor immediately zeroed in on me. I said I was looking for a dress like the one I was wearing, only in dark turquoise or dark blue. She said, “¡No problema!” and pulled this out. Seriously.

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It is very, very similar to the pink one, but has some differences. The hem embroidery has hearts:

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The bodice has embroidery instead of the lacy panel insert and cords:

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But the sleeves are fancy and have the same type of insert as the bodice on the pink one:

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Here it is on me with my huge Mérida hat! By the way, I look like a tourist dressed like this! Mexican ladies might do a lot of makeup, heals, and fancy hairdos, but they are still usually in just jeans and a nice top.

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I asked the lady how much and she said $380. I had driven a really hard bargain to get the pink one for $330, so I countered the $380 with that number. The lady immediately said yes. So either she was conceding that I knew what the dress was worth or I could have gotten a better deal. Who knows. But I’m happy with the price! A couple of weeks ago, it would have been a 28CAD dress, but today it’s just 25CAD! 🙂

Next stop was lunch. Contessa has raved many times about both grilled dorado (mahi-mahi) and the restaurant El Fish Market, so with her having been to the restaurant recently, it was on my mind. It helps that I’m still “meated out” from Mérida and only in the mood for fish, seafood, and beans. So I decided to go check out the restaurant. I requested the Spanish menu after being handed the English one. It’s a bit more work, but it’s good vocabulary practice. I was surprised that the prices were as reasonable as they are. There were lots of choices under $100 and I think the most expensive platter, a whole grilled octopus, was $200. Beer was $22.

Everything looked delicious and it took quite a bit of time to decide on the grilled dorado. I was really tempted by octopus, but the most appealing way they offered it was in a taco, which wasn’t what I was in the mood for. Plus, I’ve heard so much about the dang dorado that I really needed to see what the fuss was all about!

The dorado was $150 and a very generous portion came lightly seasoned with soy sauce over a bed of romaine lettuce with chipotle coleslaw and potato wedges. The fish was absolutely perfect, so flaky and juicy, with a nicely caramelised bottom. I’m always nervous about creamy coleslaw because of mayonnaise, but this one was too good not to take a chance on. It got spicier and spicier the more I ate it. The potatoes were disappointing, though, as they are the stock frozen McCain seasoned wedges that I’ve seen at many stops between northern Yukon and the Yucatán. I had one bite of them and that was it. Had this meal had a nice rice pilaf it would have been a 6/5 (really), but the potatoes put it at a 4/5. I am very likely going to have this meal again one more time and I will ask for it without potatoes but with a couple of corn tortillas instead.

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Yummy lunch with a view!

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My bill was a mere $172! I really hadn’t expected El Fish Market to be this affordable for this type of restaurant. Service was really good, too, closer to what you get NOB, with the server being very attentive and checking in on you. I gave him $200 and he came back with a pile of change for me to make it easier for me to sort out a tip (smart kid). I told him to keep it all and he was obviously very happy with that. It was about a 16% tip, not great for back home, but very good for down here as 10% is the recommended amount. I usually tip around the 15% mark unless the service was particularly bad.

For the trip home, I ended up getting a seat on the fancy lancha with a bathroom. For this one, the captain sits at the front and has a wheel and a throttle (I’m not a boater, so excuse me for getting the terms wrong). It was a lot more work to navigate than just using an outboard motor and docking was difficult.

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It was another great day in Centro, days that are numbered, I’m afraid… The urge to have a cold beer on the Malecón will not be ignored from this point forward as who knows when, and if, I will get a chance to do that again once I leave next month…

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Caught in the Act

Running dangerously low on coffee, I put in a good morning of work and then headed out just after 12:30. I walked to the Fisherman’s Monument to grab a bus and as I did, a group of six tourists passed me sounding very unsure of how to get back to their hotel and nervous that they hadn’t seen an auriga (pickup truck taxi) in some time. I asked where they were going and it was near the marina, so I told them they should just get on the bus. They replied that that’s actually what they wanted to do, but couldn’t remember which one or where to grab it.

I ask if they were looking for the Camarón-Sábalo bus and they said yes. Then were very happy to learn they were at the right place to catch it and that they’d be saving at least 40 if not 60 pesos, on top of having an adventure for the grandkids about taking a city bus in Mexico. I waved the bus down for them, helped them buy tickets, and told them to hang on to their tickets in case an inspector came on board. They met other people from their hotel on the bus, so they were fine from that point on. I wish I’d thought to ask people about the bus a lot sooner than I did last year as I wasted a lot of money taking taxis to and from the Golden Zone!

I got off in front of the Santander bank almost next to Mary’s, which is almost next to Rico’s. Thankfully, Rico’s had Veracruz dark roast so my long journey had not been in vain.

Next stop was supposed to be the Thai restaurant, but they’re on my barred list now as well because they are rarely open when they say they will be open. 🙁 It’s twice now that I’ve purposely arrived 1.5 hours after they are suppose to open and they weren’t. Friends of mine here on Isla have made the trip there multiple times to have the same thing happen to them. Shame because the food is so good. I regretted organising my schedule around theirs today because there I was at almost 3:00 p.m., ravenous, and not near any other really affordable food except for the taco place. I actually wasn’t in the mood for tacos, but went there anyway and had their “huarache loco al pastor,” which was a soft maize base topped with beans, al pastor meat, and cheese, serve with avocado and lettuce (and a bunch of salsas). It was about three times as big as I would have expected for the price, so I didn’t come close to finishing it. Al pastor meat is different in Maz than what I’ve tried in Durango and Mérida and I like this version best!

Since I was in the area, I stopped in at Mega in the hope of finding hummus. And did I! They had just stocked up and they had dozens of tubs of all sorts of flavours all with an expiry date of a couple of days past when I need to be out of the country next month! I grabbed six giant tubs (four plain, two roasted red pepper) as well as a huge packet of pita and headed for the checkout. As I was waiting patiently for the person in front of me to pay, I heard behind me, “What is that?!” in Spanish.

I turned and burst out laughing when I saw my server from Ta’Loco! I explained that it’s hummus, an Arabic snack or spread (untable) and gave the list of ingredients. He said it looked like ice cream and I laughed and said no, it’s salty. I gave him tips on how to eat it and said that I love it for breakfast. His reply, “I learn something new every day. But I don’t like new foods!”

I was still chuckling as I headed out of Mega. I mean, what are the odds that someone I know would be in line behind me while I’m buying enough hummus to get me through the apocalypse?!

Having an errand to run around the Mercado, I caught the bus back to Centro. It was standing room only most of the way and I was glad to get there. First stop was the agua fresca vendor I favour and I asked if she had smaller sizes than a litre. Yes! The smaller glass wasn’t as good value, but it made more sense. Thirst quenched (and guayaba craving satisfied), I visited several magazine vendors looking for something for a friend, but struck out. I did get a nice pair of earrings from my favourite vendor. She hadn’t had anything I liked in a while, so I was pleased about that. She recognised that I was wearing one of her pairs. At $10 a pair (yes, pesos!), they’re fantastic value.

Nearly done in, I schlepped to my last stop of the day, Ley, and had to resist buying out all their pineapple coconut yoghurt since it was half price! What a deal!

I found this at Ley:

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Looks like a spiny chayote? Anyone know what it was? I asked a guy, but he was too busy laughing at me poking at it to see if it was spiny like a cactus (almost) to be of any help!

My bags were pretty heavy by this point, so I decided to treat myself to a pulmonía since there was one right there. It would have been cheaper to take one on this side instead, but the walk on this side doesn’t have hills!

Oh, and if anyone is paying attention to what I said in my last post, I came home without headphones. 🙁 The brand Croft directed me too is too cheap for me to take a chance on. Soriana and Mega’s electronic departments had nothing. I think it may be easier (and cheaper) to find someone capable of fixing them than to buy another pair. Very frustrating.

I think I’ll call today a draw since I came home with hummus, coffee, and earrings, but without Pad Thai, a magazine, or headphones!

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A Fool’s Errand

It was not a good return to work this morning. My brand new headphones were malfunctioning (sound only coming out of one ear) and a key piece of software I use to transcribe was disabled. I could work with my earbuds, but not without the software. So I spent a bit of time finding a potential replacement before going to town. With the current CAD/MXN exchange rate being as good as it is, I wanted to make a large withdrawal. Since there is a Scotiabank right next to Office Depot, where I bought the headphones, it made sense to go all the way out to Rafael Buelna in the hopes of getting a refund or replacement on my headphones. My receipt said they will do refunds within 60 days as long as you have the original packing and receipt, so I figured I had at least a fighting chance.

I saw a rather unique lancha when I got to Maz. It had a bathroom!

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Since I didn’t have much time today to go clear across town and back, I had a first — taking a pulmonía both ways on my own! This was my best ride ever. The driver only charged me $60 and took me on a super convoluted traffic-avoiding route by the outskirts of Juárez and down Insurgentes. When we got to the corner of Insurgents and Carretera Internacional, the driver asked if I was lost. Nope, I told him, the other Scotiabank is about 3KM to our left. He was suitably impressed and asked why I didn’t go to that one. Then, we ended up chatting the rest of the drive to the bank (Insurgentes becoming Marina, and then we turned left on Rafael Buelna). The red in this is roughly the route we took to get to Marina (we did a lot more turns), and the grey and orange are the most direct route. It’s probably not that much more mileage, but it’s a whole other Maz.

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I was able to make the withdrawal I wanted to make by splitting it up into increments of $6,000. I then went in and had my $500 bills turned into $100s, $50s, and $20s, plus a bit of change. The counting machines make this job very easy and quick, but the lady still manually recounted everything, the first time I’ve had a teller do that.

Then, I went next door to Sole Mare to grab a bite to eat. I won’t be having lunch there again; the food is too much like the average fare you get at any chain restaurant up north. My “piña colada” iced tea was an interesting red colour, but tasted good. The sandwich was pretty lackluster though, just a very thin slice of processed turkey with lots of black olives (yes, I eat such things now and they’re the reason I picked that sandwich!), romaine, tomato, onion, avocado, and melted gouda on a bland bun. I asked for no mushrooms and the cook subbed chiles curtidos for them. Rather funny, but I’m always happy not to be treated like a Gringo when it comes to spicy stuff now. 🙂

Office Depot was hopping when I got there. They were having some sort of sale or promotion and it was a mad house. I always feel like I don’t speak a lick of Spanish when I go there because they make no effort at meeting me halfway speech speed-wise and today was no exception. It took ages for me to get to the head of the line of the customer service desk and then I was ignored for a bit until they were ready to deal with me. The clerk called the manager and she sneered at me and said that there is no refund on electronics past seven days! It’s not on the receipt, but it is on the wall behind the customer service desk. And then, she told me to leave/not make a fuss because they were busy. I found my Spanish again and told her that was fine and that I’ll never shop there again. That I’m leaving Maz next month for good is neither here nor there. I’d find another place to buy my office goods since I’ve always disliked shopping there.

Next stop was Soriana and they didn’t have much on my list. Between that and this being my third time in a row where I had a hard time finding a taxi upon exiting, I wouldn’t be shopping at that store anymore also. Knowing the buses the way I do now, I’d do the Insurgentes Soriana instead. At least when I did find a taxi, he only charged me $60. It’s normally $70 home from Soriana. I did well on my rides today! This driver took the more direct route that I would have taken last year when driving, Marina to Carretera Internacional becoming Ejército Mexicano becoming Juan Carrasco, then left on Gutiérrez-Najera, then the jog to the embarcadero. There was so much traffic and the drive took ages!

The lancha was packed like a sardine, with me being the last to board and grateful that I barely had anything and what I did have that was bulky was flexible (paper goods)! I didn’t need a taxi on this side.

When I got in, I promptly put the rent together and went to see if my landlady was home. She was a bit startled by the huge pile of bills I gave her and I explained that I have a hard time spending $500s, so I have them changed at the bank now. She was very grateful for that. I tend to give her a mix of bills most months, but usually pay in mostly $200s and $500s. So a stack of 55 $100s was rather impressive!

I came back home and decided to see if Sony could help me with my headphones issue. Sony Mexico claimed that my headphones were only supposed to be sold in Canada (!) and so they couldn’t help me. Sony Canada said that since I bought them in Mexico, they can’t help me. So I’m out about 30CAD and I have to start the process of finding a new set all over again. Croft gave me a tip for a Mexican brand that has a storefront on Zaragoza, so I’ll pop over there tomorrow or Thursday and see what they have. Office Depot and Sony both lost a customer today. And I learned that while Mexico may have many of the same stores as the Canada and the U.S., it obviously does not have the same consumer protections at those stores. I’m going to have to research this before I start making any expensive purchases in Mexico, including appliances.