January 29, 2015 by Rae

Out and About In Mazatlán

I covered a lot of ground today!

Even though I had work to do today, I took the afternoon off to visit my friend Dale who has moved to the Mar Rosa trailer park in the Golden Zone. I left around 11:45, took the panga, and walked to the Malecón to catch a bus.

En route, I passed a licuado (milkshake) bar that also did fresh juices, so I stopped and bought a ‘small’ grapefruit juice. I think it had the juice of four whole grapefruits in it! It was really hot, I’d been walking for more than a mile, and the water I’d brought wasn’t cutting it. The juice did the trick!

A bus zoomed by me just as I arrived at Camarón Sabalo, the boulevard that parallels the Malecón, so I walked a few blocks to the first dedicated bus stop with shade and a bench to wait for the next one. It was a very long wait, more than 15 minutes, which surprised me.

After that, it was stop and go all the way to the RV park. I thought it was further past my cousin’s hotel than it was, so I would have missed it had a bunch of people not gotten off there, too. Not that it would have been a huge deal to miss it since I did see the sign for it as we passed, so I could have had the driver stop as soon as it was safe to do so and doubled back on foot.

Mar Rosa is a pretty nice RV park with a good location. It has high walls, so it’s not as noisy as you’d expect. The caveat is that it is super tight to navigate. It’s really a small rig park, although some bigger rigs wiggle their way in.

Dale’s full-time home!

What a gorgeous rig!

This is the kind of RV I’m thinking of moving to, a rugged camper van that could handle rough roads.

Dale wanted to have lunch and suggested a nearby restaurant with cheap, basic, good food, which sounded fine to me. I am not going to name the restaurant because I want to share something funny and don’t want to get them into trouble. You see, they served us beer, but billed us for chocolate milks, which tells me they were not licensed…

And this what they served us for 30 pesos each:

This cup held TWO 355mL beers.

It’s a good thing Pacific is a fairly low alcohol content beer or we would have fallen asleep!

I ordered their 30 peso hamburger and was served a cheeseburger (not complaining). That burger was SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I like hamburgers with seasoning in the patty and this one had plenty of flavour. The bun was also good and there was no pickle relish, but there were sweet pickles, and they had mustard. The Golden Zone still isn’t a place I’d want to stay, but it’s getting more and more worthy of a visit. 🙂

Meh fries and a burger worth going all the way to the Golden Zone for!!! I’ll skip the fries next time.

After lunch, we walked down to Rico’s Cafe so I could get coffee. I never did get used to the Looney Bean stuff, finding it too weak for my tastes. I bought a full pound of Rico’s Veracruz beans, coarse ground, for an absurd 128 pesos. I used to pay almost $20 per HALF pound of beans when I lived in Gatineau.

Then, Dale and I went back to Mar Rosa so I could see the beach. It is quite different from our Isla beach, especially in the sand. I think the difference is that we’re rather sheltered and this is more open ocean.

The sand was black. Very curious.

I got in plenty of cuddle time with her Boys:

Chester, who is about seven, and very affectionate. He’s always glad to see me. I just called his name and he posed for me.

Beamer (as in the car) is about twelve. He also turned his head when I called him.

Chester found shade under my legs, LOL. He's licking my ankles in this shot!

Chester found shade under my dress, LOL! He’s licking my ankles in this shot!

Dale offered to drive me back to the panga! Wow, what a treat! She’s been driving around and is comfortable going to certain places. I told her I wanted to hit the Ley and she said that was fine or she could take me to Mega or Walmart if I preferred. I accepted that offer and we headed off to Soriana. I’ve never been to a Mega, but I know that Soriana’s prices are better, and I prefer to support a Mexican company. Getting to Soriana was very easy since it’s on Rafael Buelna, which terminates at Camarón Sabalo, and more of a detour than Mega, but on the way to Walmart.

I didn’t have much money for groceries and hadn’t brought cloth bags or ice packs, so I wasn’t tempted to get a ton of stuff, but I did look at the offerings, marveling at seeing things like HUMMUS. Dale found my shock at the low prices hilarious. For example, 18 pesos for a giant box of peppermint tea?! I came home with it!

Navigating a Mexican grocery store now comes more naturally than the first time I tried it seven years ago in Tijuana. I remember being in the Gigante, famished, and wanting to buy some pan dulce, but not understanding how the process worked and being too overwhelmed to ask.

To buy baked goods in Mexico, you need to grab a tray and tongs. You then select what you want and bring the tray to a weigh station where it will be bagged and priced. Baked goods are so cheap that you will be tempted to get one of everything, but remember that they don’t use preservatives, so your goodies will only be good for a few days!

All I bought today were four rolls, but it was hard not to walk out with some pan chocolate (chocolate croissants)! 🙂

When we had come into the store, I took the sales flier, just like I would get in a CDN or US grocery store, and saw that the big Lala yoghurts were half price. So I headed to the dairy section next and got the last mango one!

I picked up a few more things, including Post-It notes from their office supply section because I way under packed my office! Unfortunately, they were out of paper clips. Dale was amused that I completely blanked out on the English word for those. I have no idea of the Spanish word either. I just knew I wanted trombones…

I came out of there loaded down with toilet paper, cheese, yoghurt, bacon, fresh bread, butter, and a few other goodies for 274 pesos. I continue to find prices here absurd. 🙂

And speaking of butter, I really do think I’ve solved the Mexican butter issue. As long as you buy it ‘sin sal’ (no salt), you will get butter like back home, not the movie popcorn tasting stuff!

Now comes a good example of what makes Dale and me such a strong team. I knew what road to take to get to the embarcadero, but not how to get to the road. Dale knew how to get to this road, but did not know it would take us to the embarcadero! So between the two of us, we made it to the panga easily. It’s wonderful to know my way around now!

My bags were awkward for the walk home when I arrived on Isla and I was really glad to get in. I really do want to do a big Soriana trip next week and while I had planned on a pulmonía ride to the panga on the Maz side, I think I will add one on this side, too. Yes, I could take my truck to the embarcadero, but getting it out of this yard is such a pain that I’d rather pay the 30 or so pesos instead!

Well, I’d better get to work. Going to be another late night, but I then I can sleep in tomorrow. I have work through the weekend, but they won’t be long days. I put in a lot of extra hours this week because I was paid bonus money, which really made taking the workload worth my time!

January 24, 2015 by Rae

Relocating the Hurt

There is a québécois expression that says, “changer le mal de place.” Literally, it means relocating the hurt. More figuratively, it means taking a break from a tedious routine. Having had a few tough work days, knowing that the week ahead is going to be brutal, and being blessed with easy files for today, I decided to take a long lunch break in Maz.

How wonderful it is for the city to be so close by that I can get there, meander around, have a meal, shop, and be home in just two and a half hours!

This was the first time that I went out with several stops in mind and didn’t at least glance at a map before leaving. I know where everything is now and actually getting quite good at finding the most direct route between A and B.

My first stop was the Santander bank in front of the Cathedral on Angel Flores. A few donations and an unexpected prepayment on a translation project meant that I could take out 1,000 pesos, which will go a very long way if this past month is any proof of that. I still had 200 pesos from my early January withdrawal!

From the bank, I went to Olas Altas to get sushi, but, alas, they were closed. 🙁 It was past 1:30, so I was quite surprised. I decided to instead check out a recommended burger joint, but they, too, were closed! Since I was in the Plazuela Machado area and have been craving chocolate for days, I decided to get dessert first and stopped in at the gelateria where 25 pesos got me a teeny scoop of craving busting goodness.

I then headed out towards the Mercado and decided to try lunch at Panamá’s bakery, which looks a lot like a Smitty’s restaurant or a Denny’s, a very Ameri-dian diner-style spot. I was given both a Spanish and English menu and had time to compare them.

As suspected, they were quite different, with the English menu omitting many of the Mexican dishes and adding more American dishes. The average price point on the English menu was also higher than on the Spanish one. I ordered the chicken enchiladas with creamy green sauce from the Spanish menu, hoping that they would be similar to the ones I had in Texas.

Unfortunately, no. And the Texas ones were actually much more authentic Mexican fare than Panamá’s version, which were rather bland and featured processed American cheese!

Now, don’t get me wrong, the meal was fine. The sauce, while not super flavourful, was good and the roasted chicken filling was incredibly satisfying. Add in the huge helping of beans and I was stuffed. The meal was worth the 83 pesos I paid (plus tip), but it wasn’t one I’ll repeat.

It was getting close to two by this point, so I decided to head home by way of Ley. I really didn’t need anything, but I keep going to Ley in the hopes that they’ll have restocked an incredible all natural pineapple-coconut yoghurt I got there way back in late November or December. Today, they finally had some!

My knee was really bothering me today, so I decided to go home by Zaragoza rather than Leandro Valle, but then decided to instead meander through the small streets to create a more direct route to the embarcadero. That worked splendidly and I really enjoyed making my way through a warren of narrow cobblestone streets, so reminiscent of ancient Scottish cities, to emerge right in front of the entrance to the dock.

I spent just under 200 pesos today on public transportation, lunch, dessert, and groceries. Mexico continues to be incredibly affordable and I have succeeded in ‘changer le mal de place.’ Now, back to work. It’ll be a bit of a marathon session!

January 18, 2015 by Rae

Isla Explorations

Dale came by this morning to ask if I wanted to go for a walk. She’s leaving soon (*sniff*) and wanted to make sure she has pictures of her favourite places on Isla. I was on the verge of heading out to get tortillas, cheese, and bacon, so her timing was perfect!

Before we left, she asked if I had any donations for the colonia people because she knew where to drop them off. I had two beautiful newish tops that just don’t fit right that I was happy to add to her donation pile.

Our first stop along the way was to climb one of the worst roads I have ever seen in my life. Some Americans (I think) built a house all the way at the top. It was one heck of a climb to get up there! I’m not even sure my truck could make it. But boy was the view worth it!

The house is made of cement, which makes me think that building in Mexico might be rather inexpensive.

The street, while in horrible shape, does have street lighting all the way up!

I fell in love with this cute house. Doesn’t it look like something I could model with my cabin back home?!

Next, we went to Feddy’s to drop off the donations and pick up dog food. Dale found it hard to keep stocked up on dog food when she got here, with her usual shopping place (Walmart) not easily accessible and big bags of dog food heavy to handle for the long trip home. So was delighted that Feddy has a giant bag of the food her dogs prefer from which she can fill a smaller bag and get a week or so’s worth at a time.

Here’s a good example of what I mean when I say that I couldn’t afford to eat like a Gringo in Mexico. This is a packet of turkey gravy mix that I would by for about 75 cents back home. Yes, it’s 38 pesos. OMG.

The panga dock was next and quite quiet at midday:

We doubled back to the City Deli and I went straight to the rear of the store to get my cheese and bacon. They sell a few kinds of cheese and I asked to see their ‘yellow cheese’, which was super cheap… and turned out to be sliced American cheese. PASS. 🙂 I bought a 33 peso hunk of Chihuahua and also 20 pesos worth of bacon. Their bacon is much better than what I’ve found at Ley and cheaper!

We then went next door so I could get five pesos worth of tortillas. Dale was amused that I tucked into them right away, but I was hungry! 🙂

After, Dale suggested that we go explore some of the streets that lead into the centre of the island and surround Stone Mountain. We found lots of dead ends.

This road reminded me of walking in residential neighbourhoods in Glasglow and Edinburgh, pedestrians only!

Looking down to Calle Principal (the paved road):

We passed a church:

I like the guardian on the roof! It’s a frog!

One lady asked what we were doing, rather aggressively, I might add (we were on a public road!) and I explained that we were just walking, have been living on Isla for three months, and that there were still places we hadn’t been to. Her attitude changed dramatically after that and she wished us a nice day.

We passed another lady, who said hi to us, reached a dead end, and decided it was time to go home, so we turned around. The same lady asked if we were lost and I repeated what I had said to the previous woman.

After, Dale mimed how she would have handled the conversation. She’s hilarious and her miming is really good! Her Spanish has really improved but people don’t understand her, which I find boggling. She was looking for a calendar at Waldo’s the other day and mimed ‘writing’ to a clerk, then said ‘fecha libro’ (date book) and listed a few days of the week and of the month. The clerk brought her to clothes pins! Whaaaat?!

It was almost 1:00 when we got in and I had been ready for lunch for an hour. I put together a salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, avocado, and bacon. I caught the veggie guy this morning if it’s not obvious. 🙂

I’m a lot less nervous about eating the produce now that I got sick on non-Mexican food. I hadn’t even realised that I was a little worried until I wasn’t anymore. This does not mean I am lackadaisical about food prep. My surfaces are all sanitized and all the produce gets washed thoroughly with potable water. I miss my salad spinner, by the way.

I’m not much of a fan of iceberg lettuce and consider it an excuse to each ranch-style dressing. I obviously didn’t have any in the fridge (it’s readily available in Mexico, but, of course, expensive), so I made my own alternative. I mixed about a quarter cup of crema with garlic salt and then thinned it down with the juice of two limes, giving me enough dressing for future salads. The half avocado and two slices of bacon made this salad reasonably substantial, but I did have two tortillas with honey for dessert. 🙂

January 16, 2015 by Rae

El Faro de Mazatlán (the Lighthouse)

Well, I got my exercise in today. Here’s a rough overview of the bit of walking I did, which does not highlight the fact that the trip included climbing 150m (492 feet), including 339 steps.

Dale and I had wanted to climb El Faro (the lighthouse) since we first heard about it. She did it with a group of friends recently and was keen to show me how to get there. We waited this long to make sure we were in decent enough shape as it’s quite a hike up, never mind actually walking to the start of the trek and then back again. I’ve been walking the beach daily for weeks and have start running again, just two or three kilometres three times a week. So that in combination with how well I did hiking in Utah, I knew the Faro wasn’t going to be that much of a challenge.

I met Dale on the beach at 8:00 this morning and we walked to the beach panga. I only paid one way since I had errands to run downtown that would bring me closer to the village panga for the trip home.

Goat Island and the Lighthouse.

Doesn’t the lighthouse look imposing?

From the Maz side, it was a pretty quick walk by the docks to get to the start of the lighthouse trail. The streets were very busy and there weren’t really any sidewalks, so we had to watch where we were going. I found the start of the bus route that terminates in the Golden Zone.

Ah, this is where the Titanik boat I saw the other week docks. What a name for a boat!

Restaurant atop Paseo del Centenario. You’d work up quite an appetite climbing those steps!

The lighthouse trail starts of gently with an ascent along a rutty path. It then becomes challenging when you reach the first of the 339 steps. This is the only way to get to the Faro, on foot. It’s an incredible amount of work to get there if the point isn’t to get exercise. On the way down, we passed painters going up and they looked in pain, one carrying a huge bucket of paint, another the ladder, another the miscellaneous equipment!

Access to the Faro. Don't let it fool you, pedestrians only!

Access to the Faro. Don’t let the entrance fool you, pedestrians only!

The path gets rough very fast.

I was in fine shape for the climb, but stairs are worse than slopes and my knee was not happy, creaking and shifting and swelling the more I progressed. I made sure to only step up with the left knee.

We paused periodically to take in the amazing view and take pictures, so we got to the top in about 20 minutes. There, you can compare your time to statistics to see if you are an elite, expert, sportive, excursionist, or recreational user of the trail. Even if we had done it without pauses, I’m pretty sure we could not have done better than the excursionist rating (11 to 20 mins)! The elites are the ones who run the trail.

Starting to climb, but still fairly level with the higher parts of Maz.

Dale thinks this is a sewage plant, but I’m not sure as it’s attached to the university.

Looking out to Isla.

Goat Island.

Funny cactus.

View of the docks.

Starting the stairs.

Goat Island again, starting to look tiny!

This one shows how much manoeuvring the cruise ships have to do to enter the port of Maz.

150 steps done!

Lots more steps to go…

Lots of garbage cans along the way. I liked the Comic font. 🙂

We made it!

The view from the top of the world’s tallest natural lighthouse was amazing! I could see all of Maz and beyond laid out below me. It was a fantastic way to really get a lay of the land. Dale and I couldn’t stop pointing out landmarks, from the hotels on Isla to the cathedral to the resorts in the Golden Zone. She was amused that the first thing I spotted was the Pacifico Brewery. 🙂

Looks like the Isla police station!

Stats about the climb and a way to evaluate your fitness level.

I was there!

Really, I was there! 🙂

Goat Island looked so insignificant from up there!

All of Maz laid out below us.

The cathedral is right smack in the centre of this one.

You can really see the Pacific Brewery in this one; just look in the upper third to the left.

You can really see the Pacific Brewery in this one; just look in the upper third right in the middle.

Looking towards the Golden Zone.

Modern electrical lighthouse with Fresnel lenses.

Some people use these shortcuts that requiring clambering. Looked like fun, but I was dressed for that.

Some people use these shortcuts that requiring clambering. Looked like fun, but I wasn’t dressed for that.

We eventually headed down and walked to Paseo del Centenario, which took us to Olas Altas, because Dale had finally found the Looney Bean coffee house and wanted to show it to me since I’m almost out of coffee. I can now say I’ve walked just about the entire Malecón!

First time I’ve seen anyone lock up a bike, much less of the motor variety, here.

Heading towards Olas Altas.

I love sidewalks in Mexico. Notice the pole right in the middle of it?

Looking back at the lighthouse.

Clean bathrooms for 5 pesos.

Castle on a hill.

Can you imagine having a front door and garage right onto a busy road with blind curves?!

Crashing waves.

I liked the look of this building.

Sweet viewing platform.

More waves.

Gorgeous tile work.

Gorgeous brickwork.

Their address plaque says ‘No number.’

Icebox Hill.

That is a PERSON floating in the water. He was very much alive and did not appear to be in distress, just happily bobbing along in the water. HUH?!

The first bronze statue on this end of the Malecón.

Official start of the Malecón at this end.

I’ve now seen and photographed all the statues along the Malecón.

When we got to the Looney Bean, much forehead smacking occurred. I’ve been by it dozens of time, but when it’s been closed! You can’t see the sign unless you are on the Malecón.

The Looney Bean at last!

My hope was that the Looney Bean would have coffee beans as it is a much more convenient location than Rico’s. They do! They don’t have nearly the choice (only ‘house blend’ and Chiapas) and they are more expensive, but since I save the 20-peso round trip bus ride, it’s a better deal.

One pound of Chiapas, their strongest coffee, was 120 pesos. I bought a half pound and the cost was 70 pesos. So a pound is a better deal. It takes me about three weeks to get through half a pound, so I prefer to pay a bit more and have fresh coffee. I had them coarse grind it for me. The grinds smell divine, so I’m optimistic I will like it as much as I did the Veracruz!

Because we were so hot and sticky, neither one of us was in the mood for having a coffee there (!). I suggested we head to Panamá’s bakery because I honestly thought I was going to faint from low blood sugar (yes, I had breakfast before the climb. I’ll have more about that in a later post). There, I got one of their ham, cheese, and jalapeño sandwiches and a pineapple strudel thing for 24 pesos total, a cheap and yummy lunch!

After, Dale went to the HSBC bank. We then agreed to split up as she was ready to go home and wanted to take the beach panga while I wanted to go to Waldo’s and possibly Ley’s, which put me at the village panga.

I wasn’t 100% sure where Waldo’s was from the HSBC, but I knew the general direction and got there without any detours whatsoever. I’ve definitely got the lay of the land! Waldo’s had what I wanted, inexpensive laundry detergent, so I was good to go. I was not tempted to buy any groceries (future post again), so I began the long schlep down (and up and down and up and down) Leandro Valle to Emilio Barragán to the panga to Isla to home. I was exhausted when I got home, much more so than I would have normally been after such an excurison (future post again).

Dale is leaving Isla next week and moving to the Golden Zone. I will miss my friend. I know I will still go out and do things and it’s not like we won’t meet up again, but it’s not the same. For one thing, going out in the evenings will be more expensive since I’ll have to pay for the entire pulmonía rides. But her new RV park is right on the bus line, so I know I can go visit cheaply. And, best of all, she’s thinking of going to Montana this summer and so is seriously considering a stay at RV Park Chez Rae!

I’m so glad we had a chance to do the Faro together. I don’t think it’ll be my only time making that climb!

January 6, 2015 by Rae

Running Errands On a Muggy Morning

I’m waiting for a big temporary contract to start any day, so I’m trying to squeeze in a little fun first! Dale and I both love to go to Maz and just wander around, so after she dropped me off last night, we made plans to go back to town this morning to run a few errands.

We were originally going to take the bus to Walmart, but Dale has figured out that she really doesn’t need to go there. My budget is still 2,000 pesos short because of the recent banking disaster, so my plan to go to Soriana and get different groceries got scrapped.

I’m going to call my bank next week to see if they made any headway to get my money back, but I’m sure it’s gone. It’s going to be a really tight month as I only have 1,100 pesos spending money for groceries and outings till February. I got through November with about that much and I know I can do it, but I’ll have to be really mindful of where my money is going. I’d rather go out and eat beans at home than to eat well at home and not go out, so the blog should still be interesting. 😉

At any rate, I got home last night and there was no internet. There was a lot of work done around the property and on the roof yesterday, so I thought that maybe the line got knocked out. I didn’t mind the work since it was for me this time!

I haven’t had any running hot water in the shower to speak of since the water went out a few weeks ago. My landlady’s husband figured out that there was air in the line and got it sorted, then changed my shower head to a smaller one with fewer holes to increase the pressure. He also lifted the rooftop water tank to increase the water drop, which increased the water pressure. My shower last night was amazing! And I now have warm water in the kitchen in just a few minutes, something I used to wait 20 minutes for!

So, no internet last night. I got to bed early so I could get up early and run to Carmelita’s to check my email before going to Maz. My active clients right now are in EST, so 7:00 here is 9:00 for them and if I can expect anything for the day, it’s usually in my inbox by the time I’m up. There was nothing pressing, thankfully. Dale had sent me something to print and I figured out how to get it from my iPad to my computer, which was quite an accomplishment!

It was about 8:00 when I headed home and I stopped by my landlady’s place. Her husband (who did the plumbing work) was in the garage, so I thanked him for the work on the shower and told him about the internet. My landlady came by just as Dale and I were heading out around 8:30 to say that she had called TelMex and they said there was nothing wrong that they could see through their system, so she was going to go speak with someone in person.

Dale and I finally made it to Maz and stopped at Panamá’s for a pastry. Today is the Day of the Kings/Epiphany, which is a holiday, so they didn’t have much for sale except for the cake with, I imagine, the bean in it. We grabbed two strudel things that wound up being full of custard. Very tasty, but I have issues with eggs, so I might have an upset tummy later. We shall see…

We both had a couple of errands to run, but no shopping per se. I stopped at the bank to withdraw rent and spending money. I really like the Santander Bank because it gave me my 7,000 pesos in 50s, 100s, 200s, and 500s, instead of just 500s! I am so glad I gave them a second chance.

And then, I did something stupid. I LEFT MY CARD IN THE ATM. I’m so used to getting the card first before the machine will give me my money. The lady who used the ATM next ran after me and gave me back my card, thank goodness! I was so grateful to her as that’s the last thing I would have needed. CIBC assured me that they could courier me a new card to Mexico, but can you imagine the delay for that, never mind the difficulty in finding a secure place to have the card sent to?! So thank you again, wonderful lady!

Next, we found a copy place for Dale. She wanted some contact cards to give to folks. I didn’t bring any card stock with me, so I printed in colour onto regular paper to then be photocopied onto card stock. Dale handed the copy clerk the paper and told me to do my thing, ie. be her translator. I said that she wanted cards. The clerk found card stock, not perforated, which Dale could cut up herself. The copies were beautiful and only cost Dale 24 pesos. I’m frankly shocked that they turned out so crisp and clear.

Then, Dale told me that she had heard about a museum above the Plazuela Machado that is about the history of Maz. We found it and entry was only 20 pesos. We went in and first listened to a movie where we learned about how insignificant Maz was as a port until the end of the 19th century, how it got built up thanks to industry (mostly sugar cane factories), how it was nearly destroyed when the economy tanked, and how Mazlatecos saved their city by switching to fishing and tourism as the primary industries. It was really interesting. I’m surprised by how little the city has changed since it was built in terms of the main buildings and roads.

We then walked around the museum, which gave us an idea of what a typical residence in the late 19th century would have been like (simple, with lots of dark wood). There were lots of pictures of Maz in the day, too, which Dale and I found fascinating. What a little gem!

This is the kind of gas stove I want for my cabin!

Gorgeous floor tile upstairs in the museum.

View of the Plazuela Machado from the upstairs balcony.

Such a pretty building.

Gorgeous floor of the balcony.

And a ceiling to match!

Diva Angela Peralta, after whom the theatre is named.

Outside, someone turned this window into a bench.

Looking up at the museum balcony.

The museum entrance is on Constitución between Plazuela Machado and Olas Altas. It’s in the yellow Connobia building that has the Italian restaurant. The entrance price list is by the door, to give you an idea of what to look for.

My next pressing errand was to get my tote bag fixed. I have a leather tote that I just adore because it’s just a good size for my lifestyle. It’s not pretty, but it can hold my electronics, a little shopping, and even serve as an overnight bag. Unfortunately, the strap has been coming apart for ages and it was literally hanging by a thread as we finished up at the museum.

I’d asked Contessa if she knew of a leather repair place and she suggested I ask the shoe shiners in front of the cathedral. They were of no help. I then asked the gals at the museum and they said that the ladies at a clothing repair place in the mercado would know where to send me. So that’s where we ended up going next.

First mail box I’ve seen in Mexico!

The McDonald’s near the Mercado only serves dessert! Panamá’s is next door.

We walked around the perimeter of the mercado first, not certain what we were looking for. I found a woman selling battered magazines and books. She had a bunch of Reader’s Digests, which are great for practicing the reading of Spanish as they are mature but easy language. Unfortunately, she wanted 10 pesos each, not negotiable. I decided to grab one anyway when I saw that she had a copy of the Spanish version of Little Women, one of my favourite childhood books! I love reading translations of works I know well as that helps me improve my vocabulary and grammar without also struggling to follow the story. She said the book was 40 pesos and I could have one Reader’s Digest free with it. Sold!

After some time, we found the clothing repair place and the ladies did know exactly where to send me. I was really confused when they said to go up and down, but I eventually understood that I was to go several blocks ‘that way’ and that the shop, the name of course I’ve now forgotten, would be on my left.

Off we went and everything became clear as the road when UP and then DOWN again. Maz is not flat!

On the way, we passed a house that is for sale and with which Dale is, understandably, in love. Even though it is derelict, it still has heavy wooden door and window frames and stained glass.

Dale and I want to buy this house. 🙂

After a few blocks, we hadn’t found the shop, so I went into a shoe shop to ask and the lady stepped out to point one block back. Even with my eyesight, I could see the sign! It was just in the wrong direction from the way were were going. The shop is at the corner of Zaragoza and Benito Juarez.

I brought the bag in and the gentleman said that he could fix it for 30 pesos! He set to work with glue, a patch (unexpected), and his treadle sewing machine. It wasn’t fine work, but for this bag, it was 100% what I wanted and the patch is on the inside of the strap so it doesn’t show. I just wish he’d had darker thread, but I’m being fussy. I am so pleased! And did I mention 30 pesos?!

Treadle sewing machine at the leather repair shop.

Inside of my bag strap.

Outside. I managed to roll off those spots of glue and except for the different thread colour, it looks as good as new from that side!

We had thought to have lunch at the Mercado, but, really, we weren’t that hungry at that time. We walked up Zaragoza to get to the panga and didn’t pass anything that was calling our names so we decided to save our money and have lunch at our respective homes.

The former orphanage.

I got in and had internet, as well as water all over my bathroom and hallway floors. Toilet failure. OMG. I went to the landlady to pay the rent and explained the issue (too high water level in the tank and leaking through the handle). I said that I turned the water off to the toilet until it can be fixed. Guess it’s the week for problems!

A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

City Tours

Out and About In Mazatlán

Relocating the Hurt

Isla Explorations

El Faro de Mazatlán (the Lighthouse)

Running Errands On a Muggy Morning