Morning Commute

We are staying out at Estrella del Mar for a few days house/animal sitting for some friends, so I find myself commuting to work, something I have not really had to do in quite a few years! The weather has been in a strange pattern because of Tropical Storm Julio over Baja, and so it has been rainy, pretty much all day, the last couple of days. This morning, on the other hand, was marvelous! When I left the gates of EDM, the sun was ablaze and there were just a few thin bands of clouds. The drive to Hwy 15 was an eruption of dense greenery from all the rain, the sides of the road dotted with cows, horses, and goats getting their breakfast buffet on! When not navigating the constant stream of bikers out of Barron pedaling towards work, I was trying to take in the Sierra Madres, the crisp morning making them very clear,with the dark green of the mountains contrasting against the white, puffy storm clouds barely clearing the tops and the deep, blue sky. I hit highway 15 and joined all the various 18 wheelers and buses heading towards the city. Before Urias, I made the hill and turn and BAM! there is Mazatlan and the port. Quick check--no cruise ships in town today.Once I arrived in Urias, I could see the evidence of people getting ready for the day. Alot were crowding the bus stop, most of the ladies with umbrellas to block the sun, tortillerias in full swing, roosters crowing and the dogs making the morning rounds. Within a few moments I am definately in the city, the traffic heavier with city buses, employee buses from diffrent resorts, trucks with the beds full of workers, bikes and, of course, the ever present mopeds and motorcycles. El Marino is already busy, filling the air with the thick smell of roasted coffee beans. The traffic light shopping this time of day mainly consists of newspapers and freshly squeezed fruit juice, the window washers not appearing until after lunch. Soon, I turned onto Rafael Buelna and was instantly surrounded by only cars and small trucks. In a few more minutes, I was on Camaron Sabalo, and due to the combination of the time of day and the fact that there are not many tourists around right now, it is virtually a ghost town. You can almost hear the snores of the few visitors that are in town, in their margarita induced slumber. I open up the office, get my morning coke from Roberto at the tienda next door and a heads-up that his wife was on the way with chilorio sandwiches. Yes!! (If you have not tried this, you should! It is a Sinaloan dish, basically a pulled pork sandwich with peppers and onions. Way Yum.) Soon as I get settled in at my desk, I look up to see a fully outfitted clown complete with a bunch of ballons walking down the sidewalk in front of the office. What a way to start the day!!

No se.

I am posting, well, just because I have not posted in a long time. I really don't have too much to say! My summer started with some really close friends from Galveston that were in town for 6 weeks. Shout out to the Pappous Family!! They own a condo at EDM where David works, so we spent ALOT of that period staying out there and just hanging with them. It was a nice, lazy time! David and I then had a "quick" trip to Baja ( it was supposed to be 2 nights, ended up being a week, and an overall nightmare ) The ferry was actually a surprisingly, cool adventure! I was expecting the chicken bus version, and it was really nice! I very much recommend spending the extra pesos and getting a cabin, it is worth it solely for the bathroom factor! To sum it up, compare it to using your own toilet, to one on the malecon about 5:30 am during Carnaval. Yea. Ick. Anyway, quite frankly, I have never really liked anywhere I had been in Baja previously, and this trip did not change my mind *EXCEPT* for La Paz. We both really enjoyed that place alot. It was almost a Mini-Mazatlan, plus more heat, minus the rain and waves. Beautiful malecon with alot of statues, excellent food, friendly people, interesting history, nice arts/music community for such a small town...... One BIG difference was, in La Paz, when you try to cross the street, traffic comes to a grinding halt on both sides! Apparently, pedestrians are king there! Here, in Mazatlan....the best way I can think of describing how to try and cross the street is a human version of the video-game, "Frogger". (And my parents thought all those hours I spent playing video games would do me no good! Ha!) After that, I had a last minute trip to Virginia that got extended for a few days. I did manage to load up on bras and books! Then, I arrived home to start working full-time, baby-sitting a puppy, and begining to think about packing for our move to El Centro ( I hate moving - I would rather lick a bathroom floor). I would elaborate on the work thing a bit more, but I think that I better see if I make an ass of myself before I start to really put it out there! Anyway, once I get settled into some sort of a routine, I'll ramble on a bit more. Until then, to quote a good friend of mine, Cindy;
"Peace and chicken grease!"

Coping with the heat

I would first like to thank Nancy and Jennifer for making me feel like a poor blogger since I have not posted in quite a while. It did work, and got me off my world wide web rear! (say that fast 5 times in a row) While I do have my excuses for the last few weeks, quite frankly, I am (obviously) not exactly one of the more reliable bloggers and can be a bit lazy.
It is getting warmer and a common subject, both around town and Latin American bloggers is how to deal with the heat. There are all kinds of ways to do it; lots of fans, wear only cotton clothing, use umbrellas, etc. I thought I would enlighten everyone on the "Sans Method". To put it simply, I have embraced the siesta idea with total abandon and I nap. Usually, I tend to wake up about sunrise or a little afterwards. During the winter, I'll lay around most of the morning drinking tea, watching the news, and surfing the net and then do my "out of house chores" in the afternoon. Summer is different. I get up, and run what ever errands I have in the morning. It is cooler, and I have also found that most Mexicans wait until early afternoon to hit the grocery stores and such, so it is also more quiet. If I have no errands, I'll just don a bathing suit and lay around the pool listening to both the wisdom and dysfunctionality ( is that a word??) of Howard Stern via my wonderful Sirius boom box all morning. From either scenario, I hit lunch early afternoon. The key here for me is wine. I am not a natural napper, so I need a little something to push me over that edge. Enter stage right - Senor Vino Tinto. How much I drink depends on what I consume. If I eat something heavy, like, I don't know, a steak, I need only one glass. If I eat a salad, more is definitely required. By the time I eat lunch, it is usually 2-3 in the afternoon, at its warmest, most humid and officially nap time. I'll turn the AC on in the bedroom, take a cool shower and then nap for a couple of hours. By the time I wake up, the breeze has generally picked up, it is getting more pleasant and David is on his way home. It works perfectly for me! After that, add a couple week stint at the Betty Ford Center in late fall for "asthma" or "exhaustion" and I am well rested by the winter season! ( that's a joke, Mom!)

Househunting

David wakes up on his day off to find me standing over him , "This house is too big, we're moving."

"Can I shower first?", he says.

We have lived in a 3 bedroom house since the mid 90's. It may seem like overkill for a couple with no kids, but we have always used the space. We have had friends that lived with us for extended periods of time, for various reasons, and we also love to entertain. It seemed that everytime we hosted a party, poker game, whatever, people have always stayed the night. Granted, other than a year spent in Dallas, we have always lived, either in the country, or in a small town a little ways from a city so our friends had to drive a few miles. When we moved to Mazatlan, we automatically went for the 3 bedroom category, and along with that, good parking and some sort of a yard were our priorities. We lived in a wonderful little house in El Centro for a couple of months while we looked for a permanent place to live, located 2 blocks from Plazuela Machado. We loved the place, and we loved living there, but it was a 1 bedroom, no parking, 5 blocks from the beach. Now, Chili the Wonder Dog is very, very active. She requires, at minimum, an hour of ball chasing a day, otherwise she is a hyperactive mess. Just taking a walk, no matter how far, does not even warm her up. She will also not do her 'business' on concrete, she requires something natural; grass, dirt, sand. Now, 5 blocks to the beach may seem pretty close, and I thought it was, until one morning came around that was very stormy and I was really sick. Five blocks in the pouring rain seemed like miles, and I had to hop a cab to get back so I could make the bathroom in time. Luckily, we found a great house in El Cid. It has a small yard, pool (which made me happy--this was to be the first time since I was 16 years old where I did not have a car or a job-I was worried about getting bored), 3 bedrooms, and right out our back gate is a par 5 hole. Now, normally, we are not your gated community type of people, so this was kind of a stretch. But then, this is Mexico, so it's not your average gated community. Case in point- there was a letter distributed about a month ago - " dogs are forbidden on the golf course, but if you do have a dog on the course, please pick up after it". It does have advantages, for one,we rarely lock the house, except at night or if we leave for a day or more. The guards are great, very observant and helpful. We came in one night with a pickup load of stuff from our storage in Nogales. Within 5 minutes of us pulling in, there were 4 guards to help us unload. What would have taken David and I, a couple of hours to do, they got done in about 10 minutes and they would not take a tip. I did make a big batch of cookies the next day and took them to the guardhouses. Another thing we love about it, is the golf course behind us. After 5 pm or so in the evenings, it becomes a park. Juan and his friends next door set up goals and play soccer. Maybe 3 houses further is more kids and a trampoline they pull out onto the fairway. There is also a gentleman that comes out with his two boys to hit golfballs up on the green. Add to this, several kids and dogs from other houses that come over to play with one or both groups. It is fun! There are lots of dogs that Chili plays with, but probably her best buddy is a big, brindle boxer named Tiger. If we are not out on the golf course as soon as he is, he will come to our back gate, flop those long, uncoordinated legs over it and bark until I let Chili out. We are also located on a cul-de-sac, so it is a very quiet spot, with little traffic of any kind. So, you ask, why do I want to move? First off, we have yet to use the third bedroom at all. Second bedroom, yes, but the third, no. Also, it would be one thing if we were renting a house full of our stuff. Well, we have no stuff. We sold all of our stuff when we moved to Mazatlan, so I have a 3 bedroom house full of someone elses stuff. That's no fun. Another thing is, most of the time I have the USS Ford, but when I don't, I have to walk 15 minutes to the front of El Cid just to catch a cab or bus, or find any type of store or resturant. I know that is not too far, but somedays it is just irritating. So, I am on the hunt for some new digs. This time a 2 bedroom, but we have to stick with the secured parking and a yard of any size and/or within 1, maybe 2 blocks of a park, beach, or any type of green (or brown) area. We are really not picky about the neighborhood, to a point, of course, although we would LOVE to be back in El Centro. Of course, parking and green areas are hard to come by there. Wish me luck, it seems I will need it. It is weird this year, usually by now, rentals are flooding the market, with the snowbirds flying the coop, but for some reason it is not happening yet. I have had a realtor friend helping me look and she is even shocked at the lack of rentals available for this time of year. Luckily for us, we are in no hurry, so I will keep plugging along until the perfect place appears!!

Muchas Gracias!!!

They said it couldn't be done. "It's too late in the season, too many people have already left town".

Ha! We proved them wrong! The benefit went great. Better than great. We were expecting 100, hoping for 150 people. There was over 200 stuffed in the Purple Onion and alot of money (and awareness) was raised! Thank you!! Because of all of this Conrehabit has some breathing room and the parritos will get some much needed supplies.

The "Gringo Workday" did not go exactly as planned since it was so packed. Instead it was "Gringos Just Trying To Help the Staff And Not Get In Their Way Too Much Day". A big thanks to the businesses and individuals that contributed prizes for the raffle; The Purple Onion, Mr Aces, Olas Altas Steakhouse, Soul and Spirit Ventures, Casa de Leyendes, Estrella del Mar, Carlos and Lucias, Tom and Cathy Coonce, Autumn Brown (massage therapist), the Patricia Belle, Unico Gift Shop, Brentster, Dick Damron....I think that's it. Jennifer Swarts of Deadeye Design was wonderful in helping me with flyers. Dick Damron, the Brentster, and the rest of the musicians were great and there was alot of diffrent genres played. It was some kind of fun! There were jello shots, raffles, and dance contests. Alot of new friendships were made that afternoon as well-----or so I was told-----I was way too busy behind the bar to mingle! I did meet one couple who were ending their 'Mexico Tour '08', that they had been on to see where they were going to retire. They told me that after all the other places they had visited, they were pretty much set on Mazatlan, but they had so much fun and met so many friendly people at the benefit, they now have no doubts! Welcome to Mazatlan, Robert & Sandie!

Before I close, I want to send a big 'shout-out' to Howard, the staff of the Purple Onion, and also to my fellow "Onion-Heads" that were dragged into helping with this deal. You guys rule!!

For anyone still wanting to help out, here is the Conrehabit link once again:

http://www.conrehabit.org/view.php?id=2.

Here is a collection of pictures from several people around town of the parrots being fed;

http://picasaweb.google.com/maximphoto/CONREHABITRESCUEPARROTS?pli=1

One more link, this is an article about Conrehabit and a previous rescue:

http://massarticle.com/articles18758-tourists-be-aware-the-dark-side-of-wildlife-trafficking.html

Red Light Shopping

Things I have spent pesos on at traffic lights:

newspapers

tacos

chiclets

entertainment (jugglers, firedancers, etc.)

fruit (strawberries, mangos, watermelons, etc)

little wooden, colorful animals with the bobbing heads (I like putting them on my printer)

fruit juice (mango, orange, limeade.........)

tamales

windshield washing (some better than others)

cheese

fireworks including VERY large sparklers

peanuts (raw and roasted)

beach bag

Mexican flag

caramel popcorn balls

candied apples
shrimp/scallops

free pass to heaven (maybe not quite that, but I always have change for various charities in the cupholder)

Housecalls are cool!

So one morning last week I woke up about 3 am to a very active bowel area. David found me 3 hours later on the toilet with the trashcan between my knees - everything in my lower torso was cramping up and spewing like a geyser. David was trying to find out what was going on (other than the obvious) and all I could do was moan, grunt and occasionally point. He went downstairs, made a couple of phone calls to work, then came back upstairs to tell me he was taking me to the doctor. Our doctor does not get in to his office until 10-ish and his office is in El Centro, where parking the USS Ford is a large pain in the rear, so I informed David that unless he commandeered a porta-potty and strapped it down in the back of the truck for me to ride in, there was no way I could make it. Truth be known, I think I actually only managed to blurt out the word "can't", but he managed to translate. Luckily, we have Dr Torres' cell phone number and as it turns out he lives very near us, so he popped in here at the house on his way to the clinic. He gave me an exam, wrote out some prescriptions and informed me he was going to give me a shot. Now, I was raised around the farming/ranching business and worked as a veterinary technician for 15 years, so I have utilized countless needles, both with animals and people. The problem is, when one is pointed in my direction, I become a quivering mass that can only blurt out "no, no, no, no, no, no". I'll blame that on my brother, he ruined Santa for me at an early age, used to put a beanbag on top of me, sit on it and make me listen to KISS for hours, so I am sure he probably made me watch some torture movie that involved needles and dentist drills at an impressionable age. Anyways, to David's complete shock, Dr Torres had barely finished the sentence and I was already flopped over with a buttock exposed. I just wanted everything to STOP! Within a couple of hours of his visit, the cramping had ceased, but I was still throwing up every 15-20 minutes and that continued all day. Dr Torres had called to check on me early afternoon, and said he would be by on his way home around 6 or so. It turned out, he had an emergency surgery so he called David with an electrolyte solution (1 liter of water, 1/2 tsp of salt, 8 tablespoons of sugar) for me to sip on and he would call after he got out of surgery. As it turned out, during that time period, everything calmed and there was no need for a return visit or more shots. Dr Torres coming to the house to treat me was the best 400 pesos I think I have ever spent! It really took me about a week to get straight, but I am back in the saddle now! Thanks Dr Torres!!!

Back to the real world and 8 random things about Sans

We just spent a few days out at Estrella del Mar. It really was a great "not really a vacation" vacation. Even for David it was a nice break even though he, of course, worked. He did have a 1 minute commute and could take a nap at lunch. It was wonderful to have miles of empty beach and the only sounds that can be heard are the waves crashing and an occasional bird chirping. The traffic and noise of Mazatlan are a world away out there! Chili and I would start the day by walking about 20 minutes down the shore to the clubhouse and then I would hit some balls on the driving range. The rest of the day was spent deciding between "times" : pool time, beach time, tee time, and nap time. It was tough, light a candle for me.

We also let loose baby turtles one evening, which is quite a treat. I highly reccomend, if anyone is in Mazatlan during the hatching season (August through early December), you should go out to Estrella and help gather or release. It is one of those things that gives you a feeling hard to describe. It just feels good and we'll leave it at that! They do have a very succesful turtle egg program, last year they gathered over 75,000 eggs with about an 80% success rate.

Chili is one happy dog out there. Birds to chase, ocean to swim in, new people petting her. I had forgotten to pack a ball for her, but she managed to meet a strapping male yellow lab by the name of Bailey who had a tennis ball. Thank the gods for friends with benefits!

Ok, so now I have been tagged by both Victoria on myspace and Nancy of www.countdowntomexico.blogspot.com with the same game. Come up with 8 random facts about myself. I will play this a little diffrently since my knowledge of adding links to my blog and things like that are not exactly high on my marketable skills, so I won't be sending this on, but I will respond. Victoria has been a great friend since Dallas, 1991 or so. We met when I hired her to work with me at a veterinary clinic in Irving and we went together like peas and carrots! She is now in Atlanta belly dancing her way to fame and success (http://www.inarasbellydance.com). Nancy has a great blog that I have been reading from the onset. She started it when she and her husband decided to move to Mexico when he retired. The blog covers scouting trips, yard sales, decision making, remodeling the Mazatlan house and all. (Yes, they picked Mazatlan after all the traveling and research!) Anyways, here we go, useless information about me:

1. I hate open drawers and doors, must close them. Same goes for crooked pictures, must straighten. Now, ask me if I have brushed my hair today......

2. I am a classically trained flautist. For those not in the know, I used to play a mean flute.

3. I am a proud Spica-billy, half Spanish, half Appalachian-American.

4. I love boxes (chests, etc) ,bracelets and anything shiny. I was once told that I was half crow.

5. I read, ALOT and ANYTHING, kind of the same taste I have in music.

6. I played pool seriously for a number of years, I even played on an female

amateur 9-ball circuit and was ranked in the top 5 in Texas.

7. I will compete and/or gamble with anyone at anytime at whatever game.

8. I used to show hunter jumpers and one of my best mounts was actually a mammoth mule.

The times they are a-changin'

Monday night, David and I were discussing the weather, how there seemed to be no wind all weekend, but then it appeared again Monday in a different direction. Tuesday we awoke to a crisp morning and the windows have been open every since. Could it be rainy season is over? It is a little early and there is Tropical Storm Kiko churning off the coast keeping my hopes alive for another good squall (although it does not, at this time, look like it will impact us) We have had no rain for a couple of weeks, so I have been back to topping off the pool and watering plants. I did not realize how many more plants I had accumulated the last couple of months until I had to start hosing them down again! Anyways, I really hope summer is not coming to a close, it is my favorite season here. I love watching the thunderheads building over the mountains in the afternoon and the spectacular sunsets over the Pacific those very same clouds create. Something else we heard "pre-move" was about how brutal the summer months are in Mazatlan. After living through two of them, I can tell you this, add about 10 degrees to the temperature, keep the humidity the same, take away the ocean breeze and the frequent thunderstorms at night, add 4 months and you have San Antonio. I do realize that it is all relative depending on what you are used to, of course. Someone from Edmonton, for example, would find it a wee bit more uncomfortable than we do. Now don't get me wrong about the winter weather, it is great. Think 75-80 farenheight during the day, around 55-60 at night, low humidity. This lasts for 8 months and you will almost never see rain, so to me, it does get just a little dull. Of course, in the bigger picture, there are alot worse things to bitch about!

Another day in paradise...

So, we have now been living in Mazatlan for about a year and a half. We are definately still loving it and have not regretted this decision for a moment. The people here are warm and gracious and we genuinely feel part of the community. Things are diffrent, for sure, in some ways good, some ways bad, but David and I both feel the quality of our lives have overall improved. There is a slower pace, for example, I am currently on Day Three of Satellite Hookup Watch. Things like that do not really bother me, though. We have lived the last 15 years in a place where the 'request for service call' always ended with, "There will be a technician in your part of the county the end of next week, will someone be home between Wednesday 9 am and Saturday 3 pm?". In other ways, service is exemplary. We had a toilet problem about a year ago. I won't go into details, but let's just say I would have moved and left everything behind rather than to have dealt with it myself. I got a number to a plumber who came highly reccomended, and he was at the house within 30 minutes. It probably took him an hour or so to fix it. He then, very nervously, was telling me what a mess it was and because of that he was charging me more than his normal fee. The "more than normal fee" came to a total of 200 pesos (that would be about 20 USD). I tipped him. The abundance of inexpensive, fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood year round has us spoiled. I have about four spots in town where the price for a kilo(2.2 lbs) of jumbo shrimp consistently runs around 45 pesos(4.50 USD). I like that my house gets cleaned from top to bottom twice a week for 300 pesos. I like never having to pump my own gas, wash my vehicle, or load my groceries. Color me rotten. Two things that I can say I was somewhat nervous about, because of reputations, were healthcare and police, not neccesarily in that order. Knock on wood, I have only been pulled over here in Mazatlan twice, both times for speeding. Anyone that knows me, knows that if I go six months without a speeding ticket, I obviously was never behind the wheel during that period. Each time, I was let go with a warning and one was even a federale and they are famous for ticketing their own grandmothers. As far as the healthcare situation goes, I had an emergency appendectomy last October here at the Sharp Hospital. We got to the emergency room about 11 pm, saw the doctor, had the labwork done and was talking to the specialist by 1 am. I was waking up and recovering in my nice big private room by 6 am. Menus every meal (and good food!), four nights in a private room with american TV, handsome doctors, cleanliness and efficency that would make alot of US hospitals blush, PR ladies checking in with me twice a day to see if I needed anything. All this came to a grand total, which, by the way, was on ONE sheet of paper, of 35000 pesos (yuppers, that's 3500 USD!). Crazy. Anyway, I have two goals for the next year of living here, improve my spanish ALOT and to post here more often. We'll see how it goes!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July to our fellow NOB'ers! Since one of the key elements to the 4th of July is hot dogs, I thought I would include this picture of a stand we saw while at the Plaza de Toros a couple of nights ago for a bullriding. (sorry-no pictures from that- it was a torrential downpour from start to finish-we were soaked but it made for interesting bull riding!) Because of all the jokes as to what is REALLY in hot dogs, the name of this particular stand gave us a good chuckle.

Banda Music

Nothing says "Welcome to Mexico" quite like moving into a neighborhood where two banda groups practice and throw parties. Banda is a type of music that originated here in the state of Sinaloa during the late 1930's, and exploded in popularity during the 1990's. The groups usually consist of 12-20 members. There are generally 2 singers and the rest are brass, percussion and woodwinds. Let me assure you, they play with alot of heart, soul and most importantly, lungs! Me, being the former band geek that I was, can really appreciate this music. It is most definately lively! We have one group on the same side of the street, two doors down and another across the street and catty corner from us. Trust me, when they get wound up, they may as well be playing at the foot of our bed! The nights that they practice is not too bad, they usually wrap up around midnight or so. The nights they have parties is a whole other matter. The latest I recall that one band played was until 10 am the next morning. I found this clip on YouTube of Banda el Recodo, considered to be one of the best, to give you an idea of the sound.

El Faro

Chili and I have been hiking up to El Faro light house a couple of times a week lately. Overall, it's a great hike, all 505 feet of it. It starts out as a rough trail then halfway up it is concrete stairs. The downside is right at the head of the trail is a waste water treatment plant, but within 5 minutes of the onset of the hike, you are on the other side of the hill from it. You get some great views throughout the entire hike! El Faro is the second naturally highest lighthouse in the world and the highest WORKING lighthouse (Gibraltor is the highest, but it's now a bed and breakfast) It was completed in 1879. The lamp had been handcrafted in Paris, France, and it was a big oil lamp with mirrors to enhance the light. Supposedly, since the light was static, in the distance it was often mistaken as a star. By 1905 this lamp was converted to a revolving lamp which is still in use today.

Run for the border!

"On the road"

Well....here we are living in Mazatlan. Have you ever just woke up one morning and think "How in the hell did I end up here?". Not that I am complaining...at all. It was a sudden, unplanned move, but I think a great one. My husband David, was offered a job at Estrella Del Mar, so we sold everything but our dog and clothes and headed south. (www.estrelladelmar.com - if you have any questions you can email David directly; dpool@estrelladelmar.com)

Chili trying to de-stress after the move. Not real sure how she is doing......she may require therapy.