Random thoughts

I've been wondering about a few things lately. Nothing too brain taxing, just wondering.

Like what happened to all the pigeons at the Plaza Machada. There used to be what seemed like hundreds and yesterday we had only one join us for our afternoon 'refreshment'.



Oh, there he is.



Too funny, it drives us crazy when Chuy feeds them on his roof top as the little devils make a dreadful mess of our terrace, and yet we miss them at the Plaza. Could be be because someone else has to clean up there. I wonder....

I`m also wondering who owns this carÉ



This little truck has been parked in this spot since we were here in the spring. We have no idea how long it was there before that. Parking is at a premium around here, and I really wonder, why doesn`t someone just tow the darn thing awayÉÉÉÉ

Mentioning towing, I`m sure I`ve mentioned the `beast`, the truly lovely vehicle owned by one of our neighbours.



This is the truckécaréwhatever that needed at least 5 or 6 attempts to start, and then required at least a 10 minute `warm up` outside our bedroom window, every morning, usually around 6 a.m. It died, finally, several weeks ago (happy dance!!) and was towed away, but now it`s back! How long will it take before it dies againÉ How many times will he attempt to get it running before he admits defeat and buries itÉ I wonderÉÉÉÉÉ

Now I`m sure you`re all wondering as well about my sudden interesting attempt at puncuation. Why do Sandie`s question marks all look like ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. I have absolutely no idea. Somewhere there is something that I touch, but darned if I know where it is. I wonder, will I ever find itÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ

Art, or not?

One of things we can't help but notice is the graffiti around town. It's everywhere, and irritating. I really can't understand the joy in defacing propery with a can of black paint.



Recognise the car?

However, there are grafitti "artists" and then there are the real artists. These adorn some of the walls along Mariano Escobedo, one of the many lovely streets in El Centro. Several of these have been signed.









This one is a favourite.



I'm thinking art.

It certainly makes for an interesting walk!!!

Lunch at Lori's

Our neighbours, Lori and Chuy, have a taco stand just around the corner and down the street from the Casita. The stand is pink, so we call it the "Pink Palace". Lori starts to cook early in the morning and then starts to serve around noon. Chuy retired several years ago, and although he doesn't do any of the cooking, he acts as Lori's 'gofer', fetching water, serving the food, and clearing the tables. Chuy does take regular breaks however, and we often hear him at home during the day, practicing his trumpet.

Mike and I were having an 'at home' day today and spent the morning doing the usual house stuff. We did a load of laundry, swept the terrace, and also made a pot of spagetti for dinner tonight. However, this is Thursday, and Lori's special of the day is Chili Rellanos. So, off we went for lunch.



Lori and Chuy are very popular and their seats are always full. We make sure to get there early!

These are the peppers



and the peppers again, at the next stage



Lori was hard at work, but as usual,was smiling.





Lunch was delicious, as usual, and cost us 36 pesos each. At today's exchange rate, that's $3.00!!

A Quiet Week?

Mike and I had decided that we were going to be very laid back and quiet this week. We were just going to stay at home and do absolutely nothing. So, what did we do?

I did my usual Monday volunteer at the library. We stopped into the Puerto Viejo afterwards, met up with a few friends, had a marguerita and a cerveza each, and came home. We made dinner and ate at home then settled into to watch a movie.

Tuesday, we did the shopping run with Jerry and Diane - we were hunting for chicken wings for next weeks "Wings on Wednesday". More on that later. We stocked up on wine and beer at Sam's (it's much cheaper there) and found the wings at Mega. While we were at it, we stopped to have the oil changed in the car and also found the vet, where we made an appointment to have Abi trimmed. We must have done something else, darned if I can remember! We did eat 'in' but stayed up late on the terrace as it was a beautiful evening and we've been working towards a full moon.

On Wednesday, we took Abi for her haircut. The vet was recommended by someone we have met - her dogs also have 'people' hair, and we're all trying to avoid the usual Mexican 'doggie-shave'. Well, it was close, but not quite. I still think she's adorable, and she can finally see! We've all promised to not to laugh at her.



While we were waiting for Abi to finish her spa day, Mike and I dropped into Home Depot (yes, again, we just can't seem to stay away from that place) because we needed to pick up some ant spray. We have little bitty ants, sugar ants, who have developed a fascination for my herbs. Die, ants, die!!!!!!!!!!!!! The herbs are growing and I'm planning on harvesting some of the basil and oregano for next weeks batch of spagetti sauce.

We drove to the Golden Zone to have lunch and check out the tourists. I have to confess, I really love living here. I look at all those people having such a good time and feel so sorry for them because they have to go home. I know, our day is coming, but we still have almost 3 months!! I also confess that I like the G.Z. in short doses - it's different than Centro, and it's fun. I'm just not sure I'd like to live there. I do like the shops, however.

Before Mike realized what was happening, I managed to drag him into a 'gallery store' - we browsed around a bit and sort of decided that we might like to bring back a mirror to hang over the fire place in the living room. As in, sort of, maybe, let's think about it, can we fit it into the car, can we afford it (Mike), YES, I love this idea, think of all the stores we can look through til we find the perfect one, I'll make it fit (we'll just leave all the clothes behind), of course we can afford it (we don't need to eat), it's going to look great!!!! (Sandie)

We were going to go to bed early, but the moon was getting larger, we decided to put on the Merengue CD we borrowed from Mary and Oscar, our Salsa 'instructors', then we watched the movie, and went to bed, later, much later.

Thursday, we went to the beach .... and everyone knows about that!

Friday was a casual day, we did a bitty bit of housework, couldn't do laundry because the water has been cut off in Centro for a few days to repair water main breaks and we are preserving our supply in the Tinaka, the giant water tank on the roof. More on that later as well!

We headed out to the market as we needed to pick up a few fruits and veggies and then we stopped of at Fish Taco at the Plaza Machado for lunch as we wanted to say Hi to Marcos, our favourite waiter.

Then we woarked our way home, up the hill, had a quick siesta, then strolled downhill to Canucks for the Friday "Meet and Greet", had dinner with friends at Pizza Morena, stopped into The Time Machine to listen to the musican of the evening and then struggled up the hill, again, to bed. The hill seems to be steeper as the day gets longer.

This, remember, is our stay at home, do nothing week.

Today, Mike and I decided we just needed some alone time, so we went for a walk, heading out for lunch somewhere. We stopped along the way to take a picture of one of my favourite restored buildings. I'm not sure what it's being used for but it really is lovely. I know, another building .....



We walked along the Malecon and stopped to check out the fishing boats (yes, I know, more boats, will she never stop with the boats!!!!)



and also the oyster catch of the day.



The Fisherman's Monument caught my eye,



(it's huge - this is just a corner!)

as did this restaurant. We've never eaten there, but it looks interesting.



It's been very windy today.



We don't worry about wind chill factors, however, just whether we can keep lunch on the table!

We did stop for lunch



and managed to hang on to everything. Barely. We found a few dominos in the sand - we're not sure who was cheating and we're going to blame in on the wind.

It was a difficult decision. We decided to try a new spot and there are so many to choose from



and then walked back home as far as we could on the beach. The tide has been unusually high because of the full moon and it has created some amazing tide pools. We never find shells along this stretch of the beach and Mike came home with a pocket full.




When we crossed from the beach up to the Malecon to head home, Mike simply had to stop here.




We came home with a half kilo of incredibly tender pork, a bag a tortillas, two bags of sauces and another bag filled with limes, all for 30 pesos (less than $3.00). So, we have dinner, except we're busy getting cleaned up to head off to Canucks for dinner and Saturday Salsa.

This is a really tough life.

Really. Trust me.

Or not.

Rainy Day at the Beach

Today in Winnipeg the temperature was -18C with a predicted windchill of approximately -33C. I'll admit that since we arrived in November I've slipped in the odd reference to our wonderful weather - sunshine day after day, gentle breezes off the ocean, lovely cool evenings for sleeping, etc. etc. etc.

Well, just to let everyone know, today was payback time.

We had decided on a beach day this week, on Stone Island, our favourite spot. The weatherman had predicted rain for the morning, but it was lovely when we got up, a bit overcast, but still a perfectly good beach day. So, off we went.

There was one cruise ship in today, you can just see it peeking from behind the freighter. The sun is shining.


After the panga dropped us off, we walked through the village, stopping to admire the flowers


and the rooster. These shots are for Ann, our guest last week. Can you see him???


There he is, with the girls.


We're not sure if Ann loved the rooster who lives in our neighbourhood, or if she wants to serve him for dinner. He's a bit 'time challenged' and announces sun-rise from 2 a.m. on some days, rather loudly and very insistently. I'm still hunting for them.

We usually camp out at Lety's for the day, but the tide was unusually high last night


and Lety's and the neighbours were flooded out.


The sun is shining.

They were busy digging trenches to drain away the water, so we wished them well, left them to it and headed back down the beach to a new spot, Molokay's, to try it out. They made us very welcome, cleaned off the loungers for us, brought us tables for our things and kept everyone supplied with everything we could possibly need.

The sun was still shining ...

We chatted with the vendors; they are wonderful, but how many times can you say "No, gracias" to the same person?! I finally explained to one gentleman that if I bought silver every time we came to the beach, I wouldn't be able to carry it all home, and we'd be so poor we wouldn't be able to pay the rent. Once they realized we live here, they leave us pretty much alone, and focus more on the cruise ship folks.


We admired what might have been shrimp boats. Our server, Delfino, said he thought they were fishing for tuna.


and of course, I found another boat that I liked even better.


We're not sure about the ambulance - could it have something to do with the cruise ships folks?
Or maybe for my darling husband?


It was parked there all afternoon and didn't move, so that would be a good sign!

By the way, the sun was still shining, barely, through the clouds, but it was still there.

Until, that is, we decided to have lunch on the beach.


Which we barely had time to finish, when, what a surprise, it started to rain. It didn't just rain, it poured! We'd been watching the clouds move in for at least an hour, but we're Canadians, we're optimists, the weatherman said it would rain in the morning, it's now about 2 p.m.......




Jerry and Mike figured that since they were already wet ....


Diane and I saved a few (semi) dry things for the trip home, and then joined them.
No pictures of that, the camera was tucked into the back pack, with the books we didn't read, hopefully to stay dry.

It did eventually stop raining, so we got out of the water, dried off and headed home. The people hiding under the palapas at the restaurant think we're crazy, but like I said, we're Canadians, we were already wet, and we had the ocean all to ourselves!

We tidied up as best we could at the restaurant, but did stop to clean our feet further up the beach. And these are for the people who are complaining that I never post a picture of myself!



By the way, my feet were very clean and that sink was really high!!

I just checked the forecast, and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, all day. And yes, I know, it was wet, and we didn't have to shovel it.