We have been back in Toronto now for 3 weeks and have been very busy and not updating this blog as we should. By very busy, I mean that we have been driving to our Montreal area cottage which is a 6 hour drive and renovating the property each weekend. During the week Tanya is working and I am looking for a new contract. But I found the time this morning, after taking Tanya to the airport for her flight to San Francisco. She will fly back on Friday evening where I will meet her in Montreal so that we can work on the cottage again on the weekend and drive back to Toronto Sunday night.
Anyway, I want to give you an update on the cost of toll roads in Mexico. When we drove to Oaxaca, MX last October we left Austin, TX in the moring and crossed into Mexico at Brownsville and drove down the Gulf coast to Veracruz, turned right and drove towards Puebla and then south to Oaxaca. The tolls were approximately 550 pesos. The road conditions were okay but not great. There were lots of trucks on single lane roads which had pot holes and topes. A pretty drive though.
Our return trip was straight north to Laredo with tolls reaching 716 pesos. There were 16 toll stops ranging from 10 pesos to 120 pesos. The road conditions were great. The roads were straight, in excellent condition, mainly divided highway and lots of room for passing. The views were lacking but the driving was fast.
We had expected to take 3 full days to get to Austin as it had taken 3 full days in October to drive from Austin to Oaxaca. We arrived at Laredo late in the afternoon before 5:00 PM. The border crossing only took minutes. We turned in our temporary vehicle import permit at the first booth, drove another 5 meters where we paid a toll then drove up to the U.S. check point. We had nothing to declare other than a few cigars and 1.5 litres of Mescal. So, other than giving our Canadian nationality and Toronto destination we were quickly flagged through. All of this was accomplished under 10 minutes. I am not counting our 1st pass through where we missed the import permit both and had to circle around after paying the toll. But even with the circling I am sure that we were not more than 20 minutes crossing the border.
So, there we were, on the U.S. side of the border and plenty of sunlight left in the day so we decided to continue north. Because it was a long day for the cat in the car we stopped at Dilley, TX for the night which is about 1 hour south of San Antonio and the Alamo. Cat or no cat it was a good time to stop. We could have continued to Austin but it would mean arriving at 10:00 PM at night. Definitely not a good time to be showing up at a friends home where we are guests.
To make this short story longer let's summarize.
Tolls: Gulf Coast $550. Laredo crossing $716.
Time: Gulf Coast 3 days. Laredo crossing 2.5 days.
Driving: Gulf Coast a bit stressful because of trucks. Laredo crossing stress free except around Mexico City..
Scenery: Gulf Coast excellent. Laredo crossing boring.
Recommendation: I would drive the Gulf Coast again and take my time and enjoy the scenery. And I would stay over night along the way on the Emerald Coast next to the water. Even slowing down we would get to Oaxaca within the 3 days.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Poor Lil' Blue
Our little, blue Suzuki Swift took a bit of a beating in Mexico. All of those back country dirt roads, speed bumps and vados (inverted speed bumps or dips) plus failed pavement and pot holes make quite an impact on the wheels.
On the drive to Austin we noted that the car was pulling a bit to the left and there was a shimmy in the steering wheel. My first thought was that the alignment was off. In Austin, since we were to be there for 5 days, I took the car into a Suzuki Dealer for a check-up. Well, the Swift model is not sold in the U.S. so they do not have any specifications against which to check anything. Their alignment machine does not have a setting for the Swift so they could not check the alignment.
The mechanic took the car for a test drive. When he returned he said that since it wobbles at slow speeds the problem may be the tires themselves. To test this theory he switched the front tires to see if the car still pulled to the left. Well it then pulled to the right. He also pointed out that all 4 rims were bent out of shape. I was not surprised because I hit so many speed bumps at high speed and also dropped into many pot holes. I was more surprised that the tires had not blown out.
So I ordered 4 new rims from Hub Cap Annie's which I had to pickup and bring back to Suzuki. These rims were US$120 each. Whoa! In Canada the rims were C$60 each. Very curious.
The new wheels got rid of the shimmy but not the pulling. This will have to be looked at back here in Canada where the Swift model is supported. We were lucky during our 6 months in Mexico. In Oaxaca there was a Suzuki Dealership for motorcycles and not cars. We had to supply our own oil filter for oil changes. If we had required serious repair, would the Swift model have been supported out of Mexico City and Puebla or would it have been the same as in Austin.
Lesson Learner: Consideration for our next vehicle will include research to ensure that it is supported in the U.S. and Mexico.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The Texas to Ohio Drive
We left Austin early Thursday morning to beat the morning traffic. Andy gave us driving directions that took us around any bumper to bumper spots. We cleared the city and headed north. Tanya and I continued to do the driver switch every 2 hours so that we did not get overly tired.
We took a different route north because we were stopping in Dallas for lunch with Tanya's vendor friends at HP. We were given a quick tour of the HP campus then off to lunch with Debra, Jeannette and John. Missy was left to roam inside the car with water, food and her litter box readily available.
Back on the road we continued north. Because of the extra stop in Dallas we were only able to get as far as Little Rock, Arkansas. On the way south we had stopped in West Memphis. We stayed at the Galloway Inn in Little Rock and paid the $10 premium to have Missy stay in the room. While Missy was getting comfortable in the room Tanya and I went over to the Iron Skillet for supper.
Friday morning we got on the road about 9:00 am after our continental breakfast of juice, danish/bagels and coffee. We had lunch at Subway somewhere on the road in Tennessee. We even stopped for an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen somewhere in Kentucky. The flat land and straight roads started to change in Kentucky where hills started to appear.
On our trip south we had stayed in Fort Wayne, Indiana but this time we are on a different route and were targeting Dayton, Ohio for the night. However, it was getting dark as we were passing through Cincinnati so we stopped in Sharonville at an Econolodge just north-east of Cincinnati. So here we are, getting ready for the final charge north. The last time that I will have to load the car which we unpack every night.
Our crossing will be Detroit. The crossing was picked by our GPS as the fastest way home. I hope it has taken into account the actual time to cross the border. But we are ready. We have a list of the things we bought and are bringing back. In all it totals less than $400. I only have 4 cigars left and 1 bottle of Texas wine. We should not have a problem.
And friends. We are looking forward to seeing our Toronto friends again. See you all soon.
We took a different route north because we were stopping in Dallas for lunch with Tanya's vendor friends at HP. We were given a quick tour of the HP campus then off to lunch with Debra, Jeannette and John. Missy was left to roam inside the car with water, food and her litter box readily available.
Back on the road we continued north. Because of the extra stop in Dallas we were only able to get as far as Little Rock, Arkansas. On the way south we had stopped in West Memphis. We stayed at the Galloway Inn in Little Rock and paid the $10 premium to have Missy stay in the room. While Missy was getting comfortable in the room Tanya and I went over to the Iron Skillet for supper.
Friday morning we got on the road about 9:00 am after our continental breakfast of juice, danish/bagels and coffee. We had lunch at Subway somewhere on the road in Tennessee. We even stopped for an afternoon snack at Dairy Queen somewhere in Kentucky. The flat land and straight roads started to change in Kentucky where hills started to appear.
On our trip south we had stayed in Fort Wayne, Indiana but this time we are on a different route and were targeting Dayton, Ohio for the night. However, it was getting dark as we were passing through Cincinnati so we stopped in Sharonville at an Econolodge just north-east of Cincinnati. So here we are, getting ready for the final charge north. The last time that I will have to load the car which we unpack every night.
Our crossing will be Detroit. The crossing was picked by our GPS as the fastest way home. I hope it has taken into account the actual time to cross the border. But we are ready. We have a list of the things we bought and are bringing back. In all it totals less than $400. I only have 4 cigars left and 1 bottle of Texas wine. We should not have a problem.
And friends. We are looking forward to seeing our Toronto friends again. See you all soon.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Alamo
This morning we awoke from our cinder block hotel room to a mat of bugs outside the front door. They seemed to be a type of June bug, or large beetle, they were all on their backs, dead or dying. In spite of this ominous greeting, we packed the car and headed to Austin, with a short stop at The Alamo.
Understand I know very little of The Alamo, other than my nephew Colin is a huge Davy Crocket fan, who was actually 49 years old when he fought at The Alamo. I can say that the visit was a bit underwhelming. I had expectations of the great Canadian forts, high, thick stone wall, huge grassy plains and old support buildings. The Alamo was at best a lovely inner city park, with one building filled with large placards describing the US version of the great Mexican/Texan conflict. The area is ripe with Texas and Mexican history, which was I suppose an appropriate end to our six months in Mexico.
We have now arrived at our friend’s house, where we stay for 5 sleeps, and then back in the car to finish the last leg of our journey home.
Friday, April 2, 2010
The Sun Sets Over Texas - That's Dilley, Texas
This morning we rose early and ordered room service, which was a great start to the day. We then drove about 12 hours into Texas, crossing the border at Laredo. As much as Matamoros, in October, was immediately Mexico, Texas in April was immediately Texas. Denny's. H.E.B. KFC. Domino's Pizza. Sign after sign of the American Dream - food. Gringo Food.
Gone were the signs of not driving while tired, no more signs asking me to not leave rocks on the road. My favorite road signs were outside of Queretaro, fake federal police cars! They look pretty real, too.
The road side stands today were filled with copper pots, garlic, strawberries and some weird long things that looked like snake skins, but we decided not to stop and find out for sure! Next time...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
1 More Sleep
We took her carrier out yesterday and she looked at it and meowed, as if to say, "Why is this out? I'm fine here, no need for this thing any longer!" She will miss her garden and cactus adventures as much as we will miss life here.
I promise to get us all caught up on the baseball game and the Theatro Macedonia Alcala while on the road. Knowing me, there will likely be signage commentary as well!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Big Red
On Sundays, on the road leading out of Oaxaca towards Mexico City, there is a used car… adventure. It’s more like a car flea market. A sort of second hand car limbo. Vendor after vendor lines both sides of the road with wares. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, jeeps, puppies and the usual food and drink vendors vie for your attention for miles. Our friends Sheila and Moe were interested in buying a second hand Volkswagen beetle. They had been to this used car paradise before, and asked us to join them this Sunday on their search. We were delighted.
After discounting a few for reasons most obvious – rust, lack of headlights, no brakes (no, really, they work fine, it’s just because the car is on a flat road in neutral that she runs away from you…) inability to start unless you have that “special touch”, there she was, waiting to be taken home.
Sheila and Moe take her for a quick spin, while Ralph and I stroll through a side lot and look at pick up trucks. We stop for refreshment, and Sheila and Moe find us by asking where the other white couple went off to. They have decided to buy it. The hand break needs work, which the lot salesman says he will fix, and other than that, there is beauty in its simplicity. They head off to put down the deposit which takes it off the sale floor, so to speak, and make arrangements for delivery. I encourage Sheila to explain that the car has to make it up the hill to our house in order for them to close the deal. The salesman assures her that this will not be a problem. And we are confident that if it is, he will simply refund the deposit and it will be back on the lot next week.
After discounting a few for reasons most obvious – rust, lack of headlights, no brakes (no, really, they work fine, it’s just because the car is on a flat road in neutral that she runs away from you…) inability to start unless you have that “special touch”, there she was, waiting to be taken home.
Papers are signed, pictures are taken, and we head off to lunch to talk about Spiderman decals and all the places Big Red will go.
The Problem and the Way of Things
These last few weeks have been filled with the word "agronimo". In English, this is an agronomist, a man (in this case, anyway) who knows about land. We have previously blogged about a piece of land we are interested in, in spite of the site requiring bridge building. We have met the land owner several times, have been upfront with him about not having cash laying around to purchase the land, but that our plan was to go back to Canada to execute on a plan with our existing real estate to make the purchase of land here possible. He is interested enough in our project to consider waiting. As such, he has allowed us to take samples of the land and have it analyzed to determine its feasibility for grapes. After some typical Oaxaca research, an agronomist comes to us through a friend's wife. Ralph heads out to the land with him, they spend 90 minutes digging. Our agronomist speaks no English. Ralph explains the plan: grapes, small casitas or cabanas, as they are called here, a casa principale with the living and dining areas, a pool, parking...
The soil samples are taken and we get the call. This work took 6 days. He is ready with our analysis. We head over to a cafe, and in typical Oaxacan fashion there is a miscommunication about the meeting time. We eventually meet. The soil is bad, not favorable for grapes. We are saddened. He suggests we meet with the "technico", a man from Zimatlan, in a wheelchair, who has maps and could give us a better idea of where we should look. He has an office around the corner, where he comes a few days per week. We are excited about meeting him, so the agronomist calls and happily discovers that he is on his way into town right now, he'll be there in 30 minutes. He commits us to going.
If I have learnt nothing else here in 5 months, I have learnt that you need to just go with things. There is an energy to things here that is not like any I have experienced in all my other travels in the world. If the happy coincidence is that you come across a friend in the street and there she is going for coffee and invites you, you should go, always. Call to cancel whatever else you had to do, or invite whomever you were meeting to now join you both.
Ralph cancels his root canal appointment and we walk over to meet the "technico". What a meeting! We explain what we want to do, we explain that we are not concerned about water as we plan to collect rainwater, there is a well on the land and we plan to reuse the grey water from the casitas and the main house. El Technico is getting more excited. As soon as we tell him we have no export desires and we want to make wine for ourselves and the local community, he is committed to the project. He explains that he is concerned with climate. The issue, he says, is that it does not get cold enough here. Not cold enough. Hang on. Did he just say what I think he said? Yup. Not cold enough. Now, try telling two Canadians, some may say two crazy Canadians, that we can't grow wine because it's just not COLD enough here. Well, that did not go over too well!
After some discussion, he agrees that we could technically trick the vines into dormancy, and worst case, we could get a grape that does well in this tropical climate and graft whatever grape we want onto the root stock. Now he's talking a language we like to hear. The language of possibility. We head home full of ideas, and research for the next few days centres around wine grape growing in tropical climates. Brazil. Vietnam. Cambodia. We are pioneers in this particular region, but if we don't let anybody scare us out of it, I think we'll go just fine growing wine and drinking it here in Oaxaca. Cabernet, here we come!
The soil samples are taken and we get the call. This work took 6 days. He is ready with our analysis. We head over to a cafe, and in typical Oaxacan fashion there is a miscommunication about the meeting time. We eventually meet. The soil is bad, not favorable for grapes. We are saddened. He suggests we meet with the "technico", a man from Zimatlan, in a wheelchair, who has maps and could give us a better idea of where we should look. He has an office around the corner, where he comes a few days per week. We are excited about meeting him, so the agronomist calls and happily discovers that he is on his way into town right now, he'll be there in 30 minutes. He commits us to going.
If I have learnt nothing else here in 5 months, I have learnt that you need to just go with things. There is an energy to things here that is not like any I have experienced in all my other travels in the world. If the happy coincidence is that you come across a friend in the street and there she is going for coffee and invites you, you should go, always. Call to cancel whatever else you had to do, or invite whomever you were meeting to now join you both.
Ralph cancels his root canal appointment and we walk over to meet the "technico". What a meeting! We explain what we want to do, we explain that we are not concerned about water as we plan to collect rainwater, there is a well on the land and we plan to reuse the grey water from the casitas and the main house. El Technico is getting more excited. As soon as we tell him we have no export desires and we want to make wine for ourselves and the local community, he is committed to the project. He explains that he is concerned with climate. The issue, he says, is that it does not get cold enough here. Not cold enough. Hang on. Did he just say what I think he said? Yup. Not cold enough. Now, try telling two Canadians, some may say two crazy Canadians, that we can't grow wine because it's just not COLD enough here. Well, that did not go over too well!
After some discussion, he agrees that we could technically trick the vines into dormancy, and worst case, we could get a grape that does well in this tropical climate and graft whatever grape we want onto the root stock. Now he's talking a language we like to hear. The language of possibility. We head home full of ideas, and research for the next few days centres around wine grape growing in tropical climates. Brazil. Vietnam. Cambodia. We are pioneers in this particular region, but if we don't let anybody scare us out of it, I think we'll go just fine growing wine and drinking it here in Oaxaca. Cabernet, here we come!
10 Days
I just finished reading John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley". If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is about a man and his dog who decide to circumnavigate the United States in 1960. The book was here in the house in Oaxaca when we arrived. Ralph read it when we got here, I just finished it with barely 10 days left here on this trip. At the end of the book, having traveled months in a pick-up truck, he talks about knowing when the trip was over. About dead heading back to New York. To his wife, his house, his bed. I realized that I had not been blogging as much as usual, and to our blog fans, I apologize. I think I realized our trip was over last month, when I returned from Austin and Las Vegas. We have been staying home more, not going to El Centro as frequently, taking walks up our hill behind the house because we hadn't done that (this picture is taken at the top of the hill), making bread and pies and trying to get rid of food in the fridge. Our Oaxacan friend has asked me to show her how to make quiche before we leave. The packing or at least the thought of packing is ever-looming. We have researched the drive back, and we will cross in Laredo this time, a different route than when we came to Oaxaca. We want to experience both, to decide for next time which is better and preferred. We promise to blog about both, for those of you interested, stay tuned! Until then, we have much to share, so back to blogging with a lighter heart and an eye to our return to Canada to start executing on the plan. It's time.Monday, March 15, 2010
Chile Rellenos - I did it My Way
Some time ago I posted about a cooking class I had gone to. I was inspired to try to make stuffed chilies (chile rellenos, en español) at home this week. Over the weekend we went to the small local market in the Las Cascadas neighborhood, which is just down the road and around the bend, to get our week supply of veggies. The lady, perhaps inspired by my selection of zucchini, poblano chiles, broccoli, onion and tomatoes added in a bunch of mixed herbs - flat leaf parsley, mint and epazote, an aromatic, soapy smelling herb grown only in Oaxaca that we had used in the cooking class.
For some reason, for most of my cooking life, market people and grocers have given me something I did not ask for, something free, something they want me to use. From the man at the St. Lawrence market who gave me a different cut of chicken than I wanted and explained it was because he knew this was what I needed, to Terri at the cheese store who leads me down the cheese path to heaven, the lady at the Atwater market who decided I needed to learn about edible flowers on a Saturday morning, and the grocer in Italy who decided to give me sage and mint from her own garden, these are my market experiences. I take them for what they are, gifts from God, some divine connection of the souls of “foodies”.
Without a recipe, I proceed to make stuffed chilies. Please understand that this dish is a long process, several hours of prep are involved and much chopping, shredding, frying is required before we get to the eating. If you have a recipe for chile rellenos and fear that you are missing ingredients, have never attempted it and the whole long process just scares you, plow ahead! I have a funny story about tamales and Ralph that is a bit long to get into here, but suffice to say no Mexican will ever admit to your chiles being the best ever, so don’t sweat it. Jack up the music and consider these tips:
Choosing and skinning the peppers: The peppers you choose should be uniform in shape, with no divets or pockets that you have to work around. I used poblano chilies, my step-mother uses jalapeños, Oaxacans use chiles de agua, use whatever pepper makes sense for you, but try to avoid anything too large. You need to blacken the skin over a gas flame, all over the pepper, including close to the stem. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, consider the BBQ or one of those crème brulé torches.
A trick to getting the blackened skin off is to steam the blackened peppers in a plastic bag covered with a dishcloth. While the peppers are steaming, prepare and mix your ingredients. I used epazote, mint, parsley, black pepper, raisins, green olives, shredded chicken, zucchini, red onion, cheddar cheese.
Peel the peppers, make a slice down one side, gut then stuff them.
This is a good time to change the music and have a cocktail, a natural rest period. The next part is done in quick succession: put your oil on to heat, egg batter then flour the peppers, roll them gently in the batter (get your hands in there to get the pepper entirely coated. Without fail I overstuffed mine and had I “rolled” it, the stuffing would have ended up in the batter. I just used my fingers to make sure I battered the whole pepper.)
Set them in the hot oil, and turn them on their side, like this, to get the side of the batter nice and crisp. Consider that you may end up ordering pizza.
I have to say, I think my chile rellenos were the best I have had in Oaxaca so far…Buen provecho!
For some reason, for most of my cooking life, market people and grocers have given me something I did not ask for, something free, something they want me to use. From the man at the St. Lawrence market who gave me a different cut of chicken than I wanted and explained it was because he knew this was what I needed, to Terri at the cheese store who leads me down the cheese path to heaven, the lady at the Atwater market who decided I needed to learn about edible flowers on a Saturday morning, and the grocer in Italy who decided to give me sage and mint from her own garden, these are my market experiences. I take them for what they are, gifts from God, some divine connection of the souls of “foodies”.
Without a recipe, I proceed to make stuffed chilies. Please understand that this dish is a long process, several hours of prep are involved and much chopping, shredding, frying is required before we get to the eating. If you have a recipe for chile rellenos and fear that you are missing ingredients, have never attempted it and the whole long process just scares you, plow ahead! I have a funny story about tamales and Ralph that is a bit long to get into here, but suffice to say no Mexican will ever admit to your chiles being the best ever, so don’t sweat it. Jack up the music and consider these tips:
Choosing and skinning the peppers: The peppers you choose should be uniform in shape, with no divets or pockets that you have to work around. I used poblano chilies, my step-mother uses jalapeños, Oaxacans use chiles de agua, use whatever pepper makes sense for you, but try to avoid anything too large. You need to blacken the skin over a gas flame, all over the pepper, including close to the stem. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, consider the BBQ or one of those crème brulé torches.
A trick to getting the blackened skin off is to steam the blackened peppers in a plastic bag covered with a dishcloth. While the peppers are steaming, prepare and mix your ingredients. I used epazote, mint, parsley, black pepper, raisins, green olives, shredded chicken, zucchini, red onion, cheddar cheese.
Peel the peppers, make a slice down one side, gut then stuff them.
This is a good time to change the music and have a cocktail, a natural rest period. The next part is done in quick succession: put your oil on to heat, egg batter then flour the peppers, roll them gently in the batter (get your hands in there to get the pepper entirely coated. Without fail I overstuffed mine and had I “rolled” it, the stuffing would have ended up in the batter. I just used my fingers to make sure I battered the whole pepper.)
Set them in the hot oil, and turn them on their side, like this, to get the side of the batter nice and crisp. Consider that you may end up ordering pizza.
This is what the final product looks like. They are not pretty, don’t try to make them pretty.
I have to say, I think my chile rellenos were the best I have had in Oaxaca so far…Buen provecho!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Beaches of the Pacific
(Note that Playa Ventosa near Salina Cruz and Puerto Escondido were covered in earlier posts.)
My friend John and I went to Huatulco the weekend of February 27th while Tanya was in Las Vegas. On the way we stopped at Ventosa Beach which is near Salina Cruz. There are many hotels along the beach which look old but acceptably nice. It was very windy the day that we were there and no one was on the beach. There is an oil refinery nearby and the odor is strong. It is not my favourite beach.
We continued on to the Bays of Huatulco where we stayed at Crucecita which is a small town about 5 minutes from the sea and Santa Cruz. John and I had supper on the beach in Santa Cruz one evening. We didn't visit any of the bays this time like I did with Tanya and Erin.
On Sunday, we drove to Puerto Angel to see the beaches around there. We parked near the pier at Puerto Angel and walked along the Principal Beach towards the Panteon Beach. This was the day after the big earthquake in Chile but the sea was calm. It was early in the day and not many people on the beach. We walked along a pathway to the Panteon Beach where we had a soft drink and I had a cigar. There were some people snorkeling and it looked like a good place to snorkel near the rocks.
We returned to the car and drove over to Zipolite Beach about 3 km away. The beach is large, about 2 km long. It is famous for nude bathing and sun tanning. John and I went swimming but with our bathing suits on. There were a few nude people , a couple of women and a couple of men. After swimming, John stayed on the beach to sun bathe while I went into the shade and had a mineral water with lemon. After a little while (after John turned pink) we drove over to San Agustinillo where there is a turtle museum. However, the museum was closed. We walked along the beach and then returned to the car. We drove a short distance over to Mazunte Beach.
This beach is very bohemian. It is a little village with palapas and many young people (hippies). John and I walked along the beach and then around the point and over the rocks where the beach continued. We passed a few nude girls sun bathing on the beach on our way over to the restaurants. We had a sandwich and 2 beers each while watching the beach and the sea. I finished lunch with a cigar.
No more beaches. We returned by the highway and arrived back at Crucecita about 6 o'clock.
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Quiet Weekend in Oaxaca
I arrived back in Oaxaca after a week of working in Austin, Texas and meeting friends in Las Vegas. It was a great trip, but quickly back to work on Tuesday and Ralph and I's realization that we will soon be heading back to Canada brought on a bit of a quiet weekend. We head back to Canada on April 1st, stopping in Austin to work for a few days on our way back, our estimated arrival date back in Toronto being April 10th. I feel as if we are at a bit of a loss for the next four weeks. We have some research to finish, but we have no visitors arriving, no extended trips out of Oaxaca, no fiestas that need our attention, no place left unvisited that we feel we must see urgently before we go. We went and sat and ate and drank our way through town on Friday, Saturday we went to Central de Abbastos, a huge market here in Oaxaca that we had been avoiding, and then yesterday out to Tlacolula to the huge market there. I am buying things I have been looking at for 5 months: wooden spatulas, a mexican smock for the kitchen, a white shawl, a final purchase from our weaver lady. We have brought the map in from the car and started to plan our drive back, we will go a different way this time, to compare with our trip down and decide which route we prefer. I find the thought of leaving Oaxaca very difficult. So many friends here are shocked that we are leaving, that 5 months has already passed. Family in Canada are anxious for our return to what they think is "safe". Friends in Canada happy to have us around socially again. What Ralph and I came to figure out has been done: we know Oaxaca is the place for us, we know how much money we need to make Oaxaca become our permanent home, we have an idea for a side business to make money while we wait for our vines to grow and our inn to become popular. We need to go back to Canada to execute on the plan. It's time.
And yet I sit and look out at my mountains as I read my novel on the patio and am crushed by the thought of leaving. Ojalá, I will return quickly to my Oaxaca.
And yet I sit and look out at my mountains as I read my novel on the patio and am crushed by the thought of leaving. Ojalá, I will return quickly to my Oaxaca.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Water Truck Cometh
Well, welcome to The Ralph and Tanya Experience: Ordering Water. This house has not been short on water issues, and we have always chalked them up to being part of the experience of Oaxaca. The pump was broken in the cistern, the pilot on the water heater extinguishes on days with the letter “Y” in them, the pump was forgotten and overflowed the roof, the water pressure is only slightly better than Italy’s, and the shower downstairs is either scalding or cold, nothing in between. All part of the experience.
Of late, we have been paying close attention to the water levels in the cistern, for a few reasons. The pump was supposedly fixed, and the level on the cistern much lower than usual. Our neighbors up the road ran out of water, and there was some controversy about neighborhood selection for water delivery by city officials according to which political party a neighborhood supports. I have a hard time believing that, but water delivery has dwindled to about 25% of what was previously being delivered.
Yesterday, Ralph pumped the water up to the roof-top holding tank (picutred here in all its glory), and we started to monitor our use. Today when he went to mark it, he figured we had two days of water left before we ran out. The phone book came out and we ordered 5000 litres of water, the quoted cost on the phone was 440 pesos. We sit waiting for delivery.
We have changed some of our ways. We do the dishes once per day, filling the sink once, little soap, little rinsing. We have a new “flush only if visually required” rule, and showers are short and efficient. We’ve always brushed our teeth with the water off, and Ralph has been shaving with the water off since we arrived. I feel guilty about not doing these things in the past 5 months, only doing them now, when we are in crisis. How spoiled I am.
In my spoiled state, I did a bit of water consumption research, if you care to know:
About Canada’s abysmal water consumption ranking: 28 out of 29
http://www.environmentalindicators.com/htdocs/indicators/6wate.htm
1 cubic meter of water = 264.17 gallons
Here’s a cool household water calculator:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/waterusagecalc.html
According to my entries using the calculator above, every year my household uses 31390 gallons per capita LESS than the Desert Water Agency per capita water useage. Regardless, this does not change the current state of being 2 days away from having no water!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Another Visit to Benito Juárez
My friend John and I went to the village Benito Juarez in the mountains north of the city. We drove through Teotitlán, the rug village, without having to detour like the last time we were there. When I was there before with my friend George in January it was a little cold. This time it was very beautiful.
We stopped at the tourist office and payed the 50 peso entrance fee to go up to the lookout point. We did not take a guide this time and we drove up to the top of the hill. We walked over the rope bridge and looked at the zip lines. They are very high.
After that we drove to Lutuvi for a fresh trout lunch. The kitchen was closed but the lady from the house came over and open up for us. I helped her catch the fish for our lunch.
There was a 3 year old about 3 fee tall helping his mother. The mother was working alone very quickly. The little boy played and watched us. After some time the lady disappeared. When she came back she was carrying the little boy on her back. He was sleeping. She continued preparing lunch with the boy on her back. She was marvelous.
Like always, the trout was fantastic.
Then we drove to Guelatao de Juárez, the birth place of Benito. The villafe named Benito Juárez has nothing to do with the person, Benito Juárez who was never ever there. In addition to the statues of Benito, the only thing of interest was 2 ducks copulating.
We bought some soft drinks from a little store then we drove home. It was a long day but fun!
Versión español
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Home Alone 3
Yes, I am alone yet again. Tanya has gone to Austin for work then she is going to Las Vegas with her girl friend from Vancouver.The first time that Tanya went away was before Christmas when she also went to Austin to work. The second time was in January when she went to Cancun to party with her girl friends from Toronto.
Poor me, "sniff-sniff". Home alone. But, no problem. There is always something to do around the house or in the city.
Tanya is travelling all day to get to Austin then she is going to the office to work hard for 3 days. Then she has to take the aeroplane to Las Vegas. She will party with her girl friend for 3 days then back on the plane to Oaxaca. She will be busy and very tired by the time she gets home Monday night.
Poor Tanya, "sniff-sniff"
Versión español
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Our Hill
We have mentioned our hill before. The hill that leads you to our house. It is not until we have visitors who see it, that they understand how steep it is. I have an example. Last Saturday, we went for dinner in the city centre to a beautiful restaurant called "Los Denzantes". This was to be a special dinner with our friend Erin who would be leaving for Canada the next day.
We did not drive to the restaurant but walked so that we could drink without limitations. We had a very good meal with red wine, margaritas and martinis. After eating we took a taxi home.
The car ride was uneventful until we arrived at the bottom of our hill. The taxi was not able to make it up the hill. The taxi driver tried but the car did not have enough power to make the hill. It didn't make it past the first block. Even so, the taxi driver charged us 50 pesos and we had to walk up the steep hill on foot.
Each time our car makes it up the hill I am thankful that I have a good car.
Versión español
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A little about Mexican Time
As previously posted, our friend Erin is here visiting us from Toronto. She was working remotely on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so evening activities were not too adventurous. We had dinner with friends on Wednesday night, always fun to see other homes in Oaxaca and their set up. We did manage a movie (Percy Jackson and the Lightening Bolt - English with Spanish subtitles, popcorn, candy, drinks) on Thursday night, and as Oaxaca is a big city, there are no intermissions during the movie. So sad! Ralph and I get a kick out of the fact that there are movie theatres who still do intermissions in Mexico. Gives you a chance to stretch, use the facilities and refresh the palomitas (popcorn).
Friday we decided, given the weather was a bit overcast, to go to San Sebastian de las Grutas, we had been before with Angie and Ayla. After a forced leisurely morning waiting for a water issue to be resolved, we headed out. A two hour drive on mostly good road, we arrive to find no guide. To be clear, not that none were available, but that there was no one around, everything was closed. We walk over to the little restaurant and ask the lady there. She explains to Ralph that he just left to have lunch. Not a problem, we'll go into the little village, maybe drive up past Las Grutas to San Fernando de Matamoros to see where that leads. Off we go. We drive into beautiful hill country, discover a community heavily supported by the logging industry (there are more wood shacks here than I have seen in all of Oaxaca). Erin said it gave a new definition to living in the sticks. We turn around, drive back, and Voila! The guide is back from his siesta and lunch and we head up, into and out of the caves, the whole tour is about 90 minutes.
We have become accustomed to showing up at tourist spots via ridiculous roads to find no one there, and we happily sit and wait, or go and wander and then return a bit later, to find the guide returned from lunch, siesta, buying a goat, visiting his girlfriend. We laugh about how what we have come to expect in Mexico would be received in Canada. Imagine, you show up to the CN tower. To get there, you have driven across a dry riverbed, dodged potholes and waited for turkeys to cross the road. You arrive to find out that the guy who runs the elevator just went home, his mother is not well and he went to check on her. You sit and wait, wondering how long you are willing to wait. He arrives, say in 20 minutes, apologetic and ready to now give you his full attention on the tour. It's a great tour, a great site, you enjoy it tremendously, even though there are birds flying around and no safety railing on the decks to prevent you from falling 127 stories to your death.
The question, of course is, would you wait? We do. We hope you would, too!
Friday we decided, given the weather was a bit overcast, to go to San Sebastian de las Grutas, we had been before with Angie and Ayla. After a forced leisurely morning waiting for a water issue to be resolved, we headed out. A two hour drive on mostly good road, we arrive to find no guide. To be clear, not that none were available, but that there was no one around, everything was closed. We walk over to the little restaurant and ask the lady there. She explains to Ralph that he just left to have lunch. Not a problem, we'll go into the little village, maybe drive up past Las Grutas to San Fernando de Matamoros to see where that leads. Off we go. We drive into beautiful hill country, discover a community heavily supported by the logging industry (there are more wood shacks here than I have seen in all of Oaxaca). Erin said it gave a new definition to living in the sticks. We turn around, drive back, and Voila! The guide is back from his siesta and lunch and we head up, into and out of the caves, the whole tour is about 90 minutes.
We have become accustomed to showing up at tourist spots via ridiculous roads to find no one there, and we happily sit and wait, or go and wander and then return a bit later, to find the guide returned from lunch, siesta, buying a goat, visiting his girlfriend. We laugh about how what we have come to expect in Mexico would be received in Canada. Imagine, you show up to the CN tower. To get there, you have driven across a dry riverbed, dodged potholes and waited for turkeys to cross the road. You arrive to find out that the guy who runs the elevator just went home, his mother is not well and he went to check on her. You sit and wait, wondering how long you are willing to wait. He arrives, say in 20 minutes, apologetic and ready to now give you his full attention on the tour. It's a great tour, a great site, you enjoy it tremendously, even though there are birds flying around and no safety railing on the decks to prevent you from falling 127 stories to your death.
The question, of course is, would you wait? We do. We hope you would, too!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Huatulco - A picture is a thousand words
Four days in Huatulco just gave us a taste for our return. White water rafting, waterfall tours (in a jeep, this time!), maybe a day at one of the all inclusive resorts, definitely another stay at Mision de los Arcos in Crucecita, likely more Pizza at La Crema bar, and more pistachio ice cream, too!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Erin Arrives – Off we go to Huatulco!
Our dear friend Erin arrived today from Toronto. (She's the blond getting off the plane, thinking Ralph and I have tarmac clearence seeing as we basically go to the airport once every few weeks.) She is happy about the warmth, and the sun, and by not wearing a coat, and of course being here with us, obviously. She is enchanted by the view from our patio, by the Alcala, a pedestrian street right through the centre of town. She loves the square, the zocalo, and we sit and have dinner at one of the better spots to people watch and have dinner and be hustled by merchants. I think she smiled the whole time, even in between devouring her shrimp cocktail. Erin was busy with Claire’s wedding, so Ralph and I thought we’d give her a bit of a break when she first arrived and go flake on a beach in Huatulco, we’ve not been here before. Huatulco is supposed to be Mexico’s “recovery” from the disastrous Acapulco. Of course, we have a Bay boat trip, snorkeling, coffee plantation tour and jungle hike planned for the 4 days we will be there. Lots of time to flake on the beach! Stay tuned for Erin’s Adventures in Oaxaca…
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Toronto Return Shocks
Tanya has already made a few comments about Canadian and Mexican differences but I wanted to add my observations. First of all there was the return flight. The plane from Mexico City to Toronto barely had any people on it. There were 20 passengers and 3 Air Hostesses on a plane that could seat 240+ people. Shall I say that it was a very comfortable flight. When we arrived in Toronto there were no other incoming international flights. This meant that we had our choice of 2-3 customs officers. No line up here. Then on to get our baggage. And there it was, waiting for us on the carousal. Off we go to the car rental. Again no waiting in line. Now that is how air travel should be.
As we were heading out of the airport we encountered a dark strip about 2 feet wide running across the road. My first thought was that it was a "tope" (speed bump) so I shout "TOPE" but Tanya was already slowing down. No tope, just a road patch.
At home I hesitate throwing toilette paper down the flush. I feel guilty, but toss it anyway. I am surprised by my feelings of guilt.
In the morning I run the water while I shave to rinse my razor. Again I feel guilty wasting all of that water. In Mexico I have to consider that the city may not always deliver water so there is a constant awareness about water. But I am in Toronto, so I waste the water.
It is Tuesday morning. Normally I listen for the garbage truck at 6:50 AM so I have time to get my garbage out to the street corner for delivery. Not here, I see that everyone has their garbage cans neatly lined up by the curb for pickup.
Tanya and I drive to the church for Claire's wedding. We were running a bit late. I stop at a stop light - no cross traffic - I turn to Tanya and say, "If we were in Oaxaca I would blow through this stop light.". But no, I wait.
The nice thing about our Toronto house is that I just have to turn up the heat if I am chilled. In Oaxaca I have to put on a sweater and an extra blanket on the bed at night.
And yes, as my mother-in-law says, both Toronto and Oaxaca have their pluses and minuses. But it is pretty hard to beat the sun and warmth of Mexico.
As we were heading out of the airport we encountered a dark strip about 2 feet wide running across the road. My first thought was that it was a "tope" (speed bump) so I shout "TOPE" but Tanya was already slowing down. No tope, just a road patch.
At home I hesitate throwing toilette paper down the flush. I feel guilty, but toss it anyway. I am surprised by my feelings of guilt.
In the morning I run the water while I shave to rinse my razor. Again I feel guilty wasting all of that water. In Mexico I have to consider that the city may not always deliver water so there is a constant awareness about water. But I am in Toronto, so I waste the water.
It is Tuesday morning. Normally I listen for the garbage truck at 6:50 AM so I have time to get my garbage out to the street corner for delivery. Not here, I see that everyone has their garbage cans neatly lined up by the curb for pickup.
Tanya and I drive to the church for Claire's wedding. We were running a bit late. I stop at a stop light - no cross traffic - I turn to Tanya and say, "If we were in Oaxaca I would blow through this stop light.". But no, I wait.
The nice thing about our Toronto house is that I just have to turn up the heat if I am chilled. In Oaxaca I have to put on a sweater and an extra blanket on the bed at night.
And yes, as my mother-in-law says, both Toronto and Oaxaca have their pluses and minuses. But it is pretty hard to beat the sun and warmth of Mexico.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Oaxaca's Gift for our Return: The Earthquake
We arrived yesterday afternoon, back from a week in Canada. (Our trip to Toronto for Claire and Len's wedding was really very nice, very busy, and it was not that cold out until the day we were leaving, thankfully. Claire and Len were radiant and happy, we power visited with friends - Yannik, Aarik, Vanessa, Dan, Colin, Cameron, Azhar, Joe, Tim, Sarah, the Peeps at AMD, Alison Claire's sister, as well as getting in some good but quick chats with friends at Claire's rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. For those of you we missed on the Power Visit, we'll see you in April. For those of you we did see, we'll see you again in April, and it was good to catch up.)
But back to our return to Oaxaca. The trip back was what I would call regular, other than my state of exhaustion, so I slept for most of the Toronto to Mexico City flight. The 2 hour layover in Mexico City was good timing, and onto the little plane that would take us back "home". And here we are. Sunny, warm, bright and brilliant Oaxaca, we catch a collectivo back to the house and settle onto the patio. We are chatting with our neighbors, relating wedding stories and Canada is cold stories, when the earth moves. I asked Ralph if he felt that, and he says "Yes." and gets up to ensure he is not under any cement structure (leaving me sitting on cement covered patio, of course). The earth moves again. Wow, two earthquake tremors. The news this morning said they were 5.5 on the Richter scale. How's that for a welcome home?
But back to our return to Oaxaca. The trip back was what I would call regular, other than my state of exhaustion, so I slept for most of the Toronto to Mexico City flight. The 2 hour layover in Mexico City was good timing, and onto the little plane that would take us back "home". And here we are. Sunny, warm, bright and brilliant Oaxaca, we catch a collectivo back to the house and settle onto the patio. We are chatting with our neighbors, relating wedding stories and Canada is cold stories, when the earth moves. I asked Ralph if he felt that, and he says "Yes." and gets up to ensure he is not under any cement structure (leaving me sitting on cement covered patio, of course). The earth moves again. Wow, two earthquake tremors. The news this morning said they were 5.5 on the Richter scale. How's that for a welcome home?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Snow. How Quaint.
- I will not slam on the brakes on the highway when there is shade or pavement change colors, thinking that I about to launch over a tope.
- I will not, when someone tries to pass me on the left, drive half on the shoulder of the road and indicate I am OK for them to pass by putting on my left signal light.
- I will refrigerate my eggs.
- I will wear socks.
- I will not balk at prices.
- I may never be able to stop converting all prices I see to pesos, and then comparing that with prices from Oaxaca and considering that the pair of black ankle boots I saw in Brown's last night would pay for my living expenses for a whole month in Oaxaca.
- I will not complain about the snow. Storm, actually, currently outside the office window.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Last Day Before Winter
What does this mean? Last day before winter? Well, tomorrow George, Tanya and I fly back to Toronto for a week. It is winter, for real, there. That means minus temperatures and winter coats and boots.
Tanya and I have been talking about Toronto winters trying to remember exactly what that means. We can remember cold but cannot quite get the feel of it. And poor George. He remembers winter because just 3 short weeks ago he was in the middle of it.
So this is our last day in the warm sun. We plan on having an easy day and then pack for the trip. Okay, first step is "The Italian Coffee Company" which is a Starbucks clone. George has taken a liking to their apple strudel. So apple strudel and Cafe Americanos it is on the patio in the shade. Next we hope into the car and head out to the little carved animal village where Tanya buys some things for people at her office and George picks us a colourful cat piece. It is so sunny and hot that I have to stand in the shade waiting.
Back into the car for one last tourist stop. This time it is in the village of Cuilapan where there is an unfinished church from 1560. Cortez had a problem with the church in Spain so he forced the construction to stop since it was on his land anyway. The location is outstanding and the mountain views are wonderful.
Off again. This time it is to the Zocalo in Oaxaca so George can get his shoes shined. He has been doing too much country walking and his shoes were just too dusty for travel. We had a nice lunch in a sidewalk restaurant then George went into the park to find just the right shoeshine kiosk. After the shine we headed back to the house. We did a little packing. Mainly we are bringing back stuff we don't need anymore such as the little Christmas tree we bought and some extra clothes.
One last outting! George is taking us out to dinner. We are going to a dinner and dance show. The dances are representative of the seven geographic and cutural areas of the state. The food was adequate and the dances were spectacular. The regional dresses are very colourful and amazing. The women's dresses, I should say, the men's were very plain.
So this is it. We have to pack for our flights tomorrow. We are going to miss our Oaxaca home and new friends. Of course the warm sunny days are on our mind as is the cold Toronto streets. But then again, we will be seeing our Toronto friends and attending the wedding of our dear friends Claire and Len.
Stay tuned for some of our Toronto adventures and weather updates.
Tanya and I have been talking about Toronto winters trying to remember exactly what that means. We can remember cold but cannot quite get the feel of it. And poor George. He remembers winter because just 3 short weeks ago he was in the middle of it.
So this is our last day in the warm sun. We plan on having an easy day and then pack for the trip. Okay, first step is "The Italian Coffee Company" which is a Starbucks clone. George has taken a liking to their apple strudel. So apple strudel and Cafe Americanos it is on the patio in the shade. Next we hope into the car and head out to the little carved animal village where Tanya buys some things for people at her office and George picks us a colourful cat piece. It is so sunny and hot that I have to stand in the shade waiting.
Back into the car for one last tourist stop. This time it is in the village of Cuilapan where there is an unfinished church from 1560. Cortez had a problem with the church in Spain so he forced the construction to stop since it was on his land anyway. The location is outstanding and the mountain views are wonderful.
Off again. This time it is to the Zocalo in Oaxaca so George can get his shoes shined. He has been doing too much country walking and his shoes were just too dusty for travel. We had a nice lunch in a sidewalk restaurant then George went into the park to find just the right shoeshine kiosk. After the shine we headed back to the house. We did a little packing. Mainly we are bringing back stuff we don't need anymore such as the little Christmas tree we bought and some extra clothes.
One last outting! George is taking us out to dinner. We are going to a dinner and dance show. The dances are representative of the seven geographic and cutural areas of the state. The food was adequate and the dances were spectacular. The regional dresses are very colourful and amazing. The women's dresses, I should say, the men's were very plain.
So this is it. We have to pack for our flights tomorrow. We are going to miss our Oaxaca home and new friends. Of course the warm sunny days are on our mind as is the cold Toronto streets. But then again, we will be seeing our Toronto friends and attending the wedding of our dear friends Claire and Len.
Stay tuned for some of our Toronto adventures and weather updates.
Land - Another Look
Okay, let's have another look at the land that we are interested in. This time we are a group because we want the opinions of others. The group consists of Fernando, the real estate agent and new friend, his 6 year old son, Sheila, the daughter of the woman who owns the house we are renting, Mo, Sheila's boyfriend from England, George, our Toronto friend and John, a new Oaxacan resident from Maine, U.S.A. and of course Tanya and I. So off we go in two cars.
We arrive at the dirt-road junction. From here it is a 10 minute drive around hills to the property or a 5 minute walk to the river bed that runs next to the property. We walk along the short road to the river bed where the property owner suggests that we build a bridge to the property.
The river bed is dry even though it rained heavily the night before. I (Ralph) bound down the river bank while George slips and slides down the bank. The others, seeing George's mishap take the easy way down. We walk across the dry river bed and up onto the property. Tanya provides a tour of the land while I scurry about looking at the property edges and possible road ways to the property.
The group gives us a positive response and agrees that the location is perfect. Yes, the property is perfect, it is just the access to the property that gives us concern.
From Google Earth you can see the property at N17 09.742 W096 45.725 which is at the centre of the property.
Anyway, back to the cars. We are now going to drive the long route around and with the shovel in the car we will take a soil sample. There are many turns off the dirt road so we immediately get lost. We back track to a road that I think is correct and I lead. Will, the road soon disappears into a farmer's field. The farmer gives us a curious look as we make a 5-point turn.
The cows just stare at us. The farmer's dog runs away.
This time Fernando takes the lead and over we go through what looks like a front yard of a house. But it is actually the road so we eventually get to the property. I take the shovel and start digging. Well, not really. The ground is hard as rock. Fernando takes the shovel and quickly digs a hole. I scrape dirt from the side of the hole trying to get a good profile sample. We look around and see a herd of goats walking past us on their way to the grass on the oher side of the field.
Off we go again. This time we stop at the owner's house where he treats us to beers and Coca Cola. The bridge quickly becomes the top topic. He tells us and shows us a document from the County Office which says that we would be better off building a causeway that would allow any water to pass through. The high water mark is only 1 foot so we are not talking about a grand project. And, the County would probably contribute to the project.
We are much relieved as the thought of bridge building was very intimidating. We inform the property owner that it will probably take us 2 years to prepare financially to the project. We estimate that we will need 2-3 hundred thousand for property and another 2-3 hundred thousand for initial building. Yes, we need at least 2 years to get prepared.
our next step is to get the soil analyzed to determine the best wine grape for the area.
We arrive at the dirt-road junction. From here it is a 10 minute drive around hills to the property or a 5 minute walk to the river bed that runs next to the property. We walk along the short road to the river bed where the property owner suggests that we build a bridge to the property.
The river bed is dry even though it rained heavily the night before. I (Ralph) bound down the river bank while George slips and slides down the bank. The others, seeing George's mishap take the easy way down. We walk across the dry river bed and up onto the property. Tanya provides a tour of the land while I scurry about looking at the property edges and possible road ways to the property.
The group gives us a positive response and agrees that the location is perfect. Yes, the property is perfect, it is just the access to the property that gives us concern.From Google Earth you can see the property at N17 09.742 W096 45.725 which is at the centre of the property.
Anyway, back to the cars. We are now going to drive the long route around and with the shovel in the car we will take a soil sample. There are many turns off the dirt road so we immediately get lost. We back track to a road that I think is correct and I lead. Will, the road soon disappears into a farmer's field. The farmer gives us a curious look as we make a 5-point turn.
The cows just stare at us. The farmer's dog runs away.This time Fernando takes the lead and over we go through what looks like a front yard of a house. But it is actually the road so we eventually get to the property. I take the shovel and start digging. Well, not really. The ground is hard as rock. Fernando takes the shovel and quickly digs a hole. I scrape dirt from the side of the hole trying to get a good profile sample. We look around and see a herd of goats walking past us on their way to the grass on the oher side of the field.
Off we go again. This time we stop at the owner's house where he treats us to beers and Coca Cola. The bridge quickly becomes the top topic. He tells us and shows us a document from the County Office which says that we would be better off building a causeway that would allow any water to pass through. The high water mark is only 1 foot so we are not talking about a grand project. And, the County would probably contribute to the project.
We are much relieved as the thought of bridge building was very intimidating. We inform the property owner that it will probably take us 2 years to prepare financially to the project. We estimate that we will need 2-3 hundred thousand for property and another 2-3 hundred thousand for initial building. Yes, we need at least 2 years to get prepared.
our next step is to get the soil analyzed to determine the best wine grape for the area.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Adventures of Ralph and George
Our friend George who is visiting from Canada for 3 weeks wanted to see more of Mexico. His interest was Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. And Ralph said that why take a bus, let's drive.
So off they went leaving Tanya home to work.
The plan was to drive to Fortin de las Flores and stay overnight with Tanya's step-grand-mother then drive into Veracruz the next day. One overnight in Veracruz and then back to Oaxaca,
The drive out of Oaxaca on the Tuesday was great. The weather was clear and there were very few cars and trucks on the road. We made very good time (IE I drove very fast). George was amazed at the change in geography as we approached the state of Puebla and then again as we approached the state of Veracruz. In Puebla there is a big volcano with snow on the top year round. It is an outstanding view. Of course we were looking for "The Italian Coffee Company", a Starbucks clone. We didn't come across one until near the Veracruz/Puebla border. That made George very happy.
The only other event on the drive was being flagged over at a military stop where I was asked for my car permit and to search the trunk. I think that is what the guy was saying. I didn't understand all of what he was saying. I just pointed to my Temporary Import Permit on the front window and opened the trunk for them. After a quick poke around our bags and a guy at the back saying "Ontario" as he pointed at my plate, we were off. They probably didn't want to go through all of the trouble trying to converse with me.
Before going into Fortin we stopped in Córdoba which is next to Fortin and much larger. At the Zócalo we had lunch and coffee.
George ordered a paella which is mainly sea food with a little chicken over saffron rice. Afterwards we walked about town then headed off to Fortin. Did I mention that it was cold? I was the only person in town wearing sandals with no socks. It was overcast and cool. Most people were wearing coats and scarfs. I was obviously a tourist from someplace warm.
Off to Fortin. Anyway, we were having a great visit with the family. George and I were fluently conversing in Spanish with Laura, Tonia, Jessica and Nona (grand-mother). Then Nona says, "Do you want to walk to the bridge?". I say yes. I have been there a few times before and think that George would like the view. The road bridge and train bridge cross over a deep valley where after walking 350 steps down there is a public swimming pool. Of course it is too cold for swimming. Nona hands me a cigar and says, Let's go. Hey, I like the cigar bit. I check the label, it says "It's a girl" (in Spanish). But it is fresh and smokes nicely. Nona says she has had the cigar for 5 years. Did I mention how humid it gets in Fortin? It must be like a humidor.
Down the street and up onto the highway we go. It is a half kilometer walk along side roaring traffic to the bridge. The bridge is named "Bridge of Love". I don't know if anyone really jumped from there. I learned that when the bridge was being built people buried their dead in the cement. That was supposed to have good karma.
Anyway, there is a viewing spot, a small store and parking for tourists.
But the view is not good enough for us so we walk up and over the bank onto the train bridge. There is a better view from that bridge. And then what do you know, a train! We cross over to the other track to let the train pass. We wave and the engineer hoots and waves back.
Okay, enough of this and besides it is starting to rain. Back we go to the house. We have supper, more conversations and then Mimi arrives with Lety. I have not seen Mimi since she left Toronto a few years ago. She wants to come back to Toronto soon. Nona pulls out some old family documents. Her family came to Veracruz in 1881 along with a number of other Italian immigrants. Nona's family actually begins in Russia where they immigrated to Italy. After Mimi leaves uncle Manual drops in for coffee and some conversation.
It is past 11:00 pm when we go off to bed. We sleep late and don't get going until 9:00 am. No coffee or breakfast which disappoints Nona. She knows that we are off to Veracruz and do not have a lot of time. She wishes us a safe trip.
Back on the road again. The city of Veracruz is only an hour away. We arrive at 10:00 am but it takes us a Little time to find the hotel.
It has been 10 years since I have been here and there has been a lot of development along the water front. We check in to the hotel. This is a magical place. The hotel was built in the 1940's and is modeled after a cruise ship with multiple levels all looking out to sea. We settle into the room and then off to "El centro" and the Zocalo.
The traffic is crazy down town. No parking in sight when suddenly a guy waves us into a tiny spot. Whoa! That was great. So off we trot looking for the Zocalo. We haven't had breakfast so brunch is calling.
We find the Zocalo and pick a restaurant. Shrimp for breakfast. I picked up a city map from the tourist office on the Zocalo. George and I look it over to decide on what sights we should take in. We decide to walk along the waterfront and go down to the aquarium which I remember as being equivalent to the one in Boston.
Off we go. We run the gauntlet past all of the street vendors along the way. The views are wonderful and the sun is shinning brightly with gentle sea breezes. The walk turned out to be very long, about 2 km. Anyway, we arrive. I see that my memory has faded. Although the aquarium is big and has those spots where the fish and sharks swim over you, this is not like the Boston aquarium. Still it is impressive.
I see that they added a dolphin tank with 3 dolphins. They are very big.
There is lots of shopping in the building which suggests that we go to a mall.
We grab a taxi back to our car and we drive to the Mall of the Americas. This is a big mall on the scale of Square One in Mississauga. We do a little window shopping then we look for "The Italian Coffee Company". George needs his coffee and sweets. Of course I have to humour him and have cheese cake too.
Back to the hotel for a quick change then back to town. We take a taxi this time because there will be drinking. The Zocalo is different in the evening. There are more music groups then diners in the cafes. There are 3 groups playing and they are all within 4 tables of us. The music and singing blends into one large orchestra. The passing vendors are selling Rolex watches, Cuban cigars, peanuts, hammocks and other food items. The place is crazy with sounds, colours and people. We love it. Of course I buy a box of Romeo and Juliette, robustos. The guy wants 350 pesos for them . We settle on 300 pesos which means that the cigars are about 1 dollar each.
After supper which is about 10:30 pm we decide it is time for coffee and desert. We find a taxi and order him to take us to a "The Italian Coffee Company" in the Boca Del Rio area (near our hotel). We have a coffee and carrot cake. For some reason the waiter at the cash thinks my request for Pastel Zanahoria is funny. But a smart quick girl behind the counter runs back to the kitchen and returns with a whole cake. She understood my request and jumped upon it. Great service. My Spanish must be good.
It is midnight by the time we are ready to go because I had one of the cigars. It was very good. So a taxi ride back to the hotel and off to bed.
I am up by 8:00 am. By 9:00 am George and I are in the breakfast room overlooking the grounds and the sea. George loves sitting in the sun looking off to sea.
We walk down to the beach which is just off the hotel property. It is a very nice day and a good opportunity to have a morning cigar. A guy walks by us with a large pail, the size of a milking pail. It is full of freshly caught shrimp which he is selling to people on the beach.
Now it is time to leave. We head back up to the hotel and check out. Off we head home.
Our first stop along the way is at "The Italian Coffee Company" for a send off coffee. Before actually getting home we will have sampled 2 more Italian Coffee Company locations. The weather is great and the traffic not too bad. We make the trip in under 5 hours. I must have been driving very quickly it seems.
What a great trip.
So off they went leaving Tanya home to work.
The plan was to drive to Fortin de las Flores and stay overnight with Tanya's step-grand-mother then drive into Veracruz the next day. One overnight in Veracruz and then back to Oaxaca,
The drive out of Oaxaca on the Tuesday was great. The weather was clear and there were very few cars and trucks on the road. We made very good time (IE I drove very fast). George was amazed at the change in geography as we approached the state of Puebla and then again as we approached the state of Veracruz. In Puebla there is a big volcano with snow on the top year round. It is an outstanding view. Of course we were looking for "The Italian Coffee Company", a Starbucks clone. We didn't come across one until near the Veracruz/Puebla border. That made George very happy.
The only other event on the drive was being flagged over at a military stop where I was asked for my car permit and to search the trunk. I think that is what the guy was saying. I didn't understand all of what he was saying. I just pointed to my Temporary Import Permit on the front window and opened the trunk for them. After a quick poke around our bags and a guy at the back saying "Ontario" as he pointed at my plate, we were off. They probably didn't want to go through all of the trouble trying to converse with me.
Before going into Fortin we stopped in Córdoba which is next to Fortin and much larger. At the Zócalo we had lunch and coffee.
George ordered a paella which is mainly sea food with a little chicken over saffron rice. Afterwards we walked about town then headed off to Fortin. Did I mention that it was cold? I was the only person in town wearing sandals with no socks. It was overcast and cool. Most people were wearing coats and scarfs. I was obviously a tourist from someplace warm.Off to Fortin. Anyway, we were having a great visit with the family. George and I were fluently conversing in Spanish with Laura, Tonia, Jessica and Nona (grand-mother). Then Nona says, "Do you want to walk to the bridge?". I say yes. I have been there a few times before and think that George would like the view. The road bridge and train bridge cross over a deep valley where after walking 350 steps down there is a public swimming pool. Of course it is too cold for swimming. Nona hands me a cigar and says, Let's go. Hey, I like the cigar bit. I check the label, it says "It's a girl" (in Spanish). But it is fresh and smokes nicely. Nona says she has had the cigar for 5 years. Did I mention how humid it gets in Fortin? It must be like a humidor.
Down the street and up onto the highway we go. It is a half kilometer walk along side roaring traffic to the bridge. The bridge is named "Bridge of Love". I don't know if anyone really jumped from there. I learned that when the bridge was being built people buried their dead in the cement. That was supposed to have good karma.
Anyway, there is a viewing spot, a small store and parking for tourists.
But the view is not good enough for us so we walk up and over the bank onto the train bridge. There is a better view from that bridge. And then what do you know, a train! We cross over to the other track to let the train pass. We wave and the engineer hoots and waves back.Okay, enough of this and besides it is starting to rain. Back we go to the house. We have supper, more conversations and then Mimi arrives with Lety. I have not seen Mimi since she left Toronto a few years ago. She wants to come back to Toronto soon. Nona pulls out some old family documents. Her family came to Veracruz in 1881 along with a number of other Italian immigrants. Nona's family actually begins in Russia where they immigrated to Italy. After Mimi leaves uncle Manual drops in for coffee and some conversation.
It is past 11:00 pm when we go off to bed. We sleep late and don't get going until 9:00 am. No coffee or breakfast which disappoints Nona. She knows that we are off to Veracruz and do not have a lot of time. She wishes us a safe trip.
Back on the road again. The city of Veracruz is only an hour away. We arrive at 10:00 am but it takes us a Little time to find the hotel.
It has been 10 years since I have been here and there has been a lot of development along the water front. We check in to the hotel. This is a magical place. The hotel was built in the 1940's and is modeled after a cruise ship with multiple levels all looking out to sea. We settle into the room and then off to "El centro" and the Zocalo.The traffic is crazy down town. No parking in sight when suddenly a guy waves us into a tiny spot. Whoa! That was great. So off we trot looking for the Zocalo. We haven't had breakfast so brunch is calling.
We find the Zocalo and pick a restaurant. Shrimp for breakfast. I picked up a city map from the tourist office on the Zocalo. George and I look it over to decide on what sights we should take in. We decide to walk along the waterfront and go down to the aquarium which I remember as being equivalent to the one in Boston.Off we go. We run the gauntlet past all of the street vendors along the way. The views are wonderful and the sun is shinning brightly with gentle sea breezes. The walk turned out to be very long, about 2 km. Anyway, we arrive. I see that my memory has faded. Although the aquarium is big and has those spots where the fish and sharks swim over you, this is not like the Boston aquarium. Still it is impressive.
I see that they added a dolphin tank with 3 dolphins. They are very big.There is lots of shopping in the building which suggests that we go to a mall.
We grab a taxi back to our car and we drive to the Mall of the Americas. This is a big mall on the scale of Square One in Mississauga. We do a little window shopping then we look for "The Italian Coffee Company". George needs his coffee and sweets. Of course I have to humour him and have cheese cake too.Back to the hotel for a quick change then back to town. We take a taxi this time because there will be drinking. The Zocalo is different in the evening. There are more music groups then diners in the cafes. There are 3 groups playing and they are all within 4 tables of us. The music and singing blends into one large orchestra. The passing vendors are selling Rolex watches, Cuban cigars, peanuts, hammocks and other food items. The place is crazy with sounds, colours and people. We love it. Of course I buy a box of Romeo and Juliette, robustos. The guy wants 350 pesos for them . We settle on 300 pesos which means that the cigars are about 1 dollar each.
After supper which is about 10:30 pm we decide it is time for coffee and desert. We find a taxi and order him to take us to a "The Italian Coffee Company" in the Boca Del Rio area (near our hotel). We have a coffee and carrot cake. For some reason the waiter at the cash thinks my request for Pastel Zanahoria is funny. But a smart quick girl behind the counter runs back to the kitchen and returns with a whole cake. She understood my request and jumped upon it. Great service. My Spanish must be good.
It is midnight by the time we are ready to go because I had one of the cigars. It was very good. So a taxi ride back to the hotel and off to bed.
I am up by 8:00 am. By 9:00 am George and I are in the breakfast room overlooking the grounds and the sea. George loves sitting in the sun looking off to sea.
We walk down to the beach which is just off the hotel property. It is a very nice day and a good opportunity to have a morning cigar. A guy walks by us with a large pail, the size of a milking pail. It is full of freshly caught shrimp which he is selling to people on the beach.Now it is time to leave. We head back up to the hotel and check out. Off we head home.
Our first stop along the way is at "The Italian Coffee Company" for a send off coffee. Before actually getting home we will have sampled 2 more Italian Coffee Company locations. The weather is great and the traffic not too bad. We make the trip in under 5 hours. I must have been driving very quickly it seems.What a great trip.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Kindness of Strangers
The second water spot I wanted to find was an “Oyo de Aqua”- basically a spot where an underground river comes to the surface. This particular spot was the ancient bathing place of the Zapotec royal family, and has a romantic story tied to it about an offering, a vision and a happy marriage. Worth a visit in my books!
We followed directions in the book, which were incorrect, and then asked some kids, who told us to go back to the corner where there is a police station, go right, then at the general hospital, go left, and from there follow the signs. And so we did. Success!
We drive the car in and park, grab our suits and head to a washroom to change. Suited up, we saunter down to see what awaits us. A river had been dammed, creating large pools for people to play in. There are huge rocks underwater, and the pools are not deep, they vary from maybe knee deep to chest deep. Mango trees grow overhead and little islands create different bathing areas. We set our clothes down and I catch a woman’s eye. I ask her if she will look out for our stuff as we swim. (Si!) Into the warm, mineralized water we go! Can you pick out the two "Gueros" - white ones - in the water?
Refreshed, enchanted by the place and just tickled by the whole adventure, we not-so-gracefully get out of the water and sit to dry off. The Senora who watched our clothes offers us tacos to enjoy. We thank her and devour them.
Ralph decided he should sit and have a beer and a cigar, and so we got changed and sat at the little hut for a drink. The owner has cataracts in both eyes, and was as enchanted by us as we were with the place. A cigar stop turns into a discussion about how we found this place. I eventually had to take out my guidebook and show them, translating the directions line by line and at the same time explaining that these were the wrong directions. They wanted to know where we were from, where we were going, how did we like this place, what did our money look like, and finally an exchange of addresses, in case we were there again, we were invited to the owner’s house. George donated a 20 CDN bill for the good of the village, and challenged me to explain in Spanish why Queen Elizabeth was on Canadian money. I was asked, but simply said it was a long story, for another time.
Hours later we leave, feeling somehow like family leaving a place that although not often visited, always welcomed and loved. I think we all felt honored to have been allowed to find this special place, to be invited to eat, to break bread, to share a bit of our stories and our lives.
Path is Sometimes Steep
In researching our weekend away in the Istmo, I had read about a ruin that was supposed to be quite spectacular, in that it had been abandoned in 1300 AD and although known, was never restored. Arriving there was supposed to be magical, feeling like you were only just discovering this wonder after a sometimes steep walk through the hills. The guidebook said to pick up a guide at the little palapa hut at the entrance of the town, and drive up, park and walk 3 kilometers to the site.It suggested we go early, but by the time we found breakfast (seems Tehuantepec is an 8:30 a.m. start kind of town), brought George’s glasses in to an Optica, decided on new frames as he had broken the others, asked the salesperson if on her way out she could drop them off at the hotel (Si!) and hit the road, we were not getting a guide and heading up the hill until close to 10:30.
After a slightly insane drive on a road loaded with boulders, each scrape causing our guide to flinch, we park at the foot of a path and start our ascent. The walk will take us slightly over an hour to accomplish, with breaks as required, and George grilling me the entire way about what arrangement his wife, Mary, and I have regarding his life insurance policy. The guide, on our breaks, comments that we should have gotten started earlier. Ralph is, as usual, his gazelle-like self, hoping over rocks, sprinting and jumping and not sweating. I, as always, plod along. For once, though, my gazelle husband gets eaten by bugs, check out the result of the days hike! (Also note the sexy muscle definition!)Our guide leads us onward and upward, his machete making a distinctive “ping” as he clears branches from overhead and from the path to ease our passing. There is something exotic about being led up a side of a hill, surrounded by cactus and forest and huge black boulders, by a skinny man who speaks no English, skillfully wielding a very, very sharp machete.
Arriving at the ruin is preceded by the passing through a huge fortification wall, at least 6 feet high and 4 feet wide, still mostly intact. We are getting close. As the path straightens out, there is an obvious flat patio, like a gathering place, and you can see where the walls are still covered in stucco. Over a small mound and into a grand plaza, where Ralph clambers into the ball court and up the two pyramids. There is no one to tell you here that you cannot climb these walls or these ruined stairs, to see what men saw 700 years ago. A valley. A river. A place where people would be safe, surrounded by lush forest and enclosed by a wall made of slate.
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