Rather than me trying to describe the state of Oaxaca and the city of the same name how about reading Wikipedia. Here is the link for the State of Oaxaca and the link for the City of Oaxaca.
Another reference worth your time to visit is "Oaxaca Dream".
This site contains articles written by Alvin Starkman, a transplanted Torontonian. We met Alvin during our first visit to Oaxaca in 2006. Alvin provided us with 2 days of extensive tours around the Oaxaca valley. I believe that one of the major factors for Tanya and I to focus on Oaxaca was Alvin's great introduction to the sites and activities the valley has to offer.
We have also read Alvin's newsletters and enjoy his insights into Oaxacan life. I hope you will read his articles referenced above and enjoy them as we have.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
View from the downstairs patio
This little movie is a 360 degree pan of the view from the downstairs patio. The patio is covered and is a nice place to sit in the shade or when it is raining. It is comfortable for our morning coffee and my after breakfast cigar. The lighting is not the best as it was very sunny at the time the picture was taken. The mountains in the background are not as clear as I would like. Maybe I'll take another movie another day when it is not so sunny. The mountains are so high or the clouds so low that the mountain tops are frequently covered by clouds. Note that I start and stop the video on our little blue Suzuki Swift. This little car has brought us the 4,405 km from Toronto to Oaxaca without incident and brings us up the hill (must be 50%+ grade) to our house every day.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Bank Card, What Bank Card - an update
Guess what? When the TD Bank cancelled my business banking card they also cancelled my personal bank card which I have in my possession. That means that I have no access to money.
Fortunately the Bank was able to set up a new card and give me the number. This is not usual but since it was their error they relented. So I can access my money online but still cannot get any cash.
Again fortune smiles on me because I can move money between my and Tanya's account. But... Tanya's PIN is too long for her to use the bank machines in Mexico so I still have no access to money. When Tanya gets a moment she can contact the TD Bank in Toronto to have her PIN changed. In the meantime I need to watch my spending.
Will I ever get this sorted out? This reminds me of the time in Pakistan (www.DestinationPakistan.BlogSpot.com) when Azhar and I showed up to check into a hotel and his passport was left in the hotel room safe in Lahore. He who laughs last laughs best.
Fortunately the Bank was able to set up a new card and give me the number. This is not usual but since it was their error they relented. So I can access my money online but still cannot get any cash.
Again fortune smiles on me because I can move money between my and Tanya's account. But... Tanya's PIN is too long for her to use the bank machines in Mexico so I still have no access to money. When Tanya gets a moment she can contact the TD Bank in Toronto to have her PIN changed. In the meantime I need to watch my spending.
Will I ever get this sorted out? This reminds me of the time in Pakistan (www.DestinationPakistan.BlogSpot.com) when Azhar and I showed up to check into a hotel and his passport was left in the hotel room safe in Lahore. He who laughs last laughs best.
Our Workday
Yes, we are actually working. Tanya uses the upstairs as her office while I use the downstairs for my office.
After breakfast Tanya retires to her office where she conducts her calls using Skype for her telephone calls. I stay downstairs where I am reading a book on Online Marketing and studying Spanish from CDs.
We meet for lunch downstairs in my office and then Tanya disappears again until 5 or 6 PM. After supper we take a walk or drive. This is the schedule Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We then have the weekend for site seeing and shopping.
As time goes on and I get more familiar with the area I will probably venture out more on my own. Starting next week I will be taking formal Spanish lessons. The lessons are 5 days per week for 4 hours per day. 2 hours will be grammar and 2 hours will be conservation. In the evenings I will review my learning with Tanya.
That is the schedule so far but once I start Spanish lessons next week it may change for awhile. But so far we are very busy and enjoying the hot days and cool nights.
After breakfast Tanya retires to her office where she conducts her calls using Skype for her telephone calls. I stay downstairs where I am reading a book on Online Marketing and studying Spanish from CDs.
We meet for lunch downstairs in my office and then Tanya disappears again until 5 or 6 PM. After supper we take a walk or drive. This is the schedule Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We then have the weekend for site seeing and shopping.
As time goes on and I get more familiar with the area I will probably venture out more on my own. Starting next week I will be taking formal Spanish lessons. The lessons are 5 days per week for 4 hours per day. 2 hours will be grammar and 2 hours will be conservation. In the evenings I will review my learning with Tanya.
That is the schedule so far but once I start Spanish lessons next week it may change for awhile. But so far we are very busy and enjoying the hot days and cool nights.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Pilot to Navigator - Let's Go
I have yet to venture out on my own in the car. I need my navigator - Tanya. Why? Well there is so much to concentrate on when driving that I cannot read the street signs and keep our car in one piece.
Our poor car has been taking a beating from underneath already. Mexico does not need traffic police to control the speed of traffic. Instead they use "topes" or as we say "speed bumps". These bumps come in various styles and sizes and if you hit one too quickly the bottom of your car and or your shocks take the hit.
Styles:
- 4 feet wide and 1 foot high;
- 4 feet wide and 1 foot deep (inverted tope);
- 2 feet wide and 6 inches high;
- 8 inches wide and 8 inches high;
- metal half spheres 1 foot in diameter spaced 1 foot apart;
- the repaired cement that looks like a tope but is not.
Okay you may say, "I can get over those". Yes, we can easily navigate these road disturbances but... they appear at random and are mixed just to keep you on your toes.
So why do I need a navigator? Well first of all this is a new city for us and we do not know our way around yet so we need to follow a map or the GPS. Secondly, there are not always (rarely) lane markings and 2 lanes can easily hold 3 cars so you need to watch both sides of the car. Also, double parking seems to be standard and motorcycles can lane split (drive between cars). Did I mention pot holes and unmarked road works.
When you add the surprise of a tope while watching ahead and all sides at the same time it is very risky having your eyes stray to an interesting landmark or a street sign. (I didn't even include the buses)As soon as you do "wham", you hit a tope. I am getting used to watching the car ahead as a warning beacon of upcoming topes.
Every day it gets better. That is, less under car scraping. I am sure that in no time at all I will be going solo. But for now, I'll take along my navigator.
Note: Tope is pronounced as 2 syllables with the accent on the first.
Our poor car has been taking a beating from underneath already. Mexico does not need traffic police to control the speed of traffic. Instead they use "topes" or as we say "speed bumps". These bumps come in various styles and sizes and if you hit one too quickly the bottom of your car and or your shocks take the hit.
Styles:
- 4 feet wide and 1 foot high;
- 4 feet wide and 1 foot deep (inverted tope);
- 2 feet wide and 6 inches high;
- 8 inches wide and 8 inches high;
- metal half spheres 1 foot in diameter spaced 1 foot apart;
- the repaired cement that looks like a tope but is not.
Okay you may say, "I can get over those". Yes, we can easily navigate these road disturbances but... they appear at random and are mixed just to keep you on your toes.
So why do I need a navigator? Well first of all this is a new city for us and we do not know our way around yet so we need to follow a map or the GPS. Secondly, there are not always (rarely) lane markings and 2 lanes can easily hold 3 cars so you need to watch both sides of the car. Also, double parking seems to be standard and motorcycles can lane split (drive between cars). Did I mention pot holes and unmarked road works.
When you add the surprise of a tope while watching ahead and all sides at the same time it is very risky having your eyes stray to an interesting landmark or a street sign. (I didn't even include the buses)As soon as you do "wham", you hit a tope. I am getting used to watching the car ahead as a warning beacon of upcoming topes.
Every day it gets better. That is, less under car scraping. I am sure that in no time at all I will be going solo. But for now, I'll take along my navigator.
Note: Tope is pronounced as 2 syllables with the accent on the first.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My Turkeys, My Hill, My Oaxaca
Settling In. Still. I was telling Ralph how literally exhausted I am. Between the stress of getting the basement renovated, looking after last minutes things, putting our own things away in the event we rented the house, forwarding mail, working, and actually driving to Mexico via Austin, I underestimated how truly exhausted I am. The last few days have been about small excursions and trying to get to bed early, as between stress dreams and Ralph sitting bolt upright in bed and hollering at me when I made a noise opening the bathroom door at 2:00 a.m., we've not had long days and nights. But we have turkeys. Next door the neighbor keeps turkeys in his backyard. Their gobbling makes us laugh and then try to imitate them. When we headed out to the Zocalo (downtown square) after work today, they were by the side of the road as we headed down our hill to the main road. And yes, this is a picture of our hill that we climb up and down when not in the car to get to our house.
Let me just say how toned my butt will be after 6 month of hauling it up this hill. Walking around the zocalo this evening, oogling the shoe stores (such great selection and great deals - we may need a U-Haul after 6 months), I feel a bit more settled, a bit more excited, a bit more into the groove of My Oaxaca.
Calling from Mexico on the cheap
Long distance calling is normally an expensive proposition but not any more. In Mexico we are using Skype (http://www.skype.com) to make our calls to Canada for free or just pennies.
We can call another Skype user from our computer to theirs at no charge. We the person on the other end of the call has a camera we can also see each other as we talk. This is a great feature for keeping in touch. We can also move the camera around so that the other person can see the landscape of where we are (provided it is not dark outside).
Some Skype users like my brother and sister have "call forwarded" their account to their telephones so that I can contact them even when they are not online. These are free calls.
My parents do not have a computer so I call to their home telephone directly. I have set up a Skype credit of C$14.00 for this purpose. The calls are less that $0.03 per minute. At that rate I can talk all day and I expect that the C$14.00 will last for the 6 months that we are away.
If you have Skype why not add us to your contact list. Our Skype names are Ralph.Gault and Tanyalapierre. Why not call us some time?
We can call another Skype user from our computer to theirs at no charge. We the person on the other end of the call has a camera we can also see each other as we talk. This is a great feature for keeping in touch. We can also move the camera around so that the other person can see the landscape of where we are (provided it is not dark outside).
Some Skype users like my brother and sister have "call forwarded" their account to their telephones so that I can contact them even when they are not online. These are free calls.
My parents do not have a computer so I call to their home telephone directly. I have set up a Skype credit of C$14.00 for this purpose. The calls are less that $0.03 per minute. At that rate I can talk all day and I expect that the C$14.00 will last for the 6 months that we are away.
If you have Skype why not add us to your contact list. Our Skype names are Ralph.Gault and Tanyalapierre. Why not call us some time?
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