domingo, el 31 de julio de 2011

Candles, matches and flashlights are on stand by. HUGE thunder and lightning storm....I have never heard it so loud or seen flashes so close.

Lights have flickered a few times...so who knows about the internet.

If you do not see a posting tonight...you know why!!

saludos

UPDATE

We have had 2 power outages in the last 15 minutes...torrential downpour has started, and we have dropped 5 degrees as well!!

UPDATE...hoy el blog

Buenos noches amigos.

930pm and WOW…is there a lot of VERY close lightning occurring right now!! We were out for a walk to Bexico’s new favorite helado stop, and the lightning started up in all 3 mountain ranges. Quite the show!!

The peeps in the zocalo were rushing to pack up their goods and if they knew to head home, we followed their lead!!

A quick hola to Beto y Sergio and here we are. We could use some night time lluvia. It is currently 29,5 grados and a little muggy.

940pm and here comes the downpour…lights just flickered and you can smell the rain. Rainy season in Huatulco!!

And this all comes after we started the day overcast, but had sunny and blue skies from 11am until 7pm. It changes that fast.

Our day was a tranquilo day…compared to what we normally experience!!

Yes, it started with pancakes!! Hello?? And with the race starting at 1215pm and the sun already out…alberca time!!

Had a great float and met some peeps from California, who have a sister who lives in Vancouver and in the Mexican estado of Vera Cruz. Also has family in Montreal…blah blah blah. Nice peeps and we gave them some directions to surf playas etc.

And then it was all about Nascar. Had a great feed today, so both picture and sound were top notch. And some 3 hours later…back to the alberca!!

That was followed by some more web browsing…hotels for the way back to Van, as well as baby carriers/slings/backpack thingies!!

Slipped in a quick iChat with mis padres y mi hermana and then it was time for hamburguesa domingo!!

Watch a little Monsters Inc at the same time, did the walk and you can call this domingo a wrap!!

Mañana? Che and recycling depot for sure, and probably get our fotos taken for the new forma de no inmigrante that we need to apply for in the next few weeks.

Esta semana I will head to café Juanitas for some more libros, I need to have the secadora looked at, and hopefully solve the lavadora/secadora issue for B10.

Hope you all had a buen fin de semana…and if you are in Canada having the long weekend, enjoy your lunes!!

Marco y Bexico

sábado, el 30 julio de 2011


Buenos noches amigos.

Almost 9pm and la cena was delicioso!! That lomo cerdo con papas puree y salsa Moreno is the way to go!!

Good news? Bexico thought our little Gecko friend might have been, how shall we say, sucked up in the vacuum. Good news…after emptying the vacuum and finding nothing…we saw him hiding near the TV.

Items finished off our checklist?

We have confirmed the senorita who cleans up around the complex, will take care of cleaning G10 y B10.

And? It looks like I have figured out my route out of Mexico. It will take two and a half days and the route is pretty much north through the center of the country. More good news? I found a route that completely bypasses Mexico City!!

It is about 165 km and is called the Arco Norte.

Here is their website…some neat stuff to look at.


On the list, but I forgot to mention, we need to pick up some vanilla for our landlord and some tequila for my Burnaby mecanico. The vanilla is a thanks for holding onto all of our purchases, and the tequila is a thanks for assisting us on the camioneta from a far.

Good/bad news…mas o menos…Rosa has emailed us. Yes she is ok, but she will be staying north, near DF. She just had enough of Galdino and decided to stay with her parents and family.

We will stay in touch, but I will miss my gym amiga and we were really looking forward to the baby shower she was going to throw for Bexico!!

Talking about the gym…empty today. Ok…one person, Hector, was there. We chatted it up about our niño, his family and all the land his abuela owns or once owned. Hector was given a large chuck of the land, but it is all in a national park!! Ja ja ja

Good work out and then came home. The secadora repair tienda was closed, so it will have to wait until proxima semana, next week. It takes forever to dry things without the secadora, so I grabbed all my whites and hit the lavenderia.

I asked if they could be washed with Blancatel…bleach, and they said sí. Good stuff as I like my whites white, and Bexico hates the smell!!
Normal cost is $10 pesos/kilo and they are charging me an extra $6 (50 cents) for the Blancatel. And ready mañana.

Platanos for snacks y papas for la cena and then it was almost time for alberca. Bexico joined me a little while later as she had another Skype with her new client.

And good news there? She will be paid hourly, all she needs to do is sign into the special website and they track hours. They also take screen shots of the work to prove to the client that the contractor is actually doing work while signed in. Who knew?

Hourly is better then a fixed contract as this allows her to be paid for all changes that come about due to the client.

Good alberca time…mix of sun and clouds again.

Despues de alberca, it was web surfing for me and then cooking la cena, and Bexico went back to work. And what a trooper she is…after her work out, she cleaned the condo!! We do make a good team that way.

Not many fotos today…lo siento.

Our clima.


The tamarindos.


They have stopped an out of town taxi…hello donation!!

And last but not least.


What I hope does not happen to me and the camioneta on the way through Mexico!! Ja ja ja

Our mañana? Big plans!! Pancakes para desayunos, albera time, Nascar, hamburguesa y some frozen yogurt for mi novias domingo treat!!

Hope you are having a great fin de semana.

Marco y Bexico

viernes, el 29 de julio de 2011


Hola amigos.

A little ah-ha I discovered while doing my morning web surfing.

Know who this is?


It is Duckie from the 80’s pelicula, Pretty in Pink. The ah-ha? The actor is Jon Cryer who plays Allen on Two and a Half Men. That show is very popular on the rerun channel down here.

Always good to have an ah-ha as I watch the American debt situation erode the value of my mutual fund portfolio.

Lets start the blog entry with fotos from the day.

Know what is in season?


Purses!! Hello!!

And uva…grapes.



$10 pesos for ½ kilo…less then a dollar Cdn for a pound.

This can be yours for $30 pesos.


And safer then a moto?


One repair shops closes, another opens.


In a front yard, this shop is on the way home from el gimnasio. Mañana I will see if they work on Bosch secadoras.

Talking about shops closing, Bexico tells me that Carlo’s restaurante de camarones is also now cerrado. He did tell us that negocio was malo (bad).

Dos senoritas.


Lugging a pail of hielo down the street.

Hombre? What hombre? I do not see any hombre.


Cammo hombre.

And last but not least.


One word…leche. Yup, this is Gato Negro saying "leche" and yup, she came up for some.

Our day?

Bexico had a mini workout…she has 3rd trimester fatigue sometimes and we don’t want her to push it.

Then into her oficina and back to work. I have seen a sneak peak of her latest pelicula and I think it is great. And some great news…she has been signed up to create another animated pelicula for a new client…more work!!! Felicidades!!

Me? I had some great zzzzz’s and then spent an hour with my hand on Bexico’s belly as niño decided to let us know he/she was awake too!!

And then unrelated to that fun, I got out of bed and had a stiff neck!! Postponed el gimnasio and instead went to Nissan to show Tony the mofler. He thought it might be installed backwards…ugh. So off to the moflero where Tony chatted the hombre up.

He showed us a cut away mofler and we all agreed that the mofler could be installed in either direction. Here’s hoping….ja ja ja

On the way back to Nissan, Tony gave me the gears for paying a little too much and for going to the wrong moflero. I then gave him the gears for allowing me to go on my own!! Ja ja ja

Currently 7pm and I will see the Nissan boys play their partido de futbol in an hour. It is part of my way of saying thanks for all their ongoing help.

Dropped Tony off and then hit up Che. Burritos tonight and lomo mañana and hello…hamburguesa domingo!!

By the time I got home, my neck was loosened up enough to hit el gimnasio and off I went. Only 2 peeps in the gym and for whatever reason, it was a tough workout…energía baja…low energy. Oh well…it happens.

Walked through town and said hola to Daniel and spent some time surfing Futureshop.ca with Moises. Por que? He likes my iPod and is eyeing me to buy him one when we are back in Van. Easier then a skateboard!!

Headed home and then we turned right around to check on the place that gives vaccinations. Lets just say that they do give vaccinations…but they seem to be very disorganized.

We later talked with Daniel and he laughed when we retold the story. Why did he laugh? He says Mexicans wait until the baby is born before they go looking for doctors etc. And sometimes even then they don’t go looking.

He is a true amigo and will help us through this process. We are not concerned about the vaccinations, we are now looking for a pediatrician and this is where Daniel will assist us. His hijo was born in Oaxaca, but will ask all his amigos here in Huatulco what they recommend.

We are still going to go the military hospital to see what they have to offer. Stay tuned.

Alberca time…sin sol!! The clouds moved in before we hit the pool…again!! Must start swimming earlier in the day.

Despues de alberca, off to the tienda de electronics and picked up the charger. $100 pesos and I was off. Good news…it works better then it did ayer. Bad news…it still seems to turn off and I need to play with it. But it is $460 pesos cheaper then a new one and I will make a decision once we are back in Van.

730pm…time to finish la cena and then off to rapido.

Back soon.

Ok…maybe not soon. I MUST remember that an 8pm partido de futbol starts at 830 or 845pm…ugh!!

Ugly game to start…5-1 and then they pulled Tony from goal. I sit with the team and it is quite an experience. No real coach, no uniforms (yet) and not enough jugadores…players. They wanted an otra goalie, so this guy kicks off his dress shoes, puts on Tony’s sneakers and plays goalie. Everyone is kind to me and I try to listen in on the conversations and pick up palabras I understand.

Despues de partido, I went into the other stands and met Tony’s padre, esposa y hija. We had a great chat about kids, Canada, Huatulco, Tony’s work etc. Friendly family.

Then it was time to talk with Carlos. He introduced someone to me, so I said mucho gusto, but then he reminded me that it was the senorita from the caja, the cashier at Nissan. She took my “funny money” and tonight I was able to explain why I play that joke. So many serio Mexicans…and the funny money makes them ALL laugh!!

We had a good chat and Carlos has it figured out. If I don’t understand what he says, just try other palabras that mean the same thing!! It works!! Ja ja ja

10pm and that was our day. Bexico is still hard at work in her oficina, but is about to call it a day.

Mañana is sábado!! No special plans, but we are going to go out for lunch sometime soon. Nascar on domingo and upon our return in diciembre, I am looking forward to watching some NFL via our dish!!

Buen fin de semana!! Oh yeah...it is a long weekend for many of you. Enjoy!!!

Marco y Bexico

jueves, el 28 de julio de 2011

635pm…so much for going to watch the partido de fútbol. We had a mainly sunny day and at 6pm, the clouds broke open and we have had a torrential downpour.

So now, the 4 of us are just sitting around waiting for the rain to stop. The four? Yo, Bexico, conejito, y Gato Blanco.

Gato Blanco was stuck in the downpour, along with Gato Negro, but Blanco said “I am out of here” and bolted to our stairwell. She then came upstairs, got dry and had some leche.


Leche was followed by sitting on the couch, and then giving her self a bath. This is what she is up to right now.


And Gato Negro?


Stubborn…would not leave the safety of the tree!! Look carefully and you can see him behind the second rock from the left.

And here is Blanco only a few hours before the downpour.


It looks like Gato Negro is in the foto, sleeping it off under a bush.

Ok…our day. A busy one.

Bexico managed another workout and then has been very busy with work.

Me? El gimnasio where I ran into Galdino and he tells me that Rosa is not only not coming back to the gym, but is staying in DF with her padres. Huh? Something peculiar there and we have sent her an email looking to see how she is doing, but have not heard back yet.

It was true…another “Ghimbeli”…he too disappeared!!

Great workout still and then hurried home because I was meeting Tony from Nissan, at 2pm. First stopped to buy an Allen wrench…no luck as they did not have one small enough.

So I stopped at the TV repair shop and the cranky hombre told me to come back mañana. He might be able to fix the camera battery charger for $50 pesos…a whole lot better then $560 for a new one. Stay tuned.

Hurried to Nissan (why do I hurry here?) and waited 15 minutes for the boys. I then followed them…to Che. Huh? They were going in to pick up some comida para la comida…food for lunch.

Che sets up this little buffet in chafing dishes, sin heat. It is muy economico, but yikes. Not the most food safe. And of course they bought some tortillas with it!!

Off to Pablos and he wants me to return Monday morning. He needs 3 hours and again…might be able to fix it. The communication issue? I heard “lunes” which is Monday, but I also heard “mañana”, which means tomorrow, which would be viernes. Huh?

What I missed was “a la mañana”…lunes a la mañana…Monday morning!! Doph. I still am listening for palabras I understand and then work on understanding the complete sentence.

I have also learned that as long as you know the verbo, you can mention that in the conversation and the peeps at least know the context of what you are trying to say.

Stopped off at the moflero and the news was that he could not weld the hole in the muffler. Too much pressure on the weld and too much corrosion. So? New one installed for $2000 pesos. Ugh…another $168 Cdn. But it needed it so I agreed.

Told to come back in an hour and a half…the job took almost 3 hours. It was not easy and it was also hot under there.



Out with the old, in with the new.


The only issue I have is that I saw an arrow on the new mofler…I am sure the hombre installed it pointing in the right direction!! Yikes.

I had left the truck, walked home for more pesos and then returned to watch him work for another hour or so.

Then it was time for home and a dip in the pool. I was pooped, but we had planned on Bexico grabbing some pollo and me headed to the soccer game, but that changed obviously. Except Bexico the trooper still went out to grab the pollo!!

Fotos for the day.

From anoches Chinese laundry.


Dos hombres de Fonatur.


Mi amigo Daniel is not in this foto. But we do see two hombres checking their cell phone. Most Mexicans here do not have internet service at home, or computers, but even the most humble Mexican seems to have a cell phone which they do all their calls and texting on.

Sombreros.


For only $30 pesos? Less then $3 Cdn.

More talented senoritas.




In the middle of the calle.




This perro decided the middle of the road was a great place to try and solve her flea issue.

Help me explain this.



It was 35 grados plus humido and this senorita is wearing jeans, boots and a jacket? How does she handle the heat?

Otro perro.


This one seems to live on the roof and reigns from above.

Across from the condo is Imperial Pollo.



This is the second extension on their smoke stack. The smell is great, but I understand it leaves some condos with a film. Ugh.

I love this 50cc moto.


This hombre looked like he was having problems with his moto.


And last but not least….the zapato hombres.


I tell you again, these peeps are hard working!!!

Misc.

This is a hilarious video…if you follow Nascar racing. Before each race, a pastor/preacher gives the blessing, praying for safety etc. This pastor went above and beyond.


Mañana is viernes already? Yikes.

We still need to get to the place that gives vaccinations (here’s hoping) and I am hoping to find the repair shop for the secadora.

Add el gimnasiopila charger to the list.

Have a great viernes.

Marco y Bexico

miercoles, el 27 de julio de 2011

Buenos tardes amigos!!

645pm and I am just taking a break from holding my Canon camera’s battery charger. Huh? If I hold it just a certain way, it charges the pila (battery)…but it won’t work if I plug it into the wall socket.

I found a universal charger at our major foto store (ja ja ja) for $560 pesos. Ugh. I also went online and saw that many peeps have had similar issues with their chargers, and the fact that Canon.ca is sold out of the LC-E5 charger, makes you go ah-ha!!

Plan? Mañana I will go to the ferreteria and buy a pequeño allen wrench and see if I can open the charger myself. Plan #2…as Spicoli said…”my Dad is a TV repairman. He has an awesome set of tools”. There is an electronic repair tienda across the street from the condos and I will take it there. Stay tuned.

Our day?

Great news for Bexico!! She had a Skype with a potential client in Portland and needs a few days to put together a proposal and we will see if she lands another contract. She was also paid for another contract and they have already asked her if she can do some animation for them, the 3rd contract she will have worked with them on!!

Not much different for me today. Hot workout and then a stroll through town. At the joyeria, I chatted up Daniel for a while and then Sergio joined in to talk about mid wives here in Mexico. There may be some trained mid wives here, but the ones Sergio knows have learned “the trade” from their madres y abuelas y bisabuelas (mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers). Yikes.

Daniel has a partido de futbol mañana, that I may go watch for a while.

Grabbed the laundry on the way home and then it was alberca time con mi novia!!

Did you know that in Mexico if you are unmarried and have a niño, you now call your significant other your esposo o esposa...husband or wife? Tony is unmarried but has a niño and lives with his esposa and was confused why I call Bexico mi novia (girlfriend), even though we are having a niño together.

Despues de alberca, we did a quick road trip. Correo de poste…no package for Bexico…officially lost?

Then it was the Hospital Materno Infantile where we enquired about vaccinations for niño. The answer? We go to a different place and they supply the shots. The same place will also be our first stop to be referred to a pediatrician at the same hospital.

Our plan is to stop in at the Naval hospital as well and see what services they offer, but ultimately we are looking for a doctor who has a regular office to which we can bring niño for their check ups. Stay tuned as it is a priority on our to-do list.

Next stop…Telmex to pay our bill. Telmex is also on the list of to-do’s as we will need to cut off service here and get it started up in B10. We will probably invest in the primero paquete so we can have the phone and internet working when we return. For $30 Cdn/month we will not have to worry about waiting 6 weeks (like we did in September 2010) to get internet in our condo. Then when we get back in deciembre, we will upgrade to the super fast paquete called sin limites…no limits…except for the 3.5 Mbps download speed!!! Ja ja ja

And out last stop, Che. No ah-ha’s there…our last big find was the bagels last week. But we did grab more gravy!! Lol

And who did we see while we were leaving? Hola to Pablo from Nissan. Poco loco amigo!!

Home, work and the Skype for Bexico and now it is 8pm and tiempo para la cena. Pizza for me and pasta for Bexico.

Fotos for the day…tough day in the foto department. But…I have rolled the foto counter on the camera meaning I have taken 10,000 fotos in less then a year. And trashed 9000!!! Ja ja ja

Why did I take this foto?


It is a new sign put up for the touristas from DF. The motel (?) is down a side road in the industrial section and there is no way you would see me driving into Huatulco and EVER finding it…let alone staying there.

Take your niños to work day?


There is no escuela right now…lots of niños with their padres.

Padre y hijo?


This is the primera vez that I have seen these hombres in town. Tough job is all I can say.

Madre y dos niños.


They looked cozy in there, selling their rambutan.

Wikipedia link to rambutan.


Here is another “family” hard at work.


This is a grist (look it up) of bees that are creating a hive on the outside of the window in Bexico’s oficina. If they become a concern for us, Hector (silent H) has a long extension with a scrapper attached to it, and he will take care of it. Last year I slipped him $20 pesos as danger pay!!

And last but not least.


Nice to see the hombre de helado taking a break for a coco frio.

Our mañana? Check on spot #2 for niño vaccinations and I also am meeting Tony to see if we can get the window on the camioneta fixed. Oh yeah…battery charger for the camera.

Hasta luego amigos.

martes, el 26 de julio de 2011

Buenos noches all!!

Almost exactly 12 hours ago the buzzer at our front door sounded. Who was there? Tony, mi amigo from Nissan. Huh?

And 12 hours later, we have just finished watching another great Jason Bourne pelicula!! But back to Tony.

He told me that after the rapido game last night, he went back to work and spent 3 hours working on the camioneta. Now I am not 100% sure that is true, but either way, he was at the door and the truck was ready to go.

All that was needed was to go back to Nissan and pay the bill…factura.

So I threw on some clothes, threw out the plans for a 11am workout and headed out the door with Tony. And in the truck was another mecanico…a 4 foot 6 inch hombre who must weigh 50 kilos wet!! He is a funny hombre and also played on the equipo (team).

But before we went to Nissan, it was off to see Tony’s 250 cc chopper!! It is getting painted at the same place (Pablo’s) that fixed the tanque.
Hmmm…are these guys on the clock? Being paid to take me for a tour of La Crucecita? Ja ja ja

The bike is neat…and off we went to Nissan. Now, the fact that we left around 1015am and I returned home at 1230pm, should that tell you anything?

The billing system is whacked!! Via Carlos, add up all the hours and any extra refacciones in service, confirm it with Tony and then submit it to the refacciones counter to pay for it and the remaining balance on the large parts. Phew.

But I had a chance to inspect the truck and it looks good. A screw here and there that Tony forgot to refasten (lol) but all good. The engine compartment looks dirty and definitely has 200,000 kilometres on it. Tough to tell whether the corrosion is from Toronto, the salty air of Huatulco, or just age.

Total bill? $10,771 pesos…or around $910 Cdn. Out of that, $176 Cdn was for labour. Wow….barrato..inexpensive. And to ensure I got one more laugh out of them, I brought a stack of the mini money, the small bills inserted into piñatas, and tried to pay the bill with that. Laughs all around!!

Did you know that piñatas are believed to have started with the Chinese?

Did I tell you Tony wants Bexico and I to join his family y amigos at the baptism of his hija? Funny that I talk with the boys there, and then with a taxi driver who’s car was in for service, and they all ask what religion I am.

I guess coming from a country that is 98% Catholico, it is an ok question. They are fine with my answer…I worship El Diablo!! Just kidding!! Phew…tough crowd.

So two hours later and I am about to drive off and guess what? You guessed it…the passenger window will not roll up. Huh? I cannot believe this!! We pushed it up and I am going to go with Tony on jueves, back to Pablo’s, and see if he can fix it.

Now I want to have faith that it is a quick fix…but I have a feeling it will be a motor…I had one replaced on the driver’s side a few years ago. UGH!!!

Was invited to another partido, but this one started at 9pm and I must say, I was pooped so I didn’t go.

Drove home and the camioneta runs great!! Next test will be to take it out on the highway…hello Mojon!!

On the trend of things breaking down…I think the battery charger for my camera is broken. At least the light is not on when I plug it in. Maybe it is just the light? Por favor!!!

And of course I have the other Canon…the one I dropped. But it has a different battery charger. Of course!!

And with our secadora desompuesto, we took our first load of heavy items to the lavenderia. $10 pesos/kilo…not bad. But we are still washing our delicados here because based on previous experiences, I am not sure the Mexicans are familiar with that cycle!! Ja ja ja So our condo looks like a Chinese laundry with stuff hanging everywhere!!

We sooooo cannot wait to have the large fridge y new washer y secadora!! Not slamming G10, but it is the little things that make some of the big things bearable.

Big things? Heat and humidity have come back with a bang. It was sooo humido last night and again today around 5pm it started. During the day it was a sunny day until 4pm when the clouds rolled in, and that meant working out at 130pm was a scorcher. Three litros of water in a little more than an hour!! Phew.

Not hating!! Honest…we love it here. But keeping it honest.

To keep it honest…I LOVE having the occasional cigar. Con mi hermano and on his patio…awesome. As for the d-weed who has moved back here full time and now sits around the edge of the pool and lights a cigar…no love there. Ruder.

The plan…confirm the rules of the condo and then have a chat with him. Stay tuned.

As for the rest of the day….

Bexico did a workout while I was at Nissan, then hit the oficina. No new projects but has a few nibbles and keeps applying when she sees a relevant contract.

Bexico and I walked to drop off the laundry and then she hit the tienda de verdura and I hit el gimnasio, losing a few kilos just on the walk. Great workout and re-upped for another dos meses for the grand sum of $500 pesos…$21 Cdn/mes.

Yeu came in at 320pm for his 3pm shift and we spent some time catching up. He has a hand drawn picture for me….that he keeps forgetting to give to me. Ja ja ja And I warned him we are at 7 weeks and counting before we leave, so I need to know about his zapatos!!

He did have a clean cut, corte de cabello and I asked porque. He needed fotos for his school ID, and they don’t allow just any style for the ID…he went militar!!

Bexico and I had our float/swim time and then we had a quick walk in town. No pelicula para mañana…oh well, but we did stop and pick up a 5 pack of super yellow corn on the cob!! It was sweeeet…dulce.

Home, some work, some web browsing and the next thing you know it is tiempo para la cena.

Fotos for the day.

This is the clima above the montañas. Both from near el gimnasio, and then looking up Carrizal from the centro de commercial (mall).



This was a loco perro.



But he did look both ways before he darted between traffic!!

The kitchen apron hombre!!


And the hombre from this camión were busy setting up.




They put up a roadside display and also set up the mobile displays with which they walk around town.

This mecanico works with Raphael and was just having his comida…lunch.


Another talented senorita.


I just missed a great foto of the camioneta that is behind her...stack full of oranges.

And last but not least…


What a fun Bug!! No roof and they shortened it into a two seater!!

Mid week amigos!! Mañana…try to find a place that will repair the secadora. I might also give up on the stacking w/d and buy a side by side for B10. I really want to get that installed before we leave.

Hasta luego amigos!!