Next we picked up litter across the
calle from us, along the edge of the banana field. Do not
know why so much trash seems to land there, but perhaps it's because
no one actually lives there. In general there is very little street
clutter around here, and people keep the street in front of their
home clean and swept. Afterwards, we went for a Sunday drive.
Dan has been virtually exploring with
aerial views from Google Earth and had a drive circuit planned out,
south to the town of Zapoapan. Went thru a couple of pueblitos
on some paved and then some dirt roads on the west side of the Rio
Metlac, with green, green hills all around. Saw many types of
structures, even some with horizontal wood lap siding, which is
pretty rare here, but most homes were of concrete block with
corrugated metal roofs, and of course lovely tiles to dress things up
here and there. Definitely we were off the main track. Here are some trip pix.
When we were on the way back, north of
little Villa Union, we stopped at a campestre (country)
restaurant that serves rabbit, El
Toxtli Jarocho. Toxtli is the Nahuatl word for rabbit,
conejo in Spanish. Neither of us had eaten rabbit in years.
We started with a bean soup appetizer and grill-crisped seasoned
tortillas. We shared a half rabbit, prepared grilled over a wood
fire, with pastor sauce, accompanied by soft blue corn
tortillas. We splurged on dessert, flan for Carmen and peaches with
rompope (rum eggnog) for Dan. The meal was delicious. When
you walked out the off-street side of the restaurant, you could go
down a sloped suspended ramp, over a steep defile with a bubbling
creek at the bottom, the banks covered with huge leafy plants. On
the other side were some penned deer and peacocks, a mini-zoo of
sorts. Also they had two swimming pools and a selection of
children's playground equipment.
A ten minute drive from the restaurant,
and we were home. Another day that was good for the soul. Though we
live with two banana fields across from us, we still have the need to
get into real countryside, every once and awhile.
(Lun 12th) Dan was told over the phone
to be at the IMSS clinic at eight this morning for his prostate exam.
We were there on time. He was then sent to the jefe for further
info, and as it turned out he was here only to schedule his
exam. Here he was told to come back tomorrow at 9:30am and bring a
liter bottle of water. Next we walked upstairs to the dental
consultorio, where the dentist would, sometime during the day,
work Carmen in. Only had to wait til 10:30am. After looking and
prodding the sorest area, and examining the full mouth panoramic Xray
we brought in with us from a month ago, Carmen was sent downstairs
for an Xray of the affected couple of teeth. Waited almost an hour
for that to happen for her turn. We sat down, patiently waiting to
be called to the desk to pick up the radiografía. Eventually
Carmen noticed that the person Xrayed after her, went to the desk
without being called and got her films. Thus we went to the desk and
asked for Carmen's. Yep, they were sitting there waiting for us.
Back upstairs for the dentist, where we waited for the door to open
and the current patient to exit. We handed the dentist the tiny bit
of film, which she immediately looked at, then called us into the
office. She showed it to us, and informed us that Carmen needed to
be back on a different antibiotic for another week, and then needed a
root canal (endodoncia) done. This is better than having the
tooth pulled, right?
It was now near two o'clock, when many
places close for a couple hours. We had planned to stop at Walmart
on way home, but road was torn up in front of it and we could not get
in there. So we stopped at the Bodega Aurerra (also owned by
Walmart), nine blocks from our house. No cat litter. Fruits,
veggies, and bakery were poor looking today. However, the meat
looked great, so we bought thin sliced beef and pork, a turkey
chorizo to try and a mixture of meats described as “traditional”
sausage, which we had when we got home and it was more flavored like
sausage from the US. Meat prices are still between US$2.25 and $3.00
a pound, beef being at the higher end of this. Also bought some Gallo
beer from Guatemala, which costs about US$3 per sixpack here.
Dan now felt he needs to accomplish
something, so he crafted a new bigger, better positioned hook on our
back gate. Here we hang our garbage so that the dozens of roaming dogs (and
the one cat we've spotted) cannot tear into it. Rarely have we seen
garbage dug into, but we do not want the experience at our gate.
Actually we figure that the cat did tear into a bag of chicken bones
when we had a garbage bag just out back on the ground, before our
garbage can arrived. We do not put our can outside the gate for fear
that it will leave our premises. We have learned that when we put
out cardboard or aluminum cans, that some one comes along and almost
immediately takes them for selling to a recycler. This is good.
(Mar 13th) Back to the
clinic in Córdoba by 9:30am for Dan, with his liter of water. We
went to the wrong area and were sent upstairs where Dan was told he
could now drink his water. Now, Dan is more of a sipper than a
chugga-lugger of beverages. When the nurse came to get him, he had
not quite finished the whole liter of water, but they checked him
anyways, only to find that his bladder was not full yet. The test
turned out to be an ultrasound. Dan walked around for about 20
minutes, willing the water to work its way down to his vejiga,
then knocked on the door for another go at it, and this time the
ultrasound now was good. Aah, how good it feels to use the bathroom
-- then back once more for another scan with bladder empty to finish
up the test.
Next we drove further downtown to the
dentist who we've gone to for cleanings in the past. Since then
Carmen has started up with the dentist at IMSS, but they do not do
endodoncias and she must have it done at a private dentist.
We stopped by to see Dra Gwen and learned that she does not do root
canals, but she did refer us to Dra Rosalba who specializes in them –
we'll make an appointment with her later today.
Next we drove right into the center of
the city and found a parking spot only five blocks from the store
where we bought our stove. Visited them and explained the problem
with the oven not reaching temperature, and they promised to send a
repair person out later this week to fix things, as the appliances we
purchased have a year long warranty. Now since we are but a couple
blocks from the dollar store, we headed for there. Oh goody, we pass
a fantastic fabric store on the way. We needed white thread for the
curtain hemming project and Carmen has been wanting to go in and ooo
and aah over the fabrics. She is not a seamstress, but she loves to
look at the fabrics. More than we have ever seen in the US – and
such a variety of designs! We found the thread section – lots of
colors but no white! How can this be, so Dan asked at the counter,
and bought two spools from the huge stock of spindles on the wall
behind the clerk.
Now on we happily walk to the Waldos
store, where we could buy more of the wide mouth glass jars needed
for kitchen storage. They have gaskets and wire snap bails so our
little helper ants can not access the contents. We of
course meandered thru the food section where of course we bought some
cookies to put away for future use. Carefully carried our glass etc
items back to our car. We've been extra cautious parking on the
street in the city, using the “club” to provide a little
dis-incentive to would-be ladrones. Next stop is the
endodontist's office, located near the corner of Avenida 11 and
Calle 14. Found a parking spot just around the corner – we have
been really lucky finding parking spots today. Carmen got an
appointment for next Tuesday afternoon, as Monday is a Día de la
Revolución, a national holiday.
We are doing better at maneuvering thru
the streets here. Going into Córdoba from Fortín, the calles
(streets) start with high even numbers dropping down to Calle 2,
and then as one goes further east from the center the numbers go back
up with odd digits At the central plaza downtown the avenidas start
from Avenida 1 incrementing odd numbers going south, and even numbers
going north. Generally, avenues have the right of way, and both
streets and avenues tend to alternate one-way directions, with a
liberal addition of two-way roads intermingled. And, avenues north
of the center have “Norte” tagged onto them, and to the south
“Sur, while calles to the east are tagged “Oriente” and to the
west “Poniente.” Fortín follows the same numbering logic. As
we travel along, Dan watches for ways to move around stopped traffic
(parallel parkers, buses halting ahead, taxis stopping for passengers, etc), while
Carmen calls out the approaching red lights, topes (speedbumps), and
huecos (potholes) and arrows painted high on the building walls at
corners telling which direction street traffic goes and which color
they are. Red arrow streets have the right of way. All the signing
and conventions make for safer transit, but some learning time
definitely is needed to get comfortable as a driver here.
We progress on to Walmart, and find the
parking area accessible today. Lots of road work happening here.
Lots of roads needing work too. Our main reason for stopping at
Walmart was to buy the very expensive Scoop Away cat litter. Want to
try it once to see if it in fact dries up tighter than the other
brands here. Dan first looked for software, but found none in the
store. Something to check on at Office Depot someday. Carmen first
scoped out the pressure cookers. Nothing new of interest. But
next!!! There was a massive fresh fruit and vegetable sale
happening, all of it in prime condition. Our cart proceeded to fill
up. Apples, pears, mandarins, swiss chard, spinach, beets, carrots,
tomatoes, celery, on and on. Yes, we remembered the cat litter,
which was on the shelf today. Three boxes there in fact. We took
the one that not been damaged, and headed home.
(Mie 14th) Today Dan
installed inner upper shelves for glass fronted upper cabinets in
kitchen. Carmen is still remodeling curtains. Worked on posting
this blog for last week's activities. Meal was made with the fresh
spinach we purchased yesterday. Eggs florentine, made without the
white sauce, and added a small dollop of sour cream over top. Such a
beautiful showy dish. Would be good for company.
The fellow who sprayed for insects outside was to show up about 5pm today to show us an orchid and an anthurium from his nursery north of town. Well, we can tell you that all Mexicans are not late. He arrived at 4pm with three anturios (anthuriums) and five orquídeas (orchids), expecting us to buy them all! Now, Carmen did not want to buy any plants before the roof is finished. And there are so many varieties of plants here, she certainly did not want more than one of each thing, for her small garden area. The fellow was not happy that she would only consider three of his lovely anthuriums, which were grown by his wife and proceeds for them had to go to her. He put on a good sulk. Carmen was unhappy that he was trying to force her to buy these plants. She made an offer for the three plants and finally agreed to take all of them, so that he would not have to carry them back home on the bus. Carmen does not like plants like orchids that bloom for a very short period of time, and has bad luck with them in the past in the US. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Poor Dan just had to keep translating for the two of them, and kept telling the fellow that Carmen knows what she wants and will not change her mind. In the end we got all the unwanted plants for half what he had asked. We affixed the little orquídeas on one of the front windows, as each was attached to a little stick of dead wood and provided with a wire hook for hanging.
Now Carmen was feeling that she might
have done him an injustice. He and his wife did grow the plants. So
we walked the 12 blocks to the local florist market, just to price
similar plants, since we had really no idea of their worth. Oh yes,
we had all but stolen them. Well, the fellow should not have assumed
that we would want them. All three anthuriums were the same basic
dark red. Carmen told him she would pay him something additional if
he would bring others of another color to exchange tomorrow. The
flower market had many color varieties. He is bringing a vanilla
plant tomorrow - an orchid that perhaps must grows20 feet tall before
it blossoms, and maybe then will give us vanilla beans. So now we
have all these plants to do something with – sitting about on our
front porch. We are hoping, since this is not the cold US but is in
the prime Mexican region for growing orchids, Carmen's luck with them
will be different.
While watching TV this eve, we thought
we saw something on the screen. It then got in front of the caption
area. Yep, it was a tiny besucona (gecko). Probably a good
place to catch tiny insects. We were concerned that it might get
cooked on the screen. We just left it there while we watched TV,
being distracted by the cutie. By next morning it had traveled
elsewhere.
We were invited to Frank & Ania's
for supper and games. Being that they have a really large acreage
with many plants, we asked them if they had some leaf mold anywhere
that we could dig up for our new plants. Turned out that their
compost pile was at the wrong point to get leaves out of it. We had
a luscious meal. Carmen was the winner after four hands of rummikub.
Always enjoy our time with them. On the way home at the lower end
of their driveway, we saw a large tlacuache (opossum) cross
the road in front of us, eyes glowing in the car's headlights.
Today the two fellows came to check out
our oven. Yesterday we finally leveled the stove. Had to lift the
front up ¼ inch. Also yesterday we had our propane tank filled,
though it was still 1/3 full. So – how did the repair on the oven
go? Does it now work? How embarrassing, the darnn oven heated up
for them when they tested it, just perfectly. Whereas the oven
flames would not go above Low for us, for the three prior times we
had tried it, the flames went up just fine for the repair men! Hope
it works when we decide to bake again. What caused the difference?
When the repair men arrived, Dan went
out front to let them in and Gardi cat took it upon himself to trot
right along. He was scolded and shooed back inside, which he did
peacefully. He does like to greet company, but he has always done it
from inside before. Next we were all standing in the kitchen, Carmen
turned around and there was Gardi happily lying on kitchen counter
just being part of what was happening. No he is not allowed on
counters. Whatever got into him? Took him outside on leash this
afternoon to make him happy. He seems to get embarrassed and sulky,
when scolded in front of others. The outing made him his happy cat
self again.
Now Dan is snacking on lemony salted
peanuts. Yummy. And he just indulged in a passion fruit
(granadilla), happily crunching up the tiny seeds surrounded
be the pulpy juice, which Carmen cannot bring herself to enjoy. What
shall Carmen nibble on – ohhh, these peanuts are really good she
discovers. No other items for supper, since lunch was at three.
(Sab 17th) Got a bit of a
late start today, with some scrumptious oat bran pancakes. Walked
into Fortín, hoping to pay CASF water bill and see how much a
discount we can get for paying 2013 in advance. Then to the CFE
office to find out why we have received no bill since starting our
power account in July. Discovered that both offices are closed
Saturdays. Next walked further to the hardware to buy a refill
canister for our long reach butane lighter, which we use for lighting
our water heater and oven. Much less frustrating than stick matches.
Stopped at the correos (post office), which was open even
though this is a holiday weekend, but they were holding no
international mail for us, undelivered, although we know a letter was
addressed and mailed to us three weeks ago from Anacortes. On to
the ATM for more cash. Stop by paint store, and no, our order has
not yet arrived, so we made some changes based on a revised plan for
refinishing our windows. We'll use brown paint on the exterior only,
instead of trying to renew the varnish which just will never stand up
to the rain & sun exposure. Grocery store for bananas and olive
oil that was on sale.
Gone from home two hours. On the walk
home, Carmen walked on home by herself with purchases and Dan headed
on over to Frank's new place to talk to the guys who will be heading
up our renovation crew. They arranged to come by after 1pm, when
their Saturday half-workday ended. Frank & Ania dropped them off
then and Dan took Manuel and Luís up on the roof for a quick scoping
of the job ahead, to start in December when Frank & Ania's obra
wraps up. An afternoon meal of potato chip crusted fish, buttered
carrots, sesame-rye bread and fresh mandarins, washed down with
sidral (apple soda).
