Miercoles, 27 Junio 2012. Late start this morn, after
a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and juice, we walked the 12 blocks to
the center of town. First we went to the city water & sanitation
utility (CASF) to pay the existing bill (still in the prior owner's
name), since we needed the receipt for our long term visa
application. No waiting in line here and the ladies were most
helpful. Both assured us that they did not speak English, however,
they had had six years of English in school! Surely they spoke more
Inglés than Carmen speaks Spanish, but they never would admit
to this. In addition to paying the outstanding bill we paid MXP200
(ie, pesos, about USD15.00) to change the account to Dan's name,
having provided them with a fotocopy of our escritura (title)
proving we indeed were residents of Fortín. With that we were able
to get a proper receipt for one of us.
Next we trekked four more
blocks to the new federal electric utility (CFE) office. A half hour
line wait here. Again we needed to pay the prior electric bill
(owner had paid everything--utilities, taxes--up to mid-November or
so). We needed another copy of our title, which we did not have with
us, so we had to return the next day. Next stop was the bank for
more cash – this being a cash society. Then a lunch for about
USD5.50 for the two of us. Carmen had a broccoli soup and Dan had
chicken-spinach soup. Entrees were chicken in a cream sauce for Dan
and Carmen had the beef, which was long strings of beef, very hard to
cut and chew, but really delicious. Rolls, tortillas and banana
slices topped with yogurt sauce and cinnamon on top for dessert.
Lastly we stopped at the grocery store for cleaning supplies and a
bit of food including yogurt, fresh whole wheat rolls (bolillos)
and bananas for supper.
Several of the readers of
this blog have asked why we seem to spend a lot of time describing
our meals. If this upsets you, just skip over these passages –
Carmen especially is a real foodie, at home in the kitchen, and
focusing on mealtimes is a habit she does not intend to break. Some
of you, you know who you are, will understand completely.
Interesting little known
fact. The symbol $ actually stems from old Spanish, where in older
times it meant Pesos. Somehow the colonists in what became the USA
appropriated it for Dollars. In today's Mexico all the printed
prices use this symbol, so to avoid confusion we'll try here to use
USD for dollars and MXP for pesos.
Home again. Spent the next
few hours weeding out the back parking area, and Dan made a start at
hand cutting the tall grass. In bed by eight. We had bought a
Coleman inflatable bed to sleep on, last time we were here. Seems
this Coleman bed has a minute air leak. Must be re-blown up every
day. Bummer. Slept well. Woke to birds singing and the view of
mountains and trees plus a blossoming red bouganvilla,
of which we have three. We also have a palm, blue flowering bush, a
bush with large yellow blossoms and a large multi colored leaves of
greens and yellow. Mt Orizaba can be seen from the west bedroom &
living room windows, and the north LR windows that flank the
fireplace, and the back yard, off to the northwest (about 35 miles
away), with it's snowy top.
