Car Wash

Driving to Mexico involved lots of dirt roads, rain, and mud.   Both cars arrived dirtier than anything I've ever ridden in.   We drive my little Fiesta most of the time, so the first time we went to Walmart we allowed the guys with buckets and rags in the parking lot to wash it.   Because it was so bad, we paid them the $8 they asked.   They did a pretty good job, and it was done while we shopped for groceries.   They even got a big layer of grime off the tires.

When the plumber was here one day, Dan was trying to learn as much as possible about the area.   The plumber spoke a little English, so Dan asked him what "the places where they wash your car" are called.    He carefully spelled out  "C A R   W A S H".    Sure enough, we noticed several "Car wash" signs in town after that.   Duh!

A friend recommended a particular one, so today we took the Explorer in.   They wash the outside, and vacuum and wipe down the inside for about $5.   So we waited in the adjoining outdoor palapa covered café and drank coffee as we watched.   They first pressure washed the whole car, paying particular attention to the tires.   Then they opened each door and the hatch and pressure washed around the doors.   I about had to restrain Dan when he saw them spraying water INSIDE the car.

Yes, that is water spraying in and through the open door!   The worker opened all 4 doors and the hatch in succession and then made another pass around the car with soap.   After this, he moved the car down, so we never saw what he did on the inside.   About the time the car was moved, another patron came in and we nervously asked him if he had used this car wash before.   He said "Yes.   They always do a great job!"  So we waited and visited with our new friend.  (We now have his name and phone number.)   And after another half hour or so, the worker signalled that our car was ready.   We paid the waitress/cashier for our coffee and the carwash and went to survey the work.

It looked awesome!   The seats were not wet.   The inside looked like it had been Armor-All'ed.   OK, the headliner was slightly damp.   But we will definitely be back!   And I hear the palapa café serves a great taco.   So we have now found a "Car Wash and Lunch" spot!

Ballet Folklorico

In my last blog, I mentioned the Ballet Folklorico fundraiser that we attended Friday night.   Actually, there was first a Mariachi band that played during dinner.   

The thing about mariachi bands is that although they are usually very skilled with their instruments, the singing often carries more enthusiasm than tune.   This group, however was great!   We really enjoyed their serenade.  

One lady danced through a few songs.   This little girl listened intently while munching on her taco, and dancing.

Dinner began at 3:30.   The folk dancing was to begin at 5:00.   So we sat back and enjoyed visiting with the people around us.  Right on time at 5:00, the dance troupe arrived.   Of course, it took another hour for them to get into costume!   But the show was well worth the wait.   The graceful moves, elaborate costumes, and broad smiles were wonderful.   They danced with kerchiefs, fans, and short swords.  The men juggled their swords while blindfolded.  Pictures do not do them justice, but here are some samples:

 

We had a great time and enjoyed the sounds, colors and flavors of Mexico!

If you would like to view some short videos of this event:

Yes, they are BLINDFOLDED, DANCING WITH KNIVES!

A Day in the Life

I was just asked if we are settling in.   I know people wonder what in the world we do all day.   

Well, today I watched a hazy sunrise, then cleaned some oranges, lemons and limes from our trees to use for dinner tomorrow.   Then we went into town for Dan's Spanish lesson.   While he was there I strolled through the lakeside market place, listening to sidewalk musicians.   I found the wooden curtain rings I needed at a carpentry shop and headed back to pick up Dan from his haircut appointment.   We headed to a Mexican fiesta where strolling musicians entertained us, following by a performance of Ballet Folklorico - a colorful Mexican folk dance performance.   The $30 we spent for dinner and the show was a fundraiser for the town square which is being updated with original sculptures and works of art from local artisans.   We got home in time to pick some more limes and watch the sun set over the lake.   

I think we are settling in.   :-)

The Sounds of Mexico

When I think of what Mexico sounds like, I used to hear horns honking (a memory from a trip when I was nine), waves hitting sand (memories of diving trips to Cozumel), and Mariachi music.

It hasn't been like any of that at our new home.   We are not on the ocean, and I don't think I have heard a single horn.   We are on the side of a mountain, away from most everyone.   There is a small village at the foot of the mountain that fronts on the lake.   Our housekeeper and gardener live there.   We can't see any of it from our house.   All we can see is the roof line of our nearest neighbor.

So what we hear is birds singing.   The rustle of palm leaves.  An occasional dog barking in the distance.   The faint crowing of a rooster coming from the village.   Neighing of our gardener's horses, tethered to graze in the vacant lot next to us.   Sometimes cattle lowing.   There are sometimes a half dozen dairy cows loose on the cobblestone drive up the mountain.  

On Sunday mornings at 6 a.m., we wake to the bell ringing at the church in the village.   When I think of church bells I think of Westminster chimes, or a striking of the hour.   This is much more enthusiastic than that.   It starts with a couple of spaced rings, followed by about 20 rings as fast as the bell will ring.   Then it ends with a couple of single rings.   This is repeated several times throughout the day.   To me it is a happy sign of life below.

This week the pattern changed.   For several days we were hearing band music - brass and drums.   It sounded more like what you would expect in a parade than what you normally hear in Mexico.   The sound was too big for a small town school band.   We decided that it was recorded music being amplified through some sort of speaker system.   It was quite interesting to be in our pool, listening to the music wafting up from the lakeshore.   Interspersed with the music was one of the most popular Mexican celebratory things - fireworks.   While in the U.S. we value beautiful displays of color, the primary effect they go for is noise, and clearly the most "bang for the buck" comes from Roman candles.   Coming up the mountain they sound like a series of bombs going off.   The fireworks also start at 6 a.m. and continue randomly throughout the day.   This is common on weekends, but last week was the first time we had heard them for several days running.   Monday night turned out to be the finale of the festival, with the music and fireworks lasting until about 2 a.m. on Tuesday.   At the very end, there were actually a few displays of colored fireworks, which were lovely viewed from our bed.   Did I mention we have a glass wall in our bedroom facing the lake view?  

On Tuesday I asked the housekeeper about it, and she said it was a religious festival.   She tried to explain which patron saint was being celebrated, but I did not quite get that part.   All has been quiet from the village since then.  

I suppose it could become irritating to hear the bells and fireworks so early in the morning and on the few nights when they go past 10 p.m., but at this point we rather enjoyed them as part of the local color.   It did however make us glad that we do not live in town, where this is much more common and close at hand.

Shopping in Mexico

Fortunately we scouted the area ahead of time well enough to get an idea of what is available and not available, and brought a few things with us.   OK, we brought as much as we could stuff in the car.   Dan likes Irish Spring soap.   He must have altzheimers disease because every box we unpacked had a package of it.  But I digress...

We started out moving into a house with empty cupboards (except for soap) and an empty refrigerator.   It is a chore to stock up on staples in a new place, even if the stores are normal, and these are not normal, at least by Arkansas standards.   There are two major grocery stores in the area:   Walmart and Soriana's.   There are drug store chains called Guadalajara Pharmacy, that is comparable to Walgreen's.   There are tiny hole-in-the wall grocery stores that carry about as much groceries as a gas station, but a different selection.   We are used to the smaller stores being the most expensive and the largest stores being the lowest prices.   It is reversed here.   The little stores are cheap, but the selection is low.

So, armed with this information and a list of grocery and household items that we need, we have made a point to shop at the end of each day in town.  (The closest store is 5 miles from us).  This allows us to get things home before the cold things get hot.   So, unfortunately, we end up shopping when we are tired, and with the multiple stops involved, it is hard to remember what we found where.   The first shopping stop at Soriana's took two hours, and we netted about 60% of the things on the list.   We got enough food for 2-3 days and their entire supply of Diet Dr Pepper (6 cans).   We came home with some purple sweet potatoes that are called camotes that turned out to be good.   A couple of days later we repeated the adventure at Walmart.   We had added as many things to the list as we had marked off, and again we came out with about 60% of the list.   A stop at the pharmacy filled in a few more items.   I had learned that using all-purpose cleaning powder in the dishwasher causes a flood, so I managed to find some more appropriate dishwasher soap this time.   (In my defense, the first package had a picture of plates on it...along with shirts.   It seems to work OK in the washing machine.)

Monday was a new adventure in shopping.   One day  a week they have "Market Day" in the town of Chapala.   It is called the "tiangas".   Farmers bring in produce and booths are set up with all sorts of wares.   We got to the tiangas as it was starting up.   We found some magic concoction that is supposed to keep the house scorpion-free.   It was $2.   We bought potatoes, a vegetable called chayote, onions, mushrooms, sausage, apples, and a pair of shoes.   

A nice Mexican woman explained to me how to cook the chayote (in Spanish, of course).   It was either boil it or bake it (?) for either a half hour or a half day (?)   Should be interesting...

This experience of shopping and marking things off the list, while adding other things, has continued on almost a daily basis.   The surprising things we have not yet found:   unflavored tea bags (like Lipton),  soft scrub (any brand), and a rectangular normal size trash can for the kitchen.   All of them are huge or tiny.  

The surprising things we found on first look:   capers, cumin, Charmin bathroom tissue, Diet Dr Pepper.

I am told that shopping becomes much easier after we are here for a while.   I hope so, but in the mean time we are eating well.   Food is tasty and fresh.   Love the warm just-made tortillas!  We have both lost a few pounds without trying, because of eating less processed and fast foods.   In addition, the citrus trees and rosemary in our garden give a tasty accent to each meal.

I have to admit to missing the convenience of drive-through's, and a big freezer.   But, on the other hand, I am really enjoying the meals now.   Restaurants are plentiful, but we have been so busy at the house that we have not taken the time to go out much.  I'm sure we will remedy that soon.

A Day of Adventures

The presence of hot bath water has not been consistent.  When we arrived we had instructions on turning on the propane gas and lighting the hot water heater pilot.  This seemed to go well.  At first the water was very warm, then it seemed to stop working.  We discovered that the pilot light had gone out.   We relit it and the situation repeated itself.   So we called the Mexican caretaker (the gardener's father Pedro) and he took a look.   We also had a toilet that was leaking buckets of water on the floor. 

Pedro decided that the gas tank was too close to empty to keep it lit.  So, after a futile attempt to seal the toilet with silicone seal, Pedro and Dan took off in Dan's Explorer to buy more gas.   I took off to go to the hardware store that Pedro sent me to to buy a toilet gasket.  

I should mention here that I know nothing about toilets, and Pedro does not speak English, but I was proud that I found the store and managed to ask for an "empaque".   The worker there, also speaking no English, handed me a rubber circular part and since I had the vague idea that I needed something round, I was pleased, and it cost $.64.   (It turns out "empaque" means "washer" which can be anything, and of course mine was wrong.)

From there my next adventure was to a key shop to get a copy of a key to the gate for the gardener.   I only had to ask directions (in cobbled Spanish) at two different places before I found the shop.   Only one Mexican laughed at me out loud,   OK, that might have been because I asked a print shop to make a key.  

Anyway, I was feeling pretty successful at this point, so I headed to the telephone store to try to figure out why our internet isn't up, when they promised it yesterday.   Fortunately Dan called on my cell phone enroute to check my progress, because I suddenly realized that our home phone number is our account number, and I have not memorized it yet.   As I drove along, I memorized the number, to find that the phone store is not open on Saturdays.   I hope I can still remember it on Monday!   So I headed to the English-speaking Lake Chapala Society, that has free WiFi, to pick up email.   Somewhere along the way, I figured out my cell phone had died because I ran out of prepaid minutes.   Before I could finish my business at Lake Chapala Society, my laptop battery had died, and since I was outside, I had no plug.  

So I headed to the Satellite TV office to share some info that might make progress in getting a TV going.   Of course they were closed, as I expected, but I had to try.   So I made my U-turn to get out of the area, and in the process grazed a curb corner that rose about 10" above street level.    Ouch!  The first scratch on my new Fiesta.   I almost got 2500 miles on it before it happened.   Just a scratch below the passenger door, but I was NOT happy about it.   So I headed back home, stopping at the local 7-11 store for a consolation Diet Dr. Pepper on the way.  

Dan had been successful in returning with 2 tanks of gas, and had learned a few Spanish words along the way.   However, the hot water heater would still not stay lit, so the caretaker called a plumber and arranged for him to come over to work on it tomorrow between 9 and 10.   Tomorrow is Sunday.   Really?   He wants to come then?  

So, at the end of the day, the score was:

            Leaky toilet     1

            Hot water         0

            Internet            0

            TV                    0

            Gas Leak         1   (Did I mention that we smell gas now?)

            Dead phone     1, now recharged

            Dead laptop    1, now recharged

On the positive side, our landlord in Canada got my email and called tonight, assuring us that he would cover all costs and giving us some tips on how to proceed.

We finished the day with a swim and a DVD movie.

Footnote:   The plumber, Jose, came out Sunday at 2:00 on Sunday, took apart the water heater and decided he needed parts.   He tightened a connection in the gas line and tested for leaks with his Bic lighter (yes, really!)  He looked at the toilet and decided it also needed parts.  He said he would look for parts on Monday and call us.   On Monday he called to say he would have to go to Guadalajara for the parts and would call us at noon on Tuesday, and come out in the afternoon.   We heard nothing from him on Tuesday, but today (Wednesday) he called to say he would be out this morning to fix everything.   He got here at 1:00, and amazingly, he and his son managed to fix the toilet and the hot water heater and installed a garbage disposal that we had brought with us.   That required pulling the dishwasher to tap into the wiring and install an outlet and switch.  They were here for 4 hours today.   Total cost:  $135.   In the mean time, we have internet up and running, after only two calls to Spanish-speaking tech support.   Tomorrow the satellite dish people are coming out.   What fun!

(written July 9, 2012)