Toe-Pace and Otras Vistas on Our Road

Often the most mundane daily sights and routines are the most lasting in memory, or the most jarring to newcomers. I made the routine drive into town today (with A/C on full blast) for groceries and an ATM to pay for them. Always nice to see the Canadian "Scotiabank" here --- they are the most international of Canada's banks, especially prominent in Central America. They earned our everlasting gratitude and loyalty years ago in Belize when a Scotiabank exchanged our mysterious multi-coloured Canadian dollars!

Did I say "jarring" above? The most jarring experience driving in Mexico are the "topes" (pronounced TOE-pace) These are basically full-width speed bumps placed all over the country to slow traffic down near schools, crosswalks, town limits, and anywhere else someone decides to put them. They range from a mound of asphalt to steel-reinforced bone rattlers, to 6-foot wide mini-hurdles. They could be newish with a warning sign. But most are old, broken up, and pop up like an internet ad when you aren't expecting them. Stop signs are an insult to manhood here, but ignoring a topes can destroy a car's suspension and rip out mufflers or worse. So every vehicle respects them and passes over in this Mexican national dance:

Slow Down /Crawl / Front Over / Crawl /Rear Over / Speed Up Again

Repeat. Often.

The effect is so scary if you hit one at speed that Pat has taken to calling out "Topes!" like the Titanic should have called out "Iceberg"!

Between all the topes on the road back to our place are the fishermen selling right on the beach, and the mucho, mucho "collectivos" --- minivans that you flag down for a shared ride into town. Cheap at 45 C cents, and you can wind up riding with pet rats or old Mayan women in their classic embroidered hupile dresses. Watch for "Punta Sam" on the windshield ---- that's our stop!

Hug Kiss Kiss Hug

Muchas Gracias to all you faithful followers for your encouragement and never-ending reminders of how bad the weather is up north! Pictures are worth a mil de palabras, so here's a short posting with (the maximum allowed) 5 pictures, from our normal day. As you can see, one of us cleans while the other takes the pix!

"OXXO" is a big Mexican chain of convenience stores, pronounced "OSH-oh". But ain't it better as Hug Kiss, Kiss Hug??

The sunset and clouds are from our roof. Hang in there, the sun is headed back in your direction...

New Town, Night Town

Another early drive south of Cancun to find small beach towns leads us to Puerto Morelos. There is also a Mexican state named Morelos, and every town has an Avenida Morelos. Seems he was one of the heroes in the Mexican revolution more than 100 years ago. Like "Victoria Street" in Canada, or "Washington Avenue" in the States?? It's hemmed in by a mangrove marsh so it only has 3 streets north-south. The east-west streets are spreading as some elegant condos are appearing, but the great thing is the height limit is 3 storeys. No high-rise towers, so you see further, and you see the sea. It's also the place where the reef is closest to shore, only 300 meters away, so there are a lot of dive/snorkel shops. Maybe that's why there were more cars from Canada(Quebec, Ontario, B.C.) and the States (Minnesota, Iowa, California, Kansas, Michigan, etc.). Also an old lighthouse that was battered by 2 hurricanes but didn't topple --- it just sags like a leaning tower of pizza. Summary --- nice little daytrip spot, but not for long.

Back home, I've sprained ligaments in my left knee and cut two fingers washing the van, so everything is normal. We had a Saturday night in the old part of Cancun, where locals go to the plaza to rent electric cars for their kids. Or ride the rides. Lots of colour and even a meal at a breezy Hungarian-Mexican (!) outdoor diner. The portions actually overwhelmed us -- hard to do.

No notice whatever here of 3 main occasions in the world. No Robbie Burns Day (Jan .25), no Chinese New Year (Jan. 25), no Australia Day (Jan. 26). You can make up for that by having haggis stuffed in a whole carp dipped in Foster's beer!

Obama's Day

The dawn of a new day in more ways than one! Early morning walk past the now-familiar campground, Mayan ruins, and the guy who sells tacos out of his car trunk. We had figured out how to watch live streaming video online of the inauguration --- but then we almost missed the start because we forgot the 1-hour time difference! Another surreal, unlikely experience as we sat in our room in Mexico in January, watching a computer image of an African-American become the President of the United States.

Like much of the world, I have been in the depths of despair for 8 years, watching that now-departed clueless moron wreck havoc on his own country and the rest of the globe. But that despair vanishes as Barack Obama can actually speak in sentences that not only make sense grammatically but also inspire hope and respect. It was a Monumental Moment for the USA, a High Hope Hour for the world. Now the hard work and hard decisions start, but this man seems pre-ordained for the task. We wish him good luck, wisdom, and a long life.

Cops, Jobs, FO's, and Roof Top

Hard to believe, but today was the first day we actually spent on the beach after 4pm! Usually we are away from the neighbourhood or hiding from the hot sun. But today the air was silky smooth, the sun balmy, and the sea was ribbons of blue and emerald...

This morning we walked to the old ferry dock with the frenzied mondo-condo starting. There was a huge hubub as a stage had been set up and hundreds of police were arriving on pickups, cars, busses, and motorcycles. Seems the local Mayor was coming to celebrate something that happened on Jan. 19, 1990. We were left wondering who was left in town to direct traffic, shake down taxi drivers, and take bribes. Just kidding??

Then passed the construction entrance where guys young and old were applying for work. They told me they'll get about 2400 pesos a week. Assuming a 6-day week and 8-hour days, that's about C$5 an hour for tough labour. I got in line!

Every 5 metres or so there was an "FO!" painted on the partial sidewalk. Message to gringos to get lost? The universal insult? Somebody forgot the "U" in UFO? No ---- it just marked the spots where they had strung the Fibre Optic cable.

Then Pat did the laundry and I strung the clothesline between the TV dishes on the roof. Really a dazzling place because of the white paint and the wrap-around views. Pretty mundane day but we're looking forward to tomorrow's big event...

Yes, We Can

The sun and heat are back after a week's "cold" spell. Last Friday we avoided the high winds by going down to the tourist Zona Hotelera to see 2 movies --- first run, in English. "7 Pounds" makes you want to be a better person. "Benjamin Button" is an intriguing what-if. Both recommended.

But yesterday we went on our first planned daytrip, a driving circuit of Mayan ruins and what we thought would be a familiar beach town. Took about 2 hours on a surprisingly good (and non-toll!) Highway 307 to Tulum, the Mayan coastal fortress and trading site. The main "castle" is on spectacular heights with a postcard white beach and azure reef-breaking surf below. We had been here 10 years ago and it has been formalized for the hordes on the tour buses. Best part for us were the different birds and lizards.Admission is no longer free on Sundays, and you can no longer clamber over the stone remnants. That's the bad news, good news.

Then on to Coba, which was new to both of us. First uncovered by an Austrian in the early 1900's, it sprawls over 700 acres, much of it still overgrown with cotton silk trees and leafy scrub. The highlight, besides walking under the ceiba canopy for many kms, is the main rockpile pyramid. And unlike other ruins, you can still climb the steep 120 steps to the 43 meter crest! In a blink, up we went --- we're used to both rocks and steep at our place in Kemble Ontario. You can see a long way from up there, but it's mostly the green treetops, mowed to a uniform height by the hurricanes that come through like an unannounced building inspector. There are clever local men waiting in tricycle "taxis" to take tired gringos back the 5km to the entrance. How many times did we say "No, gracias"? Also nearby are large lagoons where we saw an alligator stalking a heron. Who do you think got out alive?

Then backtracking to Playa del Carmen, a well-known beach town south of Cancun and the ferry for Cozumel island. We were backpacking through here in 1997 and it's another case of "Holy cow --- Santa Vaca --- what happened to the place?!" In 5 years the population has doubled and the shady village has become a Euro-chic bustling people spot. Think of the narrow streets of Key West, the carnival of Rio, and the bronzed (and now tattoed) bodies of the Mediterranean. Funny thing is I actually liked it --- the street life is quite the opposite of the quiet at Punta Sam. We'll be back...

Today is like a Monday back home --- laundry, maybe wash the van, and our morning discovery walk. that's anothe rpost later today.

Oh --- today's title "Yes We Can!"? Obama fever is everywhere and the world has their fingers crossed for him. In Coba, a guy was teaching a teenage girl to ride a bike. She was struggling, but he looked at us and in a thick accent said "Yes, She Can!".

Sticky Buns and Sticky Situation

We're in the 4th day of showers, high winds, and what Mexicans consider the depths of winter -- high 60'sF or high teens C. We show them pictures of Ontario in deep snow and their teeth chatter just looking at it! How can people live in that?!?! But the sun will be back out by Saturday and the locals will have their extended families of 20 or 30 partying on the beach.

One of my cravings has been for "sticky buns" --- pastries and goo to have with coffee or tea at the apartment. The attached photos show the choice at Comercial Mexicana, before I cleaned out their shelves.

We also go for high-speed walks each morning. One of the best routes is to the old ferry dock about 4 or 5 km up the road. Today though it is apparent that what was jungle-scrub is being bulldozed for yet more condos. Right next to the iconic concrete dock. I've always thought if you say "destroyers" instead of "developers" you get a better sense of what is happening.

Rainy Day in Cancun

We've read about the freezing cold back home and expect no sympathy at out current stretch of "chilly"(68F, 20C) and rainy weather. I was caught in town when the clouds opened up again after raining most of the night. The puddle-lakes are so big they cover up the potholes and the van bottomed out many times. In some neighbourhoods they lift up the manhole covers and the water swirls down like a giant's floor drain. In most places, though, there doesn't seem to be any drains at all! Water pools a foot deep at all intersections because they are the low points in the roads. People wear flip flops to work because they know they'll be wading, even on sidewalks.

Guys on motorcycles or in the back of open stake trucks just get drenched to the skin --- what do they do when they get to work?

I got 2 soakers and my jeans were wet to a personal high tide line of about 12 inches up. Back at home, we've got an Inside Day to clean up some computer files, check maps, play cards, and snack on jamon y queso (ham n cheese). But cabin fever sets in right away when you're used to daily good long walks...

Pix of El Meco,Trumpeters, Roadside Banana Stand

Sorry, I couldn't load the Mariachi video...Will try again later...Meantime, more pix...

Mariachi Surprise!

Sunday is the day locals take over the beaches and parks, their day off for family. It's also the day when all archeological ruins are free --- we've been to some in the past at Tulum and Uxmal. So at 8 am we had walked down the road to El Meco and went in the open gate and unattended entrance. Then a guy appears and says it's only free for Mexicans, and asks for the $7. We knew that wasn't correct but how can you argue?? So we had a short look and went out ---maybe next Sunday a different guy??

Then an easier-and-easier 5km walk to the bus stop for a long ride (65 cents) on Ruta 1 (Route 1) through downtown Cancun the tourist hotel zone. Most of you can imagine huge hotels, tacky "genuine craft" shops, and the usual Fleecing Zone of bars, rent-a-seadoo, and Senor Frog. what was interesting is the hotel zone has spread for miles, and all are top-end monsters like at Las Vegas, Bahrain, or Shanghai. So no pictures of that, but it was an easy sightseeing ride.

Stopped at the Comercial Mexicana for a snack of BBQ chicken wings and Nestea on the steps, watching the local version of NASCAR drivers going around the traffic circle. Not a Carl or a Buddy or a Junior in sight, though!

Later at home there was this really sharp LOUD trumpet sound echo-smashing off our walls! Too loud to be a CD ---- it was an 8-man Mariachi band marching to our pool/beach and playing LOUD. Turns out our professor-neighbour Flavio was having a beach party for the mother of his girlfriend, and surprised everyone with this Rent-a-Mariachi. (Pat says he's trying to get in good with the mother.) Ever had a band stroll through your yard and serenade your mom?? Me neither!

It was great music and good singing bu guys in full traditional Mariachi costume. Everything but the sombrero! 2 trumpets, 2 violins, 2 guitars, and an instrument that looked like a fat guitar but sounded like a bass. We hung over our second-level railing and listened for a long time. Great unexpected Sunday concert!

So there are some pictures of the day posted, and I'll try to add the 20-seconds of music video too.

(This morning we went to Cancun to do some business at an Office Max, and to get some more of those chicken wings. Right now Pat's doing laundry and I'm waiting for the water delivery guy. Not nearly as much fun as Mariachi Surprise!)

Vegetable Oil / Motor Oil

Where do we get groceries? Car services? We've had to find out about local shops pretty quickly. I have to admit we went to the Cancun WalMart first day because it was familiar and had a bank machine and internet link. But it wasn't either cheap or particularly Mexican. I even priced an oil change but wasn't impressed. So the other day we needed a whack of groceries (load up on non-perishables like ice tea, toilet paper, and UHT milk) we went to the Mexican chain store Comercial Mexicana. Much better. The holiday cakes had disappeared and now there is a huge and drool-worthy pastry/donut/muffin/sticky bun section. Get out of my way!! Even got something resembling a cream puff. Also good for meat and fish, drinks and cereal. Real grocery store atmosphere, and the old guy serving as a bagboy taped up an old cardboard box to hold the dozens of ice tea bottles. Service with a gold-toothed smile! There's another old guy in the parking lot, retrieving the cart and directing you back into traffic. Prices seemed lower than WalMart, and much more local experience. Free Spanish lesson!

Next day we went for gas. The government has a monoply on selling gasoline, so the only stations are all green-and-white Pemex (Petroleum Mexico). No price shopping needed --- the whole country(!) has the same price(!), and it only changes every year or so. Right now, 7.72 pesos per litre. About 72 cents Canadian, or about the same as in Toronto when we left. Same as the grocery store, the service is fast and efficient if a little sullen.

The van has needed an oil and filter change since we arrived. I usually do my own changes but last time (cold December barn floor) I couldn't get the filter off. So the oil had gone 5600 highway kms, but the filter had done about twice that. So I turned into an open-air roadside "shop". Price was C$3 less than WalMart and it was amazing to watch. No hoist, just an old-time pit under the car that the 14-yr. old climbed into to do the job immediately. Back up top, he got an air hose and blew out all the road grit and sand and autumn leaves stuck in there. Then he got another hose that sprayed a fine oil mist under the hood and basically lubricated all the hoses, hinges, and covers. No extra charge! I've never seen that done back home. The whole thing took about 10 minutes, everyone was cheerful, no taxes or disposal fees, another free Spanish lesson:

Oil and fliter change = "Cambio aciete y filtro". For you gearheads, it was Gruhen brand oil and they used 20W-50 because of the high kms and heat.

Then off to the tip of the Quintana Roo peninsula which involves a drive past another luxury resort /golf course and then an 8km Rocky Road (I'm craving ice cream!). I have been curious about the spot for decades and finally here it was. What a disappointment. Beautiful sand and water, but the same old rickety garbage-strewn pop shacks and sagging chain-link fence. Very little shade. There was a local kitesurfing school, but no other reason anyone would want to come that far for so little. Had to back out slowly to avoid getting stuck in the sand, but then straight home with that curiosity cleared up.

Today is one week since we arrived. Our morning routine is a long fast hike, then reading or card playing at the sand, then a swim. The afternoons are for excursions and discoveries. Remind me to tell you about the turf war going on between our cats --- and the puddles to prove it...