January 6, 2009

Hi all and Happy Kings Day! You're going to get a few days worth of blogging in this missive as I've been away from internet for a few days so......happy reading.....just found an internet spot so am enjoying a cappuccino con rom poppe (trust me it's delicious!!!)

January 4, 2009

Well, that’s the first time I’ve typed that date this year!! Where has the time gone? January 4th is finished already and we’re ready for a new chapter in the blog.

Things have been hopping around here (at least that’s our story and we’re sticking to it cuz the days have disappeared so fast there can be no other explanation for it!). Truthfully though....we have been sooo busy with life and yes....work! The place has been fully booked with new people coming in as fast as the last group leaves so Lynda has been doing laundry every day. As much as you think that just means throwing it in the washer etc....it’s different here....as is everything. Not a bad different....just different and it takes a lot longer than it does at home. We’ve both been sweeping floors and making beds and chatting with guests and answering questions etc and the days have flown by. As well, I’ve become the new ‘Roberto’s flyer girl’ and the calls to help with that task are becoming ever more frequent. On top of all of that....we’ve been helping out with the dishes behind the bar whenever things get busy and we’re like the local tourist info for any and all questions it seems whenever we’re at Roberto’s and someone has a question.

We have taken a little time off though too and so spent a good part of the day yesterday driving north along the coast to the little areas not far from Troncones to check out the sites. Stopped in to Manzanillo Bay Resort for a snack and yes....a drink too.....which was a really nice spot to stop. Where we parked the truck at Manzanillo Bay, there was a large iguana basking on the rocks right in front of us so that was cool to see. Other sights of the day included a visit to the fishing village, Mahahua, where all the boats park by day waiting to head out for another night of fishing off shore.

We’ve gone back to Dona Rufie’s for dinner a couple of times and of course Roberto’s most evenings. Tonight though, we just stayed in and re-read the blog so we could revisit all that we’ve done as we prepare for the next leg of our adventure. Yep....we’re heading out again in the a.m. This time will be a totally different experience though as we’ve rented a car so will be driving. I’m looking forward to driving in Mexico and there will likely be a few new stories to tell as a result. The roads we’ll be travelling are all very good highways with lots of traffic and we’ll only be driving during the day so don’t worry about us please.

We’ll be gone for 3 nights and plan to stay in a place called Patzquara (about 3 hours north east of Troncones). It is a colonial town and supposed to be very beautiful with lots of sights to see. We’re both excited to be on the road again. Reading over the blog tonight whet our appetites for some new adventure.

I’m guessing you’re all thinking that I’m exaggerating about the days flying by with nothing to report (and we haven’t been to the beach or by the pool for more than a few minutes for days) but it’s true....whatever we seem to plan to do in a day just goes by the wayside before we know what’s happened. Today for example, the plan was to spend the day by the pool since there are only 2 rooms rented as of this morning so the place is much quieter (keep in mind that it is not unusual for a group coming in to have 12-18 in their group (including kids) and to only take up 2 rooms but alas.....just as we were getting ready to settle into the chairs....the phone rang with a call for Mitch (who was off getting his horse) to come to rescue of someone who was drowning in the ocean at the other end of town. Lynda and I grabbed his small surfboard and flippers along with the keys for the truck and waited for his return knowing that he’d get word from someone wherever he was with the horse. Sure enough....just a few seconds later, he arrived in the yard, at full running speed, jumped into the truck (where Lynda and I were already ensconced) and we were off to the rescue. Fortunately, by the time we arrived at the location, the person who had been in trouble was already on the beach and so no rescue was needed. However, it sure messed up our plans! From that point onward, a million other little things just kept popping up and we never did make it into the pool till after the sun was off of it which means that it was after 4 in the afternoon. After a dip in the pool....we just spent the rest of the night revisiting our trip via the blog and the day was done...there wasn’t even time for any dinner tonight!

Till next time,
Lorrie

January 6, 2009

Well, it appears you’re going to get a whole host of days in one blog when we finally find internet again!! We’re currently in Patsquara and the drive here yesterday was great. Toll highway all the way so no problems with the road or getting lost or anything.

Picking up the car was a bit of an adventure though. It has a BIG smash in the windshield in front of the driver so legally speaking, I’m sure it’s deserving of a ticket. I’m guessing though that based on the other vehicles you see on the road...ours is the least likely to get stopped.
Driving in Mexico is an adventure!! You have to watch behind you as much as in front of you and then of course there are the ever present topes (speed bumps) that require you to look down at the same time. The topes seem to spring up out of nowhere and there is more often than not nothing to mark them and since they’re the same colour as whatever the surface of the roadway is.....well, let me just say that if you don’t see them they jump up and bite you HARD!!!
Mexicans turn 2 lanes of traffic into 3 or 4 by using the shoulders of the road. It is an effective way of getting around slow traffic but it’s also a little unnerving when you’re the slow traffic!! In addition to the traffic on the road there are also the ever present animals. There are dogs, cows, horses, mules and donkey’s everywhere and they just cross the road at their pleasure and at their leisure so you really have to drive defensively here!!!

While en route to Patzquara, we took a little detour into a small place called Zirahuen as it had been recommended by a few people as a ‘must see’ spot on this leg of our journey. Well.....it sure gave us a giggle as we descended into the tiny town only to discover that I would after all have an opportunity to try my hand at driving on cobblestones. Before I knew what was happening, it was too late and we were into the narrow little streets with more holes than rocks it seemed. Soon enough we had wound our way along the narrow little “roads” to the centre of town where there were a cluster of restaurants hanging out over the lake that Zirahuen sits on. Along with these ‘interesting’ little restaurants we found a public bathroom that was locked and that no one had the key to, a huge boat (that had obviously once sailed the lake) set into concrete, tiny cooked fishes everywhere (in case you had the urge to chow down on fried smelts that have been sitting in little plastic cups for at least that whole day). I have to tell on Lynda here....she didn’t have her glasses on and so she thought all the little fish were French fries and she couldn’t understand why they had all the fries already cooked everywhere. Once she had a chance to have a closer inspection and discovered that they had eyes and a mouth...she became aware that they weren’t fries after all. Another opportunity to burst into laughter. Through all of this...we both were in dire need of a bathroom and finally were directed to what appeared to be the one restaurant that had a bathroom you could use. The hostess of the place finally agreed to let us use her bathroom (for a fee of course) and so we set off with her to locate it. It required a short hike down a very remote alley, past a bunch of chickens and then further past a couple of pigs, a little more to get beyond the kids playing in the mud and voila...we had arrived. It was a luxury model with two toilets so we were in heaven...there would be no waiting for either of us. I should mention that neither of them had toilet seats though ( a fairly common reality here) but when you gotta go...you gotta go so we went. Once finished, it came time to flush and Lynda being first finished discovered there was no water in the tank so flushing was out of the question. Just outside the stalls, she located a large bucket of water though and thought this would be the answer to the flushing problems. She lifted the back of the tank, poured in a bucket of water and gagged with disgust when the toilet filled with rusty smelly dirty old water (or something disguised as water). I was still in the toilet laughing my head off while Lynda is in the throes of describing her adventure on the other side of the door that I had had to lift onto it’s hinges to get it to hang properly when I had come in. I suggested that she try pouring the water into the toilet bowl instead as that is the way it is done with the squat toilets I’ve used in other places and sure enough...it worked. She had to flush about 4 times to get some semblance of clean though so I’m sure the poor person who carries the water to fill the big bucket in the toilet there will wonder who could have gone through so much water!!! After a couple of posed pictures to remember this adventure by we were on our way back down the alley and into the restaurant row.

Now that we were able to take a more relaxed look around the place, we located Dona Mary’s restaurant, where Mary was cooking up something neither of us had ever seen before. We knew we couldn’t eat any fish from around here as the lakes are too polluted but according to Mary, she was cooking some kind of potatoes with cheese in a batter that was then fried till golden and served in a corn tortilla. In true adventurer spirit, we decided to give it a try and although we’ll both likely die a couple of years sooner than we otherwise would have from the grease that was dripping from it....they were great. So good in fact that we decided to have two each and shave a full 4 years off our lives. Sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!

From Zirahuen it was back into the car and on the road to Patzquara about 25 minutes further down the road. I should add here that we’re travelling during the busiest time of the Mexican year (well, one of the busiest) and that January 6th is King’s Day....a way bigger day than Christmas. This is the day that all the kids get all their presents etc and so everyone...and I mean everyone is in the city to shop for the big day!!! We arrived along with about a million others and as we wound our way around the city plaza’s it was much like being in a maze. We found a spot to park the car (thanks Dad!!!) and from there set out on foot to see if we could locate the hotel that had been recommended to us as clean and cheap and right in town. It didn’t take too long and we were checked into the Valmen Hotel for $250 pesos per night....yes....that’s right.....2 beds for less than $25 Cdn! Nice big room, super clean and even though we didn’t think so at first...we have hot water – wahoo!!! We were able to park the car in a secure parking area about ½ block away for $40 pesos for the night (less than $4)and we were good to go.
We wandered around for hours bundled in our jackets again (yes, we’re back into the cold folks). There was a massive market filled with junk (and I have to call it junk...cuz that’s pretty much what it is) for the people looking for gifts for their kids for King’s Day that we toured along with that same million people who drove into town with us. Speaking of shopping.....I should say that there are more shoe stores in every town in Mexico than you can begin to imagine!!! There are at least two in every block and they’re all full of shoes, in fact, in the block where our hotel is here...there are 5 shoe stores and the block isn't long...there are only about 10 stores on it plus our hotel....– how many pair of shoes can people use??!! We laughed at the fact that both Lynda and I are still only wearing sandals (hers are more obvious than mine as mine have toe caps but her toes are bare) so we’re sure people are wondering why we don’t just go and buy some shoes somewhere. Truth be told though...I doubt very much that there is a pair of shoes in this whole country that would fit either of us!

By the time we rolled into bed last night, we were both done for and glad to have a good place to stay once again!

This morning we had planned to get an early start but...you know how it goes....you hit the snooze button and then you just turn off the alarm all together and before you know it, it’s 10:00 and you’re just rolling out of bed.

I decided to brave the cold shower at least to wash my hair and was thrilled when it began to turn hot about ½ way through the shower!! Soap comes out so much better with warm water!! We breakfasted on cookies we’d purchased from a street vendor the night before, hit the bank to refill our coffers and before long were back in the care and on another adventure. This time, we’d decided to drive all the way around the lake. Well....when you’ve got a car....you might as well make use of it right?!

The man at the parking lot gave us some basic directions and after a couple of mis-starts we were on our way. The first little village we entered into (and you need to know that you don’t enter into the towns by choice...one minute you’re on the main road and the next you’re on cobblestones with cows...it’s kind of spooky how it happens so quickly) was a nightmare for both of us as it had hills and we’re driving a standard and all the roads are NOT wide enough for two vehicles and all of them have 2 way traffic so you basically weave your way down the roads. You can imagine why it was a nightmare for me but I have to tell you that Lynda should get a medal for keeping her mouth closed so many times today. She was faced with the grills on the front of trucks in her side window as I dodged through unmarked intersections, her sunglasses flew off her head as I missed seeing a tope and hit the brakes in fourth gear at the same time as I hit the tope, she was faced with being in the passenger seat while I drove the wrong way down a one way road and then there was also the time that I decided to pull a u-turn at a round about and could only manage it by going the wrong way into the roundabout while a combi was approaching .... yep....she gets a medal for this day!!! Well, for that matter, so do I as we’re both sitting here back in our hotel room tonight.

A couple of honourable mentions from our day include, spending a couple of hours in a little town at the north end of the lake called Quiroga where the artisans are famous for their woodworking abilities. Neither of us saw anything that we wanted to buy though...it’s kind of like a trip back to the 70’s with all the heavy wood furniture etc. Lunch at a counter in a market was interesting and definitely off the tourist map. It was good but the people watching was even better. All the men around Quiroga are truly working cowboys and their wives look like they work plenty hard too. There was one old couple sitting down the counter from us...she was dressed in the traditional garb with the scarf over her head and the layers of dresses and he was dressed in his Sunday best working clothes. We also discovered that we’ve been pretty spoiled on our travels as everywhere we go now, we expect to find something as nice as we’ve had in so many of the places we’ve been. Happily, Quiroga was the closest we’ve found in a while as it had a little zocalo that was being well used.

Further along the road around the lake....we happened upon a lot of people making a “pilgrimage” in traditional clothing. It didn’t take long till we discovered their destination as there were a number of cars parked along the roadway and there were kids climbing all over the banks. People were climbing a dirt path and Lynda was certain that we’d been invited to their party, I on the other hand was more concerned about staying on the road and dodging the parked cars and kids that were rolling down the hill toward the roadway. We didn’t stop, but.....I might have to buy Lynda a drink tonight to make up for driving past her “party”.

Not too much further along the road, we came into another little town....well, this one was a little bigger but it was similar in that it was full of hills, cobblestones, people, cars, cows, chickens and dogs. This one was also hosting a huge festival and in order for them to do that they had closed down the main street which is also the street through town that we had to take to complete our journey. Fortunately, we’ve both become fluent Spanish speakers the past couple of months so we were able to ask for and get directions to detour the festivities and to get back onto the right road. Well, there were a few extra turns in there and maybe we did have to ask a couple of people but we didn’t bump into any cars along the way...we still have 4 tires on our car....and I now know that I can back down cobblestone hills and over topes while the machine gun toting police watch in amusement from the box of their pick up truck.

Magically, our car found it’s way back to the parking garage where we’re secured in for another night. We’re heading out now to see if we can get into any trouble that we haven’t already stumbled across. Tomorrow we’ll likely head out to check out another city where there is supposedly a place where water pours from the rocks. It is near the town where they make guitars so we’ll likely make our way there too.

Till next time and till we can finally get this posted on the internet for you to read .....
Lorrie