Holidays

Well Christmas is over, for all of us. I'm sure many of you spent it wrapping and unwrapping presents while I unwrapped a big ol bottle of Pacifico. Or two or three. The day was spent at the beach, we drank beers, watched the waves come crashing in and enjoyed the sunshine. I asked me friend, Israel, what is the typical way to celebrate the holiday. His reply was, ¨you want to come to my familys house for Christmas¨asked with a bit of question. Apparently my tone indicated such. I was just asking the typìcal tradition. He then said, for him, it is spent at the beach. Thank goodness for that! Later that night we enjoyed a couple more beers at the Plazuela and watched the Americans and Mexicans enjoying the festivities of musicians and such. It was nice to have a year where Christmas was a bit less chaotic and a bit more warm...however, it is always nice to see a present or two wrapped under the tree with your name on it.

Now I'm at the Lake and enjoying the beauty it has to offer. The Lake is beautiful, surrounded by trees and all sorts of foliage, there is even grass, imagine that!
The first night I stayed in a bungalow complete with kitchen but had to move out since others were coming who had reservations. So I have being staying in a room and cooking my meals outdoors. Unfortunately the place has become quite noisy so sleep is far and few between. Every one walks in front of my door all night long and don't seem to be very concerned about how loud they are. And then last night a group of teenagers pitched a tent next to my room and they awok at 4am with the Roosters and made all sorts of racket. They definitely didn't seem to care that they had awakened everyone that is there for this went on until 6am. I don't seem to get why no-one told them to be quiet. But as the lone American, I don't want to seem annoying. But they were singing at the top of their lungs and talking like it was 3 in the afternoon. I may head out of here early because between them and the family of twenty that does karokee all night long on their super sized speakers rest is coming hard to get.

But we shall see where the future takes me...

Anyhow, just a quick check in. Fleize Ano Nuevo

Checking in...

Strange but true, again it is a small world here in Mexico.

In my neighborhood, Olas Altas, there is a plaza named Plazuela Machado. It has a small parklike setting with benches around the interior and restaurants lining the exterior triangle. At night the plaza becomes entertained with various musicians hired by restaurants and numerous artists lining the goods for all to see and of course buy. I decided this past Friday to stroll through the Plaza and grab a quick beer. As I walked past one restaurant in particular I saw a man playing whom I recognized from Richmond Beach. I had met him this summer with his dog strolling the beach and remembered him saying he plays music in Mexico in the wintertime. Where, or how, or any of the particulars I had not remembered until now as I walked past him. I waited until the end of his set and went up and introduced myself, thankfully he remembered me and didn-t think I was some crazed fan. I walked away with the promise of coming back to see him on a slow night, but then realized I would be gone by then. And as I walked past a couple of more restaurants, I also realized I knew the musician there. He is one of my neighbors that I had met on my first day here, he told me he played music sometimes...little did I know he meant to actually entertain. So once again, in a small little big city called Mazatlan it is possible to know people of past and of new.

Speaking of new, I've seemed to acquire a new dog, lady. She really is the best dog ever and if could I would bring her home. Whenever I come out of my apartment she comes running up to walk with me whether I'm walking the dog or not. In fact, as I type this she is sitting outside of the internet cafe waiting for me. She is just a young thing, and as typical with a lot of Mexican dogs very skinny. But I think the neighborhood does take care of her as I see she sleeps in one guys carport, and she seems to be liked by all. But as the neighbors say, she loves me. I can always turn around and Lady is following right behind me. Some of my friends had said before I left, don't come home with 20 dogs...sometimes it is tempting.

Unfortunately I have also seen some tragedy. Every afternoon I take Maddie (and Lady) to la playa for a little romp in the sand and water. Madison about pulls my arm off struggling to get to that beach as fast as she possibly can and I always pull her back and hold the leash right next to me. But usually as we hit the Malecon I let her jump up on the bulkhead and walk there until we reach the beach stairs. This time as we hit the malecon I saw all sorts of crowds gathering and policia y medico units pulled in. I didn't want to seem like the nosey tourist so I didn't ask any questions and continued walking, but you could tell something awful had happened as everyone looked rather upset. All I could think was that someone had drowned. Afterall, this is wintertime, the waves are high and the undertow is great. I constantly stand at the waters edge poised ready to jump in. Even though I'm not a lifeguard, I am always concious about the powers of water and I think people constantly misjudge when they should be out swimming in the ocean. So as I throw the rocks for the dog, I am counting heads to make sure no-one disappears. There is a lifeguard but he is way up on the Malecon, typically talking to friends. It would take him a long time to reach a struggling person way out in the water. Well today as I was leaving the beach it was confirmed that indeed someone had drowned. There was a small funeral procession coming down the stairs and most were dressed in black with small flowers in their hands. I took the dogs a little further up and sat down to watch. But most accounts he was 20 years old, and a student from Japan. I think. I get confused as to the translation for Japan versus Asia. Regardless, he did perish and at such a young age...a terrible tragedy.

Besides that I'm just learning how to live in Mexico, or particulary in Mazatlan. I've gotten my haircut, which was entertainment itself. Armed with my dicinario, I showed up at 10am as planned and started describing what I was looking for. Unfortunately the word "bangs" nor "highlights" were in it, but somehow we managed to make it work. I actually got an awesome haircut and highlights for 250 pesos, or about $23 USD. And just like at home, the salon is full of people and gossip. In my broken Spanish, I found out my hairdresser is divorced and "why does she need a man"..."they are too much trouble"...and all the women in the small cramped salon would agree, or talking really fast about something and they would all start laughing. It really was entertainment. I felt like I was in the Mexican version of the "Barber Shop". I am really working on my language skills as my interaction has been strictly with Spanish speaking people only; going to the Lavenderia Super, calling the DiesGas to get propane, the cable guy showing up...so I think I will be enrolling in a short immersion language class in Guadalajara. But more on that later...

Until then folks, I'll be signing off for awhile. I'll be heading out of Mazatlan on the 26th and heading south to camp at a place called Santa Maria Del Oro. It is a beautiful crater lake, you can check it out here: www.geocities.com/cfrenchkoala

Then possibly off to Guadalajara. So, I will be out of touch with all for awhile. But I will be thinking of you all over the Christmas holiday and the New Year. I wish nothing but the best for each and every one of you. And for all the little kiddies out there, if only Santa could stop by here in Mazatlan with his sleigh, I'd pile it high for all of you...Felize Navidad. Y Felize Ano Nuevo.

A beso por todo...
Heidi

same o different

When living in a place for an extended period of time, you start to see some of the similarities between this place and your home. Or some of the differences. For instance, the garbage man comes in his big loud truck (this is Mexico, everything is MUCH louder) and picks up your bags of trash you've put out in front of your door, just like at home. However here in Mazatlan they mostly come at night, sometimes at 9pm or like the other night, at 2:30am. It scared the living crap out of me...why was there a big loud truck next to my little apartment, had it accidentally run in to the building? After shaking the sleep out of me, I realized but of course, it is the garbage man.

Or, product similarity. In the States we have Mr. Clean, here in Mexico they have Mr. Musclo (Mr. Muscle) and the ads have this huge musclar man (cartoon character) coming to save the day for the poor tired cleaning house wife. Another favorite of mine is Vicks Vapor Rub, here it is just called VIC and like Coca-cola they seem to sponsor everything. So you see this name everywhere. In fact, speaking about Coke, it is way better down here because it is made with pure cane sugar so it has a bit of different sweeter taste to it. And, they DO sponsor everything. There is a huge Christmas tree near the Mercado that is actually decorated with all Coke items, just like the commercials you see.
Am I in the States, or in a foreign country?

My little place has a TV of which I've been watching. Even though all is in Spanish, I figure it is a great way to learn how to pronounciate words. But, on one of the channels that is a show that is Mazatlans version of the Today show, or something of the like. However there are about 8 hosts, all very good looking, and airs for about 6 hours a day. They have everything from cooking, to various games, to entertainers, to guests. But a big difference from the Today show to this show is the sexuality. Women tend to wear very low crop tops, exposed navels is not unheard of, whenever a game is happening, women come out in their bikini´s to lead the contestants out while the men whistle. Even the hosts will whistle or give a look to the camera that says, äy-äy. If I was a man I'd move here in a heartbeat because the culture here allows for that. It is not uncommon for me to hear whistles as I walk down the street or various comments that I can't understand...hopefully it is harmless! I need to learn how to say, my dog bites...I think the translation is...mi perra mordida's hombres?

But, you know the women also want to talk to me which is nice. Yesterday a woman asked me about the dog and said she remembered me from the park. She then invited me to come see this ab-fab house she works at. So, I plan on going to see, ¨Maddie¨ironic huh, same name as my dog.

And the kids love me. They are almost always tentative of the dog, particulary because she is on leash. But when they see me at the beach throwing a stick into the water and her actually swimming to get it they are amazed. Mexican dogs just don't do that-so they want to come play with her. I have to be careful here though, the undertow is pretty strong on certain days, so she actually has been pulled under. But she still wants to go in...so I let the kids throw the stick once again.

As well imagined, there are many other things worthy of telling. But I must go now...I need to go walk up to El Faro...the lighthouse. It is the second tallest in the world. Hopefully there is a Pacifico at the top...and for you beer concious people...Pacifico was invented here, in Mazatlan. A useful fact to pass on...

Drink heavily, but responsibly. It is the holiday season afterall...
Te amo por todo

Weather report

I've just heard from a fellow Seattle man about the storm...
Where is Jim Foreman when you need him? Danger Jim - responding to the scene with urgency. Is he hiding under a car, yelling at some women he doesn't know?

Hopefully everyone is ok, without too much damage. And hopefully my goddamn trees are still up in my front yard. Holy crap, they fell over 3 times last year, I can only imagine what this storm is doing to them.

My thoughts are with all of you in your candle-lit houses. Stay warm, and dry and don't blow away like Dorothy did. That movie scared me.

I'll do a sun dance for all y'all...it obvioulsy is working for me down here...

part dos, Los Barriles and Mazatlan

So with hugs, kisses and goodbyes to everyone, I hit the road about 11am on Monday morning to try and catch the 3pm ferry out of La Paz. That is insane for any of you that every want to take that ferry. You are supposed to be there at least three hours before departure if not earlier. Thus I should have been there at least by noon.

When Helen said, "go with godspeed" I don't think she meant drive 5 million miles an hour. Well, let's be honest, the Pathfinder doesn't go that fast. But, I did drive as fast as the clean little Pathfinder could go. Thanks to Martin for washing her, as the car had turned brown with all the dust and back roads I'd driven on, now she is all spiffy clean!

But I got to the terminal by 1:30pm and this is Mexico so things didn't go qute as smoothly as one would want. But, after some negotating I was aboard by 2:15 and one of the last cars on. This is good, because then you are one of the first cars off. And, I didn't even have to bribe to get the car on the top level as the ferries have three levels for cars. The bottom level is for the concrete trucks and refrigeration trucks. You don't want to be down there when you have a dog because there is no airflow and you are NOT allowed down on to the car deck once the ferry starts. And you must leave your mascota in the car. So, I was prepared to bribe my way to the top, but all worked in my favor.

After I backed my car onto the 600 foot long boat, I stayed around the car knowing that the dog would have to stay in the car for 6-7 hours by herself. I brought out a bag of candy and a bag of pepperoni and convinced the ferry workers to allow me to stay down there. It turned out to be entertaining. We all practiced our foreign language skills, I had to speak Spanish and they had to speak English. We all had many laughs at our attempts! I don't know why I didn't do this earlier with Placido or any of the other Mexicans I be'friended as it would have been so good for all.

But finally I had to go upstairs as we were leaving the dock. The boat was a little fancier than the Seattle ferries, with restaurant, lounge and disco area. Not to mention you can rent a cabin. I choose not to as we were to arrive in Topolabambo by 9pm and I already had a hotel reservation. So I sat outside reading until the sun went down. There was a small craft warning, so the waves were pretty big, I think some people were getting sick inside. That, and drinking, heavily. I just read, and drank a sprite. Not to many american women were aboard, ok, there were none. So, lots of people starred at me, or tried to strike up conversations with me. Both Michael and John (or Miguel y Juan) got to be my husbands (espousas) for the evening. As, everyone asked where my husband was. I figured it best to tell them I was meeting him...later...in Mazatlan.

At the end of the night, one gentlemen in particular asked to take a photograph with me. I kept saying no, so he went and got his friend who spoke english and was quite a bit older, 50 something. I again said no. And the english speaking gentlement apologized profusely. Later he came down and said they were all embarrased and he had daughters, he only wanted safe travels for me. Ironically I saw the guy who wanted my picture shortly before entering Mazatlan, 5 hours away from the ferry terminal, the next day. He knew it was me, but he shyly looked away. I think he too was embarrased.

So after staying the night in Topolabambo, I headed out the next morning to make the drive south to Mazatlan. Hoping I'd have housing. I had not been able to fully confirm I had housing since my internet use was limited. I only had the womens cell number and no card to call (you must use a TeleMex card to use the pay phones). In Mexico there are many toll roads, mostly rich Americans or foreigners use them so the traffic is not heavy and you can drive fast, about 110 km which equates to 70 mph. If you use the libre roads, or free roads, you have only one lane and are constantly slowed by the vehicles that can't even drive 35 mph. I made the mistake of not knowing what "libre" meant, and about 2 minutes into the drive thought I should pull over and check the dictionary. Sure enough I turned around, this not-so-rich American was going to take the toll roads. After $30 USD and 5 hours later I arrived in Mazatlan. Had I taken the libre carreta I would have spent another hour on the road, at least.

Coming into such a big city was a little nightmarish, not to mention that Maddie was ready to get out of the hot car. She'd been in there for a long time. So after calling and confirming the housing, I made it to the meeting spot in Olas Altas. A small, old neighborhood to the south of the fancy hotel strip most know Mazatlan by. And found my little apartment for the next couple of weeks. It is spacious, two bedrooms plus a little den. You walk out the back door to go to the restroom, very European like. It is on the corner, so very loud, people walk by all the time, dogs, come by, huge trucks come by, but it is a great little neighborhood. You have all sorts of fun little cafe´s and squares, the streets are all very narrow and there is a huge outdoor mercado within walking distance. It definitely is less expensive than Los Barriles. And way more entertaining as far as people watching. Even though I am hearing Spanish, I could very well be in Florence or even Sevilla, Spain (well I guess they speak Spanish). Anyhow, I'm liking this cute little place and hoping to meet lots of people who can help me with my Spanish...in fact I just picked up a flyer on a week'long class.

Vive Mexico y grande abrazos por todo...
-Heidi

Part 1, the end of Los Barriles

The last couple of weeks have been busy, hard to imagine when one is unemployed and seemingly nothing to do. But it is true.

It began with getting ready for a Roatry Christmas Party. No, I have not joined any sort of organization or made a move to Los Barriles (LB). But I was luckily invited to attend the annual Christmas party complete with pig roast and traditional affair.

The couple hosting the party, Betsy and her husband Greg, are ironically enough from Bainbridge Island. They sailed their large sailboat down with the thought of going down to South America, however when Betsy saw this house in LB she decided she needed to buy it and so they have stayed. I´ve heard rumors that the square footage is from 5000-6000 - you could fit 7 of my tiny houses in there! And, it has three kitchens. It really is a grand affair, from the dramatic staircase to the 1910 grand piano in one of the foyers. Eventually Betsy plans on renting it out so if any of you have lots of cash, and a need for a place with three kitchens, a pool, and more - give her a call.

So being the entertainer (Martha has competition) Betsy went to a lot of work preparing for the fiesta, from grand pointsettas lining the staircases to agave trees decorated as christmas trees to enough tables to sit 46 people and of course a hired piano player to entertain the guests...but more on him later.

I, along with 5 others spent the day helping Betsy in preparation, from making homemade eggnog, to setting all the services up (wines, coffes, desserts, app´s) for the girls to serve when the guests began arriving. It was great to be able to whip up a little eggnog in this grand ol place. The food was all being catered by a local chef, with a infamous pig roast and traditonal mexican affair. Thankfully we didn´t have to be cooking...how could I watch the entertainment afterall?

So, after arriving later in the evening dolled up (well as dolled up as me the wandering hippie traveller could get) I finally got to meet Nikolas, the piano player. Likened to the Liberachi of the past, he does have some dramatics to him. As I walked in the door, I heard some very loud pounding on the piano keys, all sounding well for whatever song he was playing, and when I rounded the corner, I saw him. Nikolas. Complete in his black platform shoes with three inch heels, black tuxedo pants and white ruffled shirt from 1976, I´m sure of it. And then I saw his face when he turned to the crowd, his neck was tilted like he had strained it or had had a stroke-possibly it was part of his show as I heard later he was all straigtened out when dancing. His face was painted deathly white, his lips red, eyebrows painted dark brown and fake eyelashes to make a complete picture. I was memorized. And, as all of you that know me well, my mouth was going the entire time. I questioned at one point how old people thought he was, Andy, leaned over to me and said, ¨about 325 years old¨. Where is the garlic necklace when you need it? Ayya-ya-ya.

But the party was entertaing and lots of great people were to be met, from the woman who brought her own bottle of vodka to the party (because wine made her pass out) ' Deborah is that you' - to the mayor of LB - to the woman who started planned parenthood - and most importantly the various Mexicans and Gringos that help make a difference in this community. And the food was yummy!

After such entertainment, I headed down for a bit of reprieve outside of San Jose. A friend of a friend lives down off the rural coastal road in a bit of an oasis. His home is run on water trucks, and solar panel, so conservation is very important. But it is a great home sitting high on 5 acres with sweeping views of the ocean. And even though not many neighbors are around, you meet everyone there is to meet.

And then back home, to start my farewells. We had a dinner out Saturday night, and then yes, it is true, a girlñs spa night on Sunday complete with pedicures and yummy food oh and margaritas of course.

It is sad to leave such a glorious small town. I became part of the community in a short time, knowing about half of the town. I could ride my bike down the street and hear hola being shouted out to me or various people waving as I went past. It helps when you have a dog I suppose, but also knowing Theresa opened my social circle to quite a few! I will miss Theresa and Helen (her mom) the most. They opened their homes and their hearts to me and I appreciate that in my first stop along this adventure. I will miss Helens´request for her vodka and tonic while sitting in the hot tub (hopefully I can be like her when I´m 80) and Theresa´s endless guidance on the language and all else.

And then the rest of the girls, along with the boys too. I meet such great people and for all of you, I will take a piece of you with me!

But now I´ve moved on...as must always happen...stay tuned for Part dos.