Home Alone 3

Yes, I am alone yet again. Tanya has gone to Austin for work then she is going to Las Vegas with her girl friend from Vancouver.

The first time that Tanya went away was before Christmas when she also went to Austin to work. The second time was in January when she went to Cancun to party with her girl friends from Toronto.

Poor me, "sniff-sniff". Home alone. But, no problem. There is always something to do around the house or in the city.

Tanya is travelling all day to get to Austin then she is going to the office to work hard for 3 days. Then she has to take the aeroplane to Las Vegas. She will party with her girl friend for 3 days then back on the plane to Oaxaca. She will be busy and very tired by the time she gets home Monday night.

Poor Tanya, "sniff-sniff"


Versión español

Our Hill

We have mentioned our hill before. The hill that leads you to our house. It is not until we have visitors who see it, that they understand how steep it is. I have an example. Last Saturday, we went for dinner in the city centre to a beautiful restaurant called "Los Denzantes". This was to be a special dinner with our friend Erin who would be leaving for Canada the next day.

We did not drive to the restaurant but walked so that we could drink without limitations. We had a very good meal with red wine, margaritas and martinis. After eating we took a taxi home.

The car ride was uneventful until we arrived at the bottom of our hill. The taxi was not able to make it up the hill. The taxi driver tried but the car did not have enough power to make the hill. It didn't make it past the first block. Even so, the taxi driver charged us 50 pesos and we had to walk up the steep hill on foot.

Each time our car makes it up the hill I am thankful that I have a good car.

Versión español

A little about Mexican Time

As previously posted, our friend Erin is here visiting us from Toronto. She was working remotely on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so evening activities were not too adventurous. We had dinner with friends on Wednesday night, always fun to see other homes in Oaxaca and their set up. We did manage a movie (Percy Jackson and the Lightening Bolt - English with Spanish subtitles, popcorn, candy, drinks) on Thursday night, and as Oaxaca is a big city, there are no intermissions during the movie. So sad! Ralph and I get a kick out of the fact that there are movie theatres who still do intermissions in Mexico. Gives you a chance to stretch, use the facilities and refresh the palomitas (popcorn).


Friday we decided, given the weather was a bit overcast, to go to San Sebastian de las Grutas, we had been before with Angie and Ayla. After a forced leisurely morning waiting for a water issue to be resolved, we headed out. A two hour drive on mostly good road, we arrive to find no guide. To be clear, not that none were available, but that there was no one around, everything was closed. We walk over to the little restaurant and ask the lady there. She explains to Ralph that he just left to have lunch. Not a problem, we'll go into the little village, maybe drive up past Las Grutas to San Fernando de Matamoros to see where that leads. Off we go. We drive into beautiful hill country, discover a community heavily supported by the logging industry (there are more wood shacks here than I have seen in all of Oaxaca). Erin said it gave a new definition to living in the sticks. We turn around, drive back, and Voila! The guide is back from his siesta and lunch and we head up, into and out of the caves, the whole tour is about 90 minutes.

We have become accustomed to showing up at tourist spots via ridiculous roads to find no one there, and we happily sit and wait, or go and wander and then return a bit later, to find the guide returned from lunch, siesta, buying a goat, visiting his girlfriend. We laugh about how what we have come to expect in Mexico would be received in Canada. Imagine, you show up to the CN tower. To get there, you have driven across a dry riverbed, dodged potholes and waited for turkeys to cross the road. You arrive to find out that the guy who runs the elevator just went home, his mother is not well and he went to check on her. You sit and wait, wondering how long you are willing to wait. He arrives, say in 20 minutes, apologetic and ready to now give you his full attention on the tour. It's a great tour, a great site, you enjoy it tremendously, even though there are birds flying around and no safety railing on the decks to prevent you from falling 127 stories to your death.

The question, of course is, would you wait? We do. We hope you would, too!

Huatulco - A picture is a thousand words

The Margaritas were large.

The lobsters were excellent (once cooked!)

The beaches divine, pristine and empty

The private boat tour the only way to go.

The girlfriend in her happy place.

The boyfriend sunburnt again.

The road was bumpy.

The coffee plantation run down but so very green.

Four days in Huatulco just gave us a taste for our return. White water rafting, waterfall tours (in a jeep, this time!), maybe a day at one of the all inclusive resorts, definitely another stay at Mision de los Arcos in Crucecita, likely more Pizza at La Crema bar, and more pistachio ice cream, too!

Erin Arrives – Off we go to Huatulco!

Our dear friend Erin arrived today from Toronto. (She's the blond getting off the plane, thinking Ralph and I have tarmac clearence seeing as we basically go to the airport once every few weeks.) She is happy about the warmth, and the sun, and by not wearing a coat, and of course being here with us, obviously. She is enchanted by the view from our patio, by the Alcala, a pedestrian street right through the centre of town. She loves the square, the zocalo, and we sit and have dinner at one of the better spots to people watch and have dinner and be hustled by merchants. I think she smiled the whole time, even in between devouring her shrimp cocktail. Erin was busy with Claire’s wedding, so Ralph and I thought we’d give her a bit of a break when she first arrived and go flake on a beach in Huatulco, we’ve not been here before. Huatulco is supposed to be Mexico’s “recovery” from the disastrous Acapulco. Of course, we have a Bay boat trip, snorkeling, coffee plantation tour and jungle hike planned for the 4 days we will be there. Lots of time to flake on the beach! Stay tuned for Erin’s Adventures in Oaxaca…

Toronto Return Shocks

Tanya has already made a few comments about Canadian and Mexican differences but I wanted to add my observations. First of all there was the return flight. The plane from Mexico City to Toronto barely had any people on it. There were 20 passengers and 3 Air Hostesses on a plane that could seat 240+ people. Shall I say that it was a very comfortable flight. When we arrived in Toronto there were no other incoming international flights. This meant that we had our choice of 2-3 customs officers. No line up here. Then on to get our baggage. And there it was, waiting for us on the carousal. Off we go to the car rental. Again no waiting in line. Now that is how air travel should be.

As we were heading out of the airport we encountered a dark strip about 2 feet wide running across the road. My first thought was that it was a "tope" (speed bump) so I shout "TOPE" but Tanya was already slowing down. No tope, just a road patch.

At home I hesitate throwing toilette paper down the flush. I feel guilty, but toss it anyway. I am surprised by my feelings of guilt.

In the morning I run the water while I shave to rinse my razor. Again I feel guilty wasting all of that water. In Mexico I have to consider that the city may not always deliver water so there is a constant awareness about water. But I am in Toronto, so I waste the water.

It is Tuesday morning. Normally I listen for the garbage truck at 6:50 AM so I have time to get my garbage out to the street corner for delivery. Not here, I see that everyone has their garbage cans neatly lined up by the curb for pickup.

Tanya and I drive to the church for Claire's wedding. We were running a bit late. I stop at a stop light - no cross traffic - I turn to Tanya and say, "If we were in Oaxaca I would blow through this stop light.". But no, I wait.

The nice thing about our Toronto house is that I just have to turn up the heat if I am chilled. In Oaxaca I have to put on a sweater and an extra blanket on the bed at night.

And yes, as my mother-in-law says, both Toronto and Oaxaca have their pluses and minuses. But it is pretty hard to beat the sun and warmth of Mexico.

Oaxaca's Gift for our Return: The Earthquake

We arrived yesterday afternoon, back from a week in Canada. (Our trip to Toronto for Claire and Len's wedding was really very nice, very busy, and it was not that cold out until the day we were leaving, thankfully. Claire and Len were radiant and happy, we power visited with friends - Yannik, Aarik, Vanessa, Dan, Colin, Cameron, Azhar, Joe, Tim, Sarah, the Peeps at AMD, Alison Claire's sister, as well as getting in some good but quick chats with friends at Claire's rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. For those of you we missed on the Power Visit, we'll see you in April. For those of you we did see, we'll see you again in April, and it was good to catch up.)
But back to our return to Oaxaca. The trip back was what I would call regular, other than my state of exhaustion, so I slept for most of the Toronto to Mexico City flight. The 2 hour layover in Mexico City was good timing, and onto the little plane that would take us back "home". And here we are. Sunny, warm, bright and brilliant Oaxaca, we catch a collectivo back to the house and settle onto the patio. We are chatting with our neighbors, relating wedding stories and Canada is cold stories, when the earth moves. I asked Ralph if he felt that, and he says "Yes." and gets up to ensure he is not under any cement structure (leaving me sitting on cement covered patio, of course). The earth moves again. Wow, two earthquake tremors. The news this morning said they were 5.5 on the Richter scale. How's that for a welcome home?

Snow. How Quaint.

• I will not slam on the brakes on the highway when there is shade or pavement change colors, thinking that I about to launch over a tope.
• I will not, when someone tries to pass me on the left, drive half on the shoulder of the road and indicate I am OK for them to pass by putting on my left signal light.
• I will refrigerate my eggs.
• I will wear socks.
• I will not balk at prices.
• I may never be able to stop converting all prices I see to pesos, and then comparing that with prices from Oaxaca and considering that the pair of black ankle boots I saw in Brown's last night would pay for my living expenses for a whole month in Oaxaca.
• I will not complain about the snow. Storm, actually, currently outside the office window.

Actually, the snow last night was one of those magical snows, where it's not too cold out, and the snow falling is light, and there is no wind, and as it falls it sparkles like diamonds. It was pretty and nostlagic and made me miss home a bit. A bit. I miss the sun and the mountains of Oaxaca, too.