Oaxacan Artisans

Internet connection this morning is really wonky for some reason, we seldom have problems with it, so when we do it is frustrating.
Yesterday when we were uptown, we noticed the Oaxacan artisans had set up booths in the Plaza de Pescador. They seem to come and set up every once in awhile in one of the plazas; but we seldom see anyone buy anything. People look; but few buy. How can they make a living doing this? Are they really coming all the way from Oaxaca? That is a long way to come for only a few sales. I don't know the answers, and I have never thought to ask any of the vendors when we are looking. I always think of the questions after we have left.

Pirate Ship

This morning we had to go uptown for some business and also to take some shoes in to be repaired.
We found a shoe repair place and he told us he would both glue and sew both pairs of shoes and the cost would be 60 pesos, about $6.00. The soles were both coming off of my pair and on Roys the straps needed repairing. We thought that was not a bad price so left the shoes with him. He said they would be done by 6 or 7 PM this evening; but I will wait and pick them up when I go for spanish class tomorrow. Hopefully he does a good job on them, I am not really concerned as the quality of workmanship is usually pretty good here.
We wandered over to the Plaza de Pescador and took a look at some stuff that was on display and then went to see if we could see the pirate ship. It was anchored out in the bay so we got a good look at it. If you look closely you can see that it is flying the Jolly Roger as any good pirate ship should be, just to let you know their business.

While we were standing there another tour boat was pulling into the area. We saw this boat in the bay last year when the Nauticopa races were on, I think it is out of San Carlos; but am not sure.

Another look at the marina.

Pirate Ship In Guaymas Bay

There is a pirate ship in Guaymas Bay; the good news is that it is not here for nefarious purposes. Well, unless that is how you view tourist activities. The ship called the Rey del Mar (King of the Sea), comes from Puerto Peñasco and has been in service there for many years.
Here is a video that shows the ship in all its glory.

The Old Cannon

Guaymas has a varied and interesting history, and here is just one more little tidbet.
About 11 years ago Telmex workers digging on Calle 26 unearthed an old cannon. The cannon hung around the City Hall for a few years and then INAH (Institute of National Antropology and History) came along and took it to study. Apparently they are still not sure if it was used in the battle of the 13 de Julio with the French or not; but regardless, it was used at some time and is a part of Guaymas history. Since then there have been many questions from historians and other people as to where the cannon is and when it is going to be returned to Guaymas.
Well in the El Vigia newspaper the other day, they had a photo of the cannon and said that it would be returned to Guaymas; although the article did not say when. The cannon needs to be restored and I think the sticking point is who is going to pay to do this.
Personally I would love to see it returned soon and displayed where everyone can see it. An important part of the citys history. Hopefully they can come to an agreement and get it back.
Photo from the El Vigia newspaper.

Pictures

If you haven't noticed I have 3 photo albums listed on the right hand side of the blog. The most recent ones are in Photo Album #3. Those are photos from here that I have uploaded to Webshots. I started doing this mainly because I didn't want to lose all my photos if my computer crashed and also because the first winter we were here, we were using Internet cafes and I needed somewhere to park the photos, not having my own computer with us at that time. I decided to upload them to Webshots.
Webshots sends an email every week telling me how many people have viewed the photos over the week and how many downloads of the photos there have been. It always amazes me that so many people look at my photos. The pictures are interesting to me, as they are taken of things that interest me. They are not what I would call "good" photos, just my hobby and simple views of my life.
Last week when I got the email and told Roy, he said, you should put that on the blog, so here it is. These most recent pictures had 3,656 views and there were 3 downloads, just last week. Some weeks there are lots of downloads and some weeks none. What amazes me is that anyone would want to download any of my pictures.
Overall those pictures have had 146,916 views, 1,335 downloads and they have ranked me as #46 out of 15,137 members in the Mexico catagory.

Basically what this means is: nothing; but it just surprises me that's all.

Tortas

I know that I have blogged about the tortas from our favorite torta cart in our neighborhood before. If you want to see a photo of the cart, you can go to this post, Our Favorite Torta Cart.
I have never posted a photo of the tortas as usually we are eating them before I think of it. The other night we restrained ourselves long enough to get a photo; although the picture doesn't do justice to them.
They start out by grilling the buns so that they are warm and crusty, one of the cheeses is added on at this time so that it melts and is ooey gooey good. Then they add mustard and mayo. Next on is the avocado, tomato and lettuce followed by whatever meat you order, which has also been grilled and is hot, then a slice of american cheese. Then they give it to you so that you can add whatever else to it that you want to. They have a selection of salsas, peppers, radishes, cucumbers, pickled onions and probably some more stuff that I am forgetting. When it is ready for you to sink your teeth into it, it is totally yummy. I am sure it is terrible for your cholesterol; but boy oh boy is it good.

The one on the left is the one Roy orders, the "especial", it consists of both roast pork (pierna de puerco) and ham along with everything else I mentioned above. I can't finish one of these so I order the ham and cheese which has everything on that I mentioned above. They are soooo good.
Oh yah, the cost. The total cost for these two tortas is all of 43 pesos or about $4.30 and we are totally full. They also have other things on the menu; but we like these so that is what we always order.

Birthday Decorations

If you have been reading along here for awhile, you have no doubt seen the decorations, etc. that go into having a birthday party here. When you are invited to a party at a salon de eventos (party place) you can be sure that the room will be decorated. They go all out with everything. At the end of the night the guests are expected/encouraged to take the decorations home with them. There are balloons everywhere, candies are wrapped up prettily, table centrepieces are lovely, goodie bags are given to everyone and are wrapped appropriate to the party theme, and of course, there are pinatas (yes, plural in a lot of cases). In other words there is no shortage of decorations.
This pictures below show a table centrepiece from a birthday party. The party was held at a salon de eventos which has water slides and kiddie pools, so the theme was sea/water related.
The bottom piece is styrofoam which is then painted and decorated. The next piece, the clear plastic container, holds small seashells and above that are toothpicks. The uppermost piece is a dolphin. When you tip the dolphin forward it activates a mechanism that pops out a toothpick and he picks it up with his mouth. Cute, eh? Each one of these was made by hand by someone in the family before the party and there are one or more of them on every table. An enormous amount of work goes into creating a party here.

Birthdays And Babies

Yesterday was Mikes birthday, from Cynthia and Mike, and Cynthia had asked us to go and celebrate with them. We enjoyed visiting with Bliss and her husband, Richard the teacher from Scotland, my spanish teacher and several of her family members that Cynthia and Mike have gotten to know. We snacked and chatted and then had birthday cake. A nice evening, thanks for inviting us. I didn't take my camera but Cynthia and Bliss were both taking pictures so you might see some photos on their sites.
This morning there was a knock on the door and it was Nancy and baby Diego. She had brought him up to show us that he fits into the outfit that we bought for him. I think it was a six month size and he fills it out. He is now 32 days old and weighs 6 kilos (about 13.2 pounds), so he is doing very well. He is a little sweetheart and a good baby, at this point all he is doing is eating and sleeping; but he is a master at both.

A New Fountain

The other day when I was uptown, I noticed that the Iglesia de San Fernando (church in centro) was putting the finishing touches on a new water fountain in their yard. We had noticed it a week or so before; but I didn't have my camera with me. That day it was working and the water was cascading down both in front and behind of La Virgen. The day I took this picture the workmen were putting a finish on the rocks. It smelt like some type of varnish to me. I will have to take another look at it on Thursday when I am back up in that area, to see if they finished it and to see if it is running. It looks like they will be planting some plants around it and it should look nice when it is all done. This is the area where every Christmas they have the live animals in a Nativity scene. I asked my spanish teacher (she attends this church) where the animals would go this year, as they are a big draw for the children. She thought they would just move them to another area of the churchyard.

Water cascades down the rocks both in the front opening and the back opening.

Independance Day

Today is Independance Day in Mexico. So happy Independance Day to all of my mexican readers.
Last night we headed to centro and to Richards apartment. There we met up with Richard, Cynthia and a group of the english teachers from the school where Cynthia and Richard teach. We all chatted for awhile before heading for the Three Presidents Plaza where there were to be some bands playing. I think the first band we heard was called Nacapule, then came a mariachi band, I missed their name. The mariachi band was very, very good and we really enjoyed listening to them. The singers had really good voices and the music was great. They had a big screen up on one side of the plaza and it was showing images of past events in the city, carnival parades, etc. and was nice to watch and remember as we listened to the music.
Across the street the childrens fair rides were doing a big business and the toy vendors were out in force. A happy, noisy, colorful time. Some of the little children were dressed up in costumes and looked very cute.
There were some changes in the way that things were this year. The beer vendors are usually set up on the plaza, this year they were down on the street and we heard a policeman telling someone that they weren't allowed to take the beer onto the plaza. I had read that there was to be no food sold, only bottled drinks; because of the problem of dust still hanging around from when the streets flooded during Tropical Depression Julio. There were not nearly as many vendors as usual; but there were some and we saw people wandering around with food, so- so much for that.
One interesting difference this year was that there were 2 police riding around on Segways, the 2 wheeled motorized vehicles-not sure if you call them vehicles or what you call them. I had read somewhere on the internet, I forget where, that the police somewhere in Mexico were using these; but never expected to see them here in our little city.

Internet image of a Segway:

We decided not to stay for the Grito and headed down to the bus stop to head home. The streets were full of people heading for the plaza and the beer stores and liquor stores were doing a booming business. Usually after/during events there are some buses that do their runs later. Last night when we saw our bus and asked the driver, he said he was finished and there would be no more buses that night. So we found a cab and caught a ride home. This is the first time that this has ever happened. Arrived home safe and sound and waited for the fireworks to begin. El Grito couldn't have taken very long as the fireworks started shortly after 11 PM. They put on a good show and we enjoyed watching them from the comfort of our patio. A good ending to the evening.
The Palacio Municipal being decorated for Independance Day.

Changes In The Neighborhood

Our area of the neighborhood is a pretty stable environment. Most of the people living here were here when we came and not much changes on a day to day basis. We have seen some of the children grow from toddlers to school children in the 3 years that we have been here.
One family in particular provided us with lots of entertainment in our evening people watching activity from our patio. They have 3 children and when we came here the youngest boy was just a toddler. Mom would carry him down the street in the evening when she went to pick up the other children from school. Roy would wave to him and he would shyly bury his head in his moms shoulder. With moms encouragement he got to where he would timidly wave at us as they went by. Time passed and he began walking on his own with mom and Roy would go down and hand him a candy as they went by. He grew and Roy finally persuaded him to come upstairs and get his own candies. His first trip up the stairs to see us, was funny as his little face was a picture of shyness, fear of the height he was at, at the top of the stairs and accomplishment for the brave thing he was doing, confronting virtual strangers. It was funny. He kept growing and was now Roys little buddy, waving frantically as they passed by or when he came to play with the landlords grandson. After awhile the whole family came to accept us and would wave, smile and greet us as they passed by. There was not much conversation between the little boy and Roy because of the language barrier but his little face said a million words. It was fun to watch his confidence in himself grow as he did. We watched him and his siblings playing in the evenings and they provided much entertainment to us. We had discussed whether we should ask the parents whether the little fellow and his two older siblings could come over to visit us to perhaps learn some english or play on the computer; but we didn't rush into doing anything, I guess we are in the mañana mode. Anyway we never did approach them about it.
The other day I happened to look out the window and there was a big truck parked in front of their house and their belongings were being moved into the truck. They were moving! We went over and asked where they were going and were told that the father had gotten a better job in Obregon, the next city south of us. We wished them luck, shook hands and watched them leave.
The house is now empty and awaiting new tenants and we sit outside in the evening missing the contact that we had with them and hoping that life is treating them well in their new home.

Tonight we are heading uptown to meet up with some other people and see what is happening in the Plaza. Tomorrow is Independance Day here and this evening at around 11 PM the Grito will be read and there will be fireworks afterwards. I don't think we will stay that late; but we will see some of the activity anyway. There are a million articles on the internet about Mexican Independance Day, so if you are interested you can do some searching or look here for some information about it.

Countdown To The Cruisers

The other day when I was downtown I had my camera with me, so I took another picture of the countdown to the cruisers clock. That was Tuesday, so today there would be only 33 days left before they come. I guess they are having a contest and there will be 2 winners who will each win 2 tickets on the cruise. They will be flown from Hermosillo to San Diego, stay in a hotel in San Diego and then sail on the cruise ship to here. The contest is that you have to come up with a slogan to greet the cruise ship with. Good luck to anyone who enters the contest.

Last year we had a couple of parrots on the loose around here and then they just disappeared. Well, yesterday either a different one escaped or one of the originals was back. I don't know which; but he was sure making a noise. Haven't seen him this morning; but then we have been having rain showers off and on, so maybe he is trying to stay dry somewhere.

Tropical Depression Lowell

It looks like we shouldn't have any problems from tropical depression Lowell. The government has discontinued the watches and it looks like it will come ashore south of us. They are still saying that there could be 1-3 inches of rain and 5 inches in some places; but looks like we may dodge this one.
Last night the city declared an red alert and they were telling people to be prepared. They kept listing off which places are shelters within the city and in San Carlos. When an alert is called the children automatically get the day off from school, lots of happy kids I bet.
So, by the current look of things Lowell will be a non event here. I am sure that the people who are still recovering from Tropical Storm Julio are glad about this.

It's Wet

It is wet this morning here. The sky is covered with gray cloud and it has been raining for awhile. One nice thing about it is that it is cooler right now. It is only 26 C. with 94% humidity making it feel like 29 C., nice.
It is, I am assuming, rain already from the storm Lowell, which has now been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression.
The forecast is saying that we could receive from 1 to 3 inches of rain from this storm over the next couple of days. We shouldn't have any real problems from this storm unless it happens to pick up some force again in the next day or so, which isn't likely according to NOAA.
The rain won't bother us too much; but I am concerned about the people still trying to recover from Tropical Storm Julio. They really do not need any more rain right now.

Shrimp Dinner

Last evening we went out for a shrimp dinner. I have mentioned this restaurant before; but don't think I have ever taken a picture of it. It is called Cocos El Novillero and serves good seafood. If you want dinner though, you have to go early as it closes at 7 PM.
Our order was taken promptly and we sat back to relax. This didn't last for long as the owner of the restaurant came up to us and introduced himself. He sat down and began to chat with us. He told us that he doesn't speak any english; but would like to learn as there are more and more tourists coming into the restaurant. It is located right across from the stadium in Guaymas. We chatted with him throughout our meal.
The shrimp were good, the company was unexpected, the staff were friendly and we were well taken care of. A nice evening.
If you are ever in town, I recommend a lunch or dinner there, they have a large variety of seafood on the menu. He said they open at 8 AM and close at 7 PM.

Cake And Roses

As I didn't blog yesterday, today I have to say un tardío feliz cumpleaños a mi amigo Fernando en Canadá. Hope you had a great day!
Yesterday we went to the bigger grocery store Soriana and bought a cake for the evening and then stopped at a fish store on the way home. We got a kilo of fresh shrimp for 80 pesos (about $8.00 dollars a kilo or about $3.63 dollars a pound). They are called medium size here; but are quite large. The "large" ones were 95 pesos a kilo, (about $9.50 a kilo or about $4.31 a pound).
Last evening we had the landlords family up for cake and coca cola and we had a nice visit with them. They brought me a lovely arrangement of roses. It is so pretty and I love it.

Today we are just hanging out at home, as Roy has a big day planned with football (Americano) on TV. This evening we are going to go out for a shrimp dinner, hopefully the place will be open. We haven't been having much luck lately with finding places open. We have gone to our favorite torta place a couple of times and they have been closed. GRR

Much Ado About Nothing

We have been doing exactly nothing exciting here the last week or so.
The clean up around town from Tropical Storm Julio continues. The street food vendors were not allowed to work again until yesterday for fear of food contamination from the dust and what was in the dust (dried up sewage) after the storm. As they are again open we may go for tortas for dinner this evening. The closures were a good thing for the health of the people; but a very bad thing for the economics of the venders. The city is also worried about the mosquito population as there is still a lot of standing water and they are talking about increasing their fumigation program. Mosquitos are a worry here because of the possibility of them carrying Dengue fever.
On the homefront. On Tuesday as usual I went for my spanish class and then out for coffee with Bliss and Richard. Richard is from Scotland and has come here to teach at the same school as Cynthia. He has had a bit of a rough exposure so far in our city. Firstly is the heat, which he is not used to, then came Tropical Storm Julio and then he got "tourista" for a day or so. Hopefully he will bounce back from all this and not hold it against our city. We had a nice chat over some good coffee and then all headed our own way home.
Wednesday I went uptown to find out what documents we need this year to renew our FM3's, I can't believe that a year has gone by already. Time sure flys down here.
Last year when we got our FM3's we were told that we needed to get a Mexican bank account, naturally we procrastinated on that and didn't do it. This year we were told that we had to get one to get our FM3's, so yesterday we headed to the bank. We were going to do some checking and comparing between banks but decided to open an account at the first one we went to as the monthly rates weren't too bad. I had taken some documents with us and thankfully had everything we needed to open the account. To do almost anything here you need to take with you, your passports, your FM3's, and a utility bill. We were also asked for the names of 2 people we knew and their phone numbers. Luckily I had a paper in my purse with this information on it and we were set. After an amazing amount of paperwork and about an hour and a half, we were set up with an account and a debit card and were free to go.
As we were walking to the bus stop we saw a copy shop so stopped and got the copies of our passports made that we need for the FM3 application, so 2 birds with one stone yesterday.
This morning the bank from Canada sent the papers I need to my accountant, who then emailed them to me, so we should have everything together that we need for our FM3 renewal. On Monday we will take it to the office and see.
Today we need to go and get water and some groceries. Tomorrow we may get a cake and some coke and have the landlords up for desert, will see.
Oops, almost forgot to tell you, the shrimp fishing season opened here yesterday for the panga, small boat fishermen. There were according to the news about 2000 of the little boats out. The big boats don't get to go out until later on in the month, I think around the 23rd and they are expecting about 300 of those to be setting out from Guaymas. According to the newspaper the fishermen were happy with the catch.
Photo from El Vigia newspaper, don't they look yummy?