February 18 to 24, 2024 ; Oaxaca, Mexico

 

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. Joanne has been sick for one week, Daniel for five weeks.

This morning we walked to Mercado de La Noria to buy some cilantro and pineapple for tonight’s supper. And … for me to have my regular visit with Lucho, a big, old, hairy dog that belongs to one of the mercado’s vendors. Lucho accompanies his person to work at the market each day, and just hangs around the market, mostly just snoozing unobtrusively in secluded corners of the market. I have been visiting him for the month and a half that we have been here. It took him about half that time to lose his wariness of a light skinned gringo, speaking an unfamiliar language, squatting down to talk to him and pet him. Consistent with local culture and attitudes, he’s ignored by everyone while he snoozes all day, occasionally taking himself outside to relieve himself. He now recognizes me as a friend, especially since I began using his name.

Today was a milestone. We entered the market, Joanne went off to buy produce, I went looking for Lucho. I found him, and interacted with him for a minute or two, as usual. As I rose and walked away … he stood up and came with me, accompanying me, his tail slowly wagging, as I rejoined Joanne and we did our shopping. As we left the market, he returned to a corner to resume snoozing. Thanks for the escort, Lucho.

We walked to Lavanderia Cancer to pick up our laundry. It was scheduled to be ready yesterday after 6 PM, but … at that time it was raining, the first rain in the month and a half we have been here, and we didn’t want to go get our laundry in the rain, so we delayed picking it up until this morning. When we arrived there this morning we discovered … <sigh> ... the lavanderia is closed on Sundays.

We have just returned (at 6:30 PM) from our late afternoon walk. HMPH … it’s chilly and windy tonight.

Monday ; Sunny, warm, windy.

This morning we were planning to go by bus to the area around / between the two big mercados and the Zocolo, to shop at three different stores Joanne was interested in. When she showed me on the map the locations of the three stores, it didn’t make sense to me to go by bus. We walked to each of the three stores, shopping on the way, ending up near the Zocolo. We walked to a restaurant Joanne was interested in, to have lunch, but when we got there I wasn’t impressed with their offerings and asked to go elsewhere. Joanne consented, so we walked to the nearby location of Chili Guahili, the second location of that “fast food” chain in Oaxaca. We had lunch at their other location recently, and I really liked it.

After lunch we continued shopping, and heading back in the direction of our apartment. On the way home we stopped at Lavanderia Cancer and picked up our laundry, which has been there since Friday. I’m still sick enough that five km. / three miles of walking and shopping over a four hour period exhausts me !

For supper Joanne made chicken leg quarters in mole negro, served over rice. MMMMM !

Tuesday ; Sunny and very warm, still a bit windy, 84° F / 29° C at 5 PM.

I was expecting a package delivery today so did not want us to leave the apartment at the same time today, leaving the apartment vacant. This morning I took our empty water jug to be refilled (and delivered later), then returned home. Joanne then went to Mercado de La Noria and did some vegetables, eggs, buns, and cheese replenishment.

Doing some online research of my persistent “cold / flu” symptoms I have concluded that I now have bronchitis, and probably pneumonia. I am resistant to finding and visiting a local doctor at a cost of $1000 pesos, only to be sent to a lab for “tests”, at a cost of who knows how many thousands of pesos, then return to the doctor, for another thousand peso visit, likely to be told “yes, yes … you have some kind of cold / flu / respiratory viral infection, maybe a respiratory bacterial infection, I will prescribe antibiotics, probably amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin. Take the antibiotics for a week or so, then return for another thousand peso visit and we’ll see how you’re doing, okay ?”. All of that done with considerable language barrier, and transportation by taxi or bus.

So … this morning I began taking ciprofloxacin … twice per day, probably for five days or a week. A few weeks ago I took amoxicillin for five days, and temporarily improved quite a bit, then relapsed. Wish me luck !

This afternoon I received my replacement water flosser. I hope it survives the next month and a half, until we return home. That was the “life span” of the original one, the one I received from Santa for Christmas.

I cooked Tilapia fillets for supper tonight, using my special pickerel fillet recipe / technique, with the addition of “Tajin” a Mexican spice in our kitchen cupboard. WOW … it turned out great. I think I want to take some “Tajin” home with us.

Wednesday ; Sunny and hot.

After an early lunch we walked to Chedraui and did our weekly grocery shopping. On the way home I stopped at a health food store and bought some melatonin.

We have discovered that pummeling on my back permits me to cough up a lot of phlegm out of my lungs. Joanne has been pummeling my back for the last few days.

At 7:30 PM we went out for supper to Del Metate de la Abuela, a local “hole in the wall” restaurant open only in the evenings. This restaurant has been on Joanne’s restaurant radar since our arrival here. It’s a very simple operation, set up in the courtyard of a local residence, operated by three men, probably brothers, simple meals, done well, priced well, prompt and efficient service.

Thursday ; Sunny and hot, 91° F / 33° C at 4 PM.

This morning on our early exercise walk Joanne wanted to stop at Juguilita (hoogwiLEEtah) Mole y Chocolate [local chocolate (shockoLAtay) and mole (MOlay) manufacturer] to buy a package of their ChocoLita chocolate milk drink mix. While there the owner was trying to entice us to buy some packages of moles. With a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding we told him that we have already bought quite a few packages of moles from him and the ones we haven’t yet bought are because we haven’t found them in powder form (to take home to Canada), only paste form. He offered to custom make the moles we want in powder form, listo mañana / ready tomorrow. <blink blink> WOW … OK ! We’ll pick them up Saturday. He even offered to deliver them to our apartment, but we declined that offer.

Finally … six days after they were due, my BMO bank statements were accessible on my online account. This is the second time in the last three months that the Bank of Montreal has been unreasonably late in posting bank statements.

This afternoon, with “nothing to lose”, I attempted to “dissect” my broken water flosser, to see what I could learn … or cannibalize. I managed to disassemble it, with considerable difficulty, but no damage. I discovered the source of the malfunction, and, with a bit of MacGyvering, actually “repaired” it … functionally, if not cosmetically. HA HA HA … some duct tape was involved.

I also discovered, to my chagrin, that the rechargeable battery inside is a 1500 mAh battery. The manufacturer heavily brags about the 2023 model being “upgraded” to a 2000 mAh battery. Is he deceiving his product’s buyers ? Or is his factory in China deceiving him ? Since I have been in communication with him via Amazon messaging, I intend to ask that question of him !

Friday ; Sunny and hot, 90° F / 32° C at 5:30 PM.

This morning we left at 11:15 AM for a day of exploring and shopping in the downtown area. Joanne had “saved” in our map app the location of farmacias between our apartment and downtown. We needed to find some medications. We wandered to the first farmacia, and found one of the medications we were looking for. We wandered to a few more farmacias, and did not find the other medications we were looking for. We have decided to stop looking for those two medications, as we have been looking for them for our entire time in Mexico, and in three different cities. Time to give up on those.

We went for lunch to a restaurant that was on Joanne’s online research “radar”. It has a “prix fixe” menu of daily specials. Lunch was very good. Their reasonable price included soup, salad, entree, dessert, and drink. Soup was cream of garbanzo. It was similar to pea soup. Joanne’s entree was pollo milanesa / breaded chicken cutlet, mine was bocadillo atun / translates as tuna snacks, I would describe it as tuna croquettes. Each served with green salad, macaroni salad, and rice. Drinks were aqua fresca Jamaica (ham eye EE ka), a popular local fruit drink. Dessert was strawberry Jello topped with strawberry yogurt. Price for each of us was MXN$75 / CA$6.07.

After lunch we continued shopping for some gifts we wanted to purchase. We bought what we wanted, but … the atrocious service at a couple of the downtown large stores aggravated me immensely. We were undecided about whether to walk home or take a bus. We decided to walk, I need the exercise and sunshine. On our way home I used our map app to find a panaderia that we have not been to before. It required an eight block detour but … WOO-HOO … it was worth it. Mucho pan dulce para gringos viejos ! HA HA HA !

We arrived back home at 3:45 PM. Pretty tired ! Fours hours, five km. / three miles !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot.

This morning we walked over to Juguilita Mole y Chocolate to pick up our custom blended mole powders. Not yet ready ! I should have known … that on Thursday when he said it would be ready on Friday … that he really meant … maybe Monday ! ! ! <rolling my eyes>

Next stop was Mercado de La Noria for fruits, vegetables, and queso fresca. And a brief visit with mi amigo perro Lucho. A short while after returning home I took our empty five gallon water jug to Aqua Purificado La Noria to be refilled and delivered. Until recently I didn’t know the name of our nearby water purification business. Inexplicably (to us foreign gringos) businesses often don’t display their name. Nevertheless, “everyone” seems to know ! ?

If you haven’t figured it out yet, our barrio / neighbourhood is called “La Noria”. The main street running through it is Calle de La Noria. I suppose it’s not surprising that many of the businesses nearby are named Something or Other La Noria. Something seems to get “lost in translation” because La Noria translates as … The Ferris Wheel ! ?

Late in the evening I watched Mission Impossible ; Dead Reckoning … <blink blink> … WOW !

DSK

February 11 to 17, 2024 ; Oaxaca, Mexico

 Sunday ; Sunny and hot.

Around noon we left for our previously deferred (due to my illness) brunch date at Oscuro Brebaje (Dark Brew), the local upscale restaurant where I recently ordered a custom birthday cake for Joanne. Their specialty is “brunch”, and Joanne has been wanting to have brunch there almost since we arrived here in Oaxaca more than a month ago. Today was the day !

Brunch was excellent. Very nice courtyard ambience, good service, no rushing the customers out the door after their meals, great food and beverages, reasonable prices. Joanne wanted to have brunch there specifically to try chiliquiles, a renowned Oaxacan breakfast specialty. It was … hold on to your hats now … a large bowl of totopos / tortilla chips, slathered with frijoles negro / refried black beans, with a generous layer of queso fresco crumbled over that, topped with lots of … crema / cream. For breakfast ! ! ! <smh> Her beverage was hot chocolate, another Oaxacan specialty, made with milk and fresh chocolate Oaxaqueña. I had pan Francés / French toast and a frappé cajeta to drink. That was a large glass half filled with iced espresso coffee, half a glass of fresh whipped cream, generous layer of cajeta (caHETta) / goats milk caramel on top.

We went for a long, slow walk at 6 PM. It’s still daylight beyond 6:30 PM. Days are getting longer. I watched the Super Bowl tonight. Although … I could only live stream it in Spanish. I still don’t understand what all the fuss is about with the NFL. I still maintain that the CFL game is more difficult … and interesting … due to the longer field and only three downs, and the CFL’s top players rival anybody in the NFL. Neither team in tonight’s Super Bowl had a player whose ground game is better than Brady Oliviera’s. So glad that he decided to sign for two more years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers instead of succumbing to the temptation of bigger money in the NFL.

Monday ; Sunny and hot.

This morning we took our empty water jug to be refilled (and delivered), then walked to Mercado de La Noria to replenish vegetables. The traffic in our neighbourhood was surprisingly congested. And there were police cars (and police officers standing around eating ice cream cones from the mercado) blocking intersections to reroute the congested traffic. <shrug> Didn’t know what that was about.

At 6 PM we went for our usual late afternoon walk. A couple of blocks from home we came across an intersection closed by … nylon twine strung diagonally across the intersection. There were hand written signs attached to the nylon twine that we had difficulty translating. A couple of blocks later, more police cars blocking intersections. HUH ? Finally we came to the nearby main arterial road that Chedraui is located on, a large street with four lanes in each direction separated by a median. And in one direction … there were transport trucks parked as far as the eye could see, blocking the road, with many people / demonstrators milling about. HUH ? A freedummy convoy ? In Oaxaca, Mexico ? ! ?

We walked home and Joanne set out to use the Internet to find out what was going on.

HOLY SHIT ! We’re the problem ! We’re what’s being protested ! ! !

Locals are protesting the proliferation of previously affordable housing becoming unaffordable to them by being converted to AirBnB type accommodations for rich tourists ! This same problem exists in British Columbia, Canada, even going back to when we lived there (until 2021). The BC government has new regulations, about to be implemented this spring, that disallows “housing” to be rented for less than a four month period, to prevent the evolution of affordable housing becoming unaffordable because it’s being rented at outrageous pricing to tourists for short term rentals.

Maybe that explains why we occasionally encounter what seems to be prejudice against gringos. I thought it was because we are mistaken for Merkins. No, no … it’s not just Merkins that are disliked here, it’s people like us who come in and rent furnished apartments for short periods of time at rental rates that locals cannot afford.

For example, today at the mercado we were served by a male vendor who is always rude and sullen to us, despite his wife being very friendly. When she’s around, we avoid him. But sometimes, he’s there alone, and we have to deal with him.

HMPH ! It’s kind of disconcerting to find that we are exactly what’s being protested !

Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.

We cancelled our plan to go downtown today. I have generously <sarcasm> given my cold (or whatever this is) to Joanne and she was very ill today. Consequently … a rather slow, lazy day.

Holy mackerel … the only thing worse than being sick is being sick and having to take care of someone sicker than yourself !

From 11 PM to 1 AM (2 hours !) I was in online chat with three different levels of agent in Amazon’s Customer Service (located in India obviously, based on the three agents’ names) trying to get a warranty replacement for the water flosser Santa brought me less than two months ago. One of the two function buttons has ceased functioning, the other button (on/off) functions intermittently. It has a one year guarantee. Before this experience I didn’t think it was Amazon’s style to try so hard to avoid replacing a relatively inexpensive product that has a guarantee/warranty. I have a vague recollection of previously making a warranty claim on a product purchased through Amazon.ca (Canada) without much difficulty. This experience was with Amazon.com (USA).

Wednesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne is still too ill to go downtown.

And while making breakfast for her I burned my finger on this ****ing sandwich grill thingy that is the only “toaster” we have in this apartment. The landlord refused my request to provide a regular bread toaster, citing concerns about bugs being attracted to the crumbs that fall out of the bottom of toasters.

Around noon we walked slowly to Mercado de La Noria to buy some buns and eggs for tonight’s supper. I made an Eggs Benedict type concoction. We rested and napped a lot today. I am improving, albeit at an agonizingly slow pace. Joanne is still very ill.

Thursday ; Sunny and hot, 86° F / 30° C at 5:45 PM when we returned home from grocery shopping.

This morning Joanne felt healthy enough to attempt a city bus trip to a large mall with a large supermarket, to explore a bit, and do our weekly grocery shopping. We left our apartment around noon, walked almost to Chedraui (nearby supermarket), and caught a city bus to Plaza Oaxaca. Joanne had researched the correct bus stops and routes, and we simply asked each bus as it arrived if it was going to Plaza Oaxaca. The third bus driver said “Si”.

Most of the bus journey was along Avenida Universidad. <blink blink>. WOW … what a large university campus. It stretched on and on and on along “University Avenue”. Finally we arrived at Plaza Oaxaca and got off the bus. We walked to the nearby restaurant Joanne had chosen for lunch ; Chili Guajili (gwaHEElee). EXCELLENT ! A somewhat different “fast food” restaurant than we are used to in Canada and USA. A hostess led us to a table, seated us, and left us with menus. After we made our selections, I walked to a counter, placed our orders, paid for them, and returned to our table with a wooden numbered order tag, and placed the tag on a hook on our table.

In a few minutes our drinks were brought to us. A few minutes later our food was brought to us. My sopa de champiñones (mushroom soup) was “muy caliente” (very hot) as I had specified. The food was excellent, the portions were large, the prices were reasonable, the décor was somewhere between a McDonald’s and a Cracker Barrel, spacious, lots of sunlight, soft classic rock music playing at low volume, staff in the background unobtrusively watching for tables that need empty dishes removed, or customers who seem as if they need something, like salt for their meal or sugar for their iced tea, etc. It seemed somewhat like an “upscale” fast food restaurant and I wonder why something like this Mexican fast food concept hasn’t made it to Canada or the USA yet ?

After lunch we crossed the street to Plaza Oaxaca, and into the Hiper Soriana, an extremely large grocery store and one of the large mall’s anchors. We were concerned about stamina / “running out of steam” so we did not explore much of the mall, mostly just did grocery shopping at Soriana. YIKES ! Our grocery shopping bill was MXN$2180 / CA$176.52 ! Four large bags of groceries. And we had to return home by bus ! Well … or by taxi, but we wanted to try it by bus and see how tough it would be.

We kept our grocery bags in the store’s shopping cart until we were all the way across the mall’s parking lot, then just had to carry the bags across the street to our bus stop. First bus that came along was going to our barrio / neighbourhood. Bus ride was easy, I followed along using our i-Phone map app so that I would know where we were and when to get off, the walk home from our stop was about three blocks or so, not too bad !

We weren’t exhausted, the day was interesting … call this one a success !

Friday ; Sunny and very warm, 81° F / 27° C.

I am deeply saddened, and politically worried by news of the death of Alexei Navalny in Russia. On the other hand, I am encouraged by the new Manitoba government’s announcement in Anola (next town over from our home in Dugald) this morning that Sio Silica’s application for a license to extract silica sand from beneath the aquifiers of our Springfield neighbourhood has been denied.

This morning I took our bag of dirty laundry to Lavanderia Cancer then met Joanne at Mercado de La Noria for some fruits and vegetables replenishment. And frutas seca / candied dried fruit. And leche fresca / fresh milk which Joanne used this afternoon to make chocolate rice pudding. And beautiful, fresh Oyster mushrooms, which one of the local vendors has available weekly or so. I made an Oyster mushroom frittata for supper tonight.

This week I received more income tax information slips so this evening I continued working on our 2023 income tax returns.

Saturday ; Cloudy and warm, 75° F / 24° C at 2 PM. Light rain starting late in the afternoon.

We had another lazy day, partially because it was a “chilly” day by local standards, partially because of our health. We’re both improving, but both still have some distance to go to reach good health.

When we went for our late morning exercise walk we found a playground in our neighbourhood that, I think, illustrates how “third world” Mexico still is. Pics are below.

DSK

February 4 to 10, 2024 ; Oaxaca, Mexico

 Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

I have now been sick with a cold (or ?) for three weeks. Today I decided to rest and do nothing else, in order to give my body an opportunity to recuperate. For the past few mornings, I woke up feeling improved, and then deteriorate steadily throughout the day, making me think that perhaps trying to “push through” the illness might be the wrong thing to do, and “giving in” might be the right thing to do. It is now 8 PM, I’ve done close to nothing all day except sleep, and … it’s not working !

For supper I made “toad(s) in the hole(s)” a recipe I learned when I was eleven years old, at cub (scout) camp, cooked over an open fire. Probably the first recipe I ever learned, and definitely the first campfire cooked recipe I learned.

At bedtime I took a rapid Covid test. Negative ! I’m just “conventionally sick”.

Monday ; Sunny and warm. Still sick, coughing heavily, lots of phlegm.

This morning I decided to try taking antibiotics for a few days to see if that improves my health. My rationale being that maybe my “cold” started out as a viral infection but may now have become a bacterial respiratory infection. Fortunately we always travel with our own “mini-pharmacy” of useful medications. I took 500 mg. of Amoxicillin and intend to do that daily for three days. I hope it’s not just wishful thinking on my part but I believe that I improved throughout the day, instead of the reverse which has been the recent pattern.

Our cold water was off almost all day. I don’t understand plumbing infrastructure that permits hot water to flow, but not cold. I waited until 8 PM to send a message to the landlord asking when the cold water might be restored. He replied that he would be here in ten minutes to fix the problem. Ten minutes later we heard a loud pump turn on that we have heard before, but don’t know where it is, or where it’s pumping to. Nevertheless our cold water began to flow again in a minute or two. The pump ran for close to an hour. The landlord did not stop by our apartment to explain, so I am left puzzled by the engineering of this apartment’s plumbing systems.

Tonight we watched the last of the My French Film Festival movies. Incomprehensible !

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

Woke up this morning feeling about 80% healthier ! Minimal throat irritation, minimal coughing, minimal phlegm. I’m thrilled ! A second Amoxicillin today should resolve the remaining 20%, another pill tomorrow for good measure, and … hopefully that is the end of that ! ! ! Must have been a bacterial infection of the respiratory system, even if it started out as a viral infection / common cold.

So … three months so far in a third world, “developing nation” (shithole country) … three bacterial infections, one gastro-intestinal for each of us, and a respiratory infection for me. That “seals the deal” for next winter’s travel plans to Victoria, BC, CANADA.

This morning we walked to Mercado La Noria and replenished vegetables, candied dried fruit, fresh raisins, and queso fresco. Before we had lunch our apartment building’s maintenance man came in to inspect and lubricate our toilet’s malfunctioning flush valve. Late in the afternoon we took our empty water jug to be refilled, then I walked with Joanne to the local esthetician’s where I recently had a haircut, and left her there to have a pedicure. Shortly after I returned home our disinfected and refilled water jug was delivered. I walked back to the esthetician’s and walked back home with Joanne. I was feeling better, and enjoyed walking in the warm sunshine.

Wednesday ; Sunny and very warm, 82°F / 28°C at 6:15 PM.

Today was the third and last day that I intend to take Amoxicillin. I believe that it has done its job, and resolved/eliminated some manner of bacterial respiratory infection. Now … I feel like I did a couple of weeks ago. Nearing the end of a common cold viral infection ; bit of coughing, bit of phlegm, bit of sinus congestion, minimal fatigue. I’m hopeful that the end is near, and soon I will feel “normal” healthy.

Oaxaca is a large city, about the size of Winnipeg. Their city bus system is almost incomprehensible for a foreign tourist. After some research, we felt ready to try the bus system today. We left our apartment this morning at 11:30 AM and walked a couple of blocks to where we believed we could catch a bus to the two mercados ; Mercado 20 de Noviembre and Mercado Benito Juarez.

We still have not figured out how to decipher the myriad of information painted on the right hand front window of each bus. Couldn’t identify the route colour or number, so … the first bus that came by, I asked the driver in Spanish if that bus goes to the mercados. SI ! OK, we got on the bus, I followed our progress on the i-Phone’s map app, and … we got off the bus at the mercados. Easy, peasy … I guess !

We wandered around in the vicinity of the two mercados, to five stores Joanne had researched online and selected to visit. By then it was time for a late lunch, and we were tired. We went into the Mercado 20 de Noviembre to the restaurant Joanne had selected. Lunch was pretty darn good. I had a chicken thigh and mole coloradito over rice, Joanne had beef ribs and vegetables in mole amarillo. After lunch we bought some gifts, and two more moles to add to our collection of moles to try and/or take home. We left that mercado and walked towards Mercado Artesanias stopping at Banco Azteco to recarga (top-up) my Movistar cell phone plan. We wandered around and through Mercado Artesanias until we were tired, then headed for the nearby intersection where we believed we needed to catch the bus to return home.

At the intersection we could find no indication of a bus stop. Fifty feet away, a bus stopped, people got off, people got on. I walked over and asked the driver if that bus went to our neighbourhood, barrio de La Noria. SI ! OK, we got on the bus, I followed our progress on the i-Phone’s map app, and … we got off the bus about two blocks from home. Easy, peasy … I guess !

We arrived back home late in the afternoon. I napped briefly, getting up just in time to catch the Panaderia Integral panadero as he stopped at our corner. MMMMM … fresh pan simple (SEEMplay) / bread, molletes (moyEHtays) / muffins, and pan dulce (DOOLsay) / pastries.

As Joanne was preparing supper, which incorporated one of the moles we bought, imagine her surprise when she opened the bag of mole powder only to discover … it wasn’t mole powder, it was mole paste ! SHIT ! We can’t take that home with us ! We checked our six bags of mole and … two, maybe three of them are in paste form, not powder form. It’s impossible to tell because of how tightly the bags are packaged, and some of the vendors are not specifying paste or powder on their labels.

Thursday ; Sunny and hot, 90° F / 32° C at 5:30 PM.

Today was a “day off”, a lazy day following a day of activity. We’re old, our stamina isn’t what it used to be. Especially when ill.

This morning we took a bag of dirty laundry to the lavanderia, then walked to Mercado de La Noria to replenish fresh vegetables. We can’t buy much at one time because our apartment’s fridge is small, and fruits and vegetables here quickly become compost. They’re sold at peak freshness and must be consumed quickly or they simply over ripen and rot !

When I comment that our fridge is small, it inspires me to comment … as is everything home related here in Mexico. The apartment is small. The rooms are small. The fridge and stove are small. The kitchen counter space is minimal. The kitchen sink is small. Water heaters are tiny (by Canadian standards) ! ! ! It really makes us aware of how “large” everything is in Canada, and spoiled by that we are. Middle class families of five live here in considerably less space than our two bedroom two bathroom seniors’ condo suite back home in Canada. Taxis here are … Chevrolet Sparks, a small car that back home in Canada would be considered suitable as a vehicle for a college student … maybe.

Friday ; Sunny and hot, 86° F / 30° C when we returned home from Chedraui at 4:30 PM.

After lunch we walked to Chedraui and did our weekly grocery shopping. And withdrew cash from an ATM. At 6:30 PM we walked to the lavanderia and picked up our laundered clothing. HEY … some days are filled with a adventure … and some aren’t !

Saturday ; Sunny and hot.

Well ! I have now been sick for four weeks. And I hardly know what to say about that anymore. On a daily basis I “yo-yo”, feeling better, feeling worse, rinse and repeat, many cycles per day ! ! ! ! ! Cold, virus, bacteria, covid … ? ! ? ! ? ! Lots of coughing, lots of phlegm, plugged sinuses, endless nose blowing … relief … recur … and on and on. And now … finally … inevitably … Joanne has the same, albeit not as bad … yet !

I think I would like to stop commenting on it. If I get better, great. If not, well … death doesn’t seem imminent ! I’ll ride it out until we’re home in two months, then see our family physician.

DSK

January 28 to February 3, 2024 ; Oaxaca, Mexico

 

Sunday ; Joanne’s 70^th birthday ! ! !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY / BONNE FÊTE / FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS … Mi amor.

When we moved in here, I found in the drawer of the desk of our apartment two “sparklers”. I put them aside, intending to use them somehow on Joanne’s birthday. When she awoke this morning and stumbled to the bathroom, I leaped out of bed and grabbed one of the sparklers, and a lighter from the kitchen drawer, and positioned myself outside the bathroom door. I thought that as soon as I heard her finishing washing her hands I would light the sparkler, and surprise her with a flaming sparkler and a rousing “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” as she stepped out of the bathroom.

She shut off the water tap. I knew she would be drying her hands on a towel. I flamed the lighter and held it to the tip of the sparkler. Until the tip of the sparkler glowed red. And Joanne opened the bathroom door ! To see me standing there in my new pyjamas, holding a smouldering dud of a sparkler. Looking pathetic, I said … “uhhhh … Happy Birthday ?” HA HA HA HA HA ! Even my sparkler needs Viagra !

At 3:30 PM we left our apartment, heading to Restaurante Coronita, a short distance beyond the Zocolo, for Joanne’s special birthday dinner of Degustacion de Los Siete Moles / Seven Moles Tasting. Only a few of the more renowned restaurants in Oaxaca offer the seven mole tasting meal. Restaurante Coronita was Joanne’s choice. Although … they close at 6 PM on Sundays, hence the early dinner. On the way to the Zocolo, and restaurant beyond, we found our way to the centro / downtown location of GNC, the health supplements chain, where I bought enough probiotics to last me until we’re home in early April.

We arrived at the restaurant at 4:30 PM. It is housed in, and part of, an elegant old hotel. The hotel and restaurant have been owned by the founding family for three generations. The food was excellent. The service was excellent. The ambience was excellent. The prices were … a bit high, but … worth it ! Shortly after being seated and after placing our order, the server brought a large birthday cake with a huge flaming sparkler on top to the table adjacent to us. There were about a dozen people at the table, and it was obvious that the “birthday girl” was a girl that I assumed to be about fifteen years old.

Some of the people at the table jumped up to take pictures of the flaming birthday cake, so I jumped up and did so as well. After the huge sparkler died, I walked around the table and wished “Feliz cumpleaños” to the birthday girl. I pointed to Joanne, and told the girl that it was also my wife’s birthday. I asked the girl how old was she today ?

She said … “doce” (DOEsay). <blink blink> Twelve ! My … they “grow up” early down here, don’t they ? ! ? She asked how old was my wife. I said … “setente” (sehTENtay). HA HA HA … now it was the girl’s turn to blink in amazement.

A few minutes later our server brought over two servings of birthday cake, and indicated that they were a birthday gift from the adjacent table, from the birthday girl’s mother. Well … how nice ! Muchas Gracias, Señora ! We didn’t realize until after finishing our meal, and beginning to eat our two pieces of birthday cake that it was a tall, thick, luscious Tres Leches cake, our favourite cake in Mexico.

There is a ritual to “seven moles tasting”. The meal (por dos / for two) is served on a beautiful, large wooden platter, wooden bowl filled with rice on the center of the platter, seven wooden bowls of mole surrounding the rice bowl. Three of the moles contain shredded chicken, two contain shredded pork, and two contain shredded beef. The server explains each mole. It’s complicated ! During our leisurely, slow meal we were asked by our server, and again by one of the owner family members, if everything was okay, and which mole was our favourite. The staff and family all seemed genuinely caring. They beamed at our responses.

NOW … we can go to the chocolate and mole stores and buy some moles (in powder form) to take home with us. ATTENTION : IN-LAWS … prepare for a mole tasting meal next summer.

We finished our meal as the restaurant was preparing to close at 6 PM. We meandered our way home, browsing throughout the centro / downtown area for gift ideas. We arrived home just as it got dark, shortly before 7 PM.

At bedtime, we did the birthday cake / candles / sing “Happy Birthday” routine. MMMMM … good chocolate cake from Oscuro Brubaje.

Monday ; Sunny and mild, quite a bit cooler than it has been.

After having a cold persist for two weeks, and feeling as if the finish line was in sight, today I seemed to have a recurrence … two steps (or more !) backwards, as it were ! I’m truly weary of feeling ill ! ! ! Maybe I’ll try “slowing down” … “giving in” more … getting more rest. “Pushing through” doesn’t seem to be bringing me to good health. Is this part of old age ? ! ?

This morning we walked over to Mole Juquilita and bought two packages of different moles to try. From there we walked over to Mercado La Noria to replenish vegetables, including really lovely, fresh Oyster mushrooms. This afternoon we went for another walk, to browse / window shop, and get some fresh air. I’m feeling really poorly today.

Tuesday ; Sunny and mild. I’m feeling slightly better than yesterday, but not by much. Is it really possible to develop another cold before the first has completely resolved ?

This morning we went to Mercado La Noria to replenish eggs and Queso Oaxaqueño and vegetables. The rest of the day was pretty lazy. I cooked a wonderful Oyster mushroom and queso fresco fritatta for supper. We watched more My French Film Festival shorts and feature length films. We’ve seen most of the film festival’s offerings, and now we’re watching the ones that interested us the least, and we left until last. With good reason. They’re … crappy films !

Around 6 PM I thought I heard the Pan Integral (whole wheat bakery) truck on our street. I asked Joanne to run out to buy some stuff for us. By the time she got her shoes on, and ran out, the truck was stopped in the next block. Just now (11 PM) as I was preparing a cup of tea for myself, she reached into a bag in the fridge and pulled out … <blink blink> … a honkin’ huge chocolate donut covered in chocolate icing and crushed nuts. WTF ? Her response was … “if I have to chase the panadero truck down the street for you … I get to buy and eat whatever I want !” HA HA HA HA HA … you go, girl !

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm, 77° F / 25° C when we returned home at 2:45 PM.

Today we walked to the fifth, final, and furthest distance from our apartment municipal market, Mercado de la Merced. We left home around 11:30 AM and returned home at 2:45 PM, both of us tired, me because I’m sick, Joanne because she’s … <whispering> … old ! HA HA HA HA HA ! Your time’s coming soon, cough boy !

We browsed, had lunch, then browsed some more. For lunch we went to a restaurant in the mercado that Joanne had researched, and she had the second last Oaxacan culinary specialty on her bucket list, a memela. I had a Queso Oaxaqueña empanada. It gave me an idea/inspiration to make Queso Oaxaqueña quesadillas. Much of this mercado was specialty food vendors, and consequently everything we bought was … edible ! Fruits, vegetables (heirloom tomatoes for me), Salchichas Ejutla sausages, jamon de pavo luncheon meat, pecan nut brittle (for her), cajeta flan (also for her), pan dulce (for me, of course … I’m addicted to Mexican baking, especially my new Oaxacan discovery, pan dulce con turrón / pastries with nougat filling) and the biggest score of all … mole chichilo (en polvo / powder), our favourite mole from Joanne’s siete (7) moles birthday dinner, and one we have been having difficulty finding. We now have four of the six we want to buy and take home to Canada with us.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm.

I’ve been sick with a cold for eighteen days ! I’m weary of it. And becoming worried. Why would a cold (or two ?) last this long ? Because I’m old ?

This morning we took our empty five gallon water jug to the aqua purificado place. Then continued on to the lavanderia to drop off our two bags of dirty laundry. We had more laundry than usual because it was time to wash our bed linens. The water jug was returned to us, disinfected, refilled and delivered, two hours later.

We showered in cold water today, for the second day in a row. I complained to the landlord who sent over the maintenance man. His assessment ? Sí … hace frío ! He indicated that he would increase the temperature setting on the water heater on the roof. Of course … that’s the problem ! We’ve had a few very cold (relative to Mexico) nights. Send tepid water down from the roof through three storeys of ice cold galvanized pipe (attached on the outside of the cement walls) and it’s cold by the time it reaches us ! ! ! All three of our Mexican landlords have been extremely stingy with electricity and hot water. This landlord has refused to provide us with a space heater. We’re spoiled by living in a place where electricity is cheap … like Manitoba. I think most of Canada has reasonably cheap electricity. Lights on all the time, everywhere. Abundant hot water and high water pressure for showering, clothes laundering, dish washing. It’s not like that in much of the world. Certainly not like that here in Mexico.

Friday ; Sunny and very warm, 84° F / 29° C when we returned home from Chedraui at 3:45 PM.

Still sick ! ! ! Throat clogged with phlegm, coughing heavily !

After lunch we headed to Chedraui. Time for more drugs ! And some groceries. Found some fresh puff pastry dough in the panaderia. Bought some, will bake a Queso Oaxaqueño and fresh fruit concoction in puff pastry tomorrow. Like a Mexican version of brie baked in puff pastry. Wish me luck.

At 6 PM walked to the lavanderia to pick up our washed laundry. <sigh> It wasn’t ready. AGAIN ! This lavanderia lady operates on Mexico time ! She told us to come back at 7:30 PM. I told her we would come back tomorrow. Wish us luck !

We wandered around the neighbourhood for awhile, to get some fresh air and exercise, returning home as it became dusk. While Joanne prepared her wonderful home made guacamole, I made totopos integral / whole wheat tortilla chips. That was our amuse-bouche / appetizer / starter, followed by rotisserie barbecued chicken purchased today at Chedraui, and fries.

After supper we watched the third last movie of My French Film Festival. As we expected, it was not much to our liking. The same is likely with the two remaining films. But, hey … in for a penny, in for a pound. That’s what film festivals are for ; broadening one’s horizons. Same as with travel !

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.

Yesterday at Chedraui I purchased a different cough syrup than before. I consumed three bottles of the first brand, and might as well have been drinking water. Yesterday was the first day using a new brand and today … I feel better ! For the first time in a long time I feel as if I’m improving. I wonder if the new medication works better for me than the previous one, or if my body has simply decided after three weeks that it’s time to defeat this bug ?

This morning we walked to Mercado La Noria and purchased Queso Oaxaqueño, Queso Manchega, eggs, and green beans. This afternoon I baked a Queso Oaxaqueño, raisins, and diced fresh pineapple in puff pastry concoction. It did not turn out particularly well. The filling was great, the pastry was not. Last winter when we were in Portugal we saw that the Portuguese use puff pastry extensively, and puff pastry dough is readily available in grocery stores. And … it “puffs”, as it should. Mexicans don’t use puff pastry much, it’s almost impossible to find in the stores, and … what we bought yesterday as “fresh” puff pastry dough was a bit of a flop. <shrug>

At 6 PM we walked to the lavanderia and picked up our laundered clothing. We started a squabble just before leaving to walk to the lavanderia, we continued it all the way there and back, and for a few more hours afterwards. We don’t do that much anymore … we’re too old to waste our valuable, limited remaining time… but obviously we remember how ! ! ! I guess it’s like riding a bicycle !

Tonight we watched the second last of the My French Film Festival movies. We expected to not like it. We were wrong, it was good.

DSK