Paulina is a kindergarten teacher in Guaymas. She house sits for us and takes care of Teddy and Niko while we are away from San Carlos. She is a wonderful and sweet person and she is incredibly responsible. She's also one of those people who sometimes gets in precarious situations because she is so sweet and responsible. Bruce and I were going on a short trip to Phoenix to do a couple of errands. We asked Paulina to come over on Friday afternoon so we could talk about the house and the pets. The Caracol (our neighborhood) is up on a hill in San Carlos and there is a gate that opens with a code during the day and a remote control after 7:00 P.M. It's a security device adopted by the Homeowners Association. Naturally, as in any town, there is some controversy over the gate, but overall it does keep the neighborhood more secure. We like it.
Paulina was having trouble getting the code to work so she called us. Bruce talked her through the process and we waited for her. Several minute passed and we were getting concerned about her when she called again. She was crying and said she had been in an accident down at the gate. We said we would be right there. We jumped in the car and raced to the bottom of the hill. The first thing we saw was a small, white compact car with the front bashed in badly. I jumped out of the car and the police were there. There were at least three of them talking to Paulina and the lady she hit. Everyone was fine. The lady in the other car had pulled up behind Paulina and, as a resident of the Caracol, she had a remote control that raises the gate. Paulina was already really nervous and when the gate went up she gunned the car and accidentally put it in reverse. I can completely understand how this happened.
Paulina had been at her aunt's house just before she came up to see us. Her aunt threw her the keys to a friends' Hummer and told her to go ahead and drive it. Paulina said she hesitated because it was so big and she hates driving borrowed cars. The good news about the Hummer is that the accident did NO damage to it whatsoever. The bad news is this; the Hummer demolished the front end of the other car, it belonged to an American and had US plates, the Mexican insurance had expired the week before, the owner was in Texas, and Paulina had no driver's license. This was bad, and under other circumstances (i.e. not being pretty and nice and charming) jail would be a possibility because here in Mexico you are guilty until proven innocent. That's just the way it works here and it's complicated. I have mixed feelings about it, but that's another story.
The lady whose car was hit was very nice and very understanding, though it was obvious she was upset and why wouldn't she be? She had just driven down from the States and was going up to her house. Her dog was with her and thankfully they were both fine. Bruce helped her unload her car filled with "stuff" and drove her to her house and unloaded her and her dog. Her car was going to be towed to the San Carlos police station. In the meantime I told the police that I would vouch for Paulina and I would go down to the police station with her. I did not want her to go to jail. One of the officers drove me up to our house to get my purse (in the Hummer) and off we all went to the police station. I could see that this man was loving the drive in the Hummer. In the meantime, Paulina was beside herself. She knew she was responsible and was willing to pay whatever it cost even if it took years. She had her paycheck with her from her teaching job. She makes about $600 US per month as a university educated teacher. Let me just add that this woman works hard, has several jobs and is so responsible in every way except for that driver's license thing. In her defense, it doesn't seem like getting a license is a priority here. After all most of the people have only been driving for a generation or two.
I am on my very best behavior with the police. I have learned in Mexico that being belligerent (even if you think something is really stupid) gets you nowhere although sometimes crying works a little. At this point, I know that my goal is to keep Paulina out of jail. I feel a little responsible for having her come up to the Caracol in the first place. I am doing my best to speak Spanish to the police. I know that shows respect and goes a long way with them. I understand most everything but my conversational skills are marginal. Still, I can put key words together and, in a pinch, I do pretty well. Paulina is a little calmer when we arrive at the station though she is pretty scared about the outcome. So am I, especially since I know several laws have been broken. The police are all saying that it really was an accident and that sounds really good. They're smiling a lot and being very friendly.
We are summoned into the the Comandante's office. He seems nice and introduces himself as "Comandante Raymundo Mercado". He has three phones; two cell phones and an office phone. One of them has a siren as its ringtone. He begins to interview Paulina and finds out that he knows her family in Guaymas. This is really good too. He has been a policeman here for 27 years and has worked as a bartender in San Carlos off and on for many years. He doesn't do it anymore because his wife wants him home. First of all, he issues Paulina a temporary driver's license dated a few weeks earlier. He lets us know that it's illegal for a Mexican national to be driving a US plated car without written permission so that will need to be cleared up. Paulina's aunt needs to get in touch with her friend and get permission faxed down from Texas. It turns out that two of Paulina's uncles have a body shop and mechanical shop. They will be able to fix the other car. This can all be worked out between the two parties. Everything is looking very positive and in the long run it all worked out. Paulina got her driver's license, she drove my jeep with written permission while I was gone and she doesn't have to use all of her money to fix the other car. She took great care of Teddy and Niko and she was much calmer when we returned. Unfortunately, the night before we arrived home, she and Teddy were out on the back terrace and a skunk approached. Paulina ran and Teddy wanted to play with the skunk so he got sprayed. Other than that, things went well.
The San Carlos Police were very nice. Comandante Raymundo and I became friends. While Paulina was out getting her belongings from the Hummer we had a good talk. He and I are about the same age. He doesn't speak much English. He couldn't get over that I am a grandmother. He asked me if I like to dance. Oh my. He did know where to draw the line though. Though Mexican men are usually pretty chauvinistic, they are generally very respectful of women and they appreciate women (at least until they marry them). Bruce had called while Paulina and I were in his office and I asked the Comandante if Bruce should come down. He said no need. He also said I reminded him of his wife. He called her the Pantera Negra (black panther) and he put his fingers out while making a grrrrring sound. I nearly fell out of my chair. That was a good one. That was the end of our encounter. He walked us out and told Paulina not to worry, shook my hand and told me to come back anytime and the police would watch our house with vigilance. Paulina was to come back the following morning at 10 to meet with the lady in the white car and iron things out. Her uncles were coming too. When I see the police around town now they honk and wave and turn their lights on. They know me and I think they like me. I feel very safe and I'm honestly glad they are around. I like them too.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday
Today is one of those days when I especially love and appreciate being here in Mexico; San Carlos in particular. I am a U.S. citizen and I love my country and always will. However, after being saturated with reactions to the health care town hall meetings throughout the U.S. yesterday, it was especially nice to be here where I can take myself away from the chaos and misinformation. My friend, Chrissy said that people are losing their minds over this and she's right. My son, Tommy thinks that the extremes on both the left and right have gone overboard and he is right. I'm hoping that "we" in the middle of both sides can have a voice. It was hard to hear people yelling unreasonable and uninformed opinions on the news shows. The Mexican people don't understand the politics in the U.S. They are confused by our society. Great health care does exist here as well as not so great. I have observed that no matter what happens here in Mexico, people still love life and for the most part they make the best of what they have. It also warms my heart to see how families here treat each other. Family is everything here and there's a lot of laughter even in the face of extreme poverty
We had a wonderful storm last night and lots of rain, thunder and lightning. It was a treat and this morning it was a little cooler. The mountain across the bay gets greener each time it rains. Bruce and I also went and signed our land trust this morning which brings us closer to construction of our house. This particular transaction can take a long time so we feel some relief in getting it done. These signings are always kind of formal, like all legal transactions in Mexico. You always go into a conference room, sit down, exchange pleasantries and sign, sign, sign. Then Bruce went home and I got a pedicure...now I know it sounds like I'm a real princess obsessed with my hair, nails and toes, but honestly the spa gave me a free pedicure because I wrote a recommendation for them on our local internet bulletin board and, well, I have had a couple of things done to my hair and nails. Let's face it, it's cheap enough here to do things that I almost never did in the U.S. I always have a good time at Chocolate' (the spa) too. The women who work there are really fun and they have great stories. They are also listeners and I find that really refreshing. In spite of our cultures, we all have a lot in common. There are many things that are the same everywhere just because we are women. We all have the same stories.
To top off the day, the shrimp guy stopped by with the most beautiful shrimp ever; one kilo for $100 pesos. That solves the dinner problem. The last couple of days I haven't really been inspired and cooked because I felt I needed to. I think the shrimp acquisition has given me a lift. Senor Camaron said he "might" come by tomorrow with lobster. I have never cooked lobster. We'll see (if he shows up and how I cook it).
Monday, August 10, 2009
BFFs
Our dear friends, Jake and Sharon, just left for the airport to head back over to Santa Rosalia in a twin engine, eight seater, Cessna. Accompanying them is their cat, Lillie (Lupe), four small bags and an empty gas can. Their boat "JAKE" is in the marina in Santa Rosalia and they are anxious to get back to her and back out on the water. They came over about two weeks ago so we could take care of Lillie while they went down to Zihuatanejo for a family reunion. Jake's sister and husband picked them up here in San Carlos for the trip south.
It took them just three days to get from here to Zihuatanejo. They took an interesting route, one that I would love to try. Bruce and I have driven all the way up the coast from Acapulco and it felt like it took forever though it only took three days from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta. It's a beautiful drive, especially through the coast of Michoacan. The coastline is spectacular though the driving is a bit slow (and God forbid there should be an accident which brings traffic to a halt indefinitely).
Jake and Sharon drove the autopista to Tepic, cut over to Guadalajara and drove down the inland route through the mountains, past Paracho and Zamora and on to Zihuatanejo. They were on the road for three full days but that is very fast. Bruce and I are going to do that sometime. On this route you pass through the mountains that take you to a piece of Mexico that a lot of people don't get to experience. It is really special. There are small mountain peaks and it gets very cold at night in the pine forests. Everything around Paracho is made of wood and the people wear coats and sweaters late in the day. It's wonderful and if you have some time you should stop in Paracho and check out the guitars. It's the guitar capital of Mexico. People come from all over the world to have guitars made and, as you can imagine, the guitars are a fraction of the regular price. In Paracho, beautiful shawls are hand made in wool. They are usually blue and black. The pottery there is also very different; a lot is glazed a beautiful bright green. It's a fantastic experience. I'm told the road now that heads over the the coast is nice and wide and well maintained so I look forward to a trip down there.
Back to Jake and Sharon; they had a good time with family in Zihuatanejo and decided to leave early and take the bus back to Guaymas. Jake was told it was a 24 hour trip on Estrella Blanca, a really nice bus, with good air conditioning, snacks on board and movies. When they got to the bus depot in Zihuatanejo, the Estrella Blanca wasn't there so they had to take the Sonora Norte, a less substantial bus....but still it had air conditioning and movies. They are such good sports, truly and they will try anything once. After all they are boaters; they are retired and have no real schedule. They are living the dream. Well, I guess this particular bus took the libre (free) road the entire way. From Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vallarta, it's mostly a two lane road anyway, but after that there are a lot of stretches of autopista (freeway) that are very nice. Apparently, the bathrooms were not quite usable (no water) and food opportunities were fleeting. The bus stopped in every tiny town imaginable. Still they are good sports. They showed a couple of movies; most notably Cantiflas movies. Cantinflas is a folk hero in Mexico, one of the first great comedians and actors to become world famous. I think he was on the Ed Sullivan Show way back in the 50s or 60s. On the buses, there are no headphones, the movie just blasts and reverberates throughout the bus. I guess at one point Cantinflas' face was frozen on the screen for quite a while and the TV was just above Jake's head so it was hard for him to sleep while Cantinflas was staring at him. Still, they are good sports!
They called us from Mazatlan at about 4:00 PM and thought they would be a few hours late...which of course was fine with us. We realized they would arrive after midnight so we thought we would just go to bed at our regular time and wait for their call. We both fell asleep on top of the covers; I was still dressed. I slept fitfully all night. I kept waking up and looking at the clock. Then at about 4:30 I got up because I was a little worried. Jake has a Mexican cell phone and I tried calling; no answer. We were about to go into Guaymas and look around for them (I had visions of them there with a dead cell phone and no way to get up to San Carlos). Well a few minutes later, the phone rang and they were in a taxi heading to San Carlos. Bruce went down to the gate to meet them and they finally arrived here. They were fine. Sharon looked like she was in shock and they were both really tired. Nothing special happened except that they had to take the Sonora Norte instead of the Estrella Blanca. Everyone who travels around Mexico knows that there are all kinds of inspection points (especially for buses). There are the army checkpoints looking for contraband, the fruit and vegetable inspections and the federales. These can happen several times in each state. Sometimes you get off the bus, sometimes you don't, but it takes a long time.....so long story short it took about 32 hours instead of 24 and there were no snacks and drinks served and no decent bathroom, but there were movies and there was air conditioning. As the weekend went on we heard more and more funny stories about the bus, but it was a little too fresh in their minds to be really funny yet. That will come with time.
Many people in Mexico travel by bus. It's usually the most economical and they run often. I have taken the bus twice; a round trip from Mexico to Cuernavaca. I was on the Estrella Blanca and the bus was beautiful. I had a little pillow, blanket; there was a bus attendant who served drinks and snacks and several little TVs. It was wonderful. I didn't check out the bathroom but I'm thinking it was probably OK. The lesson here is - hold out for the white star of Mexico!
Jake and Sharon flew back to Santa Rosalia this morning with Lillie and all of their stuff. We had a fantastic weekend together here in San Carlos. We've been friends since we were boat neighbors at Shilshole Marina in Seattle. Boat neighbors are very special because we had our own little community and always helped each other out. We moved in 2001 and they left on their boating adventure in 2007. They visited us in Mexico every year and they are usually our first guests wherever we end up in Mexico. They're pretty young to be retired and they are loving the boating life here in Mexico. It's wonderful to see good friends doing what they planned; boating in paradise....with little side trips now and then. I know them and I know they will get on a bus again though they might wait for the White Star!
It took them just three days to get from here to Zihuatanejo. They took an interesting route, one that I would love to try. Bruce and I have driven all the way up the coast from Acapulco and it felt like it took forever though it only took three days from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta. It's a beautiful drive, especially through the coast of Michoacan. The coastline is spectacular though the driving is a bit slow (and God forbid there should be an accident which brings traffic to a halt indefinitely).
Jake and Sharon drove the autopista to Tepic, cut over to Guadalajara and drove down the inland route through the mountains, past Paracho and Zamora and on to Zihuatanejo. They were on the road for three full days but that is very fast. Bruce and I are going to do that sometime. On this route you pass through the mountains that take you to a piece of Mexico that a lot of people don't get to experience. It is really special. There are small mountain peaks and it gets very cold at night in the pine forests. Everything around Paracho is made of wood and the people wear coats and sweaters late in the day. It's wonderful and if you have some time you should stop in Paracho and check out the guitars. It's the guitar capital of Mexico. People come from all over the world to have guitars made and, as you can imagine, the guitars are a fraction of the regular price. In Paracho, beautiful shawls are hand made in wool. They are usually blue and black. The pottery there is also very different; a lot is glazed a beautiful bright green. It's a fantastic experience. I'm told the road now that heads over the the coast is nice and wide and well maintained so I look forward to a trip down there.
Back to Jake and Sharon; they had a good time with family in Zihuatanejo and decided to leave early and take the bus back to Guaymas. Jake was told it was a 24 hour trip on Estrella Blanca, a really nice bus, with good air conditioning, snacks on board and movies. When they got to the bus depot in Zihuatanejo, the Estrella Blanca wasn't there so they had to take the Sonora Norte, a less substantial bus....but still it had air conditioning and movies. They are such good sports, truly and they will try anything once. After all they are boaters; they are retired and have no real schedule. They are living the dream. Well, I guess this particular bus took the libre (free) road the entire way. From Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vallarta, it's mostly a two lane road anyway, but after that there are a lot of stretches of autopista (freeway) that are very nice. Apparently, the bathrooms were not quite usable (no water) and food opportunities were fleeting. The bus stopped in every tiny town imaginable. Still they are good sports. They showed a couple of movies; most notably Cantiflas movies. Cantinflas is a folk hero in Mexico, one of the first great comedians and actors to become world famous. I think he was on the Ed Sullivan Show way back in the 50s or 60s. On the buses, there are no headphones, the movie just blasts and reverberates throughout the bus. I guess at one point Cantinflas' face was frozen on the screen for quite a while and the TV was just above Jake's head so it was hard for him to sleep while Cantinflas was staring at him. Still, they are good sports!
They called us from Mazatlan at about 4:00 PM and thought they would be a few hours late...which of course was fine with us. We realized they would arrive after midnight so we thought we would just go to bed at our regular time and wait for their call. We both fell asleep on top of the covers; I was still dressed. I slept fitfully all night. I kept waking up and looking at the clock. Then at about 4:30 I got up because I was a little worried. Jake has a Mexican cell phone and I tried calling; no answer. We were about to go into Guaymas and look around for them (I had visions of them there with a dead cell phone and no way to get up to San Carlos). Well a few minutes later, the phone rang and they were in a taxi heading to San Carlos. Bruce went down to the gate to meet them and they finally arrived here. They were fine. Sharon looked like she was in shock and they were both really tired. Nothing special happened except that they had to take the Sonora Norte instead of the Estrella Blanca. Everyone who travels around Mexico knows that there are all kinds of inspection points (especially for buses). There are the army checkpoints looking for contraband, the fruit and vegetable inspections and the federales. These can happen several times in each state. Sometimes you get off the bus, sometimes you don't, but it takes a long time.....so long story short it took about 32 hours instead of 24 and there were no snacks and drinks served and no decent bathroom, but there were movies and there was air conditioning. As the weekend went on we heard more and more funny stories about the bus, but it was a little too fresh in their minds to be really funny yet. That will come with time.
Many people in Mexico travel by bus. It's usually the most economical and they run often. I have taken the bus twice; a round trip from Mexico to Cuernavaca. I was on the Estrella Blanca and the bus was beautiful. I had a little pillow, blanket; there was a bus attendant who served drinks and snacks and several little TVs. It was wonderful. I didn't check out the bathroom but I'm thinking it was probably OK. The lesson here is - hold out for the white star of Mexico!
Jake and Sharon flew back to Santa Rosalia this morning with Lillie and all of their stuff. We had a fantastic weekend together here in San Carlos. We've been friends since we were boat neighbors at Shilshole Marina in Seattle. Boat neighbors are very special because we had our own little community and always helped each other out. We moved in 2001 and they left on their boating adventure in 2007. They visited us in Mexico every year and they are usually our first guests wherever we end up in Mexico. They're pretty young to be retired and they are loving the boating life here in Mexico. It's wonderful to see good friends doing what they planned; boating in paradise....with little side trips now and then. I know them and I know they will get on a bus again though they might wait for the White Star!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Foreign Relations and Construction Estimates
I feel so relieved today and at least half of it is because Euna Lee and Laura Ling are being freed from North Korea. I have thought of them each and every day since they were captured by the North Koreans and I've been so worried that there was a possibility of a tragic outcome. I don't believe for a second that these women crossed the border on purpose and I think our apologies were made to appease their very psycho leader, Kim. Still, I understand why the apology was made. We had no choice.
Obviously, our President gave the go ahead to Bill Clinton to get involved and this has been in the works for a long time. He is a great diplomat and I don't believe there's a living person more qualified and charismatic than Bill when it comes to negotiations and statesmanship. I apologize to all of the Bush fans out there, but I think when it came to foreign relations he was a disaster. He just didn't have that skill set. I think Laura had it, but he did not, and a lot of our foreign relationships suffered as a result. It's one thing to snap your teammates on the ass with a towel. That's what I think of when I think of Bush reaching out and building relationships. It doesn't work like that in foreign cultures.
I have spent some time thinking about the fear and despair Laura and Euna must have been feeling. North Korea has always been so unpredictable - I mean what country sets off nuclear weapons and then laughs in our face. It will be very interesting to see the news coverage of Bill and these two brave women coming home.
On another positive note, We got the estimate for the building of our house today and it was and is a great estimate. It includes nearly everything (except the pizza oven) and we are thrilled. Our contractor is a good communicator and has tons of experience. His three daughters all work in his office and we like them. It's like night and day compared to our first contractor. We should break ground this month. It is a huge relief. Oh - and if anyone reading this has pizza oven advice or experience please let me know. I know it can be built and I want it in the kitchen!
Obviously, our President gave the go ahead to Bill Clinton to get involved and this has been in the works for a long time. He is a great diplomat and I don't believe there's a living person more qualified and charismatic than Bill when it comes to negotiations and statesmanship. I apologize to all of the Bush fans out there, but I think when it came to foreign relations he was a disaster. He just didn't have that skill set. I think Laura had it, but he did not, and a lot of our foreign relationships suffered as a result. It's one thing to snap your teammates on the ass with a towel. That's what I think of when I think of Bush reaching out and building relationships. It doesn't work like that in foreign cultures.
I have spent some time thinking about the fear and despair Laura and Euna must have been feeling. North Korea has always been so unpredictable - I mean what country sets off nuclear weapons and then laughs in our face. It will be very interesting to see the news coverage of Bill and these two brave women coming home.
On another positive note, We got the estimate for the building of our house today and it was and is a great estimate. It includes nearly everything (except the pizza oven) and we are thrilled. Our contractor is a good communicator and has tons of experience. His three daughters all work in his office and we like them. It's like night and day compared to our first contractor. We should break ground this month. It is a huge relief. Oh - and if anyone reading this has pizza oven advice or experience please let me know. I know it can be built and I want it in the kitchen!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Blah
Haven't felt much like writing this past week. It's been a gloomy one for me and sometimes I have to retreat when this happens. Life is good by all appearances but there are certain things that affect me deeply and the major one is when my family and friends are in pain. I found out early in the week that a very old friend from Seattle who I spent some really important and pivotal points in my life with had died from the very thing that he fought for so many years, drugs and alcohol. He had many successes but the addiction was always so strong. He left two grown kids and a wife (one of my oldest and dearest friends). It's really their pain that I feel, but the addiction brought them down too.....not personally, but through their dad. They are a strong family and they will be ok. They had already separated somewhat from the addiction. You really have to if you are going to survive. The bright light in all this is that I reconnected with my old friend and that feels really good. I don't think either one of us have really changed much in the last ten years and we're going to spend some time together in September. My friend's life was literally torn apart in the last three years by her husband's addiction and she put physical distance between them, but still after 26 years of marriage there's a lot of pain.
I believe that I've just felt grief this past week and it's going to take a little time to regroup. I did what I usually do when I feel down, got my hair done. Sounds superficial but it did make me feel better. I get a lot of comfort from being at home with Bruce and Teddy and Niko. I love our life together and can't wait to get started on the house. We're getting really close now. I need to make plans to see my boys and grandkids. I miss them so much. I want them to share this beautiful place with me. My sister is coming down soon too, for the first time. It will be so much fun. I can't wait to show her San Carlos. I just know she's going to love it here and that's why I want her to get here soon. I can see her painting the mountains. The mountains here are so her style!
We had a wonderful storm Friday night; lots of wind and thunder and lightning and surprise, surprise, rain. Rain started pouring through the front door. That's really good to know so we can have the big towels ready for rainy season. The storms really do come out of nowhere here. I can see where it can be dangerous boating. You definitely need to be prepared.
So now I'm back in the groove. I really have to try harder to turn off my mind, but after all these years, I don't think I can, but life does go on and it is good.
I believe that I've just felt grief this past week and it's going to take a little time to regroup. I did what I usually do when I feel down, got my hair done. Sounds superficial but it did make me feel better. I get a lot of comfort from being at home with Bruce and Teddy and Niko. I love our life together and can't wait to get started on the house. We're getting really close now. I need to make plans to see my boys and grandkids. I miss them so much. I want them to share this beautiful place with me. My sister is coming down soon too, for the first time. It will be so much fun. I can't wait to show her San Carlos. I just know she's going to love it here and that's why I want her to get here soon. I can see her painting the mountains. The mountains here are so her style!
We had a wonderful storm Friday night; lots of wind and thunder and lightning and surprise, surprise, rain. Rain started pouring through the front door. That's really good to know so we can have the big towels ready for rainy season. The storms really do come out of nowhere here. I can see where it can be dangerous boating. You definitely need to be prepared.
So now I'm back in the groove. I really have to try harder to turn off my mind, but after all these years, I don't think I can, but life does go on and it is good.
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