Some Interesting Notes

We had a light rain here last week and you would have thought there was an ice storm. People didn’t show up for work and there was hardly anyone out driving. The people you did see were in ski parkas and woolies because the temperature fell to around 50 degrees F. We were spotted instantly as Norte Americanos and not Paceños (locals) because of the T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops in this frigid weather.

There is absolutely no need to waste money fixing potholes because all the locals know where they are and swerve to avoid them. We just follow a local citizen and zig when they zig and zag when they do. It’s quite a lot of fun actually. And if you need to park but can’t find a spot? No problemo; just double park and flip on your flashers, whether it be for a few minutes or a few hours. You’d think this was New York City!

We’ve always wondered why dogs in Mexico are always sleeping during the day. Well, we now have the answer. They bark all friggin’ night. When the sun comes up, they shut up and sleep. Barb is giving biscuits to the dogs next door. As soon as she has them under her spell, we’ll be slipping them a Benadryl at dark.

Next week we begin our Spanish classes, although we have already learned quite a few words from the people we’ve come in contact with; they are always eager to help us, even though we virtually slaughter many of the words and phrases we put out there. It’s undoubtedly a good chuckle for them, but they seem to appreciate the effort we make (along with a lot of hand gestures, sound effects, and smiles). Bill has gotten a bit paranoid about the double-r sound (remember “Ruffles have ridges”) of many Spanish words. Barb has caught him trilling away when he thinks he’s alone, trying to get it just right! (He’s always been an over-achiever.)

We also got word that our first visitors will be arriving the second week of March and we are eagerly awaiting their arrival…not to mention the suitcase load of contraband we will be asking them to bring down! Just kidding, Mike & Lisa. We promise to keep the wish list to a minimum; your smiling faces will be the best import we could hope for! We just hope the whales will cooperate and put on a good show for you when we go out fishing. Once we get the "ratings" back we will open up the reservation line. So start thinking about heading south...way south!

Time to go see about shutting up those dogs again. Ay,carumba!! Buenos noches.

A WEEK AND COUNTING

It seems hard to believe that it was just over a week ago we headed out of San Antonio on our “Mexodus”. With a little over 1550 miles on the odometer (not counting the ride across the Sea of Cortez), we rolled into our new second hometown of La Paz bright and early on Saturday morning, February 6th. Of course once we exited the ferry we came to a screeching halt and sat in line for 1 ½ hours, waiting for all the commercial big rigs to slide past us through the Federales, state, local, and insect fumigation checkpoints. When our turn finally came around it became a quick 5 minute game of smiling and looking dumb (or maybe the “looking” part should read “being”). In any event, when the officer opened up the back end of the truck he took one look at the mountain of belongings wedged inside and quickly waived us on through; we brought new meaning to the term “fully loaded”!

Since then, we have been scurrying hither and yon, attempting in our can-do Gringo mindset to accomplish all the work needed to settle into our house…you can already guess how successful we haven’t been. As feared, the work on the house ceased just about the time Bill’s plane left the ground the last time he was here (December). So our first order of business was to make an extensive punch list of everything that still needed doing or re-doing; the list was 4 pages long (3 pages in December). We had our first reckoning with the project contractor a couple of days ago, and all of a sudden we have assorted workers showing up! They’re not necessarily finished with the work yet, mind you, but at least they’re here. In addition, we have been out trying to acquire some furnishings, beds being a high priority since the concrete floors are just not that comfortable. Did you know that a Mexican mattress is shorter and wider than its American counterpart? Not by much, just enough to make our American linens fit a little funny. So we opted to pay top dollar (peso) for American king and queen mattresses/frames, since we brought our own linens after being warned that Mexican linens sucked. We have a feeling that we’re going to go through this kind of cultural awakening again and again. On a brighter note, the furniture we did buy here on previous trips has been delivered and looks GOOD. Can’t wait for those of you who have the interior design bug (and you know who you are…Nancy, Lisa, Barbara, etc.) to get here to help accessorize.

Carnaval in La Paz commences on February 11th; it’s the Mardi Gras of Mexico and we are very excited about experiencing it. Yes, we anticipate there will be lots of drunken revelry, crowds, and hoopla, but we think/hope it will be a little toned down compared to New Orleans. And you all know us, we’re into a good party scene! All the action occurs along the Malecon (the seafront boulevard that runs about 5 miles through town), with daily parades and many stages set up for singing and performances (and beer). Anyway, we’ll try to get some good pics and send them along.

Well, it’s finally daylight (yes, we’re still up at the butt-crack of dawn) and Bill is ready to head to his home away from home, Home Depot, to spend yet another wad of pesos. Barb gets to sit and wait for the plumber to show up…or not! What an exciting life we lead, si? Stay tuned for the next chapter…Spanish class begins next week!