Something Different Coming Up

As we returned home from our little morning adventure, I turned to Linda and said, ”That was interesting!” Linda laughed and replied “ You know, nothing that we set out to do was accomplished! But we had fun!” We both chuckled.

Our morning outing started with a taxi ride over to the barrio area of Barra de Navidad. A ride in which our driver took his own path winding around the dirt streets and into the lives of the local residents. Deeper into the barrio, you seldom run into gringos and the locals always are friendly and very helpful. Our driver, after some Google mapping from Linda, finally dropped us off at our destination. Linda started to pay and the driver stated his price, which was 10 pesos more than the price we were given when we told him our destination. Linda was firm but didn’t want to argue (it was only 10 more pesos, but it was the principle…) so she paid the tab and sent him on his way. He could see she was not happy with the last-minute charge.

The destination was Bungalows Cervantes, the rental property that Rogelio, our contact for our apartment rental, managed. Linda had been in contact with him and we were there to talk about the future and to speak directly to Rogelio concerning our plans a year or more out. Rogelio had asked if we could stop by his place of business and we had sent him several emails confirming this date.

When we arrived we were greeted by a very nice lady who said Rogelio was not available and through Linda and her Spanish, we were able to get her to call him so we could talk. It turned out he had decided to take a last-minute trip to Guadalajara. Ouch. Ok, new plan. We set up a day when he could meet with us at our convenience at our apartment. Our plans have changed, but I will get into more detail later.

With that all behind us, we stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out where we were, how we had gotten there, and how we would get out of there. The very nice lady who we’d spoken to earlier, could see our confusion and approached us telling Linda that if we walk just outside the complex entrance a bus would come by and take us out to Barra Centro.

Just as the lady mentioned, a bus arrived and we climbed on. It wound through the barrio, stopping and loading and unloading people. After several minutes and many cramped turns, we emerged onto a street that we recognized. We were now traveling in the direction of Melaque and would come to an intersection with the main road into Barra. At this location, we could be either turning left or right. Right would take us to Melaque, left to Barra. We decided that no matter which way the bus turned, that would establish what we would do for the next part of our day.

Left and we would go shopping in Barra, right we would go home and proceed with our day.

The bus went left and we stayed put.

We got off the bus in the heart of the tourist business district. Linda had several gifts that she wanted to find. I was just along for the walk. We always stop at Reynaldo’s Rug shop and say hello to Teresa when we are in Barra. I had just spent an hour with Reynaldo yesterday and so we wanted to see his special wife today and tell her we had about seven days left for our visit this year. We walked up to their shop and there was Reynaldo. Teresa was in town shopping.  We laughed and joked about the odds of this happening.

Shopping on, we walked the streets and looked into almost every shop. Linda couldn’t find what she was looking for so we made our way to the bus stop and caught the next bus back to Melaque. We laughed about our poor luck and agreed that maybe we weren’t supposed to accomplish anything on this morning. That was OK, we still have a few days left to work with.

Earlier in my musings, I mentioned that we have had a change of plans for next year and now that we have spoken to Rogelio and some of our friends that might be affected, we can let the cat out of the bag.

Each year about this time Linda and I start the process of making plans for December through March in Mexico. We have long conversations about all the options and everything that our living down here affects. We discuss Linda’s parents, their health and what the future might bring in the event of a major health issue with one of them. We work through our feelings dealing with the length of our stay. Linda likes it as long as possible. I, on the other hand, prefer to be home in early March. The possibilities of places at which we might be able to rent are considered. We also have our yearly chat about the possibility of not returning to Melaque, going somewhere else in Mexico, or even staying in the states and traveling across the areas of warmer weather. Everything is considered and each year details are worked out prior to our departure.

The option of staying in the USA has always been an interesting possibility. We would be closer to Linda’s parents. Communication between friends and families would definitely be easier. Traveling home in the event of an emergency would be less expensive and so on and so on.

The big question has always been where would we go in the states and would it cost much more than we are spending down here? Mexico is easy and has become a comfortable place for us!

Enter our wonderful friends and neighbors, Steve and Jodi. Steve has been retired for a year or so, and this is Jodie’s first year of retirement. They launched into their new winter life by traveling south and wintering in Arizona in their nice 5th wheel. They have loved it!

We have been in close communication with the new snowbirds and have absorbed their fun winter stories. You see where this is heading, don’t you?

After much deliberation, Linda and I have decided to take at least one year off from visiting Melaque and stay somewhere in Arizona for the next winter season. This was a tough decision. We really like our apartment. Downtown living has been great. All the things we worried about when we rented: noise, crowds, etc. have not been a problem. We have the apartment for next season if we want it, but we are letting it go.

It is time to do something different.

This is our different…  Early plans (very early I might add) are that we travel down through California and visit one of Linda’s deeply imbedded family memories, Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Her family did many trips there when she was growing up.

Next, we would find a spot in the Yuma Arizona region to stay for a while. After that, we plan to drive across the good old USA to see the sights and visit places we have always heard about. What do you think of those plans?

We have always talked of this adventure and this looks like the perfect time to attempt it. The decision has been made. Now we have a whole set of other challenges to solve. First, what are we going to do with all the junk we have collected and stored over the years? 

Best Meal Ever

When we get a bit tired of going out and eating at the local restaurants and tacos will not satisfy our culinary needs, we turn to home cooking to keep us going. One of our favorite meals this winter has been a pasta meal created with green chorizo and pesto mixed with tomatoes and green olives.

This is a detailed post explaining how this delicious meal is created.

Pistachio nut chorizo sausage and chopped green olives.

When we decide to make this meal it usually starts on Tuesday when Linda lets me know that she will be purchasing the pesto at the tianguis the next day. At Wednesday's street market, she searches the vendors for the "French Man" that sells the pesto. This vendor usually is located kitty-corner from the Del Sol bodega and you have to get to him early to have any chance of purchasing his basil pesto.  He sells a tomato pesto and a spinach pesto, but the basil pesto is the best and it sells very fast. One container costs about 90 pesos and is enough for two meals. Linda brings it home from her early morning run and we then freeze it for later use.

The whole mixture, ready to serve.

The green chorizo is a specialty item that is made using pistachio nuts and thus the chorizo sausage is a unique green color. Jacquie and Grant introduced us to the pistachio chorizo and we fell in love with its mild flavor. It goes especially well with the "French Man's" basil pesto.

To acquire the green chorizo you must visit the little meat carniceria in the alleyways that connect the downtown Melaque area.  Everyone knows where the alleyways are located and most of the stores there are either meat, chicken or fish markets. The little meat carniceria with the green chorizo is located on the ocean side (places are either located towards the ocean or away from it) of the alley, one shop to the right of the entrance nearest the street where Chely's dad's store is located. It is affiliated with Melaque's "Happy Cow" carniceria but is not the "Happy Cow" across for Chely's dad's store.

Green chorizo is about 40 pesos for two links and we always buy about four links.

Finally, we walk to the "Bus Stop Store" and pick up some olive oil, green olives, and tomatoes. This is our favorite grocery store on this side of the town. Chely's Bodega was our favorite, but it is quite a long walk from our downtown location.

If we are not able to purchase the needed green olives or any other items at the "Bus Stop Store", we walk two blocks away from the ocean to a larger store called Parisany and they usually have what we need there.

Back at home, chop up the chorizo and place it in the frying pan with some olive oil. Cook until well done and a bit brown. Put one bag of elbow noodles in boiling water and cook them. Drain when finished and mix the cooked chorizo into the noodles. Pour half a container of pesto sauce into the noodles and stir. Add the chopped green olives and the chopped tomatoes. When the entire dish is combined fill your plate and top with parmesan cheese. Yum!

A Long Bus Ride

Being honest, this wasn't our best effort.

Daren and Marcy asked us if we wanted to go into Old Town Manzanillo to look around and see what is in that area. We agreed and then also decided that we would take buses all the way into the big city and back. 

Our first view of the blue marlin of Manzanillo.

We got up early and purchased tickets from Melaque to the main bus central in Manzanillo. I think they came to 140 pesos per couple one way. We also made a decision to take the Coordinados Bus lines in and then to make a judgment call for the return ride after we visited Old Town.

The bus pulled in on time and we loaded up. Our bus was surprisingly full and so Linda and I got two seats just a little back from the halfway point on the bus.  We didn't notice the air conditioner located just above our seats. Daren and Marcy found seats just behind us.

Linda and big blue!

Our journey began.
The Coordinados Bus Lines is a mid-range bus company that serves the folks who prefer not to pay for the first-class busses like are offered by Primera Plus, for example. The busses tend to be a bit run down and also make more stops while in transit.

By the first stop in Barra de Navidad, I was about frozen from the air conditioner blowing directly down upon me. Linda was slightly off to my side and she was fairing far better. We continued on and proceeded to stop at multiple small pick-up points along the way. Oh, I almost forgot. Coordinados Busses run movies and music videos at full volume as they travel across the countryside. On this trip, we were blessed with one of the thousand productions in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise. Imagine Vin Diesel in Spanish at full volume.

The old town area of Manzanillo.

On we traveled. We entered the outskirts of the big city and passed places we recognized. On we went. The sights were new, but we also knew that we would arrive at the Bus Centro and it may be a new destination for the two of us. (Our last bus visit was about 15 years ago) We arrived!

We climbed off the bus and everyone headed into the nearest bathroom. Once comfortable again we walked through the terminal and caught a chicken bus for the final leg into Old Town.

Mexican warships on display.

Our driver knew that we wanted to get off in Old Town and when we reached the stop he shouted and we obeyed! The next hour was classic tourist stuff; walking aimlessly toward the big Blue Marlin that designated the center of the Port of Manzanillo. We took photos and then walked aimlessly into the heart of Old Town proper.

Food was our next directive and so Linda and Marcy looked on their phone and found us a restaurant that we could refuel at. Chantilly's was located on the main road and we were able to get seats out in the shade for our meal. We had a nice lunch and spent quite a bit of time talking and eating.

The tourists at the Manzanillo sign.

We finished our meal and walked back onto the streets. By this time everyone was about ready to find our next chicken bus back to Bus Central. We returned to the drop-off point and immediately caught a bus headed back to the main bus terminal. The trip back seemed much faster then the trip in and we climbed off the bus on the sidewalk in front of the terminal.

At the ticket booth, we had to make a choice. We could purchase tickets on the first-class Primera Plus Bus which would be leaving in an hour and 25 minutes, or we could leave immediately on the Coordinados Bus that was waiting just out the door. The ticket lady reiterated the fact that the first class bus wouldn't leave for an hour and a half when we said we wanted tickets on the Primera bus. This caused us to rethink our choice and make the biggest mistake of the day. We chose the Coordinados Bus.

Another perspective.

We boarded the bus and then it proceeded to stop at every little spot between Manzanillo and Melaque. It filled to the max and the driver had to do walk-throughs checking tickets. IT TOOK FOREVER to get home (1 hour, 50 minutes). Oh, I forgot to mention that the movie was "Thor - Ragnarok" at full volume.

We are beat!