Lost in Mexico week 2

Well, it's been just over a week since I last checked in and all is great.  I have been busy getting things done that were on my list but still have more to do.  I haven't had any luck contacting the person for my hair nor have I found a place for waxing.  All good though as those were the least of the things I need to get done.

I found a car wash place to detail the jeep and what a deal.  They had it for about 3 hours, cleaned the inside immaculately and washed and polished the outside, tires, windows you name it and including tip it cost me all of $30 Canadian.  Far cry from the cost of detailing at home.  Then of course a few days later, I went out to Ismael's and there was still large puddles along the beach roads and I got mud all over it again.  I honestly tried to avoid it but the puddle filled the whole road.  Then of course the princess came in the jeep again and I got a new layer of fur on the seats as well as some dusty footprints.  Oh well, I'm not going to complain when I can easily take it back and have it done again.

I contacted my fisherman and got an order delivered of 1 kg each of tuna steaks, scallops and prawns.  He ran out of prawns but brought me what he had for now.  All of this for $50, heck the tuna alone would have been $35 to 40 at home never mind the cost of scallops.  I made some kebobs with shrimp and scallops one night and a marinated tuna steak and then a poke bowl with marinated tuna, scallops and shrimp another night.  It has all been amazing.  I'm waiting until the end of the month to order again as not sure what the others may want to have while here.  My niece won't eat any of it but I know I turned my fugly cousin onto the tuna steak last year and she is game to try the poke bowl as well, but she may want some lobster or other fish.

I made an appointment for Kahlua, as I want to get her fixed while here.  Yes, I know it should have been done long ago, but money was never in the budget for it.  I asked the vet in Canada if she was too old and she said no, she is in great health and of course I could still do it.  So I contacted the vet hospital here called "Planned Pethood" and due to her age they wanted to do lab work first to make sure she was able to go under anesthetic.  I knew this was going to be a challenge but so be it.  I took Kahlua in and she was so happy to be out in the jeep and a walk but she knew as soon as we entered the building where we were and her anxiety peeked.  She kept trying to break for the door.  Once we were in the exam room, all bets were off and she wanted no part of any of it.  In the end it took 3 workers to hold her down to get the blood samples.  This from a dog that doesn't even weigh 20 pounds, but she is all muscle and fights like a gator doing death rolls.  They contacted me at the end of the day and said that she was perfect and that I can bring her in on Monday for the surgery.  The visit and lab work cost me less then $100 and it will be around $150 for the surgery, far cry from having it done at home.  So she is not going to be a happy girl on Monday but I won't have to worry about her getting accidentally knocked up at her age nor her going into heat any more.

I found a place to get my nails done and a pedicure, the hard part was finding a place that uses the same method as I have done at home.  It is called a structured manicure at home as it is a coating that goes over your natural nail to give it strength.  Here they call it a rubber base.  Well, she did a great job but it took 6 hours for both the nails and pedi.   I was really getting impatient with the whole process.  Even at home when Sarah is doing really intricate designs she rarely takes 3 hours from start to finish.  Hell she hand painted a plague doctor that was no more then half an inch big before I left and we were still under 3 hours.  So needless to say, I may search around some more and see if I can find another place to go, cause I just can't sit that long.

I made my first trip into Merida as I was going to immigration to get my tax number that goes with residency.  You didn't need to get it before if you weren't working, or selling a home but now they want everyone to have it.  Well it was the wrong day to make the appointment in downtown Merida.  I got all the way to the street I needed to go across and the police had the streets blocked.  Of course in the downtown all streets are one way, so I figured I would just go back down and then cut across and come back up closer to where I needed to be.  No such luck, I think I went down about 15 blocks and they were still blocked off, so I went back up with the intention of finding parking as close as I could and then walk over to the immigration building.  So I managed to do that although still ended up a distance away and as I'm walking up, I'm in the middle of a parade.  The facilitator I was meeting said they were filming a movie but they were also having a parade for the revolution holiday and I got caught in both of them!  Needless to say I missed my appointment time so we had to rebook and do this all over again.  On my way back to the beaches, I stopped at the local Walmart and picked up a few more things and then back home to a happy puppy.

Ismael has been back over now that he is feeling better and Kahlua gets so excited to see him.  He gets a laugh out of her excited greetings.  I don't think he is much of a dog lover but he does like her.  He even took her out for a walk when he was waiting for me one day.  He has cut the grass again and cleaned the pool.  He took me to show me where the pool supply was to get the needed chemicals.  He wanted to start his own pool cleaning business so Dana and I split the cost and bought him the pump he needs to do the cleaning as a Christmas present.  I have helped him set up a page on facebook so he can start advertising and get some business.  He is a very hardworking young man as he also has a full time job as security on the pier.

I made a trip over to Chelem, just to look around and also stopped in to say hi to Fabian, our tattoo guy as he was sending me messages on my way down, reminding me to be careful when dealing with the police as they like to steal from foreigners.  Don't I know it after one of the last stops.  He was glad that I made it safely and surprised that I did the drive by myself and called me a badass.  Ya I guess I am, but there are lots of folks that do the drive so I don't think it is that much of a big deal.  He invited me to come back the next day for a tattoo but we got our wires crossed and didn't connect.  Maybe soon.

I can't count the number of books I've read already since getting here, that damn kindle I bought is gonna be the death of me.  I have read so much since getting it and never seem to have it out of my grasp.  I need to leave it be and do some of my crafting that I brought down with me instead.  I started sorting thru designs one day and then got sidetracked on to something else.  I think I will just wait until after my family goes home as it will be a busy week next week between the vet and 2 trips to Merida, plus giving the house a tidy before they get here.

I'm doing pretty good finding my way around and finding shortcuts to get to places, like avoiding going thru town to get home.  Of course that also leads thru some of the more local neighbourhoods and the looks I get for the Jeep.  I decided to try and hurt myself yesterday and think I sprained my second toe slipping on the tile on the patio.  Note to self, wet tile is extremely slippery.  I took a step, twisted, fell, slammed my toe, lost my beer (that I had just opened), lost my desire for another, and promptly sat down to rest the pain in my ankle and toe and dry off a bit before trying to walk any further.  My toe is still sore this morning and a little swollen but I can bend it and walk so its not broken.

I have made myself bacon and eggs quite a few times for a late breakfast.  I don't usually eat breakfast but I bought what looked like bacon but it is way more meat then fat and is fabulous.  Can't make an over easy egg on gas if my life depended on it so over hard it is, with some fresh tomatoe slices and a bit of cottage cheese.  My dinner meals have been amazing as well, besides the seafood, I have been having taco salads, chicken breasts and tonight I have a really nice looking pork chop, just can't decide if I should BBQ it or fry it in the seasoned parchment papers that I get here.  They are great, you wrap your meat of choice in the paper that is coated in seasoning and then fry it.  I have used them at home in the air fryer also.  I haven't made any of my Mexican meals yet but was thinking about doing up some burritos or the enchiladas to put in the freezer.

Well until the next update,

Bromas y Deseos from Kahlua and I

First week of Lost in Mexico

 Well, I'm one week in and I have to say I have been pretty lazy and not doing to much.  The night I arrived and the next evening Ismael took me out to pick up a few things but after that I didn't venture out.  I had good intentions but they all fell short.  I have spent my time slowly unpacking and sorting things around the house and my room.  I took my time and swept the floors but have not got to mopping them yet.  I cleaned the kitchen cupboards so I could stock them.  Of course all of these tasks take longer then normal as I need to take breaks in between.  My sleep pattern is totally switched now and I'm waking up by 530am as this is a much busier and noisy neighbourhood.  Trucks start rolling in to the pier, dogs start barking like they are roosters and we have some resident cats that scream continuously like they are dying if not fighting.  Kahlua seems to have made friends with one of them and I see her in the front yard nose to nose with it.  Not sure if its the same one, I think so, but they try to get in the house.  For the first 3 days, I couldn't figure it out but the kitchen garbage can was getting knocked over, once during the night.  I was beginning to think the place was haunted or the souls had not returned after Dia des la Muertas.  I thought I had shut all the doors and locked them at night but then I remembered the one on the balcony was open and that is where the cat must have got in.  Resourceful little buggers.  The same one seems to be headbutting or throwing himself at the side door trying to get in as it has a little give to it and I keep hearing this crash.  Again, freaked me out at first until I think I figured it out, cause of course he was screaming at the same time.  And when I say screaming I mean it, all my windows are shut in my room and it sounds like he is in the room with us.  Of course it wakes Kahlua from her slumber every time he screams but she's too lazy to go look.

Kahlua is making herself at home and enjoys wandering around the back yard.  She is not a swimmer, more of a sinker but she goes out and does a couple of laps around the pool on the tile walkway then comes back to the patio to lie down.  She will go off and inspect each corner of the yard taking in all the new smells and one day I caught her rolling in the grass, yep she found something stinky!   It was all in her neck and shoulders.  Needless to say it was the tub or the pool so she went for a sink in the pool.  Good thing I have a lifejacket for her as she has no clue on how to swim if her life depended on it and in her mind it does even when I'm holding her.  She thunks her paws with such force you would think they were the size of a Great Dane and her back end is pointed straight down.  We managed to get through it but she was none to happy about it.  It was also the last really warm day that was over 30, so I figured it also helped to cool her off, as she was walking around panting, too stupid to go and have a drink.  We have gone on several short walks to the beach (a block away) and around the hood.  She does love the beach but I think she is afraid of the sound of the waves as she doesn't want to get to close to the water.  The tuff girl isn't so tuff when the neighbourhood dogs go nuts behind their gates at her.  She jumps into the street to get away from them.  Yep she is big and brave in her own yard and area but not so brave in this one.  She likes going out front barking at people passing and bouncing the way she does.

Ismael was here the first 2 days helping out.  He cut the grass which had gotten quite long and did some mild pruning of the trees, raked it and bagged it.  He also helped get the hot water going cause I had one heck of a tepid shower the first day.  But its going now, takes a bit to get to the tap but it is working.  The pressure isn't great but I can live with that as long as I can have a warm shower and not cold.  He was checking in each day after to see if I needed anything or if all was good.  I was fine and I didn't want to take him away from his family after he was away for several days.  I had not heard from him for the last couple days and I sent him a message for the gate code (which got changed to coffee for some reason) and he was confused.  He also said that his phone was not working properly and asked if I needed anything.  Which I do.  The gate on the drive way, my Jeep(with roof rack) just clears the rail but the chain hangs down when open.  When I pulled in, it was okay except the front of the roof rack is slightly angled so the chain that opens the gate slid up and over it.  When I went to back out, it caught as the back is squared.  So I managed to tighten it and get it to rest inside the rail and was able to back out, but when I pushed the button to close it, it did not close quite all the way.  I was not going to continue fighting with it and went on my shopping mission, already covered in grease from the chain.  Of course when I got back and let the monster out, she went straight to that opening in the gate.  She might be able to get through it if she works at it but I put  cinder block in the gap to stop her and all is fine for now.  Hopefully I will hear from him and we will be able to adjust it so that it works properly.

The owner stopped by and introduced herself and she seems quite lovely.  She told me any problems to let her know and gave me her number and address.  I was a little stressed that I could not find any bath towels or pool towels and went out and bought a set of 4 for now(needing them for the end of the month).  Then she shows me the storage room (which I thought was locked) and of course there is extra bedding, towels, loungers etc and she told me to help myself.  This is normal for the owners to lock away their personal things but she was open to use whatever I needed.  She was tickled at Kahlua's name and made the motion of knocking back a shot, then laughed.  She gave her a treat to make friends, even though Kahlua was being a good girl.  She is having a worker come by to fix a window in the stairwell, as there was a big rainstorm the day I arrived and water came thru and onto the stairs, which nobody needs to slip on but especially myself or my niece that is arriving at the end of the month as she is about 5 months pregnant with her first child.

I finally got my VPN and firestick to work so that I can watch my Canadian programming.  It took a little effort but I finally won.  I had installed a free one on the firestick that had been suggested but Prime blocked it after one episode.  So I checked into another paid one that is highly recommended and got it for $65 for 27months, that's like $2.50 a month.  Mexican deal, so cheaper then at home.  Can watch the Mexican streaming services but it is not all the same content so I was super happy to make it work, cause I had a bunch of shows I was watching weekly.

The Jeep seems to draw some attention around town.  When I went to the grocery store, they were doing some kind of promo and had a Jeep there wrapped in a Sprite design and colour with a sprite can on top that was a boom speaker.  Damn it was loud.  Well I pull in and get a spot up front and the workers are checking out my dirty Jeep.  When I left and stopped at Oxxo to pick up some water a fellow there starts talking to me.  Nice Jeep...Canada?  We had a short conversation and he offered to help carry the jug of water for me which was great as I had tweaked my back again and my legs were starting to ache from doing groceries.  Lots of other lookey loos as |I drive by also.  Jeeps are not super common here.

I have a list of things I need to find and do and have been searching to find the right places.  The only confirmed contact I have is for my hair but I need to find a nail tech, a spa for waxing (I hate shaving) and maybe a massage, laundry, a car wash/detail and a vet as I am going to get her fixed while we are here cause it is sooo much cheaper and I need to call the fisherman to get a delivery made. (I want some prawns, scallops and tuna while I wait for others who may want lobster or other items)  Now that I have an update out of the way, I will carry on and try and accomplish some of these items or at least make appointments for them.

So even though they are saying we are having a cold front here and posting AI  pics of snow at landmarks, I'm still wearing shorts and tanks.  Temp says its 26 already.  My body is much happier with this temperature then that at home.

Until the next update,

Bromas y Deseos from Kahlua and I 

Last Day - Ciudad del Carmen to Progreso, Yucatan

 WOOHOO I did it!!

After 8 days of driving, 3 very long ones in the states, I made it to the Yucatan.  Approximately 6300kms.  The attached pic is starting from Yakima so add another 450kms.

My helpful assistant was up early today, I guess he was also looking forward to getting home, even thou he was enjoying the trip, taking tons of pictures and happy to be along for the ride.  We got the Jeep loaded, and headed out.  Traffic was a little heavy leaving Ciudad del Carmen but we persevered.  Once we got out of the city it was clear sailing the rest of the way.

We were stopped at 2 more checkpoints and they just checked documents and let us go.  After we passed thru Isla Aguada we were cruising the coast.  The ocean was literally right beside me and just beautiful to see the waves rolling in.  It is a very pretty area but quite remote to live and a fair distance to go for any major shopping, either back to CdC or into Campeche.

Ismael was messaging with the lawyer that was handling my rental and we were told before 2 or after 430.  Well looking at the Nav system it was stating arrival time of 230, of course it didn't know how fast I could drive like a Mexican and make time.  Originally we said 430 but as we got closer I had made up over 45 minutes and traffic was fairly light thru Merida.  We were in Progreso just after 1:30.  He messaged again and there became a confusion in times between 3 and 4:30 so we went to his house (the old rental) and just kicked back for the wait.  It was 5pm by the time we got in to see the lawyer and finally an hour later had the keys.

We whipped over to the house and emptied the Jeep, then back to his house to get his family.  Then the grocer so I could pick up some basics and items to make dinner for everyone.  We then came back to my house and the kids and Ismael went swimming and I made dinner for them.  I made Jambalaya and we were laughing as they said it was to hot for them but I was eating it no problem.  I thought they liked spice down here...all the sauces are "caliente".  We sat around for a while and then they took and Uber home as Ismael had a few beers.  He said he would be back today to help out with anything I needed and to cut the grass that was not done before getting here.

I puttered around, trying to find all the light switches and took just my travel bag and toiletry bag to my room and figured I would deal with the rest today.  Kahlua and I hunkered down in our room, I figured out the tv but couldn't get my firestick to start but found a way to turn on a movie on Netflix.  I think I only watched half then turned it off and went to sleep.  King size bed and the Diva has 3\4's of it as usual.

We got up this morning around 6 as my back was aching and still is, hours later but it is loosening up slowly.  I made some coffee and sat outside.  I opened up the doors and windows to air things out and get a cross breeze going.  There is AC in the rooms but fans downstairs, so the cross breeze is a bonus.  I took my time and emptied one bag and sat down, then another and sat.  I have mostly everything moved to where it is going but there is still more organizing to do.

Kahlua has been making her rounds.  She goes out front and barks with the neighbourhood dogs then comes out back and has a barking conversation with other dogs, then back to the couch to be a potato...and its not even hot yet.  I wonder if the dogs are understanding each other or if she is barking in English and they are barking in Spanish??  She saw her first little lizard this morning and tried to give chase but it was pretty quick and she didn't really put any effort into it.  I can't wait til she comes face to face with a big iguana!!!

So as I finish this up, I'm just waiting for Ismael to arrive and help out, then I'm going to make a quick trip to the store and then come back and relax and do nothing.

I have been told by a few that the daily installment has become part of their life and they are going to miss my daily ramblings.  So I will try and keep things up at least once or twice a week, while I am Lost in Mexico!!

My first visitors will be here on the 27th for a week and Dana will finally arrive on December 2nd for the duration and the drive back to Canada.  I think at this time at least 2 weeks in February will be full with all of my family coming.  Mom and Pops, at least my brother, if not his whole family and I'm going to try and get Krystal here as well.  It is not often that we are all together so this will be a treat.  Anyone else that is interested, just let me know and I can give you the details....flight, very cheap rent and share in the groceries and buy your own booze.

Anyways, I'm safe, in familiar territory and WARM!  Ya, had to throw that in.

Bromas y Deseos from Kahlua and I (that would be Spanish for the tagline Wags and Wishes)

IT'S ALL ISMAEL'S FAULT!! Mexican Day 5 - Cordoba to Ciudad del Carmen Campeche

 ONE MORE DAY TO GO!  Not that I'm sick of driving and road tripping, I'm having a blast and getting to see so much of the country and how much it differs in each area, but happy to be at my winter home and just relax and enjoy.  It's been a balmy 28 degrees all day and still in low 20's now.  We are on the coast finally but not the area that I have gone to, we are 1 state over and have wanted to come over this way to check it out.

Anyways the morning for me started off okay, I got up and got ready, packed the car and the dog and was waiting for Ismael.  I had told him we would leave at 8am as it was going to be a full day driving.  Well, I sat in the car waiting, calling, texting, waiting, calling, texting, until he finally answered at 9am.  He quickly got ready and came out to the Jeep.  We headed out and stopped at the Oxxo, so he could get a coffee and I wanted to reload my toll pass transponder.  Got that out of the way and started heading to the highway.  We had 2 motorcycle officers in front of us and they pulled to the side and waved us by, then darted to the left like they were going to make a uturn.  Next they end up beside and behind us.  The one beside us waved to pull over, so I did.  Ismael jumped out to talk to them.  He checked all my papers and everything was in order but he talked to Ismael for about 10 minutes.  When we were cleared to leave, Ismael said that we were stopped due to there being 2 cartels active in that state and the jeep looked suspicious, big tires, winch and being black(not a common colour in Mexico)  All was fine thou, but now we are about 1.5 hours behind schedule.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, beautiful scenery and we were heading for the coast now.  We were chatting and laughing and he had told me his father is a retired police officer in the state we were in and where he was from.  I had asked him why he chose to move to the coast away from all of his family and he told me that it was due to job prospects and safety/security.  In other words the state of Tabasco is not a very safe one and has minimal job prospects.  No sooner did we have this conversation and we came across a checkpoint.  Sure enough they waved me over.

I wasn't too concerned as the other 4 that I was stopped at, 2 let me go when I said English only, the other 2 just joked and were friendly.  Well not this time, these guys were looking for a bribe or something.  Anyways one officer came to my window and greeted me, then started speaking with Ismael. (I think I will gag him for now on)  I presented my license, resident card and Car import permit(they don't care about the insurance)  That was all fine and dandy but then he decided he wanted to do a car inspection.  I warned him about the attack dog in the back seat and Ismael came around and put her leash on and got her out while I collected my purse and things.

So away he goes and starts digging thru the car.  First he finds my vape juice and brings it out and gives it to another officer.  Well this guy is a shit and starts trying to tell me that it is marijuana, because it said nicotine and mint/menthol.  As he was trying to tell Ismael this and Ismael is responding with it is for an e cigarette then another female officer comes over with first one then another of my green propane bottles.  He looks at it and is pointing to the flammable symbol and is saying that it is not allowed.  Ismael explains that it is for cooking and points to the BBQ on the roof.  He doesn't seem to care.  He has my resident card and is telling Ismael that he will be handing us over to the police.  I tried to ask what the problem was, since I was let into the country with these items and the car was inspected then (a small fib but WTF)  He told me that he is the authority here and they don't do their jobs at the border.  Then for some reason he handed back my residency card and walked away, leaving the friendly polite officer to finish searching EVERYTHING in the car.  He opened both suitcases, the cooler, my toiletry bag with all my meds, my day bag with travel clothes, my cricut machine bag, checked the totes with craft supplies, the dogs bag, etc, everything and I mean everything.  I was watching thou to make sure he didn't take anything.  And this is also where I was smart and was wearing a money belt with my Canadian, USA and excess Pesos in it and only had minimal in my actual wallet.  The only thing he didn't go thru was my purse which was on my person the whole time.

Meanwhile, Ismael is on the phone to his dad or uncle or both who are both retired police.  He said after we left that they called and told them to let us go.  He sent them a picture of what they were bitching about and his Uncle said it was BS.  Ismael did give the friendly guard 200 pesos to speed things up and I told him to take a couple handfuls of Halloween candy that I brought for the kids and he did repack the back of the Jeep as I instructed as he was not very good at playing Tetris and packing the way I did.  All of this transpired about 45 minutes from our destination for the night and due to the other delays in the morning we ended up driving into town to find our Airbnb in the dark.

Even thou they were threatening to arrest us, for some reason I was overly calm and I had no idea what they were saying or what Ismael was up to.  My only though was where my car would be going and what would be stolen out of it and what about Kahlua, she is no street dog she is a Diva, what would happen to her, she needs her Momma!  She was well behaved thru the whole situation and I think she was just happy to be out of the car and walk around for a bit.  You would think I would be shitting my pants with the prospect of being arrested for nothing.

Anyways, we got on the road for the last stretch and were laughing and joking about it.  Ismael said that neither of us will ever forget this trip, which I'm sure we won't.  We finally found our way to our house and again had to fight with the BBQ to get in the garage, its just a little too tall for spaces down here.  I let everyone know we were stopped and took Kahlua for a short walk around the neighbourhood to do her business.  I came back and Ismael had ordered pizza for dinner and I sat down to start this edition of Lost in Mexico!

So all in all, if Ismael had not of slept in, then we may have had a whole days worth of different experiences!  One more short day tomorrow and I will be in Progreso and can start relaxing.  It should only be about 5 hours to get here, here's knocking on wood that no more shit will happen on the road tomorrow.  When we get there, we have to stop for the keys, then stop by the house and maybe unload while I have some extra muscle and then take Ismael home to his family and I will have to make a quick trip to the grocer for a few essentials.  Then I will be kicking back and doing not to much for a day or 2.  I look forward to Dana arriving on December 2nd and my fugly cousin and niece on November 27th.

I'm still not sure how I drove the whole damn country and about a dozen states and only having this one issue on the second to last day.  I am presently in the second safest state and heading to the safest so I'm not overly worried.

Attached is a pic of the coast as we reached it just at nightfall.

Wags, Wishes and a big FU to the federales for ruining what has been a great trip so far.

Mexican Day 4 - Queretaro to Cordoba, Veracruz

 The morning started of quite leisurely, me sitting outside relaxing and waiting for my friends to wake up.  They got up around 8am and came down to start making coffee and breakfast.  Lyle prepared a big scrambled egg hash with onions, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes and I'm not sure what else.  And we added the rest of the mini cheese croissants I brought from Canada as well as fruit.  I was just happy with the coffee, this morning it was a nice strong Cuban coffee and I loved it.

We said around and talked and joked some more, then I had to get things together to leave for the hour drive to the airport.  Yes this city is that big.  I made my way in okay but getting out was another story.  Somehow, I missed an exit and had to go up and circle and turn around to get back on the right track.  As I was heading deeper into the city it dawned on me that this was not the route that Lyle had shown me and explained about some weird uturns you had to make to get there and instead I was going south, then north to the airport.  I was doing well and almost to the cut off when again I missed an exit and had to go 3 kms out of my way to uturn and come back.  By the time that I got there, Ismael was walking his way towards the highway to meet me.  I pulled to the side and reorganized the dog into the backseat so Ismael could be in the front and off we went.

We instantly started talking, he with his translator app and me butchering Spanish, as of course, I couldn't operate my phone while driving and surely not in this chaos called traffic.  We made good time towards the arco Norte around Mexico City but that highway is a nightmare and especially in the Jeep.  The potholes, dips, heaves had us bouncing up, down left and right and it was an exhausting stretch, especially when you are also trying to keep it in the lane and not crash into a semi beside you.  There is so much truck traffic down here it is unbelievable.

We finally got off the Arco Norte and heading towards Puebla.  We stopped in a small town for gas and give the dog a potty break.  She was being so good today curled up asleep in the back seat.  After we passed thru Puebla we entered into Veracruz and we had to go up and over some mountains.  Well speed was dropped from 120 down to 80 as it was all hills and valleys and switchbacks with tunnels thrown in for good measure.  The best part about it was the scenery, it was stunning, lush green, trees and fields...breathtaking.  Ismael was videoing almost the whole stretch of road as he was amazed.

We finished up in Cordoba tonight and got a couple of rooms at what they call an autohotel (or love hotel) you can rent overnight or by the hour, but the bonus part of it, is that you have a garage that you pull into and it closes and you are tucked away and you and your belongings are safe.  We decided to walk up the road to find dinner and give Kahlua a chance to burn off some energy.  Well it was a bit longer walk then expected and we were all worn out by the time we got there.  We had a couple of burgers and mozza sticks for dinner.  It was damn good but I couldn't eat it all.  Kahlua was much better behaved tonight then she was yesterday in the restaurant.  When we were done, Ismael went in the store to pick up some deodorant and hair gel as opps I guess I forgot to tell him about sizes with carryon bags and they took his away from him.  We decided to take a taxi back as we were all tired including Kahlua and it had started to rain a bit.

We got back and he had bought a six pack of beer which we share, while I talked to Dana and he chatted with home.  He finally said that he was going to go to bed as He was on his way to the airport at 4am this morning.  I have to check distances on the map, but we may stop to see his family along the way tomorrow.  Otherwise, we will have one more night and then be in our destination on Tuesday.  My journey is almost done, approximately 5000kms and 6 days driving so far.  I got this!

Mexican Day 3 - Relax and enjoy day.

 Relax and enjoy is exactly what I did.  After I blogged last night, I went promptly to sleep.  Woke once thru the night but right back to sleep and woke and dozed around 6am.  Think it was more to do with the sun coming through the blinds.  I rolled around until 7ish and got up as I thought I heard voices so thought coffee would be happening.

I was the first one up, so just sat outside (jaja bet you all can't say that early in the morning unless your bundled up!) (FYI jaja is Mexislang for haha) doom scrolling and actually catching up on things I have missed.  Was just a nice relaxing morning.  Lilia was the first to get up and she instantly got coffee going for me.  I have to say it was the best cup of coffee I have had in a long while.  Hard to believe that I only had a shitty half cup the first morning, otherwise I have gone without this whole trip and better yet I haven't killed anyone!  Lyle eventually got up and joined us and we sat and talked over coffee.   Then Lilia started pulling things out for breakfast.  Fresh fruit and they enjoyed some cheese croissants and pizza buns I brought from Canada.  While we were talking their son Danny came home and I got to meet him.  Very polite young man and nice to meet him also.  He was going away with his girlfriend to another state for the festivities today.

Lilia was amazed with all my craft making and says she wants one of everything.  I told her we could figure it out and I can courier it to her, or just bring it next trip.  She reminds me of a Spanish version of the Italian grandmother/mother who is always trying to get you to eat.  Italian - Spanish close enough I guess.  She is a super nice lady, very friendly, little bossy and I'm so happy that Lyle found such a wonderful person to be in his life.  She was telling me today that she had been to Progreso 35 years ago and that she's sure so much has changed since.  I told her to figure out some time and come for a visit to the beach.  She said really, of course, you are more then welcome to come for a visit, you welcomed me into your home, I can welcome you also.  She looked at Lyle and I have a feeling they may talk about it after I leave.

I got ready, and we headed off to a popular town an hour away, San Miguel de Allende.  We knew it was going to be busy due to the festivities but we didn't realize how busy.  The drive over was easy enough but once you approached the old part of town it was super narrow cobblestone lanes that you were just squeezing 2 vehicles thru.  The parkade was out of a nightmare (it could have had to do with the capacity of cars that they were pushing in.)  When you came up the ramp (which was very steep) you had to crank hard to the left, back up, and crank again to get around the turn to the next level.  Now along this straightaway, they had cars parked to the side, if they weren't there you may have been able to do it in one very sharp turn.  This we did 4 times to get to the top where there was available space.  We parked, walked down 4 flights and then off we went to wander the town.  

It was very congested, the sidewalks super narrow also.  Kahlua started off okay but being on a short lead and not being able to run amok and all of the stimuli she became stressed quite quickly.  I wasn't going to bother with getting my face painted but Lilia said I should and well  I figured when in Rome.....  So I sat down to get it done and Kahlua would not settle.  The girls in the shop, took turns taking her off for walks down the street and back but of course she wanted to be near me.  Due to her restlessness, I decided on just a simple design, instead of doing a full skeletal design or sugar skull to get it finished as quick as possible.  We wandered some more and went by the church that was built in the 1600's, very reminiscent of the gothic churches in Europe and Lyle said the only one of its style in Mexico.  We wandered thru a couple of galleries with all different styles of art.  Saw a couple of beautiful paintings but 1) they were far too much money and 2) I keep telling myself to stop buying anything large, and take it home when I'm just going to bring it back down here eventually.  So I walked away from anything I may have liked.  I did as requested and got Krystal a prize from the day of the dead, she just has to wait 6 months for it or come for a visit.

We wandered some more and then went for lunch.  Kahlua was not settling at all even thou we were in a small quiet courtyard with few other people, so needless to say I ate one handed while holding on to her doing circles under my feet.  Lunch was great, I had chicken enchiladas in verde sauce.  They were good but mine are better, simply because they don't add sauce to the filling so the chicken is dry.  We left lunch and worked our way back to the parkade.  Kahlua and I waited at the bottom instead of climbing up 4 stories.  As soon as we got in the car she started to settle.

It was a bit of an adventure on the narrow streets to get out on to the main road to head home.  One corner was so narrow I though for sure Lilia was going to scrape the rear quarter panel but she pulled it off with an inch or 2 to spare.  We got back and Lilia had a nap before making Mexican elote (street corn) as I made the mistake about talking about my version of it that has been nicknamed porn corn cause it is that good.  Lilia was first going to stop somewhere in the neighbourhood so that I could try some but we had just eaten, so she decided to make it at home.  It was good but the porn corn is better!  Lyle and I have spend the evening talking away again and they have finally headed off to bed so that I could finish this and do the same.

I pick up Ismael from the airport in the morning and we will start our journey to Progreso.  It should take us 3 days and we will be there on Tuesday.  So it has been wonderful catching up and meeting Lilia and Danny but looking forward to the rest of the trip and finally getting settled in Progreso.