It's a small world

United States	74
Russia	52
Canada	44
Mexico	30
Malaysia	8
United Kingdom	4
Germany	3
France	2
Ireland	2
Australia	1

Blogger has a page that keeps the stats of my bog for me. . It tells me how many pages were viewed, it tells me how many hits I got on each post, it also tells me from which Country I got hits from, this one is the most interesting for me.  It of course doesn't tell me who the people are and for all I know they may have come upon my blog accidently and then just left, without even reading anything. I find myself thinking of these stats as game stats and of course I am always cheering for Canada, but they are rarely on top, usually somewhere after The United States, Mexico and Russia. I find it interesting that the Russians are hitting my blog a lot...many times they are even ahead of the US, I don't know if this is by accident or if they actually reading my stuff. Is it one person repeatedly hitting my blog or is it many people....I don't know this. All I know is that this week 52 pages were viewed by Russians (chart above) I would like to think I have a friend in Russia  and one is Australia this week, and 8 in Malaysia and so on, but chances are they are accidental hits...I can always hope. If they are friends and are reading I often wonder what brings them to my blog? I have had some anonymous comments which I always love, it tells me my viewers are real. When anonymous comments are posted it doesn't tell me where you are from, unless you reveal that in your comment. I would like to encourage my readers to post comments, even anonymous ones.....because it thrills me, no other reason, I would like to know where you are from and what brought you to my little space, if you choose to reveal that. For instance, what am I writing about that would interest someone way over in Russia or in Malaysia? If it's the food that I write about I could write more posts about food, if it's my gardening in the north, or is it my rambling on and on about cotton curtains? I bet it's my sunset pictures. Or is it my knitting? I just started a painting, maybe I should share that if there are any artsy people reading this. I always cheer when a new country shows up, that thrills me too.
Whoever you are and where ever you are....welcome.
For the sunset lovers here are a few for you

For the Foodies out there, I have learned how to cook the PERFECT pot of rice from my Mexican sister, so perfect that I believe it will change my life...seriously. And of course I have pictures.....and will write about it soon.

Oh and.....YEAH for the US, you're ahead today.

Christmas is not a color

People in Canada often comment on how depressing it must be to have Christmas without snow, that's because they haven't experienced one without it yet.....once you do it's hard to go back. You have to experience it in order to understand, me explaining won't help. For instance, right now as I am writing this on Christmas eve at 6:48 pm the church bells are ringing, this village is so quiet it echoes throughout....yes Christmas eve and except for silent night playing next door the town is quiet, no one is rushing around to get ready for whatever I used to rush around for on Christmas eve. I am sure if you sail across the water to the big city the shoppers are still rushing about. 

 I just walked from the beach to my house and met 2 guys on the street, the last 2 people were just leaving the cantina and they were closing. There might be some kids playing on the basketball court. But yet.......Christmas is here and it is real, you can feel it. It started 9 days ago.

 The posadas start 9 days before Christmas, representing the 9 months that Mary was pregnant. I've been to 4 posadas this year and they were all similar. The posada consists of Mary, Joseph, 3 wise men, 3 angels, and the devil and in the end baby Jesus. They re enact Mary and Joseph on their journey, they act out how they go from place to place to find a resting place, this is done in the form of a parade, with Mary and Joseph leading, all the  village folk following them. The angels see the star and sing and declare a king is coming. The devil hears this and wants to stop the good  news from spreading. The three wise men are on their way with gifts for the king, the devil intercepts, there is a confrontation and I can never really understand what happens here. With little kids acting, singing and reading, combined with a bad sound system....or no sounds system and of course my 2 year old Spanish understanding, I don't really get what happens. The devil steals a gift but in the end when Jesus is born the devil gets defeated and he is laughed off the stage....he sulks away. Then there is another possession with Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus leading the village people around the stage, ball diamond, school yard....where ever this event is taking place.

The sweetest posada was the one that the community put on here on the Island at the baseball diamonds. Except for Mary and Joseph the actors for all the other parts were choose right there with a show of hands if you wanted to participate....almost all hands went up, kids were randomly chosen. A lady read the story and the kids just acted it out, remember, no rehearsing, this was done on the fly. The kids were amazing, these kids love to perform and they are good at it. The best part was where the devil and one of the kings had it out with each other, the little devil was probably about 8 and the king was maybe 10, they managed to have a big fight without touching each other and when the devil made off with the kings present he truly looked shocked at first that his gift was gone and then enraged when he realized that the devil had stolen it. It  so reminded me of the story "The best Christmas pageant ever" If you haven't read it, read it. Read it now. The king is so enraged he lost his composure and forgets he is in front of a life audience and cry out "oh my God!" We all try to stifle our laughter, that left you with all  kinds of funny snorting noises, that happens when you try to cover a laugh. It was hilarious.

Joseph and Mary were probably about 10 or 11 years old and when they lead their last procession they really looked like they were proud parents. The way he had one hand on her arm and the other on her back gently guided her so she wouldn't trip or fall, he was so attentive and looked so proud at his baby, (a doll) he straighten the blankets out at one point when a toe showed out of the bottom and smiled proudly at Mary and at the audience. You couldn't help but be stirred just a bit, and you couldn't help but know that this is the real Christmas.....it's a feeling of peace and gratefulness, it's not snow.

Afterwards 3 piñatas were beaten to a pulp and the kids went home with a candy or 2 in their pockets.

The next Sunday in church we had another posada, same story. It being posada Sunday there were a lot of new people in church, some people only go to church on Christmas so our little church got packed full. When it was time to collect the offering  the pastor randomly choose a kid, turned out to be the same kid that was the star king at the posada at the baseball diamond, he is one of my neighbours, I have never seen him in church before. He was given the basket and told to collect the offering, I don't think he understood what it was for but he did well, after the first row of people put money in the basket he realized oh...I'm collecting money. It also just so happened that he was wearing a black hoodie...don't ask why, it was soooo hot.  He flips his hood up and taps the basket on the people's knees if they had their head turned.....like people do when they decide to pass on giving offering, and then he'd say "give me all your money". Well.....there we go again snort snort....he was just a giggling and swaggering and having a great time, and cute as could be. Yeah....you had to be there. He should collect offering all the time, maybe we could afford flush toilets sooner.

I love how at every Christmas concert regardless of the venue the same Christmas story is present, whether at the Grand theatre in Mazatlan, at an elementary school, at the baseball diamond or at the church. Whether it is performed  with props, costumes and professional dancers/actor, set and stage designers or with paper crowns and tables clothes as capes, the story is the same and it is for everyone.
May the peace and love of God be with ALL of you during this Christmas season

I'll leave you with the Christmas eve sunset

A iguana rodeo and keeping up with the Jones

Making small improvements to a home that is made of bricks is very challenging. I have written before how just hanging curtain rods can take days, even weeks. Just hanging anything is complicated and always messy, drilling a hole in the wall always makes a mess, setting a nail or a screw in the hole is tricky. A trick I have not mastered yet.

I have a saying I often use at work in Canada and it certainly applies here as well. "' when starting any major project always remember that it will take longer than originally expected, it will cost more than originally expected, and it will be messier than originally expected". How's that for a fridge magnet?

It is a custom here that if you can afford it you paint your house just before Christmas and since I am trying to keep up with the Jones here I had full intention of painting my house before Christmas. The overhang of my roof was starting to crumble in places exposing the rebar, which results in the rebar rusting from the humid salty air here. Everything rusts here...everything, and stainless steel just means that it stains less, which is why it is not called "no stain steel" it is "stain less steel". Last year just before I left I must have stuck 2 pins into a place mat on my table and forgot about them...I do that when I am working on something, when I came back this year those pins were so rusted I had to make a hole in the place-mats to get them out. A metal carrot grater only lasts one season here. In one season a new bike looks like old junk...completely rusted. You get the picture...everything rusts.

Anyway, so my rebar is exposed and needs to be fixed, and should be fixed before painting. Also, my roof overhang does not have a drip lip on it causing the water to run underneath it during the rainy season which is why it is crumbling so I should really put a drip lip (that's my word for it) on it or I will have to keep replastering the overhang every year or so....I don't like doing already done work over and over. So it was decided we would also add a drip lip.

See how ugly the roof over hang is

another look here, I was also blocking a newly knitted shawl on the line

rebar showing, this needs to be fixed prior to painting

I was told 2 days, 3 at the most. That turns out to be working days, not days until the project is finished. When you are working with concrete and mortar you can only apply so much and then you have to wait for it to set/dry before you can plaster more.

The process goes like this; you slap plaster upwards and what doesn't fall back onto your head, or splashes onto the side of my house, or falls onto my freshly washed shutters or lands on my nicely laid brick patio or onto my plants, or flies through my window and lands on my bed, sticks to the overhang and once you have fully coated it you wait a day (or 6). Then you come back and add some more with  a trowel and this time you smooth it out nicely. Then you rent some forms to mold the drip lip, the forms are just pieces of wood that attach with claps made from rebar. You stick mortar in-between the wooden forms and concrete and then you wait a day for it to dry.
The next day you take the forms off and then you realize that you didn't put enough oil on the forms and so they stuck to the concrete and so the drip lip falls off with your form. Bummer. Now you are 2 days behind, you start all over again. In his defense, he is a fisherman, not a masonry.

smacking plaster  into place

waiting for it to dry with the forms in place

and then the plaster came off with the forms.....start all over

the new drip lip, waiting to dry and then prime and then ...paint

This time you oil the forms more and you leave them on to dry for 4 days, just to be sure. They come off perfectly. Now you spend a day doing some touch up work and making it nice and smooth. Finished?. Nope, that's only one side of the house, now the whole process has to be repeated on the other side...except the part where the drip lip crashed to the ground, I hope. Today it is December 23, and we are into day 2 of the front side of the house, this house is not getting painted by Christmas...New Years? Who knows. It will take me a day to prep the house for paint because there is mortar splatter all over it. Yesterday as I was helping (sitting on the step with my dictionary) I said to him, "someday my house will be clean again...right?" He laughed and said "maybe".

Day 1 of the front side, or was it day 2....nothing seems to have changed the last 3 days

The painting won't take that long, of course because I am a little  "artsy fartsy" I can't have just a normal paint job, I had planned on being a little creative but now that I know how long and messy all this brick work is I might just settle for "normal" after all. Plus this guy has renewed his passport so he is waiting for a call to head out on the great big sea for a tuna fishing voyage. He could be gone any day he tells me. I can always do some "arting" later.

This whole process may seem like it would be fairly unexciting...wrong, there is never a dull moment here, ever. Let me tell you about the great iguana rodeo that we had one day. I have a video of it but can't figure out how to insert it.

I'm in my house and I hear some shuffling on my roof, these last 2 weeks during all this roof construction I am pretty used to roof noises but this was a different noise but I ignore it. Then later I sit on my step and am eating an orange and chatting with the guy and then I hear the shuffling noise again and then some bits of concrete fall on my head, I look up into the face of an iguana looking over the edge of  the roof. My first thought is "he has to die". Do you recall the great poinsettia massacre from 2 years ago? I haven't gotten over that yet. I'm a little protective over my price poinsettia this year. I tell the guy to kill him, he seems somewhat surprised, but he gets up on the roof again with his machete. He asks "you sure you want me to kill him?". I say "yes". He seems very hesitate, and I am starting to wonder if maybe there is some law against killing them, he doesn't want to kill it. Just at that moment 2 boys walk by, he hollers at them from the roof asking if they want a iguana, "is it green, is it big" they ask, "yes to both". They want it, they race around to the back of the house. Guy on the roof finds a piece of string, it always amazes me how what you need is always readily available for them, he makes a noose and I realize what is going to happen, he is going to lasso it....I need my camera for this, I run into the house to get it. I am thinking that lassoing an iguana cannot be easy and it will take a few tries so I am positioning myself to get a good angle and messing with the settings of my camera. The 2 boys are doing the excited happy dance, which is similar to the I have to pee dance, and then he lassos the iguana on the first attempt...not his first day fishing for iguana. Iguana goes wild but can't get away, the boys nearly pee themselves from excitement. Guy ties the string to a long piece of rebar and lowers it down to the boys, now what? This thing isn't leach trained and it keeps lunging at them, and the leach is not very long. I ask what are they going to do with this? Apparently you can sell a nice big green iguana for about 100 pesos. Tourists on the beach pay to have their picture taken with these critters. Guy on the roof jokes that he wants a cut of the profit. The boys lope off with their prize, a funny sight to see, 2 boys trying to take a wild iguana for a walk. Now that I know there is a 100 peso bounty on these critters heads I will be able to dispose of them in a more humanly manner than what I had planned. My poinsettia will be safe one more night. Maybe....guy tells me there were 2 when he started working on the roof, one took off.

The iguana....

The next morning when the vegetable guy comes around he has his son (kids are not in school because of Christmas break) with him who was one of the dancing boys, I was just about to ask him how he made out with the iguana sale and he shot me a look that I understood very well. It was very clear that he did not want father to know that he had made some cash yesterday. When kids here make money they are expected to declare it and to pay "family tax", a portion, in some cases all, of it gets put into the family coffers, to pay for food..ect. One kid told me once how he had sold his cell phone and then bought a cheaper cell phone and had some money left over and he had not told his mother and kept the money, he was pretty proud of how he had gotten away with that. Kids are kids. So....I kept my mouth shut, I now have an iguana guy if I should need one, I best not tattle on him, that is if my iguana fisherman sticks around. Don't think that catch would have happened so smoothly had I tried it.
I asked around if it is illegal to kill an iguana and was told it was not but there are not that many green iguanas left so they do try to protect them....somewhat, they don't like to kill them. If times are hard they will eat them, apparently there is not a lot of meat on them but it makes a good broth for a soup base. I was also told that you can tell how the economy is doing in a Mexican colonia by the size of the iguanas, if they are big, the economy is good, if they are small times are tough. This guy was a fair size.
I was also told there are 3 kinds of iguana, the green iguana, the black iguana, and the marijuana. The green ones can be tamed and be used as pets or eaten, the black ones are mean and taste bad, as for the marijuana ....enough said about that.     

Here is an example of how you can be dirt poor and still take pride in what you have, this darling little house is about 4 doors down from me. This lady gave me some of her plants last year. 

I can't seem to figure out why my font changes through out my writing once in awhile. 

Giselle

My body was not really in the mood to go to the mainland after working at the Old Bull all day, especially this late, but the ballet Giselle is on at the Angela Peralta Theatre at 8 pm and I have a ticket and made a commitment to meet some friends there. Will I even be able to stay up that late? Then I remember my favorite little coffee place right in front of the theater and I think a vanilla cappuccino will be a must.

I shower and change my clothes real quick, my shower has been cold for a few days now but since it is so blazin hot that is almost welcome most days...almost, I should find an electrician before it gets cold. I am sure my Tio across from me could fix it but  I have seen how his house is wired and I am not sure I| want him touching my electrical stuff.

I walk to the dock in the dark, I love the Island in the dark, all the lights seem to sparkle and dance, everything looks shiny and it's so quiet and peaceful. The boat ride across is like a dream, the lights of the big city getting closer and closer, lights from the Island getting smaller and smaller.

I take a pulmonia to central and for once I don't get ripped off, I've come a long way, negotiating a taxi fare was always such a nightmare for me.

I got this photo off the internet, now sure who to give credit. It is the Mazatlan pulmonia 

The plaza machado is stunning at night and is hoppin tonight, the place is full of people, I see a police truck and a fire truck parked to the side....getting coffee or buying ballet tickets I am guessing. I made my way to the coffee place and buy a vanilla cappuccino, a city luxury for me. I come out of the shop with my coffee and almost trip on a big hose, I notice there is water everywhere, then I see firemen coming out of a restaurant...of course, there is a fire...hence the fire truck. The plaza is packed and they just string their hoses out and work around the people, never a dull moment. I find a bench and watch the firemen gather up their hoses and take off, every one else carries on with normal Saturday night business, I am guessing the restaurant will spray febreeze tonight and reopen tomorrow night with new decor.

I sip my coffee and eat a whole brick of coconut while I watch an impromptu fireworks show, I brought a shawl in case it got cold...it does not, I carry my shawl, might need it for the  boat ride home.

photo scooped off the net

photo scooped off the net

The ballet is awesome, once again I feel like I am in a movie and I should be wearing a long red dress and my nails should be painted red to match, I was going to paint my nails (not red) but just didn't have time.  Being that I live waaaay up north I don't get the opportunity for this kind of entertainment, another luxury for me. I am a bit of an introvert and don't like events where there are a lot of people and you are expected to mingle, which is why even though this is a big theatre and there are lots of people, I am ok, because no one talks to you, except for applauding the place is silent....my kind of entertainment. Of course the minute the show is over before the exodus begins, I am outa there....first one out the door, I have a boat to catch and it is way past my bedtime, you'd think I was wearing glass slippers and in a hurry to catch my pumpkin carriage.

I walk 3 blocks to catch a taxi, the taxis outside the theater are always too pricey for me. In the past years I have walked at this time of night (it's 10:30 pm ) but  the times have changed a  little, even my Island friends confirmed with me before I left that I was going to take a taxi, I still feel I would be fine but I know I sure would feel stupid if something did happen, after being told not to walk. I think buses to the docks stop running at 9 pm, but even if they were still out,  if walking is dangerous standing on a street corner alone waiting for a bus is just as dangerous. There are not many places left in the world where a women can walk alone at night anymore. I get a taxi for 40 pesos, not bad at all.

There is a young couple making out at the docks, waiting for a boat, she is still in her school uniform, they don't notice me. I find a nail file in my purse and file my nails. Soon a big cowboy joins us, wonder where he has been all dressed up, shiny boots, white hat and freshly pressed shirt (must have a wife). A pretty young lady in a Panama uniform joins us, she is very busy texting on her iphone.

Then the entertainment arrives, he steps over the railroad track as if it is a foot high, his depth perception is gone....he is loaded drunk, at the ticket booth he can't get his money out of his pocket, his pocket is deep, his hands can't focus, the ground he is standing on is moving, he sways...but stays on his feet, now his hand is stuck in his pocket, there is a struggle..man against body, he gets his hand out....man, his money didn't come with it, he dives in again fishing deep this time, Lord don't let this man's pants fall down. Amazingly through all this he does not make a sound, not a foul word...nothing, as if he knows he is not capable of making sense anyway. He rocks back and forth with his hand in his pocket, like you rock your truck when you are a bit stuck, and then he gets it...yeah, I want to cheer for him, but  I don't. He pays and stands off to the side, doesn't join the rest of us. By now a man in a business suit arrives, he is chatting on his cell phone continuously, I try to eavesdrop but I am still terrible at that, who does business at 11 pm, he's probably cooing to his secretary, aside from him there is complete silence, a fish jumps in the water beside me, it startles Panama girl and I.

Then our boat arrives, but the captain wants to wait for more people, he has his wife with him, they stay on the boat and chat, we wait for about 10 minutes and no one else comes, we board, except young girl's boyfriend he stays behind, their good bye kiss was almost like a scene from the Titanic, no one notices or reacts. Drunk guy boards last, I worry for him and wonder if a drunk guy has ever fallen overboard or (eww) gotten sea sick, he makes it and sits at the bow all alone, still hasn't made a sound. If all drunks were quiet like this we would all like them a little bit better, great entertainment. Panama girls is still texting, I get a wiff of cowboy's cologne in the breeze, that dude smells good, business man is still whispering in his phone, I keep my eye out for plankton*, nothing tonight, I watch the Island lights get closer. I am still holding my shawl, unreal, last year at this time we would have all been shivering with our teeth chattering....it's beautiful, like being in a dream. Surreal.

On the other side someone on a motorbike picks Panama girl up, business man has a motorbike parked there as well. Young school girl walks onto the colonia on the other side of the Island, drunk guy fades into the darkness and is just gone. Cowboy has his tractor parked in the parking lot and fires it up, seriously, this guy got all washed up, dressed up and drove to the docks with his tractor, he roars past me, unreal. He pulls into his driveway as I am walking past, he's the watermelon guy!....wow, he cleans up good.

I love this place, I love that I  can walk alone in the dark at night and not be afraid, I love it. The best part of going into the mainland is coming home, I thank God for this place and pray that it stays like this, I've seen Mazatlan change so much in 13 years. Will this place be so different in 13 years from now, I hope not. I hope I didn't get here at the tail end of its best years.

*Bioluminescence Plankton is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission. Fireflies, anglerfish, and other creatures produce the chemicals luciferin (a pigment) and luciferase (an enzyme).^[1] The luciferin reacts with oxygen to create light. The luciferase acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, which is sometimes mediated by cofactors such ascalcium ions or ATP. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by an operon called the Lux operon.^[2]

Bioluminescence occurs in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as fungi, microorganisms and terrestrial animals. Symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms are also known to bioluminesce.

Plankton

Plankton on the side of the boat

Like I say....like living in a dream

I got these pictures off the internet, whenever I see Plankton of course I don'tr have my camera with me. 

Deviled Shrimp

I went to the mainland for church today, I hadn't been there yet and was really needing some spiritual worship. I feel the church here on the Island that I am attending is lacking that so every few weeks I head into town for a service. The Spanish service really delivered that. It was awesome.

I got home tired (Mazatlan is always tiring) and hot, oh so hot, It feels that  the heat is so much more intense on the mainland, must be all the concrete and tall buildings, plus our Island is so small you are never too far from the ocean breeze....it was hot. Soon as I got home I shed my church clothes and jumping into a pair of shorts and a tank top and headed to the beach in search for food, I had a Danish at breakfast and no lunch, it is now 3:30 pm...I am starved.

I pass the chicken place, come times on Sunday she has carne asada, but she had only chicken left and I don't feel like having chicken. I go to the Toro Viajo(Old bull). Sister pulls up a chair for me, I order Camaron diablo. I chat with the waiter. The breeze is so welcome, I love this place....it's hot, but it's not like in the city.

A few days ago Nina's son got a water craft...not sure how and where, but it wasn't running, it was someone's junk. Since then it has been a project for a few guys to get it running, all of a sudden it fired up...briefly. We all cheer, there is hope, sister laughs, she says they  have been tinkering on it all day. It fired up a few more times each  time we cheer and follow with a loud "awwwwwww" as the engine dies.

I get my shrimp.....oh my gosh, it is the best shrimp I have ever had (I've eaten a lot of shrimp), the diablo sauce is the best. I ask her what's in the sauce, she winks and says it's  a secret, I wink back and say "it's a good one". Just spicy enough for me, I like a little kick in my food but I don't like my guts to burn, just enough spice to wake up all my taste buds in my mouth, but not to burn when it goes down the hatch....she had hit it perfectly.

The water craft fires up and stays running...victory. A quad  pulls it into the water and some more guys show up to watch, you know how it is when men tinker, 2 men do the work and 4 stand around giving advice...that was the scene, even the kid on the prancing horse stopped and stood and watched, horse and quad are parked side by side....I didn't have my camera. Test run was perfect...looks like the Old bull now has a water craft for rent as well as a kayak and boogie boards. Of course all 6 bystanders have to test it out because you know, just because it works for one guys doesn't mean it will work for everyone.....and then you have to see if it will work if there are 2 people on it...like one guy and a pretty girl in a bikini...yup, that worked too.

I am done my shrimp, sucked the meat out of every single tail I did and supped up all the excess sauce with tortillas...and licked my fingers. I ask again "ok, what's the secret sauce". She tells me again it's a secret...she is serious, she is not going to share this....how can this be, we are sisters after all. I have to have this recipe. I ask the dude if he knows it, nope he does not. Do I push this or not, I ponder this a bit. I want this bad, I put my arm around her and whisper "if you please tell me, I won't tell anyone in the whole world". The Spanish way of saying "everyone" is "todos el mundo" which translates into "the whole world", which does make more sense. When we say "everyone" we usually don't really mean that, but when they say "everyone" they mean everyone in the whole world. She laughs, I beg and promise again. Then she shows me....it's magic, and as much as I want, I cannot share that with you or with anyone else in the whole world. ( the internet is the whole world) So sorry.

The good news she is now open all week except for Thursdays....so go check it out, if you do not like spicy food you cannot have camaron diablo...sorry, she does garlic shrimp too, and coconut and breaded deep fried, I've had it all, it's all good. If you are familiar with the Island, the old bull is located next to "victors" east side of him. She is between "Victors" and the cantina.

The sun is setting and we pack up all the chairs and tables and close up. She sends me off with a pot of soup and some rice to drop off at her mother's (my tia) ...she lives across the street from me.

You could eat  and lay in this hammock all day and never be bored....I promise, there is never a dull moment here, worst case scenario you have a great nap

 An update on my back yard. Turns out my bricklayer guy that isn't a bricklayer at all but a fisherman forgot to renew his passport so, when his ship was ready to go to Panama he was not. If your job depends on you having a passport how do you forget to tend to that? He has no wife...that's how. So now he is stuck working for me until the next voyage. Check it out. This is before....

before

after

Not bad. The next project is painting the house from the outside...I hate that kind of painting. I wonder how bricklayer/fisherman feels about painting, he is never ever going to forget to renew his passport again.

A day at the old bull

I arrive at the restaurant at 10 am, already sweating from the heat and I haven't even worked yet. The sun is high and hot, the ocean is sparkling and singing. Lots of action already the restaurant, a dude is stoking the fire continuously, pots on the stove are being stirring by my Tia, my Mexican sister is bustling around and tending to all the deliveries, the tails of 4 Dorados are sticking out of a big pail of ice water.

Dorado waiting to be prepared

I'm given my first job, shredding a big bowl of peeled carrots with a tiny plastic shredder (remind me to buy my sister a food processer for Christmas) my gosh this will take hours, they all laugh when I ask how many fingernails and how much knuckle skin is ok to have in the ceviche. My cousin arrives with his nephew with a truck load of coconuts, after unloading, a chopping block needs to be set up, a chain saw is started to cut a coconut tree to size, for a brief second I get a whiff of snowmobile fumes and I think of my family at home. A hole is dug with a spade and the block is set.

The chopping block is set

My second job is pulverizing bags and bags of crackers into powder with a wooden mallet, they will be used to bread some shrimp and fish.  My cousin comes back with a load of wood, a guy comes to deliver charcoal, a guy comes to deliver drinking water, a guys comes to deliver tortillas, he is told to come back at 1, our guest are arriving at 2, she wants the tortilla as fresh as possible,  I'm thinking the guy is just going to drive around with them on his quad for another 2 hours. What do I know? It's my first day here at the Old Bull.My next job is peeling cucumbers.
 I watch my sister stir, taste and add things to the pots on the stove all morning, one pot of beans, one of rice, one of escaviche. In my kitchen if I would have a pot of rice or  beans on the stove, even on low heat all day it would be burned to the bottom of the pot, not here. I washed  the pots, they were not burned and they certainly were not some fancy $100 pots, not even cast iron. The rice and beans were excellent
.My cousin and his nephew (my sister's son) are hungry, aside from harvesting cocos and chopping wood they've been laying bricks at some other project since 6am, plates of ceviche are prepared for them and cold cokes come from somewhere. After a bit one of them asks "Is this how all of it tastes?", we all laugh hilariously. "is it bad ?" she asks, "It doesn't taste done" is the response, she laughs some more, "that's because it isn't done yet, but you were hungry now". We can hardly stand up anymore from laughing so hard. They shake their heads at us and keep eating and mumble something about not tipping. We keep laughing and sister wrinkles her nose and keeps repeating "is this how all of it tastes"
.My next job is peeling shrimp, snapping off the heads, peeling the body but leaving the tails on. This is tricky, the tail keeps coming off. I understand the need for the tail, sucking the meat out of the tail is the best part. I finally get it but I am slow. I am also washing dishes at the same time, there is no space for a pileup of dirty dishes, they need to be washed as they come in.

My washing station

The floor may be sand but don't ever think this place is dirty, dude that stokes the fire is also in charge of a plastic fan rake and as soon as something gets dropped on the ground he is there with the rake, every once in awhile the ground is wetted down with water so it is not dusty, this place is clean.

The fire, waiting for fish

Freshly raked floor...

I peel shrimp, wash some dishes, peel some shrimp, move my feet for the rake, peel more shrimp, then my drain gets plugged, I didn't keep an eye on my filter on top of the drain....my filter is a scouring pad..opps, I poke the drain with the butt end of a fork...away it goes. I lift  my head and see the ocean still glistening in the sun, I see a few  surfers out, a boat pulling a banana boat of squealing tourists, a kid is showing off his prancing horse for tourists, (he was my neighbor last year) I can't believe I live here, I can't believe this is my Mexican family, I am so blessed. God is good.
My sister pulls a big dorado out of the pail and my washing station is now the fish preparing station, it was gutted this morning. My job is pouring water on her hands and the fish as she cuts it and cleans it. First she slice it down the back right beside the back bone, folds it open, and cuts along the inside edge of the back bone again and folds that open. She slices into the meat, she rubs a mixture of garlic and oil that was blended in the blender on it, she rubs in some salt and pepper and squeezes about 2 limes on it. We do 4 of them and they get put into a clean pail and get put into the fridge to "set".




My Tia is deveining my shrimp, butterflies them and breads them. I am back on the dishes, they just keep coming. The blender is always going, between making the garlic mixture and the two different salsas....it keeps humming, until it stops. It died. The waiter runs home to get his, the humming starts again.Did I mention it's hot, dude is still messing with the fire, he needs just the right amount of charcoal and wood, he is dripping with sweat, doesn't slow him down with the raking either, he is also there when ever a heavy pot needs moving, when garbage needs taking out, when the water hose needs to be shut off, and when it needs to be turned on. He is fast..... plus he is renting out boggy boards on the beach and making sure the barrel beside the toilet in the bathroom is full, but not over flowing...for flushing. Yes we have running water as long as dude is running the water will be there.Tia has moved back to the stove and is grilling up a big pan of onions, tomatoes, and peppers, this is to go on top of the fish.

This goes on top of the fish once it's done

I assist in scouring the grills, like I said, this place is clean, she has 2 grills to clean. Then she pulls out a new one that she just bought, it needs to be seasoned, we wash it, rub it down with limes and oil it and put it on the fire...dude will tend to it.By now Tia is deep frying fish and shrimp, my job is to dab each piece with a napkin to soak up extra grease before they are put into a small lunch box cooler. She uses clean oil and a clean pan for every second batch, my job is also to wash the pans when she is done so we can keep rotating 2 pans.All the glass plates that I had washed and dried are now pulled out and polished with a clean towel, it is a beautiful sight, stakes of mismatched pretty glass plates. I am told to take the ones with the prettiest patterns and put them aside, they will be the serving platters. They are all covered with a clean table cloth. We polish the mismatched silverware too. I am amazed at the elegant simplicity of it all.The sand under all the tables gets watered down again and raked, clean tables cloths are put on the tables. All chairs and tables were scrubbed down last night, while a new bar was built. Hammocks are hung up and condiments are put on the tables.

 Then we get a phone call, they will be an hour late. Tia stopped deep frying. We all sit down and have cold cocos and a plate of food, it is all so good.  We all get sent home (except for dude) to change into  "nice" clothes, there  is a brief discussion as to what is "nice" and somehow we end up talking about underwear again. We all come back refreshed, we hoot at each other because we all look so good....except the waiter, he is not impressed at having to wear pants and shoes, he is the only one that will be up front with the guests so he has to wear real shoes, with laces. They look borrowed,  he looks awkward, we assure him he looks good.Tia started deep frying again and I help sister put tinfoil on each grill and then a fish is slapped on, it's spread out and rubbed with garlic/oil again and on the fire they go. Dude springs to action, poking and prodding the fire.Our guests arrive, 45 of them. Chips and salsas are brought out for all, cocos are opened, drinks are served. The fish get dressed with dabs of butter, dabs of mayonnaise, spritz of soya sauce, spritz of bravo sauce, grilled for a wee bit more and then topped with the onion/tomatoe/pepper mixture. Pescado Zarandeado...beautiful to look at and  just as beautiful to eat. Some places also put cheese on it, we don't, I think cheese would spoil this. They are placed on tinfoil covered pieces of plywood and on the tables they go with the rice beans, and escaveche, shrimp and breaded fillets. 

Ready to be put on it's platter fro the table....yummmyumm

Then out of the blue there is a brief discussion as to why dude didn't have to go home and change, it isn't really resolved, he is just special.The party is going full swing...literally, then there is a commotion up front, sister runs out to see what is going on, when she comes back I don't understand her blabbering so she acts out how a lady was swinging in the hammock and the rope broke. She laughs so hard, she has to excuse herself and hide behind the bathroom. Dude and I are laughing at her acting, it was hilarious, such drama. Of course this is after she had made sure the lady wasn't hurt and the proper apologizes were made and proper blame was given to the one that hung the hammock. About an hour later we have another laugh about it...and follow it up with a serious "so thankful she wasn't hurt".Then the dishes started coming and they didn't stop until just before sundown. I washed and washed and washed.....remember, we are using a hose not taps, very few restaurants here have taps. At one point I ask "45 people here, why are there 500 dirty plates?" No one knows.I help Tia carry a 5 gallon pail of scraps to grandma's chickens on our way home. Most of these scraps are our kitchen scraps and fish bones, our guests were all Mexican and they don't (usually) leave food on their plates like the North American tourists do. We talk about how our feet hurt as we are walking home, I was hurting pretty bad, it was a long day, and it's not over yet. I have a ticket to go see "Giselle" 

This may not be paradise but it is pretty dern close. Come on down, we promise not to laugh if you fall out of the hammock.....it's a short soft fall