The Figurines

Here are the three figurines we bought today. The black ones are Barro Negro Pottery and get their color from the firing process where the clay actually absorbs the carbon from the wood fire used in the process. It is hard to tell the scale but they are about 12" high.

Pottery Search

Today we got the Honda out of it's parking spot in the driveway here and out the gate onto the tiny street outside the gate to our apartment. We headed south past the airport to the small village of San Bartolo Coyotepec. It was not far but the traffic was Madhouse Mexican all the way! We pulled into the very quiet village and spotted a restaurant on the main square that looked promising for breakfast. It was one of those "Verbal Menu" places where the waiter/waitress recites all the available items in the rapidest Spanish she can manage. We let her go through her list (there was no stopping her) and then asked if we could have huevos (eggs). No problem! She then went through the list of the ten or fifteen ways they cooked eggs and I caught one word, "Rancheros". Ha! Huevos Rancheros, always a safe bet. We both ordered them and they were delicious, perhaps the best I have eaten!

We then got back in the car and started looking for the artisans market where the pottery was sold. It turned out to be just around the corner from the restaurant and as luck would have it, they were just opening. I like this kind of market because everything has a price tag on it. I always fear (justifiably) that unless marked, the price quoted depends a lot on the color of your skin. Yes, not a nice thing to say but the "Gringo Tax" is alive and well in many parts of Mexico. Not in San Bartolo Coyotepec however. We walked through all six or seven stalls and then bought four black pottery items. Two beautiful hand made statues of women, a small bowl with a lid and a set of two mezcal glasses for me. The prices were embarrassingly cheap, 150 and 130 pesos ($12 and $10) for the statues, 40 pesos ($3.20) for the bowl and 20 pesos ($1.50) each for the glasses.

We then found the side road that connects  San Bartolo Coyotepec with neighboring Zaachila and headed over there. This was where we intended to go yesterday for the weekly Aboriginal market day before Norma came down with her ear infection. She is on drugs and it is much better today BTW.

Zaachila was very quiet today but the main market was open. There we found another pottery salesman who was selling the same black pottery but he was painting his. They were beautiful pieces and he had one of a woman in an orange dress that we had to have. It was very reasonable as well at 130 pesos. We stashed our purchases in the trunk and after a quick stop at the grocery store, headed home. Here are some photos from the day with a map of our route at the bottom:

 The obligatory pig's head.

Doctor's Visit

Norma woke up with an ear infection this morning so that put our plan of visiting the Thursday Aboriginal Market in nearby Zaachila on hold.

I walked two blocks to the Farmacia to see what they suggested and was lucky enough to find an English speaking pharmacist. He told me Norma had to go next door to get a prescription from a doctor with whom they work. I walked back to get Norma and we went into the doctors office. There was no reception area, just seating and a door with a sign saying the doctor was in concultation with a patient and to have a seat and wait your turn. There was no one else waiting and in three or four minutes the door opened and we went in. She started asking technical questions that were WAY beyond our Spanish level and she could not speak a word of English, in fact she sounded a little short with us. I do not blame her, we are in her country and have no business expecting her to speak our language. I went back to the farmacia and asked the pharmacist to help us. He was very kind and came with me and interpreted all the questions and answers. The doctor wrote out a prescription for drops and pills which the farmacia filled for us.

Total cost? 190 pesos ($14.88) for the drugs and the doctor's visit was FREE! She had on a shirt from the Farmacias del Ahorro next door and it seems she works for them. She does consultations only, there is no examining room.

We are doing nothing today but here are some more photos from our walk yesterday.

Oaxaca, Day 3

Today we walked, and walked and walked! We found a little breakfast place where I ordered a Oaxaca specialty breakfast. It was nice but I would not order it again. Probably my fault but when she asked me how I liked my eggs, soft, medium or hard, I must have ordered them hard, just like I do not like them. The rest of the plate, tortillas and Oaxaca cheese was rather flavorless. Like I say, I would not order it again. Norma’s hotcakes with honey and jam were delicious and since her limit is one, I had the other two.

We continued walking and came upon a very pleasant young man running an Internet café. He also sold his families coffee of which he offered us a sample cup. It was very good and we bought a kilo for 150 pesos. By then it was 2:00, time to head back to the apartment and rest up for dinner. We both fell asleep and by the time we woke up we decided to just make a big salad and stay home. Tomorrow is another day. Here are some photos from today, starting with breakfast.

Norma's Rug

First, a little history. When we returned from Mexico in early 2010 we had to have work done on the motorhome in Albuquerque, NM. It was tied up in the shop for three or four nights and we were not allowed to sleep in it so we thought if we had to stay in a hotel anyway, we may as well make an adventure out of it. So we ended up in Taos, NM, one of the places on our Bucket list. One of the things they sell in Taos is Navajo Rugs!  Norma fell in love with them and simply had to have one. the price tags were out of this world and after several rounds of negotiations (with me) she settled on a very small one, probably 18" X 24". Small rug, big price! I have blocked it out of my memory but I think it was at least a couple of hundred dollars, probably more. Not good for much except hanging on the wall. Ever since she has been reminding me that we have to go back through Navajo country and buy a bigger one. I have been avoiding going home by that route again because it would cost me in the four figures (before the dot) and that the first number would not be a "1" or probably even a "2".

Today we were walking around Oaxaca on Aveneda Alcala near the Santo Domingo Church. Norma was in yet another clothing store and I was people watching on the street. One of the people I was watching was Luis Martinez, master weaver and the proprietor of his families rug shop. He noticed me and asked in perfect English where I was from. We started chatting and he invited me into his small store and poured me a glass of cold water. I told him I was waiting for Norma and he said I may as well wait in the store where it is cool. I said Norma would be interested in his store because of the Navajo rug she never got. I told him the story.

He told me his rugs were made in nearby Teotitlan de Valle using similar techniques as the Navajo but that Navajo rugs were now priced beyond the reach of a normal person. Each of Luis' rugs of the size we ended up buying takes ten days to weave with the weaver working six hours a day. It is not possible to work longer than six hours as the fingers and eyes cannot handle it. He said some weavers will tell you they work ten or even twelve hours a day but they are lying and are just trying to get more money. By then Norma had come out of her shop and was standing on the curb across the street looking for me. Luis went to the door and called her name. Surprised, she came over and introductions were made. Norma's eyes lit up as she looked at the walls. Luis' rugs started at 3,000 pesos and went up to 18,000 pesos. These prices are similar to what I remember in the Navajo stores except they were talking US dollars!

Here is Luis' shop:

"Here are some of my rugs, Norma. Do you see anything you like?"

"This one is nice, only 3000 pesos.Maybe a little small."

Luis hand finishes every rug himself, checking for imperfections and knotting the fringe.

"I want my customers to be happy and satisfied. If you like my rugs, you will be back".

"These are some larger ones for 4000 pesos"

 "OK, this is the one I want!" "3900 pesos ($310). Just for you Norma!"

Norma is happy. The rug will go nicely on the new bamboo floor in the living room. Croft is happy (for obvious reasons)! 

If you are in Oaxaca and want to check Luis' store out, here are the details of how to find him:

Luis Martinez

Macedonio Alcala at Santo Domingo

(Pedestrian Walk)

teotitlantours@hotmail.com

Oaxaca, Day 1

We walked down to the Zocalo at about 11:00. It was about six short blocks all downhill. A couple of blocks away we found a vegetarian restaurant where we stopped for breakfast. It was very good and cost 120 pesos for the two of us. we will be back here.

We continued on to the Zocalo where we walked around and people watched. I found a stall selling men’s button up shirts and bought two, one red and one white. 320 pesos ($25) for both. That was full asking price, he would not budge. It actually took several stalls to find someone who had XG (extra grande) sizes, Oaxacan men are not normally as big as me, mediano was the going size.

By now it was 3:00 so we stopped at a curbside coffee shop and had an iced coffee to combat the 90 degree heat. After a quick stop at the grocery store we walked back home (uphill). We will head back to the Zocalo later for dinner at a street side restaurant we scouted out, but I think we might get a taxi for the uphill ride home.

The Road To Oaxaca

Before we left Cuernavaca I checked out the route on Google Maps and modified it a little to stay on main highways. It said 457 KM and 5 1/2 hours. As I expected, that was not to be. It was a great road, similar to many secondary roads in the US and Canada. The GPS kept telling us to go to Puebla and start the journey south from there, in fact it kept telling us to turn around and go to Puebla almost all the way! My friend Rob emailed me to say I had a setting wrong which makes sense as I had to do a reset on the GPS last week after it "froze up".

We drove all the way (8 hours) with only one half hour stop for lunch and gas. We found our Oaxaca apartment easily and it looks like it is only a five or six block walk to the Zocalo where all the action is. And there will be action as this is yet another holiday in Mexico (Constitution Day).We will head down there soon.

It is cool this morning at 55 but Weather.com says it will hit 90 by 2:00. The air smells very fresh. We are sitting on the private patio in front of our apartment with birds chirping and the dog hanging around looking for a treat.

These apartments are the deal of the century! Ours is one of the larger ones that they offer (3 rooms plus bath) and is only 2450 pesos ($190) for the week! I am sure a monthly deal could be negotiated for much less. We checked out hotels and few are under $80 per night and the rooms would be much smaller. It has a full kitchen so we will pick up some eggs so we can cook breakfast here in the mornings.

Oaxaca Road Trip!

We are leaving for Oaxaca in the Honda. Google Maps says it is 5 1/2 hours but I am thinking more like 8 or 9. We should be there tonight but if not then we will spend the night in a by the hour hotel. Humm... How many hours sleep do I need at 200 pesos per four hours?

Talk to you soon!

EDIT: We made it in 8 hours exactly, fighting with the $%#@! GPS all the way after it decided the only road to Oaxaca came from Puebla.

The three room apartment is very Mexican and spotlessly clean. The shower is tiny but the bed is huge, we will soon see how soft.

To tired to Blog tonight.

Haircuts Under The Volcano!

We both needed haircuts and Norma needed a manicure and pedicure as well so off we went to Cuernavaca. We parked in the same parking garage as last time and set off walking to find some place to get the jobs done. We found a haircutters right near the Centro where they could cut both of us. The young man who did Norma’s hair spoke English and gave her a very nice razor cut for 150 pesos ($12). My guy was a little younger and obviously thought I should have a much younger looking cut. I finally got a “normal” looking trim out of him but when he finished, he applied a hand full of gel and had my hair all sticking straight up in the air! I tried to push it down flat with my hand but to no avail, it sprung right back up. I asked to borrow a comb but he did not understand and combed it himself, but right back to the sticking up straight condition. Oh well, I can live with it until I get home. His charge was 120 pesos ($9.50). A regular men only barber in Mexico charges 50 pesos ($4). These guys were “stylists”.

Norma’s guy recommended a place for her nails so off we went again. We walked two blocks and found it, a small two person nail salon offering manicures and pedicures. They could do her right away and told me it would take two hours with both of them working on her. I wandered down the street and found the Hotel Bajo El Volcan (Under The Volcano), named after a 1940’s American novel that was written in Cuernavaca by Malcolm Lawry. It was a nice hotel with rooms renting for 1050 pesos ($83) per night, breakfast buffet included. I doubt if Lawry wrote his book about the dysfunctional, alcoholic British Consul here but you never know.

I continued on to the Centro where I found a small restaurant where I got enchiladas de queso, ensalada chico (small salad) and a limonada for 70 pesos. Good deal. I ordered another limonada and people watched for an hour.

I wandered back to the nail place and arrived right as the two hours expired and they were done. Everything was to her satisfaction. Mexican women get little stars, flowers, stones, etc. added to their nails but Norma was careful to stop him from doing that to hers. It was only after we got home that she noticed he had snuck a few sparklers onto them without her noticing. Oh well, her sparkling nails go with my sticking up hair for the punk rock couple look. The charge for her nails was 300 pesos ($24) after tip. Remember there were two of them working for two hours = 4 man hours labor plus material. No machinery or grinders were used and you really have to look to see the sparkles. Norma says the same job back home would have been $100 (more with sparkles).

This is the view from my restaurant. My table was on a small balcony.

Telcel Visit

Our Banda Ancha is going to expire at 3 PM February 1. Usually this just means going to a Telcel store or even an OXXO and buying another 500 pesos of time. This time however, I got a text message from Telcel reminding me to renew but also telling me I had sufficient credit in my account to renew. Hoping to save about $40 US we drove to downtown Cuernavaca and went into the Telcel customer Service office. We were lucky once again and found an English speaking rep. I showed him the text but he replied that yes, I had over one thousand pesos in my "gift" or "rebate" account but I could not use it to renew, the money was only to be used "for making phone calls". I do not understand as Banda Ancha is not a phone, only an Internet connection device. I do not think our rep was all that familiar with the product. I will try again next month from Puebla or San Miguel de Allende.

Our friends Jan and Whit have been having the same problem. It must be one of those "Mexican things" that is beyond understanding. I paid my 500 pesos for another 30 days.

We also have a Telcel phone that we keep for emergencies. When we got here in early December, I bought 100 pesos worth of time. We have used none of that time but it expires after 60 days and if you do not add more time before it expires, you loose your unused time. They had also added a "gift" of 50 pesos so I added another 50 pesos and now I have 200 pesos worth of time.

Traffic was very heavy so after we had found the Telcel building and finished our business there, we only had time to stock up on Krispy Kreme doughnuts and head home shortly before dark.

At about 7, Humberto knocked on our door to invite us over to their house for a visit. It is a great honor to be invited into a Mexican home so we were very pleased. They have a beautiful house with walls covered in art and mementos. We sat and talked, munching on snacks and sipping drinks until almost ten. It was a very enjoyable evening! I was fearing we were overstaying our welcome but every time my beer bottle looked empty, it was replaced with a full one! We had a great time!