Finally, a sunny day

My mother emailed me for an update (sniff sniff); apparently she is the ONLY ONE who even CARES that I could be DYING of some liverbadthingorsomething (I only use the most technical of terms here) and was waiting with baited breath to find out when she should start wearing black, cause I’m so sick and dying and all. Like anyone else cares (cue violins). Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven’t answered a single comment or email in a good month.  Or maybe I just haven’t read them all.  I’m a goof.

So, we are running true to form with package delivery. On the 18th of July, I emailed IBM with explicit details on our location and where we were physically located at the gasolinera and in the speed of light, with maximum efficiency, on the TWENTYFIFTH they decided to send the fixed laptop back to us. Unfortunately, they left off many important details of the address. They did get the codigo postal (zipcode) correct though, so I guess I should be happy. I’ve been watching UPS’s website and yesterday found that the package showed up in DF. Why it went from Guadalajara (310km away) to San Luis Potosi ( km away) to DF ( km away) baffled me. But I trusted that they had their reasons. Today, the status showed that the address was missing information so I called UPS to update everything. Apparently, the laptop is actually somewhere between Zacatecas city and San Luis Potosi (city, I hope and not the entire state; I assumed she meant city…) but since Zacatecas UPS isn’t computerized, they called their info into DF (how thoughtful!) and DF updated the status. So, it is not in DF. Just somewhere between two states. Or maybe two cities. Not sure. But it is definitely IN Mexico. Certainly. She couldn’t have meant Spain…

I went to the 20 peso doctor yesterday and she was very thorough, did not know why my WBC and leucocyte and liver levels were all off but since I’m getting better and my liver is getting smaller (well, it isn’t as uncomfortable as before and it isn’t pushing on my innards like before) and the Big D is coming to a very thankful end and well, I just don’t think I need to pursue anything major. So tomorrow I’ll get my WBC count and leukocyte count done again (even though they promised they’d do it with the liver panel; I wondered why they didn’t charge me; they just didn’t do it) and see how that goes. Everything is coming back negative and the liver panel is just a bit abnormal; not enough to indicate acute hepatitis.

The rain rain rain has been coming down down down all over Zacatecas and Morelos and when you throw cobblestones and rocks falling down off cliff sides that line the road, you get boiling red rushing water. And as soon as it hits, it is gone again. We’ll be here until at least Martes; the computer might come on Monday but probably Tuesday according to UPS, and my last blood test results will come Monday.

The kids have been having a blast learning card games after too many days of bickering over the use of the computer led to a ban on child computer usage for a week. We’ve got a plan in the works though, so don’t worry, the little darlings will soon have computer access. Already Ellen used it yesterday, Sissy today, and the boys will tomorrow. To thwart our dictatorial selves, the boys are formulating intricate plans to purchase their Very Own Computer Of Their Own That Mom and Dad Cannot Use But Only The Boys and No-one Else. Period. So I guess that sums it all up.

We left summer in Teacapan

I see various references to heat-wave conditions north of the border and I confess that I simply can’t relate. Back in March, hell yeah. Back in April, May, June, oh yes. February was comfortable, but by March we were quite hot. Since we’ve moved to the highlands, we’re experiencing fall. This part of the country and further southwards have their rainy season this time of year and it just makes life so much easier. The day heats up, the clouds build up, the wind picks up, the temperature drops and the rain falls softly at first and sometimes just drizzles or pounds down and you are left to wonder if the ground will ever absorb the spreading puddles and lakes. If you’re in town, the streets turn to rivers and waterfalls over cobbles and shelves. It is so incredibly civilized.

Today we headed to La Quemada aka Chicomoztoc Chicomoztoc in Spanish to see what we could learn from the northern Mesoamerican culture. We’ve been to many ruins; most south of Mexico City but this one was incredibly different from any we’ve been to. The building structure was completely and utterly different but the architecture was about the same. Ellen remarked as we climbed higher and higher that the Aztecs (well, she was close) must have had really LONG legs. The views from the mountain top site were absolutely stunning and Jamie and I agreed that this was the most beautiful site we’ve seen.

Even with the gallery and museum and ruin trips, I’m beginning to think that we might as well not even be in Mexico for all the interaction and culture we’re exposing ourselves to (how is one to end this sentence without a dangling participle?). We stay way out of town, surrounded by fencing in our trailer compound and shuttle ourselves from place to place in our own vehicle, speak among ourselves and the rare moments that I converse with others there is almost always a child demanding attention. I am beginning to realize that the only way that we’ll really be able to sample the culture and make friends is to immerse ourselves; by staying IN a town. So we are thinking next year of simply picking a couple towns, driving there and then renting a house. I honestly don’t think we know much more than the average American about our terribly friendly neighbor to the south. And after spending a year in the country, that is shameful.

No news on the blood tests; we spent most of the day at the ruins and didn’t get back to town early enough to pick them up. I expect everything will be negative anyway and I’m feeling so much better that I don’t really even care what got me; just that I got it back.

news not so good

Well, I HAD typhoid, but that is on the wane. I was already recovering from it by the time I had my blood work. Now I have abnormal (low) white blood cell count (should be high due to infection), low leukocytes and bilirubin in my urine. So, it is no wonder I’m tired all the time! I go back on Monday for a hepatitis and HIV test, but the Typhoid medicine has gotten rid of the month (or more) of horrid, painful, liquid shit. I’m back to simple diarrhea! If you have any ideas of other test I should take, feel free, but now, I’m so happy to simply being almost over typhoid and be able to stay awake for more than an hour at a time to care.

I’ve uploaded pictures from Jamie and the kids trip on the teleferico (I was at the Centro de Salud) and pictures from the museum today. This is one of the most impressive collections of world art I’ve ever seen. Egypt, China, Thailand, Japan, Mexico (from pre-hispanic to colonial Spanish art to the art of the collector), India, I’m not sure I can remember all the countries that different salas were dedicated to. The building itself was a marvel; first a convent then a jail, finally in 1985 (I think) it was restored after being abandoned for quite a while. We saw drawings and paintings from Chagall to Picasso to pre-hispanic and Mayan cultures. What a wealth and range. I looked all over town for the bullring come Hotel that is supposed to be so pretty, but the rains began in earnest and we picnicked in the car, watching rivers of rain flow over the cobbles. My stamina is increasing and tomorrow I hope we can do more exploring. I’m really beginning to love Zacatecas, but Guanajuato still has my heart. It is impossible NOT to love Zacatecas; it is simply, honestly, overwhelmingly, assuredly, wholeheartedly and naturally beautiful.

next year, everyone gets typhoid vaccine

Ever since Tepic, I’ve been sick. In Guanajuato, I started taking Flagyl, thinking my magical garlic (which has cured any number of woes, from parasites to blood infections) had let me down. I spent 8 days on Flagyl with absolutely no relief. Today, I found the Centro de Salud in Zacatecas (no mean feat in itself) and after a short wait was seen by a doctor who diagnosed Typhoid. I’m skeptical but for 30 pesos I got an exam, 20 capsules of Chloramphenicol (in Spanish it is Cloramfenicol) and 10 pills of butilhioscina for pain. I can’t find an English equivalent for the pain pill but the side effects seem to be reasonable. The Chloramphenicol side effects are scary, so I’m stopping that drug until I’m sure it is typhoid.

Tomorrow I will second guess the doctor by going to the lab and having blood and stool tests done and then I’ll know for sure if I need something stronger than Flagyl for these super-parasites (my guess) or something different (like Cipro) for the Typhoid. Apparently, you can just let typhoid go and within a month it will resolved with either death (only 10%) or not, but since I’ve had whatever this is for close to a month and am not relishing death, if this might be typhoid, I’ll go with Cipro.
While I was at the clinica, the kids and Jamie rode the teleferico to La Bufa and took many photos. We were going to a museum afterwards, but Sissy had such a tantrum that we decided to try another day.

If you’re bored to tears, I’m wondering whether or not having Typhoid conferrs immunity. I’m also wondering if the typhoid vaccine efficacy is better than 65% (which is what it was when I got my last vaccine in 1987). Feel free to comment with your results; I’m off to nap. Again.
Lastly, I’ve been terribly remiss in responding to email and comments.  I’m getting there, slowly but surely.

Down to the final goal, Zacatecas vs. Guanajuato

I drove into Zacatecas (or rather, around Zacatecas, as driving through the middle would have brought us a large fine) fully expecting to fall in love. I felt somewhat guilty, betraying my beloved Guanajuato, but all I’d read prepared me to fall head over heels. We rolled up and up and up the libramiento through the late afternoon, winding around the flat hills of Zacatecas. While the famous Bufa and Gallilo (right?) hills that rise above the gorge that is Zacatecas old town are large mountains, the surrounding mountains and hills just don’t have the same glory that Guanajuato has. We are higher, but the mountains seem flatter. After dropping the trailer and getting dinner, Jamie and I found we had the same feeling of let-down; the drive around Zacatecas was not sufficient to sway us from our beloved Guanajuato.

Yesterday we decided we HAD to find out what everyone raved about and headed into town. It is truly, a very picturesque city. I don’t understand why it is supposed to be less “touristy” than many other towns, it actually seems MORE touristy than Guanajuato. It is certainly prettier, with many more colonial aspects and definitely less crowded, as it sprawls much further than Guanajuato. I’m certainly not dissapointed, but Guanajuato reins supreme for me. Jamie has gone over to the dark side; he loves the less crowded Zacatecas and the incredible colonial buildings. And the buildings and churches are indescribably gorgeous. But little (by comparison) Guanajuato, with only 2 streets reserved for cars; the rest too tiny and steep for even the smallest of clown cars, still has my heart.

We began the day at the El Eden mine; named by the Spaniards (in English? maybe my translation isn’t so good) as a paradise after discovering the silver and gold it contained. We dropped down to the 5th level of the mine and were able to walk through and gaze up at the massive holes picked and shoveled by the Chichimeca enslaved by the Spaniards. The entire mine, and we were 326 feet down, had been excavated by hand until 1900 when they began to use explosives. There is a monument to the laborers in the form of a tool, early into the mine. It was a little difficult to translate; I wish the guide had slowed down a bit so I could have gotten more, but it was a good experience for all. Everyone else on the tour was Mexican; many on vacation, proving that we are deep into the Mexican vacation month.

We managed to simultaneously starve the children and wander the old town of Zacatecas before finding the only reasonable restaurant open on a Sunday. This town takes its Sunday rest very seriously and almost each and every shop was closed down tight. The kids are dying to take the teleferico (goldola) across the two peaks, and there are a couple museums they’re dying to get dragged around to, protesting the injustice of it all the entire way.

A thoroughly Mexican delivery

It occurs to me that I have become quite used to the “norm” of life here. I called UPS yesterday afternoon to check on our missing brake controller; I was actually surprised to find it had left customs after checking the UPS website. I was told that everything was in order; that it should arrive yesterday and if not, to call in the morning. Of course, it didn’t arrive yesterday; the UPS status still showed “origin scan” in Leon (and, to this moment STILL shows that same, exact status). So, down I drive to the social security department outside Guanajauto (the closest phone) and call UPS. I am told that today is too late to persue anything; that the person I spoke with yesterday should have tried to find the package in Leon, but today is too late; I need to have the sender start a trace process. I ask to speak with management and ask why, oh why, can’t they just call Leon and find out where the package is, but until I ask for management, they simply say it is too late to call Leon; that only could have been done yesterday. So, while I’m getting a nice tan, waiting in the hot sun at the phone, the clerk puts me on hold for about 5 hours. She comes back and says that she called Leon; they say the package is lost and then asks to confirm the postal code. The postal code is incredibly important to her. Honestly, I have NO CLUE what it should be, but since it seems like this is something that can help, I run to the office I’m standing in front of and am told that the CP here, some 5km from the RV Park, is 36250. So I tell Ms. UPS that and it seems to make all the difference to her; she opens this and notes that and says that she’ll send a message to Leon and they’ll deliver the package tomorrow. But hey, I thought it was LOST? She declines to address this question. So, I figure I should just go with the flow and tell her that I’m going back to the campestre to verify the CP and will call her back later. I drive back to find the CP is just what I’d told her, but just to ensure that she puts this new magic CP which is turning a “lost” package into a package which will be delivered tomorrow, I figure I should let UPS know the CP I gave them is correct. So, back to find a public phone; I have to go a bit further this time, and now I get a new Ms. UPS who says that they will send a new message to Leon (is there noone who can simply CALL Leon?) and that the package will not arrive for at least 3 days. To call back tomorrow and see what Leon’s response was to the message.

So, I come back to the trailer to let Jamie know all this and I am really wanting to go to Leon (it is 56km away) and talk to the people in Leon personally, as I know that generally you really can’t get anything done unless you talk face to face. So we load up the kids, the car and head to Leon. On the way to finding the UPS facility, we pass Nirvana on Earth for Jamie, an AutoZone. Well, to be specific, we don’t pass it, but pull into the parking lot and stop there. We find a gato (in addition to ‘cat’, ‘gato’ also means jack, as in car jack or bottle jack or something to make the car go up so you can take the tire off). And the price is excellent for Mexico. Jamie loads up on some $100+ of needed items and off we head to UPS. Our $100 stop at AutoZone has placed us at UPS almost immediately after their lunch (2pm to 4pm) break, so I quiz the drivers arriving and leaving and they both promise (one in a VW bus painted ala UPS) they don’t have my package. The clerk comes back and listens to my tale of woe and is adamant that the package is NOT lost. As a matter of fact, he contracted out the package to an agency as the RV park was outside the limits of Guanajuato centro and UPS does not personally deliver outside the center. Just wait at the campestre, he advises, it will come. Not only that, he says, but the package left Leon UPS YESTERDAY. No, they didn’t update the computer system; that would only serve to inform me. Well, this is all news to me, as DF UPS said that Leon UPS said the package was lost. So, I ask him if he can call the agency. I’m a bit suspicious as the only reason that an agency could be involved would be if UPS knew that the CP was wrong; that the CP should have been something different. And they didn’t know that until a few hours earlier; not yesterday. So, something was wrong; either in DF or with this guy. He asks me to give him 10 minutes to eat. I’m shocked, as he just came back from a 2 hour lunch break, but I figure he is looking for a way to find the package, or knows where it is and doesn’t want me to know he knows or he needs to get it out of pawn. Who knows.

So we sit at the car with the kids and wait. Quickly he comes out of the office and says he has (SURPRISE) located the package! And it is in Leon! And we can pick it up! And it turns out to be the weirdest deal of all; he gives us directions to a Pemex station where we’ll meet the driver of the agency truck who will hand over our package. At this point, I don’t really care who was doing what with whom and I just want the damn brake controller so we can get to Zacatecas. As we’re leaving, he stresses, “don’t pay them anything!”. All I can do is laugh at this point, the retrieval of the package has become so comical. So, we head to the Pemex and whaddayaknow, just as we pull in, a guy flags us down and brings us the package. All is fine and I even signed what might be a log-book.  The only surprising part to me?  That someone actually showed up at the Pemex station.

I had the very simple task today of depositing money in the Mexican bank account of someone who lives in this box (well, not really) and making a call to an RV store in Monterrey. Doesn’t sound like brain surgery, does it? On the way to town, I heard a loud hissing from a rear tire. Our tires are monstrous affairs, but Jamie and I changed one somewhere between Mil Cumbres and somewhere else and I knew pretty much where everything went, AND being right off a busy two lane highway, figured I’d be helped in no time flat. I got the rapidly deflating tire off without a hitch and was trying to figure out how to descend the spare from under the rear of the van when two Samaritans stopped and would not allow me to do anything further. They changed the tire and helped me remember how to descend the spare. The jack, however, refused to cooperate in descending or ascending; it was horribly stuck on the axle with the tire in the air. The two men were adamant that I HAD to drive off the jack and though I cringed at the thought; imagining a broken axle, I agreed. I couldn’t go forward, so they hammered the rocks (now stuck) under the tires (to keep the van from rolling in an unforeseen accident) away from the tires and I was able to move forward but the jack was now useless. I was certain that I’d find someone in Mexico to fix it; I’m so jonsing for the typical fix a transmission with a “paper clip and band aid” that you hear about so frequently, but I was once again to be denied.

Off we headed to town; with our errands increased by (what I thought would be) one more task. I was successful, with absolutely NO incidents (which, I just might consider now to be success; if something can happen (or not) without incident) in getting the driver’s mirror completely replaced. I was astounded at the care and time he took; some 45 minutes to remove the cracked mirror, cut a new one, install the new one, affix the blind spot mirror to the new one and relieve us of the amazing sum of only 80 pesos.

We parked at the Mega store to avail ourselves of the 2 hours free (for 100 pesos of shopping) and headed out to find the Banorte. I wasn’t the least bit surprised to find 2 Bancomer, 2 Serander Serafin, 2 HSBC and a Banamex as well as one I’ve never heard of, before we FINALLY found the Banorte. Sissy and I had stopped for bolsas of agua de alfalfa and by the time we were standing in line at the bank, we needed to be hopping and dancing in line. The transaction was amazingly simple; I gave the account number, she found it immediately on the computer, I handed over the money and she gave me a receipt. Chris, if you read this, you should have your money, and again, thank you so much for the controller.

Back, Sissy and headed for a sanitario (bathroom) at the Mega store, did some quick shopping and lunch purchases and off to the vulcanizadora (tire fixing place). Trying to lower the thingie (don’t you LOVE when I talk technical?) that holds the spare, I found it simply would not lower. I finally got it 1/2 way down when the men fixing and changin the tire were done and helped. Some 30 minutes later we got it down and the spare back up, but I don’t think it will lower again. The tire fix and all labor was a measly $120 pesos.

So, all the fixing was amazingly cheap; $80 for a new custom cut mirror, $120 for a tire fix and labor to work on the spare mechanism, but we now have a busted jack, a busted jack handle (that also works the spare mechanism) and a busted spare mechanism. Course, the maestro at the vulcanizadora offered to fix it for $100 (pesos). So, I guess I’m still ahead. Figuratively.

I almost forgot the Most Excellent News of the day.  Course, it could be TMI for anyone but myself.  Ever since we got to Guanajuato, some 3 or more weeks ago, I’ve been fighting and fighting parasites with garlic.  Garlic has been magical in the past, but it just wasn’t putting these parasites out to lunch, so to speak.  Finally, yesterday, I gave in to Flagyl and the difference is amazing.  I have a metallic taste in my mouth (typical side effect) but my gut is finally free!  The pain in my gut and other regions is gone and I just might be able to exist without having a sanitario within running distance.  I feel almost reborn.  Now, if I could just figure out how to avoid the damn parasites in the first place!

World post

It is rare that I look at my statcounter, but this morning was an amazing display.  This is a breakdown of today’s visitors (and it is 9am here in central Mexico).  What a diverse group!  For the person looking for Word Press word wrap for pictures, try tantanoodles plug-in.

	Num	Perc.	Country Name
	51	52.04%	Australia
	35	35.71%	United States
	6	6.12%	Canada
	1	1.02%	Mexico
	1	1.02%	United Kingdom
	1	1.02%	Argentina
	1	1.02%	Netherlands
	1	1.02%	Norway
	1	1.02%	India

Spectacular end to the Mundial

We watched the very end of the partido at the loncherias in the Mercado in Guanajuato. For me, finishing the end of a game with penalty kicks is about the most spectacular end possible. Everyone was crowded around the many televisions throughout the mercado and fireworks were released about the time that the Italians were getting their medals.

We spent the day at the Alhóndiga Museum and the kids got a liberal dose of Mexican Independence. The Alhóndiga was a grainery when Hidalgo issued his grito from Dolores (later named Dolores Hidalgo). The very first battle in the independence (not revolution; that came later) from Spain (not France; that came later) was at the Alhóndiga in Guanajuato. The insurgentes were 20,000 strong and the Spanish were well protected in side the fortress of the Alhóndiga (AL OWN DEE GA) until Hidalgo sent “El Pipila” (a hero here in Guanajuato but probably unknown throughout the rest of Mexico) to the wooden doors of the Alhóndiga to set them afire. The Spanish were driven out, but later captured 4 of the insurgentes (Hidalgo, Allende, Morelos (and who was the last?)), jailed, excuted and displayed their head in cages at all four corners of the Alhóndiga for 10 years.

The museum was the best we’ve seen so far in Mexico. It covered Mesoamerica art, tools and history all through the revolution of the early 1900’s. We all learned that Benito Juarez was a Oxacan orphan who became the first president of Mexico and lead reforms and instituted leyes to repeal many of the barbaric/conservative laws of the Catholic church. Basically, he began the separation of church and state. We ended the day at the mercado, eating enchiladas mineras with papas and carrots and salad for the boys, torta de papas for Sissy, quesadillas with rice and salad for Ellen and 2 tortas of chicharones for Jamie. I got an agua de alfalfa (with an aftertaste of “grass” but it was amazingly refreshing) and everyone else got agua fresa (strawberry water). It was a lovely day; deep blue sky with puffy white clouds and each and every color imaginable painted on the houses on the hills that comprise Guanajuato.

Medallions of Mellado

I learned something new yesterday. Up til now, the entire trip, I’ve never obligated the kids to come “sightseeing” or to leave their interests. That has now changed. I told the kids yesterday they had no choice; we were all going for a drive to see some sights. I had no idea where; I wanted to go up and drive through a couple mines and some templos, but other than that, I had no agenda. Well, I’ve been dying to visit some museums in town, but figured yesterday was not the day for it.

We started the afternoon with a visit to the first mine in Guanajuato. The boys were instantly attracted to a large wide low circular stone wall and immediately found one of the largest mineshafts in the WORLD. This mine, Minas Rayas, was discovered in 1550 and the shaft grew to 1400 feet. The mine is still being worked; it seems both the Mellado and the Rayas mines are now one and I don’t think the Mellado is still being worked. We found beautiful ruins of what I think was a church on the mine grounds and some of the most spectacular miradas of the town of Guanajuato yet. This doesn’t seem to be a terribly touristy area; there was one vendedor of rocks and minerals but he was completely uninterested (as were we) and preferred to stay on the opposite side of the street from his display, chatting with his friend. We then walked up to the plaza of Mellado where an ex-convent, church in the process of restoration and tranquil plaza awaited us. Spanish rap echoed about the ruins of the ex-convent as out at the church, the restorers were hard at work on the roof. We wandered about the ruins, spying glimpses of frescos from behind closed doors, views of the mountains and city and listening to the quiet until we were satisfied.

Out behind the plaza of Mellado we found a playground and the neighbor kids lost no time introducing themselves and initiated the boys in the finer points of futbol. This was their first foray into any sport and it warmed my heart to see how much they’d grown. Last year, they were tongue-tied and uncomfortable and unhappy when kids would approach; lacking language to communicate perfectly. Yesterday they played, changed teams, swapped in and out as goalie and let their teammates know they needed to rest. Jamie and I sat on the “sidelines” and shouted “gooooooooolllllllll” at each goal.

With the sucess of the incredible mineshaft and the kids at Mellado, we pressed on to one of the many ex-haciendas here in Guanajuato. This one turned out to have a torture chamber in the basement and the boys and I had a graphic introduction to the ways of the Spanish Inquisition. I’m hoping it wasn’t too disturbing for them; we had a guide for the hacienda and no doubts were left as to the reasons for the jails, chambers, thick stone walls and instruments of torture uncovered within the hacienda. Definitely NOT the tranquil 17-garden hacienda we enjoyed earlier this week. I left quite disturbed but Jesse LOVED all the armour, swords and daggers.

We finished up the day with a trip to downtown (literally, DOWN the mountain) and stuffed our bellies with tacos al pastor, bistek and various aguas for the incredible price of $13. We watched “old” couples dancing salsa on a wide spot of sidewalk near a bus stop, we walked and watched and enjoyed the nightlife and somehow, quite by accident, managed to join absolutely everyone in Guanajuato leaving town at the very same town. If Guanajuato were not already my most favorite town, it would be now. The city if full of vacationing Mexicans and not only do they take some of the attention away from we most obvious gringos, but they and their kids are so fun to interact with. Mexico is known for its tranquil state, but vacationing Mexicans are the definition of tranquil.
The boys have now decided that when Mom makes them come with her, it will generally turn out to be a good time. They said they still might protest, but agree that going along, even when they don’t want to, will probably actually be a good thing. Who would have thought? Mom was right about something!