More Bikes Than Cars

Last night we went to McDonald’s! No...not the McDonald’s with the golden arches and meat of questionable origin and quality. I’m talking about the 50+ year old restaurant that’s just a block away, was founded by American expats, and is staffed by Mexicans. They have a massive list of Nayarit specialties, and it was one of the three restaurants that Norm said he’ll eat at. We asked if we could sit upstairs, and when we got there all the chairs were on the tables, and only the bartender was present. He immediately jumped to attention, sat us by the balcony (with a great view of the town and street below), and proceeded to guide toward an excellent dinner and evening. The place was dead… I mean dead. We got some “queso fondido”, a michelada & bottled water, and then asked Juan (our server) why nobody was there. We immediately became friends, and we talked about the menu, the town, his family in Guadalajara, and even what teams were playing on the TV. It was truly a beautiful night. We watched all kinds of colorful characters on the streets below as we enjoyed fresh fish from the Pacific, cream of oyster stew, homemade totopos (chips), and Modelo Especial (Modelo seems to be the favorite beer around here). Eventually more people began to arrive, and Julia could only do her best to bear the heavily synthesized Mexican love songs blasted overhead. She said “I could probably stay in Mexico much longer if it wasn’t for the music.” It would seem they do karaoke a lot of the time, but the business didn’t warrant it last night. We watched down below as the candy sellers and kids selling refreshments made their way home, new tourists freshly arriving with their luggage and smiles on their faces strolled down the street, and a pack of Americian highschool boys wandered down the road (Modelos in hand) with no clear idea of what to do with themselves or the beer (lots just got dumped out, and cans got crushed, without the gumption to litter). There was this one guy in a white truck that drove by at least four times. He has these massive speakers on the roof of the cab that were blasting some local pop station. The point? No idea. But Julia accurately pointed out “Mexicans are willing to go the extra mile.”

It would seem our night would end with peace, satisfaction, and a feeling of love for our fellow man. We crawled into bed, feeling lovely, and tried to go to sleep. About an hour later we were woken back up.It was around 9pm, and we started hearing this very loud, very bass-y music coming through our walls. Turns out, our hotel is right across the road from the local disco! From 9:00 until 4:30am (yes, I looked at my watch) this bone-rattling oompapa music kept us from sleeping much. On top of that, Julia had acquired a nagging shallow cough. She had the night before too, but when we turned off the air conditioner, it went away. But tonight (with no AC) she hacked and hacked without stop until morning (one cough per 15-30 seconds by my count). As we left our room in the morning, our upstairs neighbors said “A bit noisy last night, wasn’t it?” I hope disco isn’t popular on Sundays!

Speaking of Sundays, today is the beginning of San Blas’ International Migratory Bird Festival! The whole zocalo is prepared for the event, with a massive stage, tons of fold up chairs, and big boards with the schedule of events. Lots of tourists from all around the world are arriving too. Julia is really excited, and hopefully we’ll get to partake in a little of the action.

Our day started out with another visit to the mercado where Julia enjoyed a gordita harina (basically a fried flour pillow), and we sipped on fresh juice. One guy sitting next to us was cleaning a bizarre looking fruit, and I discovered that “Yakka” doesn’t mean “yucca” at all… it means “Jack fruit” ! Julia wasn’t brave enough to try it, so we sipped on a lovely blend of strawberries, pineapple and carrot juice.

We rented a couple bicycles today ($4.00 a day) and did as the locals did… riding to our destinations. The bikes are a bit rickety, and we had some tire issues. Still, it is a faster way to get around, and it seems true that bikes outnumber cars in this little beach town.
Julia was feelin a bit under the weather today. We spent a little time at the beach, and I went swimming. I think I caught one wave for every crab I stepped on. They’re everywhere, big, and cranky! I tried to convince Julia they just wanted a hug, but she wasn’t buyin it. Every so often a group of guys would come by with nets and a cooler and scoop them right out of the water! Yum! I can’t wait until we have our own kitchen down here. Julia was ready to head back, so we packed up and rode to the hotel. She decided to crash in the room, and I wandered around the town. I had the best tacos I’ve had yet at a little family place on the zocalo. Tortillas made in house, grilled on the griddle, and stuffed with your choice of fillings like tongue, tripe, and carne asada. Myself, I tried one with shrimp, one with marlin, and one with chicken. Que delicioso! You also got to help yourself to their topping bar, with 6 homemade salsas, pico de gallo, cabbage, pickled onions, radishes and limes. I overloaded all of mine with as much as they could hold (yes, one did break). At $.0 80 US per taco, I’ll definitely be coming back. I sat and watched the taxi queue that was forming 3 feet away and enjoyed watching them interact. When one taxi left the queue, the more fuel-efficient cabbies would just push their car forward without ever turning it back on. Mexican efficiency right there for you!

I also just got off the phone with Amaranth from our farm! We had a lovely chat, and she informed me that they only have dial-up internet, and most of the workers drive 10 minutes into San Blas for a faster internet connection. That means we will only be able to update this blog once or twice a week starting this Tuesday. So don't worry, we're not kidnapped! And we will be updating regularly, we promise.

--Philip