Tlacolula Sunday Market

We're in Oaxaca for a few days with niece Sara, her husband Munier and our grand-nephew, Rohan.  We arrived in time to go to the beautiful Sunday market in Tlacolula, about 30 km from Oaxaca.  Here is Rohan considering whether he would like to sample a crunchy grasshopper.

One of the highlights of this market is that women from surrounding villages wear their traditional dress.  Their colorful scarves, blouses and skirts are unique to their villages.

I've never seen peeled pineapples for sale but when we walked back a couple hours later they were all gone.

Also loved these carved dried gourds filled with seeds with a handle added. Maracas anyone?

These chickens came with their own carrying handles ready to be picked up. 

We took the 2nd class bus to reach this market, the  buses we used to call "chicken buses."  Our bus was chicken-free but I did see some packed in boxes with air holes waiting to be loaded on a different bus.  This shot was taken in the live foul section of the market.

Michoacan Coast

We ended up spending another 3 nights in Troncones. Maybe it was the sunsets or maybe it was because we found a different hotel with a 360 degree view from our terrace or most likely it was just a pleasant place to sit, read and relax.                                           

 

Leaving Troncones, we headed north along the remote coast of Michoacan where we saw beaches we couldn't even figure how to get to, reminding us of the Big Sur coastline in California

or the expansive beaches along the Oregon coast.

 

We stopped for a night in Caleta de Campo where our hotel overlooked the light house and the pangas of the fishermen as they went out to catch at night.

To our left was more rocky coastline. The thing on the balcony rail is our XM satellite radio antenna.

  

Lunch and breakfast were at the beachfront restaurant where each table had it's own hammock.

 

We spent one night in the old center of the port town of Manzinillo where the pangas were lined up for the night's catch.

Our drive home through the state of Colima took us alongside Volcán de Fuego, the most active volcano in Mexico.

It looked ashy and barren and then suddenly responded to my request for some action by emitting a large plume of white smoke which lazily drifted down it's west side.

Adios little Tortuga

Here is a batch of babies in a plastic bin ready to be released.  A hotel near ours digs up the turtle nests and reburies the eggs in a protected area.  Once the eggs hatch their protectors wait until a near full moon and release them around sunset.  Tonight was the night.

These are Olive Ridley turtles, in Mexico known as the Golfina.

A small group of well-wishers gathered to see them on their way. 

We were each invited to choose one to send off.  I didn't name mine as bonding isn't a good idea at this point.

Ours were more than up to the challenge and turned to the setting sun and the waves.

 Good luck little turtles.

To the Beach

Here is what we came for: sunset over the Pacific ocean. We have been chilly in the central highlands and even Patzquaro, where we stopped over last night, was cold.  But sunset at the beach was t-shirt weather.

Our room in Troncones, about 20 miles north of Ziuatanejo, is simple, with a hammock in front of the door, perfect for checking on emails and world events. 

 We walked a few buildings down the beach for cerveza and sandwiches for lunch.

 The beach is long and wide in front of our hotel, ending in a cove and headland.

 We plan to be here at the beach for about a week.  More later...

Hidden Economy

Our neighborhood is quite self-sufficient although you wouldn't always notice it.   Sometime each afternoon a door opens and folding tables are set out with hot food and snacks to carry out.  This one is just a few steps from our front door.

A few houses up the street, the kitchen window slides open and the windowsill is loaded with orange cheeto-like snacks which seem to qualify as a food group by themselves, and, as the sign above mutely signals, a Coca-Cola.

A little farther down the hill there is a papeleria, with an official sign, where you can find office and school supplies. My Spanish dictionary tells me a merceria is a notions or dry-goods store, which might explain the colorful rubber balls in the doorway.

And finally, the pride of the street.

 

Adela's doesn't look like much from the outside.  In fact, the door is often closed and you have to knock to be be let in, but once inside you can find any grocery item you might need including eggs by the each, beer, and fresh veggies. You never have to be at a loss for an onion you forgot to pick up earlier.

The large white door on the left opens at night for hot meals and a great seating area to while away the night chatting and watching your neighbors stroll by.

Our new fireplace

The recent cold weather made us realize wanted a fireplace in our living room so we called in Edgar and his assistant, Jose Louis.  We decided to put it on the end wall where the light well is.

Edgar carefully sketched out the arc of the fireplace opening and then started on the brick and cement hearth.  My favorite part was when we come home and heard them laughing; they had managed to knock a brick in the back wall into the empty lot next door.

 

I thanked them for the new "window" and they patched it up with another brick and a firebrick lining.

Once the fireplace was done, we needed a mantle to complete it so we drove to Dolores Hildago, about 40 minutes away, where there are several shops that specialize in reclaimed wood.  This is where doors and other scraps and rusty things come to find a new life.

We selected the piece of wood that was aged just right and they cut it to our mantle specifications and delivered it. 

 And now we have a welcome new gas log fireplace.

The light above the fireplace is made of backlit handmade paper with cutout designs. We bought it in a suburb of Guadajalara called Tonola on our last trip there.  The ladder was made so we can light the water heater which is hidden above it in the lightwell.

Chili and Charros

Today we competed in an international chili competition, led by our friend and world famous chili cook, Jim Parker, owner of the Hard Times Cafe in Alexandria, Virginia.  This annual competition in San Miguel was a great excuse for Jim to come on down to visit.

Besides the chili cooking contest there was a margarita contest with fifty percent of the judging for presentation. That made for some nice looking drinks.

 

The chili rules require that the chili be cooked completely on site. Jim was prepared with bottles of premeasured spices and he brought his ground beef with him from the US.

While the cooking was proceeding the entertainment included a great band, roping and riding displays and horseback rides.

 

Most people got in the mood by dressing in traditional Mexican dress, or at least cowboy boots and and sombreros. 

  

This was cutest little donkey.  I want to take it home.

  

Well, the prize for the first through third place was automatic entry in the international Terlingua Texas chili cookoff finals.  Here is Jim with his place card.

 

Oh well, we are going to do this next year and get it right.