WOW! So here we are in Ensenada!! We arrived late Monday afternoon, dark about 15 minutes after we got here, and we were pooped out from the trip. It took closer to 8 hours than the 6 the previous 2 trips, but we had the trailer, Sam, and an extra long stop at the first checkpoint...yeah they brought out the Xray truck, and scanned the truck, trailer, and the car. The wanted to know if we had the menaje de casa- but we didn't need it since we were moving within Mexico.
So let me back up. My last post was last Thursday from Puerto Penasco. Friday nite we took our friend Deb to eat tacos at our favorite place, then down to Thrifty for ice cream cones. I wish we would have gotten to know Deb & Rick when we first moved there, but oh well, it is what it is. Rick was up in Tuscon working but we said goodbye on the phone Sunday nite cause Deb offered to make us dinner so we wouldn't have to worry about it. She told us Rick had the map out looking at the best route for them to come visit us in January. And you know what? I believe they will. You know how it is when you move, or leave a job...you stay in touch with the people you grew close to, for awhile, and then life gets in the way. We knew we probably wouldn't have too many visitors down in Guerrero, but too bad because it's such a beautiful place, so different than other parts of Mexico, so tropical. I know my daughter Drewy hopes to go down there one of these days, and so I bet she will. I checked the tickets with a really cheap Mexican airline and it's less than $200 round trip from here to Acapulco; then we'd just have to rent a car, or take a bus or taxi the last 2 hours down to Playa Ventura. Everardo will probably go down there after the first of the year. I want to go to, but we'll just have to see. Maybe this time just him and I'll go when Drewy can come. So up to now, only family has visited- my kids and Everardo's cousin and her hubby. But I bet Deb & Rick will come, and probably Pam, too since she's the road trip queen.
So the weekend was a mad push to get everything packed. Saturday nite we went over to Conrad's hot dog stand (Backstreet Dogs), had a couple of hotdogs and said good bye. Oh and then our final trip to Thrifty's for ice cream- which I had to get in a cup so I could bring it home and eat it later since I was full from the hotdogs. True addict ha ha- I sure wasn't gonna say "no" to ice cream, but I couldn't eat another bite...and it was really good about 3 hours later! So Everardo got almost everything packed Sunday nite and he said about 9pm- ok go to sleep, and he lay down on the couch and went right to sleep- man I hate how he can do that! I have to relax for a while, then get sleepy, then fall asleep. Well I read for awhile, watched tv, then finally went into the spare room with a blanket- I had never in the year we were there, slept on that bed. The mattress is about half an inch thick and no box spring. But all in all, it was ok and I went to sleep around midnite. We woke up at 6am, actually I think he woke up earlier (well sure he went to sleep at 9!), I didn't get up for another half hour cause I knew we couldn't leave until 8am. But I got up and took a shower, and helped Everado stuff the last few things in the trunk of the car, the floor of the backseat, etc. I was worried cause I had planned all along to put the bin with my Grandmother's bowl on the seat next to me, and found out he had packed it in the back of the truck. Later in the day that would come back to haunt me. So we disconnected the telephone, internet, and tv and off we went. It was hard to say bye to Brownie, since we've been here we already thought about calling her to see how she likes taking care of him without us feeding him and picking up his shit, and without Sam to play with all day. We'd go back for him in a hot second if she said we could have him. We definitely need another dog here...couple of reasons I write about later.
We hugged the neighbor (ok her name is Naika) and her 5 yr old kid Omar, and Everardo gave him a pep talk about loving Brownie and treating him nice and how Brownie would be his best friend...and we left. We got to the telephone company 20 minutes before 8 haha, and had to stand around, but we were first and 15 minutes after that we were on the road. For the tv, we are going to have to pay for 2 more months because we had an 18 month contract (what is up with these long contract periods?), and even though we are changing to Dish cause it's less than half the price for the same or better channels, if we turn in the box now they'll want both months payment so we'll hold onto it until next month, then turn it in here in Ensenada. So Dish also made us sign 18 months...but like I said, Dish is 299 pesos a month and Sky TV was 510, and 572 during the summer! So about $24 USD vs $40 or $45...it all helps with our higher rent. The first check point is right after Golfo de Santa Clara, so after driving a little over an hour. That checkpoint is horrible for the trucks; they line up for miles and miles. I know they're trying to do something to expedite it, but I don't know what. We've never been stopped there for more than a hola, donde van? Donde viven? Where are you going & where do you live? But this time it was different. And they wanted Everardo to pay some kind of tax because they thought we had a trailer full of stuff to sell, even though he told them it was our household stuff. They told me to get out of the car and take Sam out as well. I walked up to Everardo and he was pissed off, so I didn't ask anything else after he told me what they said, and took Sam down the path so I could use the bathroom.
My husband rarely loses his temper. When he does he gets white hot angry. I left him alone to do whatever needed doing. They pulled up their xray truck and xrayed the truck, trailer and the car. They decided maybe he was right (thank god) and told us to have a nice day. Whew...Of course he sped away and I had to step on the gas to catch up with him! An hour after that we stopped for a Sam pee, and he told me what happened. We went thru 2 more checkpoints that day, but they only made cursory looks; I had to open my trunk both times, and they looked in maybe one bag, and never inside the car or the truck. They walked around the truck at both stops, but it's completely cover by tarps so they couldn't see anything. The truck had bicycles and furniture, and they basically waved us on.
It was a long drive, and in many places, before we left Sonora, the sand coming off the trailer made it really hard for me to see, but soon we crossed into Baja and had different problems ha ha. There was SO much road construction! They are putting huge pipes under the road as it goes across the end of the Sea of Cortez, so we would drive along, then take a detour down hill and around construction, then back up. 7 times, and one of the times was for about 15 minutes. It was dirty dusty and really bumpy. I'm driving behind Everardo so I'm watching the trailer bump & bounce all over the place. OMG! My grandmother's bowl!! I worried and got mad at him and worried some more- after all I couldn't see the truck but I could see what was happening to the trailer and I knew I was certainly getting bounced around in the car. I knew I wouldn't know about the bowl for hours, or maybe until the next day when we unpacked so I talked myself down, out loud in the car, telling myself that worrying, being mad and upset was not going to change the outcome. That I just needed to accept that at that moment I was not in control....of anything. I started to feel better. I talked to Sam who had stopped hanging his head out the window for awhile and I told him all about the new home we were headed for. So as it turns out, the truck was not banging around as much as the trailer or me, and the bowl is safe and sound.
It took us all day to get here, and started raining as we came down into Ensenada. It rained most of the next day as well, and then the sun came out and I was back to shorts and tshirts until today (Saturday) where it's been cloudy rainy and sunny, alternating. Sam is very happy here. If we walk about 5 minutes thru the neighborhood we get to the beach. If we walk about 5 minutes in the other direction we exit the neighborhood and walk down a dirt road that passes an estuary and he got to chase ducks...altho' the duck underwater when he gets close and they swim away. We have to find sticks for him to chase. The beach is amazing! The sand is so soft. Nothing like Puerto Penasco with all the rocks! The surf is cold, but not numbing, not yet anyway. Yesterday I saw a seal and her pup out in the water. This morning from out back balcony (too narrow to be called a deck- really just a walkway), I saw about 100 pelicans all bunched together on the water- must have been a big school of fish. There are hills behind us and houses nestled in little groups on the hillsides, it's really quite pretty.
Ok that's enough for now. I'll tell about our first few days, our current/ongoing toilet issues to hopefully be resolved by Monday, the devil woman who's land we must cross to get to the beach...and all the nice people I've met as well. But I'm tired, had to pack to unpack...will explain later...VIVA!
So let me back up. My last post was last Thursday from Puerto Penasco. Friday nite we took our friend Deb to eat tacos at our favorite place, then down to Thrifty for ice cream cones. I wish we would have gotten to know Deb & Rick when we first moved there, but oh well, it is what it is. Rick was up in Tuscon working but we said goodbye on the phone Sunday nite cause Deb offered to make us dinner so we wouldn't have to worry about it. She told us Rick had the map out looking at the best route for them to come visit us in January. And you know what? I believe they will. You know how it is when you move, or leave a job...you stay in touch with the people you grew close to, for awhile, and then life gets in the way. We knew we probably wouldn't have too many visitors down in Guerrero, but too bad because it's such a beautiful place, so different than other parts of Mexico, so tropical. I know my daughter Drewy hopes to go down there one of these days, and so I bet she will. I checked the tickets with a really cheap Mexican airline and it's less than $200 round trip from here to Acapulco; then we'd just have to rent a car, or take a bus or taxi the last 2 hours down to Playa Ventura. Everardo will probably go down there after the first of the year. I want to go to, but we'll just have to see. Maybe this time just him and I'll go when Drewy can come. So up to now, only family has visited- my kids and Everardo's cousin and her hubby. But I bet Deb & Rick will come, and probably Pam, too since she's the road trip queen.
So the weekend was a mad push to get everything packed. Saturday nite we went over to Conrad's hot dog stand (Backstreet Dogs), had a couple of hotdogs and said good bye. Oh and then our final trip to Thrifty's for ice cream- which I had to get in a cup so I could bring it home and eat it later since I was full from the hotdogs. True addict ha ha- I sure wasn't gonna say "no" to ice cream, but I couldn't eat another bite...and it was really good about 3 hours later! So Everardo got almost everything packed Sunday nite and he said about 9pm- ok go to sleep, and he lay down on the couch and went right to sleep- man I hate how he can do that! I have to relax for a while, then get sleepy, then fall asleep. Well I read for awhile, watched tv, then finally went into the spare room with a blanket- I had never in the year we were there, slept on that bed. The mattress is about half an inch thick and no box spring. But all in all, it was ok and I went to sleep around midnite. We woke up at 6am, actually I think he woke up earlier (well sure he went to sleep at 9!), I didn't get up for another half hour cause I knew we couldn't leave until 8am. But I got up and took a shower, and helped Everado stuff the last few things in the trunk of the car, the floor of the backseat, etc. I was worried cause I had planned all along to put the bin with my Grandmother's bowl on the seat next to me, and found out he had packed it in the back of the truck. Later in the day that would come back to haunt me. So we disconnected the telephone, internet, and tv and off we went. It was hard to say bye to Brownie, since we've been here we already thought about calling her to see how she likes taking care of him without us feeding him and picking up his shit, and without Sam to play with all day. We'd go back for him in a hot second if she said we could have him. We definitely need another dog here...couple of reasons I write about later.
We hugged the neighbor (ok her name is Naika) and her 5 yr old kid Omar, and Everardo gave him a pep talk about loving Brownie and treating him nice and how Brownie would be his best friend...and we left. We got to the telephone company 20 minutes before 8 haha, and had to stand around, but we were first and 15 minutes after that we were on the road. For the tv, we are going to have to pay for 2 more months because we had an 18 month contract (what is up with these long contract periods?), and even though we are changing to Dish cause it's less than half the price for the same or better channels, if we turn in the box now they'll want both months payment so we'll hold onto it until next month, then turn it in here in Ensenada. So Dish also made us sign 18 months...but like I said, Dish is 299 pesos a month and Sky TV was 510, and 572 during the summer! So about $24 USD vs $40 or $45...it all helps with our higher rent. The first check point is right after Golfo de Santa Clara, so after driving a little over an hour. That checkpoint is horrible for the trucks; they line up for miles and miles. I know they're trying to do something to expedite it, but I don't know what. We've never been stopped there for more than a hola, donde van? Donde viven? Where are you going & where do you live? But this time it was different. And they wanted Everardo to pay some kind of tax because they thought we had a trailer full of stuff to sell, even though he told them it was our household stuff. They told me to get out of the car and take Sam out as well. I walked up to Everardo and he was pissed off, so I didn't ask anything else after he told me what they said, and took Sam down the path so I could use the bathroom.
My husband rarely loses his temper. When he does he gets white hot angry. I left him alone to do whatever needed doing. They pulled up their xray truck and xrayed the truck, trailer and the car. They decided maybe he was right (thank god) and told us to have a nice day. Whew...Of course he sped away and I had to step on the gas to catch up with him! An hour after that we stopped for a Sam pee, and he told me what happened. We went thru 2 more checkpoints that day, but they only made cursory looks; I had to open my trunk both times, and they looked in maybe one bag, and never inside the car or the truck. They walked around the truck at both stops, but it's completely cover by tarps so they couldn't see anything. The truck had bicycles and furniture, and they basically waved us on.
It was a long drive, and in many places, before we left Sonora, the sand coming off the trailer made it really hard for me to see, but soon we crossed into Baja and had different problems ha ha. There was SO much road construction! They are putting huge pipes under the road as it goes across the end of the Sea of Cortez, so we would drive along, then take a detour down hill and around construction, then back up. 7 times, and one of the times was for about 15 minutes. It was dirty dusty and really bumpy. I'm driving behind Everardo so I'm watching the trailer bump & bounce all over the place. OMG! My grandmother's bowl!! I worried and got mad at him and worried some more- after all I couldn't see the truck but I could see what was happening to the trailer and I knew I was certainly getting bounced around in the car. I knew I wouldn't know about the bowl for hours, or maybe until the next day when we unpacked so I talked myself down, out loud in the car, telling myself that worrying, being mad and upset was not going to change the outcome. That I just needed to accept that at that moment I was not in control....of anything. I started to feel better. I talked to Sam who had stopped hanging his head out the window for awhile and I told him all about the new home we were headed for. So as it turns out, the truck was not banging around as much as the trailer or me, and the bowl is safe and sound.
It took us all day to get here, and started raining as we came down into Ensenada. It rained most of the next day as well, and then the sun came out and I was back to shorts and tshirts until today (Saturday) where it's been cloudy rainy and sunny, alternating. Sam is very happy here. If we walk about 5 minutes thru the neighborhood we get to the beach. If we walk about 5 minutes in the other direction we exit the neighborhood and walk down a dirt road that passes an estuary and he got to chase ducks...altho' the duck underwater when he gets close and they swim away. We have to find sticks for him to chase. The beach is amazing! The sand is so soft. Nothing like Puerto Penasco with all the rocks! The surf is cold, but not numbing, not yet anyway. Yesterday I saw a seal and her pup out in the water. This morning from out back balcony (too narrow to be called a deck- really just a walkway), I saw about 100 pelicans all bunched together on the water- must have been a big school of fish. There are hills behind us and houses nestled in little groups on the hillsides, it's really quite pretty.
Ok that's enough for now. I'll tell about our first few days, our current/ongoing toilet issues to hopefully be resolved by Monday, the devil woman who's land we must cross to get to the beach...and all the nice people I've met as well. But I'm tired, had to pack to unpack...will explain later...VIVA!
