Fin de Año 2011 UPDATED

Buenos dias!! Here is the updated version of the Fin de Año blog entry.

I am typing this at 1010am on primero de año…let me see if I can remember all that happened ayer.

Max and I did our usual 5am’ish routine but were both pooped so we went back to sleep together!! That made both of us feel great, but sure makes the day start later!!

I headed to el gimnasio and on the way I stopped in at Conejo Foto to get Max’s infantile foto printed. I also had one of the max at Mojon in the hammock fotos printed as well.

Off to el gimnasio where 35 minutes into the workout I realize the senorita is closing the windows and other then the flamboyant guy (big guy too), I was the only working out.

Que hora cerrado? 2pm I was told and quickly realized it was 220pm. Doph. A quick “Feliz Año Nuevo” and I was out of there!!

Grabbed the fotos, headed to Gabriels to confirm if Daniel would be able to make it for our shots appointment on martes. Great news…he is in and even said to meet at 730am as they may have said 8am, but by then there is probably a line up.

As for the “missing” vaccination, the one that is on the BC list but not the Mexican list, not to worry Daniel says. The Mexican list I have, is the list of free vaccinations and some shots here are not free, thus not on the list.

Daniel says when due, we will be able to get those shots (including chicken pox), via our pediatra. Now that is great news but would like to confirm that for ourselves, so I have sent emails to both of our local doctors to see what they have to say.

Our pediatra replied and when I translated it, I could not find a simple yes or no, but instead a study of the effects of the vaccine and virus!! Ja ja ja…but not really!! Not to worry…we will call him or see him proxima semana.

As for the tuberculosis shot that they give here, but not in BC. Not to worry there either. Doctor RJ (yes she really is a doctor) says getting the shot is a-ok and an a-ha from Daniel…if Max did not get the shot, they would not allow him into school.

I guess when you register for school, you have to present your cartilla that shows all the shots were given to your niño. And if you are missing shots…no entry is permitted.

Good to know!!

Came home and shared the good news with Bexico, took max duties and got ready for la cena…date night!!

815pm and Max is cooing on the couch next to me and madre Bexico is upstairs doing a little work (?). We had a 6pm dinner reservation and when we arrived…there was no one there but us, the 5 senoritas that do the cooking and the manager (?).

And did they love Max? Hello!!

The manager recognized us from our pre-Vancouver dining experience and was happy to see us. He is a young hombre and even though he liked Max, he loved the tattoo!!

We were happy to get out and happy that we could have dinner without the possibility of disturbing other diners, but it did not matter because after holding Max for a few minutes, he fell asleep and we put him in his stroller.

Great pizza, great ensalada, calamari still sucks!! Ja ja ja I will make it part of my 2012 mission to help them solve the calamari issue!!

After dinner it was time for a quick stroll around town, hola to all of our amigos, and then home.

The original plan was to leave for Mojon at 10pm, but around 9pm the idea of a nap came into play. Max was all cleaned up and sleeping, so we joined him!!

Didn’t hear the 1030pm alarm, but awoke from a great siesta and with only a little hesitation (due to the comfort of the bed), we got up and hit the road.

Max was a wonder, sleeping from the moment we got him in the car at 1045pm, all the way through to getting home at 145pm!! We left him in the car seat during our Mojon trip, checking on him every 10 minutes or so…but all was great.

We had a great bonfire that took some work to extinguish at 1am!! As for the fireworks? One true dud…it did not light and based on the identical one that did light and make the loudest bang I have ever heard….I now have an unexploded stick of TNT (called The Hulk) sitting at Mojon!!

A few other duds…they lit but were lame. They came with long poles to stick in the ground, so we thought they would shoot into the sky…ah no.

But….the 100 shot salute for $150 pesos? Hello!!! Get us a few of those for next year and we will be all set up!!

Home by 145am or so and no stop coming or going at Copalita. Not sure what is up with the miliatr…this is 3 times in a row now.

We passed the night clubs on Blvd Chahue and they were packed the the blvd lined with cars.

There is a playa, Playa Chahue, right behind the clubs and we are told it is a Hutaulco tradition that at 3 or 4am when the clubs close, peeps flood out to the playa

So home, feed the machine (Max) and then a couple of showers to wash of the arena y smell of bonfire…and lights out for all of us!!

That mis amigos was our Fin de Año!!

Now? Feliz Año Nuevo and enjoy your domingo.

Marco, Bexico y Max

Now read on below to see the captions that went with the fotos from ayer. 

915pm and we are about to take a power nap before we head out to Mojon for the annual Fin de Año bonfire and fireworks show.

I will update the blog mañana, but here are the fotos...sin captions.

Have a fun and safe Fin de Año y Feliz Año Nuevo!!

Marco, Bex y Max


Max after our 8am-10am siesta...in his new muumuu. Ah...not thrilled.

At least we got one smile out of him!!

And what is going on here? Madre needed some zzzz and Max was in need of some tranquilo time, so while we washed his ropa, he lay on top of the lavadora and was hypnotized by it's movement...and something in the corner of the room!!

From my walk...due to all the cocos, this guy might need some new muelles...leafsprings.

WFSITBOTT? They had tons of ropa (clothes) and vendors were coming to the truck to buy stock for their tiendas.

Today's exchange rate for the peso vs US dollar

This foto was taken June 21, 2011.

Since then, an increase of 2.25 pesos per US dollar...a 20% gain. The gain is less vs Cdn dollar as in June we were in the $1.03 US for $1 Cdn range.

On the way home from el gimnasio, I walked to Jessica's Toys y Plasticos and bought some new toalla (towels) for Bexico. I saw the big display of toys out front and it reminded me that the Mexican day of giving gifts to niños is coming up on 6 de enero.

Click HERE to read more about Dia de los Reyes. (compliments of inside-mexico.com)

A piñata has found a home for Fin de Ano!!

Until a few years ago, the old school Bug was still being manufactured at the huge VW planta up in Puebla. Nice custom job on this vehicle.

Hope you enjoyed the fotos!!

viernes, el 30 de diciembre de 2011

Wow…one niño and I am pooped. Congrats to all you single parents or parents of more then one niño!! Ja ja ja

Max was a handful today. Had the usual 5am gas and slept on my chest for a few hours, but had no real nap all day long. That made him wired and the trip to Mojon seemed to over stimulate him.

Tonight he finally fell asleep around 830pm…with some self-soothing…which is a good thing we have been told. Bad thing? We are so pooped that we don’t want to wake him up for a bath!! Lol Stinky Max is still the cutest!!

I started the day with a sugar fix…Pan Frances…and ended the day with a sugar fix…Mint Aero bar!!

Hey…untable margarine is what they advertise…spreadable!! All this time and now I know!!

I managed to get in a few phone calls via MJ and have ensured my Rogers cell phone is now pay as I go vs a set contract. I also had good news from DHL…$140 to ship from Victoria BC to Huatulco. Hello new clutch fan!! Even with the shipping I am saving at least $150.

I called the Nissan in Victoria and they will order it and mi padre will pick it up and take it t DHL for me. ETA? Nissan does not have a clutch fan in Canada…probably sending it to Victoria from Mexico? Ja ja ja

Seriously…3 to 4 weeks and then 1 week for it to get to me!! It is sooooo needed as the gas mileage sucks, as does the horsepower.

So a good day in terms of getting things knocked off the to do list.

No time to look into the satellite yet…and no time to watch TV yet!! Ja ja ja But…NFL playoff games are coming up soon…stay tuned.

Here are some early day Max fotos.

You can tell how excited he was about his matching white outfit.

These next fotos were taken for his vaccination file as he needs one infantile size foto for his ID. I think this lil’hombre is such a character!!

These are his mug shots!!

I hit the gym for a quick workout and then we were off to Mojon. No inspection coming or going through Copalita…no sé por que.

Fotos from the gym walk.

WFSITBOTT?

Cebollo...onions


I had not seen this before. The big trucks full of fresh produce come down from the valleys near Oaxaca, and then unload for the big veggie stores here. What I had not seen before were the other business owners arriving to claim their produce and load it up into their camionetas.

Just a cross on the side of the road waiting to happen.

Must give kudos to Fonatur, they do keep the public green areas green.

Looks like a lot of turismo buses coming into town? Nope...they are all parked...blocking a lane on the main boulevard coming into town!! ja ja ja

At Mojon it was a mixed bag of sun and clouds today. That was a-ok for Max as he needed the sombre…shade. He was not as tranquilo today as he was last time and when he gets upset at the playa, his temperature rises even higher. Something we really keep an eye on.

Misc Mojon fotos.

We don't see this often, a fishing boat right off shore.

Here are the Max at Mojon fotos. After ensuring he is fed and clean, sometimes the only thing that gets him to become tranquilo, is some chest time.

Two days in a row with some great fotos from Bexico!!

We stayed only for a few hours as Max told us it was time to go!! But the pile of wood is ready for the bon fire!!

Pit stop at Che…it was packed full of peeps and out of a lot of food. I have heard that they are going to expand the Che into a much bigger tienda…it is much needed. But…the bigger Che at Puerto carries the same items as our small Che, and seems to be out of the same things our Che is.

They need some inventory management as well as a lesson about what foreigners would pay for some items imported from Canada or USA. Like Bicks dill pickles!!

Anyway…the only score was a $20 peso nightlight for Max. He has inherited the dislike of waking up in the dark and not knowing where he is.

Home and a quick alberca shower and then it was the dinner time routine. Great ensaladas and then I ate mi papas as the pollo was not ready. But when it was ready…delicious!!

I look forward to our dinner mañana as maybe Bex and I can eat at the same time!! And of course…no dishes to wash after!!

Vacunación update? We stopped at the new Infantile Hospital and I found my way to the vacuna door. The hombre looked confused with my españolcartilla (vaccination card) yet.

Mexico gives a tuberculosis and Hep B shot at birth. This is due to the eating and living conditions of many Mexicans.

I chatted up this hombre and was impressed with the clean and new hospital!! All vaccines are under lock and key in the coolers!!

He told me to come back on martes between 8 and 9am and I have already emailed Daniel to see if he can attend.

As for comparing the vaccinations given here and in BC, they are almost identical in type and timing. They give tuberculosis shots al nacer…at birth, and BC doesn’t and we are tracking down some info on one shot that BC gives and that I haven’t found on the Mexican list.

It will NOT be an issue as if the shot is important, we will make it happen hell or high water!!

Stay tuned.

Ok…our Fin de Año? El gimnasio, chillax with Max, 6pm dinner reservations and then at 10pm or so off to Mojon. And that will be the end of 2011.

Tener un Fin de Año bueno y seguro mis amigos.

Marco, Bexico y Max