Gone Fishin'

Take one fishing boat; add brilliant sunshine and calm waters; throw in some friends and good food and you've got yourself a great day.  Land 14 fighting Dorado and see dolphins swimming by the boat, spot a pilot whale, seals, turtles and marlin -- well, you've got yourself an over the top, flat out, fantastic day.

Roger's gone deep sea fishing four times before but has never had much luck. The night before we went he joked that having women on board is bad luck.  By the end of the day, he was eating his words.

Roger was the first one to land a Dorado (mahi mahi).  The smile on his face was great to see and it set the tone for the rest of the day. The first mate, Joel, (below) was constantly adjusting the lines and was very handy with the grappling hook to bring the fighting fish on board.  He gladly accepted the cold beer that Roger served him, and by the time we headed back to San Carlos, Joel had cranked up the music and the Captain just laughed and said that Joel was a happy man.

All of us had a chance to fish and I now understand the rush that fisherman get when they land a fish that put up a good fight. 

We saw lots of marlin, but none of them were hungry.  A school of dolphins stayed with us for awhile and it was fun watching them at the bow of the boat and occasionally jump up and spin around.  Seals, a shark, a pilot whale (below) and some sea turtles rounded out our sea adventure.

When we returned to the San Carlos marina, Joel and some helpers helped to clean our bountiful catch. Within an hour we had a cooler full of fillets and between the two families, we've shared with several friends and co-workers.  We've made fish tacos, grilled, and fried them -- all incredibly delicious.

As always, we had a great time with Tracey and her husband Matt and daughter, Matti-Lyn. Our captain, Arturo, and first mate, Joel, were really knowledgeable and we learned a lot from them.

We chalked up another terrific experience - but then again -- how could we go wrong with all the right ingredients?


"I love fishing.  You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there."                                                                                        Robert Altman

Expat 101

We welcomed our first visitors this week when friends Carol and Terry arrived from Calgary.  (I became friends with Carol when we both worked at Jayman.)  They are both newly retired and seeking new experiences and adventures and thought spending time with us would help them see life from an expat's perspective and answer some of their questions.  We laughed when they told us that the idea of living in another country started after they visited us in Idaho a couple of years ago and heard our stories.

In typical warm Mexican hospitality, an invitation to attend a baptism fiesta was extended to include our Canadian guests.  It was held in an beautiful outdoor event center, and we all enjoyed the taco buffet and music.  They were welcomed by our Mexican friends and experienced the challenges of trying to visit with a limited vocabulary.

  On Sunday we drove to San Carlos and were surprised to see it sunny, but blustery.

When we returned to Hermosillo, we drove up Cerro de la Campana to give them a bird's eye view of the city.

On Monday, I brought them to Ciudad de los Ninos and they experienced organized mayhem as we celebrated Easter with egg decorating, games and an Easter egg hunt.

My friend Tracey and her daughter were also there so we had lots of people to help which was great since all the kids were off school so there were around 50 children aged 1 to 15.  I brought about 60 boiled eggs -- some of which became projectiles before the morning was over.

Below:  It's impossible not to fall in love with the children, and despite language barriers, Carol and Terry connected with them in a special way.

In response to my "wish list" for the kids, they generously brought arts and craft supplies as well as a game of Twister that I thought the older ones would enjoy -- and they did!

Tracey provided 200 candy stuffed Easter eggs for the hunt which turned out to be a huge success.

Roger and I really haven't done many touristy things in Hermosillo, so I asked friends where I should take our guests and sure enough - we had a great day exploring the city.  My trusty taxi driver, Jose, doubled as tour guide and shared his knowledge.

Above: Catedral de la Asuncion, built in 1877 is a city icon, and is located in the Zaragoza Plaza.

Below:  The Government Palace is also located in the Plaza and is home to breathtaking murals that depict an often violent history of the State.

Below:  The Palace's inner courtyard had a beautiful garden and statues.

Below:
One of the saddest places in Hermosillo is a shrine set up in the Plaza.  In June 2009 a fire in a government-run daycare would eventually claim the lives of 47 children under 4 years of age.  An inquiry recently found the fire was caused by an electrical short --- but in reality it was a tragedy waiting to happen as there were more than 150 infants and toddlers who were cared for by 6 caregivers --- with no working smoke alarms and only 1 working exit.  Another exit was chained shut. 

After leaving the Plaza, we checked out the Municipal Mercado.  There, butchers cut up and sell every part of cows and other animals and are openly displayed.  I can't imagine what it would smell like in the summer when the temperatures can reach 55C. It was interesting to see, but I'll stick to shopping at Sorianos!

Below:
When a Mexican girl turns 15, she is often given an incredible party called La Quinceanera that would rival any Sweet 16 party.  Big, frilly dresses are worn, and can be found in dress shops around the city.  We checked out one of the specialty stores and even found tiaras! 

Below:  Our last stop was Museum de Sonora which is housed in the city's jail that closed in 1979.  Right on cue, we saw a young girl having a photo shoot for her Quinceanera.

Below:  It's hard to believe the jail only stopped operating 30 years ago -- all I can say is I'm pretty sure all the reports of draconian Mexican jails is probably all true.

Below:  I had no sooner finished telling Carol and Terry that we missed the Donut Man who used to come around in the evening selling treats in a funky mobile bakery case --- that I heard the theme song to the Pink Panther and he came scooting through the gates!  We wildly waved our arms and he came to the house -- obviously happy that we remembered him!

While Roger was working, we drove out to Kino Bay for lunch and enjoyed a walk on the beach.

Our last dinner out was supposed to include mariachi music -- only to find (despite advertisements to the contrary) that the band was having a night off!  We still had a great evening of good food and conversation.  Carol and Terry said they learned a lot from their visit including getting a better understanding of doing business here as they followed Roger's daily updates of a project that kept getting delayed despite assurances from the client it would all be resolved "manana".

We bid Carol and Terry farewell and will look forward to hearing about their adventures.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India

"The language of friendship is not words but meanings." Henry David Thoreau

Today is a holiday today in Mexico to celebrate Benito Juarez' birthday, which gave Roger the chance to leave the office for a couple of hours so he could join me at Ciudad de los Ninos.  I was so glad he did as the kids weren't in school so we had over 30+ kids in our group.  We gathered everyone at the gazebo at the center of the compound and kept them busy with a variety of activities playing frisbee, painting, coloring, bingo and checkers.

Above:  Thank goodness for name tags!!!  Roger's name is Rogelio in Spanish and the kids gravitated to him.
Below:  I hope we're allowed to come back as the kids started face painting each other when we ran out of paintbrushes.  Roger said they tried to paint him, but he got away unscathed.

The kids love playing "Loteria" which is Bingo but with pictures.  Some of the pictures and accompanying words are odd for a children's game -- such as Borocho which means drunk!

Below:  I met this little guy for the first time -- he was outgoing (although admittedly I didn't understand everything he was saying), absolutely adorable and turned out to be quite a good artist!

Below: Last week I hosted the monthly get together with 6 wonderful women I've met through ESIA (English Speakers in Action).  They've come from different countries and backgrounds and now call Mexico their home.  The ladies are a tremendous source of information and friendship to me and we had a great time.

Roger and I recently attended a geologist conference reception and met Cinndy (below right), a young geologist who is going for her Masters, and her sister Dulce (below left)  who is a clothing designer.  Cinndy encouraged me to contact her to go out for coffee, so I invited them for dinner.  We had  a very enjoyable evening with these bright, intelligent young women -- their English was much better than our Spanish, so the conversation went very well!

Intersections in Hermosillo provide commuters with the opportunity to buy excellent fruits, vegetables and toys, have windshields washed, or check out some entertainment.  Below are two teens that juggle and were having such a good time and were fun to watch that I gave them some money.  Although it was less than $2 U.S., they were thrilled and called out "que lo pase bien, madre" (have a good day, mother)!

It was wonderful sharing the Ciudad de los Ninos experience with Roger, and it's been great meeting new friends.  One of these days we may even try and order a pizza over the phone!


"Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things."                     Author Unknown

"Winter" in Hermosillo

It's mid-February and it feels like "winter" is behind us.  There were 2 months where it was fairly cool in the mornings (about 3C) and because the houses don't have heating, we had to have our space heaters going, and often found it warmer outside than in!  We are now enjoying wonderfully predictable sunny days and temperatures in the high 20s.

Since returning from our weekend in San Francisco with Brad and Anette, Roger flew to check out a potential project near Mazatlan, and had a project start near Alamos.  He will be a lot happier when he gets a couple more drills working, because anyone who knows Roger knows he's not happy unless he is busy.

I am enjoying the freedom of driving when Roger doesn't need the Expedition.  I have our GPS marked with most of my favorite haunts so feel pretty confident.  It's pretty neat stopping at a red light and being able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables!  Drivers here use their horn more than their signal lights and I've learned which intersections have "optional" stops.  Oh, and the most important thing is to know there is no such thing as a single turning lane so I'm always prepared to have cars come screaming up beside me wanting to turn as well.  Other than that...it's a cinch.

We are still discovering new things about Hermosillo and enjoy getting together with friends.  We watched the Super Bowl game at the home of our friends Perla and Roberto...

 

and were invited to Javier and Sandra's home for a St. Valentine's party complete with a catered Taco Buffet.  We still aren't used to arriving at parties around 10 p.m. which is usually the time we're watching Letterman and getting ready for bed...

 

We were told about a great Mexican seafood restaurant, Los Arbolitos, and have been going there at least once a week.  For an appetizer one night, Roger ordered a dozen fresh oysters --- not realizing they would be so huge.  It made it a little more challenging slurping them back - but they were delicious.

 

We also discovered a great place to get the car cleaned and detailed --- for $7.50 it gets put through an amazingly automated system in tandem with several cleaners, and looked like new when it was done a short time later.

Monday is my favorite day of the week because that's when my friend, Tracey, and I go out to Ciudad de los Ninos.  We were anxious to do more than just work in the on-site grocery dispensary, so approached the staff about the possibility of helping kids with reading as we figured it would help them, as well as help us with our Spanish.  

The staff thought it was a great idea as some of the children only go to school in the afternoon.  So last Monday we went there along with Tracey's sister and 2 nieces who were visiting from Texas.  We came prepared with books, animal flashcards in English and Spanish, and Tracey's nieces brought brightly colored strings to teach the kids how to do string games.  It was a brilliant move on their part as the language barrier melted away with a few easy directions in Spanish.  The kids loved it and were thrilled to take the strings home with them.

 

   

The children were also interested in learning English words and practicing writing.

 

 

 

 Francisco (above) and Antonio (below) are brothers and I enjoyed spending time with them.

Many of these children have experienced more sadness and difficult times than we'll ever know.  Often times when I've been to Ciudad de los Ninos, Antonio (below) has been very sad, but it was wonderful seeing him interact and have fun with us.

 

Below: Milagro (which means miracle) is a very lively little girl, but eventually sat down to practice her writing.

After we spent time in the library with the children, it was time to dispense the weekly groceries.  I had never been in the cottages before and discovered they were spartan, but neat as a pin.  The social worker said they have many children needing to be placed, but they don't have enough "substitute mothers" to care for them.  This week they had 5 cottages that housed around 7 children and 1 substitute mother (who cares for her child/children and other kids who are there without a mother) in each one.   Apparently this week, 2 more cottages will be occupied.

 

Above:  Tracey's sister and nieces helped deliver groceries to the cottages.  Below:  One of the little children helping to bring food into his cottage.  

 

Tracey and I had a good laugh when one of the young boys, seen below, spotted a donated cake in the dispensary and put it in his grocery cart -- he almost made it to his cottage until we suggested he leave it for all the children to share later.  He smiled too, and obviously knew he was caught raiding the proverbial cookie jar.

Roger and I are taking Spanish lessons from a tutor twice a week after work at the office.  Mayra, seen below, is an excellent bi-lingual teacher who comes up with innovative ways to teach us how to speak Spanish.  One week she brought monopoly money to demonstrate how to count, and this week she brought a street map of Hermosillo to get us to practice giving and taking directions.  Roger is using more Spanish and the guys have noticed and think it's great.

  

Our mechanic, Jose, cooked up some chimichangas and chicken for lunch yesterday - everything was muy delicioso!

  

Below: Cabo's driver and all around helper, Santiago, had to leave school when most of us were more concerned about what was for recess.  Despite a lack of formal education, he clearly has a lot of potential.  After he helped Roger organize the inventory, I suggested I teach him how to use a computer so he could take over the job. 

 

Santiago is like a sponge, and along with my Spanish-English translation website, the lessons have gone extremely well.  He said his kids (all 6 of them) are proud of him and it's exciting teaching him new things. I am also writing the company newsletter with the help of the Vancouver office manager.  I'm enjoying doing it, and the first edition was really well received.

The biggest news this week is that Brad came through his heart surgery with flying colors and is already back at work.  He is a constant source of pride and amazement to us in how he has bravely handled not only cancer a few years ago, but the recent discovery of an 11mm hole in his heart.  With his typical black humour, the first email he sent had the subject line:  Didn't croak.  We are very grateful for the skilled and caring catheter lab team at the Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton who looked after Brad.  It's remarkable the insertion of the amplatzer device was able to be done as day surgery and in a minimally invasive, extremely high tech way.  We are also grateful for Anette's strength and the love and support shown to them by family and friends around the globe.

Hasta luego.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.                                                                                                     John Fitzgerald Kennedy