Day 38 – Saturday, August 3, 2013

We had a short drive today of approximately 150 km to another Pemex location near the town of Matais Romero in the southern state of Oaxaca. We arrived early and had some lunch in the local restaurant. We dropped off our laundry at a laundry service. It cost 160 pesos to wash, dry, and fold all of our laundry. That’s about $14.00. I prepped the RV for the winds we expect crossing the isthmus of Mexico tomorrow on our way to the airport at Tapachula. Duct taped the awning, checked the roof and vent covers, taped the refrigerator vents, and checked all the trucks fluids and tires. Julie notes “Wally Wally kept a close eye on Brad as he hung over the roof of the RV doing the taping, giving lots of good advice like “Don’t fall off Mr. Brad. If you’re going to fall just put your head the other way and don’t fall. If you fall on your steps call me and I’ll help you.”

Julie communicated with family and did some preparation for the week ahead. Dinner was at the same restaurant. We took advantage of the free showers. That’s two days in a row with real showers, not just our “navy” RV showers.

Julie is doing quite well and appreciates all of the support we are receiving. Julie notes “Yes tears are still flowing as folks have been sharing their remembrances and that is a good thing. Thank you for sharing.”

We passed an unfulfilled dream of some sort of bridge structure and many more topes, some marked as you see and some not. Even some tope signs without topes.

We passed by a couple of old school transports; an ox and cart with driver. Julie notes “Believe it or not there is another big ox hiding in the long grass. (See how I didn’t make a reference to the big ox sitting beside me?) Even the ox carts have to slow for the tope sign seen on the right of this picture.”

Our not so appealing campsite but it is a safe location with onsite federal police and all the services a traveller needs; fuel, restaurant, showers, convenience store, and a playground for Wally Wally Bing Bang.

Sunset

…onward folks, peace, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 37 – Friday, August 2, 2013

Today we got an early start and were on the road by 6:30 AM, as scheduled. We were heading for our overnight stop of Mata Verde.

We got to witness a beautiful sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico.

Shortly thereafter, we had a text message from Julie’s brother letting us know that Julie’s mom had passed away. Vera had fought a long hard battle with cancer and her suffering is now over.

A note from Quentin puts it this way;

“Our sweet lady has gone to be with her hubby. She will be missed so much. The two of them have left such a large hole in our lives. I guess it is our job to fill it and patch it with love, memories and life with the loved ones we can still hug. Mom followed dad’s example of getting some good sleep these past few days. She fought hard for so long. I think we all got to soak up a few more of those precious smiles, we can’t ask for any more than that.” Quentin Holmes

We will miss you Vera. No one could ask for a better mother-in-law.

We continued our travels with the group. We travelled 400 km today to a PEMEX station and camped beside the federal policia detachment. Their police vehicle was right next to our camper. The national army carrying their semi-automatic rifles also stopped by and through sign language mostly, asked to borrow my water hose? So am I now an official military supplier of choice? Is this a sole source contract? We’ll see, I guess.

We made arrangements to fly Julie to Toronto on Sunday, August 4^th from Tapachula, MX. She catches a flight from Tapachula, MX at 5:45 PM and after a layover in Mexico City of about 4 hours, she will arrive in Toronto, ON at 5:35 AM the next morning. Our tentative plan will be to have Julie rejoin the trek a week or so after that. We are thinking we will be near San Salvador in El Salvador and Julie can rejoin us there.

…all our thoughts are with family during this time but we also hope to keep posting as much as possible throughout the trip, …the saddened muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “There have been many tears across Mexico today. Even Mother Nature was saddened and gave us our first rain during this part of the trip. By coincidence, yesterday I had the following conversation with the wise Wally Wally Bang Bang. I will leave you with that.”

“We were talking about age and Wally says ‘My birthday is Jan. 21^st.’ I told him that that was the same day as my mom’s birthday. He looked around and said ‘Where is your mom?’ I told him she lived far away up in Canada. Wally asked ‘Do you miss her?’ And I said ‘Yes, sometimes you might see me cry because I miss her a lot.’ Wally says earnestly ‘You don’t need to cry Miss Julie. You have Mr. Brad to give you hugs and make you feel better. That is what my mom does to me.”

“I am still crying but I know I have Mr. Brad and a wonderful family that are crying along with me and even though we are not traditionally huggers, we are getting pretty good at it. Miss you Mom! You and dad behave up there on your first day in heaven together.”

Day 36 – Thursday, August 1, 2013

We spent another day in Tecolutla, MX. Most of the group went on a tour to the neighbouring town to tour a vanilla processing plant. They have a storefront in Zamora and the new processing plant just outside the town. We sampled some very smooth vanilla liqueur and of course I bought a bottle. Julie and I spent another relaxing afternoon at the beach.

For breakfast, we walked downtown to an air conditioned café for coffee and food and free wifi. The local entertainment was there performing for tips and we snapped this shot of Julie with the youngest costumed member of the group. For some reason he wouldn’t stand too close to Julie and I had to gently coax him over with a push on the shoulder. Julie notes “Can’t say I blame him. This was ‘day before a real shower’ day or to put it bluntly ‘5 days of gringo stink build up’.

Our guide showing us the growing operation for the vanilla plant tour.

I gladly accepted the offering.

The final sizing and grading operation done with great care and attention. Julie notes “After the tour you are invited to try some ice cream and more shots of liqueur at their on-site shop. We couldn’t say no to that on a hot day. Best vanilla ice cream ever! And tequila ice cream! A whole new way to get your daily dose of tequila.”

Some downtown Tecolutla street scenes.

Julie notes “Our taco stand. The second night we ventured out on our own for supper again. With much gesturing and partial words we ordered the taco combination plate. We are still trying to figure out what the different meats were but we know for sure one was tripe. Which is not a fish. Just so you know.”

“Also in the foreground is a stand on a tricycle that can be pedaled to destinations. We saw so many interesting ways that the locals utilized this type of large 3 wheeler without the sales cart on top, very clever and resourceful; we saw whole families (as many as you can pedal) babes in arms, grandma needing a ride to the market, avocados delivered downtown, cement to the construction site, tortilla pick up, racing your brother up the street, laundry cart, just going for a ride, or my favourite, taking your 3 beagles for a ‘walk’. Never had my camera out quick enough when the boys drove by with their beagles riding in luxury.”

The local tortilla shop owner and her new Chihuahua. Julie notes “We were amazed at this little tortilla business. They start up at 5ish in the am and shut down in the late evening. The squeal of the squeaky conveyer belt was our clue that the tortillas were heading through the oven. The corn tortillas are bundled in 1 kilo packages and there is a steady stream of customers, from little kids on bikes picking up a stack of breakfast tortillas for mom to the restaurant delivery man on his scooter with the blue cooler balanced across the handle bars, picking up big orders for the local restaurants. They are always eaten fresh that day. We were parked across from her shop and enjoyed watching the comings and goings and faces became familiar.”

All kinds of vendors and entertainment wanders up and down the 2 km beach area. This trumpet and drum band that set up right behind our rented table was particularly painful to my sensitive ears. J All the rest were actually quite good. It was the close proximity of a trumpet and snare drum that was a little grating. Julie notes “We paid him to move on. Just kidding. Actually Brad jumped up and started dancing and they left very quickly, yelling ‘loco gringo!'”

…over and out from Tecolutla, MX – the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “For those of you keeping a wild life tally of what we have seen, you can add the ‘Exotic Whooooot, Whooooot’ bird to the list. (Common name the Great-Tailed Grackle or Quiscalus Mexicanus) This bird becomes less exotic the earlier in the morning that you hear it. We also were serenaded at all hours by an invisible rooster.”

Day 35 – Wednesday, July 25, 2013

We spent the day in Tecolutla, MX. A small lively Mexican town on the Gulf of Mexico coast. The town is not too touristy yet and I think we may be the only gringos here. We took a boat tour of the Mangroves this morning with a local guide. In the afternoon, Julie and I headed to the beautiful expansive beach. We enjoyed some local fare and I was in the water a few times. Julie did get her feet wet and that was enough for her. The cool water and the sea breeze and our rented table and umbrella made it very comfortable.

Leaving the docks about 8:30 AM with our guide.

Pelicans on their roost.

An iguana. We also saw many birds, crabs, a crocodile, termite nests, and spiders. Julie notes “I subtly started singing the song ‘I don’t like spiders and snakes …’ but Brad and Jim Stafford thinks that’s what it takes I guess. It was a very interesting tour and there were no complaints about the cool river breeze that’s for sure.”

Julie notes “Back over to your side of the boat buddy. We don’t want to be on the crocs lunch menu.”

They named something after Julie. We’re just not sure what! Julie notes “I still need that haircut. This might be THE place!”

Kites on the beach.

A street scene around the town square. It is a busy place, especially after sundown when all the locals come out for the evening. We enjoyed some great tacos at one of the many eateries.

The happy bus drives around playing music and touring people around the town.

…over and out folks, the muleskinner and his sidekick “freshly showered, navy style” as Julie notes “with just the first layer of sweat clinging to me.”

“And one ‘Wally, Wally Bing Bang’ story before I sign off. He asks me if I had any ant bites and I play along and say ‘Yes.’ He asks me where so I show him a freckle on my leg. He has a good look and says ‘Well I’m sorry to hear that. Don’t worry. It should heal quite quickly.’ Made me giggle.”

Day 34 – Tuesday, July 30, 2013

We spent the night at El Tejin, MX in order to get into the archeological site when they opened at 9:00 AM. It is an amazing site built between 300 AD and 1200 AD. We took a lot of pictures and I will post some here to tell the story. Julie notes “________(because she was speechless and in awe!)

The pole dancers. What did you think this post was about? Julie notes “I am sensing some reader disappointment in the male 15 to 115 target audience.”

We then drove on to the beach town of Tecolutla, MX about an hour away. It is a neat little Mexican town on a point with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Tecolutla River on the other.

We toured the town in the afternoon and stopped for cervezas and the biggest, freshest shrimp cocktails you can imagine.

The group enjoying some cold beer and shrimp. Sooooo GOOD, especially with temperatures of 35C and high humidity. Julie notes “Yes they even convinced to drink la cerveza. No margueritas available here for the senora. But I’m starting to understand the attraction on a hot day. Siestas make more sense too.”

A great day.

Julie notes “Yes a great day despite the fact; that we purposely drove the wrong way down a one way street, with the locals yelling and pointing, that WE were the target of police attention and were questioned twice, and our lack of Spanish may have helped us on our way, that all radios died except ours when we reached our destination town and ‘follow the leader’ turned into ‘where’s Wally Wally Bang Bang and his entourage’. And more giant topes! It’s amazing what a cold beverage forgives and forgets.”

that’s all for today folks, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 33 – Monday, July 29, 2013

Alternate Title: A good day in Tampico; Didn’t get pulled over by the police and didn’t get hit by our crew. Julie notes “Which is more than we can say for the rest of our crew.”

Today we left the church campsite at 6:30 AM sharp. We headed to El Tajin. The site of ancient ruins. We had to travel though the large city of Tampico. We arrived into the chaos of Tampico traffic around 8:00 AM during rush hour. No one got lost but the larger fifth wheel traveling with us was pulled over for the second time to check papers. We were holding up traffic on a busy 4-lane major highway until they decided he was OK to go. Julie notes “I forgot to mention yesterday that the Rambos, the owners of the 5^th wheel, were awarded the ‘first to be pulled over by the police’ award. They also claimed ‘2^nd and 3^rd‘ in that category today. The big 5^th wheel with a utility looking truck seems to catch the eye of the law. But once they see the little pelirrojo (red haired) navigator, Wally Wally Bing bang, they seem assuaged.”

Sunrise this morning as we approached Tampico.

Driving in Tampico. At one stop light, the leader Norm thought he put his vehicle in park to open the passenger side window while the light was red. His vehicle however was in reverse and moved backwards right into Victor’s van. No serious damage but a little embarrassment and harassment from the group. Julie notes “As the today’s title indicates we’ve encountered mucho, mucho topes since we’ve entered Mexico. Who knows what they are?”

We crossed a very large bridge and because of some lane construction we were able to pull over on the bridge for an incredible view of the river and city below.

We stopped for a break at an abandoned Pemex station and had a chance to take in the views.

Rhett, the son of Justin and Alyssa, traveling with us as far as Panama.

Julie notes “And below is the ‘cute’ former peliorrojo that I get to spend every minute of the day with for the next 118 days. Please submit your vote on which one you think is the cutest.”

Only a short trip down the highway we stopped again to buy some fresh cheese in a region full of dairy farms. Julie notes “Everyone look at the camera and say ‘queso!’. This was a string type cheese with lots of salt. Kind of reminded me of white squeaky curds but in a big string stretchy string ball.”

It was some good I must say and I think Julie enjoyed it as well as you can see. Julie notes “Someone forgot to say ‘queso’ for the camera. I think she might be saying ‘back off this is nacho cheese’!”

After the dairy farms we were into the city of Naranjos. The orange growing centre of Mexico. Full of orange groves and statues celebrating their crop. Julie notes “Conveniently for us trying to grasp some Spanish as we travel along, Naranjos means ‘orange trees’. And ‘peligrosa curva’ means ‘dangerous curves’. Brad’s all too familiar with those. Wink wink.”

In the next major town we passed, the traffic was quite congested at one of the major intersections. The kid on the bus was so close, he could have reached out and grabbed the RV. Julie notes “Not the first or last time I gasped ‘OMG!’. I think I understand better now why they’re such a devout people.”

Our campsite for the night in the El Tajin parking area. We will tour the site tomorrow morning, hopefully while it is cool. Julie notes “We have redefined in our heads what constitutes ‘cool’. It’s based on sweat production and beer consumption. Clothing is just something to wipe your sweat out of your eyes. Good thing my shirts are long. Or that could also increase beer consumption.”

…carry on folks, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Brad and I both had a ‘Jim dad’ moment at the same time today as we were driving through a town. The song ‘The Crystal Chandelier’ was playing on itunes and a swarthy older shirtless man was stretching on his balcony. At the same time we said ‘Hey, that reminds me of dad/Jim. The song for Brad and the man, who I was pretty sure was about to give a Jim style Tarzan call, was my trigger. Miss you dad.”

Day 32 – Sunday, July 28, 2013

Well today was the first day of our 120 day trek with Adventuretours. The first few days are big travel days through the northeastern part of Mexico. We traveled 501 km today. The first part of the day is not very scenic and not the safest area of Mexico but we made it to Aldama, MX. We are now camped in a locked Baptist Church yard with lime trees and a large lawn around us. It is the site of an old Sauza Tequila distillery.

The day started in Mission, TX with a 6:30 AM departure time. We crossed the border without any issues, had our camper briefly inspected at the first check point, and later passed through a military checkpoint. Julie notes “Yes, believe it or not, I was up, washed fed and in the truck before Brad drove off, much to his dismay. I hit play on the iPod and what shuffled out as the very first song on our real first day of this South American tour was ‘Pueblo Joven’ from a selection of South American, Children of the Inca album we have. Now next to the alien thing in Roswell, it is right up there in the WTF? (Way Too Freaky) zone. Also later ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ and a Chris Isaac song called ‘Waiting for My Lucky Day’ about leaving Texas. (Small letter ‘wtf’s?’)

The sun was rising as we drove into Mexico. Julie notes “This was nice but not as nice as awarding ‘first wrong turn’ and ‘first traffic infraction’ honours to our leader Norm about a mile out as we were leaving our camp. Made for a few early morning chuckles over the radio bands. And Norm may up his caffeine intake tomorrow.”

This was in the first major town we passed through; Matamoros, MX. What is it? A martini glass? A large bird bath? Julie notes “Well if it is a salted marguerite glass, I will have to up my aforementioned daily fitness routine quite a bit before I will be able to chug this baby back.”

We took a break every two hours. This one at the state run Pemex fuel station. These are the four travellers.

We passed through an area of Joshua trees. The only spot we will see these on the trip. Julie notes “Since we’re talking nature I noticed amongst the birdlife an abundance of terns, hence I believe the origin of the saying ‘one good tern deserves another’.

The driving in Mexico takes a bit of getting used to. There are really three lanes. You pull over and let people pass by straddling the line. The oncoming traffic moves to the opposite shoulder. Scary at first, but somehow it works. Julie notes “Dotted lines? Solid lines? Big signs that have the symbol for ‘Do Not Pass’. These mean nothing. Below is a picture of car passing our friend Victor on a solid line, the “Do Not Pass” sign is just out of the shot and there is a semi bearing down at them. I don’t know about them but I had to change my underwear a few times today!!”

Our little posse from our view as the rear end, tail gunner, clean up crew….

We crossed the tropic of cancer today. (An imaginary line around the globe – We are not IN the tropic of cancer as Julie may want you to believe – see earlier post regarding the Arctic Circle for background information) It is marked only by a yellow ball with no real roadside stop. Julie notes “Hey if anyone knows about the Tropic of Cancer it is me and although we WERE in it for a while, I am hoping we have moved out of it now. P.S. Most people agreed with me in regards to the whole Arctic Circle thing. Just saying.”

We did not make it to our intended destination today so the leader, Norm, chose a truck parking lot next to a Pemex station as a safe haven for the night. After some disgruntled comments from the group, and further scouting by Norm, we ended up in the much nicer church property. Julie notes

The first location. Julie notes “Grrrrrrrrrrr…, disgruntledly.”

Our final campsite. Julie notes “Yay! undisgruntedly.”

The lawnmower.

The church and some of the young Sunday evening participants. We doled out some candies and made some instant friends.

…over and out from Mexico, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “It’s 1030 pm, temp 28 C, humidity 83%, no air conditioning and there is some squeally noise outside they are telling us is a cicada but none like any I’ve ever heard. But the muleskinner has been running around, sweating three times the buckets as me, bbqing steak and stuffed portabello mushrooms, driving, setting up things, hauling heavy stuff, and doing his best to keep his sidekick in the camping lifestyle she is accustomed to. So if I wasn’t stuck with sweat to this table and bench and if he wasn’t sawing very large logs in the sauna/bedroom, I’d give him a hug. On second thought maybe I’ll save that for a ‘shower’ day.”

Day 31 – Saturday, July 27, 2013

Today was spent finalizing all of our preparations. D & D Wheel Alignment had kept our vehicle overnight to finish the repairs I had requested. We got it back about 11:00 AM. Then I had to have a complete oil change and servicing done at a quick lube place. Not so quick. I think I was there until about 1:30 PM.

Julie spent the day doing all the laundry, dishes, and “house” cleaning. She also packed up all the children’s clothes that Alison, our daughter-in-law, and her friends provided us for gifts in the countries we will visit. Julie and I supplemented that with colouring books, crayons, pencils, books, and a few more children’s clothes. I packed the RV and vehicle with all the clothes, gifts, and spare vehicle parts we will carry.

We had our drivers meeting at 5:00 PM to review tomorrow’s 6:30 AM departure into Mexico. We reviewed the border crossing process and routes we will take. The first day will be a long day of about 300 miles.

While we were doing all of our organizing and preparations the temperature reached its highest point since we arrived – 39.4C. Julie notes “Yes things were a bit steamy and not in the good way.”

For supper, we ate the chicken with its head cut off that we purchased while doing a final stocking up on groceries. Julie notes “Brad is hoping we are not driving around Mexico tomorrow like this chicken with its head cut off. Our leader kept emphasizing ‘you must turn here, must stay right, etc.’ With me at the navigational post what could possibly go wrong? Especially since I was maybe paying a little bit too much attention to Wally Wally Bing Bang’s stories about his geckos and perhaps not enough to the leader’s instructions. Bonus though…There is an award for the ‘first to get lost’. Something to aim for?”

…on to Mexico tomorrow, stay tuned for our first travel day post, the muleskinner and his sidekick.

PS: The first travel day post, and future posts, may be delayed until we reach a wifi location. We aren’t really sure how readily available wifi will be as we travel along.

Julie notes “As always, thoughts are with our family across the country.”

Day 30 – Friday, July 26, 2013

Sorry for the delay in posting. We have quite a bit going on in our final few days here in Mission, TX. We spent this morning with the tour leader reviewing the log book for the “Trek of the Americas”. This was rendezvous day. We met the other family in the group that arrived today. Justin, Alyssa, and their son Rhett from Colorado. They were born and raised in New Orleans and are making a permanent move to Panama. They are traveling with a fifth wheel trailer as far as Panama. Julie notes “Rhett is 3 years old and prefers to be called Wally, Wally Bing Bang and calls me Julie Julie Bing Bang. He has 2 tiny plastic geckos that both enjoy a nice smoothie in this hot weather. He has put on so many miles on his little 2 wheeler since he arrived that if he was going in the right direction, he’d be in Panama by now. Not sure if you can tell but I am very happy to meet this nice polite young man. Wally, Wally also has a husband just like me, but his husband’s name is Dustin and he’s 35. We’ll introduce you to the 4 other members of Rhett’s real family some other day. Pictures will be the best way to do that.”

Victor is our other trek traveler. He is traveling with his dog Mindy. He is a retired longshoreman from California but was born and raised in Hawaii. He is traveling in a van and tent with 7 surf boards strapped to the roof. He is also making a move to Panama and will drop off the trek at that point. Julie notes “Victor has offered to teach us surfing when the occasion arises. He has a great soft board that is practically fool proof for beginners. Hmmm I think I see funniest home video clips in the making.”

The tour leader, Norm, is traveling in an older Class C motorhome.

Norm’s son, John, conducted a thorough vehicle inspection of each rig after we finished a review of the log books, traveling practices and expectations. He noted a few minor items on our vehicle. We decided to have them repaired here so made arrangements with D & D Wheel Alignment to fix the items as a preventative measure.

We dropped the vehicle off at 3:00 PM after a long day of last minute preparations and shopping for various supplies.

John and Norm conducting the vehicle inspection. Julie notes “No family resemblance there eh?”

One of the “preparations” was a mother-in-law Vera inspired container with small miscellaneous items stored inside for quick and easy retrieval. Pens, markers, scissors, crazy glue, elastics, etc. Genius! Julie notes “Even the 2 permanent markers came from mom’s bottomless supply in her craft drawer and the little scissors are from dad’s collection. Brad even put the ‘Stop Itch’ stick in there because he’s pretty sure mom used to keep hers in the pencil can on the kitchen table.”

Julie and I walked out of the RV park and across the street for supper at La Fogata. It was quite a nice place. A little more upscale than we had anticipated. I had the house special steak cooked on cast iron, with a baked potato and grilled onions. It was dripping with delicious butter and was extremely tender. Really good but not quite Alberta beef good. Julie tried the tilapia recommended by our waiter. She wasn’t overly thrilled with her fish but it was good, not great. “Julie notes “ehnnn too much celery and it came wrapped in foil, sort of a camping dish, but the fish and shrimp were nice and firm. And I did not leave any on my plate so what does that tell you?”

The kitchen was viewable through a large glass window. They had hardwood burning on a large open “BBQ” with goat, chicken, and other meat cooking away. Pretty neat. Julie notes “We are guessing that is what we were looking at based on the menu items. Things look different there than at the petting zoo.”

Julie notes “I spent the better part of the afternoon cataloguing our large first aid kit that we have carried faithfully since our first kayaking trip back in 2005. It is a requirement in some of the countries we will be travelling to, to have a kit or you’ll be fined. The lab tech in me noted a lot of overdue expiry dates but oh well. We just won’t wear our glasses if we need to take any of the meds. Hopefully we have meds to counteract any issues from the old meds. And if we ever have an emergency where many 2×2 sterile gauze patches are required, we’re prepared; multiple bee stings, an avalanche involving tiny rocks, someone attacking us with a sewing needle, any other ideas? I also found some cinnamon flavoured dental sticks in the kit. Now that one makes sense, nothing worse than something stuck in your teeth in the wilderness.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 29 – Thursday, July 25, 2013

We are still sitting in Twin Lakes RV Park in Mission, TX getting our final preparations completed. Today we drove to the border at Nuevo Progresso, MX and processed our temporary Mexico vehicle import permit and had our passports stamped. I also purchased all the spare automotive parts we will take with us on the trip.

We started the day off with coffee and pastries we had purchased from Poncho’s the night before; 1 strawberry (fresa), 1 pumpkin(calabaza). They were a little dry. Not our favourite breakfast. Julie notes “But we ate them anyway. Cha-ching on the old calorie-ometer.”

I decided to go into Mexico without Julie but she wasn’t too far behind. Julie notes “Hey Cam, your hat has made its way back home. Thanks for leaving it behind in Bucerias. I hope it enjoys this little trip.”

My first pedicure. Now I won’t have to wear socks in my sandals. J Aunt Doreen, It’s OK if you want to wear your socks in your sandals. J Julie notes “These gals were great and were very good at keeping the shocked look off of their faces upon seeing Brad’s virginal Canadian sandal toes. There was some excited chatter in Spanish and laughing regarding ‘el hombre’ and ‘rosa esmalte de unas’ (pink polish). I tried to learn some more words from a Spanish ‘Jerry Springer’ type show that was intermittently playing on the TV and the most I could gather was that something went wrong a 15^th birthday party and much crying and yelling ensued. I can now yell incoherently at Brad in two languages.”

The contest for today is to correctly identify which foot belongs to which person. HINT; Mine are the good looking manly feet. Julie notes “HINT#2, Brad’s are the least hairy of the two. And coincidence or not … someone else in the travel group has the very same ‘turquesa’ colour of nails. Name tags may be required.”

…over and out, the smooth footed muleskinner and his foot-in-her-mouth sidekick

Julie notes “Brad forgot to mention that he was in ‘huge cranium’ heaven. He found a hat shop in Mexico with hats that were actually TOO big for his giant melon. He had to down size a few notches from the biggest size. There must be some ‘winter Texans’ with some muy grandes cabezas. At first the shop owner misunderstood our grammatically incorrect ‘mucho grande’ attempts at describing what we wanted and was bringing out the giant sombreros that you can dance around. But he quickly surmised, after a glance way up at the melon in question, and had Brad outfitted in no time. Brad credits the new hat for the smiles and nods from the local senoritas but I think they were all just glad his hooves had been trimmed.”