Hola, Amigos,
A couple more weeks have passed, and we just continue to have adventures with guests, and adventures (and challenges) with living here!
I finished the baby quilt for my friend who lives in Guadalajara. And I thought that making the quilt would be the hard part! Ha!!! Getting it to her is proving to be an interesting challenge.
We were in Cabo San Lucas the other day, where they have various delivery companies like Fed Ex. So, I took it to one called Estafata, and I said "I need to send it to Guadalajara" and they told me I first had to go to Aduana, which they said is a "normal" procedure. Aduana is Mexican Customs. Sigh. I went next door to Fed Ex, and they said the same thing (but he did give me a free box!) "Go to Aduana." Why? Baja California is "frontier", and we have special rules and advantages to living here. So, to send things to the mainland, everyone has to go through Customs! We didn't have time that day to try and find Aduana, so I gave up. Yesterday, I tried it at our local post office, and she said the same thing. Take it to Aduana (where they value it, and maybe charge you duty), and then take it on to whomever you want to send it for you. I finally gave it to a friend of Ryan's who lives in Cabo San Lucas, who said "of course I can do it for you". Thank goodness, but "Sigh......" You'll get it one of these days, Michelle!
On the other hand, we found a fantastic deal on juice oranges recently. Our Mexican friend Claudia said her son's school in Santiago sold oranges...30 kilos for $100 pesos! Unbelievable. She said anyone could go there and get some, so we tried it out last week (after checking how many of our friends would like 30 kilos (about 60 pounds) of oranges!) We bought 3 bags, and while there, noticed they had avocados as well. Yum! We bought 3 kilos of avocados for 30 pesos. Everyone was very helpful. They even recruited a few of the high school boys to haul the orange sacks to our truck. I didn't do too bad with my Spanish! We think the school was built in an old orchard, and they reap the benefits of the fruit by selling it to the public! By the way, the juice is delicious! Another fact: with today's exchange rate, that was about $5.30 US dollars per 30 kilo bag.
Last week my cousin Tom and his wife Karan arrived, ready for some sunshine and relaxation. Walks on the beach are now daily activities for them, and they especially like to visit the Round Bar at Rancho Buena Vista, and take siestas afterwards!
They also visit the burros regularly, as they hang out near where they walk.
Ben saw this gardening idea on Facebook the other day, so we're trying it out. I transplanted some lettuce and spinach, and planted some cucumber seeds which produce lovely cukes, according to neighbor Marsha who had better luck with the first planting than I did! We're anxious to see how this works.
A couple more weeks have passed, and we just continue to have adventures with guests, and adventures (and challenges) with living here!
I finished the baby quilt for my friend who lives in Guadalajara. And I thought that making the quilt would be the hard part! Ha!!! Getting it to her is proving to be an interesting challenge.
We were in Cabo San Lucas the other day, where they have various delivery companies like Fed Ex. So, I took it to one called Estafata, and I said "I need to send it to Guadalajara" and they told me I first had to go to Aduana, which they said is a "normal" procedure. Aduana is Mexican Customs. Sigh. I went next door to Fed Ex, and they said the same thing (but he did give me a free box!) "Go to Aduana." Why? Baja California is "frontier", and we have special rules and advantages to living here. So, to send things to the mainland, everyone has to go through Customs! We didn't have time that day to try and find Aduana, so I gave up. Yesterday, I tried it at our local post office, and she said the same thing. Take it to Aduana (where they value it, and maybe charge you duty), and then take it on to whomever you want to send it for you. I finally gave it to a friend of Ryan's who lives in Cabo San Lucas, who said "of course I can do it for you". Thank goodness, but "Sigh......" You'll get it one of these days, Michelle!
On the other hand, we found a fantastic deal on juice oranges recently. Our Mexican friend Claudia said her son's school in Santiago sold oranges...30 kilos for $100 pesos! Unbelievable. She said anyone could go there and get some, so we tried it out last week (after checking how many of our friends would like 30 kilos (about 60 pounds) of oranges!) We bought 3 bags, and while there, noticed they had avocados as well. Yum! We bought 3 kilos of avocados for 30 pesos. Everyone was very helpful. They even recruited a few of the high school boys to haul the orange sacks to our truck. I didn't do too bad with my Spanish! We think the school was built in an old orchard, and they reap the benefits of the fruit by selling it to the public! By the way, the juice is delicious! Another fact: with today's exchange rate, that was about $5.30 US dollars per 30 kilo bag.
Last week my cousin Tom and his wife Karan arrived, ready for some sunshine and relaxation. Walks on the beach are now daily activities for them, and they especially like to visit the Round Bar at Rancho Buena Vista, and take siestas afterwards!
They also visit the burros regularly, as they hang out near where they walk.
Where are our treats, Karan? They just came right up to her.
We plan on trying whale watching again the end of this week, and then back to Cabo San Lucas for our two night stay at the fancy resort. Hopefully, we'll all stay healthy and we'll get to see some whales at Magdalena Bay. AND, the good news is that our favorite musicians are in town for a week or so; Miguel de Hoyos and Alex DePue! Hooray! We have two evenings booked to listen to them.
Ben has our other camera this morning while he and Tom are out and about, so I'm a bit short on photos today! Here are a few photos I took from around our garden. My beans are ready to string!
Ben saw this gardening idea on Facebook the other day, so we're trying it out. I transplanted some lettuce and spinach, and planted some cucumber seeds which produce lovely cukes, according to neighbor Marsha who had better luck with the first planting than I did! We're anxious to see how this works.
More photos are in my 2016 February Picasa album, and I will add more when Ben brings back the other camera! (I just found out today that Picasa will be going away soon, and I'll have to learn a new place to put my photos. "Planned obsolescence" Ugh!)
Hasta la proxima vez!
Tus amigos de Baja
Harriet, Ben, Ryan, Sam & Zoey
No comments:
Post a Comment