February 17th

We went into town this morning to get some Pesos, apparently Banco Santander has the best exchange rate in town.  In the parking lot, I was chatting with the one-armed window cleaner working over my windshield and glass, me improving my pitiful Spanish, he improving his English.  I gave him $US2 and he thanked me and moved on.  As I sat there enjoying the morning, watching he and the old newspaper hawker chat and holler greetings to passing taxis and commercial traffic, it struck me that Mexico is a lot like up north in Canada. Time is a little different.  Folks are a little bit more relaxed, and a little bit more rigid, all at the same time.  Things work, generally, most of the time, just not in the time frame you’re used to, nor in the exact fashion you’re used to.  Yet, it’s all very familiar, in an offbeat kind of way.

We went to the malecon (a walk along the waterfront) in Puerto Penasco this morning.  Nancy headed back into tourist and seafood shops, and I just sat on the benches on the seawall and admired the palm trees, Brown Pelicans, and ocean.  I was hit on twice by condo-lead hawkers, once very nicely and once less so.  There was a young Mexican couple very affectionate in a proper sort of way, looking out to sea in the red 5 Peso permanently mounted binoculars and taking couple selfies.  They take security quite seriously here; a campesino with a backpack was digging around in the malecon garbage container, and had just moved on down the street when a Policia 1/2 ton dropped off an officer, who ran up the stairs to the next block, looking for someone, while the truck scooted off down the street.  It stopped a block down, a quick conversation, and the campesino resignedly climbed into the truck bed, and away they went.  

Nancy showed up with a pound of fresh shrimp (and a couple of sun dresses), so it was home we went, for refrigeration. (and a beverage, it was after noon, after all). The latest topic of discussion is whether the new Coastal Highway is completed or not. We’d like to head down to Bahia Kino, but if the Coastal Highway is not finished, it means driving out to Santa Ana, then south through Hermosillo (pop. 1,000,000!) and then back west again.  The question has been sent to forums and Bahia Kino RV Parks.  The Reef RV Park's font of information, Gus, says all done, better than the highway from Lukeville, no problemo.  We shall see what the consensus is...