November 26th - Rain, Rain

Well, our first really rainy day here.  It is nice to hear the rain on the roof but it really limits the photo opportunities.  I went to the market with some of the others and bought all the necessities - pizza, apple strudel, cheese buns, rum, limes, cabbage, croissants, ham, bacon, eggs, oranges (for the orioles), etc.  Watched one of our group haggle in Spanish/English over a hand carved wooden soup spoon for about 15 minutes.  There were some young guys there but she said she wanted to talk to El Jefe (the boss)  and they all pointed at a hefty older fellow.  He got up and came around to our side of the table and faced off with the 98 lb Canadian lady.  It was quite the exchange and high entertainment for the seller and us.  She did buy it in the end after much arm waving, spoon wielding, and discussion of where and how it was made, whether it needed further oil treatment over time, kind of wood, whether the bowl of the spoon was really big enough for the kind of soup she was going to make, what kind of soup, whether she should buy 3 spoons and thus get a better deal (his suggestion), whether she was going to use it to keep her esposo in line if so then was the spoon big enough maybe this one for another 10 pesos would be better (his response), how we were Canadians and our poor dollar was so low right now so we need a better price (her),  on and on, back and forth.  They settled on a third off the original price (40 pesos) and smiling.   I'd call it a draw.  It was a slow day at the market and I am sure the seller enjoyed the haggle.  Never once was there criticism of the product, the buyer or the seller which was truly great.  It was all about suitability and circumstances.  Meanwhile,  our driver sat at a street bar, had a beer, and watched a local trying to sell 2 Chihuahua puppies to some Americans for $150 U.S. each.  The puppies were attracting all the ladies going by on the street.  He then spent time teaching the bartenders english and trying to explain how the puppies would be a "chick magnet" in Canada.

I also bought some handmade Christmas bells out of some kind of plant material.  It is weird seeing artificial Christmas trees and decorations for sale on the street in Mexico.  Our renta is due soon so also went to the banco.

The ocean was pretty much flat today which is also a first.  Aiyee, I forgot to get those tiny shrimps for bait.