Las Plantas

Las Plantas

We have been interested in some of the different foods that are grown here. One of the strangest looking is the breadfruit. It looks sort of like a osage orange on steroids. These things are huge! The big ones we saw in the market were a foot and a half long. We have not eaten any yet as we have not gotten specific cooking instructions but you can bake it, boil it, pickle it or make it into a paste. Breadfruit grows on trees. This is the plant they were trying to keep watered when the Mutiny on the Bounty occurred.

One of the local favorites we have tried and like is jamaica. This is a cold red drink made as a tea from the petals of a local flower. We have been drinking jamaica here for several years. A few weeks ago I was taking pictures of a pretty red flower. I asked a passing gentleman if he knew what kind of flower it was and he told me it was jamaica.

Another local food we have tried is jicama. This is a root vegetable. It is like zucchini in that it does not have much taste of its own but absorbs seasoning it is cooked with. One odd thing about jicama is that you can peel the skin off it almost like peeling a orange. My favorite jicama recipe involved soaking in it lime juice for about an hour and then sprinkling it with salt and paprika and eating it in raw sticks. This is a very tasty low calorie snack.

Passionflowers grow wild down here. After the flowers die there is a gourd looking thing. I had heard that these were poisonous. But the other day I saw two teenagers climbing up a fence to get them, which they promptly ate. When I asked them they said that these fruits were delicious, although I did not try them and have no plans to unless I can get more information.

Bananas are growing in people's yards in Bucerias. We have also seen banana plantations. The banana plant did not surprise me but I did not know that there was a big red flower and the bananas grew what seemed to me to be upside-down above the flower.

Prickly pear cacti grow all over this area. I knew the fruit was edible. What I did not know was you can eat the leaves and they are delicious. You can buy them at the market after someone has cut off the spines and cut them is strips. These taste a little bit like bell peppers. We use them in salads.

Coconut palms grow everywhere in Bucerias. Many local people consider them as sort of a nuisance because they need to be harvested regularly lest they bonk someone on the head. I tried a taste of coconut milk when I saw someone cutting them down but I really did not care for it.

We can not find catnip in Bucerias. I thought I would get a little as a treat for Sherlock the condo cat. I looked up the word for it and asked a local herb man. He knew what I wanted but he did not have any and suggested I ask the local veterinarian. By the time I got around to the vet's I had forgotten the word. After a rather energetic pantomime of a cat who was high on catnip I got the idea across. Oh yes, he said the plant that makes little kitties crazy, I don't have any.

(Si, la planta por gatitos hace loco! No tengo.)

Speaking of crazy a scruffy looking old man tried to sell me what he said was peyote the other day. He must have felt instinctively that I was a child of the sixties. It looked a lot like moldy mushrooms to me, but I will never know for sure as I declined to purchase any. Is that stuff legal down here? Tomorrow we plan to visit the botanical garden where we can learn more about the plants of Mexico.

Pictures can be found at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157600448508273/

Rebecca and Dan

blogging

PUSH-ME-PULL-YOU

Well we are entering the blogosphere or whatever the current name for that part of the Internet. Our occasional electronic epistles will not only be sent to you via email but will also be posted on a blog at: http://casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/ Thanks to Master N prompting us and for creating this place and posting our most recent efforts.

You may have heard about blogs with reference to the political arena. In that venue blogging appears to be some hybrid of punditry, editorial commentary, muckraking, and investigative reporting with ongoing active audience participation. Blogs seem to spring up virtually instantly after any event, appearance, or pronouncement by elected officials, their staffs, retinues, minions, and other assorted hangeroners. The instaneousness and ongoing banter seems to be the salient points of these blogs.

But another aspect of blogging relates to a different style of obtaining information: pulling vs pushing. In the traditional style of TV and radio, information is pushed to the consumer. That is, the media presents what information when, where and how it wants. The consumer needs to be at a particular place, at a particular time, with a particular device in order to obtain the information. Print media is slightly different, but it has a short shelf life for current events. The first change came with the advent of the tape recorder, but probably not too many people taped radio shows, especially news, for later consumption. A much bigger change came with the videotape recorder. Some of you probably have boxes of tapes of movies and favorite TV shows. (I hope you are not stuck with Beta tapes.) And whereas we may recorded some nature shows or PBS-type special, it is unlikely that you have any news programs unless you recorded the Watergate hearings or an outerspace event. But how many of those tapes have you reviewed lately?

The Internet has created a different dynamic. We the consumer can now choose what information we will consume and when, where, and how. With the advent of the iPod, advances in the cellphone, WiFi access for laptops on every corner, and other technologies, the consumer has significantly turned the 'push' into a 'pull.' Blogs fit into the pull category – emails are essentially in the push group. Unlike many blogs, ours will not be open access to everyone and anyone. The same material, such as this essay, will be there for reading, but only we will be able to easily post to the site. We hope that those of you that are more plugged into the blog universe will be able to enjoy our commentaries.

More about water

One of our European correspondents would like us to note that tap water, at least in northern countries and Scandinavia is generally safe in the big cities. Many folks may prefer the bottled liquid, but that is not a commentary on the potability. Thanks to BN for the info.

On another note, the senior Terribles returned to their casa up north this week. They seemed be none the worse for wear and enjoyed themselves we hope in the warm sunshine. Sorry it is so cold for you at home.

Hope all of you are well and keeping warm as well.

Dan and Rebecca

fauna

Some of the animals in Mexico are quite familiar, for example, our condo compound has a cat named Sherlock. He is an employee in charge of rodent control for the complex. I also wondered if he was a management spy. Whenever you leave the door open Sherlock comes in and looks around. Once he came in and sat down in front of the refrigerator and looked at me meaningfully. I offered him little pieces of bread, meat and cheese all of which he sniffed but did not eat. (Of course Dan came out and started yelling at me, "DO NOT FEED THAT CAT!!") I am still unsure if my offerings were not up to Sherlock's standard or if he was just doing an inventory that day to see what was in everybody's fridge. Yesterday I asked Sherlock if I could take his picture. He immediately sat down and started licking himself in unmentionable locations. I don't know if he was just being rude or if he wanted to look his best in what he considered his most important parts.

But we also see unfamiliar animals. The most excitement recently was a three and half foot iguanain the swimming pool. I thought he just wanted to cool off. The way I figured it, if he wanted to cool off it was fine with me as long as I was not in the pool at the time, in which case I would have probably felt differently. Our neighbors were worried that the chlorine might be bad for him and fished him out with the pole used to get leaves, etc from the pool. I am not sure if the pole was designed to accommodate iguanas but evidently it worked. Luis said that the iguana went in the pool to get away from Sherlock who chases them. I asked Luis if Sherlock (the cat) could actually kill an iguana which is after all bigger than he is. Luis said that Sherlock probably could if he wanted to but he really just enjoys chasing them. Evidently there used to be a couple of iguanas that lived in the compound. Luis said that people liked to look at them but then they would poop on people who walked under the trees which was not a good thing. Well, No!!

There are many weed filled vacant lots in Bucerias. People who own horses and donkeys stake them out for a day to browse. The animals escape quite regularly. Every morning about seven we are awakened by the noisy protests of a little donkey who our neighbors christened Eyeore. Eyeore must not like to be left in the lot next door. Several times he escaped. I tried to shoo him back to his place but he eluded me quite deftly. One day we saw two lady tourists leading Eyeore down the street. I asked them what was up and they explained that they thought he was sad just standing there all day. They asked his owner, and had gotten permission to take him for a walk. The ladies were going to take him down to the market and buy him carrots for a treat. I would guess that gringos are a strange species to the Mexican farmers.

Speaking of which, one day the horse who was staked out down the street escaped. Someone caught her and put another rope on her. I was trying to be helpful and tell the Mexican where the horse came from. “Do you know where she goes?” I was asked. I said I did and before I could protest I had the rope in my hand and was told to take her back. “BE CAREFUL THAT HORSE DOESN’T KICK YOU!!” Dan yelled from a safe distance. I told him that as long as I was in front there was little danger of that. However I did keep a sharp eyeover my shoulder in case the horse decided to nip my rear (I had a rather nasty experience on a previous occasion!). However this horse was very well behaved and when I made a couple of clucks followed me placidly back to the lot and let me tie her to a stake.

One of the families in Bucerias has a coatimundi as apet. The children walk it on a leash and it seems quite docile. However, both the dogs and the cats slink away when they see it coming. It seems to eat insects.

There are a lot of different birds here both familiar and unfamiliar which you can see at:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/dxterrible/album/576460762387884488.

So long for now from Mexico where the free range chickens range free.

Rebecca and Dan

bit by a bug

AT THE CLINIC

We were intending to write about the Festival, the just-concluded celebration of Our Lady of Peace, the patron saint of Bucerias. However, other events intervened and we were unable to attend except for the first day. But we did gain some valuable information.

Infrastructure. One reads about that quite a bit. And we think about roads and utilities and other items that speed commerce. But it can also refer to the various organizations and systems used to accomplish routine activities. Last year we learned about the dental infrastructure to attend to my wayward tooth. As we related, the dentistry care was excellent. (I am going to have my teeth cleaned while here.) This year is was Mrs.T’s turn to explore the general medical infrastructure.

Last Sunday morn Rebecca told me she was not doing well and the greater part of the night had been on the porcelain throne. And she was feeling a bit nauseous but thought the usual over-the-counter medications would kick in and resolve the two-ended ailments. When I returned in a couple of hours after church – probably a record number of baptisms – Mrs.T was not well at all. She suggested a trip to an emergency room at one of the hospitals in Puerto Vallarta. (PV has several hospitals and a couple cater to tourists; they have very good reputations.) We decided to see if Joannes or Luis were at home, they live in the same compound, and could recommend a doctor. Indeed Joannes was at home and called Dr. Victor to see if he was at his clinic in Bucerias, which he was. Joannes was kind enough to drive us the short distance across the highway to Clinica Santa Rosa.

The first thing about the clinic is that it is inviting. If your doctor’s office is like ours, it is in a nondescript building in a small mall surrounded by other offices that could contain anything from a veterinarian to an insurance agent and probably do. Or it is one of many offices, usually specialists, in a multi-storey tower that is part of a medical complex.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157600448628972/


Any of your doctors’ offices have such nice manicured lawns and flowerful entries? Outdoor sculptures? Murals? One almost feels better before reaching the door.

Once inside we greeted by Doctor Victor. No sign-in desk to fill out insurance forms. No clerk or nurse to take vitals and fill out release forms and ask about next-of-kin. No. Straight to the doctor. And he did not waste much time.

Dr. Victor is quite affable. Went right to work. He took Rebecca’s BP, looked at her tongue, which lacked color. Said she was dehydrated and took her to a room. Hooked her up to an IV and started some fluids. He asked what antibiotics to which she was allergic, which is nearly everything. But she can take Cipro which he had and hooked up a bottle of that as well. No muss, no fuss – right to treatment within minutes. Obviously he had seen these cases before.

Clinica Santa Rosa is an excellent place to receive care in Bucerias. It has four nice rooms, each well equipped and with a bath and shower. The equipment may not be state-of-the-art, but it is up-to-date. The inside is as clean and cared for as the outside would suggest. It advertises as a 24 hour clinic and pharmacy, which seems to be true. The doctors, there are two, perform a full range of services from cirugias to partos and the clinic has the facilities. If not, as noted there are several first-rate full hospitals less than thirty minutes away. Try getting such treatment on a Sunday afternoon in Columbus without going to a hospital emergency room. (Our personal peeve is with those misnamed places called emergicare or urgent care or something similar.)

This was a bit more than the normal case that Imodium could handle. Probably some type of dysentery. The best we could analyze, it probably came from a hamburger that was undercooked. It almost definitely did not come from bad water. In almost every country where bottled water is available, that is what is consumed. Tap water may be used to wash things and cooked with if boiled. The US is probably one of the few countries where we put a glass under the faucet for water to drink. Bottled or filtered/treated water is the norm here.

Mrs.T was badly dehydrated, she was down about 4/5 liters of fluids. She needed to stay overnight at the clinic for more liquids and was discharged the next morning. Total bill: about $7500 MP or approximately $750 US including the room, doctor’s fee, and medicine, some sent home with her. Medicines were the costliest part of the bill. It took a bit, but she is essentially back to full strength.

Once again we were quite impressed with the infrastructure here. A superficial understanding based upon partial and misleading information, especially stereotyped, would be deceiving.

Dan and Rebecca

The senior Mr. and Mrs. T are here for a couple of weeks. The next bit of commentary may be a bit later.

Habla Espanol?

LANGUAGE

As some of you know, I was a language person at one time. Spoke a few non-English lingoes fairly well. But through disuse and laziness the skills have atrophied. I still am involved with international students and greatly enjoy working with them to hone their skills in English.

When we have traveled to foreign lands Mrs. T has worked very diligently to acquire some skills in the local languages and she has been able to carry on passable conversations. Her efforts in Spanish have been particularly laudable as we spend extensive time here in Mexico. But the question herein is: Do you need to speak Spanish? Some other comments first.

Generally I have found that US citizens are about the worst when it comes to learning a foreign language. I think mostly it is arrogance. We do not feel the need to learn language – or much else for that matter – about another country. We feel other countries and peoples should move our direction and adopt, or at least adapt to, our ways with minimum efforts on our part. And to our advantage English has become the de facto lingua franca for the planet, used in most commerce, diplomacy, and other transactions.

People in other parts of the world, although there are exceptions, seem for the most part willing to recognize the need to communicate in many tongues and are willing, even anxious, to learn several. We have encountered many people who are not just bilingual but multilingual. Here it is quite common for people, especially those closer to the tourist industry, to speak three languages: Spanish, English, French being most common and not a few speaking Italian or German.

(As an aside: This area is really a very southern province of Canada. We are surrounded by Canadians, and sometimes we are misidentified as such, from all areas including both English and French (‘of a sort’ WD would say) speakers. The developer of our complex and his wife are also interesting in this regard. Joanne is French Canadian, so no surprise in her skill in French and English, but she speaks Spanish as well. Luis’ heritage is quite interesting. He was born in Mexico City. His first language is French! His family is actually of French ancestry and that was the language spoken at home. Recall that there has been a significant French presence in Mexico since before the Napoleonic era. And lest we forget, Spanish is not the native language – there were many Indian dialects here millennia before the arrival of Europeans. The Canadians seem to like lying about the pool, bakin’ in the afternoon sun.)

Back to the question at hand. One can get along reasonably well without fluency in Spanish. Generally Spanglish is adequate for most transactions. However, as one becomes further immersed in the local culture and more distant from the tourist venues, fluency is a greater asset. While one can still frequently be understood, it is the comprehension of what the locals are trying to tell you that becomes more problematic. It helps even just for understanding the dubbing or subtitles on tv shows. (Mrs.T prefers her own interpretative commentary during the infomercials.)

Let me put to rest two myths. First, talking louder does not help. Second, the folks are not talking too fast – we just listen too slowly. You will note that the above discussion is essentially about the spoken language. The situation with reading and writing is somewhat different. We can read a little and write virtually nil. (I rather like the concept of the question mark, albeit inverted, at the beginning as well as the end of a query. Anyone know what it is called? Note to GEH: How did you get that to appear in your email?) I am picking up the language by slow osmosis.

Hope this commentary did not bore you. A couple of more doors have been added to that picture album. It is Festival week. More about that later.

Dan and Rebecca

color us happy

A RAINBOW OF COLORS

One popular notion is that Mexico is a colorful place. We find that to be true here in Bucerias. Houses and fabrics display a wide palette of bright, festive hues. Probably some of that is for the touristas, but much of it seems genuine joy of happy colors. The typical construction of concrete allows ‘whitewash.’ While white, beige, and other neutral colors dominate, folks do not limit themselves to subdued exteriors. And color is applied to ironwork as well as buildings. The sun and sea exact a toll, however. Colors fade and wrought iron will rust without routine upkeep.

So here are just a few pictures of some colorful abodes and businesses around town. Many are on the other side of the highway. No pictures were edited, they are straight out of the camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157600448628790/

dan and rebecca

pictures of Bucerias

Several of our readers have asked for pictures of Bucerias. I hope the previous link to information about the town gave you a good overview of what our small city looks like.
But we thought we should add some of our own pictures.

What could tell you more about a town than its doors, entries, or portals? You probably have seen calendars with doors of famous locales. And indeed doors can be inviting, just functional, or quite ornate. But they tell a lot about the occupants on the other side as well as the nature of the city.

Doors tell you about the resources of the area. Here wood is a dear commodity, not as readily available as in the US and generally not used as a building material. Concrete and ceramics – tiled roofs and floors – are the materials of choice. Wooden doors are a bit of a luxury, even on the tourist side of town. Concrete or ceramics do not generally lend themselves to doors. In contrast, wrought iron is a traditional material readily available and relatively inexpensive. So it is used quite extensively as you will see in our pictures.






Now some of you will think that all this iron is for safety and security. In the US we probably see iron-barred windows as a common use of this material. But a closer examination will show that the iron is more ornamental than obstacle.

Well here are pictures of a few entries to domiciles and businesses in Bucerias taken on an early morning walk. Although these pictures are all on the tourist side of the highway, there are wonderful doors on the other side as well. If you zoom in on the pictures, you will find even more interesting details.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157600448626102/


dan and rebecca