FRIDAY

.................I walked two miles today, picked up another book at the library, had a nice Chef Salad for lunch and got a haircut. The barber is the same lady I have gone to the past two years. She remembered me and waved as I was walking in. Just like old home week. I told her I would be back next year and hopefully ten more after that. The City is starting to perk up for Carnaval this weekend, band stands going up at many locations and viewing stands all along the Malicon are making an appearance for the big parade on Sunday night and again on Monday. The military is out in force and I am sure many Federal officers are on hand also. This is a really big deal for this town. A great chance for lots of pictures!
The chickens seem to enjoy the outdoor kitchen and are most happy to pick up any scraps available.

This appears to be an oven from many eons ago.

 The birds enjoy the shade, the temperature was close to 90 on this day and this is in the winter!

Two owls captured when young, there are many people in the area who are not happy with this farmer for keeping these animals locked up but they do look well fed and cared for. When Natalia arranges a hike in this area this will be one of the farms she wants to include.

The parrot squawked once while I was there, he is loud but I suppose he only speaks Spanish.

THURSDAY

...................I walked North on the Malicon as far as the Mir Mar Hotel and took pictures of 'Shorty' Guzman's last known address before being captured. I will post them in a few days. I then walked to Old Town for lunch and a couple of hours of reading. I am sure I put at least four miles on the old shoes today. I made up for all of those used calories by buying another ice cream before coming home. My bad.

This is one of the families to whom a new house was given because the lake took the old one. It contains all modern conveniences and is well constructed. However..........

This is where the lady of the house prefers to do her cooking, on a wood burning fire covered with a large piece of metal. Can you see the parrot? It is free to come and go as he pleases.

This is the fire pit in the rear of the previous picture. The weather is so nice around here that the family finds this to be the daytime living area.

This little lady is a natural in front of a camera. She holds a pose beautifully and is pleased each time a picture is taken.

This must be the night time security because he was asleep all the time we were there.

The doors of  the house were open so it would not have surprised me to have found some of these guys inside. They seem to appreciate the shaded patio.

WEDNESDAY

..................I walked two hours to the Gold Zone today before stopping for lunch. I had my book with me so it took two hours to finish my meal. I spent the next hour continuing my walk North before catching a bus and getting delivered twenty feet from the front door of Natalia's house. I arrived back shortly before 4PM. There were a lot of clouds, thick ones, all day and at times I noticed a rain drop on my arms. The temperature was mild to warm; I found it to be fine walking weather.

Remember to click on the pictures. Better view that way.

Here we have the patio side of one of the cabins that faces the lake. Three or four of them face the lake and the other three or four face the city a couple of miles away. At the time the pictures were taken the owner was waiting for the State to hook up the electricity.

 

This pic shows how distant the cabins are from each other, the next pic is taken from the patio of the first house showing the panorama view from that location.

This is the view from the cabins that do not face the lake. On the side of the hill is the new town built by the State for the folks who had been displaced by the dam. Before they lived on flat fertile ground good for growing things. Not so much now.

This is also some new construction made of bricks supplied by the mud around the lake. I have no idea what it will be used for. I am not sure it even belongs to the same property the cabins set on.

A better picture of the gasoline station; after further examination I have decided this must be a gravity fed dispersal station. That hose, the handle of which is laying in the dirt, is not connected to any pump handle that I can see.

TUESDAY

.............I was on the streets by 9:30 this morning. The weather was overcast but far from cool. The breeze coming in off the beach was very welcome. Many of Natalia's friends have been commenting on how little winter we are experiencing this year. You certainly will not hear me complaining. I took a bus over to Walmart this morning. This is the first time I have done that this year. My plan was to buy a new electric shaver. I guessed the prices would be a bit less here than at home. The problem I ran into is that no such animal is sold by Walmart in MZT. After arriving back in the Central Area I looked for a shop that might have such a product but to my surprise there was none. I then stopped by Paulines for lunch, eating too much, of course, and read for two hours. I then walked home arriving around 4:30. Natalia came by about 5pm saying that she was not really home and was going back to work. She also told me she would be in late tonight and would see me tomorrow. That was my day.

These 'cabins' are being built by one of the local people to rent out to tourists, mainly from Mexico City. They are on the waters edge with good fishing available. These facilities have all of the modern conveniences and are very well built. However, you must be willing to 'rough it' to get to them and you almost have to bring all of your own food. I never did see a grocery store in town.

This is their idea of a two lane highway going toward the lake.

You can tell there has been a lack of precipitation this year because the lake is rather low. I am not sure you can see it but there is a boat out there somewhere, a small fishing boat.

The dock is high and dry.

Natalia asked to be shown around because she would like to plan a 'hike' for all of her Gringo friends one day and we agree this would be a great place to bring them. More reasons will  become apparent as I post pictures in days to come. There were almost a dozen pickups parked in this area, all fishermen out on there boats enjoying the nice day.

MONDAY

....................I got my laundry caught up this morning and after  breakfast cleaned up the kitchen. I left the house around 10:30 for my daily walk around town. Today I strolled beyond the Malicon south to the University Facility taking a few pictures as I went. This is the first time this year I have walked along the beach all the way south. Not much has changed, I could use the same pictures I took two years ago. I had a tuna salad for lunch and on the way home stopped for two scoops of Strawberry iced cream. I arrived home about 4:30, it was a long walk.
This first picture is a long shot of the new town that was built for the folks that were displaced because of the dam construction.

This is a picture of the local gasoline station. The tank is that large white monster standing this side of the building. I have a closer picture I will post later. The tank is operated with a hand crank and holds about 500 gallons.

 These folks turned their garage into the local store, I think the gas station sold candy and such but this is a bit better stocked and they have a refrigerator

 This guy is in charge of store security, evidently he works nights because he was asleep all the while Natalia and I were there.

The two on the right are the owner and his wife. The other guy is the son of one of the farmers down the street whom we visited with later.

 I had to lighten the picture to get the details, I may have overdone it but you get the idea.

SUNDAY

.......................I walked South on the Malican today. There were more people than usual on the beach, it was a good beach day with not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures warm enough for sunbathing. I had lunch on the sidewalk across the square from the Machado Hotel and finished another book. The walk home took me by Central Market so I was able to watch the Sunday shoppers catch their buses with their arms full of goodies. I purchased some shoe pads from a pharmacy close by and arrived home near 3PM. I decided to read for a while and woke up when Natalia returned at 5PM. She had been out to lunch with her brother and was very pooped from the weekend for she decided to take a nap before beginning her Sunday afternoon cooking. I decided to come to my room and post my blog.

This is a panorama of the dam and spillway. The water for the city is carried away in a huge pipe largely buried underground for its journey to the city.

 

 

 

We took a different route home because we wished to visit the city that had been built by the government to take the place of the one the lake covered.

This is high on a hill overlooking the lake. I am not sure this house is one of the new homes provided by the Government but there is no doubt the street is. This is too far from anywhere to afford these streets from local taxes.

 

SATURDAY

................I left the house about 10 am with my book today. Before I left Natalia reminded me that she was having a friendly get together with some friends at 2 pm and I should try to be there. I promised I would and she requested a bag of ice cubes too. I went to Costanza's for lunch today but the guy who usually waits on me who speaks a bit of English was not there so I ordered a Tuna Salad and a bottle of water. She brought a Tuna Sandwich on toast with French fries. I didn't complain and enjoyed the meal. The sandwich was made with dark chicken which is my favorite so it all worked out fine. I arrived back at the house at 2pm with 25 pounds of ice cubes and the party was underway with two people having already arrived. One of the two was a guy from New York that Natalia and her group had met the night before at a bar and she invited. He is a computer engineer working in Mexico City who just happened to be on a weekend side trip to MZT just because he had never been here before. He was interesting to talk too but she also invited Jorge whom I have met before and as before he was the life of the party. He and Jim had last night to talk about and I was able to join in because there was a lot of English being spoken. The party is still going on as I type this.. . . . .On another note, helicopters woke me up at daylight, flying low over head. A little later Natalia told me a friend of hers phoned to let her know the authorities had a drug cartel kingpin in custody after raiding his hotel room on the Malicon. This guy is big and there is a chance that it might have made the news in the States. A bit later she called  back and reported they had caught another drug big shot close by. I mentioned to Natalia that was a good thing and she reminded me that the folks around here may not agree because now there is a possibility that a Cartel war could break out in town to decide which person is going to take over the now vacant position of Drug King. I must admit that thought never entered my mind. Natalia feels bad things could start happening in town.

 These two cattle drives represent twice that Natalia stopped to ask the farmers how safe it was to proceed to the reservoir that supplies fresh water to MZT. Both times we were told that things were OK to the dam but they did not suggest we go much further because the police do not patrol that far away from town. Mary Jane is King up there and strangers are not welcome.

 

 There are a few rough spots on the road  but they never lasted too long.

We arrived at the dam with no problems, there were a couple of carloads of young guys there but they were friendly enough. I was taking pictures while Natalia was laughing and enjoying their company.

FRIDAY

.  .  .  .  .  I had intended to get a haircut today but on the way a bus came along that I thought might lead to more fun so I hopped on. I ended up in Cerritos, a point as far north as MZT  city busses go. I took a few pictures of things I have already seen in previous years then had a very nice lunch before starting back. My plan was to walk for a couple of hours to work off the big meal I had just consumed then catch a bus. Somewhere along the line I took a wrong turn that led to a part of town I don't believe I have ever been to before. Anyway, after my two hours was up I caught a bus heading for Centro District and arrive home 45 minutes later. That was 5:30. I over did the walking thing and my left foot is causing a lot of trouble so tomorrow I will stop by a pharmacy and buy some of those pads that stick inside the lining of the shoe. The present pad has worn down to almost nothing.Remember to click the pics,

The fisherman is checking his net one arm length at a time prior to loading them in the boat and leaving the next morning.

These two guys/gals are waiting for the big parade that is coming in a couple of weeks. Carnival!

Another panorama looking North toward Gold Zone way off in the distance.

THURSDAY

.  .  .  .  .  .I was a half mile from the house before I discovered I had forgotten my camera. My plan was to go to Stone Island today and take a few pictures so I reversed myself and retrieved the camera. It must be about three miles over there, not counting the 300 yards in the boat taxi. That and the three miles back totals to almost and maybe more than seven miles for the day. I had a nice lunch on the beach in the shade, the waves were making their wave sounds while I ate. It was relaxing. I also drank two beers while reading, they cost me 90 pesos, same as the meal. It was a tasty meal of fried chicken covered with a sweet sauce. I took a few pictures, I have a few dozen in the camera now so it is about time to empty it and start doing some editing. The pics I'm posting today are the last of the few remaining available.

This would make a real neat 'Haunted House'. It looks like it was originally a one family mansion.

This is the side entrance. I would bet that the place was built on a very large lot in Old Town but the city has now pushed itself right up to it.

A couple of tacos purchased about 200 yards from Natalia's house. Tacos are eaten with a spoon in Mexico. I have yet to see a hard shell taco. I made the mistake of ordering a 'cola' with the tacos, meaning Pepsi or Coke but in Mexico Cola is their Cola. It has a thick, syrupy texture, way sweeter than Coca Cola or Pepsi.

Another friendly little guy enjoying the warm sunshine.

WEDNESDAY

. . . . . . I left the house a bit later than I had intended this morning. For several days I have been thinking about my flight/ticket papers that I brought with me and have not been able to find  so I took some extra time looking for them this morning. Sure enough, I can't find them. I wrote a note via email to U S Airways and asked for help and they sent back a computer generated notice telling me someone would be in contact via email within the next couple of weeks. I guess that is about all I am going to do about it at the present. I also have a phone number so all is not lost. . . . . I put another two miles on the old shoes again today, speaking of which, they are about shot. Martine, the shoe shine guy that rides around on a bicycle wants to shine them up for me but I think I will wear my better shoes one day and get them cleaned up. This pair I will toss before leaving here, I'm sure.

Another little friend of mine I met on day during my stroll.

A shot from the Gold Zone looking South toward Old Town about 4 miles away.

A corner restaurant I frequent several times a month. The ocean is directly behind the camera.

Another [of many] car washers in town. A five gallon bucket of cold water and a cotton towel, their results are very good. Most of these guys are not kids and most of them are trying to feed their families. When I see this kind of ambition I begin to reconsider the US Border Policy.