I am heading out on a much needed mini-break tomorrow, three nights in the neighbouring city of Durango! This is the trip I postponed last year. I think I will enjoy myself more this year, being more comfortable in Mexico, less concerned about the truck, and not facing snow. I’m losing a shift because of the American Thanksgiving, so I’m taking advantage of that to be able to go have a few days in Durango and still be home (most likely) for riding and my dentist appointment on Monday.

There is a possible big storm incoming, but I’m not too worried about that. The absolute worst case scenario is that the Durango-Maz road will be washed out by mudslides and I won’t be able to get home as planned on Sunday. Solution: alter my plans to include bring my computer (which I otherwise have no intention of looking at all weekend) so that if I do get stuck into the work week, I can just work from wherever I am. The second worst case scenario is that the Isla road could be washed out. Solution: park my truck on the Maz side and take the panga over, then go get my truck when the road is clear. I’m not getting my ‘DON’T GO’ prickly feeling at the back of my neck, so I’m leaving on schedule sometime late tomorrow morning!

I therefore needed to do a withdrawal before heading out. There is actually a Scotiabank right by my hotel in Durango, but I didn’t want to have to look for it upon arrival tomorrow, having only enough cash to cover fuel and tolls to get there, plus spending money, but not enough to pay for the hotel room. So after my shift today, I headed to town. I had just pulled into the Maz-side embarcadero when I suddenly felt unwell and realised that I hadn’t eaten anything since about 7:00! So I got out of the lancha and made a beeline for the pan dulce lady, picking up a tasty bun of some sort for $5, which did the trick.

Normally, I would just walk down Gutiérrez Nájera and turn right on Juan Carrasco, but today I decided to turn right much sooner and meander through a residential neighbourhood. I had a route to get to Ejercito Mexicano, but, of course, that didn’t work out because of no road signage, construction, and landmark closures. No biggie. I just wandered in the generally correct direction. The houses were a mix of what I would consider tenements and really nice structures, making it hard to get a feeling for just what sort of neighbourhood this was, economically speaking (much like Isla). The few people I passed on the street were friendly.

Just as I was bitterly regretting not popping into the last abarrotes I had seen to get a water, I spotted an oasis, a fruit juice stand! That was a pretty good clue that I was very near Juan Carrasco/Ejercito Mexicano. I ordered a small grapefruit juice with ice and was told to pay the ‘special’ price of just $10! Wow! I pay $15 to $18 for a juice in Centro and near the Malecón. Two blocks from there was Ejercito Mexicano, so now I have a juice place that is almost on my route to the bank, big Ley, and big Waldo. Getting misplaced paid off!

I ended up just a couple of blocks from the Scotiabank, so I darted across right away when the traffic cleared. For once, the machine worked perfectly for me. I then went inside to change my $500s for smaller bills, and I’d even written down how many $100s, $50s, and, especially $20s, I needed. The exchange rate is getting worse and worse. November 12th, 4,800 cost me 392.39CAD. November 23rd, they cost me 399.00CAD. Today, they cost me 399.80 CAD. My daily withdrawal limit is just 400CAD, so I cut it really close today!

After I was done at the bank, I debated going up to the big Ley to have lunch at the Chinese place and decided it was too hot to do that extra distance. I headed back towards Gutiérrez Nájera, only this time I walked on the Scotiabank side. It’s amazing the new things you discover when you walk on the other side of the street!

I passed a couple of interesting shops and then a tiny restaurant advertising sushi and Chinese food, a similar setup to the restaurant by the big Ley. I popped in and had a look at the food on display, which appeared very fresh. The exact same meal that I have at the other place was a couple of pesos cheaper and, overall, better! I didn’t like the main quite as much (the chicken was a little mushy versus crispy), but the hibiscus water, rice, and spring roll were tastier. So now, I have a better (and closer!) place to get  Chinese food when I get a craving for it! Never mind the sushi, though. These stores have Mexican-style sushi (very heavy on the cream cheese), which is not to my taste. I prefer to pay more and have it on Olas Altas or in the Golden Zone, where I can get more authentic fare and super inexpensive octopus nigiri.

I passed this hilarious sign in front of a bar on Gutiérrez Nájera:

Roughly translated:

Husband Daycare
Does it get heavy around the house?
Does he bother you?
Do you need a break?
We have what you’re looking for!
Leave your husband here and pick him up later!
It’s free. Just pay for his drinks!
We have never lost anyone!

(That last bit especially cracked me up.)

So I’m off tomorrow. I don’t know how vocal I’ll be over the weekend since I’ll be avoiding the computer. I will check in on Facebook now and then.