I got up early today and typed like mad with the hope that by 2:00ish, I would be ahead enough in my current project to do one last jaunt to the Golden Zone to get coffee. I had such a debate with myself over the last few days over whether I needed to do that since I had plenty of coffee left to get me to the States. But then I remembered that I still haven’t found a grocery store coffee in the States that I like. Might as well treat myself to one last pound of the Veracruz!
Big ship in port today!
By 2:30, I was ready to go. I made my way to the corner of Gutiérrez Najera and Juan Carrasco, certain that I could catch there the bus that goes to Soriana, Mega, and on into the Golden Zone. It’s cheaper and closer than the bus that I take on del Mar.
So gorgeous!
This truck is obviously loved.
But after waiting a half hour and cycling through all the buses, I never once saw the one I needed. Granted, I wasn’t 100% sure what I was looking for, but I knew Mega would be written on it. So I’m a little flummoxed as to where to catch it. Next year, I’ll have to ride it in the opposite direction and find out. But now that I think of it, I didn’t even see it once while in the Golden Zone, so I’m thinking that perhaps it doesn’t run on Sundays.
Giving up on that bus, I walked the last few blocks to del Mar and caught the bus there, riding it up to the taco place I discovered last time I was in the Golden Zone. I didn’t get chips this time and I think I’ve finally figured out why I get them sometimes: they come when I order a limonada. This has happened at a couple of establishments, so I’m thinking it’s a customary thing for restaurants in the area. I really did not need chips and the giant plate of cucumbers provided a suitably crispy and bland surface on which to deposit heaps of salsa! I also got radishes this time and do NOT suggest having this spicy vegetable with a spicy salsa, but rather with the avocado salsa. Your tastebuds will thank me. 🙂
Since I didn’t have chips, I headed across the street and got an ice cream, going for cookies ‘n cream, and boy does Thrifty’s know how to make that flavour! Since a sugar cone was the same price as a bowl or regular cone, I indulged. 🙂
Next stop was the bank. I went by a bunch to hit the Santander just before Rico’s… but the ATM was down. So I would have to double back. Dang!
I got my coffee and didn’t even try to speak Spanish with them today. They were out of 1lb bags, so I they packaged my coffee into two 1/2lb bags and were rather apologetic about that. I’m happy because that means half the batch will stay fresher.
While waiting for the coffee to be ground, I read an article in El Debate, a newspaper, that many, many, many little grocers in the area are being shut down because they are cash only businesses and do not keep the proper records for tax purposes. I I wonder if that will affect businesses here on Isla. I only know two where I can get a receipt, and the City Deli is not one of them.
Coming out of Rico’s, a bus was just within sight, but I had to let it go since I needed the bank. I walked back down to the Banamex, the first in a series of banks in a row, since it has a low withdrawal rate (lower than Santander), I’ve never had problems with it, and I wasn’t hurting for small bills. Also, if this one gave me any trouble, I could just try the next bank and so on until I found one that worked!
The withdrawal was fine and I hope it will be my last one, but it was a very conservative amount, so we’ll see. I just don’t want to do my last fill up of gas in San Carlos and find myself with more than 700 or 800 pesos in cash. I’d like to keep about 500 pesos for the fall for the trip from the border to San Carlos, but no more. I’m on a tight budget to get home and I need my money in USD right now, not pesos. I know I have plenty to get me to San Carlos and pay for the hotel. Once there, I’ll see if I have enough left for the last tank of fuel and tolls and if not, I’ll get another small withdrawal to cover that.
I didn’t have to wait long for the bus after and decided to ride it to the corner of Aquiles Serdan and Zaragoza, rather than get off at the Fishermen’s Monument since it would save me a few blocks.
I saved myself quite a few steps tonight!
This being late Sunday afternoon, Zaragoza was eerily silent and I didn’t dawdle to get to the embarcadero!
What I discovered today is that pointless bus waiting not withstanding, I can get to the Golden Zone and back with lunch and lots of walking in about 2.5 hours!
The LAST trip to Maz! So sad! Do you freeze your coffee? I find it freezes well if it is wrapped well.
It is always difficult to gauge how much money we will be left with at the border. I used to just spend whatever I had left on gas to get rid of it but with the high cost of gas in MX, this would not be smart.
Also, if you paid your vehicle deposit with cash when you entered MX, you will get cash back at the border.
Oh, I don’t know if it’s the last trip to Maz! I’ll see how the packing and cleaning and cleaning goes on Friday and I may go across to get some pastries for the trip Saturday since I’ll be passing Soriana too early to stop in there on the way.
I did Nogales to San Carlos with 500 and had money left over, so I’m hoping to leave SC with no more than 800 and spend about 300 on tolls. Once I’m in SC, I can estimate the cost to top up the tank, add 450 for the hotel, and see if that’s enough while leaving me 150 pesos for dinner! 🙂
Paying the vehicle deposit with cash seemed like a huge pain, so I paid with my credit card… was that a mistake? The paperwork said that I’ll be reimbursed the next business day and that my bank can take up to 30 days to give me back the money.
As for coffee, no, I don’t freeze it. I don’t buy enough at a to make it worth freezing.
We have always paid the deposit by credit card and never had a problem. I din’t think we ever had to wait a month for it to go back on the card. You will either make or lose money on the transaction depending on the value of the peso.
I had wanted to pay with cash to avoid losing on the exchange rate, but quite a few people told me to use the card. I can’t remember why, possibly that if you pay cash, you’re tied to that border crossing…
You can come and go at different crossings with either payment method. I always pay with US cash and get US cash back. So I consider myself ahead this year. BTW my US purchases with a credit card came thru at 1.30.
The tolls have gone up a bit, about 5 – 10 pesos per toll as has the cost of fuel.
When you say chips do you mean totopos?
I did the math last night and I’m going to lose about 12CAD at the border by having used my card. I think I’ll pay cash next year.
The website put my tolls at 750 pesos to get to the border and I budgeted 1,500. I can’t compare to the trip down since I didn’t do toll roads the whole way. I also checked gas prices and budgeted 50% more than it will probably cost….
Yes, totopos. Even the restaurants where I only get service in Spanish calls them chips, so I’ve given up on using the longer name. 🙂
So you will have more then enough pesos. Guess we don’t eat out much, never heard them called chips.
I added up what I have and I have just enough to pay the mechanic’s bill, cover my estimated gas and toll costs, and pay for the room in San Carlos. I’m still going to Miguel’s Friday night, have a good meal in San Carlos, buy coffee and food on the way to SC, etc. with what I have. If I estimated as high as I did for gas and tolls, all of those little purchases will be covered with what I have. Otherwise, I’ll probably need to withdraw another 1,000 pesos in SC.