The last few days have been insane! Everyone is trying to squeeze one last job out of me. I got an unexpected project on Tuesday that I couldn’t pass up and that has meant very, very, very, very long work days. Any breaks are spent starting on laundry, packing, and cleaning.
I asked my friends L&N if they wanted to go to Miguel’s for dinner tomorrow night, but that didn’t work for them. They asked me to instead join them at El Velero for lunch today.
So I did and I wound up being there for almost three hours! I didn’t really have that much time to spend there, but it was nice to chat with friends and just take a break before the final push.
El Velero is really popular with the Canadians, but I don’t find it great and it’s rather expensive. But I’d heard all winter about their ‘Imperial’ shrimp. I decided to do a splurge (and at $140, what a splurge it is!) and try them out.
They are huge shrimp stuff with cheese and wrapped in bacon and very delicious! I managed to make two meals out of the dish (have supper waiting for me later!), so that amortized the cost somewhat. But it came with just a tiny scoop of rice and frozen veggies (what?!) so it really wasn’t that special. I’m glad I tried it and the shrimp were amazing, but it’s not something I’d have again. I had a mineral water limonada with it since I had to get back to work after. Yum!
I came in to find another small job waiting for me related to the Tuesday project, which explains why I haven’t been paid yet. So I’ll do that tonight and hopefully will get paid tomorrow. I’m a little tight in my April budget, so this project being something of a windfall, I’m allowing myself to access the funds next week rather than waiting till May. Normally, money made one month is only accessible the following month, even if paid the same month, but I’m going to have some overlapping April/May expenses, so this will be much appreciated bridging funds.
Contessa sent me a link to information about protests shutting down the Mex-15 cuota between Maz and Culiacán. So I think that is the universe possibly trying to save me several hundred pesos. It took me five hours to do Guamúchil to Maz city limits, so there is no way I’m doing that entire trip by libre, but I think I’ll do the libre to Culiacán, check traffic on my phone, and get on the cuota there if everything’s okay.
Back to work I go. And by that, I’m not sure yet if I mean typing or packing…
Funny! I had that shrimp dish as one of the first major dishes I had on out first winter in MX. I of course could not read the description of the dish and was shocked to find it wrapped in bacon, which I have never tasted in my life. I took the bacon off but the taste of it permeated the shrimp and I could hot stomach more than one. It was quite the introduction to Mexican cuisine.
Too bad about the cuota being blocked. If it is just a protest whey would probably let you through but the delay might be longer than the extra time on the libre.
Here is the story of our friendly encounter with a toll booth demonstration: http://croftsmexico.blogspot.com/2008/12/civic-unrest.html
Bacon is an acquired taste. I acquired it late in life. 🙂
I’ve never seen a description of the different kinds of shrimp. I had to ask if the Imperials were the ones with bacon and cheese just to be sure.
I don’t think I’ll chance the delay. Might as well take the libre to Culiacán as it was a super nice easy drive. I’d like to get on the libre after, though, as I want to get to San Carlos in daylight! I’d really rather not do two hotels on this side of the border…
That was an interesting report you shared, thanks!
Last time I was in Maz, they were Red Cross donation collectors on a street corner. I gave them two pesos (I was low on change and needed to save some for a windshield washer!) and they put a sticker on my truck windshield. The collectors were at the next two red lights I stopped at and they saw the sticker and just waved. It was worth the two pesos to not be accosted each time!
I don’t know how the Red Cross (ambulance service) is funded. They are always asking for donations so whatever government funding there is, it must need subsidizing. I am usually fairly generous with them, I hope it is not just coffee money ;). Their equipment is modern and up to date, at least what I saw of it when I talked to a couple of them at a Pemex. The crew I talked to consisted of a paramedic and an actual doctor! They said this was normal on the busier highways.
If it’s anything like in Canada, it’s a non-profit, and non-profits always need money. I volunteered for St. John’s Ambulance as a first responder for years and we had several fundraisers like that every year where we’d collect money at street corners. Hence why I donate what I can, because I know what it’s like to stand on a street corner and beg for a valuable service!
The money went for our uniforms (so the volunteers didn’t have to pay for them out of pocket), our fully stocked equipment bags, defibrillators, training, and, yes, the snacks at HQ.