Whew, I had a busy weekend! Not sure what happened there with work, but I believe it was my very occasional clients requesting my services on top of all my regulars sending me stuff that threw my schedule into chaos. I was really glad to be able to take today off, but, unfortunately, I had to cancel riding because I really needed to go see a dentist and the one I chose was only available this morning or else I would have had to wait till late next week. With the tooth hurting and knowing that I would likely have to have a consultation first, then come back for the filling at a later date, I didn’t want to wait that extra week.

After much research and many testimonials, I decided to go to Doctora Susana Pedrero de la Cruz in Centro. I was warned by many people to only use her for a cleaning and basic fillings because there have been major issues with more advanced work that she has done.

My appointment was at 10:30 and I left home around 9:40 to arrive at about 10:20. I had no trouble finding her office, which is basically behind the cathedral and one block over. She was very prompt and spoke excellent English. Her office is tiny, spotless, and her equipment is modern.

After looking at my tooth, she put forth the suggestion of a crown, but I nixed that and said I just want a filling. So she will do that for me next Friday. I’ve had this tooth fixed so many times that at this point that my expectations are very low for how long the fix will last, but it will at least bide me some time and the work is super cheap. The cost was $350 today for a cleaning and exam and it will be $500 next week for the filling. Pesos!

The cleaning was the best I have ever had done. She used baking soda to ‘sandblast’ (her words) my teeth and I came out of there with them noticeably a shade lighter than when I came in!

I made an appointment for next Friday for the filling and then headed out. It wasn’t even 11:00 yet. I went to Panamá’s for a snack, then went to wait for the bus to take me to the Golden Zone to get coffee beans at Rico’s. It’s so rare that I get on at the Mercado and rather a treat to get such a long ride! For the first time, I misjudged my disembarking request and actually missed Rico’s by a full block. I usually end up getting off a block early, so I really got my money’s worth out of my bus fare today!

I actually got service in Spanish at Rico’s today. They were out of Veracruz and it was suggested I might like Chiapas, another dark blend. I was confident I would, so I got a pound of whole beans. I can’t wait to use my new grinder on them!

From Rico’s, I headed back down to Rafael Buelna, checking out restaurant menus and finally deciding to just go to Taco Loco. I got across half of Camarón Sábalo, but was stuck on the median when the menu guy for Taco Loco saw me and waved his menu at me. I’ve never seen them try to wave down Gringos before, so I was surprised, and I think he was even more surprised when I nodded enthusiastically. He jumped onto the street and held off the traffic so I could get across! And they say chivalry is dead!

I had my usual, of course, the al pastor tacos. I was going to order four (a reasonable portion), but was brought chips, so I only got two, plus a limonada. The cook must have remembered me as not being afraid of a little heat because the tacos she sent me were spicy even before I added their salsas! Looks like I graduated to ‘real’ tacos. Dang they were hot (especially with my unknowingly adding super hot salsa to already super hot food), but soooo good.

After lunch, I continued on my walk and decided to get my groceries at Mega since I needed hummus. Surprise, they not only had hummus, but a bunch of other Lebanese things, including pita and labneh (strained yoghurt)! Wow! Guess who is having a Middle Eastern spread for dinner tonight?

I got a taxi to take me to the embarcadero (still no luck getting a pulmonía) and a truck on this side because I had way too much stuff to carry.

There was a small job waiting for me when I got in, so I did that, then I headed off to see Contessa, who arrived yesterday. She had some anti-itch stuff for me that, so far, is working great. I can’t believe how bad the bugs are this year and it’s been driving me to distraction!

It was a lovely day off and, so far, the week ahead doesn’t look too bad. We shall see how long the lull lasts. 🙂