AstroGypsies

I have to feed Mike, tacos, almost every day. If it’s not tacos, it’s Mexican breakfast or dinner, you’ve heard of Somebody Feed Phil, well, this is somebody feed Mike! Our favourite breakfast place is closed until the 14th (Mike is counting the days, they do fire roasted lamb and pig as well…drool…) so we have explored a few other alternatives, one, walking distance down the road is called Vainilla called to us. We went with our lovely neighbour John and sat in their outdoor patio. we were offered café, or café de olla which is coffee, cinnamon and raw dark sugar, piloncillo. Delicious!

One of the breakfast specials was chilaquiles rojo (red chili sauce on fried tortilla slices, the original nachos) they were still crunchy underneath, perfect, frijoles (refried beans) papa con chorizo (fried potato with chorizo sausage) and an egg. It was very tasty. A trip to the supermarkets and small corner stores here are always an adventure in new spices, dried chilis, familiar and new, all in one! The dried chilis smell so good, we’ve loaded up for friends, as well as whole cinnamon and organic Mexican Vanilla, vainilla ($3.00 the bottle…sigh!) We have a few bottles we’re bringing back, don’t worry! I won’t be bringing back any tiny octopi…0_0….but they are tasty…just saying!

Mexicans make a traditional punch for Christmas, Ponche Navideño, it is made using water, fresh and dried fruits like tamarind, prunes, hibiscus (jamaica), sugar cane sticks, cinnamon sticks, and sweetened with piloncillo (pronounced “pee-lawn-CEE-yoh”) unrefined raw cane sugar made into the form of a cone. Your choice of alcohol can be added as well:) The tejocote are small orange fruits that resemble in size a small crabapple, they are a type of hawthorn (Crataegus mexicana).

There is always something interesting, something different, at times sad, kids juggling on the shoulders of their brothers for a few pesos, but laughing while they do it. There is a man who sells those yellow and blue car cleaning cloths, he has no arms, from the elbow down, he is always out there. Sometimes cartels cut people’s arms off someone told me, a warning if you haven’t towed the line, before they kill you…:(

January 6th was Día de los Reyes. For many Christians in Spain and Latin America, the holiday season officially ends on January 6, which is the 12th day of Christmas known as the Feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings’ Day. The holiday celebrates the biblical tale in which the Three Kings, or Three Wise Men, visit baby Jesus after his birth. Lot’s of pinatas, and in Mexico, bakers make a “rosca del rey”, a sweet bread meant to represent a King’s crown. There is a baby Jesus doll hidden in there, plastic of course, extra large ones in the US we were told today as someone sued for choking on one! Ha! “Están gigantes al otro lado!” They are giant (the plastic jesus dolls in the cake) on the “other side” i.e USA, the bakery lady laughed. I remember coins as well in the cake as a child. We left our shoes out to have presents put in them, not by Santa, but by the three kings:)

On the street corner after Estero a few guys have been performing for years, if I’m lucky I can catch them at the light! Several are amazing! We had to go back to Tacos de pescado de Lupita, to feed Mike! They are on the way. A new place has opened, almost across the road. Alien tacos? We may have to try. The spaceship made out of recycled tires and the alien eating are good. We’ll let you know!

Our biggest adventure, Mike just rolled his eyes, maybe misadventure, was going in search of a Mexican talavera sink. we cruised the tourist block in Ensenada but most were closed, no cruise ships, no tourists so no one opened except the Happy Pharmacy selling viagra, we didn’t go in but maybe that will be another blog, their mascot is photoworthy;) Ha! So I somehow managed to convince him to drive to my favorite talavera store South of Rosarito. We had bought our sinks and quite a few tiles here for the ranch in the sierra. I did find one luckily, it was a miserable drive in the rain up the toll road which is down to two lanes facing each other (some more of the road perhaps fell into the sea or is sliding that way, actually bridge repair but you never know! Ha!) very narrow lanes with the the plastic sand filled barriers askew from various 18 wheeler collisions with them, or cars. We also ran over a 4X4, at least it was across the road and not front to back, we were not the only ones, several did in front of us and no way to move over…Baja…chaos and beauty. At least no damage, glad we didn’t come down this way with the trailer! 

That toilet has a hummingbird on it Mike pointed out, and it’s fine if you are a hobbit I pointed out…they are very, very…smol;) ha! Maybe as a planter I suggested…he had to drag me out of this store! He hadn’t had lunch and was not pleased! He’s been waiting all week for tacos de pescado Johnny to open on Pedro Loyola. They have a shrimp, smoked marlin and cheese one he has been dreaming about;) I stuck with the shrimp myself, still as good as it ever was and the couple working there are lovely people.

I am so full…so what do you do after you stuff yourself with tacos Mike? He makes like cat….

Provecho amigos;)