Vacation for $100

Some people are impressed by finding a $300/person all inclusive package for a 1 week vacation - and I do have to admit, this is impressive.

However, my cheapest vacation ever was a 4 day trip for 2 people for $100.  While it wasn't at a fancy all-inclusive resort, it most certainly included everything (except a T.V.) and was 100 times more to my taste.

One fall my wife and I had only $100 (1300 pesos) and we were itching to go on a vacation before settling down into a more regular routine.  So, we left Mexico City, headed to Veracruz with these $100, a small suitcase, and nothing more (no back-up money!)

I can't remember how much the tickets cost, but I think we got a special holiday/student discount of 50%.  Needless to say, took the first good chunk of our cash.  I can't remember 100%, but I think we took an all-night bus to save the first hotel.

Arriving to Veracruz we took some time just to walk around the picturesque old colonial city center (our luggage was light.)  This city is old, charming, picturesque, and very non-touristy; if Veracruz had nicer beaches, I'm sure it would be a favorite for anyone. But since I never really cared for beaches anyway, it was perfect for me.  In addition to beautiful colonial architecture, the little wooden homes of some of the local neighbourhoods had their own charm - not "nice," but a flavour of a distinct working class culture.

Then we undertook the task of finding an inexpensive hotel.  First we had a few disappointments of places that advertised 60 pesos, realizing that it was 60 pesos/hour, and that they weren't the kind of hotel we would want to to stay in  (my wife naively asked me why anyone would want to rent a hotel for only an hour, and realized the answer for herself before finishing the question.)

We finally discovered a nice simple, little hotel in a historic building advertising for 180 pesos a night.  After a bit of convincing, they finally gave us a a room for 120 pesos ($10), asking us several times, if we would be happy without a T.V.

"It'll be hard," we told them as sincerely as we could, "but we'll manage some how."  Of course, we had no intentions of wasting any of vacation in Veracruz watching T.V.  But finding this room was key to making our $100 dollar vacation work. We paid the 3 nights upfront to make sure that side of things was taken care of.

To be continued, tomorrow ...

The Morning Edition - Why did I Move to Mexico?

The reason I decided to stay in Mexico, turning what was a 3-week vacation into a new life in a new country is an interesting one.  Perhaps in the future I'll write the story completely (it'll probably be a couple of posts.)  In the mean time, these are a few posts which refer in part or in whole to those events.  Enjoy!

• Tepoztlan, "Where UFOs and Witches Live Happily Together"

• Mexican Coffee in Toronto

• My Mexico City Experience - Pulque

• Would you move to Mexico?

The posts about the  Day of the Dead and Food also discuss some of the cultural features which I drew me to this country.

Tepoztlan, "Where UFOs and Witches Live Happily Together"

Typical home with the church's steeple (photo by Cecilia Marquez)

One of my favorite villages that I've been to is Tepoztlan, the village where I got married, near Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City.  Part of the reason why we chose it for our wedding is that its very traditional, with little adobe homes, delicious restaurants, a very typical central market, and a beautiful view of steep, green hillside behind it.

It was also one of my first images of Mexico; when we had just met through a friend on the internet, my wife sent me a postcard and some pictures of the market.

The town is officially recognized as the Mexican government as a "Magic Town."  But there's something more "magical" about this town.  Up on the hilltop there is a small pyramid, overlooking the village.  It can be accessed by walking up a path that winds back and forth through a narrow cleft in the hillside.

People who live up near the hillside will report strange events near their homes at night - sounds, lights, ghostly figures and voices.

Many residents claim that they have seen UFOs up above the pyramid at night.

During the numerous visits I made during the year I lived in Cuernavaca, I never noticed anything strange.  But I was never near the hill at night. I stayed in a little room in the garden where we had our wedding, near the edge of town the nights before and after, but I didn't pay much attention to the hill.

A friend of my wife's (actually her boss, whom I mentioned in my first post about coffee, Coffee, Wonderful Coffee!) lived near the foot of the hill for a while and told us of a few such occurrences.

Me at Tepozteco - the pyramid on the hill

Because of this very reputation, my wife, who knew the town well before she met me, wrote on the back of he first post card she sent me, "This is Tepoztlan, where UFO's and witches live happily together."  Not a bad introduction to the town's reputation.

My experience has a lot more to do with delicious quesadillas, relaxing walks through the town streets, sitting in the town square listening to traditional music, and, last, but certainly not least, my wedding in the wonderful old church.  More to come on Tepoztlan.

To read more about places travel, try these:

The Day of the Dead - Different Traditions throughout Mexico
WARNING: Mexico is DANGEROUS! Do not come here - unless ..
A Different Kind of Beachfront Town - My Visit to Progreso
 Grandpa's Farm in The Isolated Hills of Mexico State - Part 1, The First Visit
New Hostel for Mexico City - Restored Colonial Building Downtown
Where's your adventurous spirit?

Mexican Coffee in Toronto

Ideal Cafe - Outside

Another post on the theme of coffee.

I first got into the habit of carefully selecting my coffee when I lived in Toronto.  Anyone who knows Toronto will know that Kensington Market, a little neighbourhood that was home to just about every group of immigrants to Toronto, also has the biggest concentration of coffee roasters.  Some of them are nice little cafes with a rustic atmosphere that, in addition to roasting their own coffee, also serve bakery items and some food.  My favourite of these was the Moonbean Cafe, because of it's atmosphere and it's variety of coffees.  I think I've visited everytime I've been back to Canada.

Others were more purely roasters, and had some makeshift seating around the entrance.  My favourite of these was Ideal Coffee.  The makeshift seating wasn't so great (although it's definitely a part of the alternative atmosphere their regulars like,) and one of my friends actually accused them of being snobby; it wouldn't surprise me, but to be perfectly honest, I was always to enthralled by the smell of the roasting coffee to take any notice of the people who worked there. The only things I remember about the place are the stacks of coffee back behind the bar, the espresso maker, which was operated by a hand pump instead of electronic pressure, and that, as good as the lattes were, it was too inconvenient to enjoy them there, since the few seats were usually taken, and they were too uncomfortable anyway.  The people - even the ones filling the seats - don't figure into my memory.

Moonbean Cafe

BUT the coffee was (and still is, I hope) amazing.  At that time, at least it was from Veracruz, Mexico.  I had discovered this coffee before I met the Mexican friends who would eventually prompt my sudden and unplanned move to Mexico (the prompting wasn't very active - mostly my doing on the great things they told and later showed me.)  This coffee, however, was one of my first Mexican experiences which little by little grew on me and fall in love with this wonderful country and all the great things it offers.

Having now lived in Mexico, I realize there was absolutely nothing Mexican about Ideal Cafe except the coffee.

When I first lived in Cuernavaca and began buying my coffee from the roaster in the local market, I realized some important things.  First of all, the coffee in Cuernavaca was just as good, if not superior.  Another is that the coffee in Kensington was sold for about 3 times as much; this makes since it's imported, and it was bought fair-trade organic, although it couldn't be sold as organic, since the shops hadn't been certified.  Also, the people in Kensington - especially Ideal - were hippies, punks or some kind of people who wore shabby clothes, but could afford to pay $10 for a pound of coffee or $3 for a cup. (I endured the price and forced myself to drink less coffee, simply since it was so good, and well worth sacrificing quantity for quality. I almost never bought the coffee to drink there for budget reasons.)  The people in Cuernavaca's market wore just about anything, mostly just plain jeans and a t-shirt, but paid $6 for a kilo of coffee (less than $3 a pound), and less than $1 for a cup.

I was thrilled to find this little coffee roaster.  It was purely practical for practical buyers, and for that reason offered low prices.  They had 5 different roasts and ground the coffee to your specifications.  It was delivered in typical two little transparent plastic bags - to ensure freshness, I was told - as opposed to the elegantly rustic brown paper of the shops in Toronto. (Mexico also has its trendy coffee shops, but not so much in Cuernavaca; places in Mexico City - I believe Condesa and, especially, Coyoacan - have some very nice little shops with amazing coffee, and I believe a number of them roast their own. Obviously a little pricier than Cuernavaca's market, but a nicer atmosphere than Ideal and still better prices. Mexico City also has enough shops that are purely roasters of its own - one of them is where my mother-in-law buys her annual gifts of coffee for us.)

Ideal Cafe Inside

I never begrudged Kensington Market for charging me 3x as much; as I mentioned above, I still go back there when in Canada.  They were my first experience with Mexican coffee, and that alone is something to be grateful for.

Thank you Mexico for wonderful coffee - and thank you Kensington Market for roasting it and selling it to Canadians!

By the way, if you live in Toronto, my recommendations are:  If you want to sit down for a coffee and a snack, go to Moonbean - I'm not sure if Moonbean's coffee is Mexican, but it's good.  If you want to buy grounds to brew at home, go to Ideal.

(As I've said before, Playa del Carmen is still missing a coffee roaster, but the Chiapas coffee I buy in a little shop in the old working-class neighbourhood seems fairly fresh - it also comes in plastic bags.  Then again, everything in Mexico comes in plastic bags, even orange juice.)

If you want to read more about coffee, try these:

Cafe de Olla - One of my Favorites!
Coffee, Wonderful Coffee!

A Gift of Coffee
"How Many Germans Does it Take To ...

Enough writing about coffee I'm going to go make myself one!

A Gift of Coffee

My Coffee from Veracruz
(I still need to buy an opaque jar or can.)

On more than one occasion, I have received gifts of coffee from various parts of the world.  On every occasion, I have been delighted!

Today was another such occasion.  A neighbor who had been visiting his family in Veracruz in December, suddenly remembered that he had brought a little packet of fresh coffee back for me.  I have wonderful friends and neighbours; he knows that  I love coffee. I often show up outside on the front lawn while the kids and the dogs are playing with a coffee in my hand, and I talk about it often enough.  But I was very pleasantly surprised that he was thoughtful enough to pick up a

package of coffee for me!

Tonight, while browsing posts on Facebook and other blogs, and waiting for my baby to wake up to give him the bottle, I tried out a cup.

First I smelt it.  Wonderful, rich and strong aroma!

Then I looked at it.  A moderately dark roast, and a just-below-medium grind, and very clean - very little of that powder that sifts through all but the best paper filters.  Perfect for my moka pot coffee maker! (See this post for a picture: Coffee, Wonderful Coffee!)

(I took my time for all of this; you will see why the process of selecting coffee in a store could take so long - see "How Many Germans Does it Take To ....)

Then I prepared my little moka pot, and enjoyed a very rich, strong coffee that in no way left me disappointed.  For the past week or so, I've found myself preferring my coffee black.  It was wonderful.

I love coffee, and I'm always excited to receive a gift of coffee!  Notable mentions include a package of Canadian maple coffee my brother once gave me, a very large bag of very dark and delicious coffee brought from Merida, but originally from an unknown destination, the coffee my mother-in-law brings from Mexico City every time she visits - again, I don't know the origin, but the roasters in Mexico City and the surrounding area know what they're doing - and a bag of green coffee beans my wife's grandpa was going to send with us once, but we choose not to take because of transportation difficulties.

Again, thanks to my neighbour for this gift of coffee!  One of the few things better than good coffee is having good friends!

(For a recipe on how to make a delicious traditional kind of Mexican coffee, read Cafe de Olla - One of my Favorites!)

"How Many Germans Does it Take To ...

... to buy a bottle of wine?"
Answer: 2 hours - or so my sister-in-law says. (Entered tonight on Facebook as her status)

How long would you take to choose a package of coffee, for instance, or a bottle of wine?

An important point to start; we're not really Germans, at least not like the ones who live in Germany.  I like to think we're kind of breed of our own. You're probably wondering who "we" are.  That's my family.  We don't like to rush things.  We like rushing much less than any other Canadians, or even Germans, I've ever met.  Germans are relentlessly punctual.  We are not; that would require hurrying.

My wife, who has learned to do everything quickly, has been quite frustrated by this point.  While my sisters-in-law have been similarly frustrated with my brothers, my wife is in a different category, since she comes from a place where almost everyone does almost everything fast.  Mexicans in general aren't rushed people, but in Mexico City in particular, people learn to do everything really quickly.  Most of the population eats no breakfast, or if the do, it's eaten on the run.  From the moment people wake up till get out the door can be a matter of minutes; heavy traffic and a fast-paced life requires you to make the most of your precious sleep hours, not wasting them to get up early and sit down for a meal.

(In contrast to everything that doctors here say about beans, coffee and chili, I believe this is one of the major causes of gastritis, since people don't eat properly until well into the afternoon, and then they eat greasy Mexican fast food - very tasty mind you; read Vitamin T - The Mexican Special for more info.)

She was in disbelief the first time she saw me get up in the morning, and, after my shower, take an hour and a half to prepare a full breakfast and sit down to eat it.  She thought it must have been because I was on holidays.  Little did she know that this wasn't slow at all.

The first time we went to Canada to visit my family, she was in similar disbelief when she saw my younger brother take 10 minutes to measure the coffee into the filter.  She later told me she felt an almost overwhelming urge to take the coffee away from him and do it herself.  She also said that she finally understood a little more about me, realizing that this was much more than a bad habit.

Members of my family, myself included, do take their time to do just about everything we can take our time to do.  Having to rush through something can be as frustrating for us as it is for our wives to have to watch us do it slowly.

On the other hand, my wife really does enjoy the results when I take my time to do things right.  When we make our own sandwiches, she has her sandwich ready in about 2 minutes.  Mine will take a bit longer (she claims 15 minutes - I thinks it's a little closer to 5-10, but at least 3 times as long as she does, in any case.)  However, when she sees my sandwich, she looks at hers, if anything is left of it, with disappointment on her face, feeling that mine just looks that much tastier.  I used to always end up giving her my sandwich (or whatever it was I had prepared) and making myself another one.  Now I've learned to ignore whatever she says, and just make two in the first place.

She also likes the the coffee & cinnamon hot chocolate I make from scratch; it's much slower than her instant chocolate milk, but 100 times better.  She doesn't have the patients to do stuff like that, as much as she likes it.

Some things she can't appreciate.  Like taking 15 minutes to choose the right kind of coffee.  Or, in the case of my brothers, an hour to choose the right wine or beer. Clearly my sister-in-law can't appreciate the delicacy of this kind of choice either!

I don't know if my sisters-in-law are fast people (faster than average) or if just being average is enough to be really frustrated with my family.  But I know that my wife is really from a pace of life that is much faster than normal.  For her, my pace of doing things was just unreal.  The same vice-versa.

We balance each other.  Sometimes she sits down to watch me do stuff, as though it's a show.  Other times she hurries me up.  Just as often, I slow her down.  In this way, we're perfect for each other.

For other contrasts between my wife and me, read:

• Have you ever flushed your phone down the toilet?

The Curse of the Eye

"Mal de Ojo" -  "The Curse of the Eye" or "The Evil Eye"

I guess to start, I should explain that the title of this post is a translation - an exaggerated translation - of a phrase in Spanish is very difficult into English, primarily because the idea is so foreign to English-speaking cultures.

Let me start with a story.  One day, a month or two after my first son was born, we went to visit her cousin. My wife went upstairs immediately to use the washroom, and her cousin noticed that the baby was fussing.

"I think he got hot in the street.  Do you clean him?" she asked as I tried to calm the baby down.

"Well, yes," I explained, thinking that I understood the question. "At least once a day, and sometimes more often when it's really hot."

"Do you clean him?"

"Usually my wife does," I continued.  "Sometimes I just take him into the shower."

"No - that's not what I mean.  Do you clean him - I mean, with an egg?"

I obviously looked confused, so she explained.  "Do you clean him from 'mal del ojo,' using an egg?  Sometimes when a baby is in the street, they get 'mal de ojo,' and it heats their blood up.  You have to clean them with an egg to take it away and calm them down."

Now I remembered: "I don't because I don't know how.  I have to get someone else to do it."  I had vaguely heard of the idea before

So, she proceeded to take an egg out of her cupboard, rub the baby's body and head with it.  She then cracked it into cup of water, examined the water, and discarded it.  He had calmed down by that point, so, the antidote had worked.

Later, my wife explained in more detail.  From what I understand, "mal del ojo," occurs when somebody sees another person - especially a child - has the desire to touch that child, and refrains from doing so, thus leaving themselves with a sort of anxiety. (In Mexico it is common enough just to touch a child which they think is cute, adorable, etc.  It is also common to touch the belly of a pregnant woman; in both cases, it doesn't matter if you know the other person or not.)  This "anxiety" causes the child that they saw to get "mal de ojo." ("Anxiety" is not the best translation, but the concept as a whole kind of lacks words that work well in English, since we don't have anything like this idea.)


"Mal de ojo" manifests itself - again, from my limited understanding - as kind of a feverish sickness that leaves the child hot, uncomfortable and whiny.  So, when children enter a home off the street, and are hot and cranky, it is almost 100% certain that someone had a desire to touch them, and didn't.  (Personally, I suspect the heat of the Mexican sun, combined with the mountain of blankets that people put on their infants at any time of year has much more to do with it, but what do I know.)  You can usually identify who/when it was, because you remember someone looking at the child.  If the person who "cleanses" the child with an egg is the same person who had the desire to touch them, it works better.  The child can also be cleaned by other methods, including sweaty clothes - I've never actually seen anyone do this, but I've heard and read about it.

When you crack the egg into water, the white leaves a "tail" streaming upwards; this tail contains the "mal" or "evil" from the mishap, indicating that it has been drawn out of the child.  This is what my wife's cousin was looking for.

A bracelet with a "deer's eye" to ward off "mal de ojo"

Apparently, "mal del ojo" can occur with people of other ages as well, but children are far more susceptible, (since it's more common to see a child you think is adorable, I guess.)  This is part of the reason why, in public many people will come and touch your child after they see them and make some comment about how cute they are; sometimes (but not always) they are trying to prevent "mal de ojo."  The other reason is that Mexican people are just a lot more touchy-feely.

You can also protect a child against "mal de ojo" by means of a red bracelet with a seed called a "deer's eye" on it.

I'm not a superstitious person, so I don't believe this really happens.  My wife, who is also not superstitious, generally, was actually convinced by her relatives to buy a bracelet and keep it on our child for a few months.

Many Mexicans, however, don't even see this as a superstition; it's simply a fact of what happens, and how you have to deal with it.  I once brought it up in an English class I was teaching, in which the theme was "superstitions," and several students were surprised that I lumped this together with four-leafed clovers and broken mirrors in credibility; everybody knew about it, much better than me, but no one had named it when we were listing superstitions.  Needless to say, by no means do all Mexicans believe in it.  There are plenty of non-superstitious and skeptical Mexicans.  There is a definite link to social class, but I have come across some surprising exceptions.

On the other hand, who am I say that it's not true?  Maybe in some sense beyond my understanding it actually does happen. Who knows.

Translation notes: The exaggerated translation for the title (together with the Eye of Sauron image from The Lord of the Rings) was meant to catch your attention, but the only other translation I've seen "Evil Eye," normally means something else in English, so I can't really think of a better way to translate it anyway.  The more correct translation for "limpiar" in this case would be "cleanse" and not "clean;" but since it is the same word in Spanish, which caused part of my confusion, I translated it with "clean."

(By the way, the first time I heard about "mal de ojo" I couldn't help but to imagine the Eye of Sauron.  No real connection, just my imagination.)

I don't really have any other posts about superstitions, but I have a few about religion, which is not really related, but something else to read.

(Update Feb 24, 2011: I just put up a post about Saint Death, a similarly wide-spread superstition with an almost cult-like following.  See Saint Death - A Uniquely Mexican (and Strange) Phenomenon)