David's first experience with a "Terrace with a View" was outside of Oaxaca in Yarterini.
He arrived in Oaxaca at the bus station and walked to the hotel with other passengers that didn't know the way around. He took command and advised them to look for a steeple ...in all Catholic villages, the Church is in the Center. The Spanish handbook formatted village. Every City from St Augustine to Buenos Aires. Traffic was heavy and we had no sense of direction and there wasn't any steeple we could see....so he suggested to follow the busy traffic to the center. It worked and there was a church with a small steeple. I found my way to the Mariposas Hotel after we had lunch together and studied the city map. It was a 2 minute walk.
Each day of David's stay he became more and more enamored with this wonders of paradise. The resident Mexicans , born in Oaxaca were everywhere...this is their birthplace and their ancestors ...ALL of them. In nearby villages. Zapotec people live on the same land their ancestors did 1500 years ago. When he returned for Mariposa's "happy hour" with the guests, the frequent "snowbirds" kept asking ..how do you like Oaxaca...and each day he replied , " I think I should stay longer". They would "all knowingly" look at each other and grin.
After 4 days he asked to extend his stay and was told they were booked for the season. David started looking for something as nice and priced right. All Booked. So he took a cheap room in the back of the Labasita Plaza for a few days while continuing to search for a better and longer place to stay.
Finally he turned to the owner of Mariposa's, Theresa, and asked if she knew of alternative ways of staying in Oaxaca. She suggested renting one of her apartments in the village of Yarterini that was above her daughter. Then she had her handyman Usi, who could do anything and did, take David out to the apartment on the back of his motorcycle. They became good friends and David took the apartment and the bus back and forth. Some days he just stayed there admiring the view from the terrace.
That was 8 years ago. Now I am less than 24 hours away from getting the key to my to apartment in a terrace.
I bussed into La Noria for a haircut, then stopped in on Fiallo to pick up some MSG I left there, and returned.
ANNUAL ALTAR TO HONOR ________
Last night I returned to Red's Seafood after picking up my last laundry trip at this location in Reforma.
Kurt, Lynn's husband, arrived a couple days ago and we are set to meet at the Liverpool Pool hall today for a game or two and lunch after. It was nice to see him again, so I let him beat me 3 games. Our Comida at Terranova was nice. He stayed to watch the last game of the World Cup and I hustled back to my packing for the move.Soup was great but the Chicken was tough, chewy and not worthy. Carol and I went out to celebrate the signing of the 3 year lease and see a bit of the Christmas festivities. We ended at Tres Bistro for our Dozen Oysters! Yum! We had our Grilled Salmon with Roasted Vegetables while visiting with Alfredo, our favorite bartender.
View from my terrace..the Street below. Whew...nice evening.
I hired a crew of 3 with a truck to pick up everything in Reforma, then a few pieces of furniture and some things at Fiallo, then deliver it all to Porfirio Diaz, my new home. They did it all in less than 2 hours for $150 and I tipped them each $5. They were very good and I was happy.
I walked a different street home that evening after dinner at Casa Celia.
This is my terrace on the top floor. What you see from this angle is my neighbor's 2nd story balcony. My terrace is his roof. The Arches and the wall were built by the Dominicans in the late 1500's to bring water from the Mountains into the Pueblo of Oaxaca. No more water but apartments were added on the back of the aqueduct in some places. It goes quite a few miles and I'm sure the Dominicans had the help of the indigenous people they conquered.
The following evening, Carolina stopped by and we followed the Aqueduct to another of our favorite restaurants called Chepiche. It is a great breakfast spot and few know how good it is for dinner.
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T-Bone with Avocado |
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Mexican Chicken Pot Pie with Bone Marrow and Salad |
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Dad dancing with Daughter |
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Great Bossa Nova Group...starts at 6 |
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Irish Couple for Opening of Chocolate Shop |
End of another Great Evening
The next day we had breakfast at a close by Mexican Market on my Street.
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Improvision...Hot Plate works |
That afternoon we walked a block to visit Kurt and Lynn at their year round apartment but mostly only visit in the winter season.
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Neighbors David and Carol stopped in for a drink. We had great Tacos with Carne..plus |
Relaxing on my Terrace after a long but very nice day!!
I took the bus to Home Depot then met Carolina later in the afternoon for dinner at Sur y Norte for Grilled Tuna Steak and too spicy potatoes...for me.
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The Sauce was the Spicy part...the potatoes had too much salt. |
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Corn Husk Christmas Tree |
The next day, I shut the door with my keys in the inside lock. Sabino, the attendant that takes care of issues, gave me a back up key but these HiTech locks do not allow that. Carolina had dinner with Bob and Ruth then I met them at their home for Mexican Train Dominoes and Chocolate Truffles. He was nice enough to call his locksmith to meet me the next day.
The locksmith showed at the house on time while I watched and took some photos of the property. Sabino couldn't help so in the end he left and Sabino took off the molding and we broke into the house to get the keys. Back to normal but it took 4 days for Sabino to put the molding back on the door. Which was good because I locked myself out again but this time opened it with my belt and made an extra key I hid outside.
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DAY VIEW FROM TERRACE |
This evening we are going to Barrio Jalatlaco to find a restaurant that we have NOT been to.
Every year since 1895 the Radish Festival, started by Monks in the La Noria parish to raise money, has gathered popularity. It takes place just before Christmas and is a competition of Radish sculptures that now includes Corn Husks creations as a separate category.
I played pool then spent a half hour taking photos of the exhibits in the competition at the Zocalo. This was the first "back to normal" event since the start of Covid 2 years ago.
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MOTHER, AND SON, EARNING LUNCH |
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RADISH CREATIONS |
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LOCAL CULINARY STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTOR |
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CORN HUSK CREATIONS |
COMIDA OF CHILI RELLENO WITH CHICKEN STUFFING AT SANTA SABOR. $4.50
Carolina and I dressed warm for the 5 pm TUNA Concert in the San Pablo courtyard. It was a reunion since taking 1st place in the International European Tuna Competition. I first heard of TUNA's while visiting one of the oldest University Campus's in the world...University of Salamanca in Spain. The "TUNAS" were University students that formed a society of musicians who played to make money to pay for their education and fun.
Wikipedia:
The tuna university is an ancient tradition that arose in Spain, mainly in Salamanca, and later, thanks to its traveling nature, it spread to various parts of Europe, such as Portugal and the Netherlands, and in America in countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Chile or Argentina, etc. It arrived at the end of the 19th century through Spanish tunes, specifically from Madrid. For some its origin is located between the 13th or 14th century with the continuation of the goliard tradition: in the Middle Ages it was a type of itinerant cleric (giróvagos or sarabaÃtas) who took advantage of the lodging tradition of the monasteries to live without working, standing out for his predilection for music, drink, food, gambling and love affairs. Another origin, not exclusive, would be that of the poor students or sopistas, who lived on the silly soup that they gave free in the convents to the needy. estos sopistas would use their musical skills, pleas or rogue to cover at least partly their studies and livelihood. Whatever their origin, they would leave a mark over time that is already reflected in the Golden Age as a stereotype of the student with a cheerful and mischievous character that we can find, for example, in the Cervantes interlude in La cueva de Salamanca.
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CENTER IS ANDREAS, ALSO DOES A DANCE |
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CHRISTOPHER WHO HAS BEEN WITH THIS BROTHERHOOD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS... |
We opted for Hamburgs at Tres Bistro to satisfy our hunger and say hello to Alfredo. I had the "Black Angus", Carol had the French. French Black On the way home, the line to see the Radish Festival was 4 hours long and went around the block...it was cold but families came in from pueblos to see the creations and were not leaving until they did.
We stopped to visit Jamie, selling his artistic achievements at a trade show.
It was a very Festive evening....Festive
This morning I enjoyed my coffee while admiring my new view from my kitchen.
Not Bad....decided to take the computer to lunch...well, breakfast at a close by restaurant, Goji Oaxaca, with an internet connection I could use. The Pulled Pork was good.
I did the same the next day, except had a Greek Salad at Marita & Moogie Cafe. That was also excellent. I walked through the Zocalo after to admire an Art Exhibition in front of the Governor's Palace and stroll around.
Christmas came and went...we brought Sweet Potatoes and a Banana Custard Pudding to the Library Pot Luck on Christmas Day. It was a sell out and wonderful food with wonderful people from all over the world. Carol prepared the food and while we were seated she ran into one of her teacher co-workers from Austin High School over 20 years ago. He was traveling with his wife and daughter down the Pan Am Highway on the way to Terra Fuego and had been on the road from Portland for 6 months before arriving in Oaxaca a few days ago. Yesterday, Eliz, gave me my monthly fantastic one and a half hour massage. I needed it.
My move into my new apartment went well BUT as I was unpacking this last week I kept encountering issues I didn't expect. Paying high dollar, I assumed (never assume anything in Mexico) all was in good shape, working order, and not in need of repair. The kitchen sink and bathroom toilet had small leaks, a couple kitchen cabinets didn't close properly, there was no over the mirror light in the bathroom, a bed for the spare room was still being constructed as was the dining room set, I had no drinking water and wasn't sure if they had it available for purchase. I didn't know where to take the trash. Bulbs needed replacing in the bedrooms and still NO internet or removal of broken pot with 3 tall cacti on the terrace.
My only contact was internet email to the realtor that showed me the place. No phone number...as no one spoke English. I was pissed and writing nasty emails to the owner and the realty sales rep about having to leave to borrow an internet connection in Cafes.
Just after Christmas they started repairing leaks and sending workman over to fix things. I was so excited. Then the electrician/plumber installed a "spot light" over the bathroom mirror and couldn't repair the toilet leak so told me he would return at 5 pm Friday...the next day.
The water was shut off to the toilet and shower because of the leak so I went to Carol's for the night and waited out the day to return at 5 and greet the worker. Meanwhile the realtor emailed me around 2 and wanted to know when the plumber was coming. I replied at 5 pm and went to dinner with Carol at Casa Celia.
I ATE QUITE A BIT BEFORE PHOTO
HALF OF THE PORK TENDERLOIN SANDWICH WE SPLIT
FANTASTIC APPLE TART WITH HOMEMADE ICE CREAM
When I was done I returned home at 4:30 to greet the plumber who I was informed...went home and would return Monday to fix the toilet. The realtor said she was waiting for me to let her know when I was going to be there and I had already told her 5 pm to let him in at the time he told me he would return. They thought I was going to sit and wait in a house with no toilet until he just showed up? I returned to my old apartment on Fiallo to wait until Monday.
The next day we went out to Zagunda for to have dinner and wine.
THE WAITSTAFF GREETED US
BROILED MAHI WITH VEGETABLES
CHICKEN AND BAKED STUFFED POTATO
GROUND FISH TAPAS...VERY TASTY
VIEW FROM THE MEN'S ROOM URINAL
VIEW OF THE REFLECTION OF THE MEN'S ROOM URINAL FROM THE OTHER SIDE.
THE MESCAL TOURIST BUS TOUR We spotted a NEW restaurant and decided an after dinner drink and dessert was in order. "Te Amo Oaxaca" was a pleasant surprise with excellent drinks, food and a view.
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COMPETITION ACROSS THE STREET |
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MESCAL |
MESCAL MOJITO WITH SANTA LEAF
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ANOTHER TOUR BUS |
VERY GOOD CREME BRULEE
OAXACAN BROWNIE WITH LEMON CURD, MARSHMALLOW, AND FRUIT.
TOURIST TWINS THE SECOND TERRACE....Too early to tell . It is much different from the first apartment back in 2013 but I will show you some photos then later this January I will show you photos of the new place when the workmen are gone and the new furniture put in.
These views are dramatic and impressive...especially when youare sitting out there instead of gazing at a photo. Is the view worth giving up the comforts of a convenient location with a master bathroom for each bedroom and a kitchen designed for a Chef? I'm not sure ...YET.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY UNCLE HOWARD AND HIS WIFE BECCA...& TO ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND'S, DOUG RICHARDS! |
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND MAY BE ALL ENJOY THE NEXT ONE.
Love david
The landlords Hector and Lulu on Fiallo are having a New Year's Eve party tonight. I'm on my way down for a Mescal then bed. The music will start and I will remove my hearing aides and sleep well. I will miss this place and the fun over the last 7-8 years they have put up with me. Fireworks on the horizon over Oaxaca just started. Gotta go...
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| GATE |
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SET FOR THE PARTY....
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ENJOYING MY NEW YEARS EVE DINNER...CUBANA TORTA
