May
21
2006

The Fish Market & Vendors

PhotosSunday, May 21, 2006 - 10:28:14 am (Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 05:28:14 pm MST)
(Posted Under: Travel, Mexico Mexico)
Photobox ImageWaking up, in Mexico, in a sweet condo, with a view over looking the ocean, there isn't much better!

This morning, after getting ready, we headed out for breakfast, settling for Crocodrillos, at the end of the street. All round we order pancakes. I've, since Iowa in 1999, held the US in high regard for pancakes. Today, Mexico was added to the list. Crocodrillos anyways, these pancakes we awesome. I couldn't say enough about them, and ended up finishing the girl's ones too. It was a breakfast of champions. I actually couldn't wait to come here again tomorrow for breakfast, all the while completely feeling that at the moment I couldn't fit another thing in.

Outside in the outdoor eating area, there was a guy wearing a blue Mexican wrestling mask. I think he was the one who became infamous on this trip. Either way, kinda hilarious to see at breakfast. At some point Denise and her crew came in, who we talked to briefly.

Crocodrillos was really cool, brightly painted. Sitting there, subtle difference were noticeable and so cool. Like the fact that there were young children working there. Something you don't typically see, however in Mexico the whole family element is so evident. For me, this was as cool to witness first hand as anything else. The other difference I got to notice at Crocodrillos was when I went to the bano. On the way down to Mexico we'd talked about the plumbing situation, and the fact that you're not supposed to flush the paper - however, Pinacate has full plumbing. However, at Crocodrillos this was not the case, and there was a big sign by the basin (which actually was significantly different to what you'd expect itself) not to flush the paper.

Photobox ImageAfter breakfast, we headed back to the room briefly (not before taking some snaps of one of the Circus Mexicus decorated SUV's we'd seen yesterday), before heading out the front to catch a taxi down to the fish market, where all the vendors are.

Once we got down there, we hit the stalls. It was quite busy, and it was obvious that the majority of people walking around were here for Circus Mexicus, and there were a lot of Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers shirts to be seen (on people, not for sale). We walked around, looking at the stores, myself looking particularly for t-shirts and a cowboy hat, which I definitely had to buy in Mexico. Katie had told me that there were "Fuck you, you fucking fuck!" Puerto Peñasco shirts also, and I knew I had to have on of these! [smile]

Before long, the girls decided the wanted to have lunch. I had no problem with this, but I was still fairly full of pancakes, and lunch wasn't calling me. We decided on going to Senor Shrimp, located directly above the fish markets. With my rather interesting and sensitive sense of smell, I had to take the scenic route around the parked cars, and then hold my breath up the impressively narrow staircase. Me and the overpower smell of fish - we no go well together. [wink]

Anyways, once at Senor Shrimp, a waiter seated and served us. He chatted to us for a bit, was quite funny and charming. Seriously, I loved this guy, and soley based on how good natured he was, couldn't wait to come back to Mexico, to return to Senor Shrimp. We orders, and I just had a Coke, and picked at Cath's chicken fahita, because there was no way I was actually hungry. Which was kinda frustrating, because the fahita was awesome, and I really wanted to order one myself! Definitely sitting there, much like at Crocodrillos, I was lapping up the whole Mexico experience, and feeling that nothing could be better than this.

After lunch, we walked down along the beach, where we ran into the nicest drug dealer, I've ever met. Well, y'know, I haven't met many drug dealers, but that doesn't underscore the fact. [smile] After asking us if we needed any weed, or other substances and it became obvious we weren't looking, him trying to sell anything went completely out the wind. Like I've mentioned previously, say "No", and that's it - and rather than either trying to push the matter, or just leaving (either of which I'd expect at home or in the US), the guy started chatting about where we were from, and where he was from. Again, a really cool guy. Anywhere else, I'd expect to be on edge in this situation, and would expect that moreso in Mexico. The only hesitation I had was having the police drive past and it look like we were buying dope from this guy. [smile] In anycase, we had a five minute conversation with him, before he told us not to let ourselves get ripped off by the vendors, and was on his way.

From here, we made our way up one of the streets, looking more intently for a hat - the day getting later, and I knew I really needed to find one and buy it. Down this street I did, and pretty much finding one that looked good on me, I was too excited to barter for it. I asked the vendor how much it was, and both Cath and Katie said that the vendor looked disappointed that I just reached for my wallet, rather than haggling for it. [smile] Which was pretty much the living in western society coming into play - if you find something perfect, and you have the dosche, grab it while you can. This is definitely how my mind was working, at least until the girls were laughing at me. [lol] Then I felt like I'd let the guy down, and wanted to go back and haggle with him! [lol] Katie said that I pretty much got ripped off, paying US$18 (I think) for it, but it's a bitchin' hat.

From there, we back tracked, and Cath went off on her own, which Katie and I continued on her quest to find Kristin the perfect ceramic parrot. There were plenty of vendors selling, and you'd think it'd be an easy task. Not so, when it came to finding the perfect one. However, we finally did! I'd also decided, in addition to buying t-shirt for people back home, I needed to get myself a singlet, not just for the coolness Mexico factor, but because of the heat factor, it'd be a good investment. On finding one, and negotiation a price, Kristin's parrot suffered a traumatic injury. It was somewhat comical how the vendor selling the singlet saw this immediately as a budding business opportunity immediately announcing "buy on here, I'll give you a good price". [smile] Alas, his inventory couldn't compare to the perfect, albeit damaged, or should I say, in pieces, parrot. [smile] Anywho, this meant the search for ceramic parrots was re-instated. The funny prelude to the story is that the singlet I brought was not a good fit, and more or less made me look like a four dollar whore, or a bad pimp! [lol]

We soon caught up to Cath, who was in the market for both a cowboy hat and a Mexican blanket, and we decided we needed to start making our way back for the big rock show. We milled around on the main street for a taxi, which proved to be fruitless, hence we decided to walk up away from the vendors, in the hopes of catching a taxi on it's way in.

While turning a corner at the end of the street, a vendor tried to offload us some cheap shrimp, to which we said we were good, we just wanted a taxi. In turn, he informed us that his friend had a taxi, and he'd give him a call. Now, in Mexico, you can get anything for a bit of dinero. We'd previous talked about how, if you want a beer, you can tell a kid you want one and will pay them, and you'll soon have a cold beer in your hand, without having to move a muscle. Now, I had no idea if this was this charm of Mexico at work here, or something more sinister. It was about the only time, in the whole four days that I felt somewhat uneasy - especially after we declined, and continued walking up the street (which was quite deserted in comparison to the main street) and the guy followed us, quite a way, repeating his offer. Both Katie and Cath were taking the approach of what you do elsewhere, ignore him, and that is well and good, but I was at the end of the pack (the dirt sidewalk was only wide enough for one person), and if anything was going to happen, it was going to happen to me. Or to me first. [wink] He followed us for what seemed like forever (and in reality probably wasn't), and was certainly a relief to me when I heard him give up and return to his stall. [smile] By all accounts, he could have / was probably just looking to make a few bucks for his friend, and I certainly didn't want to be rude in this case, but at the same time, I could see the potential for this being where the whole Mexico experience goes south. [wink]

In anycase, we got to the end of the street, where we waited for a taxi. It was nice to take a break, still being slightly startled by what had just happened. Then all of a sudden, a guy in a suit comes walking towards with a clipboard, asking us if he could talk to us. No doubt he was trying to sell property or something such, but a taxi pulled, and so we all pilled in, before the guy could actually say what he was selling or doing. Which y'know know, I wasn't disappointed about. We took the short trip back to the condos, before hitting the shower and getting ready for the show.

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