Tuesday - Mexican Style

You never really know what's going to happen on any given day. Tuesday is market day, and of course, we almost always go since it's so cool, but beyond that it can get kind of random. Today was no exception.

I got through some work this morning, and then met Sue and Deborah at the market for lunch. We had a tried-and-true gordito (like a stuffed taco) from our favorite stand, as well as a couple yummy aguas frescas (fresh fruit drinks). I also branched out to the fried fish stand, and tried one of them. Usually I avoid fried stuff, but for an only-in-Mexico treat I couldn't resist. Lots of other people were eating them, so I sat down and picked apart my own fresh, whole fish. It was actually really good, and the limes and salsa with it were a plus too. Here's a photo so you can see what it looked like:


Fried fish stand

On our way home, we get a call from Anne-from-Baltimore. They just bought a house here, and today is the first day they are in possession of the house. Would we like to come by for a cocktail? We've been dying to see the house, so we drop our goodies from the market at the house, and head over. They bought a stunning house in Barrio Aldea. (No photos yet.) It has a small pool, an aqueduct/waterfall thing, a great garden, an awesome downstairs patio, and great architecture inside. Sue got a tour later, and they have an upstairs terrace with a killer view of the Parroquia too. I am extremely envious, but happy for them.

We hung out for a while on the downstairs patio, and Fernanado and Rosanna (another mom from school) were also there. I volunteered to take the kids to "Pony Club" today, and Fernando's kids join us, so Fernando and I left early to be good parents. Sue wound up staying for 3 1/2 hours as various guests came in and out of the new house.

Pony Club is run by an amazing Dutch woman named Nicole. We had heard great things about her from several other people, and so we signed the kids up for riding lessons. There's also a component of taking care of the horses in Pony Club, so all four kids did some grooming, mane braiding, washing, and hoof cleaning, as well as a little riding. This is definitely a "however long it takes" situation, and when one kid is riding, the other kids are entertaining themselves. Fernando and I hung out, and Liz joined us for a while. Then we chatted with Nicole once the lessons were done. We spent almost three hours, but it was really nice, and it's a beautiful place.

Come sunset, we went to Fernando's family's restaurant Kuni Doni for dinner. Sue met us there, and assorted cousins, uncles and friends were there as well. Sixty-something Uncle Cuautli was there, with his nineteen-year-old girlfriend Rosario. Cuautli's ex-wife forty-something Patty was there, with her twenty-nine year old boyfriend Gaston. (Cuautli and Patty met when she was nineteen and he was forty - do you see a pattern?) And Cuautli's kids - the amazing African drummers and world adventures we have heard about - Arnulfo and Andreas - were there as well, so we finally got to meet them. Even Pedro-the-cheese-guy - whom Sue met earlier at the market and bought some incredible cheese from that day - came in. The food was good, but they are still getting it together service-wise, so occasionally Liz would get up and go into the kitchen for something. It's actually fun going to a family-owned restaurant with the family. It makes it feel like a real home cooked meal.

We spent nearly three hours at the restaurant, just talking with various people. One amazing thing about Fernando's family is that everyone speaks good English - even the boyfriends and girlfriends. Plus, the entire family is really artsy. Fernando looks the most buttoned-up one of the bunch, but he has a knack for home-building and design.

Andreas and I talked for a while. He just came back from many months in Cabo with his brother and girlfriend. They put together a fire performance group, and did ten minute shows at night for the local hotels, which paid them well. The rest of the day they surfed, played drums, and hung out at the beach. What a life! We're trying to set up a drum and fire spinning jam at Cuautli's ranch in a couple of weeks.

We finally got home a little after nine o'clock. Way past the normal bedtime, but this was a day not to worry about the clock.