My New Chacala Neighborhood

I am just starting to see some of the advantages of moving to different houses in different Chacala neighborhoods every six months or so. I get to see families from a different perspective.

I have been meeting new kids everyday. Last night Carlos drew at my table til dark, and Jessica (who is a relative of this family is lives about four places down the beach) stayed practicing her English/Spanish vocabulary list. I am learning more words every day. My new landlady, Esperanza, and her son Carlos are both teaching me words all day. My mind is boggling with new vocabulary. And Esperanza’s daughter-in-law is pregnant and due in five days, so maybe I will get to hold the new baby later on.

Yesterday when I was looking for someone with a truck to move “my” new Coke table to my camp, I noticed Cheeto’s green and orange truck at Martine’s (Chilango’s) restaurant. It turned his wife, the mother of my favorite two year old, Hector, works at Martine’s (Chilango’s) restaurant. Never knew she worked outside the home before.

I noticed one of the little puestos (shack/store) on the beach road has been lined with a nice screen of small diameter bamboo sticks. The lady there said her son had collected the sticks for her. I like the look.

Another couple, about my age, and part of the Chico’s restaurant family in some way, have turned one of the puestos into a vacation home by putting a large tent inside and adding some nice chairs and tables for lounging around on. They have a light, and this morning I noticed a nice bouquet of flowers on the table. I think they use the facilities at Chico’s, and I know they eat there. They are here til February.

Yesterday morning I went by Chico’s to do glucose tests for Aurora and her dad, Chico. In the two years I have been testing him his blood sugar has dropped from 300 whatevers to 157, which is amazing to me considering he is a very serious consumer of tequila and doesn’t take any medication. It’s still not normal but it’s a lot better than it was. I am thinking of trying his method, but I think the tequila is more expensive than my diabetes meds. Besides, I can’t stand the taste. I ended up testing five people at Chico’s, and all but Chico had normal fasting blood sugars. Excellent for Mexico, where diabetes is the number one killer, ahead of heart disease and cancer.

I have started doing as much grocery shopping as possible at Koko Bongo’s newly expanded grocery. I want to support the families that actually live in Chacala as much as I can. My closest tienda is now Francisco’s. That family lives behind the store, so that’s pretty local.

I am writing this from my big tent with all the window rolled down, screens only, looking at the beach and the ocean and the sun moving across the tree covered point to the south. I am in love with the rhythm of the waves breaking on the beach and at night the white surf of the breakers rolling in. I can’t wait until the moon is full again.