Gift Buying

I had almost finished buying gifts to give to my friends when I return to Ohio next month.  However, there were still a few little items that I wanted to get.  So, last week I went to the "Ciudadela" handicrafts market.

I have written before that this large market, which was built in anticipation of the 1968 Summer Olympics, has around 350 vendors.  The narrow aisles feature a colorful array of merchandise, although a lot of it is touristy junk.

However, if you look beyond the cheap souvenirs, you will find authentic Mexican handicrafts, perhaps not museum-quality work, but nice examples of crafts such as black pottery from Oaxaca, lacquerware from Guerrero or copperware from Michoacán.  On this trip I found a number of artisans at work right there in the market.  One fellow was making guitars, another carving wooden masks, and a tinsmith was hammering out metal decorations.  I found the items to complete my gift list long before I had finished the circuit of the entire market.

If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I have a weakness for handicrafts, but I can proudly say that I bought only two items for myself.  A pair of sterling silver earrings, and a baseball cap which I plan to wear when I am in Ohio.

Will this perhaps tick off a few people with anti-Mexican biases?

I had a conversation with one of the vendors who was selling baseball caps.  Yes, virtually all the caps that you find anywhere in Mexico are made in China, but the embroidery or decoration on the caps should be done in Mexico.

I can remember back when I first visited Mexico as a college student.  I had a limited amount of money, and I was looking to purchase things inexpensively.  In those days, haggling in the markets was generally acceptable.  Nowadays many of the items in this market have price tags.  It is really not cool to try to save a dollar or two (or perhaps even a few cents) by trying to haggle.  You come off looking like a cheapskate.  I can't recall the last time I haggled in a market.  

A Change of Seasons

I have been asked if I miss the change of seasons.  The fact of the matter is that we do have seasons in Mexico City, even if they are not as pronounced as they are in Ohio.  Winter here can be rather chilly especially at night, spring is the hottest time of year, and now we appear to be transitioning into the rainy season which lasts through the summer into early fall.

The rainy season generally begins in earnest in June.  We have had some rain this May, but it has been hit and miss.  There have been occasions when the northern side of the city, where Alejandro's family lives, have had heavy rains.  But, on those same occasions, here at the apartment there has been lightning and thunder but not a drop of rain.

Yesterday dawned cloudy, dreary and chilly.  The the sun came out for a while in the late morning and the temperature rose to a high of 76 degrees Fahrenheit.  Then the clouds rolled in again, and around 4:30 we had a period of light rain.

This morning, as I write this around 7:00, the skies are once again overcast, and the temperature is 60 F.

Looking at the long-range forecast on the Weather Channel (if a long-range forecast can be believed), it does appear that the rainy season is upon us.

(I used my camera to take a photo of my laptop screen.)

The rains bring a drop in the temperature by about ten degrees.  The highs in the 80s which we experience in April and May, are replaced by highs in the 70s.  Notice also that the rain typically occurs in the late afternoon or evening, and that most days there is still some sunshine.  If you visit Mexico City in the summer, it is not going to be a washout... just be prepared and carry an umbrella.

Finishing "Switzerland"

Those of you who have read this blog for a while, know that I am a dinosaur.  I still own and use a DVD player, and I use a computer program to make discs of the photos and videos that I take on my travels.  I have a collection of over 60 travel DVDs that I have made.

It was last September that I traveled to Switzerland, and, after much procrastination, I finally finished the disc.  I needed to get it done before I go to Ohio next month, since my cousin will want to see it.

"Switzerland, September 2024" is completed and in its case.  Before I moved to Mexico, I bought a bunch of DVD cases in case I couldn't find them down here.

The program I use allows me to put in background music from my music CDs.  (Yes, this dinosaur still has a large collection of CDs.)  For this disc I used a mixture of classical music and songs from a CD of Swiss music that I bought years ago on a trip to Switzerland.

Here are a couple of snippets from the DVD.  (I used my camera while the disc was playing on the TV.)

Lake Lugano is in the Italian-speaking section of Switzerland.  My Swiss music CD included a few songs with an Italian flavor.

Obviously, the Rheinfall is a waterfall on the Rhine River, and nearby is the picturesque town of Schaffhausen.

 

COVID Rears Its Ugly Head

Someone that we know down here in Mexico became ill on Tuesday with a cough and bad sore throat.  He went to the doctor and was given a COVID test.  He tested positive.  Alejandro and I had seen him just the day before he got sick.  Obviously, when we found out, we were concerned that we would come down with it.  Every time that I had a cough or a tickle in my throat, I would start worrying that I had caught it.

We both felt fine the next day, but it was too soon to know whether or not the virus was incubating within us.  Alejandro's doctor recommended a medication called Adimod which is supposed to boost the immune system.  So on Wednesday I went to the pharmacy (wearing a mask for the first time in ages) and bought a box.  I also bought several at-home COVID tests.

On Wednesday evening, even though it was perhaps too soon to detect the virus, I took one of the tests.  I tested negative.

By Friday morning we were still feeling OK.  Both Alejandro and I took the test again and we were both negative.  At this point, I think we are out of the woods, although I plan on taking another test on Sunday.  I guess that our vaccines are still working, or else we didn't have enough close contact with the person who got sick.  (By the way, he is already feeling much better.)   

Please, Bloom!

 I have written many times about my orchid plant.  Although it looks very healthy and has sprouted new leaves and air roots, after well over a year it has not rebloomed.  For some time I have been giving it a special orchid fertilizer that I bought that is supposed to promote flowering... a few drops in its water each week.  But nothing.

Now, I have been taking further measures.  I read that in order to keep the air around the plant more humid, the orchid should be set on a tray filled with pebbles and water.  So, I have put pebbles and water in the plate under the plant.  However, I didn't want it to be sitting in water... root rot the articles on the internet warn!  I set the pot in the plastic bottom from a package of cherry tomatoes.  It fits perfectly.

One fellow at the orchid show that we attended a couple weeks ago said that orchids like cooler temperatures at night.  So, I have been setting the plant out on the enclosed balcony at night.  I open one of the windows, but not the window by the orchid.  They don't like drafts.  Even during the hot months of spring, the nighttime temperatures in Mexico City get down into the upper 50s F.  I figure that the balcony is probably getting down to about 60 degrees, which, according to several articles, is a temperature that they like at night.  Then, in the morning I take it back to the living room by the window with the southeastern exposure.  With the sheer drapes, there it gets plenty of bright but indirect sunlight.

I don't know what else I can do... perhaps talk to it.  "Please, bloom.  Pretty please."

The Protest Continues

Several days ago, I wrote about the teachers' protest on the Zócalo.  That protest continues and is growing.  This is a photo I took from "Webcams de México" this afternoon.  The encampment covers the entire plaza, which is one of the largest in the world (surpassed only by Red Square in Moscow and Tiananmen Square in Beijing). 

Last weekend the tent city overflowed onto a couple of streets near the Zócalo.  Now, according to the newspaper, it is taking over more streets.

Traffic blockades also continue.  When I took the Metrobus today, the bus only went as far as the Insurgentes traffic circle, so I assume that the intersection of Insurgentes Avenue and Paseo de la Reforma was blocked once again.  I got off the subway to find that teachers had blockaded busy Chapultepec Avenue near Balderas Avenue.

According to the newspaper, at 5:00 this morning the teachers surrounded the National Palace and have blocked access to the building.  Workers could not enter, nor could reporters attend the President's daily press conference.  I wonder if the President is stuck in her Palace, unable to leave?  

More Apartments

Along Insurgentes Avenue, in the San Rafael neighborhood not far from the Monument to the Mexican Revolution, is a building which was structurally damaged in the earthquake of 2017 and which has stood vacant since then.

I always take note of this building when passing by on the Metrobus because on the ground level there was a men's clothing store called "Dover".  (You can still see one of the signs.)  For many years, Alejandro's favorite uncle used to work as a tailor in that store.  Fortunately, he retired before the earthquake devastated his place of employment.

Now, many years later, the structure is covered with large banners advertising another apartment building project.  I assume that the damaged building will be torn down and a new one constructed on the site.

The location is in a so-so neighborhood not far from a couple of areas known for prostitution.  But this stretch of Insurgentes is experiencing gentrification.  This is just the latest of several new high-rise apartment buildings which are in various stages of construction or planning.