Robert's Travel Blog

 Some parts of it are beautiful: But there's *this* right next door and a few houses down: They made me change rooms. First time in a year of travel that I've had to change rooms when extending a stay, but I shouldn't bitch coz the new room has a kitchenette: It's not a patch on the kitchen in the hostel/hotlel I was staying at, but at least I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my yoghurt! Right down the street from me is the "Revolutionary Federation of Workers and Country People of the State of Quintana Roo." Just between here and the market, some hotels have these signs: "Rooms from 1 hour for $11.43 / 2 hours for $13.71  / Climate [air conditioning] / Cable / 24 hours. If you smoke in México, your fruit will become strangely distorted: Just a pretty intersection: Entrance to my apartment building, a bit foreboding at night.  Have I posted a pic of the courtyard? In the front of my building is a water dispenser.  Select the amount & pay....

 Subway in Mexico is exactly what you'd expect.  It looks like every Subway in the Universe and to Infiniy and Beyond!  (Sorry, did I catch a case of TCS [Trump Capitalization Syndrome]?) Other than that the silly names are in Spanglish ("Costillas [ribs] Holy Moly Guacamoli [sic]" this could be a Subway menu anywhere. BUT I loves me their tuna salad, with lettuce, onion, cucumber, black olives, maybe a bit more onion, mayo and salt and pepper ($9.83 for a footlong, more or less the same as in the US). BUT due to ongoing dental issues, I couldn't eat the bread and just had to enjoy the filling. It is exactly the same and just as delicious as the US versionl

 Groceries are more expensive in Mexico than in Colombia, but so is everything else! Water: 72¢ Coke: $1.60 Oil: $1.13 18  (looks like 12, but I didn't miscount!) eggs: $2.62 Yogurt: $4.82 + $5.94 Instant coffee: $7.77 Sugar: $1.48 Except for maybe the yogurt, still cheaper than in the U.S.! Update: I got all this for about $20: Update: and this for $15.70. (Unnamed) vegetable oil: $1.14 for ~1 pint Canned vegetable salad: $1.29 Refried beans:  $1.00 12 eggs: $1.54 Protein milk: $2.80 for 1L Pasta: 69¢ Bananas: 58¢ per lb. Tomato Pasta Sauce: $2.85 Sardines: $2.85

 Some of Cancún's wonderful street art: I heart this one:

 Just a block and a half from my departamento: I think I'm getting more Latin American . . . when I get bored I just want to go out and hang out. I was hoping the lady might sing, but she didn't. At this point I had taken out my dentures, and explained to the boss man that I couldn't chew, and could he help?  Extremely nice and got me two tacos, one suadero (beef) and one pollo (chicken), both chopped fine.  Delicious and only 65 pesos ($3.71)! But I gave him a 35 peso tip for being so kind. They are open until 3 a.m. every night but Monday. There was a sign "no picante" (not hot) in the bin of the sauces, so that's of course what I picked. A critical thing in my travels is that food be always available.  This fulfills my need :) On my way back.  This looks like modern art!

 I was bored so wandered back to the fun fair, and discovered tejuino! From Wikipedia: " Tejuino is usually made from  corn dough , the same kind used for  tortillas  and  tamales . The dough is mixed with water and  piloncillo  (cone-shaped unrefined cane sugar) and boiled until the liquid is very thick. The liquid is then allowed to ferment very slightly. The resulting drink is generally served cold, with lime juice, a pinch of salt and a scoop of shaved ice or lime  sorbet . [ 1 ] " Lovely smile from the señora! With a bit of chamoy, pickled fruit/lime/chile powder on the rim, if you please! But, you ask, how did it taste? In contrast with some of the other fermented corm beverages I've had, this was thick, and actually tasted of corn, with lime.  Yum! Although that seems like an odd combination, it was really good. The label on the side of the cup said "Disfruta! Bebidas Artesanales" (Enjoy! Artesanal Beverages) so that's why they could g...

 My teeth are (were) terrible. 1. Everyone in my family has bad teeth, so it's probably partially genetic. 2.  When we were kids, our grandma didn't make much, so Sis and I were eligible for free orthodontia.  But Grammy considered that "charity" and refused.  Thanks, grandma! 3.  In most of my career, I worked for companies that contracted to the federal government.  That included health insurance, but never dental. 4.  When I spent eight years drinking away my retirement savings, dental health wasn't really a consideration. I had lost most of my front teeth and most on the right.  My teeth were disgusting: But I could still chew on the left, until a molar fell out and I could barely chew. I had already been to a dentist in the US to explore getting dentures. $540 per tooth extraction x 20 teeth, do the math and that's only part of it.  I explored the Mexican option and found a reliable outfit.  They quoted me $60 per tooth extraction, ...