VUELVO AT YAPLAPA (RETURN TO YALAPA)

An old friend of mine was spending a week here in Vallarta and I told him that a trip to Yalapa was a "must".  It is a tiny little village with no roads or cars.  The only way to reach it is by boat, so it has remained pretty primitive and very much like Vallarta was fifty years ago (before Huston and the Burtons arrived),  It had been over two years since I had visited myself, so it you have been following me for several years, you may remember my last blog.

As I mentioned before, the boat trip is half the fun of going there.  The reason I know it was more than two years ago is because at the time you had to wade out to the water taxi.  The pier had not yet been rebuilt.  Just before the pier is a little stand where they sell tickets.   The new pier is one of the landmarks of Vallarta that the city did a good job on.  The "sail" theme is also repeated along the Malecon.  At night it is illuminated with a series of colored lights.  The street leading to the pier has now been made into a pedestrian mall.  Unfortunately the city did not do a good job on landscaping the street, but maybe in time it will improve.

 A round trip is 280 pesos (or about  $20.00).  This time we were able to leave from the pier but getting in and out of the boat is still treacherous.   For reasons only explained by (It's Mexico !) everyone is handed a life jacket on the way over, but not on the way back. (in fact the boat did not even contain any lifesaver vests).   Unfortunately this time we saw no whales or dolphins.  There had been a recent tropical storm so maybe that is why they were not there.  We passed "Los Arcos" or three large rocks with tunnels through them.  At low tide the boats will go through the tunnel, but no this time.

Depending on who is board, the water taxi sometimes makes stops at Boca de Tomatlan and Las Animas.  Yalapa is on a little bay with ancient piers at each end.  This time we were dropped off at the South pier which made the hike to the waterfall easier.  Sometimes they simply beach the water taxi on the sand and you have to wade off the boat.  Again there is no explanation for why: it just is.  We started with the short climb up to the waterfall.  The paths (they are not really streets) are now concrete and cobblestones (much better than the dirt and mud of former days).  It is a pretty water fall, although nothing spectacular.  There is another larger fall further up the mountain, but I have been told it is over an hour climb and not well marked (nothing is here).

After the falls we circled the town giving us great views of the bay.  Like almost all towns along the coast, it was founded at the mouth of a river (which usually opens into a small bay).  Due to almost constant sand bars, a small lake has formed.  When pressure builds up the lake and water will break through the sand bar forcing you to wade across the stream.  I have been there went it was almost waist deep and very treacherous.  Today  it was less than knee deep.  There are also lots of iguanas in Yalapa.  This one is a pet that a guy carries around on his shoulder.  If he sees you taking a picture, he will demand 100 pesos, so I took this photo when he wasn't looking.

There really is no "town", just a few shops and many restaurants.  All of them have tables and chairs set onto the sand.  We had a nice lunch watching the waves and kids playing in the water.  If one where so inclined, there are stables behind the restaurants where you can rent a horse (or maybe a donkey)  Other than that, there is nothing to do in Yalapa, just to chill out and enjoy the view.   It would be a great place to smoke weed (but then, I already have too many vices).   The ride back seemed a little faster, but it did travel close to the shore.  The waves crashing on rocks creates a tableau of deep blue, aqua and white.  On both trips we were on the wrong side of the boat to get a good picture, but I did the best I could (not being a good photographer, or an writer for that matter).  It is a trip I would advise anyone visiting here to take.



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UNA OTRA FIESTA DE COCTEL

Once  year I throw a big Cocktail Party (my one contribution to P.V social life).  It is however greatly anticipated as I have been told that my parties are the Best!  This year I gave it later than usual in order to avoid the rain that plagued my last party.  It is also necessary that I try to plan it when most of my "snow bird" friends are in town.

I have several rules about giving a good party.  It always starts with the guest list.  They should be  an assortment of types and ages, but must be compatible.  My main rule is to invite twice as many people as I have chairs, that way you wind up with a standing party.  People are forced to move about and talk to more people.  Since I only have a total 17 seats, that is not a problem as I know over 100 people in town.  I try to limit the guest list to 50 as my apartment is rather small.  My large deck covers the overflow.

Although I make it clear that it is "cocktails, not dinner",  I always have plenty of food.  My local coffee cafe lady makes wonderful small thin crust pizzas.  Then a nearby Mexican restaurant makes a super platter of bite size Mexican food (tacos, burritos, and small quesadillas).  Then I will make up platters of meat and cheese.  My good friend Hector makes the best guacamole in the world and brings me a big bowl of it.  I also have dips, cheese, nuts etc.

This year I wound up inviting almost 60 people, but I knew that from years past about 15% will not show up (especially the new people as they do not know how great my parties really are).  of  course a few guests will enter dragging two or three people behind them that I do not know (and often they are people I do not want to know).  An exception was a very tall very attractive lady who must have arrived while I was upstairs.  I never did find out who brought her, but I liked her and she added to the party.  Maybe she just wandered in off the street, but she did not look the type.

My apartment is always relatively clean, but for a big party I gave it an extra scrubbing.  I want everything to sparkle.  Windows, glass and mirrors, as well as all the black wrought iron and the furniture gets polished.  By the day of my party, I was already exhausted,  then the lever in the toilet broke.  I could have called Saul, but would you want a plumber in your house hours before a party? Besides, you never know for sure when he will show up.  So, I wired it back together with some nylon cord.  It flushed, but you had to hold the handle down.  It also spits at you.  I was a little worried, then thought that having only one toilet with 50 people may be more of a problem than a semi flushing, spitting toilet.

My bartender for the past four years arrived early with a kid named Jesus.  My first party I had Alex help out.  He was great  but broke his leg.  Then I had Francisco, but he moved to Mexico City.  So I asked Filipe and he suggested a part time bartender from Fridas that I had never met. He was terrific and everyone liked him.  He served food, got drinks, filled wine glasses, and picked up discarded glasses and emptied ash trays.  I of course kept running up and down the stairs making sure everyone had what ever they needed and making sure everyone had someone to talk to.  It went very well and again everyone told me what a wonderful party it was.  Before the party started, I took out my camera and checked the batteries. I left it on the bar in front of Filipe.  I never thought of it again, so once again I have almost no photos.  Luckily Hector had taken a picture on the guacamole he brought.

After four hours people started to leave.  I could not wait to lock the doors as I was about to drop. Towards the end of the party one lady asked if she could lie down for a while before going home.  She does not own a car, so she wasn't driving.  What could be so challenging about hailing a cab?  Anyway I showed her to the guest room.  After finally putting out the last guest and surveying the disaster that was my floor, I noticed that the guest bedroom door was still closed.  Sure enough there she was (not just on top of the comforter, but in the bed),  For a moment I thought about letting her sleep but decided against it.  Morning was going to be difficult enough for me without having to cope with Sleeping Beauty with a hangover.  She left.

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LOS EQUIPAULIS

When I first thought about furnishing my apartment, I thought of equipaulis.  I wanted to have a Mexican look and nothing says Mexican like equipaulis.  No one seems to know where the name comes from (it might be a Mexican Indian word).   It is a line of crude furniture made of sticks of wood with pigskin stretched over twigs.  The pigskin is cured in horse urine, so you have to let it air awhile before you want to bring it inside.

First I bought two chairs and three small end tables for my very first apartment.  When I moved to one with a large deck, I added two more chairs and a large dining table.   Then when I moved to my present place, I wanted two larger chairs and a lamp table for the living room to create a little reading area.  That was my first big problem  with the equipauli people.   Of course each delivery was never on time.  They never called before arriving, but that is just Mexico.  One day when I came home from the gym, I found them sitting in front of my door, just waiting.  Wouldn't a call have been easier?

The other problem is that there is only one place that makes the furniture and there are no regular hours.  You just have to keep going back until you find them there (they also don't answer their phone).   Also not one of them speaks a word of English.  So maybe they are embarrassed for not being able to speak English.  I am the one who should be embarrassed, for after all, it is their country
So each time I stopped there, I had someone with me who spoke Spanish.  I had seen some high backed equipauli chairs and wanted that look for my little reading area.  I could tell by the expression on their faces, that doing something a little different was not to their liking.  They charged more for the chairs, but after giving them a deposit they agreed to make them.  (in a week, I think they said).  Well it took many stops over almost two months to learn that they could not or did not want to make them. As it was translated to me, the higher back would require a larger pig hide and they couldn't find one.  Now the dinning tables use a much larger piece of leather, but never mind, that was their story.

I heard of a sort of antique place in Bucerios (about one hour away) that did carry some equipaulis.  So I went there.  No high backed chairs and they were not interested in making any.  They did have two old chairs that were heavily padded, but I thought would be okay.  The leather was in awful condition, but I was told that it would be cleaned up like new before delivery.  NOT TRUE !!  But when I got them, I was too tired fighting and just accepted them.  I went back to the first place and had them make the lamp table for the amount of my original deposit, so I was set.

Two years later, one of the original chairs (now four years old)  that seem to get the most rain began to rot.   Termites attack them, but I had already taken care of that problem with a strong smelling liquid that is applied with a paint brush.  In fact I had recently had to repaint my lamp table (the termites love the stuff).   No, this was just rot.  The bottom wood turned to mush.  By using several kinds and tubes of glue I tried to stabilize it, but to no avail.  It continued to deteriorate.  Then I had some friends over for cocktails.  I warned them not to sit in the bad one, but one guy kept leaning back and rocking in his chair.  The next day I discovered that it too was rotting and the extra weight broke the bottom part.  It took many trips to their shop to find them in, but a Mexican friend of mine told them of my problem and the agreed to take a look at them.

They were to call him first, but did not.  They just appeared one day.  He gave me a price on the two chairs and a small table where the leather had split  (due to the sun on my balcony).  Just 5 days later, I happened to to peering over my terrace and on the street below was his car that obviously had equipaulis in the back seat.  I ran down stairs to catch him.  While he brought the furniture up, I went into my bedroom to count out the exact amount of money (they never have change).  At the top of the stairs was one chair that looked brand new and the small table with a new leather top.  I assumed the other chair had been carried up to the deck.  After I paid him for the two chairs, then I realized that there was only the one chair.

Next day I had my Mexican friend stop there to find out what happened to the other chair.  The guy said that it was just too far gone to repair.  But I paid for the two chairs!.  He claimed not to have noticed how much money I gave him and then said he would have it ready in a week.  None of this makes any sense, but "it is Mexico".  He also said he would do it "for the same price"  (does that mean what I already paid him or did he want another 300 pesos?)

Two weeks later I had my Mexican friend stop by and ask how it was going.  The guy said the chair would be ready next week and he would deliver it at 5:00 Monday.  Of course he never showed up and he never called.  As it happened, my friend was passing their shop the next day and stopped.  They told him that the chair was already on the truck and would be delivered to me withing the hour.  It was over five hours later that they arrived, but again the chair looked brand new.  I thanked him and told him how happy I was and he left.  No money asked for.  They are not dependable about time, but I must admit that most Mexicans I have dealt with are basically honest.  You just have to have a lot of patience.

LOS JARDINES DE BOTANICOS

Since most of my posting are about problems I encounter living in Mexico, I thought I would write something on a lighter note.  The Botanical Gardens are one of the many good things about living in Vallarta.   I wrote about them a couple of times before a few years ago (but most of you will not remember anyway).  Also it was the first time I went there right after some heavy rains.

Friends of mine from San Diego were in town and they came up with the idea.  I was delighted especially since I love showing it off to new people.  The bus leaves from the corner of my block.  It leaves about every 30 minutes and the cost is only twenty pesos (about $1.50).  It takes a little over a half hour on the road along the coast.  Out of the bus window you get wonderful views of the Pacific Coast.  We pass Mismaloya and several other hotels and mansions along the coast.   Then cuts inland at Boca, and climbs into the mountains.  The property was purchased about seven or eight years ago, by an American who raised the money through donations.  It is quite beautiful and covers hundreds of acres.  The cost to enter has gone from 45 pesos to 60 pesos (everything is going up here).

There are many trails taking you though the jungle of palms, ferns and orchids.  The trails can be treacherous and I would advise wearing tennis shoes.  There are several small streams that lead into a river at the bottom of the valley.  Oddly many of the blooming plants I remembered where not in bloom, but the greenery is gorgeous.  One in particular was the jade vine, which has a flower that does not look natural for it is an iridescent  blue green.   The river can be viewed from the restaurant.  The climb down is difficult, and the trip back up out of the canyon is grueling.

 The restaurant sits atop a hill with a view over the vast gardens.  It is quite lovely and the food is good too.  They have added some bird feeders of fresh fruit and many beautiful birds greedily fought for the food.  My camera had a hard time catching a shot of them.  Every time I opened the camera the birds flew away (camera shy, I guess).  There were blue birds and lots of black ones with brilliant yellow wings (orioles, maybe)   I was also disappointed in the new Orchid Conservatory.  It has been under construction for four years and although the structure is lovely, but the plan display of orchids is pitiful.  Hopefully they are not through with it.  There were many more orchids in a display where you could buy them.

Like most things in Mexico it does have it's down side.  Having been there before I knew to coat myself with mosquito repellent.  I used a cream first then followed with a spray and wore a long sleeve shirt and tennis shoes with calf length socks.  Alas, it did not work.  We all think that the bites occurred while we waited half an hour at the bus stop.  You could see them buzzing around.  I was not prepared for what I discovered when I got home.  My legs with covered with more than twenty bites. The long sleeve shirt protected my arms, so they bit my knuckles.   One even bit my ankle right through the sock.  Still it is a worth while trip that I would recommend, but take along a better bug spray.

was very sparse.  Many they are not through with it yet (I hope so)

EL RATO REGRESSA (THE RAT RETURNS)

In my posting on The Rat in the Dryer, I stated that it was the first rat I had seen (dead or alive) anywhere in Puerto Vallarta.  The rat in my dryer was of course quite dead having gone through the vent fan in my dryer.  Well now I have seen a live one.  

As I also stated it is amazing since we live surrounded by a jungle and there is garbage on every other corner.  This is the most disgusting thing about living here.  Yes, all trash is supposed to be in plastic bags, but not everyone does.  Plus, animals will chew at it and the homeless rip the bags open to get to the aluminum cans to sell them.  Much smaller cities have dumpsters, but not here.  I am sure some how the mayor makes money off of the collection.  We used to have garbage collection every evening, but recently our Brilliant Mayor decided (as a cost cutting measure) to eliminate Sunday pick up.  Maybe he thinks that tourists will find garbage rotting for two days in the hot sun is "charming".  This is the same "brilliant" mayor who tripled the port fees.  Cruise ships that used to spend two days here, now only spend eight hours.  Think of the loss of income from all the passengers.  I could go on for pages, but this posting is about Rats (pun intended)

For months after the experience with the chewed up rat in my dryer, I approached it very carefully and banged on the sides before starting it.  Eventually I forgot about it.  Then one day I pulled the bag of laundry soap off the shelf and was about to pull out a big scoop, when I noticed rat turds in it.  I looked up at the shelf and found it too had rat turds all over it.  After banging very hard on the dryer, I put out four of those sticky traps for mice.  The last time all they caught were a few geckos.  A gecko is a small lizard with suction cup feet that walk all over our walls and ceilings.  They are cute little things, but they also poop everywhere.

This time I placed pieces of raw bacon in the center of four sticky  traps.  For a few days nothing (not even a gecko).  Then I noticed that two of the traps were gone, and the bacon was missing from the other two traps.  I can't see how the rat could have carried them off, but maybe a cat or other animal or more likely a bird.  My deck always have black birds on and around it.  At any point the traps were gone, so I knew I had to come up with something else.  Before I had a chance to figure it out, I was going up to the deck and at the top of the stairs was a large black rat.  I screamed, he scurried off.  He was not only twice the size, of the dead one, and the black coat gave him an even more menacing look.   I immediately started keeping the door to the deck shut.

I finally found a place that sold better mouse traps.  They are not the ones we are used to with the spring trap on the little wood board.  These were cages with trap doors.  They could easily hold any small animal.  Well, I loaded the spring trap with lots of bacon and left it between the washer and the dryer.  I had already cleaned off all the other rat turds from the shelf and around my laundry.  At first I wondered how he could have reached the shelf, then noticed the hole in the wall for the plumbing from the water tank on my neighbors patio.  The hole is right above the shelf and there is a huge tree that overhangs their patio.  The rat could have dropped off the tree then crawled through the wall. 

Every day I checked the trap, but nothing !  I also check for other rat turds, but no more have appeared.  Maybe I scared him more than he scared me.  He could not have reached the shelf or the hole in the wall, but there is a rain gutter at the end of my deck that extends to my neighbor.  I have no idea where he actually came from or where he went, but very happy he is gone.  I also thought what would I do, if he got stuck in the trap.  He would still be alive.  I guess I could just keep him as a pet until he starved to death.  But so far I have not been faced with that dilemma.  Stay tuned !  The trap is still set with bait.

p.s   The photo of the bell tower has nothing to do with this story, I just thought it was a prettier picture than the one of the rat trap.


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LOS BANCOS

Yes,  I know it has been a while.  It has just been to hot to think, (let alone write).  Also as you know, I am lazy.  This posting started months ago, but as you will see, it took a while to play out.

It could also have been called "El Correo en P.V. Part Two".  I noticed another call from an unknown number on my Magic Jack.  In my voice mail was another message from my bank that my account had been "compromised"  (Compromised is bank speak for someone has hacked into our system AGAIN).  They further stated that my card was being cancelled and a new card was on its way to me.  OH NO!  Not again!  I immediately called my bank (well of course immediate means that you wait through 10 minutes of "push this, and push that").

Finally I got a nice man on the line who asked me a series of questions.  One being could I give him the birth date of my co=signer.  I told him that I do not even know how old she is and I would never ask.  Finally he admitted that yes, the bank was sending me a new card "for my own protection".  I told him it was not for my own protection, but for my "antagonism".  I explained that just three months ago they did the same thing.  Since I am not in the United States (I did not want to tell him that I no longer live there) I have to have someone pick up the mail and then send the card to me by UPS which costs $75.00 and takes weeks.  After checking my account on line, I saw that there had been no activity in two weeks (either by me, or anyone else).  I wanted him to reverse the order and let me keep the card I have.

This he could not do (no idea why, except that it is a bank).  I had him check to see about mailing it to Mexico.  He was gone for a while and said that "yes" they would mail it to Mexico.  Once he had agreed, I thought "Oh my God, what have I done?"   He explained that it would come in an "unmarked" envelope without the banks name"  Has anyone ever picked up an envelope with a credit card in it that did not know there was a card inside?  Then he said that in a separate envelope, they would also mail me my new "pin number".  I do not want a new pin number!  What are the odds that these two pieces of mail will ever reach me?  So I got him to lift the ban on my current card for another week to allow me to draw out as much money as I could.  Then I waited.

Luckily I do have another account where my measly social security check is deposited. With all my problems with banks having two banks was a necessity.  But in the meantime I heard that you can have your social security check mailed to a bank in Mexico.  This would not only make my life easier, but safe me $60 month in ATM fees.  I called The Social Security Office.  First they said that the wait would be "about 45 minutes".  I hung up and called back a few hours later.  This time they said that they were so busy, that I should call back later.  They added that the busiest time was in early morning on the first of the month.  It was late afternoon and the middle of the month.  I tried to get in "on line"  I had to register giving them all my vital information.  They told me the information was incorrect and to try again.  I went over everything and it was all perfect.  I pushed the send and they said that I was being frozen out, since I had failed so many times.  Luckily I noticed a "help" button.  They was one that said I could leave a call back.  I did and about four hours later I got a call.

I told her why I was calling and she said, I had reached the wrong office and she would transfer my call.  I waited through 45 minutes of awful music and finally got a live person.  I was told that yes, they could send it to a bank in Mexico but I had to do it through the American Embassy.  That is in Mexico City, but we do have an American Consulate in Nuevo Vallarta, so I decided to try there.  My fear is that since I dropped my Residency Card, they might not do it.  The last time I renewed it took ten trips to the Immigration office and now they have changed the laws which makes it more expensive and almost impossible.  Before I hung up, I asked why I could not get on line.  She checked and the problem was my phone number was wrong.  I have not had that number in four years and could not even remember what it was.


But first I needed to open and account in Mexico.  That was not nearly as bad as I thought it might me (but after dealing with Social Security, anything would seem simple).  I had my passport, a copy of my lease and all my identification.  What I forgot is that all they want is an electric bill.  Why I do not know as it is in my landlord's name.  So I went back home and brought my electric bill, my water bill, and my Telecable bill (which is in my name).  All they wanted was the electric bill, but he wanted this month's bill.  I explained to him that it only comes every other month, and this was my last bill.  Finally he agreed.  Then there was a problem with my signature.  It did not look like the signature on my passport.  I explained that the  pasport was 7 years old and I was only 70 at the time and this is what my signature looks like today.  It did not matter.  I had to practice signing until I got one that was close.  Then I had to do it ten more times.

Before going off to the American Consulate, I decided to try to reach them by phone and see if I needed an appointment, and also what all I needed.  I immediately got a very nice lady who said she would email me the forms and if I could scan them, I could email them back to her.  I actually do know how to scan a document.  I was elated.  The forms arrived, I printed them out and began to read through them.  Then I saw in the "fine print" that the IRS will retain 26% of my check.  This would not do.

So back to B of A.  That had mailed the new card, but it had been returned to them.  I asked them to read back the address.  Sure enough they had eliminated the county, state, and zip code !!  Now maybe they were not familiar with Mexican addresses, but NO ZIP CODE ?  I gave them all the pertinent information and they said they would mail another card.  It has now been six weeks.  I knew it would never get here.  Fortunately no one else did either, for there is no activity on my account.  Nothing to do but close it out.  I worry about only having access to one bank in The States, but Bank of America is just too much work !!


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HOMBRES TRABAJANDO (MEN AT WORK)

Somewhere I read an article that said that Mexicans work longer hours per week than any other civilized country  (this assumes that Mexico is a civilized country).  I think that one of the Scandinavian countries worked the least hours.  Mexicans are extremely strong, no matter what size they are.  I am amazed what old women and young children can carry on their backs (or balanced on their heads).  Almost everyone works here.  Yes, some are hookers working the streets, but to them it is a job.   I do object to the parents who send their little children out to sell Chiclets and beg for money, but they are working.  Old people, young, and the disabled.  Every morning a man arrives to work at the restaurant across the street (I assume as a dishwasher).  One foot is turned completely backwards.  His right knee bends toward the left leg.  Some how he manages to walk and work.

I have already told you about the church painters who pulled themselves up five stories on wooden platforms and ropes.  Sadly after their Herculean effort, the paint has started to fade already.  Cheap paint of course.  The restaurant across the street from me was badly in need of a paint job, so I was delighted when a painter showed up to start scrapping off the peeling paint.  But he was a midget about three feet tall.  Why would they hire a midget to paint their wall?  Well, after watching him I determined that he was in fact a very good painter (as you know, I have painted all of my own apartments), so I know about painting).  He had brought a ladder with him (how he carried, it I have no idea) but it was not nearly tall enough to reach the top of the peak of the wall (especially when he is only three feet tall).

He would arrive late in the afternoon just before the taco stand opened up.  They fought every day as the sidewalk (and taco stand) was covered with pieces of peeled paint and dust.  Then one morning, the midget painter and the taco man showed up together.  The taco guy brought a tall ladder in his truck.  But it too was not tall enough.  So they got some pieces of wood and started nailing them to the ladder adding about three feet.  No way would you get me on that ladder.  But alas, it was still not tall enough to reach the roof.  So a neighbor showed up and he got to the top of the ladder and because he was tall, reached the top (you can see how the top few steps are added) .  Unfortunately, he was not a very good painter and dripped red over the newly painted white wall.  But that too was corrected.  It took the midget (with a little help from friends) a full week to finish the one wall.  It looks nice.

I assumed that he would then start on the other wall next.  Do not ever assume anything in Mexico for you will be wrong.  Months later the front of the restaurant still had peeling paint.  I did think that maybe theyran out of money (or maybe never paid the midget).  I figured the restaurant had a cash flow problem because of the gas truck that stops every week.  They pull out a ladder climb to roof pulling a long gas hose and fill the tank on the roof.  Only they don't really fill it.  My tank is half the size and I fill it twice a year.  What do they do, put 20 pesos in it?  It made no sense (but little does here.)

 Then the restaurant closed its doors.  I figured they were closing for the summer as many restaurants do.  Then a

"For Rent" sign went up.  I asked the taco people and he said that it probably will not open again due to a dispute in the family.   In spite of the fact that it is across the street and has one of the most beautiful patios in Vallarta, I do not eat there.   It is basically a breakfast place as it closes at 2:00 in the afternoon.  They do not serve an American breakfast and the lunch menu is very limited.  But is was not the food they kept me from going back.  The service was awful.  All the waiters are rude and slow  (an attitude they adapted from the owner).  When I heard about the dispute in the family I figured that the guy who ran the place must have treated his relatives with the same disdain he treated his customers.

Sometimes I see the little midget on the street, he also seems to say something to me.  Maybe he noticed my watching and photographing him while he was painting.  I do hope he got paid.  I also feel sorry of the rest of the help, like the poor guy with one foot turned backwards.  But life goes on in Mexico and I saw the midget painting the outside of a building on B. Badillo.  That is the most expensive street in Old Town, so I assume he is getting paid for that job.  (I hope so)