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26 October 2010
by
Dave Clingman
Another Fun Weekend
This weekend was a fun one. Friday we went downtown
and spent much of the day in the Numismatic Expo looking
at old coins and selling a few, Saturday we relaxed, and
Sunday we went to Casa de las Flores after church. It
was a great weekend.
At the Numismatic Expo we were able to sell five coins
for a small profit. We had purchased these old coins for
just the cost of the silver in them, but we sold them to
coin dealers at the Expo for wholesale coin collector
prices. We paid $1114 pesos for the coins and sold them
for $1470 pesos, making us a profit of $356 pesos (a
little over $28 US). Since we enjoy wandering around
downtown through the cambios and other places that buy
and sell silver, looking at the old coins they have to
sell and trying to find some that might sell for a bit
of a profit, we are quite pleased to have made money
this time.
We also tried selling some more coins on eBay this
month, since our friends Larry and Sharon were headed to
Arizona for a wedding and could take some coins with
them for delivery. Unfortunately, this time, we barely
broke even with the sale of our twelve coins. So, we
were very glad to be able to make a bit of profit at the
Expo.
The main reason we went to Casa de las Flores Sunday was
so that we could visit the Expo Ganadera (Livestock
Expo). The Ganadera fairgrounds is about ten blocks
from Casa, and at first we tried driving there. Last
year when we went with Stan and Jose, they took us there
in a taxi. We went on a weekday morning, when there were
very few people, and the taxi dropped us off and picked
us up right at the entrance.
This year, though, we went Sunday afternoon, and it was
extremely crowded. There were no parking spaces within
several blocks of the entrance, and the ones further out
were charging anywhere from $50 to $100 pesos ($4 to $8
US). When a usual car park around here costs only a few
pesos, this seemed outrageous. Also, most of the spaces
the people were trying to "sell" were public space on
the streets.
So, we drove back to Casa and started to walk there
instead. As we walked we discussed the Ganadera and
discovered that each of us thought the other was wanting
to go to it, when it reality, neither of us wanted to go
there much at all.
Instead of continuing to the Ganadera, we turned around
and headed toward the center of town (Tlaquepaque) to
enjoy the crafts stores and other attractions there. We
stopped at a street vendor and had a small lunch of
torta ahogada (literally, "smothered cake" or less
literally, "drowned sandwich"),
after which we continued our walk. A couple blocks
further, just around the corner from Casa, a bulldog
attacked Mela. We both kicked the dog, and he left off.
Mela was fine, just scared. However, Andrew twisted his
ankle with his kick, so that for awhile he could only
limp around.
After resting for a few minutes, we headed back to Casa
to relax. Later in the evening, we walked across the
street to a home-based restaurant for dinner, very
common in Mexico. Andrew had quail and pan fried
potatoes, and I had pork quesadillas. Back at Casa, they
served us dessert of ice cream and a sweet cornbread
cake made with coconut. Stan had also bought a very
sweet dessert wine, which we shared as we sat around the
table and talked.
Andrew's foot is fine now and was fine even after
resting for just a few hours.
This weekend is Halloween in the US, and Dia de los
Muertos (Day of the Dead) here in Mexico, though many
local costumed kids nowadays wander around door to door
for the free candy. Dia de los Muertos is a celebration
of friends and relatives who have died. Many families go
to grave sites to eat, drink, and play games to remember
and honor their dead loved ones. One of our favorite
things about Day of the Dead is the
Pan de Muerto
(Dead Bread).
It is a lemon flavored bread sprinkled with sugar and
made in the shape of a round loaf with bones radiating
from the center. It is quite yummy, one of the sweetest
things we've found here. We enjoy it and buy a small
loaf a couple times each week during the month of
October.
The rainy season has long since passed and things are
drying up again. The temperature is nice and cool in the
morning, but warm in the afternoons. Very nice.
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7 October 2010
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