MeXscape

Living in mainstream society in the US, it is not hard to decide how much of anything to buy at once. Everything comes prepackaged or in set amounts. If you like something typically you buy more of it at once because you get a bulk discount. Even produce is priced in groups. 5 limes for $1.00; 2 pounds for $1.89.

Over the past three years a lot more American products have become regularly available in the stores here. I can go and buy Blue Bell ice cream, Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies, and now even Wheat Thins any time I want. But there are still a lot of things that are difficult, if not impossible, to find, like canned pumpkin, which really throws a wrench in Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations. I even have a hard time finding pie pumpkins to make make a pie from scratch. Carving pumpkins are plentiful around Halloween, but pie pumpkins, well, no. How can it be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?

I was delighted to discover a few weeks ago that Street View for Google Maps has come to Mazatlan. I spent hours looking around at pictures of this city that I walk every day. Kinda crazy, I know, but hey, I'm a geek. I stuck me that it would be a great way to show some of you who have never been here around my home town.

Last Saturday, I awoke with some stomach discomfort. I figured I was paying the price for the previous night. We went out with friends, drank more than is prudent, and had dinner at a restaurant I had never visited before. The dinner was the kicker: a salami and cheese sandwich and French fries. It was a shock to my system. I have become accustomed to a diet that prominently features fish, seafood, and fresh fruit and vegetables.