This content is copyright Sean Anderson 2007-2010, reprinted via site feed. Original content at http://www.tacotraveler.com.
A Night on the Town
Dark streets and alleys aren't the same in Mexico. In the U.S., with streetlights almost everywhere, dark almost always means dangerous. Here it just means there's a lack of light. I was walking back from a Philo's Bar tonight to the beach where my dinghy was parked, and there were no street lights. When you're in light, about to walk into dark, it's always a bit of a test of nerves. But once you're in the dark, there's nothing there but you and the road.I hadn't been on that road before because I'd always docked my dinghy at the marina. I was going to go to the restaurant there tonight, but they still wanted 100 pesos for me to park. I understand and have no problem paying that if I'm using their dock to walk into town for groceries or another restaurant or something, but to charge me to go to their restaurant? Uh, no. So they didn't want my business badly enough in the restaurant (where I would have spent 400 pesos, easily, for a Caesar salad, a steak and a glass or two of wine). I left and motored my dinghy over to the beach instead and walked up to Le Reve.At Le Reve there's some amazing artwork that I wish I had the space or the budget for. I won't try to describe it (much) - I'll just say that I think it's called "yarn art". It's a Huichol thing. It's some sort of small threads laid out on a canvas or other sort of frame. And very very cool designs. Le Reve is a nice, clean place with a comfortable courtyard, good coffee, good people, Internet.... Tonight they had a Bogart film starting upstairs at 8:30, but I hadn't eaten yet and they've stopped serving food for the season (it's very slow here right now), so I just had one beer then walked more to the center of town for a taco. Had a pork-butt burrito and a hot dog, then started walking back to Le Reve for the movie and got distracted because at Philo's the band was playing. But right outside of Philo's I decided that I needed a couple more tacos. So two more carne asada tacos and a beer later (26 pesos total), I went into Philo's.It's a good bar. A nice atmosphere, a jammin' house band with Philo himself leading a bluesy rock and roll band that on the three nights I've been there has included a fiddle, a washboard, and a six-year-old playing spoons. But the star of the show is Oscar Fuentes. An absolutely amazing saxaphonist, and I've only seen him play guitar and sing once, but he kills at that, too.I've been working too hard. It feels odd sometimes to be down here in Mexico but still working crazy hours (like 11am to 4am crazy). But things need to get done, and the potential payoff is good. But tonight I needed to get off the boat after sweating all day for lack of wind. Now I sit in the cockpit, listening to the mariachi music and the fireworks from the zocalo and writing on my laptop. As I ate my pork-butt burrito I saw the cars streaming in, and figured there'd be festivities tonight, but I'm not sure whether it's just a regular Friday thing or if this is a holiday. I regret not walking through, but I'm content to just relax now, sip my Corona Light, and listen to the sounds.TT
