Chat Zone for The Big Big Trip Journal!

[CharlesF]

Although you painted an excellent picture of Alex’s place, I would love to see it in the flesh, a quick picture next time?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Although you painted an excellent picture of Alex’s place, I would love to see it in the flesh, a quick picture next time?

Oh Charles!!
I spent a long time crafting that, polishing the description so that it refelected the place! And still you want more?

I'd love to oblige, but I'm afraid that I can't.
I feel at home there. I'm not a Gringo, not a tourist. I'm Francisco. A regular. I'd be afraid that taking out a camera would shatter that. I'm sorry, that's a risk I'm not willing to take.

However, there was a reason I gave the name of the place and the address in the post!
I'm pretty sure Google Maps/Streetview will illuminate a few more details.

Happy hunting!

 

[IaninSheffield]

Ah, I figured as much! Despite the wonderful description, I must confess that I too wanted a closer look, so took to Google Maps/Streetview to get a sense of the surroundings. If I got the right place, do the washing machines next door add to the ... ambience?
It's all too easy with no local knowledge to walk past places like this, but with a little spirit of adventure - and perhaps a developing sense of familiarity - to give them a try. Even if it doesn't always pay off, the gems you sometimes drop on make it all worth while.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Ah, I figured as much! Despite the wonderful description, I must confess that I too wanted a closer look, so took to Google Maps/Streetview to get a sense of the surroundings. If I got the right place, do the washing machines next door add to the ... ambience?
It's all too easy with no local knowledge to walk past places like this, but with a little spirit of adventure - and perhaps a developing sense of familiarity - to give them a try. Even if it doesn't always pay off, the gems you sometimes drop on make it all worth while.

I haven't looked, but the washing machines are a bit of a giveaway

Flying down a hill in Spain one time, I flew through a wonderful aroma. I jammed on the brakes, turned around, struggled back up the hill to the roadside restaurant and pulled in. The menu was handwritten on a blackboard (indecephirable), I couldn't understand a single word the old man was saying, so I mimed me cycling and smelling something good....
Normally I'm not a fan of fish pie, but this one was fabulous!

So much harder to do at home where everything is familiar!

 

[IaninSheffield]

Day - blahblahblah
Almost a year?! Cor blimey, where did that go?
Hoping you are now fully recovered from your unwellness and back enjoying the gustatory and olfactory delights of the city's food vendors.
It's difficult to imagine what it must be like living with the possibility of being ejected from one's temporary home or place of refuge. As you've often remarked though, the generosity of your host country and people seems to know few bounds. It's even harder to imagine from the oft far less understanding shores of this country. Almost embarassing.
What an amazing place that post office is! The central post office in Sheffield was a grand building too. Though lacking the same degree of opulence as the one in your photos (obvs), the sense of theatre when walking across the tiled 'shop' floor, and the distant vaulted ceiling never failed to impress. Even so, you win the post office Top Trumps by a country mile.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Yes @IaninSheffield ! Almost a year! Christmas in Texas, New Year in México! Google is a bo**ix - it keeps reminding me of last year! I think it's a year tomorrow since I found the greatest little backroad in Texas!

The illness passed, but the "feeling good" is only returning now. I've been staying close to home this week.

If I gave the impression that I'm living under fear of deportation or sudden ejection, then I was being too dramatic! The fact is that an overstay will only be detected if I have a run in with the Police, or at the border. I won't be thrown in jail! It just doesn't sit well with me to break the rules of a country that's been so welcoming.
And yes, it is very different from the attitude in a lot of countries, my own included.
The fact that the lady listened to my situation, had a think, then said "well, we can try this...." was different in itself.
At the risk of repeating myself, being welcome to strangers, being hospitable is a vein that runs right through my experience here. Even when I caught a guy trying to pick my pocket it was such an aberration that it's had no effect on my image of the city.

Yes, the Post Office is magnificent! Yet so normal to the locals. I was wandering around, gazing, just an irritation to people trying to do their business - not that they would express it.
People were looking out the window trying to figure out what the big deal was when I got so excited and tried to photo the Palace of Fine Arts through the window!
Chatting to the poor guy outside, selling postcards, was a return to the new normality. No tourists means no income for him. I've a pile of postcards here beside me still!
I know there are many such grand buildings that house other public services but I have no business in them, unfortunately. At least not yet!

 

[IaninSheffield]

Dog Day Whatever.......

Your posts are always an eagerly awaited treat but this time sir, you have surpassed yourself ... at least in my eyes. The writing was of course up to its usual high standards, the photos were excellent as always, but the topic this time tugged at my heart strings. I've always loved dogs, but since leaving home all those years ago, never been in a position to have one.

The vignettes you described paint a picture of such mutual love and respect between dogs and their owners(?), but also of a understanding of appropriate and acceptable behaviour within the wider community. We're supposedly a nation of dog lovers too and sure, whilst out running I sometimes witness similar events to those you describe, but rarely with the same respect for others sharing the same space. It never worries me when a big, friendly (or otherwise!) beast comes bounding across or tangles itself with my tired, old legs, but for some this can be quite distressing. Yet as often as I encounter owners who are apologetic, there are as many instances where they show little regard for how their charges might be perceived by others.

The more you write about México, the more it emphasises the sense of joint understanding and respect that people share there is often missing in our more entitled(?) population.

Just a few days ago I came across this video of a Méxican cyclist and his companion and almost shared it with you. Now I think I have to.


View: https://youtu.be/1uGhDRLIfIw


Apologies if you've seen it already.

Now I'm (mostly) retired, and having seen videos like the above, maybe it's time to rethink the possibility of a canine companion?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Your posts are always an eagerly awaited treat but this time sir, you have surpassed yourself ... at least in my eyes. The writing was of course up to its usual high standards, the photos were excellent as always, but the topic this time tugged at my heart strings. I've always loved dogs, but since leaving home all those years ago, never been in a position to have one.

Thank you!😊 Very much!

The vignettes you described paint a picture of such mutual love and respect between dogs and their owners(?), but also of a understanding of appropriate and acceptable behaviour within the wider community.

Well, that's praise indeed because that's exactly what I was aiming for.

However, in the interests of objectivity I have to point out that these stories are from this city. In earlier places, I've seen emaciated, undernourished packs of dogs. Leaving the "hotel" early in the morning just outside of Torreon there were three distinct packs of dogs within a couple of hundred yards. Having said that, I was never in danger, so even the strays buy into the social contract.

There is no shortage of "love and respect" on display. A few weeks ago, I was pulled from my Spanish studies by a sudden and loud series of yelps. Across the road, a Doberman, (a feckin' Doberman to me is black, brown and menacing…) leadless, was bounding around and leaping up at his boss. The yelps were of joy and as they trotted away there was no mistaking the adoration on display - and that's across 5 lanes of traffic! A few more sights like that and I'll view a Doberman as black, brown and messing!

It's said that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners and if evidence is needed, then it'll be found here. There's a Pit Bull pup that's a regular in my local park. He's just a pup, but already stronger than most other dogs he meets. If ever the term "gentle giant" applied……
With his dirty white coat, elongated head and pink mouth (it's nearly always open in what I interpret as a doggy smile) he reminds me of Babe, the pig, from the movie. He just wants to be friends - with everyone!

Yet as often as I encounter owners who are apologetic, there are as many instances where they show little regard for how their charges might be perceived by others.

I wonder how much attention those owners are paying to their dog as opposed to their phone? That's something here that is noticeably different - rarely are heads buried in phones when they're with their dog. I remember seeing a man and a dog on a beach in Wales. The dog wanted to play, wanted some attention from his boss. His boss was playing with his phone. It made me so angry! And sad.
In the same vein, it's not at all unusual to see one person with several dogs, but not each dog is treated the same. One may be on a lead, another not - a sure sign that the boss knows their dogs. (More often than not, it's the smaller, less threatening dogs on the lead, the bigger, more "ferocious" loose!)

The more you write about México, the more it emphasises the sense of joint understanding and respect that people share there is often missing in our more entitled(?) population.

To my way of thinking, that's a reflection of society. A lot of people don't care too much for a lot of other people.
Here, people care. I see it all over, dozens of times every day.
There's a lot of respect shown for those on the fringes, not perfect, but certainly more than I'm used to seeing. The musicians, the street entertainers, the people selling snacks in the park, those selling the artisanal crafts, the beggars; they are all "looked after". People listen to them, talk to them. It's very human.
Buying a few bits and pieces around the Día de Muertos I was engaged in conversation that was not simply transactional in nature. The lady I bought flowers from will stay in my memory for a very long time. Again, human.
Here, drivers don't just stop to let me cross the road, they'll wait patiently while I stand in the road taking a photo! If I stop to let someone past I'll get a "gracias" and a big smile. Ever held a door open for someone for them to barrel on through as if it was their right? That doesn't happen here. Human.
And smiles. When the default is to smile, it sets a really good basis for everything else.
When someone responds positively, well, we're more likely to do it again. It's a circle - we can make it virtuous or vicious. That's human too!

It's all the more surprising here, in this country, with its problems. Some of the local stores have a guard armed with a shotgun. Five heavily armed men refill the ATM in the supermarket. Lots of evidence that people should be suspicious, yet little evidence that they are.
There's a very strong religious belief still, but I'm not sure that's it.
It's way beyond my knowledge to speculate as to why things are the way they are, but it's very easy to see it.

Just a few days ago I came across this video of a Méxican cyclist and his companion and almost shared it with you. Now I think I have to.

Thank you! I really enjoyed that! Normally, I all on for soaking up inspiration anywhere I can find it. These days it's a bit trickier. It can be a reminder of what I'm not doing. But a doggy video? Always welcome!

Now I'm (mostly) retired, and having seen videos like the above, maybe it's time to rethink the possibility of a canine companion?

My fella died around about this time a few years ago. He moved back to Ireland after the end of a relationship, but I still got to see him once or twice a year. Had I not headed off, I'd have been out to the refuge, so I can easily relate to your urge.
There's a genuineness to a dog that is almost unique. There's no artifice or mental games. Feed them, water them, exercise them and they'll repay it in spades.
Lots of people tour with dogs too, although B****t will make hopping to Europe with one more difficult. It's a life change, but where there's a will…..

Mi compañero​

 

[cwskas]

Your posts are always an eagerly awaited treat but this time sir, you have surpassed yourself ... at least in my eyes.

Well said!

 

[cwskas]

View attachment 563096

I love the eyes in this picture. They speak so much!

 

[cwskas]

I love the eyes in this picture. They speak so much!

The second picture of your "fella".

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I love the eyes in this picture. They speak so much!

Full of divilment!

 

[IaninSheffield]

The one with the squirls!
The 70s brought us the rabbits of Watership Down. The 80s followed with moles in the Duncton Chronicles. Thirty years later and you might just have spotted a new niche - Ardillas de Ciudad de México.
There you go, that's another book I've found you could write. Need a literary agent?

 

[cwskas]

What a "squirrelly" post! I loved it.

I got some video earlier this year of a couple of squirrels building a nest in the top of one of the pecan trees in my yard. I had watched them for awhile and decided to use the zoom on the video camera to get a better look. They are quite the masters of the trees!

 

[cwskas]

I started following your thread about a week after you arrived in Norfolk, I don't remember the exact date, I just remember I read all the older posts in one sitting to catch up.

Yesterday was my one year anniversary ... on CycleChat. I signed up to make my first post asking when you were leaving Austin!

Thanks for all the great reads and thanks to CycleChat for the platform!

Willie