One of the very charming qualities of Mexico is the ingenuity and industriousness of the people. Not too far back herein I mentioned the retail sales force here in Mexico lacks certain polish that is standard procedure in the U.S. and Canada. But, when it comes to street sales and immediacy Mexico has the others beat.

Mid-morning today (Saturday) we scooted into Xico and beyond. We were hoping ultimately to go as far as Coatepec to buy bread and cheese.  But alas this was not to be.

Shortly out of Xico on the road between there and Coatepec we encountered a lot of traffic. It seems in some municipal manager’s infinite wisdom that Saturday would be a good day to repair the one-lane in each direction highway. My less educated sense for things relating to road construction would have thought a less busy day of the week might be better time to virtually totally disrupt the flow of traffic – I mean rather than when everyone off work that wants to go out to the store and whatever was on the roadway.

In any case the road was packed, backed up and pretty much rendered immovable. We scooted to the front of the line but were not allowed to go beyond. Then the rain started and continued. We limped into the Pemex gas station near the entrance to Coatepec to wait out the rain.

During the wait I noticed several fellows arrived on the scene with carpet bagger type satchels. Each was full of windshield wipers. Obviously these hombres woke up this morning or were already packed up for just such an event. When the rain comes out there will be many in need of windshield wipers.

Of course this makes perfect business sense. Top peso can be obtained when you can provide for a need like wipers during a persistent rain. If these hombres were selling rain ponchos we would have been in the market right then as well.

We thought it was very industrious and typical of the framework of marketing Mexican style. Providing basic needs on the spot makes terrific marketing sense.

Then we got to thinking, how would this work in the U.S.? If you attempted to sell in the street you would certainly need a permit. You would likely be run off competing with the more established businesses. If you were under 18 in states like California you would be forbidden from working at all without possessing a high school diploma – something I am pretty sure these hombres lacked.

To obtain a license and subsequent permission to sell you would most likely be required to carry some liability and casualty insurance. Hypothetically if a wiper you installed failed in some manner you would be sued – perhaps even your entire family.

If you offered any warranty you would have to post a bond and back it up in writing. Here in Mexico – they will tell you if there is any problem I am here on this corner often.

The U.S. is a complex quagmire in many ways. This direct Mexican marketing has not only charm but good sense attached to it. Stay Tuned!

Are you just plain tired of high pressure sales? Do you find yourself desperately wanting to cut to the chase when getting a sales pitch? If you answered yes to either of these questions you NEED to come to Mexico.

Honestly most sales personnel here in Mexico must be shaken to be sure they are breathing. You have questions – forget about it. You best know what you want. If you want to know if they have something you better just look around the store. Chances are the salesperson has no idea whether the store has the item – no idea.

If you want a sale pitch you will have to wait for a street vendor to come by – there you can definitely get a pitch – but not in a retail outlet here in Mexico.

We have this cloud over our head with vehicles and parts to keep them running here in Mexico. Recall a while back the five month sage (that is months – not a typo) trying to get a part for our Ford Truck – we are not talking a Maserati or Jaguar here – a Ford truck!

We ended up buying a car in order to drive back to the U.S. to finally find the part. Part in hand it took 15 minutes to get the truck running.

Now our Chinese scooter is in need of a starter. Before you roll your eyes – we bought the scooter here in Mexico; and they are seen everywhere here in Mexico.

It is possible the starters are very reliable – but I doubt it. Yet no one seems to have the part. The prices quoted when and if they can get the starter are all over the map by a factor of at least 3. Of course the shop that quoted the best price (about 30% higher than the best price in the U.S.) would have to order the part and it would take about 20 days.

OK if you were wondering or accusing, we are unhappy and frustrated; and most of all missing Cruise Azul riding. We actually drove to Coatepec in the Jetta yesterday looking for the part and shopping.

The last two vehicles we have purchased were purchased in Mexico in order to have a better shot at local maintenance and parts availability.

We started working on cars early in life. Before we were old enough to legally drive we were under hoods and greasy. Early on I commented to my father, rest his soul, “One day I am going to know enough about cars to be able to fix everything about them myself.” My father’s reply and here I thought a good piece of wisdom, “Son, I hope one day you make enough money to pay to have someone else fix your cars.” I never forgot that and even passed the sage wisdom to my son.

A few times in my life I actually have had enough money to have someone else repair my vehicles. Enter the computer age. Cars got so complicated with computer chips and modules and a lot of engineering dedicated to keeping the weekend tinkerer out from under the hood. Do not even get me started about the special tools designed for one task.

Here in Mexico car maintenance is far more affordable than in the U.S. by a factor of 10 or so I would guess. But all good news usually comes with a caveat. In this case it is the aforementioned parts situation.

But there is more. Getting back to little Cruise Azul the Chinese scooter. The little scoot has no computer and I have tools. It is little more than fixing a lawnmower to keep it going when you can get the parts. All still the aforementioned rate of savings on vehicle labor caused us to attach ourselves to a moto mechanic here in Xico – Pepe.

Pepe started out very inexpensive. But as he got to know this gringo his fees seem to escalate. There was one constant charge that was beneficial or so we thought. An oil change for 100 pesos. That is about $8 U.S. including a liter of mixed synthetic oil – quite a bargain; so good that in spite of our having tools and knowledge to perform an oil change in 15 minutes, it still made sense to have the work done by Pepe. When you deduct the cost of oil, we are talking maybe $3.00 U.S. Why would we get our hands greasy or have to deal with a liter of used oil to dispose of?

The other day before the starter died we ran Cruise Azul across town to Pepe’s garage for an oil change. For the first time we decided to wait for the work to be done rather than leave the scooter and return later.

We watched as Pepe went about his work. Without getting too technical and losing most of our female readers the oil was changed incorrectly. It was drained from the wrong orifice thereby eliminating the cleaning of the oil filter. I watched in subdued horror realizing my little jewel was not receiving proper treatment. The 100 peso oil change suddenly was no bargain.

So now I have to tell my son new found wisdom. Be smart enough to work on your vehicles because no one will care about your ride as much as you do; and buy some tools and spare parts – you will need them.

I have a very smart younger Cousin who has aspirations of designing a car that meets two amazing criteria. The vehicle must get 100 miles to the gallon and be able to go 100 mile per hour. I hope this vision includes having 100% available spare parts and that 100 out of 100 people with tools will be able to repair the thing. It is Friday the Thirteenth. We had to get this off our chest. Stay Tuned!

Mordita or little bite in Spanish is the process of Mexican traffic police (transito policía) trumping up a traffic violation to extort funds from foreigners or even their own. It is direct deposit; money changes hands from innocent extranjeros (foreigners)  to corrupt police.

The frightened ‘violator’ will not receive a ticket. Only a paid-for-warning. Often the process is performed very surreptitiously.  The reason for the stealthy process is to avoid the blind eye of Mexican justice which claims this ongoing  holdup is illegal.

Saturday during the brief sunny part we were returning from a scooter ride to Coatepec where we bought some custom made bread, designer cheese and some home-made vegetable tamales. Just past the police station that is about mid distance between Coatepec and Xico we came up behind a small black and white transito vehicle. (Not the one shown below)

A Traffic Police Vehicle (more typical than the beater we encountered)

A transito officer, be he/they on foot, riding a motorcycle or in car, is the most likely person(s) to stop foreigners of any kind to give traffic citations; more often looking to have the frightened foreigner buy him/them lunch or maybe a new dress for the wife.

When we came upon the transito vehicle I decided to stay behind him avoiding visibility. We were in no hurry enjoying the bit of sun and verdant roadway. This was quite a concession, the dilapidated police vehicle was smoking quite badly.

Not far along the route the transito clunker slowed; from the driver’s side window the uniformed officer motioned for us to go around – which we did.

Soon he caught back up with us driving close to our rear. The road essentially runs out at the entrance to Xico. It is necessary to take a right turn onto a different road going into town. At this point he turned on his P.A. system announcing that we should pull over. Considering the smoke and dilapidated condition of the little policia car, I was surprised he had public address system technology. We pulled to the side and stopped.

Since we were traveling to and from Xico we had helmets on (it’s a law, occasionally); I often do not wear headgear when just scooting around Xico. We were going the speed limit and otherwise obeying all the rules – so it was pretty much a given these boys were ready for lunch.  We were going to buy it for them, so they thought.

Being residents and knowing full well the routine we were not about to fork over pesos for these two characters. The sooner we made this clear the sooner we would be moving along.

If you are riding a vehicle with less 150 cc’s of engine displacement you are not required to have that vehicle registered and plated (con placa) – that is the law. Unfortunately for the officers we knew this. They were not going to be eating any time soon on our pesos – the Calypso couple was confident about that.

Anita walked up to the officer now standing street side.  She stood a head taller than the officer. His partner scurried into a package store on the corner – presumably already selecting food items that he thought we were buying – guess again hombre.

The officer pointed to our scooters rear asking where our license plate was.

Anita’s first thought was to redress this fellow for driving a car smoking like it was burning coal as a fuel source. She thought better and went right into explaining that we live here in Xico and we know there are many scooters and the like sans license plates.

Now the hungry officer was not sure we were going to buck his misguided authority. He went right into a spiel about how this was true in Xico but not in Coatepec.

Still mounted on the scooter I chimed in saying we have been driving this scooter in Coatepec for two years. Anita added that we see many, many non-plated scooters and four-wheelers in Coatepec; furthermore she cited the 150 cc rule to him.

At this point I think we all knew there was not going to be any pesos exchanging manos. Now the officer needed to figure out how to get out of this gracefully – and with his manhood intact. He looked up into Anita’s eyes and then over to me still sitting on the scooter. He asked for my driver’s license. This totally beside the point now; but it provided him time to think this out.

We have written before that we do not carry our actual driver’s license, rather a reasonable facsimile copy, laminated and semi-authentic looking. The transito officer looked over my license. I handed Anita my business card to give to him. The card indicates I am a writer for Global Post .com. I wanted him to know we could write about this experience letting others know about his effort to extort money from us.  He looked at this card more carefully than the license. It has the word “escritor” (writer) on it, and the Global Post insignia.

We were done. He returned my license and business card. I told him to keep the card so he would remember us – might even want to log-in and visit the Blog

With one quiet glance and a slow-spreading smile exchanged between Anita and me, we shared recognition and understanding, and the power of that brief meeting was more satisfying than I can effectively describe. It was a perfect sunny moment.  We rode on.

We arrived home just ahead of the afternoon rain. It has rained every day since we have returned from the United States three weeks ago – every day. Rain does not impede life what so ever in the tropics.

If you choose Mexico you can be sure that soon enough you will find comfort even with the tiresome process of mordida. There are not many that can look upon their lives and realize they have everything they could ever wish for, and then some extra for the dipping. Each morning when I wake, I whisper a silent prayer of gratitude that I am one of them. Gracias, gracias, gracias….

Life is good! Life is about attitude, stay positive and Stay Tuned!

We are often asked about how much stuff we are able to caring on our 150 cc scooter; while also carrying the two of us.  Generally the answer is an average load of groceries. We thought a photo might help. Today we had a pretty full load; a good time to take a photo of the haul.

So the picture below represents a good size load of groceries. The tequila bottles are 1.75 liters by the way – so no small jugs there. Jarana an average pedestrian tequila, about the same or a little better quality than the ever popular in the U.S.  Jose Cuervo, costs 99 pesos for 1.75  liters or 2.33 fifths of Jose Cuervo for $7.75 U.S. or $45.09  U.S. at $18.00 U.S. per fifth including tax (what we paid plus tax in the New Mexico – when on sale).

A few have mentioned prices going up since gas prices continue to creep up here. However today must have been sale day at Chedraui our chain grocery store located in Coatepec. 170 gram canned tuna – while albacore in water for 6.27 pesos or approximately 50 cents U.S.  A big box of Kellog Corn Flakes (530 grams) for 20.9 pesos or about $1.65 U.S.  An average quality 6 pak of beer for $3.50 U.S. One Large can of La Costena black beans without preservatives (560 grams) for 9.87 pesos or 77 cents U.S. A 75 gram bottle of capers for 11.50 pesos or about 90 cents U.S. – I have no idea what capers cost in the U.S. but this seems reasonable.

Calypso’s groceries hauled on Cruise Azul (our 150 cc Chinese scooter).

Our total bill for all you see in the photo was 695.54 pesos or about $55.00 U.S. Now if we subtract the equivalent U.S. cost for the two bottles of tequila the remaining bill is 55 – 45.09 = $9.91 U.S.  Not a bad haul for a small Chinese scooter and a smaller wallet.

We have characterized our grocery savings at 25-30% as compared to the United States – still standing behind that. Your thoughts? Stay Tuned!