Sunday, April 17, 2011

What a difference a week makes...........


We usually will try and go out for dinner at a local restaurant one night a week. I suppose you can call it "date night".
I don't have to cook dinner and my wife doesn't have to clean up. Kind of a win-win situation.

We have several favorite restaurants in Patzcuaro, we usually show up around 7:30 or 8 o'clock and most of the time we are one of maybe another couple. Sometimes there may be a 2nd couple but most of the time it's nice and quite and peaceful.

Not so this week.

Yesterday the big plaza was full of vendors bringing their stuff to foist on unsuspecting visitors from afar.
I noticed license plates from D.F., Queretaro, Vera Cruz and a few from Tamaulipas and Sonora.

That would explain why at 8:30 our hideaway restaurant was full. It only has seating for about 20 people and at 9:45 a gaggle of 10 sauntered in wanting a table.
These were all visitors from D.F.

I could tell. Frocks from Palacio De Hierro, Liverpool and Salinas and Roche were sported.

Nice clogs imported from Italy were the loafers of the day, Gucci bags were toted.
It was nice to see that money was being funneled into tiny little Patzcuaro.

The staff at the restaurant was already running slow and this party of 10 would be probably be the last service of the night.
Pure profit for this tiny mom and pop eatery.

Walking back to the car which was now the sole vehicle parked on the street, things were still busy with teenagers dressed nice walking the narrow streets. They were headed towards our big plaza, hopefully to spend some money and party.

The plaza vendors were still open, lights were ablaze under the canvas cover provided by the municipality, some vendors took to the streets setting up their booths where cars would normally park.....maybe it was free there or perhaps it was a second thought to join the festivities for this week. Those were not so lucky to have lights so, they brought their own smoky generators to keep the noise level up and disturbing.

During November there are a lot of interlopers into town, those usually come from many counties, filling hotels and restaurants with foreign babble, but during Semana Santa it is all nationals.
Ok. I did see a few new Gringo faces around town, but just a few.

There seems to be more people this year than last....maybe the bad PR is wearing thin and folks just want to go back to what seemed to be normal.

Or perhaps the economy is picking up a tad.
Hard to say.

All I know is that this week I will limit my trips to ones that are absolutely necessary simply because of the lack of parking and the flurry of out of towners.

Not that I don't welcome visitors............I am not a crowd person.

I will snap a photo or two if I get the chance. Hopefully it will not rain this week, our rainy season is learking out there somewhere, we had another heavy rain last Thursday, so it's time to test out the new roof, which has already passes it's first test.

Both busy and quiet week, Semana Santa, depending on which side of the calle you wish to stand on.....

4 comments:

Calypso said...

Same situation over here in Xico - known as a tourist town (pretty much all Mexicano extranjeros this time of year). We get some gringos from NOB in July.

As you suggest - it is a good time to lay low when the out-of-towners come to play.

Nancy said...

I guess you wouldn't want to be here in Mazatlán this week or next, would you?

I'm going to go take pictures later in the week after the beach density has a chance to build up a bit.

Tancho said...

Calypso, I have enough projects to do to keep me from wandering around town, getting in the way of visitors...

Nancy, there is something about having bodies on the beach so close that makes me enjoy the off season.
On one vacation in Aruba, years ago, I found out what it was like to have my beach space invaded by Europeans who think nothing of being 6 inches away from you.....
Never again!

Don Cuevas said...

We just got home from a weekend in Mexico City. The Poniente bus station was very busy.

We will stay home on the Ranch this week, eating out of our freezer, until cabin fever overcomes good sense, and I slip out into Pátzcuaro for some mercado shopping and a cafecito con mis cuates.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas