The Radio Girl

My Pelican Buds

Pelicans are cool.

Living in the BC interior, we don't see a lot of pelicans swooping around our beaches. 

From wikipedia:

A pelican is a large water bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak, belonging to the bird family, Pelicanidae.  Modern pelicans are found on all continents except Antarctica.  They occur mostly in warm regions, though breeding ranges reach 45° south (Australian Pelican, P. conspicillatus) and 60° North (American White Pelicans, P. erythrorhynchos, in western Canada). Birds of inland and coastal waters, they are absent from polar regions, the deep ocean, oceanic islands, and inland South America.

I look forward to seeing my pelican buddies when we head south in December. 

These guys were hanging out last year on the beach at La Penita, Mexico.  I love the little one chilaxing in the bottom right hand corner of the shot.  He needs a haircut :)

 
This picture perfect guy looked like he was posing for me just before he swooped in for his lunch off the coast of Lo de Marcos.

That same afternoon My Fella and I were eating at a beachfront restaurant when this guy dropped out of the sky and sat down for lunch beside our table.  The waiter informed us that he's a regular customer and they usually serve him from a styrofoam container, in case he orders his fish 'to go'.

But my fave pelican pic of all time is this one.  

You can see it's siesta time for everyone except the rebel pelican in the center who's either yawning or enjoying a huge belly laugh.  Love it  :)

The Morning Show

At the beginning of my radio career I vowed I would never do the morning show.

I never cared about the prestige that came with doing mornings.  The pay wasn't that much better than my afternoon shift, and the hours are brutal.  I actually managed to avoid the morning show for 18 years. 

But in an ironic twist of fate, after quitting my full time afternoon drive show in Calgary and taking a fun part-time gig in the Okanagan, I've been waking up at 4am the past few days to host mornings.

The joke's on me  :(

It's actually not that bad, although my eyeballs are sore and I'm a little grouchy.  And it's only 8pm, but I'm totally pooped.  (When I first wrote the title of this post I missed the letters 's' and 'w' in Show.  You do the math.)  

But it's a great confirmation that I made the right decision, staying away from morning drive.

The alarm is set for one more 4am wake-up call and I'm already in my jammies, but I wanted to pass along this little nugget of info from expat blogger Erika at Without A Net.

We had an interesting email conversation last month about the challenges of moving to a different country.  She bravely uprooted and moved from Alberta to Mexico City a few years ago.  And she had some interesting things to say about jumping into a brand new culture, especially one as different as Mexico:

"Just be prepared for things not to work the same way as they do back home.  It sounds like an obvious thing but it's far more unsettling that I was prepared for.  I've had breadbaskets in restaurants delivered to me with teethmarks in a half-eaten bun.  I've had to consciously override my irritation at archaic filing systems and business people showing up 2 hours late for an important meeting ... and the fact that Mexicans will always give you an answer even if they don't know the correct one. 

Worst of all, the consistent assumption that foreign=wealthy (it's strongest if the foreigner is white, but it goes across the Crayola spectrum) means that you're constantly having to watch what you're being charged for things (the best trick I've found so far when you're asking about price is to say, "El precio normal, no el precio gringo" - they tend to laugh and lop several hundred off."

If you're considering a drastic move, especially to a third world country, read the archives on Erika's website first.  Her site is specific to Mexico City, but she does a great job of capturing the 'shock of change' and the vast differences between Canada and Mexico.  

She's realistic about the pros/cons of relocating - and she's an awesome writer. 

Thanks for your advice, bud - and good luck with your new move :)

Swine Flu Updates

Two of my fave Mex bloggers had great posts on the swine flu:

CancunCanuck shares info on what's happening in the state of Quintana Roo. If you have an unpcoming trip booked to Cozumel, Playa del Carmen or Cancun, check out her blog.

And Calypso from Veracruz authored a short post reminding us all to use our common sense.  I particularly like the title:  If You Read This You Will NOT Get Swine Flu. 

FYI:  Even though it's called the swine flu, you can't get it from eating pork.  This virus is really giving piglets a bad name.

Swine Flu Update

103 people in Mexico have now died from the swine flu.

Schools and universities are closed in Mexico City, normally busy streets are quiet and soldiers are still handing out surgical masks to residents.  They're doing what needs to be done to contain the virus.

Six mild cases of swine flu have been discovered in Canada, two of them here in BC.

If you follow the blog "Without A Net", Erika wrote a great post on this topic.  And she knows what she's talking about, since she's actually in Mexico City. 

FYI:  I got an email from Erika yesterday - don't worry, she's healthy and totally fine :)

It's Scary Out There

From ABC News:

March 30, 2009 - "A gunman has killed eight people in a nursing home in the town of Carthage, North Carolina, and injured others including a police officer.

Earlier this month, a 28-year-old out of work man killed 10 people, including his mother and a toddler, in a shooting rampage through two counties in the southern state of Alabama, the worst in the state's history.

In December, a man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at a Christmas party being given by his ex-wife in Covina, California, killing nine people before shooting himself.

In October, an ex-convict opened fire with an assault rifle at a man and two children who had come to trick or treat at his home in Sumter, South Carolina on Halloween. A 12-year-old boy died of his wounds in that incident.

In September, a mentally ill man shot eight people, killing six, in Alger, Washington a month after being released from prison."

And people are scared to travel to Mexico ???

Señor Calypso

I read a fantastic blog post yesterday.

It was written by Calypso, the Big Cheese (grande queso) behind the Viva Veracruz Forum which, as the name suggests, is a forum for anyone interested in Mexico.  Specifically Veracruz.

Calypso also authors a blog that I've read off and on for the past couple of years.  The quality of his writing and his photos make me feel like I'm right there with him, living a Mexican adventure.  Well, maybe not right there.  His lovely bride probably wouldn't like that too much :)

He recently put together a wonderful post about the organic coffee business in his part of Mexico, featuring an 84 year old woman who has been "growing, harvesting, depulping, washing, drying, stripping and roasting her coffee for more than fifty years."

He gives you enough detail to understand the process, but it's still a quick and easy read, with great photos.

It's refreshing to hear about this very human side of Mexico.  And a lot more interesting than the drug cartel/border town shoot-outs that hog the media spotlight as of late.

Thanks for sharing this post, Señor Calypso. 

No More Hotcakes

My Fella makes breakfast every Sunday morning.

It's a little tradition he picked up from his Pa who has been in charge of weekend breakfasts forever, since My Fella was growing up.

Weekdays I only have fruit for breakfast - an apple, orange or nectarine.  Fruit is cheap and easy to eat at my computer while I peruse the morning biz news and the markets. 

On Sunday mornings we have a bigger breakfast, usually not until about 10:30.  We both used to have the same thing - pancakes, which I honestly never really liked but My Fella likes flipping them so I went along with it.  Until that fateful Sunday morning a couple of months ago in Mexico - we were eating pancakes from a Mexican mix we bought at the local mercado in Sayulita.

Everything tastes sweeter in Mexico - Diet Coke, fruit juice, syrup and pancake mix.  I think it's because they use sugarcane more than refined sugar, and sugarcane is a lot sweeter.

My taste buds don't do 'sweet' and I remember actually gagging after my first bite.  Now I'm totally off pancakes.  Or hotcakes, as they're called in both Mexico and the USA.

But I'm a huge fan of eggs, or juevos (huay - vos) en espanol.  I heart juevos. 

Editors note:  Juevos is also Spanish slang for testicles.  Don't confuse the two :)

Morons in the Media

I have been part of the Canadian media for almost twenty years.

In all my years on-air, I've never seen as many lazy and irresponsible stories like this that are being passed off as 'news'.  You anonymous CityNews.ca staff writers should be ashamed of yourselves. 

If you don't want to waste time reading the entire story, here's a quick summary:  It's an 850 word article, rehashing all the Canadians killed in Mexico since January 2006.  All five of them.

Yes, I said five.  In three years.  Yet Mexico is painted as the 'black hole of tourism' by this anonymous group of staff writers who have probably never even been there, judging by their distorted view of the country.

Please don't get me wrong.  Every death is terrible, and my heart goes out to the families of these Canadians who died.  Especially when these stories continuously appear as 'news'.

I wasn't there when any of these folks died and I don't know the circumstances.  And the CityNews.ca staff obviously know even less.  This 'new' article offers nothing 'new' in the way of information.  As a matter of fact, some key info was left out.  Like the fact that drugs, alcohol and rowdy tourist behavior were reported in at least two of these situations. 

I'll admit I am biased, traveling to Mexico many, many times over the years.  And by travel, I don't mean flying into a resort city and holing up in the safety of an all-inclusive resort.  I mean driving from Canada to Mexico and staying in little coastal towns along the way, where the only English word you ever hear is 'hello'. 

There is definitely a drug war tearing apart areas of Mexico.  Similar to the drug wars in Surrey, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and parts of the GTA.  Innocent people are getting shot and stabbed and beaten up all over our beautiful country.  And we get to hear about it in the news every day. 

But the CityNews.ca staff has decided to bring the attention back to the five Canadians killed in Mexico in the past three years. 

I was going to end this post with a plea for more responsible sensationalism journalism, but I've realized it's actually a good thing.  Smart, responsible and respectful Canadians will still travel, using safety as a guide.

And articles like this will keep the more gullible tourists OUT of Mexico, resulting in fewer crowds and better prices. 

Gracias.

Added later:  This online story is the exact way this 'news' should have been handled.  It's an article from ctv.ca warning Canadians to be cautious before taking a spring break trip to Mexico.  From the article:

"...really just a heads-up to remind folks there are situations in Mexico that can be risky, if not dangerous, and that people should think before they get into certain situations, certain locations.

Mexico is a popular destination for Canadian travellers seeking sunnier climes to beat the winter blues. About 1.4 million Canadians visited Mexico last year, a 20 per cent rise over 2007.

While Canadians have not been specifically targeted, they risk "being in the wrong place at the wrong time...".

Disclaimer:  I don't work for either CTV or City.

Nogales Border Crossing

Friday night was Poker Night for my fella.

We both firmly believe in 'alone time' in our relationship, especially after spending the last two months soclose together.  So I was happy to hang out at home alone, surfing the 'net and checking out websites I haven't seen in awhile. 

I was kinda surprised to read this story. 

If you're interested, it's about the drug violence in Mexico and the cartels who are killing each other along the USA/Mexico border.  This particular article caught my eye because the focus is the border crossing between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico.  The reporter paints a dark picture of both sides of the border - the very same border crossing we used twice in the last three months. 

On one hand I don't feel qualified to comment, being in that area for a mere five hours of my entire life.  On the other hand, this article implies that Nogales is a war torn battle zone, drug lords vs. local cops. 

Before we drove to Mexico, I did a lot of internet research on the Nogales border crossing.  And we spoke to many Canadians who use that crossing regularly with no problems.  

Not only did we feel perfectly safe during our own crossing, we even stopped in Nogales for a couple hours to drive around and buy car insurance.  Neither of us felt fear driving through what was obviously the 'poor' area of town and we actually met some nice Mexican folks who gave us directions to the insurance office.  The office was small and a little run-down but clean, no grafitti.  And we didn't get caught in a single gun battle. 

I'm not being flip about the drug violence in Mexico. 

It does exist and it is terrible.  But in all my Mexican travels over the past fifteen years, I have never seen it.  I have been witness to drug violence in Canada.  In fact, I've been a victim of Canadian drug violence, when a crackhead smashed into my car window looking for money.

We've had so many Canadian friends/co-workers ask us about driving in Mexico.  "What about the banditos and drug runners?"  

I'm sure they're around, but since we're not involved in the drug trade we have no contact with them and find it easy to stay out of their way.  And for anyone that does use drugs, you are an idiot if you think it's a good idea to bring them into a foreign country, or try buy them.  Grab a brain. 

I know I'm all over the place with this post, but here's my point:  If I had read this particular newspaper article before driving through Nogales, it might have influenced us to take a different route.  And if we had taken to heart the hundreds of negative headlines about Mexican drug violence, we may have cancelled the trip completely.

Every story I read about Mexico revolves around headless corpses and border guards with tear gas, yet I have experienced exactly the opposite. 

Mexico is a country full of friendly people, beautiful scenery, family values, fresh food and a laid-back, peaceful lifestyle.  Oh, and drugs.

And all we hear about are the drugs.

Go figure.

 

Needed Some Good Beach Pics This Morning

Is it summer yet?