today is the second day I’ve woken up here. it was 54 F when I woke today, vs 48 yesterday. i could feel the difference. the cold might be the biggest challenge in Ensenada, and perhaps is the reason the town is not more crowded? the daily highs are very comfortable 12 months per year, but 5 months per year, the low is around 46-50 F, and without central heat, one feels it. I sleep in a wool shirt, wool long underwear, and ALL the blankets.
and I’m skinny. I lost 10 lbs during the last 6 months of home reno. Martha, my host, who I last saw in July, noticed the difference, and commented. people always say “you have to eat.” I do eat! hopefully now that I’m not doing manual labor 7 days/week I can get some fat back on my body in time for next winter.
I set out to find an underwear source, and succeeded. that gives me a few more days before I have to choose a lavanderia.
I also found an excellent source of cash to pay my weekly rent here. an ATM proposed a fee of 9.50 USD for my withdrawal, so I tried another machine on the other side of the block, and the fee was 1.40 USD. all Mexican ATMs offer to do the currency conversion for you, but if you accept, you get a bad exchange rate, and if you decline that offer, your own bank does the exchange at the optimal rate. and since my bank reimburses me 10 USD/month for ATM fees, the cost to withdraw cash is exactly the same as in the USA. 100% efficient.
Processed foods cost the same here as in USA, but unprocessed foods are cheaper. Particularly at the current exchange rate.
small lime, 6 cents
small onion, 15 cents
avocado, 50 cents (on sale)
large bag of corn chips, 5 dollars
I apologize for talking about money. I should be talking about the acoustics. It sounds open here, and existence-y. It sounds like there isn’t a lid on the town.
Last line important . Was thinking it s important to talk abt both.
It will be a 5570 peso fee for the 1-year residency card. I paid 8 pesos today to print two documents and make a copy of my passport. The people in the papeleria are perhaps my favorite I’ve encountered here.
There’s a park very close by called Children’s World Park, with a 7 peso entry fee, and various things inside that children are presumed to enjoy, such as a fire truck. I haven’t yet asked if unaccompanied adults are allowed in.