Taxis on parade

Not sure what this was about.  We had a flurry of holidays: Children's Day, Labor Day, Cinco de Mayo, Teachers' Day.  All withing around 10 days.  And there's an election in July, so a lot of political stuff happening.  It has been less than a year since the annual blessing of the taxis occurred in the Zócalo, so it probably wasn't that.  Needless to say, I never ride in a cab that hasn't been blessed.

On the street

Guerreros de Oaxaca

The Guerreros are only 2.5 games out of first place.  I have now been to see four games and have really enjoyed it.  They play a very high quality baseball, equivalent to Triple A minor league level in US.

Zocalo

Sunset

from my apartment:

Presion Arterial

So I went 7 days in a row to have my blood pressure taken.  Results:
120/80
120/70
110/70
110/65
110/70
110/70
110/70
And the winner is: 110/70.  So this gringo is not trying to pull a fast one on the health service.

Rainy season

So rainy season has started early this year.  It's been good in a way: April is the hottest month here and the rain has kept temperatures down.  But there's a problem.  The Oaxaca Guerreros, the Oaxaca entry in the Mexican league, play their games at 7pm.  And it's been raining at 7pm: last night, tonight.  And the Guerreros are in town this week.  They will probably get the game in, but it will take forever.

Most of baseball season overlaps with rainy season, so if they called games off because of rain, they probably wouldn't be able to have a team here.  In the one game I did see, the players just played in the rain.  Until it started to pour and an enormous tarp was spread over the infield.  After around an hour they took the tarp off and started again.  After 3.5 hours I left during the top of the seventh.  The Guerreros were down 8-1 at one time, and I thought there was no way they could come back.  But when I checked their website the next day I saw they had come back to win 9-8.  They didn't say when the game ended.

Street

Physical

I went to the national health plan center near me for my first physical today. I was somewhat stressed out by the fact that I had to do it all in Spanish--no interpreter.  My first blood pressure test was 160/?.  So there was a big deal about my having high blood pressure.  But they took it again before I left and I focused on breathing and relaxing my muscles and the reading was 120/80.  Wish I could do that with my cholesterol level.

In any case, for around $260 a year I have health insurance that covers almost everything without deductibles.  In contrast, I am afraid to visit the US before I turn 65 and can get Medicare.  One bit of bad luck causing me to be hospitalized could ruin me financially.

Stairs

Santo Domingo

Shade

Umbrella

Shopping

This is MARO, Mujeres Artesanas de las Regiones de Oaxaca. It's a women's cooperative run by the craftspeople from the city and nearby villages.  And that's Steve heading for the exit.

Doorway

Sunset

from my apartment:

Truck

Boxcar

Murals

Bus

Maria Luisa Mendoza Ruiz: wool weaver

the cochinilla bug is used for its red color and is modified to create other colors by combining it with other natural dyes:

Bench at Llano

Street

Aqueduct

Camera

So Steve gave me this really great camera.  I am going to start posting pictures again.  My old camera required all kinds of manipulation to get a decent image, but this one does not.  Now if he could give me something that would allow me to write good prose easily . . . .

Steve and Marion at Pantéon General