How Does She Do It???

So most of you know that I'm blessed to be here in Zihuatanejo for a month.  A month?  Yes, I get the raised eyebrows all of the time.  Even here, they ask "Are you alone?" You're here a month? They nod their heads and think "Muy loco Americano".

Circumstance, luck and hard work got me here.  But still, if you know me well, you know my finances are tight.  After renovating the house, and the responsibilities I have, you know my savings account is about wiped out. And, to top things off, well, I knew I'd be saving gas money this month without driving the Durango.  Somehow, that bastard Durango knew I was skipping out and decided to give me the ultimate FU by driving a piston thru the engine and bleeding all over Hazel Avenue.  Touche Durango!

So, I'm going to give you the secret to my travel.  Shhhh...I'll tell you, but keep it a secret or Ninja's will visit you in your sleep.

I have timeshare - This is YUGE (in the words of our President Trump).  I got most of it in the divorce because I knew my ex would never use it. I'd paid for the lion share anyway, so it works.  I made the move to upgrade it to Platinum (WorldMark/Wyndham) because at that level the credits work as currency, i.e. not only do I have a place to stay, but I can use the credits for airfare, excursions, etc.  This way, when I'm retired, I'll always have a way to travel and have fun without expending the cash.

Fresh tortillas (30+), cheese, 1/2 kilo of
carnitas, 15 eggs, 1 container of OJ, 1
container of beans, 1 six pack Modelo

Most of my rooms have kitchens.  However, in this case?  WorldMark bought the resort from another organization, so most of the units in Zihua do NOT have kitchens.  That's ok.  For $20 I bought a mini griddle. My unit came with a coffee maker and a mini fridge.  See how well Dizzy packs a fridge?  I also brought a knife and kitchen towel and a couple of utensils, along with the prime rib spice (brother spice...my niece named it that due to Damian loving the stuff).

5 good sized green onions, 2 avocados,
1 bottle of Tequila, I bottle of hot sauce.

I save my money for bigger ticket items, i.e a really top shelf margarita (last night), an exceptional dinner out, etc.  I make my own breakfast, lunch, snacks and sometimes dinner. And the really great thing about Mexico right now is the dollar is roughly 20 pesos to 1 dollar...which stretches my buying power. The ATM charges 30 pesos for withdrawal, so its a no brainer.

Limes, 3 different condiments (came with
the carnitas), butter, leftover quac

My mini griddle, cutting board, knife,
kitchen towel, etc.

So today was all about picking up some pesos and doing some grocery shopping.  I wanted to make sure I could make my breakfast quesadillas, have some snacks, and beverages.  I headed into town and after the 20 minute walk, and running down a bank with an ATM (best to pull your money from an ATM within a bank, or you'll get hacked later).  I stopped at Zorros after pulling out some money and got the two for one Margaritas.  I also picked up one of their bottle coozies.  Total? 105 pesos ($5.07).

Then I headed to the central market. It is this huge 2 block inner market that has everything.  I was almost enticed to purchase some beef, and I may in the future.  The chicken looked a little sketchy, so I passed.  I did pick up some garlic, green onions, 15 eggs (3 died on the way home), tortillas, cheese, beans, avocados, etc. These are things that I can put into a quesadilla with high protein for the walking and adventuring that I'll be doing during the day.

While walking past the market, I found a vendor that sells Carnitas by the kilo. OMG, he even gave me a sample...SOLD!!!  I bought a half kilo and it came with condiments, i.e. a onion/cilantro salsa, a green salsa and some pickled red onion shavings. He also threw in some limes.  Holy PIG!!! I'll be back at this spiritual nirvana when my meat runs out (that doesn't sound quite right).

I knew I needed a couple other staples and headed to a side market that I knew about from a previous visit. There I picked up a bottle of tequila, some juice, butter, hot sauce, beer, etc.  Yes, I do know I need some fruit in my diet and I'll look tomorrow.  I did forget the milk for my coffee, but...oh well.

So all in I spent 715 pesos ($34.54) on the food.  If we total in the margaritas, the coozie, and the cab ride home with my treasures,  tip, etc we're looking at $900 Pesos or $43.47.  So far so good!

I'm two hours ahead of most of you, so I think I'll make myself a snack right now, then head back into town to see Arturo, chitchat and have a cold beer.  I am blessed.