We had visited many pottery places over the previous couple of years looking for a small oval telavera hand basin for the downstairs bathroom. Dolores Hidalgo is a major centre of telavera and other types of pottery. Here we had found many we liked but Gillian was unable to find one that matched the colour scheme she had in mind.
Last November she brought a turquoise hand towel along. Whatever we bought had to go with that colour. Eventually, in one shop, Gillian found one design that would do. Not exactly the colours she wanted, but it would do fine. The four matching tiles, each with a corner cut to fit around the bowl, were not available for the smaller basin we wanted, only the larger.
We discussed the possibility of having “azulejos” (Spanish for tiles) painted to match and was assured it could be done, in a few days, maybe a week. Or two. After some thought and more discussion we paid for the basin, paid a deposit on the azulejos and said that we would return in the spring to pick them up, and that we would phone a week or two before we arrived.
Jump to last March. We had a bilingual friend call the shop on our behalf so that there we would be no misunderstanding. We were assured that they had the order and that it would be ready for us to pick up.
When we arrived at the RV Park in Guanajuato, an hour and a half or so drive to the west of Dolores, we called to say that we would be there to pick them up the next day, Saturday. We were told that Sunday would be better. Hmmmm.
We arrived on Sunday, Art stayed with the dogs in the car as we had had to park on a back street, while Gillian went in to fetch the tiles. This time the artist himself was in the shop but no one had told the him we were coming. They weren't ready, in fact hadn't even been started. They finally agreed to have them shipped to Puerto Vallarta, where we planned to stay several days and could stretch it out to a week if necessary. Well it was, and more.
We visited Estafeta (the courier) several times, tracking number in hand to be told “mañana” and finally “lunes” (Monday). Monday came but the tiles didn't, although Art was able to see on the web site that they had been put on the truck for local delivery. Strange, in that we didn't have a local address and were to pick them up at the Estafeta office!
Tuesday morning we left PV, now a little short of time so concerned that our return home might be a little rushed. No more than 15 minutes north of the PV Campground our cell phone rang. The agent was happy to announce that the shipment had been located—in San Luis Potosi!
He was told that we were on our way home, our visas were about to expire and we could not wait. He was to send the tiles back to the shop in Dolores Hidalgo. He offered to ship them to us in Canada but we declined as the duty and import brokerage fees would have been several times more than the value of the tiles. We then contacted the shop and said that we would either pick them up ourselves or have them shipped to us in Zihuatanejo when we returned in November 2011.
Which is now. So the saga continued:
Dolores Hidalgo is about an hour and a half to the west from the Trailer Park we were in, just north of Queretaro. Saturday noon we set off hoping to pick up our tiles. The photo also shows Guanajuato further to the west from where we had started this search. The pins shop the approximate location of the RV parks.
The young lady in the shop was able to find our original invoice without trouble, it was with a list of orders to be completed or picked up, right at the front desk! However she had no idea where the tiles might be, and “La Senora” was in the bank. Knowing Mexican banking procedures we knew we had time for lunch so ambled down the street looking for some place at least adequate.
Meals in the many little restaurants in many towns range from excellent to inedible, with mediocre and frequently over cooked being common. We found one place called “Capitan Trucha” (Captain Trout), went in and sat down. The place was shabby but clean enough, even liquid hand soap in the bathroom though there were no paper towels. Browsing through the menu we realised that although it was seafood restaurant, trout wasn't on the menu!
We ordered mojarra, a medium sized fish often cooked whole. Art ordered the "Española" and Gillian the "Veracruzana", similar, just a few differences in the sauces' ingredients. Our meals came and both were superb; the greens crisp and fresh and the french fries worth of a good English Fish & Chip shop. The fish were perfectly cooked, moist and and delicate but not falling apart and the respective sauces flavourful yet didn't overpower the fish. Amongst the best we have had in Mexico. Being whole fish they were of course full of bones but we managed not to choke on any of them!We did ask for an empty plate as a place to put the heads and skeletons!
We had parked the jeep next to the shop so of course we were greeted by the dogs as we approached, glad to see us back and seemingly forgiving us for wandering off without them.The mesh you see in the photo is a modification we had done to the convertible top to help keep the dogs cool. We bought an extra set of windows and had Tommy's Upholstery in Victoria cut the clear plastic out and stitch in some nylon garden netting that we provided. The rear window was similarly treated. They are easily changed back and forth, plastic ones are in place when towing or cooling is not needed.
Inside the shop, La Senora, Magnolia by name, was back. We explained to her the story and she seemed to remember. She went into the back of the shop and returned with a big smile on her face and a box of tiles. Attached to the outside of the box were two 4 inch square painted times; samples of the content of the box. She was so proud that she had found our order!
Except that it wasn't what we wanted!
A complex discussion ensued which include an important language lesson. What we had ordered were “azulejos” which we knew meant “tiles". What we wanted was a set of four large tiles that set in a square had an oval opening into which fit the sink. These special tiles are apparently not called “azulejos”, but “esquadras”. Oh!
More discussion and thought followed, a phone call from Magnolia to her boss, another 200 pesos changed hands and our new esquadras will be shipped to us in Zihuatanejo in early December. We hope.
Update X 2
The esquadras arrived in Zihuatanejo safely several weeks later and were transported home in the back of the Jeep--no room anywhere else!
In the summer of 2012 the sink and tiles were installed. Not quite as simple as it sounds; We also decided that since the vanity needed to have the top replaced the best thing was removing the vanity so the cabinetry could be beefed up a bit as well. Gillian also wanted the bathroom repainted and since we had floor tiles left over from the rec room reno several years ago. . . . Of course this meant that the toilet needed to be removed along with everything else.
On the way back to the Trailer Park in Queretaro we stopped at the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende for a few groceries.
At the Trailer Park we found that we were no longer alone; a French Canadian couple in a camper had arrived. Their sixteen year old dog Canelle took an instant liking to Tia and romped like a puppy. Trekker was a different story. Her response to his exuberance was a baring of teeth and a snarl. When ever she saw him after that she ran at him barking!
Electrical power here too was a problem, the voltage frequently rising above 130volts. Art had set the high voltage cut of at the top of the range but still it would cut off during the evening and over night. Leaving the inverter on meant that we were able to keep the satellite and TV on without interruption, as long as we remembered to turn it off before bed!
By about 9:30 we were both falling asleep so we switched off whatever it was we had been watching (Yes--we remembered the inverter!) and called it a night.
Tomorrow a short run to Tequisquiapan.
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