Topolobampo!
Have fun saying this name! Just say it as you see it with long ‘o’ sounds: Top-o-lo-bam-po!
Thane and I have had great fun getting to know some of the people of Topolobampo. Our first encounter was with two women serving seafood ceviche at their small—stools up to the counter—street side café. It’s the lower level of the house which may possibly be the home for both women and their families. We stopped and asked what they were serving and worked through the language barrier once they showed us the concoction in a cup: shrimp, octopus, clams, cucumber, onion (everything has onions in it!), and lime juice and possibly vinegar. It is served with crackers and, of course, tortilla chips. While we were enjoying the feast served in a giant glass cup (think mega-margarita at Lone Star), the female family members of one of the women came to the counter. Daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandma. Lots of chatter and laughter as the little granddaughter was eating her saltine crackers and begging grandma to put more ketchup on it, which she promptly licked off. Now, as we walk by and see them at the counter, we wave and smile and say “Hola”! We’re friends now.
Another person we have come to know is Marco at the marina. When we first came into the slip here and secured our dock lines, it was no time at all before Marco had the lines rolled into a nice circle and was helping us get our power cord hooked up and the hose connected and nicely looped on the hook available for it at the powerpost . Marco stopped by one day to see if we had any “libre”=books that he might use to learn more English. Nancy and I tried to come up with something that would be helpful, but most of our books are more difficult. After a more thorough search, I found a copy of the Klutz Book of Knots with picture directions for how to make the knots AND the “Incredible Magic Loop” trick at the end. I made a loop and tried the trick with Nancy first, and then took the book and loop to Marco to show him and to give him the book. It was an interesting exchange as I did not know the word for “present” or “to give,” so I said “Fleiz Navidad” and gave it to him. He understood and smiled. We try to help each other learn the other’s language beginning with the nouns: eye=ojo, nose=la nariz, lips=labio…. We’re friends now.
Thane and I tried another “Cocina Economica” (Economical Kitchen) street side eating establishment and enjoyed gorditas and enchiladas. There was a little girl there, about 4 years old, helping clear the tables—a soon as the plate was clear, she was there! Little girls are still little girls in Mexico, almost always in little dresses or jumpers and tights. Our little bus-girl, Britannia, was no different. She also had a little smock apron on with her name sewn on the front and a little pocket. It was a rainy day, so if she was not busy, she would stand outside under her pink Disney Princess umbrella! A memory I have of our own girls doing the same thing. She was gone before we paid the bill, but we made sure that she had a little tip for her help. We walked down the street to purchase a few groceries, and saw little Britannia come in for her tip treat! As we were leaving, we thought we should get a picture of Britannia, so we walked back to the “Concina Economica” and asked if we could take Britannia’s picture. The adults were helping her come closer so I could be in the photo with her, but she was not going to smile! I don’t think we’re friends yet. We’ll keep working on that.
(You can see all of them under “People We’ve Met” on th webpage)
