Chacala is a very small town, without a bank or ATM. We knew that before arriving, and thought we had enough cash for our planned 2 nights. However, once we started extending our trip, money got tight, and we knew we had to visit Las Varas, the inland town nearby. I volunteered to go alone.
I ended up having to go two days. One was a good transportation day and bad banking day, the other was successful banking, and a transit adventure.
Background on transportation: To get to Las Varas, you hop a ride in one of the collectivo taxis. Basically, a van that circles Chacala honking before driving up the road to Las Varas.
Background on banking: In Las Varas, I soon learned, there are three ways to use your ATM to get cash: there is an ATM at the Oxxo (Mexico's equivalent of the 7-11), there is a bank, and there is a pharmacy where you can pay with your ATM and get cash back.
On Wednesday (easy transportation, bad banking), I walked out of the restaurant's bathroom and immediately saw the taxi. I hopped in, payed my 12 pesos (less than a dollar), and then realized Peter might not realize that I had gone. The taxi was actually going to stop for a few minutes, so I explained my situation and they said I should go tell him and they would head over to the cafe where he was and pick me up there. Done. I was on my way. On the way, I chatted with the driver about the flowers we saw along the way (I wanted to know what Morning Glory was in Spanish, but by the time I asked we had already passed all of them and I didn't see more). I explained that I needed a cajero and he said he would direct me to the bank once we arrived in Las Varas.
As we drove in, I saw a sign on the Oxxo that said it had an ATM, so I decided to first head there. When I arrived, the machine did not appear to be on. I asked an employee and she said that yes, it works. I headed back over to it and finally looked behind to see that it was not plugged in. There were some men doing work on the bathroom and they seemed to have unplugged the ATM to plug in their extension cord. I pointed this out to the same employee and she seemed to have no interest in changing that. So I headed to the bank.
At the bank, my card simply didn't work in the ATM. The message said that it was unable to connect with my bank. Even though this was a large bank in Mexico and even though my bank card has some of those same network symbols on the back, it was a no-go. I even waited in line to speak to a teller, gripped with a sudden fear that my card had become demagnetized. She did not check, but did tell me that probably it was just a problem of connection with my bank.
Someone referred me to the pharmacy. I arrived and explained my situation and asked if I could buy something and get cash back on my ATM card. The clerk thought that would work, except that she didn't have hardly any cash. I wasn't sure if she had changed it to dollars (why?) or someone had paid in dollars, or some other situation, but basically she couldn't help me.
I considered heading back to the Oxxo to beg them to plug in the ATM, but as I passed my taxi driver, he flagged down another taxi that was already heading to Chacala for me and I hopped in, paying my 12 pesos.
Thursday (hard transportation, successful banking): Thursday we woke up early go whale watching (see previous post) and upon arriving back at our room, we both promptly went back to sleep and slept until mid-afternoon. I actually dreamt that I had successfully gone to Las Varas and gotten cash and was disappointed to wake up and find that not true.
This time, I waited for a while at one of the corners where the taxi passes and none came. Peter and I took a break to eat a late and much needed lunch then I headed back. The hammock seller who came by, after I told him I didn't have space for a hammock, told me the taxi was parked over there, and I should go over so they see me. I went over and waited until the driver was ready to leave. We drove around town and picked up nearly a full van. In Las Varas, he drove a block further away from the Oxxo than the guy had the previous day, right near the Pharmacy, but I decided to start with the Oxxo. I walked in, the ATM screen was lit up, and everything worked smoothly. I bought myself an ice cream bar and headed back towards the taxi area, triumphant.
I had passed a small (regular car size) taxi on the way and when I walked by again, I asked him if he was going to Chacala, and would it cost 12 pesos. The answer was yes, but we would have to wait for 3 more people to make a full car. He told me that I had been near the collectivo stop when I was at the Oxxo, but those collectivos usually stop at 3pm. It was about 5pm now. I asked about the other taxi stand I had seen and he explained that the taxis there would not be able to drive me into Chacala, they were not allowed to drive in. Or I could pay a "special" taxi to drive me, but that would be "expensive". He pulled me up a chair to sit and wait. After a minute, I suggested that I pay him 30 pesos, or even 36, the equivalent of three people (about $3), and we could just go. He thought about it and countered with 45 pesos. I flat-out refused, and we finally agreed on 40 pesos, but I added a clause that if we did pick up other people, I would pay less. I hopped in the front seat and he drove first to the taxi stop by the Oxxo. There, the guy who had driven me in was waiting with one passenger. There was a long amused discussion between the two drivers, and my driver hopped out, leaving the car running. I heard the other driver say, "You didn't tell her what's happening?" and my driver was back, leaning in the window to explain the situation: They were going to flip a coin. If my driver won, he would take me and the other passenger and I would pay 30 pesos. If the other driver won, I would have to wait with the other passenger for more folks to come and we would go in the van. I was a little confused about why I couldn't still pay 40 to go with my guy, but I thought the whole thing was so amusing that I agreed. Luck would have it, we won the coin toss. The other passenger got in back and off we went. I had money and I was heading back to Chacala, finally.
Thus ends the banking story. A bit more about being here: Last night we went to a benefit dinner for Cambiando Vidas, an organization that give scholarships to kids from Chacala and surrounding areas so that they can go to high school (you have to pay for high school here!!) and even college. The program has sent 4 students to college so far and has 33 participants. Our landlady's daughter is a participant in the program and our landlady was helping with the dinner. We were given chiles rellenos, enchiladas, and a tamale, as well as one free margarita and dessert. Not bad for 200 pesos each (about $15). The evening also included some baile folklorico by the teens and a game that was sort of like a human cockfight. For the latter, the kids, and some adults, tied two balloons around one of their ankles. The challenge was to stomp on others' balloons and pop them without getting your own balloons popped. The last person with a balloon won. The final dance was one that was from this coast, they explained. It ended with the boys taking a bottle of beer in each hand and shaking it, letting the spray hit them and the girls. A grand finale, you could say. If you are looking for a good organization to donate to, I can't recommend Cambiando Vidas enough -- they have almost no overhead (if any) and have a clear and direct impact on people who need it. It has a U.S. tax exempt status also, so you can deduct your donation.
We keep extending our stay, but our current plan is to head back to Guanajuato, or at least as far as Guadalajara for a few days, on Sunday. Today Peter has gone out on on our hosts' boogie board to try to fish off the board, and tomorrow we hope to go on a boat trip to a nearby island with a pristine beach and good snorkeling, or at least around this coast to another beach (las cuevas, so I assume there are caves there?) which also has some rocks for snorkeling.
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