Things You Don't See In Canada

I mean no disrespect with the following list; these are simply some of our observations. If a person from a small Mexican town came to Toronto, I'm sure they would have a long list of their own.

Vehicles: Vehicles loaded with people, everywhere. People in cars, on trucks, in the back of pick-up trucks, none of them wearing seat belts, and baby car seats are rare. Vehicles loaded with furniture, livestock, chickens, garbage or anything else are also able to cram in a person or two.

Bicycles: Whole families on bicycles - mama, papa and children, not a helmet in sight. Seats from old baby high chairs attached to the bar between the handle bars and seat to transport a small child (quite ingenious, really). The odd bike has a makeshift seat for a mascota to sit and place its paws on. Today we saw a man attempting to transport two pieces of aluminum - each twenty feet long - via his bicycle!

Motorcycles: Twelve year-olds riding motorcycles, no helmets.

Watch Your Step: Large holes in the pavement -(sidewalk or road) with no pilon or other type of warning (see picture).

Exercise: Indigenous women running the local track in their traditional skirts. (My personal favourite!)

Public Announcements: a) Cars with speakers attached to the roof, trolling through the streets, loudly advertising a store, product or service. This is noise pollution. b) Cars trolling through streets, loudly announcing the death of a local person, complete with funeral service arrangements. This in not noise pollution, this just makes sense.

Hotels: Toilets that don't flush, shower stalls that don't drain, bathroom doors that open against the toilet, no towel rods, perpetual scent of septic tank in the air, windows without screens, and having to ask for fresh towels and toilet paper.

Auto Hotels: This deserves its own distinction! These are no-tell 'ho'-tels - your room is accessible from your car, which is hidden from public view - at the reasonable cost of roughly $10 for three hours. They are surprised if you want the room for the whole night.

Food: Tortillas and refried beans with every meal. And let's not forget the taste sensation of chicken, chilies and chocolate.

Beaches: Having the beach to yourself, as far as the eye can see.

Stores: a) Prices: Two-tier pricing - a price for locals and a price for tourists. Inconsistent pricing - a coffee that costs $15 pesos yesterday is $20 today, at the same store. b) A combination hardware store/veterinarian clinic, where dog examinations and operations are performed curbside, next to racks of machetes, rakes and shovels.

Market: Rows and rows of tiny stores - a flower shop beside a fruit stall beside a fresh chicken stall (where the vendor bragged that his chickens were so fresh that their feet were still twitching) beside a clothing shop beside freshly squeezed fruit juice beside a fresh beef stall with a cow's head on the counter beside a dried bean vendor.

Restaurants: Having to ask for the bill. You will be left undisturbed until you do this. (I suspect it's considered rude to present the bill until it's requested.) Meals served 'piece-meal', that is, plates that arrive at the table one at a time, as soon as they're ready... unless you happen to order the same thing as your spouse.. (I suspect there's only room for cooking one type of food at a time, unless it's a fancy restaurant.) Customers greeting each other with "Buen Provecho" in passing. To wish another person a good meal is just good manners!

Dogs: Everywhere. Most with more street sense than your average Canadian person. Dogs on streets, sidewalks, beaches, on roof tops, and dogs that look both ways before crossing.

Children: Everywhere. Most with more manners than their average Canadian counterpart. Children selling their wares not only at the market, on the beach and at road sides, but also between moving cars on busy city streets and highways. On one road outside of town we saw ten year-olds selling live, freshly caught iguanas almost as big as the boys who were holding them by the neck. (Just to clarify: these were not intended to be sold as pets, but as dinner.)

Trees: A man with a machete high up in a palm tree, held in place by a single rope. (See picture.)

Streets: Some towns have better signage than others. If you're lucky, the town you visit has arrows painted on the corner buildings to indicate a one way street. And just because a one-way street runs opposite to where you want to go, don't expect the next parallel street to accommodate you - it may run in the same direction!

Wildlife: Scorpions, geckos (small lizards), large squirrels with bright red underbellies, striped butterflies and birds, birds, beautiful birds (see picture).

Public Rooms: Last but not least, public toilets with doors that don't shut properly, no seat to sit on, no soap and no paper product of any kind. If you can locate one, go for the 'Pee to Pay' option, where there's usually have a person working at the door who will give you a prepared, folded, length of toilet paper in exchange for two or three pesos. (Notice I did not call this section 'Public Rest Rooms', because when you must squat this often, there's no rest involved!)