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Ed and Fran

Mar 18, 2007, 11:22 AM

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Things looking up in Tuxpan

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Yup, little by little things continue to move along down here. Just read in the local rag that they are going to build a new shopping center next to the Chedraui that opened four years ago. In fact, the earthmoving started a week or so ago.

It will have 80 small shops, but that will include a Cineopolis with 8 screens (Junior is thrilled), a Burger King and a Church's Fried Chicken (?? didn't even know they had them down here).

Most important for me is the news that since they are going to completely fill the space with the shopping center, they will provide parking space by double decking the existing Chedraui parking lot next door. That to me is the best news, because I'll get to park in the shade when we do the grocery shopping. That's a big deal down here on the coast.

Now all we need is a Home Depot.........

Regards

Ed & Fran

sfmacaws

Mar 18, 2007, 12:10 PM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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I guess we won't be parking the RV there again. I don't think I want to return to that Pemex either. I'm glad we got over there while we could.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

hopalog

Mar 18, 2007, 7:47 PM

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Re: [sfmacaws] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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That was so weird! I remember reading that about your Pemex experience. I wonder if anyone else has had this happen.

Hell's Half Acre

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"El Gringo Jalapeño"

Mar 19, 2007, 7:10 PM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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Ed, Fran and amigos costeños:
As a friend of mine here in Xalapa says when they opened Costco, Sam´s, Home Depot, Soriana, Liverpool, etc...."Sifilization has finally arrived...now we are really sifilized!!!!" Sometimes the "Mom and Pop" stores are so wonderful, especially since we have several just down the street for those daily shopping errands. Maybe it costs a little more, but we don´t have to use our "infernal" combustion vehicles to drive on jammed packed roads in the heat to get our shopping done. And the time savings is incredible, as well as the exchange of "visits" with the neighboring merchants. Just guess I am turning into an "old fart"(please, NO COMMENTS...this is a very family, wholesome website!), but I really love that "Hola, que tal, buenos dias...¿Como va todo? ¿Y Fulano, Mengano y Perengano?...¿Ya supiste que...? and on and on.
Bueno, amigos, hasta pronto.
¡Portense mal y cuidense bien, sin mirar a quien!
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

Ed and Fran

Mar 19, 2007, 8:49 PM

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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Sometimes the "Mom and Pop" stores are so wonderful, especially since we have several just down the street for those daily shopping errands. Maybe it costs a little more, but we don´t have to use our "infernal" combustion vehicles to drive on jammed packed roads in the heat to get our shopping done.

Glad you have that option Roy. But as I recall you live pretty close to the center of Xalapa, and I suspect your local "Mom and Pop" stores have more of a selection than what's available in the few tiny housefront tienditas that can be found in our little colonia on the outskirts of town. They're fine for beer, coke, or potato chips, but I couldn't see doing our marketing there.

Additionally, we shop for a combination of our household and my suegro's house, so we're carting home the groceries for seven people. I can't even imagine trying to schlep all that back to our house without the car.

My suegra used to do the majority of her marketing at the main mercado in the center of town. Believe me, she has little desire to resume shopping there (except for the occasional specialty item that we want) and much prefers the comfort of wheeling a shopping cart down aisles in place of struggling with several kilos of stuff in plastic bags as she wanders from puesto to puesto in the mercado.

We do get some of our stuff in smaller shops (panaderias, one small super that carries the brand of coffee we prefer, one place that we go for manteca, etc), none of which are anywhere near our house, but we spend the majority of our food dollars at Chedraui.

Like anything else, a lot of what you like to do, or can do, depends as much on what's available locally as it does on your personal preferences.

Best regards

Ed

trpt2345

Mar 21, 2007, 6:59 PM

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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In Reply To

Just guess I am turning into an "old fart"(please, NO COMMENTS...this is a very family, wholesome website!),
Bueno, amigos, hasta pronto.
¡Portense mal y cuidense bien, sin mirar a quien!

Roy! You're not that old!

Michael McLaugfhlin "el bolillo ranchero"

GueroPaz

Oct 29, 2007, 8:49 AM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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I'm glad to hear that your sleepy seaside town of Tuxpan is looking up, since my son and I took our whirlwind tour of Mexico in 1997 and spent nights at Playa Azul. I liked Tuxpan then, and the addition of some superstores would not ruin the place, I suppose. I was at Isla de Mujeres when the big superstore finally opened there (2000?) and it was a huge improvement over the sloppy, dirty, unregulated mom and pop stores that had failed to serve the public. Same in Hua Hin, Thailand, when a new nearly-suburban big mall almost put the downtown place out of business, which didn't deserve to exist but somehow struggles on anyway now.

I would consider settling in Tuxpan if there was a first class teaching (university medical faculty) hospital there. That's why I'm planning on Puerto Veracruz instead.

Ed and Fran

Oct 29, 2007, 4:13 PM

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Re: [GueroPaz] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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I was at Isla de Mujeres when the big superstore finally opened there (2000?) and it was a huge improvement over the sloppy, dirty, unregulated mom and pop stores that had failed to serve the public.

2000 was the last time we were on Isla Mujeres. We were living in (the state of) Campeche at that time, and it wasn't too far a hop over to the coast.

I would consider settling in Tuxpan if there was a first class teaching (university medical faculty) hospital there.

Heck, there isn't even a first class hospital here, much less a teaching one. The Hospital Civil is probably a marginal bet. If we need serious care we're heading for the military hospital, even though it's much smaller. We are of the opinion that it's better run, and we have some faith in one of the doctors there. But people with significant health care issues, or for whom first class medical facilities are a priority, probably shouldn't be thinking of Tuxpan.

That's why I'm planning on Puerto Veracruz instead.

Probably a wise choice.

Incidentally, since my first post in the thread, a local entrepreneur also built and opened our first floating restaurant. It's built on a pair of small floats and is moored in the river (alongside the boulevard - no cruising) at the west end of downtown. Probably the best restaurant in town. Nothing like what's available in real cities down here, but definitely a step up from what few choices we had before.

Best regards

Ed

Ed and Fran

Nov 17, 2008, 11:17 AM

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Re: [Ed and Fran] Things looking up in Tuxpan

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My how time flies. It's been about 20 months since my first post in this thread. The shopping center just had it's grand opening last week, so +/- 20 months from start of the work to opening. Not bad for here. "Opening" should be taken with a grain of salt. It's not finished yet, and only about 20% of the shops appear to be open or in the process of customizing their space. I suspect that more have been contracted, but it's not obvious on a quick walk through.

The new cinema, with 8 screens no less, did open. Junior seems pleased with that. The "anchor store" for the other end of the mall is Coppel. Not exactly a big anchor, but it's only a small shopping center. The mall has the first escalators in Tuxpan. On the food side, the first stores to open were Church's Fried Chicken (seems to me like carrying coals to Newcastle), Caesar's Pizza (Not "Little Caesar's"), and The Italian Coffee Company (not coffee from Coatepec nor from Chiapas?). All three seemed mobbed when we walked by. Malinchismo.

They did get the second level on the parking lot done, so we have shady parking, yeah! They also have underground parking under the mall. They are now installing automatic entry gates and ticket machines as they'll be charging for parking {{{gasp}}}. Yes, you'll get your ticket validated with purchases, at least at the big stores. More concerning is the convoluted way that the exits from the three parking levels all blend together and thread through a circuitous exit maze before hitting the cashier windows. I can't wait to see just how balled up the traffic will be getting out of there once they get everything open.

Well, that's the big news. Doesn't take much to get us excited out here in the "Lesser Provinces".

Regards,

Ed & Fran