Doctoring visit #2 3.5.08

Michael’s knee was not getting any better so we decided it was time to go back to the Dr. and have it checked again. Dr. Jose Luis Olmeda Chavez was recommended to us by Dr. Ramiro Lopez, the fiancé of Elvira, who is the office manager here in Marina Mazatlan. Elvira has been such a wonderful help since we arrived here, often making appointments & finding information for us. She has a wonderful personality and is always smiling, even when swamped with work. Her fiancé is an ear, nose, & throat specialist here in Mazatlan and suggested Michael see Dr. Olmeda. Elvira called for us and we got an appointment that afternoon. After running Michael through all the tests & manipulations again, agreed with the 1st doctor that nothing was broken, torn, or ripped and prescribed pain, anti-inflamatory, & a muscle relaxer medication and again, REST for 10 days. He stressed to stay off the leg as much as possible and apply heat 3 times a day. Check out Dr. Olmeda’s website… www.orthodoc.aaos.org/olmeda

This visit came after, of course, we had a marathon day of walking… We started by taking the bus to the Plaza Murchado where there is a week-long book fair going on right now. We checked out the plaza, checked our the book fair, walked through the Angela Peralta Theatre, then decided to walk over to the Mercado to take the next bus. We remembered I had been looking for the health food store as I’ve been on the search for Alfalfa seeds (for sprouts) and was told there was one just a couple blocks from the Mercado. It was already about 5 blocks from the Plaza Murchado, then two blocks from there, in the wrong direction, so 2 blocks back, then 2 more blocks…finally ending up at “La Natural” health food store….where, no luck…. So 6 more blocks back to the Mercado to catch the bus and head over to Sam’s club looking for an English/Spanish dictionary. We didn’t find it there so we walked over to the Gran Plaza Mall and purchased one there. Only then did we go to the Dr’s appointment. And after the Dr’s appointment, back over to Sam’s club to purchase the meds, around the corner to a restaurant, El Bambu, then on the bus home. Wait, we got on the bus, the driver told us it was the wrong one, so we got back off (to the giggles of the waiters in the restaurant) and boarded the correct one a little later. Whew!! What a day!!

That was Tuesday. Monday I spent about 5 hours straight on the internet up at the cruiser’s lounge uploading pictures, videos, & catching up on e-mails! It is certainly so much more difficult to keep caught up when you do not have access to the internet consistently. I can’t believe how spoiled I am and how I hate it being without it!! Haha… And I have been trying to incorporate normal tasks into getting some time on the internet. We are washing clothes on the boat but it takes too much time to dry it on the boat, so I do two loads of wash, then take the laundry up to the Cruiser’s lounge to use the dryer. The washer is broken in the cruiser’s lounge, so no one uses the dryer, which works out in my favor! So, while the laundry is in the dryer, I get 45 minutes of internet time. We don’t do much laundry though, so this plan only works about once every other week or so. Today was Spanish lessons again (our classes are Monday & Wednesday) and work on the boat in the afternoon. We went into town to the TelCel main building as Michael’s new cell phone, only 5 days old, broke & we had to take it for repair. Wednesday is ‘family night’ at the movies so we went & saw the movie “Mr. Woodcock”, had dinner, and headed back home.

Tomorrow is pool relaxation day! The Holiday Inn Resort has a reciprocal relationship with the marina and we can get one-day passes to the pool.

More to follow…
Rene