Mexico Work Trip

Last week I travelled to Mexico for work.  I work in the mining industry and we have project sites and an office in Mexico.  My last visit was in 2023 so I was due for another visit.  I went with one of my colleagues.  He has been to Mexico multiple times and set our itinerary.  It was nice just following him along and not having to think too much about where to go in the airport or how we would be picked up. Since I’m the the one in our family who does the planning, I appreciated the break.  We also get along well and were good travel companions.  

We flew to Mexico City in business class, which was a nice treat for me.

I enjoyed my breakfast and watched Challengers. 

We landed in Mexico City and ran into a former colleague! I knew I was going to miss him on this trip so I was so pleased we got to have this quick visit.  The other gentleman works for us now and he was going to be meeting us in Hermosillo. 

We flew to Hermosillo that night.  They had these statues in the airport. 

We spent the night at the Hampton Inn and then after a quick stop at Starbucks, we hit the highway for about a three hour drive to Banamichi. Our company hires a driver and he drove us in a pick up truck.  

After we got out of the city the road was like this for half the drive.

Then we got into the mountains.  It kind of reminded me of the roads in Hawaii on Maui. Except these roads had guardrails!

We went through several little towns.  Finally we got to Banamichi. This is where we would be spending the night so we dropped off our bags at our hotel. 

Isn’t it adorable?

Comfortable bed.

I didn’t realize there was a pool, or I would have brought my suit!

Then we got back in the truck to go to the mine site. 

More twisty and turny roads. Some people get carsick but I was fine. 

In my PPE.

We had a meeting with the client, I got some documents signed, and we hung out with the technical group.   Then we went back to the hotel.

The land around the mine is ranch land and we saw lots of cows on our way out. 

That night was Game 3 of the Blue Jays/Yankees series.  We had the game set up on the iPad in the courtyard. 

Cheering on the Jays from Mexico. 

Our colleague went to get us some beer and chips.  And we met two other Canadians in the courtyard that watched part of the game with us.  

The next morning we headed back to Hermosillo to fly back to Mexico City.

Trying to capture the landscape but it never really comes through in photos.  We were in the mountains though!

Back in Mexico City and staying at a hotel by the airport. 

Another night of Blue Jays/Yankees, this time with a better result!

The next day we flew in and out of Zacatecas and spent the day at our office there.  I didn’t take any photos. I enjoyed seeing our Mexican colleagues and discussing some things that we could do over the phone or email, but is so much better in person.  When we finally got into our hotel that night it was about 9:30 pm.  I ordered some room service.

We were heading home the next day.  There was this F1 sim car and we tried it out. I kept it on the track but the settings didn’t require us to shift up or down so it was pretty easy.

Leaving Mexico City.  I did not have a business class ticket on the way home but I bid on an upgrade and got it so I was quite comfortable.

Six flights and four different hotel rooms, and a road trip of 3 hours each way.  Phew! But I enjoyed the trip and it was good exposure to what our people need to do to get to site.  I passed the time but binging Dept. Q from Netflix, a Scottish police drama.  I didn’t mind hopping on another flight because I got to watch my show!  I also had some episodes of Abbott Elementary for something lighter. 

Let's Look Wednesday - Saying No

 

Linking up with Shay and Erika (a week late) for Let's Look Wednesday.

This month we are talking about things we have said no to lately.  This list didn’t immediately leap to my mind, so I guess I’m doing a pretty good job of already setting boundaries and priorities so I don’t usually need to say no. But here were a few things. 

Doing work that isn’t really my job.  I am the only lawyer at my work, and we have a fairly small executive team.  There are many things that I do that a typical General Counsel would not do, and most of the time, that’s fine.  But the other day our CFO suggested I take the lead on something that is clearly an HR function and since we have a Director of HR I politely pointed out that he should take the lead and I would be happy to support as required.  Our CFO agreed and apologized for his first instructions. 

Extra food in Mexico. I just returned from Mexico for a work trip (I will write about it tomorrow). I am always conscientious about what I am eating in Mexico and do not want to get sick (as happens to many of my colleagues). If I am not sure about something I will not eat it.  When we were at our hotel, we were served soup and juice with our meal that I did not want, and although I felt kind of rude not eating it, I still didn’t. 

Playing video games with Q. I know that sounds mean, but there are plenty of other people in the house to play video games with him.  Ask me to play crib and I’m in anytime, but not video games. 

Leaving the house on Monday.  I wanted to go out to do some errands, join Q and Dave at High Park, and do a workout, but I was just too tired and worn out. Instead I curled up on the couch with some advil and water and watched TV and napped. No shame about that. 

Going to choir practice and church this coming week.  I have Leafs tickets for Thursday and then I have to take Q to baseball on Sunday.  I don't miss many weeks so I didn’t mind saying no this week. 

Weekend Recap

We had a long weekend in Canada, celebrating Thanksgiving.  I arrived home from my work trip to Mexico on Friday night and was glad to be home.  Dave's parents were here for the weekend.  

Dave golfed early on Saturday morning and captured the morning mist on the first hole.

I got up early so I could be one of the first people at the produce store to pick up things for Thanksgiving dinner.  I was successful and was home by 8:30.  Then I got to sit down with my coffee, breakfast sandwich, and crossword puzzle. 

Dave's parents and the boys went to the Titanic Exhibit up at Downsview. They said it was very good.

I was very productive - I made two pies and the cranberry sauce. And I got to the grocery store and went for a run (slow but I was out there!). 

Dave took his dad and the boys for 9 holes of golf and then Dave's mom and I met them for dinner.  The evening light is always so pretty. 

Q is doing some off-season baseball training with some kids on his rep team and his coach has them doing some exercises throughout the week.  He was fitting it in after dinner. 

Then we got some cocktails and watched some of the John Candy documentary. 

On Sunday I went to church with Dave's mom and E.  Dave was golfing and his dad took Q to baseball.  

Our church was decorated nicely for Thanksgiving. 

After church I got the turkey into the oven and the rest of the meal prepped.  I had the idea to put out some white paper to decorate. 

I got my grandmother's dishes out for our meal.

My yummy plate. Everything turned out pretty well. 

Along with Dave's parents, we also had his cousin join us.

We were excited to see Game 1 of the ALCS, but it wasn't going that well.  

On Monday Dave's parents left.  Dave and Q went to High Park to play some baseball. E was doing homework and chilling in the basement.  I had plans to get my nails done and do a workout but I was worn out from travelling and preparing food for two days so I instead spent the afternoon resting, and it was the right choice! I watched the rest of the Victoria Beckham doc and the Leafs game. 

We had an easy dinner of meat, burrata, crackers, hummus, olives, and vegetable and watched Game 2 of the ALCS (also not great).

We switched over to the Bills game, and did some tidying up.