Weeks earlier ... in Canada*

Victoria, BC, was bright and sunny during this holiday in August. Even visitors from galaxies far far away stopped by for some good company ... and music.


This man tickled me. He's got this great Australian/Scottish/English accent happening, and he was selling copies of his self-narrated memoirs. I bought the CD.


This French-Canadian artist now lives in Victoria. She had lots of neat pictures, but something about the one she is holding attracted me. It's a woman, dancing and holding the moon as if it were a balloon.


You gotta love those Canadians. I mean, really. I couldn't resist his P.O.O.P shirt. He told me it stands for People Opposed to Outflow Pollution. You can follow their movements (their pun, not mine) from the photo of Mr. Floatie, below.



*I went to Victoria in the beginning of August, and Mexico (next post) in early September, so the posts are a little off.

Mexican Holiday

The signs at the Douglas, AZ/Aqua Prieta, MX, border remind visitors that guns and ammo are not allowed.


Neither, it would seem, are shopping carts. It is common, one assumes, for Mexicans to walk across the border into Arizona to do their shopping, leaving their carts at the "door" upon re-entry.


My college friend Carl, rests his elbow upon our lunch table as I -- amazed by the Coca-Cola bottles -- capture them on film.


I love taking pictures of signs, and here's yet another. Now I know how to say "stop" in Spanish. Whoo-hoo!


I made the mistake of looking this street vendor in the eye as I crossed the street. He was asking $3 for those trinkets dangling from his wooden shelf. As if.


The ancient Indian figure of Kokopelli always draws my attention. This mural advertises a hotel in a drab-looking part of town.


The sidewalks in this small border town are kooky as all get out. At driveways and corners, they can drop off about a foot. Here, Carl illustrates the depth of the step.


In a gazebo centered in a town park, someone has drawn this jester and written some names underneath. It's not the funniest or most aesthetic graffiti I've seen, but it interested me nonetheless.


Spanish advertising gets my goat. I get sucked in by the tacky pictures, since the words don't hold immediate meaning. Somehow, this makes foreign ads more fascinating.


These boys just happened to be loitering in front of the "children crossing" sign behind them. I didn't notice the one looking into the camera till I downloaded the images to my computer.


This is a typical street sign in the town I visited. Cars parked along the side of the road, pharmacies on the corner, people chatting with friends outside of shops.