Kootenayman: Not all Tortillas are Created Equally

Chapter 498 The Life and Times of Kevin Nichol
2013 - The year of the Sonoran Tortilla

Further to my January 16, 2013 post, I spent the better part of 2013 living in a number of humble abodes in northern Mexico, namely Esqueda and Nacozari, while I worked as a Safety Manager at the local Mexicana De Cobre copper smelter.

Like most of my international assignments, what started out as an unremarkable pitstop on the road of life, turned out to be a very enjoyable chapter.

When I arrived in Esqueda for my first month in Esqueda on January 15, 2013 I expected the same climate that I have experienced in resort towns up and down the Pacific Coast. And while I had packed my Speedos and a couple beach towels, they were of no use to me at -10 C with a chilly wind to boot. I spent my first night fully clothed and huddled in my bed at the camp in Esqueda wondering what I had gotten myself into. We had snow the following morning. Esqueda is 1400+ meters above sea level! (Calgary is 1084 and Toronto is 105 m).

By day, I travelled to and from the smelter planning a complete demolition and rebuild and every evening I would walk from our camp, which was a group of company owned trailers, into town for a tortilla, some groceries, exercise and for want of anything else to do. I left February 15th and enjoyed some time at home, as well as a vacation to France, Morocco and Spain with my daughter (See post below).

I returned to Esqueda for three weeks on May 29^th and stayed at the same accommodations, spending my days at work and my evenings walking to and from town for an evening tortilla or two. I entertained myself by playing with the ants in a large anthill near the door of my room.

My longest stay was from August 12th right through until January 9th, 2014 and sometime in September we made the move to Nacozari where we had apartments of our own. This was a big improvement as far as I was concerned and I was also issued a Jeep to drive which improved the quality of my life ten fold.