Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs

If you are  of a certain age, you knew this video was coming:

Over the past year, as we walked along, we could not help but notice some strange signs. Here they are:

What is so interesting about a taxi sign, you ask? These are from the Camino Santiago in northern Spain. Look closely at each photo. Anything incongruous? One is on a gravel trail, the other beside a dirt road. In the middle of nowhere. Think Europeans have lost the entrepreneurial spirit? Think again. These signs hit you at the end of a long hike with little promising in front of you. They were like an oasis in the desert. Pretty effective advertising!

This one caught my eye hiking along the road to Chapala.  Nothing special about it. It is just a private recycling center. I liked it because of the clever slogan: “Nadie pesa, ni paga comos nosotros.” “No one weighs, nor pays, like us!” It was one the first adverts I saw and understood in Spanish.

The next one requires some explanation. It is outside a nice compound wall near La Floresta, a fine residential community in Ajijic. The compound is large, with a palm tree-lined driveway and a nice gate, and the property is lakefront. It is, in a phrase, prime real estate. Here is the sign:

For those not familiar with Spanish, here’s a rough translation: We inform you that this land is not for rent or sale, neither in toto nor in part; avoid being surprised with the use of documents approved by unscrupulous people. Seems some folks have tried to market this property (more than once) without the owner’s permission. So this lovely sign now adorns it!

Here’s the welcome sign for Jocotepec:

Pretty grand, no? You would think it was a Mexican State. It’s just the next town down the street, population about 40,000. Very proud, though!

When you visit, someone will direct you to Donna’s Donuts, a local hang-out for fresh-baked treats. This is their sign:

The interesting thing about Donna’s Donuts is that there is no Donna. Its Donas, or doughnuts in español. Many signs here are bilingual. But it is funny that this one in particular causes so much confusion.

Finally, there’s this gem:

Just a little street sign. I noticed when I used to look at Google maps for Mexico, I saw the street name Vecinos Alerta show up in several places. I wondered about that. Then I moved here. And I learned some Spanish. Vecinos Alerta is just Neighborhood Watch. Seems when Google drives their mapping program car around towns, it takes pictures of road signs to match to the street. Some of their cars see these signs and think it’s the street name. So no, every other street is not named for Vecinos Alerta!