Dialog - The Road Trip

In our last dialog, Moctezuma's Revenge, we listened in on two companions who were starting off on a road trip to another city but had to stop and postpone the trip for a few days because one of them had a bad case of diarrhea. We now encounter them both in good health and fine spirits and ready to set forth once more.

Buenos días amigo. ¿Como te sientes?
Good morning my friend. How do you feel?

Buenos días. Estoy bien. No te preocupes. Mi problema de chorillo ya pasó.
Good morning. I am okay. Don't worry. My problem with the runs is completely gone.

¿Ya listo para salir?
Are you all ready to go?

Espérame tantito. Necesito arreglar bien el equipaje. ¡Ya vámanos!
Just a second. I need to stow the luggage. Okay, let's go!

¿Almorzaste bien o vamos a comer en la carretera?
Did you eat a good breakfast or are we going to eat on the road.

Vamos y cuando nos de hambre paramos a comer. ¿Cuánto tiempo tardamos en ver el Cerro de la Silla?
Let's go and when we get hungry we can stop for something to eat. How long is it going to take before we see Saddle Mountain?

Si todo sale bien llegaremos en Monterrey en la tarde como a tiempo de comida.
If everything goes okay we will arrive in Monterrey around dinner time.

¡Que bueno! Entonces, mejor llamar a Federico e invítalo a comer.
That's great! Then it would be good to call Federico and invite him to dinner.

Buen idea. ¿Qué se te antoja comer?
Good idea. What kind of food are you thinking you would like to eat?

Si vamos a Monterrey es natural que pedimos cabrito, ¿No?
If we are going to Monterrey then it is a sure bet that we order kid goat. Right?

Tienes razón. ¡Se me hace agua la boca!
You're right. It sure makes my mouth water!

¿Qué tipo de cabrito le gusta?
What kind of goat do you like?

A mi me gusta cabrito al pastor ¿y tù?
I really like roast goat, and you?

A mi me gusta más cabrito al horno porque es más jugoso.
I like baked goat better because it is jucier.

Oye, ¿has una vez probado cabrito en sangre?
Hey, have you ever tried goat in blood sauce?

¡Guácala! ¿Qué feo! No me gusta comida cocida en sangre.
Yuck! How ugly! I don't like anything cooked in blood.

No es tan fea como la cabeza de cabrito. ¿Has probado?
It's not as bad as roast goat's head. Have you tried that?

Sí, es muy buena. Sabe màs deliciosa de lo que aparece.
Yes, it's very good. It tastes much better than it looks.

¡Oye! ¿Hiciste reservaciones en el hotel? ¿Recuerdas que te dije que hay dos exposiciones en Monterrey, una de zapatos y la otra de herramientas?
Hey! Did you make reservations at the hotel? Remember that I told you there were two conventions in Monterrey, one for shoes and the other for tools?

Oh, oh. Olvidé. Préstame tu celular, porfa.
Oh, oh. I forgot. Let me have your cell phone.

Ojalá no tengamos problemas para hospedar.
I sure hope that we don't have problems finding a place to stay.

No te apures, amigo. Tengo todo bajo control.
Don't worry about a thing, pal. I have everything under control.

Note: Some additional comments:

¿Cuánto tiempo tardamos en ver el Cerro de la Silla? - Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain) refers to the signature mountain of Monterrey, Nuevo León. The word “silla” (SEE-yuh) means “chair” but it can also mean saddle. The “cerro” ( SEHR-roh) or “mountain” has twin peaks that look like the high pommel and cantle of an old style Spanish saddle. You can see an outline of Cerro de Silla in the picture below.

A mi me gusta cabrito al pastor - Cabrito al Pastor (kah-BREE-toh ahl pahs-TOHR) is the signature dish of Monterrey. It is a kid goat that has been spread open and roasted whole in the style of a “pastor” (shepherd) by propping it up in front of glowing coals. You can see an example in the photo below.

A mi me gusta más cabrito al horno – Cabrito al Horno (ahl OHR-noh) is oven roasted kid goat. It is cooked in a pot in the oven and not in front of an open fire and it is a lot jucier than Cabrito al Pastor.

Oye, ¿has una vez probado cabrito en sangre? - Cabrito en Sangre (ehn SAHN-gray) is kid goat cooked in blood sauce and sounds much worse than it is. It is quite good actually. The blood and some of the internal organs are made into a sauce that the goat is cooked in. It is dark brown in color and very flavorful. You should try it. Who knows? You might like it. Besides that it will look very good on your “been there, done that” list.

¡Guácala! ¿Qué feo! - You may not find the word guácala (yuck) in your Spanish / English dictionary but in Mexico it is quite common. The "g" is pronounced in the back of the throat. Sometimes the word it is accompanied by a gesture of opening one's mouth wide and bending over slightly while poining one's index figure into one's mouth as if to provoke regurgitation.

No tan fea como cabeza de cabrito. - Not to completely gross you out or anything but Cabeza (cah-BAY-zuh) de Cabrito is the roast head of a kid goat that generally is split from front to back and is served in halves skull down on the plate with the skull forming a sort of bowl. It includes the jaws and the tongue and you can see the little teeth in the jaws. Again, the tongue and the brains are very tasty but like the Cabrito en Sangre this dish might not be for everyone.

Additional note:

Here is some inside information for you. In Dialog #7, Bírria de Cabrito, we talked about kid goat that had been steamed. In this form of cooking, the goat head is also eaten and it is considered a favorite delicacy by many people. The cheeks, the tongue and the brain are really delicious. Unlike the style of goat head served in Monterrey which is split open front to back and served in halves, the cabeza de bírria (deh BEE-rree-uh) is served whole. The goat heads are generally cheap and plentiful so there is usually not much of a problem with availability. My friends tell me that when I go to a place that I have never been before that I should ask if they have bírria de cabeza no matter what kind of bírria I want to order. It the vendor says that they don't have any cabeza then one should be very careful. Sometimes an unscrupulous vendor will cook a dog that was killed in the highway and pass it off as goat and the reason that they don't show you the head is because the canine teeth on a dog are a dead giveaway that what they are selling isn't goat. I have never had this experience and so what I am telling you is only hearsay but nevertheless it makes for one of those juicy urban legends that make people either laugh or shudder.