Old Friend

The winner, in my humble opinion, of last year's best bartender hunt was Alejandro. We often visited with him on our infamous Tecate Tuesdays. I thought I was in love!

This year Alec was a no-show until last Tuesday [just a coincidence Snowflake] when we stopped at Froggies for a Corona, lime and tarro. He was only a visitor at Froggies, but he recognized us immediately. He is no longer working as a waiter and has moved to Guaymas where he is taking Civil Engineering at the college.

He hasn't changed much except for putting on the "Freshman Fifteen". We didn't have our camera with us so I am showing a picture from last year. He is still a sweet young man and I'm sure Snowflake is very envious.

Grocery Shopping

When we buy our groceries we frequent three different sources. Tony's is an outdoor grocery stand that has excellent breads, vegetables, freshly squeezed juices, fruits, homemade salsa and tamales and Americanized dairy products and meat. Although Tony's is a little more expensive than the big supermarket in Guaymas, we prefer to shop there for the quality. He is supposed to bring his trucks in Monday to Saturday from 11:30 to 4:30, but in true Mexican fashion Tony just doesn't show up some days! Other days his wife does not feel like getting up early so the salsa and tamales are a no show.

We use a small Mexican store called Santa Rosa for our canned goods and beer supply. This store has brought in many of the same items you can buy in the States. They don't sell Fred's Honey Bunches of Oats, but we did find that 10 miles down the road in Guaymas.

Abel brings in coolers of fresh shrimp and flounder four days a week. His product is always excellent and we buy from him often. Abel is one of the nicest gentlemen we have met in a long time.

When we need water we take our gallon containers to a dispensing machine and buy purified water for 4 pesos [37 cents]. We often have to make two or three bike trips in one day if we happen to run out of beer and water on the same day. Sometimes on the last trip of the day our bikes automatically turn in at Froggies. There is nothing we can do but follow!

Memories From Last Year

I did it again! I fell off my bike and I do not even have "Giggles" Snowflake to blame. I was leaving the Athletic Centre this morning and as I was trying to negotiate a high curb my back wheel slipped off and I went head over heels. It was raining so of course I was muddy and wet. Because I never thought to let go of my handle bars, I have numerous scraps on my hands and a few bruises on my legs.

To top it all off, Maggie was walking Fred nearby when I went down and they had a good view of my graceful exit. No laughs there, I'm sure! I also have a strange noise coming from my bike and just may have to have someone in the know repair the thing. How soon can you get here Senor Ping?

As the evening wears on, my body hurts more and more. I will have to take a bruise count in the morning.

Rain

Something new for us! It is raining! This is the first rain we have encountered since we left home on December 1st and the first rain we have encountered in the three years we have been coming to San Carlos. I shouldn't really call it rain as it sprinkles for 20 minutes and then stops for 20. The problem: we don't know what to do with our time. Should we clean house? Or read? Maybe we should do a palapa tour!

With the American economy the way it is, Americans are not buying property in San Carlos the way they used to and Canadians are buying more than normal because of the strength of the Canadian dollar. With that in mind, we have spent some time looking at houses and lots for sale. The prices range from 1.3 million for an ocean side house to 20,000 for a lot on the outskirts of San Carlos. The picture shows what some Canadians are doing with the lots. There are a couple of small houses in a residential park next door that are within our price range, but we are not ready to get back into that rat race. Sure would be an easier drive down here if we had an owned property, but then again the drive down is always fun and not that bad.

Fred read an article yesterday showing San Carlos' plan for the future. They are not promoting the area as a destination point, but rather as a retirement centre. That appears to be the case as it is not hot enough to be another Cancun, but it is close enough for retired teachers and farmers to easily drive to. Also, San Carlos is cheaper to live in than Yuma or Phoenix area.

Rescate 5K Run

The run started at the Athletic Centre at 9:00 am and ended at the San Carlos Beach Club. What a beautiful setting to conclude this fundraiser which raised over $5000 for the rescue system of San Carlos. We think there were over 300 runners and Fred did well finishing in the top 50 - not bad for only preparing for one month. I, on the other hand, had the misfortune of injuring my hamstring on Friday and didn't do as well as I had hoped. I did finish in the top 120 runners and would probably have placed third in my age category if things had gone the way they should have. The officials placed me in the wrong group and as a result I went unnoticed. Regardless, the point was not to win, but to support Rescate and to improve our health. It was a well organized event and we will gladly do it again next year.

As you can well image the rest of the day was spent lounging in our outside living room watching the NFL playoffs.

La Manga

We have started our review of palapa bars in and around San Carlos. The first place we wanted to visit was located in the seaside village of La Manga which was recommended to us by a couple from BC. They told us that the shrimp cocktails and the tacos were far cheaper and better than those in San Carlos proper.

We knew La Manga was located approximately 10 kms north of Totonaka, but were surprised by the small village hugging the coast. The first questions that came to mind were: are the inhabitants here merely as squatters or are they hiding from the police. It reminded us of the interior of Mexico with its tin huts and poor sanitary conditions.

Regardless, we had to continue with the task and tried three different palapa bars. The first one was located on a rugged cliff and had a spectacular view of the local boats coming and going. Neither of us wanted coffee or a Pepsi so we moved to the next palapa bar. This one was located in heart of the community and was right on the beach [remember sand comes into play]. The palapa was closed, but we were not disappointed at all. The third palapa probably was the closest to meeting our criteria, but in reality none of the three could be rated because La Manga appears to be a DRY community! Alcohol is not sold at these places [we didn't know you had to bring your own].

The one and only thing going for La Manga was that it was located on the beach and all the palapa bars had thatched roofs. I will leave it to your imagination as to the condition of the washrooms.

I realize that this review is quite harsh and unfair. La Manga is a relatively non-tourist area and we should respect the inhabitants of the beach and their way of life. It is not our place to critize or to promote changes. After all, it is the true Mexixo that Fred and I love.

Apart from the tour, we ran another practice 5K today and I shaved a whole two minutes from my time. To top it off, we walked all the way back and spent anothet 1/2 hour in the gym - are we getting addicted?

Practice! Practise! (Your choice)

Before I embarrass myself in the upcoming 5K run, we decided to do a trial run. To make the trip home a little easier we moved the truck for the first time in days and dropped off our bikes at the end point [San Carlos Beach Club]. We started the run from Totonaka rather than the Athletic Club which shortened the run to 4.1 KM. It took me 35 minutes to complete the run - I say 'me' because I slowed Fred down quite a bit. Regardless, it looks like this run won't kill me completely.

We spent a pleasant afternoon visiting with Ray/Bev Keys and Beryl/Carson Robinson on Saturday. They were parked in Mirador RV and had plans to head towards La Penita area on Sunday.

We don't know if it is the slower American economy, but yesterday [Sunday] Mirador RV Park closed due to lack of business. This park was a huge, American style camp located on a rise overlooking the water. Also on Sunday morning JC's Cafe closed shop. This was a popular restaurant operated by a Canadian woman from BC.

I forget if I mentioned it before, but we have heard the Mexican Government has stopped the flat deck transport of RVs across Copper Canyon. This meant the cancellation of 20 - 30 caravans so that may have had a lot to do with Mirador's decision.

We are heading to the gym in a few minutes and the we are off to find a barber for both of us. Keep your fingers crossed!

Anatomy of a Palapa Bar

Last year, as part of the "Mighty Foursome", we set out to find the best bartender in San Carlos. It was hard work, but very rewarding. This year Fred and I are on a quest to find and rank the best palapa bar in and around San Carlos.

This particular photo is of an excellent palapa bar located near our old condo in Akumal, Mexico. We will be ranking all the bars according to the standard set by this one. To be ranked as a palapa bar the establishment must meet the following criteria:

1. The bar must be open-air. We will make some allowances for San Carlos' cooler weather.

2. It must have a thatched roof. The condition of the roof is irrelevant.

3. It is very important to have a washroom close by. The condition of the washroom is very relevant.

4. Bar food is a must - fine dining does not play a role in this ranking.

5. Flooring is optional - sand may increase the chances of a higher ranking.

6. Bartenders will be included in our survey.

7. All palapa bars should be within walking or biking distance of Totonaka RV.

8. A legitimate happy hour is most imporant.

9. Wildlife may or may not affect ranking.

We hope to start this quest early next week so stay posted for more information.


Footnote: Ray and Bev Keys from Kindersley and their friends Beryl and Carson from Swift Current pulled into Totonaka an hour ago and had to go elsewhere as this place is packed - a huge caravan pulled in last night. For those who don't know, a caravan is a group of RVs [17 last night] travelling together under the leadership of a tour guide.

Internet Problems

Even though Totonaka always has difficulty keeping their internet up and running we will try to keep our blog up to date. Our days are pretty much routine by now with Maggie trying to get us up at 7:30 and succeeding at 8:00. The morning is spent doing the necessary chores such as going to Tony's Outdoor Market for fresh fruit and bread, cleaning and reading [Fred has his morning coffee while I do all the reading]. We bike to the Athletic Club at 11:30 for an hour or so and then we take Maggie for some exercise in the desert. We usually go for another bike ride later in the afternoon and are venturing further out of town each time we ride.

Occasionally we will walk to the beach and watch the dolphins heading back and forth between the estuary and the deeper waters. The sun sets behind the hills at 4:50 so we try to eat shortly after that and then it is an evening spent in front of the TV or out on the patio people watching, such as last night when our neighbour tried to direct his friend into an RV spot without spilling a drop of his martini. I think he succeeded!

Overnighters have been speaking of frozen pipes in Tucson and Quartzite so we are grateful that we went the extra miles to get to warmer weather. The daily temperatures are around 24 degrees with the nights going down to 10 degrees.

Winter Golfing

We are not receiving the rain that the Southern US is, but today did start out cloudy. Regardless, we decided to hit the San Carlos Links and it turned out to be a good decision as the temperature went to 26 degrees by 2:00 - no wind. We have been hitting the ball fairly well so we are pleased with the results. The cost is $101 US for eighteen holes [including cart, local micro beer, and a cheeseburger]. It is a little more expensive than we had hoped so we will have to restrict the number of rounds played as we want to keep the golf budget in check for a foursome in Naco, Arizona.

Totonaka is now quite full as many people moved down after the New Year. We even have some people from Idaho looking at our 5th wheel with the hopes they can buy ours or one like it. Who knows, we may come home without the Kodiak.

I am entering my first 5k run on January 20th. I have been working hard in hopes of being ready for this event - it is in support of the San Carlos ambulance system. I know Fred will be ready, but I'm not so sure of my abilities as I am only up to 2 miles right now. I will keep you posted with my progress.

Prospero Ano Nuevo

Happy wishes to all. We have been very quiet and laid back for the last few days, just watching people come and go. San Carlos is a major stopping point for the "south bound" travellers - some stay a few days, but most just overnight it.

I hope most of you had a more exciting New Year's Eve than we did. We were pretty lazy so everything we planned was pushed to the back burners. I have a feeling today is going to be much the same as we are already rethinking the golf/burger/beer thing we were going to partake in. .

Fred has been on the Internet checking out points farther south so I wouldn't be surprised to see us pull out of San Carlos and head to La Penita [or somewhere] for a couple of weeks. We are paid up to January 17th so we have lots of time to make plans. I'm the one who usually gets restless, so this comes as a bit of a surprise. Who knows what we will do, as plans change from day to day in Mananaland.