Catch 22

We found out two years ago that the movie Catch 22 was filmed close to San Carlos. We have often been to the beach where some of the filming took place, but we have never taken the time to search for the old studio ruins. Yesterday we finally made a point of looking for the proper area - it wasn't that hard to find. Even though the buildings are falling apart, you could still visualize the workings of the actors and film crews. Small parts of the old landing strip are still visible, but not usable.

The view of the beach and Tetakawi Hill from the old studio is spectacular, although new condos will soon block that out.

Birthday Celebration

Actually there wasn't much of a celebration, more like a relaxing afternoon on the beach with Maggie. We went to watch the kite boarders and let Maggie run on the beach and play in the water. She had a great day and so did we - until the wind picked up driving us back to the RV Park.

We had planned to go out for a nice meal, but that changed after we got back from the beach. We were tired from the heat and wind so supper consisted of quesadillas and a beer. How romantic!

An "Almost" Palapa Bar

Three months ago we were complaining about the cold Saskatchewan weather and yesterday we were complaining about the hot San Carlos weather. It was 34 degrees downtown and 35 degrees in Totonaka RV, with not a hint of breeze. Maggie could not get comfortable and neither could we.

We decided it was perfect day to go palapa bar hunting and we chose JJ's Taco Stand. This little bar has many of the requirements needed to be rated, such as a sand floor [it was gravel, but what the heck]. The roof is "sort of" thatched - it actually is made of bamboo poles lashed together.

The two biggest drawbacks are, as you can see, the bathrooms and the lack of a sea view. The waiters were awesome. JJ and his son Juan were very friendly and talkative. Juan wanted to practise his English as he wants to move to Canada to make some money. He is thinking of BC as a starting point.

The palapa had a little kitchen operated by one woman who seemed to run the place, even though JJ is the owner. There is also a strange looking BBQ that they use to cook the chicken or beef for fajitas or quesadillas.

Even though this place is not on the beach and the washrooms leave little to the imagination, I would have to rate this palapa a 5 out of 10 just because of the atmosphere and friendliness of the waiters. The fact that we can ride our bikes to JJ's is an added bonus.

The Life of Maggie

There are 140 sites in Totonaka and approximately 15% of those people know Fred and I well enough to call us by name. I can guarantee that the people in all 140 sites know Maggie by name. She is the "entertainment" of the park.


Maggie tries to get us up every morning at 7:15 with multiple yawns and by 7:20 she is bored enough to crawl on the steps leading to the bedroom where she sits and rules the house, much like Cleopatra and her barge - thus her nickname "Cleo".


After her long morning walk Maggie finally takes a break, or should I say she gives us a break!




Like all Golden Retreivers, Maggie loves the water and we try to take her as often as we can. She is the only Golden we have owned that likes to dunk her head completely under the water trying to catch that ever elusive seaweed.

Thankfully by the end of the afternoon she is worn out [sometimes] and needs her beauty sleep. As you can see by this blog, Maggie rules the day.

Some Days Are Just Like That

Because weekends have no special meaning here in "manana-land" we complete our work around the unit when the mood strikes. Today was "The Day". I needed to mow our lawn and just like the Mexicans, I used whatever tool was available at the time - a small pair of scissors. The weeds were growing in our herb garden and that took five minutes of my day completing that huge task.

As usual, Fred was the window cleaner. There is only one person in this family who hates dirty windows - it ain't me, and Maggie 'makes' dirty windows.

After spending so much of the day [at least 45 minutes] working around the yard, we needed a break and went to check out a house that is up for sale. Very nice, but too costly (and too close to Froggy's).

Rescate Grand Bazaar

Yesterday was a complete surprise. We went to another Rescate fundraiser thinking it was a bake sale type of event. It was that and more as there were handicraft booths, art work booths and many others.

The highlight of the day was the dancers from the Cultural Middle School. These students danced for more than an hour and were terrific. The dancing is unique to Sonora and its neighbouring states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, but there are many similarities to the dances of the Yucatan and the rest of Mexico. The Chihuahua dances had a definite western flair.

We had a wonderful day and so did the large crowd as was displayed in the standing ovation for the young dancers.

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Joseph's annual Valentine's pool party. The free beer and margaritas were a great draw, along with the potluck appetizers. The windy conditions did not hinder the party atmosphere nor did the fact that the park ran out of the proper margarita ingredients. The party was scheduled from 2:00 - 5:30, but I'm sure it lasted much longer as the crowd hadn't thinned out much when we left. We moved our small party around a neighbour's fire just to stay cosy.

Someone did a walk-about to count the number of Canadians in this park and it turns out 85% are from Canada - most are from BC. There are only two units from Saskatchewan, although many of the people from BC call Saskatchewan home. In fact, we talked to a woman from Vancouver who grew up in Eston and it turns out Fred's dad bought land from her uncle (Pat Carlson) in the 1960's. She is a McBain and has family in Kindersley. We also talked to a woman from BC whose sister and husband are moving from the States to work in Kindersley - Director of West Central Crisis Centre. Small world.

I will be thinking of everyone who has to go to convention in Saskatoon. For those who get the week off, enjoy.

Mercado in Guaymas

We discovered that Guaymas has an outdoor flea market on Wednesday so that became our destination of the day. The flea market did not meet our expectations so we wandered off to the city's older and more established covered market. The old market has everything a person could want - clothes, food, guitars, bags and of course the meat market that displays the pig's heads on every corner. The vendors never seem to get upset at the Gringos who want pictures of the meat market.

There are mobile BBQs surrounding this covered market and the gentleman in the picture was explaining to me that he was cooking ribs on the open fire.

If souvenirs are in order then this is the place to shop as it is clean and easy to move around. Unlike much of Mexico, bargaining is not the norm.

Side note: For those of you who don't know, my brother had very successful heart bypass surgery yesterday and he is now on top of the kidney translpant list. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Missing Photo

Here it is! The missing photo from yesterday's blog. Tetakawi as seen from the Fiesta Real Palapa Bar.

Fiesta Real Palapa

We have been waiting for a perfect day to go palapa bar hunting and today turned out to be the day. We woke up to
20 degree weather and it just kept getting better. The Athletic Centre was closed, the fridge was full, the truck and 5th wheel were washed, Maggie was content to sleep in the unit and the neighbours gave their okay, so after lunch we decided to head down to the Fiesta Real Palapa.

In the real world of palapa bars this bar is touch and go. It has two separate areas with one part under the thatched roof and the other part an open air extension of the bar. It is the open air extension that gives the most pleasure on warm sunny days, but if it is windy most people prefer to be under the roof enclosure.

The waiters at Fiesta are open and friendly, especially Martin and Luis who have become friends over the years. They are constantly trying to teach us new Mexican phrases such as "lo mismo para mi" meaning the same for me. Often they will test their own English skills by asking us questions about someting they have noticed - "where did you get that soft bike seat?"

The Fiesta has a great view of the Sea of Cortez and Tetakawi Mountain [goat's teat in Spanish - see photo]. The beach extends for 4 or 5 miles and varies in texture and colour. In places small rocks and then long stretches of golden sand [not like the beautiful white beaches of the Yucatan].

Washrooms are very important in my survey and I am happy to say that the Fiesta has some of the best outdoor washrooms around. Senor Ping can attest to this!

Although this palapa bar is one of our favourites, in the true palapa bar sense it can only be rated a 4 mainly because of its attachment to the main building.

Guaymas Carnaval

Carnaval in Guaymas coincides with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I don't know how many other cities in Mexico celebrate the beginning of Lent, but Guaymas goes all out for this party. Carnaval started on Thursday and didn't end until Tuesday night. Everyday there were parades, speeches, King and Queen contests, an old fashioned midway and dances on every street corner.

Because Guaymas is like a zoo during this event, we decided to leave our truck at home and use the Mexican bus system. Good idea except for the fact that the buses get tied up in the parade route and did not run for hours. We got there but could not get back home so we had to walk three miles to catch a cab.

The daily parades start on Thursday and build up to the final parade on Tuesday. It was actually fun to watch the participants dancing in the street and enjoying themselves, but the noise was deafening. If you have ever been to Mexico you know that the Mexican people love loud music. In the parade, each dance group/marching band/float had their own gas power plant and loud sound system so you can imagine the noise.

Mexican snacks and beer were sold everywhere, but we didn't take part for one simple reason - there were very few bathrooms.

Carnaval in Guaymas was fun to see - ONCE!

Mexican Tailgate Party

All it takes to start a Super Bowl tailgate party is for someone to sneak a peak at the neighbour's box cover and wait for the crowd to gather.


We didn't want to attend the local party so we rode our bikes to three different establishments to see how the Mexicans try to draw in the Gringos for the big game - some had free sandwiches, some had 10 peso beer and some had potluck meals.


We ended the day watching the game inside the 5th wheel as it cooled down a lot today. Our neighbours braved the elements and watched from their outdoor living room. Mo, do you recognize the man at the far end of the picture?

Squid Harvest

Yesterday afternoon we drove 10kms to the beach at Miramar [suburb of Guaymas] to watch the harvesting of the Humboldt Squid. This squid is fished in the Sea of Cortez near Guaymas and is brought to the beach to be distributed to parts of Mexico as well as other countries.

We understand that at night the fishermen entice the squid to the surface with lights and the men harpoon them. They then spend the better part of the day separating the arms from the main body - these are sold separately and not as one fish. Once back at the beach, the men fork the cleaned parts into plastic crates which are immediately weighed and thrown into either refrigerated trucks or small half tons, depending on where the market is.

We enjoyed the afternoon very much even though the procedure looked a little crude and primitive. In reality, it is an efficient operation that has probably been going on for years.