Beach Time

We have been here almost three weeks and so far have neglected our beach time. On Saturday, we shut down all renovations and went to Algodones Beach and the Soggy Peso. The weather was perfect and the beer were cold.

We were quite surprised at the condition of the beach. It has always been considered the nicest beach in San Carlos, but we can no longer say that about the area. The hurricane and the huge run-off from the mountains behind tore this beach apart. They are slowly rebuilding the road and removing the debris from the sand so I'm sure it won't be long before things are back to normal.

Regardless, we had a relaxing time watching the sailboats and entertaining Maggie. She is getting better in situations like this - only once did she take off after a pelican, taking our table with her.





We met with a dear friend, Alec, who was waiting tables at the restaurant. We became friends with Alec five years ago and have remained in contact ever since. He is taking Engineering at the University in Guaymas and supports himself by working weekends and holidays.

Too Good To Be True

What is the matter with us? Just when we thought we were ready to slow down we decided to get the outside of the house painted. That being hired out, we started on refinishing the cupboards. They were a dark wood and we wanted to lighten up the place with white. So far the only thing we have whitened up is my hair, my clothes and the floor of the courtyard. It is a huge job.

We have a stick-to-it attitude that will see this project through to completion, but why? We had the complete inside of the house painted for $150 US and the outside is going to cost us $400 US. Why not the cupboards? I am tired of mold, termites, painting and general renovations!

Clearing the Roads

Mexican have a completely different work ethic than Canadians or Americans. Yesterday there were hundreds of workers clearing the dirt and weeds off the main road into San Carlos. They were working with either a pick-axe, a broom or a spade. No backhoes or graders here. Did the Mexican social security system put these people to work?

We have put the truck camper into storage and now have the long hard task of fixing flat tires on our bikes - damn goat's head thorns. Three flats so far.

There will be plenty of cheering on Sunday as our next door neighbours are from Saskatoon, plus there are five or six other families from the home province. Go Riders!

Happy Gringos

No more camper! The furniture store delivered our stuff this afternoon so we can now sleep in a real bed. We are a pair of happy gringos! Now that the main rush is over, we can get down to the serious business of enjoying life in Mexico.

The hurricane has left us with many things still to do, but we are now in manana mode and will slow down accordingly. Many of our friends are starting to trickle in from various parts of Canada and the US so we will spend the next few days visiting and golfing.

We will post some pictures in the next few days.

Completo !

Natcho finished the painting of the house this afternoon and now tomorrow's work is mapped out for us. We need to put up the new drapes and pictures before the furniture is delivered on Tuesday. Lots of little things to get done.

We took a break and rode to a Greek restaurant on the beach. This area was hard hit by the hurricane and the beach has not recovered completely. The sand was washed away leaving small rocks in its place. Every day more and more sand is washed back onto the beach so I'm sure things will be back to normal soon.

The view of the sea is from our table in the restaurant.

Shopping Spree

Yesterday, while waiting for the painter to arrive, we decided to make a quick trip into Gauymas to look at couches and beds. We were just looking - no buying!! [Fred style]

It was a shock to our Visa when we found exactly the style we wanted, along with a decent price. Delivery is Tuesday, between 9:00 and 4:00 [only in Mexico would the time frame be so large]. Things are looking much better than they did when we arrived 6 days ago.

Today we will leave the house to the painters and head for the beach to watch the kite-boarders.

Gone

We donated our furniture to the flood victims of Guaymas thinking the movers would have to make at least two trips, but as you can see they pile it high and tie it down - Mexican style. They put on even more after this picture was taken.

We looked at the empty house and decided we didn't know enough about sealing in the mold and the painting afterward, so we hired the job out. The sealing was completed last night and the painting will start tonight and be finished on Sunday. Hopefully.

We have been looking at some furniture in Guaymas and San Carlos and will probably not bother with a trip to Tucson. After seeing the damage done to our stuff this year, we can see no reason to spend US prices on something we may have to throw out next year.

Yuk!

Fred and I were so excited to finally arrive in San Carlos and get out of the truck camper. Well, we are still living in the camper and probably will be doing just that for another two weeks.

We were expecting some mold problems, but the shock of seeing so much damage was devastating. Our housekeeper had cleaned up the most dangerous mold so we have the exciting task of finishing the project. We have also encountered another problem - termites. We found rope-like formations on the walls and coming out of light switches and after checking with the manager found out that termites had invaded!

It appears that most homes in San Carlos [whether they are new or old] have been hit hard by the termites. With the water level being so high the bugs have no place to go but up into houses. Mexico being "mananaland", we were sure it would take a week to get rid of the bugs, but a company from Guaymas was here and gone by 1:30 yesterday.

We are starting the scrub down and priming of all the walls today, hoping to get a bit done each day.

The best news from all of this is that I get all new furniture as the mold destroyed much of the living room furniture and I refuse to sleep in a termite infested bed!

Anticipation!

Today we needed to set up our Star Choice system - any good Roughrider fan would understand that. I'm sure our neighbours in the park could hear us cheering on the "green".

We have completed everything we needed to do in Tucson and tomorrow we are moving on to Green Valley. We will overnite there and get an early start for the Mexican border on Monday morning.

Shorts and Sandals

We are resting very comfortably in Laughlin Nevada wearing our shorts and sandals - even Fred! We arrived yesterday and plan on leaving tomorrow, heading for Mesa, Arizona and the Baileys. The temperature reached a high of 29 today so the best thing for Maggie was to go for a swim in the Colorado River. She loved the cool water and was hard to entice out of there.

The truck camper feels a little tight today and I'm sure it will take some getting used to after travelling with a 5th wheel for so long. We have items for Mexico stuffed in every possible corner and crevice.

Parts of Utah have the most amazing scenery and the camera, from a moving vehicle, does not do it justice.

On the Road Again

We drove through snow and wind, but safely arrived in Helena, Montana this afternoon. All three of us are tired and worn out from all the hectic activity this past week. Our goal is to drive to Sandy Utah tomorrow so will keep you posted from there.