Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and you are healthy and happy!

We spent Christmas Eve with friends from Tecalai at the Fiesta watching the boat parade and eating lobster. The boats were decorated with colourful lights and with various themes. My personal favourite was the boat being pulled by Rudolph the Dolphin hooked up to Santa's sleigh. The owners of the boats spent hours decorating them just so we could stand on the beach and watch them float by in the dark.

We haven't opened our gifts as of yet as we are going golfing with friends from the Parque. The sky is clear so it looks a perfect day for being on the course.

Alice and Jim thanks for the surprise package that we found in the closet. Thanks to everyone for the Christmas wishes and wherever you are today [Saskatoon, Las Vegas, Eatonia, Edmonton, Calgary] have a great day!

Flea Market

Recently, on one of our excursions to Guaymas we came across a Mexican flea market. This market was not for the tourists and retired North Americans - it was set up strictly for the residents of Guaymas Norte.

Of course, we couldn't resist! We spent some time walking the dirt street looking at the wares of the locals. Mostly clothes!


On the walk back to the car we came across this lonely puppy. A companion for Maggie? The puppy seemed to think this was a good idea!

Going For a Swim

When Maggie gets restless we take her for a swim in the ocean and for this she is thankful, at least for a few minutes. She has a tendency to get ear infection so she has to be rinsed off to get rid of the salt water.

And no surprise - she hates this step! She will stand quietly but then she begins the pouting phase of this whole adventure. She begs to get into the house and it becomes a contest of wills. I usually break down first! Who knew?

She carries this pout until bedtime and even then she takes control. Who looks out of place in this picture? Maybe this is why we call her "Queenie"!

Friday Morning Shopping

On Friday's, a group of Mexicans deliver super sweet corn to the Marina and sell it out of the back of their truck. We make the bike ride to pick up corn and oranges, usually stopping for water on the way home.

It has become somewhat of a Friday routine - go to the last Zumba of the week, head to the library and then bike for fresh vegetables. Are we predictable or what?

On the horizon....a bike ride to the Soggy Peso!

What's Wrong?

What's wrong with our grapefruit tree? It has all kinds of fruit, but no leaves. We water and fertilize the tree and yet it appears to be dying a little more each day.

Maybe Don will come down and use that green thumb of his to save this poor looking specimen!

Shrimp Tacos

Even though Fred has inherited Alice's cold, he rode with me to the Marina to pick up some super sweet corn. The corn and beans were the best we have seen so far this winter.

We stopped at La Palapa for shrimp tacos and they also were the best we have had this year. Sorry Alice, but they even beat out JJ's! The atmosphere wasn't the same but it is hard to do better than lunch on the beach! It wasn't cold like Fred's sweatshirt would indicate - it is just him fighting a head cold.

Fresh Shrimp

We spent some time looking for fresh shrimp and we had our choice of a street vendor selling shrimp on the corner, buying from a lady who delivers to the park or buying from Tony's open market. We chose the biggest and best shrimp we could find on that particular day and the result was well worth the bike ride to find it.


Alice and Jim cooked us a fabulous meal and because the shrimp were not peeled and de-veined we designated Jim to handle that job. Alice makes a good supervisor and Fred won't touch raw meat so that left Jim or I - he volunteered, really!

Relaxing in Mexico

Alice spending a morning getting a pedicure....does this look like someone who was in a hurry?

The Bikes Are Silent

Alice and Jim left San Carlos on Saturday afternoon and today the bikes sit!


We rode the bikes every day and only had one flat tire and one crash. This time I am innocent!

Jim will be very happy if he never sees his bike again as he became the "butt end" of many jokes throughout the week. More padding or a better bike seat?

It was a hectic week, but we had a great time with our visitors and hopefully we will see them or other members of the family next year. Adios!

Dolphins

On Friday we took a nature tour of the waters around San Carlos and I, for one, thought it was an amazing experience. We saw different bird types, including the Blue Footed Boobies. Who needs the Galapagos?



The highlight of the trip was the dolphins and the show they put on for us. After an hour of touring to check out the birds and sea lions we found the dolphins, or maybe they found us.






We watched them surface and dive before they started to play with the boat and lead us around the bay. The guides allowed us to move down to the very front of the boat and we had a perfect view of the dolphins swimming ahead of us.

Jim and the Captain of the boat were in fine form! Who is steering this thing?


We made a very amateurish video of the event that you can see if you cut and paste the link below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5JHiFCTvXA&feature=g-upl

Ruins

The movie Catch 22 was filmed in San Carlos in the late 60's and there are a few ruins of the set that remain today. We drove through desert and cacti to get to the old runway and some of the buildings.


Not much is left, but amazingly vandals have not destroyed what is there. I think a revisiting of the movie is now a requirement!




We may have looked a little strange walking with our heads down and high-stepping through the desert - we had been told there were snakes in the area and one of us is terrified of the little creatures!

Pepe

Sibling rivalry....Alice has now land claim on Adelle's Mexican boyfriend! Pepe enchanted Adelle when she was here two years ago and now he has done the same with her older sister.

We had an excellent meal at Blackies Restaurant earlier tonight and we couldn't escape the lure of Pepe!

After the Climb!

I gave up on Fred finishing "The Climb" so I have moved on and will comment on the "After-Climb". It is tradition to have a cold Dos Equis immediately on return to sea level and so they did! If you look closely you can see Alice's Dos Equis just in the picture! (Stay thirsty my friends).


We drove to the Soggy Peso for lunch and more cervezas. The weather at the Peso can be windy and chilly at times, but today it was perfectly calm and very warm. We enjoyed the crab tostadas and shrimp tacos that are so very different from their North American counterparts.


We tried for the perfect Christmas card for Alice and Jim with them sitting on the beach looking at the mountain they had just climbed. Does the location look familiar?



We thought the scenery was great and most relaxing, but some visitors were far more interested in the local flora than the view!

The Climb

Yesterday was a beautiful day for climbing Tetakawi - clear and no wind. Even the temperature cooperated and stayed at a very pleasant 26C.

Colleen dropped us off at the base around 9:15 am and we were on our way - laden down with cameras, water and snacks. The climb started with a fairly easy hike, prompting Jim to come out with his now famous quote of "I thought it would be more rugged".


Little did he know!