Christmas Week

We tried to get out as often as possible to take part in the events before and after Christmas.  Completely different world during this time.

We didn't bring a tree along, but we did bring family momentos - the candle holder on the left is from Fred's Baba Ochrey and the church is from my Grandma Michta.  It lights up and is a music box.

Our beach is just starting to get busy before Christmas Day.

Fishermen taking their catch home in San Pancho.

Who are these strangers taking my picture?  At one of the restaurants on the beach at San Pancho, which is quickly becoming our favourite place to spend time.

All different modes of transportation!

Our beach during the days after the 25th.

Bands on the beach, just in front of our RV Park!

Beach at Rincon

We drove to Rincon de Guayabitos to check out the beach scene during the holidays and were surprised at the number of people.  The Mexicans were out in full force enjoying their holidays and the water.

The vendors were equally busy selling their wares.

We watched from a wonderful vantage point and were able to witness the pulling in of the nets and part of the catch afterwards.

Sorry about the sequence of the pictures...I can't figure out how to rearrange then as of yet.

Golfing

We were thrilled to find such a beautiful golf course near to our RV Park.  If you have ever golfed San Carlos you would understand the reasoning behind this post!

The course is owned by an American couple and they do it right.  We think they have only four carts but they are new and after each round they are cleaned and polished.  Each cart is outfitted with tees, towels and a cooler....alas, no fluids!

The last picture shows the cart path between fairways.  That jungle is the only reason we have lost so many balls.  It has nothing to do with our ball-striking!!

The course is in excellent shape and it is like golfing off a carpet in the middle of the jungle.  The fairways are extremely narrow in some places and trying to find a small hole to hit through can be difficult.  Oh, what fun we have on this course!  Yesterday I lost four balls and I am a fairly straight hitter so don't ask how many Fred lost!

Delivery Service

One of the best parts of RVing in Mexico is the delivery of whatever it is we need on a particular day.  We have purchased our vegetables, bread and sweet treats this week.  Next week, before Christmas, we will get our propane tanks filled by this same delivery method.

The Mexicans often come to the park and take special orders for next day delivery of fajitas or tamales. Fresh shrimp and lobster are brought directly to your door, along with purified water.

The breads that are brought to the park are some of the best I have tasted in Mexico.  The brown bread is perfect, along with the jalapeno bread.

Life is tough!

Santa Claus Parade

Our quiet existence took a break yesterday when we went to watch the local Santa Claus parade.  It appears to be organized by the residents of the Tlaquepaque RV Park, along with many other volunteers.

The children of Lo de Marcos were out in full force and so were most of the tourists who reside in this town.  Santa and Mrs. Claus had gifts for every child in the town.

The highlight of the parade was the dancing horses....I have never seen something like this before.  The horses were led by a musical group and every time they played a song the horses would dance in the cobblestone streets.  I am trying to add a video to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

After the parade and while Santa was handing out gifts, the horses held their own show on a side street.    Amazing!

The parade was very relaxed and fun to be a part of.  The stores did a booming business with beer sales as only in Mexico can you watch a parade while drinking beer.  It was hot at 4:00 so a beer was a necessity!!

Clown and the Magic Show

The graduating students in Lo De Marcos hosted a magic show for some of the school children today and we were hit up for tickets.  Never one to say no to a local event, we gave it a try and had a wonderful time.

The show was put on by a family of four and was held in an empty lot downtown. The students and their parents brought in food and drinks to be sold to the crowd.  It was interesting to watch the snacks that were served as compared to home.  They ate sliced cucumbers, sprinkled with salt and lime juice.  No chips or pop - the drink of choice was fresh pineapple juice.  By fresh I mean that they literally sliced the pineapple and added water.

The show was kind of corny, but the kids loved it and so did the parents.  The chickens and roosters were a sweet side attraction!

Cannons, Maggie and the Bed

We arrived one week ago and for one week we have had to deal with a terrified dog.  We don't quite understand the religious ritual, but the cannons [like bird cannons up close] are fired starting early in the morning, sometimes as early as 4:00am and sometimes as late as 6:00am.  They are again fired at 6:00pm.

They often are fired during the day...we can't figure out a regular schedule.  It's not just one shot, more like twenty random firings over a period of an hour or more.

Like many of the dogs in the park, Maggie is frightened of the noise and the safest place for her appears to be in the bedroom.  She will also crawl into a corner and stand there staring at the walls.  It is a sad sight to watch.  No amount of petting or holding will calm the shaking.

This is supposed to end on December 12th and I hope that is true because today is December 12th!!!!!  It is getting so bad that she refuses to come back into the park when Fred takes her for a walk.

Some mornings we thought she was just playing us to get on the bed, but after a night like last night that is no longer a consideration.  The cannons started at 6:00 pm last night and continued all night long.  Maggie didn't know what to do - eventually she decided the pillows were the safest place, forcing one of us out bed.  Guess who finally left?

We have been cannon free since 7:00 am and we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Crude But Effective!

It is so hot and humid here that we are finding it impossible to sit outside without some sort of shade.  We brought the canopy shade but decided that we didn't need the end shade.  How crazy!!  So, it's sitting at home and we ended up using our spare sheets - if you plan on a surprise visit please bring your own set!

Maggie hides under the 5th wheel to keep cool whenever she isn't in the water.

The sheets are actually quite effective and our little outside kitchen is much more tolerable.

Touring

We joined friends as they toured the town on a Mexican golf cart.  In true Mexican fashion, the cart kept stalling, especially when we went over the topes.

As always, we got lost and had to research the map.

The bull was loose beside the road - took the picture and ran!  The simplest things seem to keep us entertained

Busy Doing Nothing

What can I say...today we were busy doing nothing.  We bought a few vegetables in the park and then visited friends at their condo in Los Ayala, 16 kms south of here.

Other than that, I can't think of anything of significance that we accomplished today. It is pretty laid back at La Parota RV.

You Know it's Hot When..

No smart comments about the large chapeau!!   My plastic surgeon and my doctor would be so proud!

After the market we took Maggie for a swim and she thought she saw a rogue wave...we could see the fear in her eyes!

Six Degrees of Separation

Today we went to La Penita to pick up some veggies at the Thursday market and look who we ran into.  Free 6 pack of Dos Equis for the first person to recognize all three people....Don, we don't deliver   and Fred is not included in the three!

First Day

We went for a bike ride today to check out the town of Lo De Marcos and were pleasantly surprised at what we found.  There are no Walmarts or Sams, but there are plenty of small local businesses and restaurants.

The beach is nice and clean and it has a few palapas in which to enjoy a Corona.  In the last picture, our RV Park is located by the orange building on the right hand side....you really have to hunt to find it.  A prize for the first person to spot it!

Road of 1000 Topes

We left Teacapan on Tuesday morning and nothing seemed to go right from the moment we got up.  Sorry Ken and Debbie about your Internet and phone service - we didn't see that low hanging line!  After we got untangled, the Teacapan crew sent us on our way saying they would look after the phone company.

The road to Puerto Vallarta area has never been called a good one and we were so hoping that had changed in the last few years.  Our prayers were not answered!

The road winds through the hills and along the beach, but mostly through small towns.  Every small town in Mexico has topes to slow the traffic down and it did slow us down.  It also rattled us to pieces, knocking our bikes off the rack twice.  We were waved down by Mexicans telling us our bikes were about to be dragged on the pavement on two separate occasions...luckily they warned us in time as we were able to save them both times.

The towns have started installing vibradores which are even more effective than topes.  They are harder to see and shake the unit much like high rumble strips would.  It felt like we did have to slow down 1000 times!

We had originally planned to stay in La Penita but after looking at the town we decided to drive to a newer RV Park that was recommended by friends.  We arrived too late to really form an opinion of the place so we will have to wait and see what develops.  All we know is that we are on the beach in a small Mexican town, 80 kms north of Puerto Vallarta.  The temperature is 31C and the water is warm!  Not Caribbean water, but a beach just the same.

Teacapan

We left Los Mochis at 7:00 so that we could arrive in Teacapan early enough to visit the son and daughter-in-law of Alfred and Donna, friends in San Carlos.

The roads were much better on this day of driving so we made pretty good time.  We drove through many farming areas with the workers trying to stay ahead of the weeds.

We camped on the beach and drove into town for our visits.  The beach RV Park had seven or eight units in it and all but two were long term.

Teacapan is a quiet Mexican village with not much in the way of restaurants and stores.  The town is located on an estuary and is known for its birding tours.