Beach Day

Today we took the time to spend the afternoon at the beach in front of our RV Park.  We don’t do that very often, but the Mexicans have arrived and it is so much fun to watch them.

They set up little cooking areas selling coconuts, pineapple and cooked shrimp.  It looks like they do a thriving business, much of it coming from the residents of the park.

The ice cream gentleman shows up every day and today was no exception.  It is a chore for him to get through the sand, but there is never a complaint from him.  

The horses are an advertisement for rides in the jungle…it worked as they are booked for 10:00 am tomorrow!  Not me, I will just be a spectator!

For some reason the fish seemed extra large today….maybe it was the fisherman that caught my eye!  

River Crossing

We were invited to join our friends at a pizza party high in the hills by Lo de Marcos.  Although getting there was a bit of a chore, it was nothing a couple of Dodges couldn't handle.

The river we needed to cross has been higher than usual this year so for a few days prior we kept checking the level.

The pizza party itself is a fund raiser for charity.  The couple who host the party have built a house high in the hills above Lo de Marcos and live off-the-grid.  They cook the pizzas in an outdoor oven that is amazing...the heat that the fire produces [900 degrees] lasts all evening and in the morning the temperature is still around 250 degrees.

The setting was beautiful with very few neighbours and the only noise we heard was human.  Thanks for the invite Sonny and Cindy.

If you look carefully, you can see their nearest neighbours

Fishing

The beach in front of our RV park is becoming a haven for all types of fishing.  On Friday and Saturday the shrimpers were in the water close to us. I'm not sure where they return to, but they certainly don't leave their catch in Lo de Marco.

Most days there are boats coming in to the shore loaded with oysters, fish and shrimp. Fred just looked, but no big purchases.  Could be because our freezer is loaded... with not even enough room for his ice cream!

Parade

Today was the annual Santa Claus parade put on by many of the residents of the RV parks and many homeowners in Lo de Marcos.

The Mexican children love it...they receive candy during the parade and gifts from Santa after.  Every child up to the age of nine years old receives a present and they line up for a good length of time to get their gift from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

To me the highlight is watching the dancing horses.  They are spectacular to watch as they keep time to the musicians who accompany them in every parade.

I wasn't cooking tonight!

Trip South

Our trip to Lo de Marcos somehow made us feel like the Griswolds.  We didn't get away until almost 11:00 on Wednesday because the vet was late for Maggie's shots. That in itself was okay because we were only driving six hours to Los Mochis.

The truck decided that today would be a good day to have its battery go on strike.  A boost put us on the road fairly quickly.  Our neighbour insisted that we take his battery cables along.  They are the longest cables I have ever seen.  More on this bit of information later!

That short trip was quite an adventure....the roads were so poor that we bent our bike carrier making it useless.  It found a new home in a Los Mochis garbage. Our bikes now ride in comfort on the bed.

The Pemex station that many people recommended for overnighting turned out to be a big, dirty compound with large trucks running most of the night.  We spent the night squeezed between a large automobile hauler and a couple from Idaho who were doing the same boon docking we were.

Sleep was hard to come by so we were ready to leave Los Mochis early, but the truck wouldn't start!  A boost from the Idaho couple put us on the road again.

In Mazatlan we were leaving the vet's office...the truck wouldn't start.  Just what we felt like doing after we lost our faithful companion!  This is where the long cables came into play.  We had nosed into a small parking spot when we brought Maggie and we were surrounded by other cars. Fred had to get the vet to boost us and he was two cars away from our truck.  Long cables are now on my Christmas list.

We didn't feel much like shopping, but we needed a battery badly.  Sam's and Walmart here we come.   We were so confident that we could find a battery in one of these two stores that we turned the truck off.  No batteries and no starting!  A boost from a complete stranger got us on the road again.

We were on the last pint of gas in the truck when we pulled into a Pemex station.  We didn't dare turn the truck off and the attendant never batted an eye at the fact that the truck stayed running.  Only in Mexico.  Although we could have had someone two rows over give us a boost...remember we have the longest cables ever made.

After a very frustrating and painful day, we eventually found a battery that would keep us running.  The sad part of this is that we had purchased a new battery especially built for hot climates but chose to leave it in Eatonia thinking "this battery will be fine for six more months".  Can you hazard a guess who made that decision?

New Tiles

We have been busy with Maggie this past week so I was unable [maybe unwilling] to settle down and write a post.  It seems Maggie re-injured her back legs when she bolted out the window and is now on daily pain killers.  The vet assures us that she will recover, but for now she is to have absolutely no exercise.  No exercise and still eating rice and chicken makes Maggie one unhappy dog.

When we weren't dealing with her, we did find time to have our small driveway torn apart and cement and tiles installed.  The adoquin was in need of repair and Fred has always wanted tile out front, so we went for it.

It took the workers one week to remove the old bricks, pour cement and then tile over that.  It turned out quite nice and we are pleased with the end result.

It is unusual for a cement truck to supply the workers...usually they mix and carry all by themselves!

Everyone needs a break!

Now that the job is complete, Fred is reluctant to park on his new driveway.

Escape Artist

Maggie has been very ill with a throat infection for the past two weeks.  She wouldn't eat and her breathing was laboured.  Since her check up,  she is on daily injections of antibiotics and expectorants. We are so thankful that she loves all vets and just prances in as if she owns the place.

We went out for dinner with our next door neighbours, thinking she would sleep through our absence.  We never expected fireworks and by the time we got home she had panicked from the noise.

This sick dog had bolted throughout the dining room window and was gone when we got home.  We know that dogs often run for miles when they have been startled by fireworks and were worried that we would be spending the night searching San Carlos for a terrified Retriever.

Not our dog...she bolted as far as the next door neighbours and was curled up on their door mat when we found her.  Maggie spends a good part of her day with our neighbours so she must have felt comfort being on their patio.

This is the very same dog that could hardly walk to the end of the block that afternoon!

Friends and Their Toys

Thank goodness for friends who have all kinds of water toys!  Today we had a chance to try out the best.

Friends from Blackstrap brought two water bikes down to Mexico so they could cruise the waters of the Sea of Cortez in comfort.  They have a water bike rental business at Blackstrap and thought they could share the toys with their friends here.

Another friend brought his boat into the bay "just in case".  The bikes are almost impossible to tip over so it may have been a little much, but for us newbies it was a great relief to have Gary there.

It was such a fun day with many of the 25 people at our table getting out on the water and thoroughly enjoying the bikes.  Only one person got wet and of course, it was me! As I tried to bring the bike into shore, a wave hit me and down I went.

I'm sure we will be doing more of this type of bike riding!

About Time

Finally a new fridge!

Working Hard

Today was a Mexican holiday, the gym was closed so we decided to spend the free time making pickled jalapenos.  Last time we made a batch they were too mild so today we went all out and removed very few seeds.

We cut and cleaned ten kilos of peppers and ended up with 27 half pints of pickled sweet jalapenos.  It was a time consuming process, but well worth the effort.

As you can see from the pictures, the fumes were a little overpowering.  I had to double glove to make sure my hands didn't burn too much.  No rubbing of the eyes today!

Total cost of the peppers: $17.00

New Favourite

Alice and Jim, you may recognize the owner but you wouldn't recognize the restaurant.  JJ has moved from his old spot to a newly built establishment closer to the Marina.  A little harder to get there on the bikes, but we manage!

The food hasn't changed and JJ still has some of the coldest Pacifico in San Carlos.

Again

We always seem to be in reno mode and nothing has changed down here.  It is a minor renovation to the yard, but it will keep us busy for a short time.

When we arrive in October, the weeds are out of control and it takes a lot of hard work to get our small yard back in shape.  We have decide to cement over every piece of bare soil that we can find, except for two small areas.

Rosemary is a perennial in Mexico and it can grow somewhat wild.  We planted some a few years ago and the plant is thriving so we have left that area untouched.  Any other plantings we do will be in pots.

Maggie is not herself so we have started her on baby aspirin to see if that helps.  We think she may have pain from arthritis, but are hoping she is just suffering from the heat and humidity that has settled into the area.  Keeping her wet down doesn't seem to work, though.

We will see how she feels after this weekend as the humidity is supposed to drop to 60% for a few days.  That should tell us more about her health.