Christmas

We drove to Nuevo Vallarta to spend Christmas and Boxing Day with Debbie and Gord and had a great time. We first did a walking tour of the complex they live in and checked out many of the attractions and facilities. We probably should have skipped that part as now I want to spend $200 USD to play 18 holes! Gord plans on playing it once, a Christmas gift from Debbie.

We walked to a near by restaurant for a wonderful Christmas meal and then it was an early night as Fred wasn't feeling very good.

On Boxing Day he forced himself to join us on the water taxi ride to Puerto Vallarta and progressively got a little sicker as the day went on. Doesn't he look like a happy camper in this picture?

We have never been on the water taxi to PV before and I was a little surprised at how far away the old part of the city is from Nuevo Vallarta...it took around 30 minutes each way. Very interesting boat ride.

Not a Place I Want to Visit

Gord wanted to have some work done to his Jeep by his mechanic in La Penita. He dropped the car off and we picked him up to spend the morning on the golf course at Field of Dreams.

The place looks like the mechanic wouldn't be able to find one tool, let alone all that he needs. But, he has a great reputation and many Canadians use his service.

Gord didn't get back to PV until 7:30 at night....I probably would have used that time reorganizing the shop! By the looks of the car out front, he must either have car storage or he is a darn slow worker!

Greetings

Merry Christmas all.....we hope this finds everyone healthy and happy.

I'm sure this is a time that you will be spending with family or friends. We are going to Puerto Vallarta for a couple of days to spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day with Debbie Stevens and her partner, Gord. They have rented a condo there so we will have a real bedroom and a real bathroom! Plus there will be no cooking...Debbie and I decided that we didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen so we are going out for every meal!!

We are hanging out by ourselves on Christmas Eve rather than take part in the gathering that the people of the park have planned. Most are going out to a local restaurant for dinner, but since I am not a fan of the local cuisine we have opted out.

The weather has been pretty good since we arrived in Lo de Marcos with lots of heat and lots of humidity. This is almost like China right now with a change of clothes every time you do anything physical.

Sorry for the delay with the postings. This darn Internet is so poor that I have to fight to find time to get pictures downloaded and when I do, it won't send. Fred has been trying to call his mom, but can't get through on the computer. We need to buy a Mexican phone but have putting it off. Maybe this afternoon!

Have a wonderful, relaxing time. We miss everyone and wish we were there to take part in the festivities.

Getting Comfortable

I think we are finally settled in our site! We are now able to enjoy the beach which is 50 metres from our door.

Yesterday a young man was selling poinsettias door to door so we thought we would give them a try once again...I killed the yellow one in San Carlos with too much love and water! The tall green plant is a lemon plant, not a tree just lemon smelling.

Parade

Every year we walk down to watch the Christmas Parade in Lo de Marcos. It is so much fun watching the Mexican children get so excited about Santa Claus.

The dancing horses are always a highlight for me. Some of these horses cost thousands of dollars and they are beautiful. And some are just regular horses for the kids to enjoy.

Market

On Sunday we drove to La Cruz, near Punta Mita, to check out the market there. I had been before, but this was a first for Fred.

The market is one of the best tourist markets I have been to for a long time. It is situated at the marina in La Cruz and has a host of vendors. The fish section is always filled with people stocking up with shrimp, tuna or the catch of the day.

We didn't buy much, but I couldn't resist a free five minute massage. The lady was good! Her office is in Puerto Vallarta which presents a bit of a problem.

Yoga for the really serious, boating for a casual Sunday fishing trip or all kinds of food if you are hungry....your choice.

It's a Mess

Hi Diane!

It has been quite awhile since my last blog entry so now I must try to catch up.

We were very busy in San Carlos getting our house ready for our renters. We had to move all our personal items into the spare bedroom to make room for Sandy and Bill’s stuff. We were trying to pack the 5th wheel at the same time so things didn’t always run smoothly.

I am a little uncomfortable having people in my house so I think this is a one time thing. Sandy and Bill are great people so this decision is not a reflection on them…just my personal feelings.

While doing this rearranging of clothes, food and “stuff” we developed a problem with the outside paint on the house. The rains from the hurricane this fall did more damage than we first thought so we had to hire a person to come in and chip away the damaged paint and cement and redo parts of the walls.

Sandwiched in there somewhere was a day for bottling Gloria’s chocolate wine, two evenings of hosting happy hours for friends out of the park and finally one large farewell dinner at a new restaurant….yes, it was chilly!

Finally on Monday we started the three day drive to Lo de Marcos, our home for the next three months [or shorter if Don and Adelle come to San Carlos]. The roads didn’t make for a very smooth ride nor did the narrow mountainside hairpin curves.

Even so, we made the trek quite easily. We spent the first night in a Pemex station [gas station] compound with four other RV units and multiple trucks. The compound is fenced and has a security guard on 24 hours so we were comfortable and safe.

What better way to spend time in a gas station compound than to have a happy hour with the friends we were travelling with!

Our second night was in Mazatlan at an American owned RV Park that is hugely overpriced, but very convenient for the trip south. 

We paid around $200 Cdn for the tolls roads to Lo de Marcos and it is well worth the money not to have to slow down for every small Mexican village, all with five or six topes. 

The truck and 5th wheel both survived the potholed roads….much better than our nerves! They are working on the roads and in twenty years or so they should have them all cemented. 

Fred is so much like his mom, but every once in a while his dad shows through…like when he made friends with a complete stranger at a Pemex Station farther south…an armed security guard!

We arrived in La Parota RV Park around 2:00 on Wednesday and after doing some visiting with old friends we tried to level the Jayco. We had promised ourselves that we would not unhook the unit until we were absolutely certain we were placed where we wanted to stay for the duration. We did quite well in that regard and after 24 hours we are still pleased that the fridge door and the bathroom door don’t swing open. Those, by the way, are two of the best indicators of levelness [is there such a word as levelness?]

Today we tried to get the inside in some sort of order before putting up the shade over the fridge. The sun and heat can be quite brutal so everyone tries to keep the side of the RV covered by some sort of tarp.

The more we worked outside the messier our spot became. Try as we might, we just couldn’t seem to get things in place. Eventually we were able to hide everything in the belly of the unit waiting for another day to get some organization to this place.

Shift Work

Some of us have to work and some just come to watch us work!! Last night was a fundraiser for the Cancer Walk with most of the money coming from a 50/50 draw.

Gloria and I drew the later shift and by that time the music was loud and the crowd seemed even louder! 

Quiet No More

What happened to our quiet little fishing village? We have helicopters flying over our houses, military trucks patrolling the streets and temporary tents set up at the marina.

The President of Mexico is arriving in San Carlos tomorrow morning and the security is extremely tight. In fact, no vehicles can enter or leave San Carlos from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm tomorrow without stopping at a check point. There goes our grocery shopping in Guaymas! Boats are also forbidden to use the Marina.

The reason for his visit is a mystery to most of us, but I'm sure it must be important to have spent so much money on security. Quite an interesting process.

Stocking Up

It is time to start the necessary grocery shopping for our trip south. Number one on our list was shrimp...I like Sea of Cortez shrimp better than what we can find in Lo de Marcos.

We have our favourite supplier in Empalme so we made a combined trip to the market, running into a few friends along the way!

Cancer Walk

We spent Wednesday afternoon at a friend's house putting together donated items for a silent auction coming up in February. All proceeds from the sale are handled by a group of Mexican women who have set up a foundation to help Mexicans get free mammograms.

This silent auction is a very successful event with over 55,000 pesos brought in....around $4000 Cdn, but it is a lot of work for our friend from Saskatoon who has been heading this program for three years. We try to help when we can. Our next shift is selling tickets at Hammerhead's Restaurant on November 26th.

Some people worked and some analyzed the work!!

On a Good Day

Today we hit the golf course early in hopes of getting a riding cart...no such luck so we had to walk the round. It was a tad hot, even at 9:00, but I had my best round of the year. Go figure!

After a short rest we went to the Soggy Peso with the group we usually hang around with. It was the first time together for many of us so it was a special time.

After all of this we needed a little down time on the margarita deck with a fire. The moon was spectacular!

Planting Season

We finally decided to pick up a few plants to make this place a little more colourful...all except the Rosemary plant. That darn thing just keeps on going and going, just like the batteries!

Hopefully the poinsettia plants will last until our renters show up in three weeks....they can feel the pain when the plants succumb to the neglect that it will get from me!

My rose plant looks a little like a weed right now, but I hope a few weeks of watering and sun will revive it.

Again

Every time we arrive in San Carlos, I look for the dreaded lines on the walls and on Monday when we arrived they were there waiting for us!

Termites in San Carlos come from the ground up and with the recent hurricane they were forced up and houses are a great place to find a new home. Trees will work also! They were mostly in the laundry room, but we also found them in the living room and bedroom.

Our specialist showed up promptly and the problem was solved pretty quickly, but we then had to clean up the mess and repaint the areas. One coat doesn't work on the lines so it was a repeat performance.

BBQing

We took a break in Laughlin, Nevada to have some work done on the truck tires and decided it was a good time to take in a USA BBQ competition. It was so much fun to watch the competitors work their magic. Music, homemade lemonade, hot weather, BBQing....what a way to take a break.

The precision that they took to plate the food was something special...scissors to cut the excess skin, tweezers to move the parsley plate to the perfect place and much more. My poor cooking skills would be put to the test here!

We were only able to take in the chicken BBQing, but ribs, pork and brisket were next in line. I enjoyed it very much, but as you can see Fred was more interested in the old trucks on display!

We stayed for a chicken BBQing demonstration and were able to sample some of the above chicken thighs. Excellent taste...Fred complained that it was lacking pepper, of course.