An afternoon on the beach - with Chinese/Mexican food

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - The Admiral and I were prepped early this morning to go to La Huerta to pay our taxes, only to learn from neighbor Chon (as we were ready to pull out of the driveway) that we should pay a lot more attention to the calendar - and when Mexican holidays occur.

Today - May 1 - is a nationwide holiday, a holiday in a nation that is already under a virtual social lockdown because of H1N1 - the disease formerly-known-as-swine-flu.

So, after making a couple of phone calls to be sure we could not go pay our taxes and take care of some other legal matters, we took a relatively leisurely day around the Pink Flamingo and then attended a May Day fiesta on the beach with Chena and Chon and relatives of Luis. Luis is the owner of a tienda in town and also the proprietor of a beach restaurant called Las Brisas where we shared in the family fiesta.

I did make one major social gaffe - one that I know of anyway. When the dinner was over and we were heading back to the Pink Flamingo, I shooking Luis' hand to say thanks for his hospitality. Very bad manners when the whole nation is worried about la gripa porcina (swine flu) and is avoiding all physical contact. Luis laughed and said he had enough tequila in his system that a little flu was not going to bother him.

I fortified with red wine when I returned home in case Luis had slipped some gripa porcina in my direction.

And, of course, I washed my hands quite thoroughly - even before pouring some vino tinto (red wine).


Outward bound on the quad


Three amigas

After a very tasty - and picante - Chinese/Mexican seafood salad and a few beers (ok, three beers) at the beach restaurant, neighbor Chon offered to show us a trail to a hilltop overlooking Playa Chica. We had driven past the trail several times, never realizing exactly where it went, so with Chon's direction, up we went to a hill that gives a breathtaking vista of the area around the beach.

The road/trail had not been used in a long time and so Chon's daughters Juliette and Brianda got whacked more than once with low-hanging tree branches and weeds taller than the quad. Even the Admiral took one square hit while filming a video.

The girls were good sports however, used to such adventuring with Chon, no doubt.


Playa Chica, looking north and west


Rocks and swimming areas to the south

T0morrow - Saturday - we will be doing minor chores around the casa and getting ready for another mini-clinic on Sunday with our veterinarian amiga Rocio from La Manzanilla. At the fiesta this afternoon, Luis' wife Nena said she will be bringing one of her dogs by for a look see. And Rocio has to give another shot to a dog named Leona. Leona has no sense of humor about the series of shots she is getting and we have to put a muzzle on her while Rocio administers the medicine.

I expect to be pressed into service again to hold Leona down as I did last week - but with a lot of help again from her owners.

Here are two short film clips from our quad adventure this afternoon/evening. The first is coming down the mountain/hillside, the second on the beach.