Leaving Sayulita for a day in San Pancho

SAN FRANCISCO, Nayarit, Mexico - The surf village of Sayulita was having its annual Sayulita Days this weekend - something we didn't know when we decided that we would spend three days here.

And today, while a parade marched through town and the music roared, we roared ourselves, up the highway to the nearby Pueblo of San Pancho, which by comparison was deserted.

Before we left though, we went to the beach to check out the paddle board surfers who were enjoying the waves and hundreds of tourists who all seemed to be enjoying the colder weather.






In San Pancho, parking was easy and for some reason, it seemed actually a little warmer than it was in Sayulita.

Go figure that one.

There was tourist activity and the beach merchants - including a fellow who offers horseback riding - were doing a good business.






We hope that tomorrow we might have granddaughter Sasha Fox with us here in Sayulita, or back up in San Pancho.

She would have loved all the kids running around the beach today.

Perhaps manana...

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Baby it's cold here in Mexico - at least for this time of the year

NUEVO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico - Along the Costalegre (which stretches from here past La Manzanilla to the south) today the emails and message boards were buzzing about how 'cold' it was.

In La Manz, some people said it was 52 degrees Fahrenheit this morning - with a high of 82 still predicted.

Brrr, brrr and, well, brrr.

I know such temperatures have people in northern climes laughing. (It is 21 degrees in Hector, NY as I write this). But when you live in the tropics, anything that is not, well, tropical, can be a shock, and maybe a problem.

For Admiral Fox and I, safely ensconsed this week in our condo in Puerto Vallarta with son Dustin, cool evening temps are no big deal. Close the doors and throw a blanket on the bed. But were we in Arroyo Seco, in the Gray Goose II Express trailer, it would not be as comfortable.

We'll hope for a spike in temperatures before we head back south at the end of the week to Arroyo Seco.

Coming home from school

Admiral Fox is ending up a three-week language class on Friday, a class she has really enjoyed and believes has helped her ability to be able to gossip, er, I mean talk, with the Mexican women in Arroyo Seco.

I do notice already that when I fire smart-ass Spanish frases in her direction, she understands a lot more now.

No more telling store clerks that the woman in line with me is my mother. (I really only did that a few times, because the store clerks usually looked at me and said that they thought I was her father.)

When we go back to Arroyo Seco, we will also get to see how much progress has been made on a house being built on Playa Grande by our amigo Jim Monaco.

Jim bought our two beach lots earlier this year - the lots that are bordered by a short, dead-end street. A local fellow two years ago fenced it off and claimed it was not a street at all - that in fact, it was his land. Total bull, of course, but Admiral Fox and I never could resolve it, and we wanted to build two small houses on the lots, a plan that required the street as access for the back lot.

Police stand by while fence is taken down

So we sold and said 'adios' to that idea.

To make a long story into a short anecdote, the fellow made the mistake of placing part of his fence on our land and last week Jim was able to get the muncipality of La Huerta - and a judge - to order the fence (on Jim's land) removed. A few posts blocking access to the street remain in place. But I hope to see the street opened this spring.

Fence is down, and the posts hauled away

The name of the street? I have dubbed it Calle Libre (free street). I hope it sticks. Hell, I'll buy the street sign and put it up myself, when it is open.

The day the fence was taken down, officials from La Huerta, eight police officers, at least a dozen townspeople (in one official capacity or another) and numerous onlookers came out to see the fence removed.

It wasn't quite as dramatic as the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it was still pretty interesting to see some action take place after two years of endless debate in the village.

Sasha and Sylvia last spring

Admiral Fox did some writing herself today, putting up a very poignant piece about the travails of divorce and what it's like for us not to be able to see our granddaughter - when she lives only minutes from where I am writing this.

You can check out her blog at this LINK: Why we will never get divorced

Days at the beach with granddaughter Sasha - time for siestas

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - After two days of going to the beach - and chasing granddaughter Sasha around through the sand and in the surf - most of the ranking adults are ready to take a nap, the minute Sasha falls to sleep.

We will likely all drop like the soldiers at Fort Knox did in the 1960s James Bond movie, Goldfinger.

Still, nothing is quite as much fun as watching a totally joyful 18-month-old at the beach. She loves the water - and the sand. A lot of the time she resembles Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic strip.


Sasha wearing the latest in beach makeup


Sasha heading out to Cami


Checking out Princesa Mia

We spent the first day at Playa Grande, the second and Tenacatita and today, well, Sasha's mom and dad are talking about a return to Tenacatita for another few hours there, before they head back home to Puerto Vallarta.

Naps will definitely be in order after that sojourn.

But perhaps we will be able to see another comedy act at the Tenacatita Beach today.

Late in the afternoon yesterday, a family used a Honda quad to launch a heavy jet ski and got the quad stuck solidly in the wet sand where the surf was breaking. Only a few waves washed over it, stalling the engine. And the episode provided an excellent object lesson of why purchasing a used quad is probably not such a hot idea.

Unless the Admiral and I were to sell the Pink Flamingo's Honda, of course...


Waiting to catch a wave - or wash away

A barbecue big enough for a pig, and it looks like a pig, too

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - Our new pig barbecue arrived last week and within minutes I had managed to snap off one of the ears of the ceramic beast. (Merde!) But even as I broke it, I knew a little epoxy would have Porky Puerco back in fine shape in minutes.

What I hadn't counted on was a visit from Granddaughter Sasha, who this morning made the snapped off ear into two snapped-off-ear pieces. So my glue job got slightly more complicated, particularly having to keep Sasha from trying to help - and gluing herself to the pig in the process.

She is glue free and the ear is holding so far.

By the way: Gawd does epoxy set up fast in this heat!


Pig barbecue - minus ear - but ready for, well, a pig?

It's been a full day already (it's noon, time to hydrate, doctor's orders).  Eighteen-month-olds tend to make the days of any adult pretty full.  A beach trip is in the offing for this afternoon. Sasha loves the water and shoreside it's likely everyone can take a brief nap in the shade while Sasha chases any sea birds who have the temerity to land near us. And God help the hermit crabs.

Currently, we are delaying our departure as we wait for the electricity (la luz) to come back on, after a several-hour hiatus. No one in the village seems particularly concerned. And when I ask anyone on the street about their prediction for the return of power, the answer is always the same: dos horas mas o menos (two hours more or less). Usually that is followed by a shrug of the shoulders.

If the Admiral and I hadn't just made a Costco run in Puerto Vallarta - and picked up hamburger and other meats now solidy frozen - I wouldn't care much at all.


Honda generator to the rescue, again

Little Honda was called back into service about an hour ago, when dos horas has passed. The generator is purring nicely to keep everything cold (or frozen) until the CFE luz makes its triumphant return - soon I hope.

If not, we'll head to the beach anyway now that the refrigerator and the freezer are relatively charged up and cold. This morning the waves were huge at Playa Chica, when Cami (Sasha' mom), Sasha and I took a quad ride to check out where we might swim later.

We will not be swimming at Playa Chica, but instead will likely head to a very protected beach south of Playa Grande.

A three-day road trip to Puerto Vallarta - but sans any appointments

PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico - The Admiral and I packed up mid-week and headed north to Puerto Vallarta to see the kids (ok, they are in their 30s, but kids are kids) and granddaughter Sasha, of course, leaving the Pink Flamingo in the capable hands of CEO Laura Warner.

And for the first time in many such forays along Mexico's Highway 200, we didn't have medical appointments, dental work, car repairs or any other pressing engagements planned.

So why am I so tired?

We managed to fill in the hours with lots of quality time with Sasha and Dustin and Cami, and, of course, I made a couple of trips to Home Depot - but no new solar lights this time :-(  I also managed to stop by a marine hardware store where I bought, well, some marine hardware.

In the course of the trip, we also went out and looked at some property Dustin and Cami are considering purchasing, with the idea of eventually building a house there. Oh, now I realize why I am so tired. Even the thought of a project that size sends me right to a hammock.

Zzzzzzzzz.....


Grandpa Michael and Sasha enjoy some pizza at Paradise Mall

Tonight we head into La Manzanilla, where Admiral Fox has another performance with the Celtic Duo she hooked up with earlier this year. It's only a one-hour performance, but right now she is practicing the playlist, much to the delight of the neighbors who have, rather politely, turned down the ever-present banda music to listen.

Her violin is in need of professional attention, however and she said she is learning how to play around a string that lets out a non-musical noise every once in a while.

I can't hear it, but then, I play a ukulele and just sing louder when I don't know the chord.

Here's a brief video of granddaughter Sasha, who is learning the fine art of diving...

Shutting down for the season, just ahead of the heat

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - The weather has gone from balmy and breezy to humid and hot. Really hot. Really humid.

But it has its charms, like getting up and being able to water the grass and plants before dawn - standing in a bathing suit. Already the sun is high enough to make it as steamy as a novel set in a South American jungle and work has moved from outside to inside - or in the shade.

The Admiral and I made a quick trip to Puerto Vallarta Sunday to drop off amigos Randy and Karin at the airport and then a muy rapido overnight with Dustin, Cami and Sasha before heading back here to El Rancho Arroyo Seco. In about one week, the Admiral and I will head out to New York, via Phoenix and Philadelphia, just ahead of the rains that start here in June and go until November.

Last night, the forecast said chance of thunderstorms and it looked it.


Dustin's new puppy

Dustin's puppy from an Arroyo Seco litter, which he picked up a week ago, is doing great. At only four weeks old, the pooch is already eating solid food (mixed with milk) and has become part of the Dustin-Cami-Sasha-Max household.

Max? Max is a labrador-mix dog who doubles as a watchdog and pet for the house. Max is quite perplexed by the fact that this puppy gets to go inside the house while Max is banished to the outside.

It helps to be cute, I guess.

Also cute, of course, is granddaughter Sasha who is learning to play catch - sort of.



We are already making plans for this afternoon - which probably will include a quick trip (or long trip) over to Playa Chica for swimming (and possibly some cerveza imbibing for hydrating). When we arrived home late afternoon from Puerto Vallarta yesterday, we barely dropped off the bags before we headed out to the beach.

And on the beach we saw our vecinos (neighbors) Luis and Nena exercising their pooches. The brief movie below says Puerto Vallarta - a definite gaffe on the part of the cinematographer. It's Playa Chica, for sure.

The only other person around was a fisherman on the rocks, waiting for that big dorado to grab his line.




Sitting on the rock by the bay

North to Puerto Vallarta to visit family and get finance advice

PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico - We left the safe confines of Arroyo Seco for a trip to the big city over the weekend, visiting with Dustin, Cami and Sasha at their palatial home in Nuevo Vallarta. Our projects had reached a point of stasis in the rancho and so we wanted to get in a good visit with the family before we go up for our final trip at the end of the month.

After that, we catapult to upstate New York where our pontoon boat, the Spirit of Louise, will be launched within days of our arrival.

Of course, in our haste to leave last minute for Vallarta, we forgot all the paperwork we needed to do various things in Puerto Vallarta - like register my motorcyle for the highway - and so it turns out we will zip up the highway again next weekend anyway.

Quelle dommage! (French)
Que lastima! (Spanish)
Oh! Crap! (American English)


Sasha with Grandma Sylvia

As part of our hiatus in Puerto Vallarta, we went for lunch at the famous Vallarta Yacht Club in the Paradise Village Marina, the same marina where we docked Sabbatical for several years..

OK, it's not really famous, but they have a great deck overlooking the channel and the food is very good. We were greeted by the same staff that has worked there almost since it opened and in some ways, it's kind of like going home when we visit there.

Across the channel, we watched a couple of fishermen throwing nets, after bait fish we figured. Given the number of boats that dump their toilets directly overboard into the marina, we hope they were after baitfish anyway. (NOTE TO CAPTAIN: Do not eat the fish sandwich special at the Vallarta Yacht Club - ever.)


Wading in the channel - with the crocs

We did watch one intrepid fisherman casting his net while knee deep in the water, right next to the sign that warns about crocodiles in the water.

Normally I would be skeptical about such signs, except that some amigos at the yacht club - dining at the next table - said they had seen about a 12-foot croc lounging on the rocks about a half-hour before the fisherman showed up and started throwing their nets.

No croc action during our lunch - but then we didn't stay all that long.


Sasha chows down some breakfast

After breakfast Friday, I decided to chat with Sasha about economics, how long she thinks the current recession will last and when we can expect an economic recovery.

Ok, she is only 8 months old, but her opinion might be as valid as the Council of Economic Advisers. I have been asking everybody and no one seems to have very good answers.

The Council

Here's a short video of what she told me.

Time with the grandchild in PV - and away from the dust

PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico - The Admiral and I took a few days of 'vacation' from Arroyo Seco, coming to Puerto Vallarta to visit with Dustin and Cami, and of course, granddaughter Sasha.

Since we arrived, Sasha has mysteriously acquired a spiffy new high chair and a bouncy, jump thing that she sits in on the floor, getting lots of leg exercise.

She loves both, along with the 2009 version of what we used to call a Tommie Tipee cup, made for little ones to learn how to drink from a glass. As soon as she saw it, she grabbed it with the same enthusiasm as I do at Palapa Joe's when Willie plunks a Cuba Libre in front of me.

The Admiral came up a couple of days ahead of me, and in the interest of saving gasoline, I took a second class bus from Arroyo Seco to Puerto Vallarta.

The bus ride was fine, and very cheap (about $8 U.S.), but I forgot that I get extremely carsick when riding in buses.

Extremely.

Still, after an evening of recovery, it was good times again, even getting a little concert from Sasha and Cami.

A quiet Christmas Eve in Puerto Vallarta

PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico - The mimosas are being poured as I write this and Christmas Eve is a memory.

Little Sasha Fox - four months old today - was the star of the evening, of course, wearing her special Santa suit, until it got a little too warm for her. Her eyes were beginning to glass over from the camera flashes by the time we got down to opening presents under the tree.


Sasha with her mom, Cami

Later in the evening, Sasha got a present that is a little advanced for her, a book of family photos and narrative put together by Grandmother/Admiral Fox. The book has photos of the whole family and scanned copies of many family documents. Sasha's mom and dad said it will become part of Sasha's growing library of books.


Cami and Dustin look at the family history

And the Admiral and I got special presents from Dustin and Cami, too - signs for the Arroyo Seco property that lock in the flamingo theme as well as announcing the names of the residents.


The Pink Flamingo sign