Taking a quad tour of Arroyo Seco beaches at Semana Santa

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - The wind has been piping up to 30+ knots during the afternoons for the past few days, so the Admiral and I - and our neighbor Brianda - headed out Friday early on the quad to reconnoiter the beaches to see how many vacacionistas have invaded our normally traquil beaches.

Not too many, it seems, though earlier today a huge blue tour bus headed to the beach, loaded with tourists. It's the first tour bus I have ever seen come through town. Judging from the way people in the village came out of their houses to gawk at the bus, they haven't ever seen anyone brave enough to come down these roads with a rig that big before either.


Playa Grande on Good Friday

Playa Grande and Playa Chica were both quiet, partly I suppose because of the winds that tore the awning down off the original Grey Goose II trailer today. And it might also be because the beaches are both on open ocean, which Friday was pumping huge waves onto the sand and very few people were willing to risk the undertow to go swimming. There were some pretty sizable encampments along Playa Grande, tucked back in out of the wind. Today even more carloads of people with camping gear were headed out for a few days of fun in the sun.

While Easter is tomorrow, vacations for many people continue right through next week.

And, of course, with the vacacionistas has come an influx of quads and motorcycles - bad news for people who don't like hotrodding kids, good news for the tiendas in town who are selling a lot of gasoline.


Follow that quad


Camping at the end of the beach

Makeshift volleyball nets were all over the beaches and every 200 yards or so there was a furious game of futbol (soccer) going on with the ball usually ending up kicked out into the raging surf. It's amazing how far even a 7-year-old can boot a soccer ball.

But in addition to the volleyball and futbol, we saw one group of fellows who used their ingenuity - and quad - to come up with a sport that looked like a lot of fun. We will be adding it to our arsenal of looney things to do on the beach.

Some new dirt on the road - and a lot less dust in the air

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - Three days away from the Pink Flamingo made it evident that the dust in the street here (ok, and on the property) is not good for my respiration. In Colima and Comala, my breathing was generally easier, even adjusted for the beer, tequila, and cheese-rich food intake.

But one of the miracles of living in a small town in Mexico occurred within 24 hours of returning.

After chatting with my neighbor Chon - whose son Dani suffers from asthma believed to be triggered by street dust - we concocted a plan to cover the street in front of our places with a heavy soil that is not prone to turning to dust. One day later, the dirt was dumped and spread. And already we can see when cars go by that the dust swirls are very small. More important, they are close to the ground and don't seem to want leap over my dust barrier.


New dirt on the road - and less dust

In the U.S., I suspect we would have had to file an environmental impact report, get a permit from at least three government agencies and have six inspectors on site when the dirt was dumped and spread. Oh, and for sure, there would have been some testing of the dirt to ensure it didn't contain any heavy metals or substances that could trigger allergies. And fees, lots of fees for all those inspectors.

Instead, Chon's brother in law found the dirt, loaded his dump truck and brought it over.

Voila, as my French amigo Julien says.


Dust storm in Texas in 1935

Since contracting pulmonia (pneumonia) more than a month ago - and continuing to hack like a heavy smoker for weeks - I read up on dust-borne diseases and related problems. In the U.S., the closest thing I found is called Valley Fever - a malady I had twice there in years past. During the years of the Dust Bowl, many people died from swirling dust after getting caught in storms like the one in the photo above.

In addition to the new dirt, the Admiral is laying plans for some additional palm trees and more cloth to shield the property from the road. And inside, we are considering putting down a large area of grass in the center - ringed by trees.

Will I need a lawnmower? Good grief, I hope not.


Palapa Joe's owner Willy strikes a classic Willy pose

We have been spending a lot of time in La Manzanilla for the past week, visiting with relatives and friends, running various errands and we almost always end up at Palapa Joe's, for lunch and a beer.

Thursday I took the photo above of Palapa Joe's owner Willy, watching the street, one of his pasttimes when not preparing industrial strength margaritas or Cuba Libres for customers.

In our bar chat Thursday, Willy and I talked about how many people begin leaving La Manzanilla in the next few weeks, trying to get out of town before Semana Santa (Easter weeek) and the huge crowds that flood the village, with many people camping on the beach for near round-the-clock parties.

I'll be interested to see if we have much of an influx of vacationers here in Arroyo Seco. At Christmas, we did have a small contingent of vacationers camping out on the beach.

For the Admiral and I, some of the best time is after Semana Santa, as the ocean water warms back up and spring hits full force.

For now, I'm just happy to be taking in deep breaths of air - sans polvo (dust).


A March sunset at Tenacatita Bay