Our first week at home in Tenacatita

A friend, Tia, recently asked in an email how the beach dogs are doing now that it’s three months since being spayed. Of course I’ve seen the dogs, they showed up the evening we arrived. Pup ran up first followed by Scarlet and Shy (the female that lost her 10 pups). The dogs look healthy and spry, and seem happy, although they are skinny with their ribs showing through. Sadly missing from the group is Barky, the dog with the top half of both ears cut off., which doesn’t mean she isn’t around,, after all we’ve only been here 5 days, and she is somewhat of a loner. We will wait and see. I never knew Shy, as she was feeding pups over in Tenacatita so she didn’t come over to our beach. But now that she’s hanging with Pup and Scarlet she takes part in breakfast, dinner and treats here at our house.

We didn’t have food for them when we first arrived, but we drove to Melaque on Monday and bought some dog food. When we feed them regularly, they stay around all day sleeping in the shade, and barking at anyone and anything that comes to close to their new territory, our house and yard. I’m sure after three months of two good meals a day from us and whatever they can scrounge they will be healthier and happier. After we leave, Mike, will soon be down and will take over feeding them. He has being caring for the dogs for a long time and this probably attributes to their being alive.

Our first week has been largely spent on organizing our house, which meant opening and emptying all our boxes. I can’t believe how much stuff we have already accumulated. We have kitchen stuff to stock a commercial kitchen; bathroom stuff to last a lifetime; and enough towels to dry an army; and books, books, and more books! We also needed to shop in Manzanillo, which is a 1.5 hrs drive, to find some shelving for the various rooms, and very importantly to find a cell phone and plan so we can economically call the States. On the drive back we stopped at some colorful fruit stands along the highway and bought a bunch of coconuts for 40 pesos each (40 cents). We also bought a machete to cut them open; I’ve gotten pretty good at cutting cocos with the machete.

For us shopping can be easy or difficult depending on several factors. If we need just one or two items like eggs, avocados, limes, beer, etc., they can be bought in Tenacatita, which is only a 2 min. drive or a 10 min. walk. Even in the heat of the day this is no problem. So this is easy shopping. Then there is moderately difficult shopping which involves driving 40 minis to Melaque and then spending 2-4 hours there shopping, eating lunch, and accessing the internet. In the heat of the day this can get quite tiring. Then there is the most difficult of shopping, which is the long 75 min drive to Manzanillo, where we deal with phone services, shop at Wal-Mart, and eat out. This makes for a long, hot day of shopping.

The weather is hot (85 F) and humid, with some days worse than others. This time of year the sun is high in the sky, so daytimes are scorching; and except for outdoor laborers, few people are out during the heat of day. People generally sit in groups, in shady areas talking among themselves; or they siesta, which is particularly common among the older men, which can be seen in the afternoons sitting asleep in hammocks or chairs. Getting older, I can relate and soon will be joining them in afternoon siestas. Most stores are open from 10 am to 2:00 pm, and in the evening after 6:00 pm, but between 2 pm and 6 pm most places shut down. This is not the case in the winter when the tourists are in town, when staying open all day means more business. Many stores make the bulk of their revenue in the winter months from tourists. For Mexicans the evening is the time for shopping, eating out, and general partying. It’s amazing the number of people that come out in the evenings and parade around in their fancy clothes and socialize in the Jardin (town square). Young people are out in large numbers laughing, running, eating, and of course flirting, which is a favorite pastime in Mexico. Grocery shopping besides being utilitarian, for Mexicans seems to also provides opportunities for meeting and talking with friends new and old. In the evening after work is the only time for young families with their young children do much of their shopping.

For us here on the beach, we have a wonderful breeze or wind that keeps us cool. It‘s a northwest wind that starts in the morning as a soft offshore breeze and picks up in the afternoon to a strength to create whitecaps. We also have an air conditioner in the bedroom which keeps us cool at night as well as on those hot afternoons when we want to siesta. Arturo insulated our house, so the bedroom cools quickly and stays cool. We haven’t gone in the ocean water yet. This is mostly because of being busy here at the house each day with organizing and hosting workers, friends, and their families. We are planning on boogie boarding soon. We are trying to be relaxed about everything, not rushing, and practicing letting go. Letting go is work for us Westerners, we don’t practice it much in the US, but here with the relaxed nature of the place it gets easier each day. The layers of worry and stress are melted by the sunshine and salt air and washed away by the sea breeze.

This part of Mexico during the summer lacks tourists, so one hears only Spanish spoken, which helps improve our Spanish skills. Also, the highways are less crowded, as are the restaurants and stores; and prices are lower, which happens as soon as the Americans and Canadians leave for the summer. However, many stores are closed as Mexican families take off for summer vacations. Driving through Cihuatlan today (Wednesday) we saw more closed stores than open ones. Mexicans love their holidays and vacations and love to go to the beach during these times, for example, Mother’s Day and Easter are two traditional beach days for many. School is now ending in Mexico and we will see more vacationers here in Tenacatita; often arriving in tour buses from as far away as Guadalajara for a day at the beach.

Work for Mexicans, such as building, is also slow during the summer, so it is easier to get hired help and professionals, maestros, such as plumbers and electricians. Our long distance from cities with maestros adds an extra burden for us in Tenacatita in trying to get professional help. If you find someone good, get his card and keep it handy. However, the language barrier has been somewhat of a problem in getting things done, but with some simple Spanish and sign language we have gotten understanding and things accomplished. When Sharon and I work as a team our understanding of Spanish increases a lot. But when we are really stumped we get one of our few English speaking Mexican friends to interpret.

Puerto Vallarta

June 13 - 18:
It was a stressful drive from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta taking about 8 hrs. The first half of the drive was on straight roads through agricultural lands, but the second half was tough. From Tepic to Puerto Vallarta the drive is not long, but it is on a slow downhill, curvy road that drops out of the Sierra Madres on to the plains of Puerto Vallarta. The drive took us through steep mountainous terrain covered in grasslands, and dense shrub covered hillsides. Just as we were getting tired, we rounded a curve and instantly we were dropped into a large verdant valley covered in palm trees and pastures. To the west we see La Bahia de Banderas (Bay of Flags) with it’s water glistening in the late afternoon sun, and in the distance, tucked away in the southern part of the valley right up against the mountains, is the famous city of Puerto Vallarta. As we reach Bucerias the traffic increases and so does the exhaust fumes, so that by time we reach Vallarta Sharon is breathing through her handkerchief. Unfortunately, the over-bearing exhaust fumes is the worst part of Vallarta. The offshore winds keep the exhaust fumes from the beach and the resorts, so these places are great, but walk the Malecon, or shop the markets and the fumes become overpowering.

We spent most of our time at our resort, Canto del Sol, sleeping in, reading, and playing in the pool. The weather has been sunny and hot, with moderate humidity, but every afternoon thunder clouds build over the surrounding mountains and spill over the valley, cooling things off.. It won’t be long before the summer rains begin. I hope they hold out until we get to Tenacatita, it’s hard driving in heavy rains with thunder and lightning.

While in Vallarta we accomplished a bunch of other necessary things that can only be done in the larger cities of Mexico. In Vallarta there is a Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, and government offices. We had to update our FM3s, Mexican Passports, which is always an ordeal. To smooth out the process this year we hired a lawyer, which cost us $300. In this way we didn’t have to go to the government office, the lawyer will do it all and send our passports down to Tenacatita later on when he is all done. We decided to do it our self next year now that we understand the process. The passports are the process we use to get our Mexican citizenship, which comes after 10 years (it used to be 5 years) when we will have dual citizenship. In this way we can own our Mexican property outright without having to use a presta nombre (borrowed name), which is a very unusual process that I won’t get into here.

We also did our laundry, which is a small ordeal: We use unscented detergent and no dryer sheets, but in Mexico they use only scented products, so all their washing machines and dryers have an intense toxic smell to them. So whenever we wash our clothes in their machines they come back smelling awful. Lucky for us, we found a self-service Laundromat 20 minutes drive from Vallarta in a small shopping center at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta. Interestingly, self-service Laundromats are uncommon in Mexico because most Laundromats are family run businesses where you bring your clothes in for washing.

I spoke with Arturo, our builder, and he seems to believe the house will be done when we get there, although it sounds like nothing was done since leaving in March. No surprise! No less, we look forward to and are excited about getting to Tenacatita and moving into our house.

Oro Valley to Mazatlan

June 9 -12:
Today, June 9, we crossed. We went from a comfortable, knowing place (the US) to a strange world called Mexico. Today we crossed over to the uncertain. Mexico can be easy when relaxing in the sun along the beach or a pool; and it can be exasperating for instance when waiting endlessly in some government office, after having been there several times already. The crossing was very easy. We were not asked for ID, questioned, or searched. It was a slight maze of roads getting through but soon enough we were on Mexico highway 15 headed south through the Mexican state of Sonora. Sonora is applied named because it lies within the Sonoran Desert, the biologically most diversity desert in North America. I believe it has something to do with the greater amount of rainfall it receives . The area is dominated by numerous cactus species, saguaro, jumping cholla, prickly pear, and an abundance of shrub species.

It was a hot drive through the desert with temperatures reaching 107 (F). If you read my recent blogs you know that we have no AC in the truck. Yet the drive was not unbearable because we bought a small fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter and two water spray bottles. We constantly sprayed ourselves down and stayed really cool. We planned on our first night in Guymas, but a gas station attendant said our truck would be safer in San Carlos, a short drive west of Guymas. He said that many gangs are in Guymas, and our truck, or at the least our truck tires would be stolen. We arrived in San Carlos around five, hot and tired after the long drive. We got a comfortable, but cheap room in the Creston Hotel and immediately we jumped into the pool and had a great time cooling off.

San Carlos is a colorful, quiet village located at the end of the road on the Gulf of California. San Carlos caters to Americans and Canadians that winter down here, so it was very quiet this time of year. It seems to be a great place for fishing charters to catch marlin, dorado, tuna and other sport fishes. It was so relaxing at the Creston that we decided to spend an extra day, and make the long drive to Mazatlan in one day. It was a day well spent staying cool by the pool, because the next days drive was a long 11 hours.

Mazatlan is a large colorful resort city. We stayed at the Costa de Oro located on the beach with a beautiful view of the Gulf of California. When I say on the beach, I mean right on the beach with maybe 30’ between the waves and the walls of the resort pool and restaurant. It looked like many of the resorts in Mazatlan are built this way. Today we lounged by the pool and in our room reading and playing games. Although we spent two nights here, it is really only one day, and a much need day to recuperate from the long, hot drive here. Sharon is feeling sick today - probably to much salsa to fast - and my energy level is low. We should be better tomorrow for the drive to Puerto Vallarta.

Our journey begins . . .

(click on image to enlarge)

Gina, Josh, & me.

May 31 - June 2
Our first stop was to see our friend Cheryl and drop off a trampoline exerciser. Cheryl is a long time friend of Sharon’s and lives in Winston, OR. It was a short but good visit. Then, off to Medford, Shady Cove, and Ruch for three nights visiting family and friends. We spent two nights in Ruch with our friends Tim and Stacey and their children Ivy, Amber, and Daniel. They own a beautiful home in the Siskiyou Mts of southwest Oregon; a place we want to move back to. We also visited with our dear friend Thalia, who lives next to Tim and Stacey. Saturday evening after dinner in Jacksonville we walked up to the Britt Festivals and listened from outside the fence to Crosby, Stills & Nash. Their songs brought back lots of good memories of years gone by. Their voices, although good, did not sound as smooth as years ago.

Monday was a beautiful sunny day, so I took a drive to visit friends Duane and Gail and their family. It was a wonderful warm day, and I enjoyed my visit. Especially fun was watching their granddaughter, Trinity, recite the Pledge Allegiance without missing a single word; she is only 2 ½ years old. It was hysterical! Monday evening we spent with my daughter Gina and her fiancée Josh. I love visiting these guys.

Duane, Trinity, and friends

June 3 - 5
What a great time it was at Sharon’s parents home in Pacific Grove. We got to visit with Walter & Mitzi & their six kids. One sunny afternoon, we walked to Lover’s Point to play on the beach with the kids. After two nights here we left for Indio, CA, and then to Tucson for three nights.

click on images to enlarge

Sharon, Walter, Mitzi, and kids!

Sharon, her parents & nephew Ben

A great day at Lover's Point

June 6 - 8
We are in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson, Arizona, and only 70 miles from the Mexican border. Our original plan of two days in Tucson, has turned into three days in an attempt to get our pickup serviced. We had a slow leak in our rear tire that needed fixing. Also, the air conditioner stopped working right after hitting the hot weather in southern California. After spending 4 hours in the repair shop here in Oro Valley, we are still without an AC; they can’t get the part until next Friday. Bummer! We’ll be way into Mexico by then. Maybe we can get it repaired in Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta. Meanwhile, we will have to drive into the Mexican desert heat with our water spray bottles and a small fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter as our only means to keep cool.

Temperature here in Oro Valley is 96-100 deg (F). Unleaded gas is $3.69/gallon.

So far we have driven about 1,875 mi. (3,125 km), and gained 35+ degrees (F) in temperature.