I feel silly, but the url, or web page address, I used had a grammatical error. Since Casa is a femine word in Spanish, the following word also has to be feminine; thus, Liro had to change to Liria. Goes to show my limited Spanish, eventhough this was an easy one to spot. I was speaking to a Mexican man and he repeated the name of the house correctly Casa Liria, then it clicked that my blog name was incorrect. Therefore, I made a change so the new address, which is now: http://www.casaliria.blogspot.com/ I hope you can find me again!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Black Vulture
Vultures are hawk-like in appearance and with their long, broad wings soar high overhead searching for food, which is typically carrion. The description given by Howell and Webb (1995) of the vulture family portrays them accurately: "Heads and upper necks are naked and often brightly colored, with warty protuberances. Bills hooked for tearing into flesh but feet relatively weak". The Black Vulture is no different for it has a naked gray, wrinkled head and neck, and whitish legs; and they look as ghoulish as they sound. The Black Vulture similar to other vultures are not known for their nest building, instead, they lay their eggs on bare surfaces such as the ground, cliffs, caves and even ruined buildings. Here in Tenacatita the Black Vulture can be seen flying over the mangrove swamps or the shoreline and sometimes groups of them can be seen roosting in nearby palm trees; but the best place to see the Black Vulture is our local garbage dumps. Whenever I go to the dump I see dozens of Black Vultures, sitting in trees, all hunched over, eyeing me suspiciously; and large groups of them on the ground hopping around and going through garbage bags. True to their nature, The Black Vulture does not have a nice sounding bird call, rather I hear them make this awful grunting sound. When I arrive with my garbage load they eye me warily, but seem eager to get to the new garbage I bring them, which they attack as soon as I start to drive away. Interestingly, based on recent research vultures are more closely related to storks than to raptors. Remember the story mom used to tell us, and the cartoons of the stork delivering us as new babies? Well, the rest of the story is that the stork's cousin, the vulture, would love to eat us when we're dead!
The Shoreline In an earlier blog I wrote about the beach re-healing after a large storm. I described how the beach was pounded by giant waves that came in with the storm and how these waves flattened and widened the beach. Over the following weeks the beach was slowly re-shaped by the waves to it's 'regular' shape a contoured beach with a steep drop-off. Not long after the first storm, we were hit by another large storm, which repeated the process. Now that I have spent some time here I have seen the beach change and re-change; I watch the beach sands get washed out by giant waves; and then they are re-deposited by smaller waves. I realize that the beach is in a dynamic stability, with a wide range of variability, which simply means, the beach is in constant change and the change is very great. The shore never looks the same, the dunes come and go, washed away here by waves, and deposited somewhere else by other same waves; change from one day to the next.
Rent Casa Liria Azul Bungalow Features Bedroom: AC, Over-head Fan, King Bed, Closet, Dresser, French Doors with Ocean View. Kitchen: Gas Stove, Refrigerator, Toaster, Blender, Water Dispenser, and Cooking Utensils. Eating Area: Table, Chairs, Over-head Fan. Bathrooms/Showers: Inside and Outside Bathroom, Outside Shower, includes bath towels. Water: 1200 Gallon in Ground Tank; Solar Hot Water (water is hot day, night, and on cloudy days). Drinking Water: Purchased at Local Store in 5 Gallon Containers Outdoor Room: Screening Keeps Bugs Out, But Allows You To Sit Outdoors and Enjoy the Views. Security: All Doors Lock Securely, Outside Lights and Motion Sensor Light in Parking Area. Tenacatita Beach: Fantastic Swimming Beach with Many Mexican Restaurants Only 5-Minute Walk. Additional Items: Places to Go: La Manzanilla, Melaque, Barra de Navidad, and Manzanillo, are Short Drives Golf:
TV/DVD with movies in Bedroom (no TV reception), Cell Phone Reception.
Isla Navidad, a 27-hole championship golf course rated Mexico's 5th-finest golf course. The course displays wide, emerald-colored fairways, long ocean frontage, including 8-holes that play along crashing surf. Enjoy a meal and a drink at the beautiful Spanish-style clubhouse; (45 min – 1-hour drive). For additional information and to reserve play: www.islanavidad.com.
for additional information: www.golfinmexico.net.
Where do I get my wash water? Water for washing, agua para lavar, is obtained from a local water supplier in Rebalisto. It costs $1 to fill a 125 gallon tinaco, or plastic water container that I empty into our large underground water tank, which stores about 1200 gallons. I can also have the water suppliers deliver a 250 gallon tank of water for $10, which I prefer to not do. The water is pumped up from a well that I think is about 40-50 feet deep which fills a 2" black pvc pipe hanging from a tree; I backup the truck and locate the hose right over the tank and fill it up; it only takes a few minutes. If you drill to deep then you hit saltwater and contaminate the well. The water supplier is a well known and respected family of Rebalisto, la familia Martinez; the patriarch, Martín has several sons, Fernando, Davíd, Jorge, and a couple of others whose names I can't remember; his wife and daughters I have yet to meet. Last February I attended the marriage of his older daughter. It was an evening wedding in a beautiful setting of colored lights hanging from palapas over nicely tables covered with colorful tablecloths and set with flowers and a bottle of tequila; beer was served by waiters dressed in white uniforms, so you never had an empty glass. Live Mexican music reverberated loudly through the air with many of the partiers singing along with the band. Dinner was Birria, goat meat, which is very tasty the way it's prepared in Mexico. It was a joyous occasion, especially for the Martinez family, whom appeared very pleased in front of their guests; and, they must have been happy their oldest daughter fell in love and got married. Love that pickup 
Sharon and I drove an old pickup down here, a 1990 Nissan. As basic a truck as you can get with no power steering, the AC doesn't work, and everything is manual. Here it gets more looks than Sharon did, and she got many because of being tall and blonde, and attractive. But the pickup is admired by every Mexican guy that gets to look at. It's not uncommon for these guys to walk around the truck, running their hand along the fenders, almost as in a caress, while asking me about it; invariably, they ask if I want to sell it. It reminds me of someone checking out a horse before they buy it. Right now I have at least 3-buyers that want it when I return to the US.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Life of a Beach Bum (Part 2)
In my beach bum fantasy, the cool (male) beach bum enjoys himself by playing in the ocean, hanging out with friends sipping Coronas, having a chick at times, and by idling his time people watching, and mesmerized by the ocean and its’ sea life. Idle time is what separates a beach bum from the average guy. The regular guy works a lot, only sees the beach during vacations, and has heaps of responsibilities (this pretty much describes me, at least who I was). On the other hand, for the beach bum, idle time is a necessary part of his existence, it defines him, it is the essence of his being; and, idle time allows him to engage in activities that others cannot, not because of a lack of desire, but because of mountains of responsibilities that comes with the regular lifestyle. You may ask, “What good is idle time? There is so much to be done, idleness is such a waste of time!” The kind of questions that little voice in my head wants to repeat over and over, like a mantra. Like many of you, my upbringing didn’t allow for idleness, nor did my work and family life. Idleness was, and for many still is, synonymous with being lazy, inactive, and unoccupied; strong words that should put-off any reasonable person from being idle.
I am not put-off. In fact, I get to explore idleness because of my situation - alone in a foreign country; Mexico during the summer months with no English speaking people around can be lonely. Oh, I don’t have to be idle, for there are many tasks around the house that could be done and keep me mind busy, so as not to think too much, but I chose to not let the chores run my life. Also, I really don’t have to stay here; I could go back to Portland, but I stay to practice aloneness. I am not equating aloneness with idleness, but in my situation one very easily brings on the other. So back to idleness, which for me does not mean inactivity nor unoccupied time; on the contrary, for me it is an active time, a time for introspection; a time for quietly observing nature and looking for something new and amazing each day; it is a time to enjoy moments of quiet solitude; and a time to work at bringing all this together in a practice of self-acceptance, and acceptance of what is.
Time alone is giving me a chance to find and learn new ways to express and process my feelings. Right now, for me, a new process I am using is to write down my feelings in an abstract form, so here is a poem I wrote that helped me cope with the loneliness I feel when Sharon leaves.
Loneliness
It’s a palpable sensation, but I don’t see anything.
The thick tropical air and ocean winds are themselves the same;
yet, they carry something new, but as old as time.
A new sensation, rolling, roiling waves, soundless crashing waves,
rises and falls in me, like the steady, constant ocean tide.
Things have changed.
Clouds still drift overhead, wind propelled, blown apart.
As they are, so am I, transformed into fragments, wisps of my former self.
The summer rains fall, the jungle greens, vines grow and cover all.
Creeping, unseen, in an insidious way, this change seeps into me;
through my skin, into my veins, settling in my chest, in my heart, in me.
Things are different.
Pelicans continue to glide over the ocean surface, and egrets still skillfully catch fish in the surf.
They are unconcerned, uncaring of the change that has come to our shared place.
Jacks, roosterfish, needlefish still stream through the waves, rejoicing their lives.
Swimming, eating, playing, and maybe loving;
Unlike them, I am chained by the change; unlike them, rejoicing is lost.
Paradise transformed.
Beach comers arrive, unaware, the change unseen, the new sensation unfelt.
They play on the beach, washed by the waves, warmed by the sun.
They are safe; they do not feel, see any changes; all appears normal.
Children play, adults eat and drink, all seems right, as it should be;
Yet, all this pains me, threatens to drown me in tidal waves of unwanted feelings.
A new sensation flows here.
I watch their gaiety, hear their laughter, and see their flirtations.
Lovers, young and old, walk the beach, sharing a need for each other.
Seeking each other’s touch, their fingers intertwine in loving caresses.
Desiring eyes gaze at each other, wanting, needing . . .
Their happiness is not contagious, it does not enter me, nor does it soothe me, as I had hoped;
The change has come.
Routine provides no comfort, my chores are burdens, a deep dullness hangs over all.
Hunger has left me; food is tasteless and provides little nourishment.
All that was good is gone, leaving behind dry, stale crumbs.
My eyes still see, but do not observe; my ears hear, but all is noise.
My brain moves on in a slow, laborious march through dense, blinding grayness.
A distorted place is left behind.
My body of lead, with paralyzed limbs, moves in slow motion through this new place.
Strength has faded, gracefulness has left me, lightness is gone.
Futility swirls around me, like a deadly, dense, black smoke;
falling from the heavens, settling in me.
Sunlight shoots down, each photon heavy, cold, penetrating deep.
The sunlight’s coldness burns me, scars me; it provides no warmth, it does not heal.
All is changed.
Crabs, Getting Stuck, and Near Drowning
How may crabs around this plant?
Natures Little Eight-legged Excavators
In Nature there is an abundance of creatures that tunnel into and live underground. We are all familiar with some of these creatures, such as the gopher, mole, and of course worms. These creatures and many other soil organisms have important jobs in the soils in which they live. One of their most important jobs is to burrow, burrow, and burrow; those of you trying to keep a nice lawn or garden are probably familiar with this behavior of these little creatures. But in their natural settings, away from manicured lawns, they have important environmental jobs. All the burrowing brings soil from deep-down, back up to the surface. These deep soils have many nutrients that are beneficial to plant growth. The burrows allow air to travel down underground where oxygen mixes with the soil and becomes available to plants for their growth. Also, these burrows increase water absorption by the soils, which is, as you might guess, also beneficial to plant growth. And for those of you that don’t like gophers and moles, remember, they are eaten by owls, foxes, snakes, and many other creatures.
In Nature there is an abundance of creatures that tunnel into and live underground. We are all familiar with some of these creatures, such as the gopher, mole, and of course worms. These creatures and many other soil organisms have important jobs in the soils in which they live. One of their most important jobs is to burrow, burrow, and burrow; those of you trying to keep a nice lawn or garden are probably familiar with this behavior of these little creatures. But in their natural settings, away from manicured lawns, they have important environmental jobs. All the burrowing brings soil from deep-down, back up to the surface. These deep soils have many nutrients that are beneficial to plant growth. The burrows allow air to travel down underground where oxygen mixes with the soil and becomes available to plants for their growth. Also, these burrows increase water absorption by the soils, which is, as you might guess, also beneficial to plant growth. And for those of you that don’t like gophers and moles, remember, they are eaten by owls, foxes, snakes, and many other creatures.
Here in Tenacatita, and many other coastal areas, land crabs have the same jobs as gophers and moles. Land crabs live underground and are excellent excavators not only in sand, but also in dense soils. They are everywhere, and you can’t walk around without stirring-up numerous crabs that go scurrying away holding their pinchers straight up in their funny little defense postures. The other morning, I came up from walking the beach to find dozens and dozens of crabs all around the house; I was being invaded. I got to the house and turned a corner to find a line of 20 crabs along a low rock wall of the house; all equally spaced, holding their pinchers up towards me; running in unison along the wall, over the steps, and into the garden – it was hilarious!
Watching them excavate, I am impressed by their skillful abilities: using their body and claws as bulldozers they push a load of sand up to the surface, where they use their large clawed appendages to push the sand away from the hole into a mound in front of their hole. Yea, I know it sounds low tech, but come see how efficient they are at burrowing and you too will be amazed. Like gophers, crabs are eaten by many creatures, for example, today I saw a Great-tailed Grackle catching a small crab; and like gophers, they are a nuisance in my garden; I can see them now on top of my plants eating the leaves, they especially like my newly planted cactus. Plus, they burrow in my garden under my plants and when I water the water disappears down this never ending hole. They are also burrowing under the house – I wonder what they are doing under there? I should mentioned that it is not just one, two, or three crabs in the garden, but rather there is an never ending supply of them everywhere. All I can say is, you got to love them!
Near Drowning
On a recent hot afternoon, I went to Tenacatita beach to cool off with some boogie boarding; I’m not good at it, but I have fun. This day the water was unusually rough, with large crashing waves coming in one after another, and there was a strong under tow. I decided not to use my board, instead, I went in up to my waist and got beat up and pushed around by the large surges of water that came in with every wave. Of course there were those strong swimmers that were way out riding the waves before they crashed. I got out, sat at Fiesta Mexicana had a beer and did some people watching. It was Sunday, so it was busy with lots of people up and down the beach in front of all the restaurants. I was enjoying the views when suddenly three men came running as fast as they could up the beach yelling for a barca (fishing boat). Right behind the men came running several women, hollering something unintelligible, and waving their arms wildly. I looked down the beach in the direction they had come and I saw a large group of agitated people standing at the water’s edge, staring and pointing out into the ocean. I looked in the direction they pointed and I could see out beyond the breakers a head bobbing in the ocean. I was freaked out!
Near Drowning
On a recent hot afternoon, I went to Tenacatita beach to cool off with some boogie boarding; I’m not good at it, but I have fun. This day the water was unusually rough, with large crashing waves coming in one after another, and there was a strong under tow. I decided not to use my board, instead, I went in up to my waist and got beat up and pushed around by the large surges of water that came in with every wave. Of course there were those strong swimmers that were way out riding the waves before they crashed. I got out, sat at Fiesta Mexicana had a beer and did some people watching. It was Sunday, so it was busy with lots of people up and down the beach in front of all the restaurants. I was enjoying the views when suddenly three men came running as fast as they could up the beach yelling for a barca (fishing boat). Right behind the men came running several women, hollering something unintelligible, and waving their arms wildly. I looked down the beach in the direction they had come and I saw a large group of agitated people standing at the water’s edge, staring and pointing out into the ocean. I looked in the direction they pointed and I could see out beyond the breakers a head bobbing in the ocean. I was freaked out!
Suddenly, from among the large group of people down the beach, like superman, an over-weight, middle-aged man ran through the throng of people with his boogie board under his arm and crashed through the giant surf, jumped on his board and paddled furiously towards the drowning man. Middle-aged man was strong; he had powerful strokes as he rode his boogie board across the top of the waves, never once wavering in his determination to rescue the man that was steadily being carried further up the beach and further out by the strong current. As I continued to watch this drama, mesmerized by the danger, a young slender, but muscular man close to my end of the beach ran into the water with his boogie board and repeatedly tried to crash his way through the waves, but was repeatedly washed back by the giant surf; he quickly gave up exhausted and defeated. I continued to watch as my fear increased for the drowning man who by now had traveled at least 200-300 yards up the beach from where he had been washed out. He was now nearly in front of me moving fast to the north and further out with the current, but I could see he was floating on his back and seemed to be calm. As I watched, his rescuer, middle-aged man, continued to paddle strongly and did not seem at all tired and though he was still a ways off from the helpless man, he was getting closer.
Loud voices distracted my attention to the beach where the three men were now running back the other way, but this time carrying a kayak; the women were right behind. The guys put the kayak in the water and one of the men jumped in and did an incredibly skillful launch to get through the surf and waves, and was soon on his way towards the drowning man that continued to drift with the current. It was not long after that middle-aged guy reached the floating man who immediately grabbed the boogie board and was held there by his savior. A few minutes later the kayak reached them and the hapless man was hoisted onto the kayak and taken back to shore. They had to maneuver to the far north end of the beach in order to pull out of the water; in the crowds of people, I never did see the saved man. Meanwhile, middle-aged man rode his boogie board through the big waves back to shore where he was greeted to a chorus of cheers and claps. Obviously, the guy who nearly drowned knew what to do to stay alive until he was rescued. I am totally amazed at the bravery of the people that risk their lives to save someone else, even someone they don’t know. This will always be a mystery of life to me. Oh, let’s also chalk one up for the middle-aged guy!
Stuck Again
Once again visitors to this beach tried to drive on the sand and got stuck, even with their 4-wheel drive vehicle. One of the ladies walked into Tenacatita for help and came back with a guy in a 2-wheel drive Toyota, which also got stuck, surprise!? Finally a big 4x4 came along and pulled them both out of the sand. Meanwhile, the rest of the family enjoyed the day on the beach; I provided the ladies with the chairs, and a shovel for the guys. I’ve seen this happen here several times and each time amazingly everyone takes it in stride; wives don’t get upset, children just hang out and play, teenagers listen to their I-pods and play with their cell phones; and of course the buys are busy digging out the car. Hay no problema aqui, there’s no problem here, it’s just a family outing where we decided to get our car stuck in the sand.
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