three things

What a week . 

There are 3 things about living in Yelapa that make me uncomfortable .
There are lots of things that irk me, and that I'd like to change ... to my way !! ...
but since I'm not in charge of everything, i can let go of any minor irritations ... like bugs ...
I grew up in the North, on the shore of Lake Superior, so I know how to cope.

The number one issue that can be unsettling living in a Palapa in Yelapa, is any creature can
jump in, or climb in , or open the door and walk in, and that's what happened Wednesday night !! At 3:00 am I woke to see a figure leaning over my kitchen table, obviously going through my things.  WoW .
At first I thought I was dreaming. or that Gregorio came back early, but I jumped up,
grabbed the golf club next to my bed and chased him out !!  Hooray for me !
He stole a pack of cigarettes and 3 lighters.  I made my report on Friday, since the Deligado was in Tuito all day Thursday.  We shall see what happens, probably nothing.
I didn't see the man's face, but I got a good look at him.  I'm going to follow up tomorrow.
It's the #1 thing I don't like about Yelapa. 

We are full into summer now.  Big storm this morning, so much rain in the house, I was kept busy for over an hour with the squeegee.  You gotta laugh, with the wind whipping everything around, I'm trying to get the curtains down and secure, and trying not to slip on the slick sauve floor... and trying to make coffee !!  and feed Lily ... thankfully the sun came out early enough and I was able to dry out the mop and towels, so I can use them again,
tomorrow !?

And the bugs ... coming out of the wood work !  literally.  But the view is beautiful still, and it
has been cool with these last few storms .  We  haven't had " the big one " yet .
The power went off last night at 9:00 pm, and it was calm and quiet, no rain., but it didn't go off in the storm this morning !!  go figure.

A new guy in town makes Organite ... he mixes stones and crystals and other elements into a mold, and mixes it with resin.  We were all a little sceptical at first, but mine works !
I felt the relief in the pain in my foot, right away. I have been using it for the last few days,
and I can feel the energy moving through my body , no joke !!  
As you can tell, he fits right into this crazy place !!

The river is wide, and has broken through to the ocean.  The kids are surfing, and enjoying the best of what Yelapa has to offer, freedom !  School is over next week, so the energy in
town will change once again.  I'm looking forward to it.

Mimi and I are playing hide and seek.  She has done so much work at her place, you won't believe it !! Still a long way to go, and everything we do here requires those 10 extra steps,
so it's all poco y poco.

Silverio came for 2 mornings this week, and we really did a lot of cutting and planting.  The yard is really taking shape, and in another 3 or 4 or 8 years, it'll be " finished"  and wonderful.  I planted Agave and Cactus below the deck, for a little extra security .
We cut the Mango tree back and got a bucket full.  I had to wrap them all up and put them in the oven until they ripen, maybe 10 days or so.  I'll have to get busy and creative, since you can't give them away, everyone has a bucket full !! I've also been scavenging other gardens, and with permission of course, and have oodles of red ginger to plant.  

I have taken lots of pictures, but haven't had the time to edit. I'll do that manana ...
I'll include some photos of the school graduation, whenever that is ...

In the meantime, I wish I could pop up to Langley tomorrow, and be a part of the Canada Day Party ... I'm definitely up there in spirit ....

Have fun everybody .... I'll share my two other Yelapa issues next week ...

xxoo
 








 

photos

 

 

                                                           ....wet cool days ahead ...
                                       

 

                                                                 ..... new neighbour ...

                                                                   ... house guests ...

.... I've seen rain ...

Yahoo ... Yippee ... Hurray ... Bravo !!


A little rain Thursday night , a little more Friday night , and our first downpour Saturday night . Thunder on Friday evening and finally lightening, then rain.  A crack of both at 2 am ... that woke us all up , out here on the point anyway !
The thunder started again late Saturday afternoon, a slow, quiet rumble making its way towards me. I almost expect to see Chariots pulled by wild horses flying down the river ! Louder and closer, not knowing where they will collide ! It sounds like it's right over my head ! 
The light show is spectacular, but so bright you have to be ready to close your eyes, and even then , it's bright !  There will be much more to come.  I'm guessing 3 inches fell the last 48
hours, but the river is a lagoon, and the lagoon is a lagoon, so we are on our way ... plus ... land crabs are out and shuffling through the house and 3 Scorpions Sunday morning !!

I'm going to put my kitchen table legs in plastic containers, so nothing can climb up, just to be on the safe side.  The crabs aren't dangerous, and you get used to them, but I really don't like them climbing on the palapa roof, so the brooms come in handy for that too.  
Mops, rags, squeegees, umbrellas, at the ready ....
I did get out to watch game 5 with the Russell's on Saturday night, but I left in the 3rd period
because it started raining, and the thunder was getting louder, and the lightening was getting closer. I made it home just in time !

There was a light drizzle Saturday morning when myself and 3 friends went out on a boat
cruise down the coast ... the sky cleared and we had a perfect day ... we settled into a little
beach and the water was as clear and smooth as glass, and warm , really warm , just the way I like it ... we ate ceviche made with gorros, pulled from the rocks right there by the snorkelers of the group .... nice to have a friend with her own boat !!

Another few night of rain, and the ocean won't be so inviting. It will be too full of tree trunks, and coconuts, and everything else that slides down the mountain . The fishermen haven't had to bail out their boats yet, but it won't be long. 

The termites were swarming already.  I hope last night was the end of them, it had to be,
there were millions!  I had both fans on full blast, pointing outwards, to keep them out of the house ! but they are littered across the floor this morning ... this is when I wish I approved of leaf blowers !! it's like sweeping feathers ! and the squirrels are even more frisky then ever.
One was right up to my kitchen table and then there was a stand off between 2 of them, both hanging upside down from the tree, over my back deck, chirping their heads off, lily, my cat, and a large enough black lizard.  The broom won !

The fishing has been fair, it's always hit and miss, but no shortage of Bonita still, some Amber jack, and another run of Tuna.  I'll have to get to know my fish better this summer ,
and get ready for my decapitation lesson !

It's overcast again this Monday morning, so there is little chance we will get to see the super
full moon, or much of any moon for a while. But I am happy to trade off for the rain !
Every living thing is relieved and refreshed.  It's still 28 degrees at 10:00 in the morning,
but everything has changed. I can hear my grass growing right now ! I hope this year it will turn into a lawn !? 

Other than all that ... we are just a sleepy little fishing village .... I hope all is well in your town, except if you live in Alberta, which is devastating.  I hardly know what's going on up there, but I know it's bad .... my thoughts are with my dear friend Irene and her family...

until next week ...
we are all in this together ...

I've seen thunder ... but ...

                           
                                        You know what they are ... but how do you spell it ??
                                                           Used for making juice



               A perfect Hibiscuss at Casa Vieja


... no rain to speak of ... threatening, with a small sprinkle this morning but that's it for today.  Of cource it's the topic of conversation ...  calor calor calor ...

These gray clouds hiding the sun relfect the most incredible light and shadows.
Yesterday evening the ocean was purple and the beach was pink, and the hillside a mixture of the two. And everything so calm .... before the storm ??

The white seedpods are still falling, from which tree I don't know exactly.  The are thousands
of them and they look like snowflakes to me .... ahh ... snowflakes.
That's what I think of when it just gets to hot to handle .... Lake Superior, washing my face in the snowbank, ( usually it's the bully doing it for you ), licking icicles, putting my barefeet into ice skates ... ahh ...

I've gone to Isabel's beach the last 3 days, and that is so refreshing.  Since I don't really know how to swim, I will have to get another " floatie " so I can stay in longer, since a 3 minute dip doesn't really cool you off for long. 

There are some new faces on the path, which is encouraging.  Still some tourists spreading  money around. Vallarta Adventures is still coming in a few times a week, but somedays
it looks like less than 20 people on board.  Puerto Vallarta will get the Mexican Tourists once school shuts down 3 weeks from now. Some trickle over here, but PV is the big destination.
Everyone loves the all inclusive, I guess that's the biggest bang for your buck .

There have been a lot of Bonita in the bay, little Jorge caught over 20 the other day ...ceviche
for everyone !! and Ronco and a couple brothers went way south and caught 2 mid size Tuna, so that's a good sign.  I've been told the Giant Sea Bass was 105 kilos, not 85, and that's without the guts ... what is it with fish that they always seem to get bigger after they're dead ?  The bay was full of Dolfins this morning, big ones, and that's a good sign too.

It didn't even rain enough to get the land crabs out, but we know they are under the rocks,
waiting, like the rest of us....

My " moso " Silverio, has gone to PV for the summer.  He'll stay with his niece, and she'll
feed him over these lean summer months, which is good, but I'll miss him.

My Globe & Mail newspaper arrived the other day.  Almost exactly 2 months to the day it was mailed.  The postmaster even hollered at me walking by, that he thought it was there, I've been bugging him about it enough.  I wonder what Margarito gets paid for the job ?
I'm sure it isn't enough !

Last week in the PV Mirror newspaper there was an article on Yelapa written by the " PV on
49 brain cell" author, about Gregonia's crazy little window store, and the chickens living in the abandoned, unfinished " hotel " at the lagoon.  It was short and sweet and funny.
The Tribune newspaper  is asking for stories about living in the PV area over the summer, so I will send in a story or two.

The river is a stream and the lagoon is a puddle. There is a new light on the hill, above the hotel, and to the right.  A big, bright spotlight, that is on a timer.  We are hoping it's just there while something new is being constructed. 

I don't know if Mexico celebrates Father's Day.  I'm guessing they do, but nothing like they
do for Mother's Day. at least not here in Yelapa. Happy Father's Day to all the Padres north
and south.  It was my Mothers Birthday this past Wednesday, she would have been
93, and Dona Antonia celebrated her 96th on the same day ... and she's still going strong !

She said when she arrived, by canoe ( it took 4 days to paddle here ) 75 !! years ago there
were only 12 houses !  Now the census has counted over 2, ooo people !
I love imagining what it must have been like years ago.  She said when you were at the sea, cleaning your daily catch, you could pick up a lobster or a bucket of clams, or mussels, or
any number of shellfish that just aren't around here, like that , anymore.

But we do have Pollo Bollo, and that's where I'm heading tonight.  No lobster, so the BBQ
Ribs will have to do .... not too hard to take !

I am not a very good picture taker, but little by little I'll get into the swing of things.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so for, and there are lots of adventures ahead ...

until next week .... keep dancing, keep singing, keep cool !!  think snow ....
 

                      
                    The Trans Canada highway close to my hometown .... taken this past May !!

Hot and getting hotter ...

 

                                             Huge mango tree in side yard ... still a month to go ...

 

 

 

Bouganvilla next to the Casita

has probably been there 30 years

or more

 

 

                                   
                                     My niece Andrea grocery shopping, a few years back ..
                                              Hortencia's Tienda has since been renovated ...

               ____________________________________________________________________

..... and the sky is not cloudy all day ....

Saturday was my first 2 shower day ! By September you can get up to 3 or 4 even ! and it's not cause
you're dirty ... it's more sticky gooey salty ... time to break out the medicated baby powder !
A lot of the men walking around with no shirts !! or rolled up over their bellies ...
a fashion statement I have taken to of late ... I even went for a swim today ...
I walked barefoot to Isabel's Playita, and jumped right in .... perfection ... except that ...
about an hour before I showed up a little boy of 3 was stung by a small blue jelly fish ... he was digging in the surf and grabbed on to it ... poor little guy ... neighbours all pitched in with medicine and yes there was some urine administered, but I saw his feet, ( the jelly was in his hand full of sand that he rubbed all over his ankles) and he will probably have those scars for life ...poor little guy ...

I haven't been to PV for a while, but it still is a happening place.  A few weekends back was the
first Gay Pride parade ever ... that's an event to behold I'm sure. Also the Bougainvillea Festival, and
the Anniversary of PV as a " township " etc. etc.  They keep the tourists busy around here !!

There was a prize catch in the bay this week.  The guy with the littlest boat and motor, who fishes every day, came up with a Giant Sea Bass... a Morrow they call it here ... 85 kilos, the biggest caught around here in over 10 years !! Pina ! I was very happy for him, and he's still getting praised for it ...and he's very proud.  I hear it's not the first time he's pulled in a big one. We shouldn't be surprised really, the very best fisherman in town has a boat & motor only slightly bigger !

Still waiting for mangoes to ripen. I think my Avocado tree is fried by the sun.  The tapachine, or Flame Tree is almost 3 feet tall, and there is one new Yucca tree and Plumeria coming up, that were transplanted 2 years ago .... as the saying goes .... never give up ... but the " lawn " is another matter.
If it doesn't rain soon it may be lost .. and I don't think sod is the answer ... can it grow in sand ??

The little bananas that taste like apples are all over, ripe and delicious ... I suppose they are available in California, and maybe even in B.C., but not in Terrace Bay, Ontario that's for sure, and probably not in Boise, Idaho either .... maybe Idahoans grow little bananas that taste like mashed potatoes and gravy !

Rocky caught 14 small Bonita on his kayak the other day, and Silent caught 3 big ones and gave me
and Lily some ... with beans, carrots, rice, tortillas ...it's easy to be a cook in Yelapa !!

A young woman in the village wants to learn English, so we agreed to meet so I could assess what
level she's at, but she had to cancel.  She's working with the Delgado's office conducting the
Yelapa Census.  I understand it's happening in all of Mexico ... good luck with that !!
Last census put Yelapa at 800 people, but some say a lot of people in El Paso, ( up river ) were
missed, so they are starting up there first.  The results will be very interesting.  When Yelapa got electricity, I heard that it was a responsibility of the Government to provide it to villages over 1,000 people, and that was almost 10 years ago !!  Vamos a ver ... we shall see ...

I learn a lot more about Yelapa in the summer, the families and history, plus my Spanish seems to improve too .  More time, less people, more sitting around the burning egg cartons, ( Yelapa
mosquito repellent ) ... so I can ease drop better and ask questions a little easier. 
I have a curious mind, and in some ways not too shy to ask for help, so at some point, I will wake up
bilingual ...listening to the speak Spanish Cd's I've had for 3 years couldn't hurt either !!

One thing I am figuring out is the Grandparents ... many of them younger than me, but still ...
Let's say you have a family, Mom, Dad, and 5 boys, but 3 of those boys each have different Dads,
( for as many reasons under the sun) so they have their maternal set of grandparents, and visit their Dad and their paternal grparents, and the Dad has a wife, and so they are also grandparents, that's 4 sets, and more often then not, the boys have lived with the fathers of each other, and have been "adopted" by the other father's parents so add 2 more sets, that brings us to 6 sets of Grandparents.
 If you add the in laws of the boy , ( once they are married,)  and they marry and have children with more than one woman, you could grow up in Yelapa with 10 sets of Grandparents !!
That could only be good !

We  Are Ready for Rain, and The Stanley Cup Play Offs !!  Two of the Original Six . Sweet .
I remember not long ago, walking the beach with a sign I made so all the Canadians would know
one of the Restaurants in town was going to have the Olympic Hockey Game on TV !
That was a big deal ! ... now ... I can watch from the comfort of my own hammock !
Now that's progress !!

Yelapa should be back to normal by today, Monday.  The Fiesta carried on for days, work got done but there was a shut down of sorts ...a passage into the slow, heavy days of summer. 
Once it rains, everything changes again.  It's still slow, but the heaviness and waiting dissipates,
and it seems then everyone is grateful and relived.  Not a bad way to live. 

I can't imagine the people suffering over the world with no rain for years ... tragic ...

Mimi and I were ONE NUMBER off the 50 million pesos lottery ... instead of 359062 it was
359762 !! That close !! We didn't win any of the other 5,000.00 pesos prizes .... it was go big or go home, but we sure got excited, and wide eyed about the whole thing !!
It really did give us a boost to think, we are that close to our dream ....
Not that money is everything, we both know that , for sure , but having some gets you farther than
having none ... in some cases ...

I took the heavy heavy headboard " Up River Octavio " ( a very gifted man of less than 5 feet tall, who was a maestro with his chain saw, machete, and ways of the world... now deceased from too much coca cola)  made for me 8 years ago, to Mimis and the 2 boards make a perfect bookshelf, spread across 2 solid wood " director chairs" with the canvas removed, that I found on the path, for free, and it now holds all the hardcover books, so we have a lot more room on the other metal shelves

I wonder how many new books will be left behind now that so many people use their tablet ?!
More progress ....but we have a lot of books, and you can see a pattern by what  Yelapa Visitors
leave behind ....

We are settled into summer and waiting.  Looking for those cloudy skies and listening for thunder.

We have 3 birthdays behind us,... my Dad, born 1927, Playita Jim, born 1932, and MVB, born 1934 ....they all are great inspiration to me .....
Just pack up all your cares and woes .... and blankets, extra pillows, special books, heavy clothes,
(clothes ?)
 Get out all your fans and hankies and bathing suits, sun hats & umbrellas !!
And enjoy , enjoy , enjoy ... have a laugh ... be in nature ... even if it's in your mind ...

I love my perch here, but I can close my eyes and be on the farm in the valley, or on the shore of the great lake where I grew up,  I have been blessed, like many of us, to live connected to the land,
prairie, mountain, or jungle, and that's a gift that always keep on giving....

Have a great week ...... Hug a Tree !!
xox
k
 

Photos

 

 

 

On the way out to pray for and bless the ocean and those who lost their lives ...

pole climbing 2011 ... they've got a long way to go ...





egg and balloon fights, which I don't think happened this year ??

 

my palapa roof up the hill under the pink flower tree ... name ??

and above Bob's very ugly unfortunetly white tarp roof ...

as seen from the pier

Dia de la Marina Yelapa 2013

Well ... we made it through the Party !!  350 case of beer were consumed I'm told,  the small bottles, but still !!  that's a lot of beer. 

I counted 22 boats going out to the point, with wreaths and flowers to honour the dead.  I believe they went all the way to Pizota this year. There was no live music on any of the boats and I could hear the priest only faintly, so i assume they were missing their PA system this year ?? 

Unfortunately the power went out at 8:30 Friday night, and stayed out until dawn, or so.
That must have put some kinks in the organizing, and preparation.  Everyone worried about keeping the beer cold and the ice frozen I'm sure .... but it's amazing how people pull together and make it work. 

Everything got off to a later start, leaving the pier closer to 11:00 am then 10, and so the fiesta started later, and went later, till just after 7 pm ...when the music stopped, and the
stragglers headed up river to the Rodeo ... for another 6 hour party.

No one was hurt this year, and hopefully never again. 

There was quite a bit of excitement when, just before the power went out, a couple of the new bulls brought in for the Rodeo, got loose and ran through town, all the way to Breeza's
Restaurant ! No one got hurt then either. Small miracles every day around here ... people have a gift to be able to laugh in the face of danger ... as long as you've escaped it that is .

The day was a little overcast, as least for the first few hours, which makes it all that much more pleasant since there isn't a lot of shade down there.  The Yacht Club was open again this year, so many people were able to get some shade and a sit down for a bit in there.
It's quite a gesture for them to open since the place is a mess afterwards. 
There quite a few men walking around throughout the day collecting the empties, so that
helps.

This year it was 200 pesos for men !! and 100 for women !! 
That's for beer and the Pork Roast.  Well, this year the beer was all gone by 3:00, and the
meat took longer to cook, with a lot of people waiting for the " good stuff " at the end.
If you waited long enough, after the entrails and guts and such were done, I heard it was
delicious.  By that time, there were no more plates, or tortillas, but who cares ....
what's a slab of pork in your hand, when you can just jump right in the ocean and clean yourself off ! 

So, we know it was delicious, and we know it was very very fresh, but still I couldn't eat it.
I tried last year, maybe I didn't wait long enough then, but when I was watching the meat
bubbling and bubbling and the fat dripping off the boat oar that's used to stir it all up,
I went over and had 6 oysters instead ... they too were delicious.

There were hot dogs for sale too, I saw later, and Fresh Fruit in a bag ... yummy ... 
there has always been local women serving Ceviche , but that goes real quick !
This year there were beach vendors , selling cotton candy, candy apples !  and those thin potatoe chips with the little bag of hot sauce inside, and the fried pork rind chips, etc. etc.

The Fiesta is becoming more and more popular and attracting more and more people from around the bay. 

The Water Taxis coming in Friday evening and Saturday morning were stacked with
people, one after another after another. There are many many family members visiting, from
out of the USA, Canada, and from around Mexico.  I'm sure they save up all year so as not to
miss the fun. This year one of our store owners has around 6 or 7 of her 11 brothers and sisters visiting, and that means over a dozen nieces and nephews, as well.

I ran into a couple around 30 years old, on their honeymoon. They could not belive what was happening .... they were having such a fun time dancing and watching everyone being so happy, so full of life.We want to live here ... how can we live here ... they want to know ...
but we don't talk long ... it's party time, plus the music is so loud it's hard to talk, unless you're on the river side of the Yacht Club.
The music is great ! It has to be loud. It has to keep up with the energy and atmosphere
and expectation ...this is a great dance party, all on the sand of cource.

I missed the bag races ! I missed the men getting to the top of the pole ! I was watching for quite a while, it can take 20 times or more, and the guys have to rest, and have a drink in between defeats, so it's easy to miss.  I went for a swim. You gotta get in the water.

So now, it's really summer.  The decks were wet early this morning and it's misty again in the afternoon. The ocean has calmed with the moon, but the wind is still high. It's almost
cool, for June 1.  But we need rain.

I enjoyed PV for 3 nights.  Very different, but a welcome change. A lot of new constuction,  and a lot of empty boarded up buildings too. A big crew working to bury the electrical line in my neighbourhood. I remember they did it down by the Pescador Hotel a few years back, so
they are making their way up the hill.  The road to Boca is a lot better, but we shall see once
it rains.  Pot holes so big last year a car tire was sunk inside one.

PV has some great shops. It's a little sad walking around since there are so few people and very few still buying anything.  I did my part and bought a couple of summer tops !

I didn't get any pictures of the party.  I'll have to share from a FB friend and get them up later.  Sorry they still appear at the end, rather than the beginning.

I keep checking the P.O. for my mail, sent from Canada, it's been almost 2 months.  I did get
3 Saturday Globe & Mails hand delivered last week, and got to read them in PV.

Sending out warm greetings and gratitude to all those out on their boats, risking life and limb, catching our fish, and bringing it home. Like the Fish Filet I'll have tonight at Pollo
Bollo Restaraunt.  Gracias Mucho !

....and Congratulations to Ronco & Anarosa on their 40th Wedding Anniversary !!! 
The music is cranked up down at their house, and the place is packed. Fireworks were just set off from the end of the pier ... more like rockets than fireworks ....but impressive !

Yelapa .... Fiesta capital of Mexico ??


The Orchids are blooming right now, and the pink flowers are falling from the trees,
covering the pathways and some are blown in to the house ...

until next week .... enjoy ...