We survived.
Nothing happened except 3.5 inches of rain, and we are all grateful for that ! and that she
didn't want to come to Yelapa. We were without power from about 7 pm .....
....that's where I got cut off on Monday morning ... don't think i can repeat the whole post but ...we were out of power 24 hours ...but the worst thing was emotional ..for sure...
Thank you everyone for your concern. It was a miracle the storm moved when she did.
The Vallarta Adeventure boat came in and evacuated 4 or 500 people. It was impressive. They never brought anyone back though !! And when they arrived in PV all the stores were shut down. A terrible night I am sure. All the resorts were evacuated to The Convention Center.
My Emergency Training, from the Y.W.C.A and my Mother paid off and i was prepared and learnt a few things along the way for next time, which I hope I will not have to experience !
I also wrote about how much I love Mexico. Nothing can ever repace Canada, or Terrace Bay and Vancouver, but these are my people. Mi Casa y tu Casa isn't made up out of thin air,
that's how the people I meet really live. I have never been afraid on any of my road trips,
ever. Many people who have helped me along the way have refused payment, or rely on your generosity. They are young of heart, Connected to Mother Nature and Celebrate their Dead. I am so happy to call this Country, Home.
I also mentioned the fantastic energy that comes here from all over the world. I met 3 flight attendants on the taxi the other day, here to scatter one of the Mother's ashes, from the Parachute boat !! She took a trip up on her 80th !!
I heard him call out to me as he floated by my house ... you can make the greatest connections, just on the boat ride !!
The Village is in flux and despair over the disappearance of a young female lawyer, originally from here. I think she may have been born in PV, grew up there mostly I believe, but she is Yelapanese. There are weekly marches in the city, bringing attention to this crisis.
What despair the family must be experiencing. Helplessness is the worst.
I will sign off. I am still 2 weeks away from finishing my renovation. Excited but exhausted.
Thats the way those things work !!
I have had a lot of trouble with my email ... checking in on FB..but new mail is
kcyelapa@gmail.com
Look forward to seeing your happy faces in the coming weeks ...
Keep an eye on Canada's new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ...
this could get very exciting !!
I hope you are all living a piece of your dream .... like i am ..
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
photos
Good Day for Pina, on left..
30 kilo about.. Pargo
after 3 days rain
... A little Sunday ceviche in yelapa
too bad you can't sit down in shorts
too hot...no cigar on this one !
at least so far....
on the road again
All's well ..
heading North with Linda shotgun in the Red Angel ... Saturday.
Reach USA border in Nogales, Monday.
Hope to be home in 10 days !!
Parting is such sweet sorrow...but the fun begins when I return, choseing colours and
curtins and etc. for the house ...
I will post some photos off my phone later this afternoon, but thats it till Halloween..
I'm off to dig out my suitcase ...
heading North with Linda shotgun in the Red Angel ... Saturday.
Reach USA border in Nogales, Monday.
Hope to be home in 10 days !!
Parting is such sweet sorrow...but the fun begins when I return, choseing colours and
curtins and etc. for the house ...
I will post some photos off my phone later this afternoon, but thats it till Halloween..
I'm off to dig out my suitcase ...
Sunday, September 27, 2015
photos
So adorable, I couldn't resist.
Yelapa , Mexico's Future.
She isn't a student yet, but we are working on it
oh oh...2 pictures on top of each other....Our dear 4 legged friend, Parasita...RIP
and Moi inspecting damage to Verana boat
from small collision with Parachute boat.
Alls well that ends well.
Stormy stormy night
Buenos Dias Amigas y Amigos ...
Holy Wind blew through here Friday night. Enough gusts to blow your roof off, which it
did with my neighbours !! Granted it was only a temporary tarp, but don't mess with Mother Nature !!!
The whole thing lasted 20 minutes, then continued to rain to the tune of 1.5 inches ...
I am still cleaning up palapa debris, seriously !! Trees fell, and many branches too, knocking a few wires down, but i believe that's all taken care of, as well as the new tarp for my amigo .
I didn't sustain any damage here, thankfully, just a lake inside the front of the house, as per usual with rain and high winds. This was the biggest flood so far, but the lights stayed on, so that makes it a whole lot easier !! ??
I have 7 pairs of flip flops , 5 brooms, 2 mops, and a pretty basket full of large rags at the ready ... all stratigicaly placed, and in use through out the day.
My 6th mop bit the dust last week !!
I have to change to my smartphone to post the photos.
I am still in renovation. So exciting to be creating my wall of gratitude and memories, leaving lots of room for new ones.
Next step Ladies and Gentlemen ... Hot Water in the Kitchen Sink.
I am so overjoyed about this I may have to make it the title of a new Poem !
Fish are jumping as I write, the ocean less brown, more blue, and has been as calm as a Lake these past days. Except for that nasty wind that has been coming of late.
We have had some clear nights, and in the early morning the stars are burning bright in the deep sky. A sacred thrill watching Venus Rising from my swinging bed . Couldn't see her this
morning, though.
Anticipating a gorgeous peaceful day, in the hammock with the NYtimes Book Section !
The Lagoon is full to the brim, looks spectacular. The beach in constant ebb and flow.
I have never seen it in this particular configuration before. Like a sandbar for a crossing.
It's high time to get my legs over there !!
Enjoy the last days of the September Song.
Sing it to the Moon ....
Holy Wind blew through here Friday night. Enough gusts to blow your roof off, which it
did with my neighbours !! Granted it was only a temporary tarp, but don't mess with Mother Nature !!!
The whole thing lasted 20 minutes, then continued to rain to the tune of 1.5 inches ...
I am still cleaning up palapa debris, seriously !! Trees fell, and many branches too, knocking a few wires down, but i believe that's all taken care of, as well as the new tarp for my amigo .
I didn't sustain any damage here, thankfully, just a lake inside the front of the house, as per usual with rain and high winds. This was the biggest flood so far, but the lights stayed on, so that makes it a whole lot easier !! ??
I have 7 pairs of flip flops , 5 brooms, 2 mops, and a pretty basket full of large rags at the ready ... all stratigicaly placed, and in use through out the day.
My 6th mop bit the dust last week !!
I have to change to my smartphone to post the photos.
I am still in renovation. So exciting to be creating my wall of gratitude and memories, leaving lots of room for new ones.
Next step Ladies and Gentlemen ... Hot Water in the Kitchen Sink.
I am so overjoyed about this I may have to make it the title of a new Poem !
Fish are jumping as I write, the ocean less brown, more blue, and has been as calm as a Lake these past days. Except for that nasty wind that has been coming of late.
We have had some clear nights, and in the early morning the stars are burning bright in the deep sky. A sacred thrill watching Venus Rising from my swinging bed . Couldn't see her this
morning, though.
Anticipating a gorgeous peaceful day, in the hammock with the NYtimes Book Section !
The Lagoon is full to the brim, looks spectacular. The beach in constant ebb and flow.
I have never seen it in this particular configuration before. Like a sandbar for a crossing.
It's high time to get my legs over there !!
Enjoy the last days of the September Song.
Sing it to the Moon ....
Saturday, September 19, 2015
photos
It is POURING ..The fishermen bale out their boats
Our local Samuel Enrique
He wasn't happy with this shot...
so he told me to take another
Valentina inspecting...15 kilos..
and longer than her !
The older being so smart and motivated
She is reading a picture book about Whales,
in English. Go Girl !!
or more....46 steps...up
photos
Biko getting it level...
....getting there...
made by Gloria and Biko
..sweet innocence and joy
too hot and crowded in church
... and with Mario and his cooler of
treats waiting....
photos
canajo's first day of summer
hard at work in the jungle
casa Vieja's Garden
Best Yelapa boots !
Rainy Season Update
Good Morning el Norte .... Happy Saturday...
Well, basically the Rainy Season started September 1st this year ! So, if you are coming back before November, you may want to bring with you, a pair of boots like Ana is modelling in the following post !
We have had 3, maybe 4 downpours during July and August.
Two, maybe 3 thunder storms. Then September came and drenched us !
Nothing the last 3 days...clear skies, but the Ocean still brown from the deluge.
Top priority if you are on the hillside...Call Biko to have him secure it as much as he can,
with Chicken wire and Cement .
If I don't do that soon, my Bodega will be swallowed within a few years ... at least the back side and the roof.
New, improved, " state of the art " ! Bodega ReDo is what I'm after next.
Soon as it stops raining, God willing.
It's hot. It's humid. It's sticky and buggy and mucky.
But I love my Life ! I really really do.
If, (I should say, when) I start over heating, and swelling up, and there is no water, or no phone, or no electricity, or no internet, and my floor is flooding ( not always when there is a flood ) but I remember my past, Terrace Bay, The Cold. The Bone Chill. The Mosquitoes.
This doesn't seem so bad.
I envision the Crones of my past.
The Warriors and Pioneers long before me who Never Gave Up !
I look to the Elders in the Village, the Donas who grew up here, and Honour their Stories
and Will to survive.
Yelapa grew 2 Generations in 10 years, basically, but the hardships that the People had
to overcome are still here. You see it every day. Everywhere.
Many people here still go without, what you and I have at our fingertips.
They work hard, everyday, to survive, and provide.
If I feel that Nervous Breakdown coming on, I focus on Survival, and then get in the Hammock with a book ASAP.
Just Imagine what it was like 70 years ago .... 100 years ago...
We have Elders here over 100 years old !!
The air, the ocean, the river, the sun, the rain, the food, the peace, family.
And their Faith too ... built this Village of ...
Beautiful, Easy Going, Peaceful, Strong, Kind, Fiesta Loving, Welcoming, Warriors !!
It's a great place to " chanel " John Lennon ... " There are no Problems, only Solutions " .
Not everyones cup of Tea, for sure. I worked up to it slowly...but ..
Even for me, loving it all as I do, I see, in my future, a little cabin on Jackfish Lake,
August and September... can it get any better ???
Many many Happy Returns of the Day...
I hope you are breathing in fresh clear air ... eating fresh fruits and vegetables ... and
giving and getting a lotta love
Well, basically the Rainy Season started September 1st this year ! So, if you are coming back before November, you may want to bring with you, a pair of boots like Ana is modelling in the following post !
We have had 3, maybe 4 downpours during July and August.
Two, maybe 3 thunder storms. Then September came and drenched us !
Nothing the last 3 days...clear skies, but the Ocean still brown from the deluge.
Top priority if you are on the hillside...Call Biko to have him secure it as much as he can,
with Chicken wire and Cement .
If I don't do that soon, my Bodega will be swallowed within a few years ... at least the back side and the roof.
New, improved, " state of the art " ! Bodega ReDo is what I'm after next.
Soon as it stops raining, God willing.
It's hot. It's humid. It's sticky and buggy and mucky.
But I love my Life ! I really really do.
If, (I should say, when) I start over heating, and swelling up, and there is no water, or no phone, or no electricity, or no internet, and my floor is flooding ( not always when there is a flood ) but I remember my past, Terrace Bay, The Cold. The Bone Chill. The Mosquitoes.
This doesn't seem so bad.
I envision the Crones of my past.
The Warriors and Pioneers long before me who Never Gave Up !
I look to the Elders in the Village, the Donas who grew up here, and Honour their Stories
and Will to survive.
Yelapa grew 2 Generations in 10 years, basically, but the hardships that the People had
to overcome are still here. You see it every day. Everywhere.
Many people here still go without, what you and I have at our fingertips.
They work hard, everyday, to survive, and provide.
If I feel that Nervous Breakdown coming on, I focus on Survival, and then get in the Hammock with a book ASAP.
Just Imagine what it was like 70 years ago .... 100 years ago...
We have Elders here over 100 years old !!
The air, the ocean, the river, the sun, the rain, the food, the peace, family.
And their Faith too ... built this Village of ...
Beautiful, Easy Going, Peaceful, Strong, Kind, Fiesta Loving, Welcoming, Warriors !!
It's a great place to " chanel " John Lennon ... " There are no Problems, only Solutions " .
Not everyones cup of Tea, for sure. I worked up to it slowly...but ..
Even for me, loving it all as I do, I see, in my future, a little cabin on Jackfish Lake,
August and September... can it get any better ???
Many many Happy Returns of the Day...
I hope you are breathing in fresh clear air ... eating fresh fruits and vegetables ... and
giving and getting a lotta love
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
To begin again ...
... but where to start ?
I have been home from my road trip for 15 weeks.
I am thrilled to report , I have unpacked !
Around the 10 week mark, I took a day off; to replace the canopies over
the kitchen island and bed, that protect from termites, other creatures
and such, that fall from the palapa ... meaning roof ... and realized there
was not a box, bin, bag, or crate, left to inspect and consolidate.
WoW ! Now, with my memories and history gathered here I begin
to create a home of my own, ahhh, to relish and savour and share
with family and friends.
I can't wait !! But.
I will take a little holiday this month, to reconnect with Yelapa,
take it all in ... recharge my batteries ... write ...
Weather ? Weird ... but becoming more predictable every day...raining
every , or every other day. Wet, steamy, sticky, mucky, mossy, buggy,
humidity is 105 %, sun is brutal, it's a test of endurance.
The feeling is still the same, ... to burst out in laughter or tears ?
Do both, while jumping in the ocean, or shower, grab a Corona from the
freezer, ( the electricity here so far so good ... up the hill not so good )
get in the hammock, swing in the breeze, say yummm.
This year the drainage ditch gets dug behind the banos.
Being here this time of year you get to see up close and personal
the deluge some of these storm produce. Mud.
Retaining walls and " canals " all around each building are high priority !
Google ... " How to install gutters on Palapa roof ? " or ask on the beach.
I think someone there tried it .
Living within Mother Nature. What a trip.
Everything you do she is in your face.
I'm so glad I went to Brownies and Girl Scouts !!
Thank you all my Scout Leaders !! Volunteers all !!
Growing up in the North, and being a Chesley ! , help with keeping the right
attitude, and adapting, but it ain't easy.
The motto, mantra is ... Don't Sweat it ... so ironic, but true.
An oxymoron, double-intandra ..you know what I mean ...
A clear example of the inside out of Yelapa. You just feel it more now.
We have Mexico Time, we have Yelapa time, and we have Yelapa
Summer time.
Everything slows right down. The rhythm changes.
Mexicans on school vacation come on the " Party Boats "
and water taxis for the day.
Three Americans from San Diego, mother 2 daughters on last day
of their holiday, at Boca on the 3 0'clock, out for 2 hours, but they HAD
to come to Yelapa, they have heard so much.
One perhaps a volunteer at the clinic one day ??
They would have been here 2 days ago but the hotel in PV sent them on
the Island tour instead of to Yelapa !!
They persisted and found their way, I'm pretty sure I will see them here
again...
Buses jam PV with tourists and Conventions. They park up on the highway
now, instead of downtown old town, Gracias a Dios ..
There is the smell of food cooking everywhere ... it smells good.
Suntan lotion and beer. No one runs for cover when it start pouring,
or the thunder begins. They carry on having the best time swimming,
or crowded under a towel or umbrella.
They aren't ready to go home yet.
Observing and sharing in the Mexican Family Culture is a blessing and a
privilege for me, and so many of you I know.
WoW.
Greener hills every moment. Jungle growing 10 cm a day.
Buds budding and flowers blooming.
Yet everything needs to be cut back and trimmed and transplanted.
Now I know what trees fall over and which grow into the house !!
My machete is ready.
Our loved one Maria Von healing nicely in PV. Stitches out Friday.
I will post an update on FB.
Sooo nice to be back. I will post 1st Monday of every month...
Yelapa Stories .... and more ..
Hasta Pronto
kelley
I have been home from my road trip for 15 weeks.
I am thrilled to report , I have unpacked !
Around the 10 week mark, I took a day off; to replace the canopies over
the kitchen island and bed, that protect from termites, other creatures
and such, that fall from the palapa ... meaning roof ... and realized there
was not a box, bin, bag, or crate, left to inspect and consolidate.
WoW ! Now, with my memories and history gathered here I begin
to create a home of my own, ahhh, to relish and savour and share
with family and friends.
I can't wait !! But.
I will take a little holiday this month, to reconnect with Yelapa,
take it all in ... recharge my batteries ... write ...
Weather ? Weird ... but becoming more predictable every day...raining
every , or every other day. Wet, steamy, sticky, mucky, mossy, buggy,
humidity is 105 %, sun is brutal, it's a test of endurance.
The feeling is still the same, ... to burst out in laughter or tears ?
Do both, while jumping in the ocean, or shower, grab a Corona from the
freezer, ( the electricity here so far so good ... up the hill not so good )
get in the hammock, swing in the breeze, say yummm.
This year the drainage ditch gets dug behind the banos.
Being here this time of year you get to see up close and personal
the deluge some of these storm produce. Mud.
Retaining walls and " canals " all around each building are high priority !
Google ... " How to install gutters on Palapa roof ? " or ask on the beach.
I think someone there tried it .
Living within Mother Nature. What a trip.
Everything you do she is in your face.
I'm so glad I went to Brownies and Girl Scouts !!
Thank you all my Scout Leaders !! Volunteers all !!
Growing up in the North, and being a Chesley ! , help with keeping the right
attitude, and adapting, but it ain't easy.
The motto, mantra is ... Don't Sweat it ... so ironic, but true.
An oxymoron, double-intandra ..you know what I mean ...
A clear example of the inside out of Yelapa. You just feel it more now.
We have Mexico Time, we have Yelapa time, and we have Yelapa
Summer time.
Everything slows right down. The rhythm changes.
Mexicans on school vacation come on the " Party Boats "
and water taxis for the day.
Three Americans from San Diego, mother 2 daughters on last day
of their holiday, at Boca on the 3 0'clock, out for 2 hours, but they HAD
to come to Yelapa, they have heard so much.
One perhaps a volunteer at the clinic one day ??
They would have been here 2 days ago but the hotel in PV sent them on
the Island tour instead of to Yelapa !!
They persisted and found their way, I'm pretty sure I will see them here
again...
Buses jam PV with tourists and Conventions. They park up on the highway
now, instead of downtown old town, Gracias a Dios ..
There is the smell of food cooking everywhere ... it smells good.
Suntan lotion and beer. No one runs for cover when it start pouring,
or the thunder begins. They carry on having the best time swimming,
or crowded under a towel or umbrella.
They aren't ready to go home yet.
Observing and sharing in the Mexican Family Culture is a blessing and a
privilege for me, and so many of you I know.
WoW.
Greener hills every moment. Jungle growing 10 cm a day.
Buds budding and flowers blooming.
Yet everything needs to be cut back and trimmed and transplanted.
Now I know what trees fall over and which grow into the house !!
My machete is ready.
Our loved one Maria Von healing nicely in PV. Stitches out Friday.
I will post an update on FB.
Sooo nice to be back. I will post 1st Monday of every month...
Yelapa Stories .... and more ..
Hasta Pronto
kelley
Monday, July 27, 2015
Hola..mucho gusto
omg so long and yet it feels like but a dream.
I am on my phone because neither lap top in top for and I wanted to pay tribute to my Father, I started the blog for him with his encouragment. Eleanor read or printed them out when he couldn't sit at the computer anymore. I saw them all stacked up.in their room..He liked to correct my spelling.
I have the giant list he and she wrote out for me for
my English classes of homonyms and synonyms..
for the high advanced..it's fun..
Always curious , like me, ??!! .. helpful, positive,
someone you could REALLY count on..
Persistent to the end...There was no such thing as broken in his world. Everything could be
fixed or modified.There was no giving up.
I am missing him less and less because the longer he's gone the more he grows in my heart.
LOVE TO ALL...IT'S RAINING..
I am on my phone because neither lap top in top for and I wanted to pay tribute to my Father, I started the blog for him with his encouragment. Eleanor read or printed them out when he couldn't sit at the computer anymore. I saw them all stacked up.in their room..He liked to correct my spelling.
I have the giant list he and she wrote out for me for
my English classes of homonyms and synonyms..
for the high advanced..it's fun..
Always curious , like me, ??!! .. helpful, positive,
someone you could REALLY count on..
Persistent to the end...There was no such thing as broken in his world. Everything could be
fixed or modified.There was no giving up.
I am missing him less and less because the longer he's gone the more he grows in my heart.
LOVE TO ALL...IT'S RAINING..
Me and Papa Don Hugo
He looks so dorky..always making me
the star..
left me one year ago
28th of July
27 florescent light
27 9 way switches
believe it
down in the valley
the first trans gendered
mother and son !
or maybe the 2nd ??
more
Tuna Tuna..who wants some Tuna
six boats in total
Tuna Tuna ..who wants some Tuna..
my first Self ie
New photos from my smart phone
melt in your mouth home grown
muy bonito chicita
can you believe your eyes ?
Home is where the heart is
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