Green Light

Pay pal seems to be working fine now.

I am receiving money ... thanks so much ..

Now if only my mail arrives this week .... 

I tracked it to LAX, but after that ....

no say ...

Waiting something you have to learn to do well in Mexico ...

Big Rain .  2 Big Rains .  Yahoo Rain Gods ..

Time to plant now.

Full moon and Solstice tomorrow or next.  
The sea is calm so far, for a trip to PV for me tomorrow ..

Update coming ... photos too !! 

PAYPAL

A short note to say , 2 persons have said they have sent donations to m new PAYPAL 

but I haven't received them.  The 1st person who sent money, I received no problem.

So don't send money till I make sure there is no mixup ...

One piece of  Volunteer or Committee work, most often turns in to 4 or 5 pieces and fragments that have to be managed.  

I learned that fast, in my early days at Family Social Work.
I volunteered for as many Committees as I could, and realized along with the others,
there is always more work to be done. Out reach, Research, Fund raising, Grant writing ..
It goes on and on...

I've been nibbling away at making my way to where I am now, Teaching English at Secondary 3 times a week.  It's fantastic.

But.  

There's more work to do, and I'll need to get my Committee and Sub Committees set up
pronto, if I want to succeed at this endevour.  

Sub committee # 1 ... Fix my spell check and deal with PAYPAL !!!

to be cont. 

ATENTION PLEASE

.... would the person who was visiting me in April, for 10 days, explaining how straight forward it was to tranfer photos from my Samsung Smart Phone 4, to this 1 year old HP lap top, please leave Ottawa, and return as prompty as possible ... Thank You .

Everything is an extra 3 steps around here, minimum, electronics included. 
At the same time I am trying to add this device, my phone flashes the same message over and over .... Unfortunately, Google Play services have stopped.  I report, I cancel, I try every option, except throwing the phone down the hill.

I won't give up, but for the time being I'll still have to post photos from my phone, which may or may not be upside down and backward.  Vamos a ver.

This is a conflicted time of the year; 

The sun is spectactulor beamimg on the tranquil ocean, but her rays are so intense, I play little mind games with myself to endure the unavoidable direct hits throughout the day.

Flies appear, house flies we call them in the North, here you could call them mini vultures, they swam the plates of every restaurant meal, pesky little creatures that can make people very irritable !   

Mosquitoes also arrive, but I can't and won't complain about them, otherwise I could not rightly claim to be a Real Northern Canadian Girl !!  I learned how to endure those saber tooth dragons years and years ago. Our Local Bird and Mascot, n'est pa ?

Fans are whizzing everywhere, and all of us share the cough and the runny nose and chills that come from adjusting to them.  I am blessed with the ocean breeze flowing through my Palapa, which can also translate to hurricane force gales, but we aren' t there yet !

It hasn't rained. The river is very low. Houses without people still need water for the garden,
until it rains.  When will that be ? The question on everyone mind and lips. 
We wait. We stay joyful, and positive, and we wait.

This is a time of Transition, and you can't rush Mother Nature !

In the meantime there is more downtime, yet we all remain busy.  

The kids at Prepa ( grade 10 -12 ) are in the 1st of 2 weeks of exams.  
Secondary ( Grade 7 - 9 ) will begin exams 1st week of July.
I'll be heading to Primary ( 1-6 ) this week to begin to arrange a Summer English Reading Group with the kids who have English as a 1st or 2nd language already.
They have told me themselves they are forgetting their English, and that would be a shame.

Graduation preparations are beginning.  

I have been asked by Grade 9 to assist them in raising $$ for their Graduation Trip.

They are fundraising with Dance Performances , Social Events, Food Sales and etc.
to cover the cost of accomodations.

The parents are contributing to money for food, and I am asking my English speaking 
Yelapa friends to contribute, if they can, to the Transportaion Fund, the renting of a bus !
Their dream is to make it to Chiapas, but they will go only as far as the money will allow.

I have set up a Paypal account.  My email  kcyelapa@gmail.com
If anyone would like to participate, or would like more info. please comment on my blog,
or FB at Kelley Chesley, or email .

The more time I spend with the children and young people of Yelapa, ( ESL 3 days a week this month ) the more I want to help them.  Yelapa Scholarships are on my agenda.
   
What is stopping us from taking our Love and Connection to this special place, these 
unique people we so admire. and pooling our resources to provide a higher education and a wider range of life experience to those who are eager for it ?
Educate our kids to be our teachers, doctors, nurces, electricians, plumbers, lawyers and such.

Grade 9 has 14 students. Future Architect, Designers, Photograhers, Massage Therapists,
Folklore Dancers, Professional Soccer and Basketball Players, and Fliers ...

Ahhh ... Fifteen and full of life and possibilities.  I hope I get to stick around and see how it all turns out .

My very best to all of you... The Summer Solstice and Full Moon are together this month ...
Enjoy and Trust and Learn ... That's what it's all about !!

Post June First

Happy Sunday ....

June 1st has come and gone, and although I have not ventured far from the house, I haven't heard of any crisis that occurred, at least nothing serious, like loss of life or limb !

Boats in the procession were beautiful, no guitars or loudspeakers this year.
And no BBQ.  Big disappointment for me, especially since I only got the courage to savour
it a few years ago.

I heard people talk about Dia de Marina for quite a few years before I ever had the chance to participate, and the BBQ was always raved about by BBQ lovers ... BBQ Mexican Style...
Descriptions of pig parts, or cow parts, big and small, recognizable and not, poking over the cauldren, the grisstle , the fat, the smoke, etc.  It all sounded absolutely horrorrfing to me, which only encouraged the the tellers of tales !!

After approximately 7 or 8 years of this, I saw the scene with my own eyes.

The Giant Family Size, ( tin ? ) clothes/wash/ bath tub, positioned on flaming rocks;
4 or 5 wood planks shoved under and around, sticking out 2 meters, like fireguards.
keeping it steady and burning with a fury; flames licking up the grease boiling over the sides, just enough to get that Special Mexican Gritt.

A large ring of fire, spread out on the playita, under Martita's house.
Pipala looming on the paddle, stirring and smiling and licking his lips.
A large crowd of people, standing close but not to close, ( it's 32 celsius in the shade )
doing the smoke shuffle, backwards forwards turn around, repeat...
smoke pouring over them like fog banks.

I never ventured too close, or looked too hard for 5 years, until i did.
Not look, just eat, and I never turned back after that.
It's not the same party without it. 
Like a Newfouldland homecoming without the Jiggs Dinner !!
Perhaps I will now become the vocal BBQ advocate.
How things change !!
   
There was no shortage of people, ( a little less this year being Wednesday ) , fun , music, beer, ( temporary ) dancing.  Fun to watch the men fall off the Mechanical Bull, for a few minutes.  I only was there 6 hours out of 12, missed the pole climb, ( it fell down ), and
the tug of war and bag races, if there were any. 

Last year the Glass Liquor bottles hanging from the pole !?,  were replaced with plastic ones, holding your chit to claim your prize.  One too many concussions over the years !

I had to leave when the horn section set up. Two too any Tubas for me !!
But I loved it all.
It's a special day with a special meaning for everyone in this town.

It's a marker for end of season, beginning of summer, intense sun, prayers for rain.

I'm looking forward with excitiement ..

  
       

Happy Mothers Day ..and more

!!  I can't believe I forgot to have Children !! 
.. written on a t shirt I saw years ago in Chelsea Quebec.

Everyday should be Mother's Day, the women, around here, and around the World,
keep the wheels turning, no doubt about that.  

Life here is begining the slow dance into summer. Still a lot of construction around town,
get your new roof up now !! and spray for bugs up, down, and all around.
Now is a good time to see a Scorpion or two.

The hills are hard and dry, the sun in the afternoon is not forgiving, humidity high.
I need at least 3 large umbrellas in the yard, and I have a pre made sail cloth to put up,
at some point. in the very near future. when I find my dream handy man !! 
  
Sad news from the Lorenzo family.. 
They lost another brother last week, our friend Piri, who lives in my neighbourhood 
and opened our little general store.
So sweet.  Such a warm smile and gentle way about him.  He will be deeply deeply
missed.  I must remember to ask his full name, I heard for the first time at his funeral,
most unusual and enchanting ....
Another and another, passed on to the other world ..
Roberto ( Tencia ) and Elana's ( Yacht Club) Grandmother, at 101 years, approx,!
So many wide eyed stories told about what life was like here years ago.
Memories and myths and imagination .... Yelapa Fairy Tales ...
An Elder in Chacala, also said goodbye.

The Police from the Ministerio de Publico came to Yelapa to gather out written reports
of our experiences with home invaion .  Break and Enter.
The thing is, it's not necessary to break anything to enter into any of our homes, 
just a leg on the way out, I hope ... haha ...

Five Police in total, 3 in uniform, ( 2 men , 1 woman,) and 2 in plain clothes,
one of them from the Guadalajara office !!
Good work Deligado's Office!!
I feel I missed an opportunity though, to ask some basic questions, like,
the status of the murder investigation, for example ! ?
and what are my rights and responsibilities when I witness a crime.
Those kinds of things...
I'll take my written questions down to Dalia, and see what she can come up with .

In the meantime, The Fire !! 
I watched some u tube videos Saturday.  Apocolypse, the guy said.
Fort Mc McMurray has a legacy as Halifax, and Gastown and Chicago and ...
Tragic and devestating.  Massive Trauma.
What to do ? 
I have family who have family there.
What to do ?

Direct all my energy to bring peace to the area.  
An end to the Fire.
Strength to Carry On...

    Peace and Love, Sisters and Brothers 

Stop the Press

Until further notice, the events of yesterday; the apprehension of 3 criminals,

                                                 CANNOT BE CONFIRMED

News spreads like Wildfire, often out of control, so we wait, for something .....


In the meantime, a party was organized at the Yacht Club to mark Dia del Nino, 
The Day of the Child, every April 28th.

A big turn out, of course, with a Clown Performance, and food and drink.
I blew up ballons.
There were 4 or 5 Pinatas, but I didn't stay to watch the destruction .

Please send us some rain, just one or two days is all we need to get us through June.
We have had some cool morning, but the sun is blazing hot by the afternoon.

Fishing is so so.  Waiting for the temperture change, again....either too hot or too cold..
on the bottom or the top. 

I've been eating fresh eggs, yogurht, and panela cheese from the Co oporative up river.
Everything made by hand, with local ingredients, and free delivery.   
Most days and evenings, you can walk down the path and buy local moonshine, tamales, corn on the cob or a cup, chickens, ( dead usually ) sweet bread, fresh juice and etc. from vendors who are local or people who come down from near by villages.

Resturants are closing for the season, but the mainstays will continue through the summer,
and we get by just fine.  Los Abuelos won't be open this rainy season, and that is a blow.
I'll have to ask him for his Salad Dressing Recipe !

Happy to be connected again. 
I'm looking forward to sharing my Yelapa Stories and More with you ... as they unfold.
Happy Spring Gardening !!    

Six Months

We have lived through another High Season.  Time passes so quickly but looking back now 
Hurricane Patricia feels like an ancient memory.,, unless, dwelling upon it now, the sensation of anxiety and panic are revealed, just under the surface .

So much has happened in this not so little anymore village, since I last wrote.
Most unfortunately most of it not good to tragic.

A lot of my energy these last 3 weeks has been devoted to devicing and concocting a home alarm system, not so easy in a Palapa . This is definetely a job for my Father, Don Hugo ! 
I try to guess at what he'd have me do, and that takes a lot of imagination !
It will take time and money, and as we all know, walls, windows and doors only keep out
the good people !

We have here a perfect example of " One Bad Apple " , in this case perhaps 2 or 3 or maybe 4, spoiling the whole Orchard, and the Orchard appears to be powerless to eliminate the 
the disease. 

The " Real World " creeping its way into Yelapa.
It started with electricity, about 13 years ago, and has accelerated ever since.

Bring it on.
We can't stop it, but we can keep our " Vortex Power " alive and thriving.
The magic of Yelapa does not have to disappear, but how do we to keep the peace,
while adapting to the 21st Century ?
Don Hugo where are you  ???
CSI Yelapa ? 

Murder.
The man across the bay from me.
Shot.
With a gun.
In the late afternoon,
In his house.     

My nerves twinge writing this. 

Don't bother searching Google, I'm told there is no press at all on the net.
The Proper Authorities are carrying out an investigation, is what we hear in the Village.
People have been questioned. I couldn't tell you by whom.

Am I frightened ? 
No.
I can't explain why. 
I suppose I do have my radar somewhat extended. 
An outer uneasiness and preoccupation, before I go to bed at night.
A hassle mostly.
It is becoming part of my ritual, securing my borders before I can rest.
An unpleasant awareness of vunerability and powerlessness.

NEWS FLASH !!!  HOT OFF THE TRAIL !! 

A BOAT HAS BEEN DETAINED AT BOCA DE TOMATLAN.

3 MEN AND A LOAD OF STOLEN MERCHANDISE HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED ON BOARD.

CALIFORNIA NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH, TAKEN TO ANOTHER LEVEL .

STAY TUNED FOR MORE BREAKING NEWS NEXT WEEK.

Until then ....

Sleep tight ... don't let the bed bugs bite !!