No rain for 2.5 days , approx. 60 hours ... that's when it gets really steaming around here ...
but the power stayed on ... and the skies cleared for the full moon ...so i sat on the deck till
1:30 am ! The rabbit was upside down !
No bugs at that time ... except the big beetle bugs and the like ... the dragonfly population seems very low, if i see them at all ...is that why there are more mosquitoes ?
Mosquitoes around here could carry dengue so they are doubly unattractive ...
Land crabs living under the stove and 2 frogs under the fridge ... every few days i move both out from the wall and get them out and every few days they go back ... i hope they will get bored of it soon enough and move on ...
I missed all the excitement of the bull that got away a few weeks ago. There was only one bull being brought down from the hill from behind the village, through town and up river to the corral. One big, mean, bull, and he got away and stampeded all along the path, ahead of the cowboy or cowboys who had the rope ... luckily no one was hurt. There is always a guy on a horse coming ahead and getting everyone out of the way, and everyone knows the day
the cows are coming, you can hear them way ahead of time ... jump out of the way ... fast ...
I encountered a young horse that had got off her rope and was being chased through town by 10 or so, barking dogs. That was at 3 am, or so, walking home from my first full moon fire on the beach, on the stretch stretch by Garcia Rentals. This wild pandemonium was coming up behind me, fast. I got out of the way by plastering myself to the side of the wall.
I don't think it was an over reaction ! The animals ran past, I kept on walking, and the village, it seems, kept sleeping ...
I am enjoying the open view. No regrets about trimming the trees, and even will do a little more after the rains. I am pretty exposed to the small boats below, but eventually the bananas and other fruit trees will grow and provide more privacy. This house has always been an " open concept " and I learnt a long time ago not to mop my floor backwards !
I use the binoculars a lot, checking out the catch of the day, dolphins, birds etc. It's a real kick to watch the kids fish off the boats. Some are only 4 or 5 yrs. old and they pull their line like they are old pros .... very entertaining.
I have also moved on from the study of fungus to the study of excrement !
Everyday something new to be discovered ...frogs ? lizards ? bats? crabs ? termites ? ...
This morning it was snail poo, or more like goo ...
I thought it was a reflection, but following the trail of white on the black curtain, i discovered
a rather large snail. How did he get there ? i will never know.
A wet walk home from Pollo Bollo last night. Waited it out as best we could, and it let up a
little and made it home, in barefoot. It wasn't dark yet, but getting there, and when I got in and dried off and changed, lighting candles I noticed a small boat in the bay I didn't recognize. It's still raining and now there is big flash lightening and thunder not far off.
Oh no, I think, those people are stuck out there, the motor must have failed ! I can still see
thru the binos that it's a whole family out there... M&D and a few kids and it looks like Granny too ! Oh no ! They put up a big umbrella. There are a few shouts after a large flash or crack ! It looks like Dad is working on the motor ... it's almost dark ...why don't they paddle in ... why ... because they are fishing !! They are all sitting in that little boat, in a mild rain storm, fishing, and having an adventure .... You gotta love it !
Short and sweet this week and I won't be posting again until the end of August.
Going north to my home country, and though it's hard to leave Yelapa, I can't wait to be there !! I will ( try ) and post some photos and poems before I leave .
On a sad note, Alfonso Lorenzo ? the brother of Angelina and Waco, and ....9 others ...
The proprieter of Fanny's for many years, and the father of Fared, passed away this week.
He was 67 or so and had been sick.
May he rest in peace.
I hope everyone can get a little R&R this summer. Time to sit back and watch the garden grow ..
love to all ... and thanks for your comments ... keep them coming ...
kelley
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Happy Planting Everyone
Good Monday Morning. I was actually a little cool this morning, for about 15 minutes !!
The power was out for 12 hours on Friday, hit by lightening, and that probably won't be the last. Not too bad without the fans as long as it keeps raining, but the bugs can be annoying.
Long skirts that cover your feet, and long sleeve cover ups help, or just go to bed and tuck in the mosquito net. Not much reading in there unless you want to examine the different bugs up close and personal ... which I don't !
Raining and stormy most of the week, except the 3 days I was in PV. Yesterday being Sunday is the local day for the playita. It was raining lightly, with thunder and lightening in the distance but they kept heading down the path, infants and children and teenagers and mothers and grandmothers and great granny bringing up the rear. I was tempted to follow them out to learn how to picnic in the rain.
Diego was the Tuna King this week. Now that the kids are out of school there is much excitement on the pier when the big catch comes in. I was snooping around too and managed to come away with his Mom's Baked Tuna recipe, although I'll have to go over it with her since it was dictated in Spanish. That's all the fish there is right now it seems,
besides Pulpo ( Octupus ) and Goros ... ??
LJ, my helpers who live up river ( El Paso ) still come down after dark and fish off the rocks
till midnight or so. I don't know what they are catching right now, but I know they don't go home empty handed.
My computer has a mind of it's own this morning. I had a hard time posting the photos
correctly. Candio, The Master of Trees, spent nearly 5 hours, with one helper, and cleared
the view, which I have been planning on for sometime now. It took me a couple of days to get used to it, and I admit when I went to bed the first night I thought I may have made a big mistake !, but in the morning, it was mind blowing, and I live here !
The view is really terrific, like so many Palapas in Yelapa.
Now the planting comes in, more bougainvillea, 2 colours, white ginger, red ginger, hibiscus,
2 colours, and all kinds of other plants I don't know the names of !
Not to forget all the baby banana trees that Silverio will dig up and transplant, so one day
the hill will be all bananas, I hope. The avocado tree looks dead, but it's still stuck tight in the ground, so maybe it's not lost, and the Tapachine, the flame tree, is growing like wildfire!
It's all very exciting !
We are still picking mangoes, but they are getting harder to reach, and we've all had our fill
by now. Blackened Tuna with Mango Salsa was a big hit this season !
I missed my kayak adventure since I was in PV, and my friends have to go in for a new phone and modem since theirs was hit by lightening, so will get to it this weekend.
PV is busy !! Lots of Giant Tour buses, and the traffic is insane. It's nice to have the car, if you stick to the tunnel. The old/new tunnel that was completed last year is closed due to a landslide ! no one was hurt, and the crews are in full swing digging it out !
JM treated for dinner at Archies Wok, the first night. Only half the restaurant is open and the place was full ( og gringos ) when we left. Archie ( r.i.p. ) was the personal chef to John
Huston, back in the day ....
Back to Yelapa, from Boca , ( I still haven't gotten on or off at the new pier in PV ).
Boca is way more convenient, ( esp. when friends pay for a taxi ) but the bus is easy too.
On the 2:00 o'clock home Thursday, ( one of the best drivers ) there were 8 young tourists
heading to Las Animas, a man with 4 kids going to Yelapa, me and three Yelapa Elders,
Icons you could say, transplanted long ago ...born 1927, 1932, and 1934 !
They all arrived around the same time, when I was about 9 or 10 years old !
What a place !
The cicada insects, the males, are so loud, so shrill, it's hard to take it all in, but impossible to block out ... you have to laugh. I haven't heard the toads much lately, but that is another incredible Yelapa sound. They should be " going off " anytime now ...
I've lost two bars of hand soap from the kitchen sink to land crabs, so I've given up on that for a while. A good advertisement for liquid soap in a bottle ... safe from land crabs !!
The house is holding up pretty good in the rain. There is the occasional flooding of the bathroom floor, but i just let it dry up naturally and sweep up the mud later !
Besides having to squeegee in the torrential downpour, I have few complaints ! The last one,
when the power was out, and it was pitch black, and the bugs kept diving into my candles and putting them out, I just took off my clothes and squeegeed by feel and experience !
I had to keep my eyes closed, mostly, to protect then from the blinding flashes lighting up the sky ! Not the most fun I've had on a Thursday night !
Oh and the 3rd thing I don't like about living here, ... the same thing I most love ...
that you have to get here by water ... no cars ... but when it's rough and wild with 6 foot waves and boats full of people and luggage , and two big big men get up to hold the front ropes and then they tie the rope around themselves, and everyone and everything is getting very wet and the water is coming into the boat, well I don't like that. No one does I suppose.
So far this year I haven't had a ride in the rain. It hurts. Last year I got caught on my way home from visiting Vancouver ! My big suitcase wrapped up in the garbage bags I carried with me , just in case. Mostly I can avoid those kinds of trips, but you worry for others.
I gotta go. This blog has taken me hours .... but a very happy birthday to my dear RM in Santa Monica, who I met on my first trip here 15 years ago .... friends for life, and
happy 90th to Byron .... another Yelapa Icon and Elder ....
until next week much love
k
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Hurricane # 2
Well ....summer is in full swing around here . Rained cats, dogs, and elephants Friday night.
Rolling thunder, and blinding lightening. There was definite turbulence on the sea, and wind gusts through the house, from time to time, that compels one to " batten down the hatches ",
which is slightly redundant living in this palm roofed house ! It mostly involves clothespins !
Luckily, the house is tucked into the side of the hill, just enough to give me some wind break, but if the "real" one ever came, I don't suppose it would make much difference ! I haven't had that experience so far. The closest we came is when J.& C. tied down the tin roof of the casita, just in case !
So, now is the time to experience summer in Yelapa .... storms, rain, toads, crabs, bugs ....
This is when you learn a lot about the local herbal remedies and local medicines available for hives, stings, bites, mites, skin infections, mold, fungus, dengue, diarrhea, and more.
You can learn a lot about fungus this time of year .... if you're interested in that kind of thing.
Two persons cured of stomach problems with the plant growing in my yard, and everywhere else ... Lime is a cure for everything, heat it up and put salt on it for drawing out poison, or go into the sea, or have a bucket brought to you, alcohol, and sulfate powder must be kept on hand. Then there's the miracle green jelly fish cure, I have to get my hands on ....
I remember my first real nasty spider bite, on my ankle, so swollen I could hardly walk, and
someone sent me to Gorgonia's little store, which is just a window, and she towers over you,
even though she's not 5 feet tall. It was evening, and dark, and she took out her flashlight and checked me over, disappeared into the mysterious back room, and came back with 2 white pills for me to take. We couldn't communicate and my friend, RM , was skeptical, but I was desperate for a cure. I swallowed them both, and went home to bed. I can't say how much they helped because when I returned to the house, other friends had arrived, one was a doctor who gave me a heavy antibiotic. Needles to say I woke up cured.
From now on, I take any minor casualties there, remembering to bring her gifts from Cananda in exchange.
I don't keep the scorpion venom on hand. I used to but if you don't know how to administer it, there's no point to keep replacing it, and now that we have the Clinic it isn't so important.
I never had the shot the times I was stung, but they can prove to be very important if you
have allergies or for babies and elders.
Eating lots of fish. Lily had her choice of Tuna, Sierra, or Chora for a few days.The water is so warm. Murky and dirty at the shore line, so I haven't been in for a few days, but clear and calm below. A good time for snorkelers, and kayaks. I have a kayak date next week, but I really wish I had a canoe .....
Another thing about the summer here, is the smell .... the wet earth composting and renewing and rotting .... very organic ... wet wood, wet clothes, wet towels, wet garbage ...
you name it, if it's not wet, it's damp ! I got used to it, and have my system and routine worked out, only takes a few summers to figure it out, and you learn by your mistakes and
asking questions.
I haven't too much problem with flooding so far. Water seeps into the banos, and some times there's a lot of mud, which is a drag, and only one place on the side deck where the water pools up. It's the side of the hill I have to keep my eye on. Keep planting ...
The second thing I don't like in Yelapa, as in so many places, garbage is a big problem.
Imagine when we had no garbage pickup at the pier, it wasn't that long ago, so we have
come a long way in addressing the problem. Doesn't seem to matter that pick up is at 7 am
the boats are full of garbage bags heading off to Boca. Some of them don't make it all the way, some fall in the bay when they're being loaded and float or are tossed away to the shore, where they may sit for a long time .... and collect with other garbage running down the
creeks into the river and into the sea.
We really do need a proper Sanitary Engineer Department, (2 men/ 1 woman), to really
clean this place up. All it takes is money ....
This has been a week of firsts for me .... first time I had to kill a scorpion with a knife, it was
tucked into the cushion and I couldn't get to it with a flip flop ! my long thin henkel is the
perfect tool for that I discovered, cut his tail and threw him into the fire pit ... so cruel.
First time I've had a cold shower. A full length, wash my hair, (no shave) cold water shower.
I have jumped in and out of a cold shower before, of course, camping and the like, but I do
not shower without the hot turned on, (so much for my Pioneer Spirit) except for last Friday.
I worked in the yard for 7 hours. I was hot from the inside out. I turned the fan on so the bugs would leave me alone in there. It was great.
I also got to experience a different kind of thorn bush that stabs you worse than a bougainvillea ! A vine that was cut down in the front, that I was raking down the hill, grabbed on to the mesh of my glove, and stuck into me, good. Every time I tried to grab it, carefully, to get it off, it would stick in more! Brutal. It was the scorpion sting kind of pain. I continued on, but soaked my knuckle in alcohol all night, and am almost pain free today, but it's been 4 days !
Another first .... I'll cook myself a Pancake for breakfast ! It will actually be my second attempt, but the first in 10 years, so almost a first, though I have picked up some tricks along the way. Mango Pancakes ...with Mango Juice . Missing the Mango Maple Syrup !
I got a call from a young woman in PV the other day. She was Jehovah Witness. She was so happy she got an english speaker, we talked for 5 minutes.
We are all connected ...
Happy Planting Everyone ...
Rolling thunder, and blinding lightening. There was definite turbulence on the sea, and wind gusts through the house, from time to time, that compels one to " batten down the hatches ",
which is slightly redundant living in this palm roofed house ! It mostly involves clothespins !
Luckily, the house is tucked into the side of the hill, just enough to give me some wind break, but if the "real" one ever came, I don't suppose it would make much difference ! I haven't had that experience so far. The closest we came is when J.& C. tied down the tin roof of the casita, just in case !
So, now is the time to experience summer in Yelapa .... storms, rain, toads, crabs, bugs ....
This is when you learn a lot about the local herbal remedies and local medicines available for hives, stings, bites, mites, skin infections, mold, fungus, dengue, diarrhea, and more.
You can learn a lot about fungus this time of year .... if you're interested in that kind of thing.
Two persons cured of stomach problems with the plant growing in my yard, and everywhere else ... Lime is a cure for everything, heat it up and put salt on it for drawing out poison, or go into the sea, or have a bucket brought to you, alcohol, and sulfate powder must be kept on hand. Then there's the miracle green jelly fish cure, I have to get my hands on ....
I remember my first real nasty spider bite, on my ankle, so swollen I could hardly walk, and
someone sent me to Gorgonia's little store, which is just a window, and she towers over you,
even though she's not 5 feet tall. It was evening, and dark, and she took out her flashlight and checked me over, disappeared into the mysterious back room, and came back with 2 white pills for me to take. We couldn't communicate and my friend, RM , was skeptical, but I was desperate for a cure. I swallowed them both, and went home to bed. I can't say how much they helped because when I returned to the house, other friends had arrived, one was a doctor who gave me a heavy antibiotic. Needles to say I woke up cured.
From now on, I take any minor casualties there, remembering to bring her gifts from Cananda in exchange.
I don't keep the scorpion venom on hand. I used to but if you don't know how to administer it, there's no point to keep replacing it, and now that we have the Clinic it isn't so important.
I never had the shot the times I was stung, but they can prove to be very important if you
have allergies or for babies and elders.
Eating lots of fish. Lily had her choice of Tuna, Sierra, or Chora for a few days.The water is so warm. Murky and dirty at the shore line, so I haven't been in for a few days, but clear and calm below. A good time for snorkelers, and kayaks. I have a kayak date next week, but I really wish I had a canoe .....
Another thing about the summer here, is the smell .... the wet earth composting and renewing and rotting .... very organic ... wet wood, wet clothes, wet towels, wet garbage ...
you name it, if it's not wet, it's damp ! I got used to it, and have my system and routine worked out, only takes a few summers to figure it out, and you learn by your mistakes and
asking questions.
I haven't too much problem with flooding so far. Water seeps into the banos, and some times there's a lot of mud, which is a drag, and only one place on the side deck where the water pools up. It's the side of the hill I have to keep my eye on. Keep planting ...
The second thing I don't like in Yelapa, as in so many places, garbage is a big problem.
Imagine when we had no garbage pickup at the pier, it wasn't that long ago, so we have
come a long way in addressing the problem. Doesn't seem to matter that pick up is at 7 am
the boats are full of garbage bags heading off to Boca. Some of them don't make it all the way, some fall in the bay when they're being loaded and float or are tossed away to the shore, where they may sit for a long time .... and collect with other garbage running down the
creeks into the river and into the sea.
We really do need a proper Sanitary Engineer Department, (2 men/ 1 woman), to really
clean this place up. All it takes is money ....
This has been a week of firsts for me .... first time I had to kill a scorpion with a knife, it was
tucked into the cushion and I couldn't get to it with a flip flop ! my long thin henkel is the
perfect tool for that I discovered, cut his tail and threw him into the fire pit ... so cruel.
First time I've had a cold shower. A full length, wash my hair, (no shave) cold water shower.
I have jumped in and out of a cold shower before, of course, camping and the like, but I do
not shower without the hot turned on, (so much for my Pioneer Spirit) except for last Friday.
I worked in the yard for 7 hours. I was hot from the inside out. I turned the fan on so the bugs would leave me alone in there. It was great.
I also got to experience a different kind of thorn bush that stabs you worse than a bougainvillea ! A vine that was cut down in the front, that I was raking down the hill, grabbed on to the mesh of my glove, and stuck into me, good. Every time I tried to grab it, carefully, to get it off, it would stick in more! Brutal. It was the scorpion sting kind of pain. I continued on, but soaked my knuckle in alcohol all night, and am almost pain free today, but it's been 4 days !
Another first .... I'll cook myself a Pancake for breakfast ! It will actually be my second attempt, but the first in 10 years, so almost a first, though I have picked up some tricks along the way. Mango Pancakes ...with Mango Juice . Missing the Mango Maple Syrup !
I got a call from a young woman in PV the other day. She was Jehovah Witness. She was so happy she got an english speaker, we talked for 5 minutes.
We are all connected ...
Happy Planting Everyone ...
Sunday, June 30, 2013
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
Monday, June 24, 2013
.... 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 ...
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