Hola from West Coast Canada

Soaking up the rain and cool here in Beautiful British Columbia .  Won't be home until early July.

 

Bleeding Hearts

 

                                               Pretty Pansies ... not reccomended for Yelapa

 

                                            HeeHee ....Any Hockey fan knows this photo !!
                                               Just love this guy ... always did always will
                                                                          Mr. #4
Will be checking my FB for June 1st photos ... have fun everyone ... hope some of our yummy rain

makes it your way.  My Dad celebrated his 87th Birthday this week, so I'm hanging out and lending a

hand, catching up on Hockey Playoffs .... must cheer for Montreal, !!  I would have never guessed

that would ever happen,

Enjoying Chinese Food and Pizza and Perogies and Old Dutch Potato Chips !!

Check in with me in mid July for more Yelapa Stories and photos ....

Happy planting  and Go Habs !!

Photos

 

Happy Mother's Day Mothers

Rock On

 

                                                             The closing Parade
                                          

                  
                                                Taken from Casita ... the Guest House !
                                                     The Amapa Tree in pink blossoms ...
                                                    NOT a  Primavera as I said in last blog..
                                                             Primavara are Yellow !
                                                           in case you didn't know !

                                                
                                                          Yelapa Sunset, not taken by me ...
                                                                how unique and lovely

Happy Mother's Day Mothers

Dear Readers , it has been 3 weeks since my last confession ...oh,oops ! I mean Blog !
It  has been a very religious 9 days around here .... Festival of Guadalupe ... Yelapa style ...

Every morning. at 5 am, and noon and 6 pm the very small hand held cannon ... but a cannon just the same... is deployed ... in order to get her attention ... and wherever she is, she probably hears it !!  I manage ok, but some people and their animals have a rough go of it ...it's almost over now .  At this moment the boats are being decorated with palm fronds and flowers and the priest and followers will get in and parade around the bay singing her favorite song and letting off the last of the cannonballs ! It's just day break now, and i see the fronds being attached to the pongas, and I also see a huge dark cloud up river. 

It rained yesterday morning and this morning.  Not jungle rain, or BC winter rain, but moisture, and cleared some dust away.  If this dark sky does not produce anymore today, get ready for 98 % humidity. Luckily i manage ok with that too ....but, i'd rather it rained !

Dia del Nino, celebrated throughout Mexico was a blast of fun.  So much going on that it wasn't till it was over that I could take it all in .  We are 2 teachers short , again.  Supposedly we will have a new Grade 5/6 teacher today. Not easy for the kids, or the other teachers to adjust to so many disruptions, but our school volunteers are helping the community come together and stick up for our kids !

It's a little like growing up in Northern Ontario, so isolated that many resources and
services were just not available .... cost prohibitive ? ... many teachers, doctors, dentists and etc. don't want to live in the middle of nowhere, where it can be minus 30 c. for 4 months
of the year and minus 10 for 3 more !

 I'm sorry to say, and no offense to past teachers, but I was in Grade 8 with Mr. Anderson, ( the new, young, Principal fresh out of University, who came in to our class to teach math) before I could read a teacher's handwriting on the chalkboard.  That's not exaggerating too much.  My Grade 9 English teacher sat at her desk and picked her nose and ate potatoe chips and my typing  ( is that all he taught ? )  teacher had such terrible body odor, and such strange behaviour, it was very uncomfortable , and many kids acted out.

The quality of the teachers isn't the issue here, it's being ignored by the bureaucracy and not having the resources to get their voices heard. Electricity and Internet and etc. have  been around just 10 years or so .... isolation comes at a price.

Teachers make a difference, and here in Yelapa the pay off will be huge ... poco y poco ...

The hummingbirds are after the Christmas Lights again, and Lily hiding under the sofa.  The bombs are starting again and I can see the people on the pier getting into the boats.  It feels like it could downpour any minute ....up river, through the canyon, the sky is steel grey, hill tops sliceing at the heavy mist ...the Primavera ( pink ones right ) are bloomimg large.
I'm told there were many more scattered about, but still a few remain in my view.
It is as still and calm before the storm as can be ... oh great ocean ...

Yelapa Mother's Day Fiesta , May 10th. This was probably the 101st annual .. A longstanding tradition here, the one day , for many, they do  NO WORK, and have a beer or shot or some
famous Yelapa Punch ! They gather at the dance hall, and are served dinner and drinks, all for free, and there is a live band, and games and raffles and so and and so on ...
Someone told me arrive at 4, someone else said 5 ... we got there at  7:45 ... next year I'm
going to get there at 10 !! They were still serving food but the party was just heating up when I left at 11 .... it's a blow out, full tilt, shake rattle and roll fiesta .... I think the band stopped around 1 but the dj played till 3 ... how much work got done on Sunday is questionable ...

The next holiday/Fiesta is Thursday the 15th , Teachers Day, no school. Everyone in Mexico has their own day, even The Mule !

I'm heading to Beautiful British Columbia, and will pick this up in July.  If I can make the time I will post some new poetry , and other photos .  

Happy Happy spring everyone .... 

kelley . 

Photos

 

Dia del Nino ...Celebrated throughout Mexico

 who had more fun, me or them ?

Thanks for the bell and gizmo Dad !

 

 

 
                                                Rodger and Benji begin sweeping the roof ...
                                                               Benji on his way up ..
  

                                     
                                             .... the fun begins ... he found 0 scorpions,
                                                              which is nice feeling ..
                                       

                                                         .... it really isn't a fun job .... but ...

                                              I end up with a roof that looks brand new ...
                                                                        love it !

photos

Yaca ... OMG ... what a fruit ...

Rodger walked a long way up river to get some

gracias

 

 

 

 

I wish thsi one was mine ...

 

 

Another beauty ... cocking his  head off ...

I'd like that flaming feather for Poppa's Fedora !

 

 

in case you didn't know ... this is what termites look like

in the jungle anyway ... hungry little buggers

how ? what ? why?

 

 

 

What a moon ... stunning relfection off the water ...

another Yelapa pathway ...

photos

                                                           Happy Birthday Joali !!

 

 

 

She is three today !!

 

 

           ...and she loves her new duck !!





                        Josen ( sp ) helping out




                           Full moon rising

Easter Greetings

Happy Easter one and all ... it's wild around here. Not as many tents on the beach as other years, but the place is hopping !!  Everyone in a good mood, lots of Families visiting, everyone getting along ... so far !!
Kids on vacation brings another level of energy, and they have so much fun running around barefoot.  Still some jelly fish around so not much jumping off the pier ... what a great place to grow up, you can understand why it's hard for them to sit still in school.
I received a $ 1,000 peso donation to pay for my teaching supplies.  Isn't that great !!
My blog this week is pictures instead of story.
We are holding our own here, we will get through Semana Santa, then Children's Day, then a 9 day Guadalupe Festival, then Mother's Day, and then .... June 1 !
It is warming up , fast.  Cloud cover making it pretty humid.
Good for the complexion ! We are getting the fans out !
I went out with friends for Easter Brunch today, Eggs Florentine .... hello ...!! where am I ?? ....
there are still familiar faces around but it's quieter now with so many of our half timers gone, but they shall return.
Eating lots of bananas from the yard, and mangos arriving in the stores, with huge, juicy, pink grapefruits, and the yaca fruit in the photo was incredible !! The fish come and go, except for Julian, for whom they never go ...
He had Sierra yesterday ... one of the best, and dolphins have filled the bay the last few days, babies feeding and playing around ...the cycle of life, migration, and survival.
I love feeling a part of it ... that's why we always come back,
or never leave ....
I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend, no matter where they may be ...

with love
k