On The Road

On The Road
Dutch Star and Subaru ready to go

Monday, January 16, 2012

January 16th

We had eaten all the fish in our freezer so I took off to Guaybitos this morning where the fishermen sell their catch early each morning.

If you wanted to eat a healthy diet of mostly fish, this would be the place to be. In the pictures below you can see how the fishermen place their varied catch cross the bow of their boat. You pick out the fish you want, they weigh it and will fillet it if you want.

Dorado is an excellent tasting and highly prized fish. The Dorado being held by the fisherman in the picture is the fish I chose. I forget how much it weighed but the price was 150 pesos. About $11.50 U.S. I had it filleted and Diane and I cut it up into five meal size portions. One for tonight's dinner and four for the freezer. Not bad for $11.00

We still had a couple of bags of shrimp in the freezer so I didn't buy any today but did take a couple of pictures.

Our Chosen Dorado

Filleting the Dorado

Fish for Sale on Bow of Boat

Another Boat with Fish for Sale

Different Size Shrimp for Sale

Saturday, January 14, 2012

January 13th & 14th

Another couple of lazy days here in sunny Mexico. On Friday morning Diane walked over to her kindergarden school where she volunteers helping the kids with their English.
I stayed at home and watched (helped a little) the park owner's parents do some work on the water lines going into the main house. A shutoff valve needed to be installed so that the water to the house could be shut off. Apparently a leak occured inside the house a couple of years ago and did a lot of damage.

The work on the water line wasn't completed yesterday so Jack and Kathy, the park owner's parents were back today to finish up.

This evening we went to dinner with our friends Fred and Sherry. They had never been to the big resort/restaurant on the hill overlooking La Penita. Everyone enjoyed the delicious food and were treated to a colorful sunset.

Sunset as seen from Los Compadres Restaurant

Thursday, January 12, 2012

January 12th

The car wash people got here about 9:30 which gave us time to get things like tables and chairs away from the motorhome and empty the Jeep so the inside could be cleaned.

It took them about two hours to clean both the motorhome and Jeep and the 340 pesos they charged was well worth the money. Both vehicles look like new. The oldest of the crew used to live in the U.S. and spoke perfect English and I asked him if he knew of someone who did body work as the Jeep has several scratches plus areas where bird poop and dead bugs had eaten the paint finish. He said he did and would take me to meet him whenever I wanted.

People in the campground next to us were looking over the fence when our motorhome and car were being washed and before they were finished with our vehicles, two more RVers wanted their rigs washed.

At noon we walked to town where we were to meet Fred and Sherry for lunch and skipped the market as there was nothing we really needed.

I received an email from the Vet letting me know the dog food I ordered had come in so in the afternoon drove over to pick it up.
I was quickly reminded that although human food in Mexico is relatively cheaper compared to north of the border. That does not apply to dog food. In Mexico a 35 pound bag of Science Diet Dog Food that costs somewhere around $45 to $50 dollars in Texas costs 1,150 pesos or almost $85.00. I hope we have enough until we cross the border in March.


"Washan Wear" Mobile Car Wash

Pressure Washer

Washing the Jeep

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

January 11th

We took it easy today (not that we're ever rushed) I decided that I've been ignoring my tan so got my Kindle and settled into a lounge chair for a hour or so.

Later I cleaned some shrimp for supper. Our freezer is getting kind of low on fish and shrimp so I'll have to make it over to Guayabitos some morning soon and buy some more from the fishermen.

Tomorrow is market day again and the camera is still working after its dump in the surf yesterday so I'll look for some interesting things to shoot.

6:00pm
A neighbor was having his car washed and I walked over to see if they would give me a price to wash the motorhome. There were three guys and a girl and they had a large tank of water and a pressure washer in the back of a pick-up. I was quoted 360 pesos (about 26.50 dollars) for both the outside of the motorhome and the outside and inside of the Jeep.

They said they'd be back tomorrow morning at 9:00am. We were going to wash the motorhome ourselves but glad to have it done. Especially with a pressure washer as the front of the motorhome has lots of dried on bugs on it from the trip coming down here.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

January 10th

We loaded the pups in the back of the Jeep this morning and took off to Guayabitos and La Penita to pick up our laundry and do some grocery shopping. You can usually get just about anything you need, it just takes going to several stores or markets. We also stopped at the Vet Clinic and ordered a big bag of dog food for the pups.

Having finished all our shopping chores we decided to spend some time on the beach and I wanted to get a few more pictures of the pups playing in the surf.

All went well until I got too close to the incoming surf and as I still had my shoes on, I tried to back-peddle away from the fast approaching water. Instead I tripped over my feet and landed on my butt getting not only my shoes wet but also my hat and the camera. Luckily the camera wasn't too wet and I quickly dried it off. When I was falling backward on my butt I must have hit the button on the camera and the picture below shows the shot.

Graydon falling on his butt in the surf

Diane and Hayley enjoying the beach

Leo & Hayley playing in surf

Hayley playing in surf

Leo playing in surf

Monday, January 9, 2012

January 9th

Monday is when they have the market at Guayabitos. This market is different from La Penita's Thursday market as it is mainly a craft fair with no food vendors.

Fred and Sherry were having some work done on their car so after we dropped off a load of dirty clothes at the lavanderia we drove to their RV park to pick them up to go to the market. The market is geared to the tourist crowd with no great bargains but Diane found a walking stick to add to her collection plus a couple of small dishes.

Later the four of us walked down to the beach and had a late breakfast at one of the restaurants before heading home.

The waves were a little big this afternoon so we kept the pups off the beach as Leo although liking to swim, hates having the waves crash over his head. Hopefully tomorrow it will be a little calmer.

PICTURES OF GUYABITOS CRAFT MARKET

Beach Vendor

Diane at Restaurant

Sunday, January 8, 2012

January 6th, 7th & 8th

Things have been pretty slow here during the past several days. Thats the dangerous pattern you can fall into when your main concerns center around the weather, beach conditions and your favorite beverage.

We did venture out last night for a teriyaki dinner with our friends Fred and Sherry then over to their motorhome for an after dinner drink. They introduced us to a Chocolate and Wine drink. Very nice, and is sold at Walmart or Sams Club.

We kept the pups out of the water today. Yesterday they played in the surf for quite a while and Hayley must of drank a bunch of sea water because it didn't agree with her.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

January 5th

Hayley's bleeding foot was all better this morning. Surprisingly the bandage we put on her foot last night was still there in the morning.

The propane (butane) truck showed up this morning as well as the purified water delivery truck so we're in good shape. For those not familiar with drinking water in Mexico... everyone including Mexicans buy purified water in sealed five gallon bottles. These are available in just about every large and small grocery stores. Delivery trucks full of the five gallon bottles also roam every neighborhood so there's no problem having good water.

The purchase of milk is another product that different in Mexico. The milk is "super pasteurized" meaning that does not have to be refrigerated until it is opened. It is bought in one liter boxes that you can just store on a shelf for several months until you open it. As well as our supply for daily usage, we usually buy several boxes before leaving for home.

Later in the morning we walked over to the Thursday Market in La Penita. We didn't have anything specific in mind but ended up buying a table cloth and also a sink for our guest bathroom in our home in Livingston. Now we just have to talk a couple of very talented people we know and who happen to live next door into redoing the bathroom counter top.

On our way home we stopped for lunch where our favorite waiter works and gave him the hat band I made for his son. We hadn't seen him for several days but the timing of the gift is perfect as tomorrow, January 6th is "Three Kings Day" in Mexico and this is when Mexican children receive Christmas gifts. Not on December 25th. Three Kings Day celebrates the gifts the three kings brought to baby Jesus.

Our New Bathroom Sink

Five gallon purified water bottle

One Liter Box of Super Pasteurized Milk

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

January 4th

Shortly before 9:00am we loaded Leo and Hayley in the Jeep and headed to the Vet for their grooming session. We were told that they would be there for most of the day and should be ready about 4:00pm

Back at the RV park, not having the pups underfoot allowed for giving the motorhome a good cleaning inside. Any time we are parked at a beach and the dogs can roll in the sand a lot of it gets carried in on their feet and under the hair of their coats.

The RV park next to us scheduled a propane delivery today and I asked them to send the truck over to us so we could get our tank filled. The truck showed up in the afternoon but discovered something wrong with the guage that showed the amount of propane pumped. So no propane today but the truck is to return tomorrow. One thing I should correct... they don't sell propane in Mexico but rather butane.. Butane works just as well in your stove, water heater etc. The only difference is that Butane does not vaporize very well in cold weather so people from Canada or northern states have to refill their tanks with propane when returning home.

We headed back to the Vet at 4:00pm and the pups were just getting finished. The Vet said their hair was very difficult to cut especially when there was still a lot of sand in their coats. Apparently one of the clippers they were using gave out. But the haircut they ended up with looked good. The Vet quoted us 200 pesos each but we gave him 500 pesos as we knew Leo and Hayley were a lot more work than he anticipated.

Before they were ready to leave they had to have their nails trimed and I held them while the Vet did this. Both of the pups like most dogs hate having their nails cut which makes it difficult with them squirming around. Both of them ended up with a little bleeding from getting a nail cut too short. Hayley's was the worse and although the Vet applied some medication on the bleeding nail, she wouldn't leave it alone and had it bleeding again when we got home. We cleaned it and put a bandage on it and hopefully she'll leave it alone overnight. We'll see what it looks like in the morning.

Vet Clinic

Leo after haircut

Hayley after haircut

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

January 3rd

We woke up to a brisk wind blowing from off shore this morning. It was a warm wind and strong enough to make us retract our awning so it wouldn't be damaged. It continued to mid day and the weather continued to get warmer as the day progressed.

We had several things to do in town, shopping, hitting the ATM and stopping at the Vet to see about having the pups nails trimmed. We accomplished everything except not being able to find flavored liquid coffee mate. When you're used to having it in your coffee its terrible when you can't find it.

The Veterinarian we chose is a young man who heads up the local "spay & neuter clinic". Although we had originally planned for the pups just to have their nails cut, we changed our minds and will be bringing them in tomorrow for a full bath, hair cut, nails, ears checked etc. They do need a hair cut and they'll feel better in the warm weather.

During our shopping we saw a couple of interesting things, one was a check-out lady with a small parrot on her shoulder and the other was at a meat market where there was several cow hooves on the top of the display case.

We were able to get the awning back up in the afternoon when the wind died down and spent several hours on the beach with the pups who ran and played in the waves until they were exhausted. They'll sleep good tonight but probably won't be pleased when they find themselves at the Vet.

There was a pretty sunset tonight and Leo & Hayley like to watch people walking on the beach.

Parrot on her shoulder

Cow Hooves on top of display case

Common Mexico Transportation

Pups and pretty sunset

Monday, January 2, 2012

January 2nd

Our RV friends, Fred and Sherry arrived in Guayabitos yesterday so we drove over to the park they're staying at to say hello. After visiting for a while, we all went for brunch at a nearby restaurant. We needed to do some grocery shopping so after we ate, we headed for the grocery store while Fred and Sherry had another errand to do. We planned to meet up again later in the day as they wanted to visit us at our Heaven's Gate park.

Sherry and Diane are "shopping buddies" and they made plans to head off to Tonala near Guadalajara and the big market there in a couple of weeks. Fred gets to drive them while I get to stay home and be a dog sitter.

The pups get to return to the beach tomorrow as they've had to stay dry for a couple of days. They get their flea & tick medication at the first of each month and cannot get wet for several days before and after.

Our beach umbrella was getting a little tattered and when a beach vendor walked by selling them we decided his price was pretty good so now we have a nice new one.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

January 1st, 2012

Here's hoping everyone had a safe New Year's Eve and their 2012 will be the best yet.

On New Year's Eve we went out to an early dinner and then came home and watched a movie. There was enough fireworks going off in town and on the beach to keep the pups wishing that it'd all soon be over but no such luck. We watched and listened until we got tired and ended up going to sleep long before midnight. (we're real party goers)

Today will be spent at the park as the roads will have more than their share of drunk or "hung-over" drivers.

When we were talking to our friend Hector, the man who helped when the car broke down and now a local restaurant waiter, we found out that his young son has dreams of getting a horse and has several western style hats. I make hat bands using pull tops from cans and conchos I buy at a hobby store. Thats how I spent the afternoon today, making a hat band for Hector's son.

Hat Band