RVing in Mexico with Raymondo and Marsia - 2013

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We left Mazatlan on Wednesday, Feb. 13th for Rincon de Guayabitos. Our favorite park in Guayabitos was full so we wound up at La Oasis. Most of the park residents were French Canadians but there were a few friendly folks from British Columbia.

We enjoyed a romantic 50th Anniversary Valentine's Day dinner on the beach with thirty or so huge peal and eat prawns and a bottle of Chardonnay.

The next day we caught a taxi north to the La Penita RV Park. This 100 plus space park claims to be the friendliest in Mexico. This is the one park where it is said that Americans outnumber Canadians tho most of the folks we visited with were from Canada.

Saturday, we moved south to a little surfer town called Sayulita. The town's only RV park, said to be owned by a German, is populated by an even mix of Americans and western Canadians who leave their trailers and 5th wheels in the park and return year after year. Our next door neighbors Lee and Diane, from Denver, along with their three dogs and two cats have stayed here six months each year for the past nine years. One of their cats climbed our back step to flirt with GiGi and AnGi. Our girls have had no experience with other cats or dogs but they did seem to welcome their visitor thru the screen.

Sunday, we returned to one of our favorite RV parks which is within walking distance of downtown Puerto Vallarta. Our land lady Gaby hugged us. Her little girl Sophia, now 6, hugged GiGi and AnGi. Business has been bad. There were only five rigs in the park, counting us.

We visited with Stan and Marion - long time park residents whom we've written about and posted pictures of before. Each winter, they travel back and forth from British Columbia with their seven cats. Last year after we left, a cat hating camper here trapped one of the park cats (they help control the rodent population) and transported her to another location. She had four kittens. Stan and Marion bought formula and bottles and nursed the week old babies. Three of the kittens died. One, a calico whose name I can't recall, survived. She is now a part of Stan and Marion's menagerie. In my last years blog I posted a picture of one of Stan and Marion's cats which had one blue eye and one green eye. This kitty was adopted by one of their friends and is now enjoying the luxury life of an "only cat" on Yelapa (a resort island just off the coast).

One evening we caught the bus south to Costa Sur where our friends Greg and Alana own a Timeshare. I spent a week here with Alana about five years ago. I'm sad to say that Alana - one of my best friends ever - and one of the nicest people I've ever known - passed away this past July. As an original owner, she had owned a unit here for 30 plus years and was well known and loved by many employees. We felt that it was our obligation to tell them that she will not be returning.

The drive south from Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday, the 20th was picturesque with beautiful homes and lush vegetation and occasional glimpses of the sea.

We spent one night at Punta Perula's Red Snapper RV Park where the owner, Harry - a very grubby and cantankerous WWII veteran who fought at Guadalcanal, blamed the lack of North American RV travelers in Mexico on that "Black Muslim in the White House".

We checked out the Boca Beach RV Park about three miles south of La Manzanilla. This is a beautiful park with great facilities but no nearby bars and restaurants - not our kind of place. Normally, I wouldn't comment on a park where we hadn't even visited with the residents except one of the rigs in the camp ground was a huge truck camper with a fence surrounding their space. They had three pretty Persian cats guarding their grounds. I would liked to have met those folks as we have so much in common.

Thursday, February 21st we returned to Laguna del Tule RV Park in Melaque to catch up with our friends Paul and Terry and their adorable five year old granddaughter Abigail who has been wintering with them and attending a Spanish speaking pre-school the past two winters. We were able to get nice site along the lagoon overlooking all of the blooming water lilies behind our rig.

Saturday, February 23rd we returned to Maruata where we spent two nights last year hoping to observe turtles laying eggs and turtle babies making their first trip out to sea.

We renewed our acquaintance with the Chavez family who had been our hosts last year. In my last year's blog I wrote about our sympathy with their poverty. We had watched two little boys play endlessly in the sand with just two tiny plastic toy soldiers. All we had to give them were Sharpie pens and candy canes. Not knowing the ages and genders of our host family's children - before we left home this year we bought a bunch of toys for the kids and stuff for the adults. Before leaving Puerto Vallarta, we bought more toys, household items and groceries for our family's regalos (gifts).

We chose non-electronic items which do not require either batteries or power. The Chavez home does have electric lights - bare bulbs here and there - but there are no visible power outlets. Most Mexican stores do stock AAA thru C Duracell batteries (pilas) but they are exorbitantly expensive. For some reason, D batteries are very hard to find.

Additionally, our friend Greg whom we wrote about previously gave us a stack of barely used blankets, an embroidery kit and a collection of international dolls that had belonged to his step daughter. I washed the blankets and placed them in sanitary vacubags.

Though we did not have any GPS coordinates, we easily found our way back to Maruata. Senor Chavez was there to welcome us and again allowed us to park in their yard. After Senora Chavez returned from what ever activity she had been attending, their family assembled on their patio. We brought over a huge bowl of fruit. They offered to share. We said "no". Para ustedes (for you). Senora Chavez asked if I wanted my bowl back. I again said "no". She quickly took the fruit inside their home.

Later that night, we chatted as best we could with Rosa the daughter we remembered from last year and met her daughters Marianna 8 and Corina 5. There were a bunch of kids playing soccer in the street. I passed out mini Hershey bars. Apparently, some of Corina's friends missed out so later she came by with them and knocked on our camper door. Thankfully, we had bought at Costco!

Knowing how prideful Mexican people are and how pitiful our Spanish is, Ray and I came out of our camper Sunday morning had coffee and debated how to approach the gift giving. When we could put if off no longer I approached the older lady whom I now know as Senora Reynalda Chavez and told her we had poco regales para ustedes. (A few gifts for ya'll.) Was it ok? She nodded and we brought out our load of stuff: Costco's best soccer ball, a three foot plastic truck carrying 15 small race cars, a magnetic Barbie paper doll kit, a jewelry making kit, a Rubic's cube, boys and girls coloring books, crayons, several child and teen size T-shirts plus some pretty Target quality jewelry for the older girls. We gave Senor Chavez a crank flashlight.

In Puerto Vallarta, we had bought Senora Chavez a large pretty white laundry basket with grey padded handles and loaded it with Greg's blankets. I explained that the blankets were not nuevo (new) but limpia (clean). I demonstrated how to expel air from the vacubags and told her that they keep insectas (insects) out. Like before, she asked if I wanted my basket back. Again, of course, I told her no. Para su lavenderia. (For your laundry.) She gave me a big smile and thanked me profusely. Senora Chavez will have the hottest laundry basket at the stream the next time she has to pound her wash on a rock. And, yes we watched the village ladies doing just that last year.

As we sipped our coffee, we watched out of the corners of our eyes the family looking at and admiring everything. Then they took everything into their living quarters without actually opening anything. We had told Stan and Marion at the Puerto Vallarta RV Park of our gift giving plans. They gave us a slightly flattened ball. We gave this to the Chavez family along with our obviously new gifts while apologizing and explaining that this ball needed air. The kids unpackaged our new ball - tossed it around a bit - then put it back in it's package. Throughout the day we watched the kids playing with Stan and Marion's semi flat ball. Our beautiful new soccer ball was nowhere in sight.

Besides our desire to return to Maruata to bring gifts and a little excitement to the Chavez family we had hoped to observe turtles. Those of you who followed my blog last year may remember that despite the number of tracks in the sand, we could hardly see any turtle activity because it was just too dark. This year, we planned our visit to coincide with a full moon. It was light enough to see well but apparently too late in the season for much turtle egg laying activity. We did watch as one small mama turtle came ashore, struggled about fifteen feet up the sand then returned to the water. Little Corina joined us in our turtle watching and I carried her home.

The Chavez family had asked where we lived and we had told them San Jose, California. Their acknowledgement indicated that they were familiar with our home town. In addition to our GPS, we travel with a spiral bound Mexican map called Guia Roja (Red Guide). This map book also contains a map of the United States so before we left Maruata, I showed the Chavezes where San Jose is on the U.S. map. Viva? (You live there.) Si. (Yes.) Before we said goodbye to Reynalda and her husband, I wrote our names and home city, San Jose, California on a piece of paper. I asked her to write their names. By her body language and a few words I understood that she could not write. Her husband, Juantino was able to write their names. Reynalda then told me that they did not have a phone but she wanted my phone number. I gave it to her.

We shook hands and sweet little Marianna hugged me. Corina was still asleep.

As we drove out of town, we passed Rosa and her sister. Together, they were carrying a heavy bucket. Momentarily, we stopped in the street to say goodbye. They smiled broadly and waved.

We plan to revisit the Chavez's on our return as it is a convenient stop breaking up the rather grueling twelve hours between Zihuatanejo, where we now are, and Melaque - our next stop.

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Photos

All of these babies for 210 pesos ($16.00) in a restaurant.
We paid 180 pesos (about $5.60 a pound) for a kilo (approx 2.5 lbs.) of similar size fresh raw shrimp from the vendor who sells at the Mar Rosa campground in Mazatlan. Shrimp, like most commodities are priced on a world wide market. Just a little cheaper here being closer to the source.

Our server told us they were chico y chica (boy and girl) but no babies yet.
I wrote about this restaurant's owners in my last years blog.

Don't you think this little girl is going to be a beauty?
The kids played in the sand while their parents loaded sand bags into their pick-up truck. Dad has lived in Redding, Red Bluff and Modesto. Mom was really pretty too.

El Puerco One. Soon to be carnitas.
RV neighbors up the street, Jerry & Paula, told us that the pig that was penned in the Chavez backyard last year was butchered soon after we left.

El Puerco Dos or he could be called El cerdo. Same fate.
We have meat in our freezer too. It just comes anonymously packaged from the super market.

Notice how clean the family's laundry is.
Scrubbed in a stream most likely as is the practice here in Maruata.

Sunset from the new pier in Puerto Vallarta.
Chronologically out of order but I wanted to put people pictures first.

GiGi taking a nap.
I don't know how she gets that left paw upside down.

Comments

[Laura Carr]

Hi
Enjoyed catching up on your blog