Tuesday 31 December 2019

Grandkids Arrive.

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Well the big day is here.  The arrival of our daughter Kaitlyn and grand kids Grace and Maxx happens today.  They are flying into Puerto Vallarta to spend a couple weeks with us here at the park.  Sue and I headed to PV around 8:30 because although it is only 60 kms to the airport, It normally takes about and hour and a half to get there.  There is some pretty jungle driving between here and there.

Monday 30 December 2019

Miss Julies last day with us!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

It's nice to have Miss Julie around to keep life interesting.  Today she wanted to start our day our right with mimosa's all around.  She is down to one day left here in paradise before she gets on the sad plane and heads back to winter and school.  Planes from PV fly right over us here and we laughingly comment that the south bound ones flying into PV are the happy planes, and the northbound ones flying out of PV back to the land of snow are the sad planes!!!

Sunday 29 December 2019

A Big Day

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today was one of those monumental days in a retired persons life.  If you are not retired, it was one of those days that you dream of where there is absolutely nothing to do and I rocked it!!   I did nothing in the morning, I did nothing in the afternoon except play washer toss, and because I worked so hard all day, I went to burger night and had a burger so that no one had to cook or do dishes.  I didn't take any pictures of any of those things because they would bore you. (Your Welcome!)  I had one Margarita at the Corner Bar and went to bed.  Hope your day was as good as mine!!


Saturday 28 December 2019

A Trip to Guayabitos

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We are experiencing a little cloud here right now.  It actually rained a little bit and they call it a significant rain if the drops connect on the concrete.  It has been 50+ days since we had rain so I guess a couple rain days are acceptable.  Actually a little moisture will settle the dust.  The daytime temperatures are 26 to 28C in the day and they are going down to high teens at night.  What a difference it makes for sleeping.  Ok enough of my whining!!  I'm guessing you aren't even listening any more!!!

Friday 27 December 2019

A Birthday!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today is our friend Julie's Birthday.  Not Miss Julie, but Mrs. Julie!!  Today she turns just a little over 39!  Her wish was to spend some time on the beach and a whole bunch of friends showed up to make sure she didn't get any nap time there.  We had so much fun playing in the water and chatting on the beach.   Its almost impossible to have a bad beach day.

Thursday 26 December 2019

Volley Ball Tournament

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

They had an international volleyball tournament in the Park today.  There were 3 countries participating, Canada, USA, and Mexico.  Canada came out great and won against both Mexico and the USA in the round robin.  They then had to play USA in the final and USA had to beat them twice to win the title.  Canada fell fast asleep and the USA are the 2019 International La Penita RV Park Volleyball Champions.  Congratulations to our US friends on their prestigious win.


Wednesday 25 December 2019

Feliz Navidad!!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Well we had a real treat today.  Our elf Jose was off to the North Pole last night to give his report to Santa.  Somewhere along the way he managed to hook up with Lewi Logg (Logg stands for Larson, Ottenbreit, Green, and Garries) who is the elf on the shelf for our kids in Alberta.  They decided to swap stories here on the beach in Mexico and take in a bit of sun before retiring until next December.  They even brought Rosie along.  Glad they got to spend an afternoon together.  See you guys next year!!!

Tuesday 24 December 2019

Christmas Eve in Mexico

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Lots of action in the park today with all the preparations for Christmas.  Part of Christmas day is a huge Christmas turkey dinner and our friend and decorator extraordinaire has done a wonderful job of getting everyone organized to carry out this huge task.

Monday 23 December 2019

Butter Tarts for Christmas.

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We got busy and installed the 600 feet of new black pipe for the pool water heater.  We are hoping that it will help increase the pool water temperature.  With the trees cleared out and a new circulating pump on the way we should be golden!!!

Sunday 22 December 2019

A Stroll through the Town

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today we went for a little walk up town with Steve and Julie.  Didn't really have much to go for other than some coffee so it was truly just a leisurely stroll.  We toured some of the back streets just because we could.  It was a bit of a warm day and it took everything I had to keep walking.  Here is a guy all dressed up for something?

Saturday 21 December 2019

Willie, Waylon and the Boys, and Girls!!!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We are having a little trouble with the internet here.  The park has WiFi but in the Christmas season there are lots of people using it so it is almost impossible to get on.  And I have been having trouble getting on Sues hot spot because I am technically challenged.  Sue has finally intervened and now I think I will be able to post blogs again on a regular basis.  Fingers crossed.

In previous post I have mentioned that we are in the process of rebuilding the pool solar heating system and although it is of very little interest to you, I need to post some pictures to look back at for my viewing pleasure.  Glen finished the ground piping today and we started cleaning up some of the mess of pipes on the roof.

Friday 20 December 2019

And the Winner is Happy Jack!!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We started on the rebuilding of the pool solar system today.  Len, Glen, Harold, and I have figured out a plan to make the system better.  Glen has had experience with bigger pools so knows some of the stuff that we need to do.  One of the things is to move more water so we changed out one of the pipes today.  We will do more work manana!!!

Thursday 19 December 2019

Turtle Release

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Although we are close to the ocean, we haven't spent a lot of time down at the ocean.  I say down because we are perched on a rock about 100 feet above the ocean so it is quite feat for this old ticker of mine to drag us up and down the hill.  Lucky the road goes down to the beach so I can cheat and take the Jeep!!  Today we decided to spend the whole day down by the water with our friends playing and chatting and eating.  P & H and Steve & Julie joined us, and Paul came for a bit too.  We set up the gazebo and brought the BBQ to roast hot dogs.  And we had a big watermelon to consume.

Wednesday 18 December 2019

Took a Pretty Lady for Lunch

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Susan and I decided to walk to town for a few things and have a lunch date.  We trudged down the beach and enjoyed the waves breaking and crashing.  They were huge today!!  We had a couple stops to sit on the rocks and enjoy life.

Tuesday 17 December 2019

Pescado y papas fritas

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Tuesday was our last Spanish class until after Christmas.  We had a nice little group and our teacher was great.  Ivan was very fluent in Spanish and English, but today he spoke mainly Spanish to us.  It is amazing what we have learned already because although we can't really form the sentences correctly, we can understand enough words that he could communicate with us using only the Spanish we have learned.  We still have a long way to go though!!  By the way todays blog title is "fish and chips".

Monday 16 December 2019

Supper with Friends

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today H & I were approached to see if we could help with the pool and its solar heating.  They have a very primitive system of black pipe coiled and 20 x 20 black solar water panel.  The pipes are old and rotten but still circulate water and the panel needed to be put together.  Len has been struggling to keep up to the repairs and I think he welcomes some help.  It didn't take long to figure out that the biggest problem was the lack of sun.  There are a lot of palm type trees with big branches shading the panels.  We need the boys to cut them down first and see what difference it makes.  The owner of the park has asked us to submit a list of what is needed to make this system work again, knowing that the pipes are aged out and maybe some pump replacement may be needed.  We will work on a plan over the next week or so.  The pictures show the problem real well!!

Sunday 15 December 2019

Guest Entertainment

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today was another Sunday in Paradise.  No change in the weather predicted until at least New Years.  Ho Hum!!  Today a couple of people showed up in a sailboat and anchored off the beach down below.  They came up to Hamburger night and it turns out they have stayed at this park before so they knew everyone.  I love sailboats so I was quite intrigued to talk to them.  Garry and Merle were also intrigued because they used to be full time sailors as well.  While talking to them I learned they have sailed from Vancouver and will be storing the boat south of here somewhere and leaving it until next years adventure.  Why not sail it home the same way you came, I asked??  Well with the wind directions and currents, to get back to Vancouver they virtually have to sail to Hawaii, then turn towards Japan and go to a point where they can ride the North west winds back to Vancouver.  That is a lot of sailing and they only have 5 months a year to sail so that will be next years adventure I guess!!

Saturday 14 December 2019

A Moose and Some Puppies

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Well sometimes I just have to give recognition to the dogs in our lives.  One of the big galoots is Moose.  He is properly named because he is as big as a Moose!!  He belongs to our Alberta kids and has won his way into their hearts.  Moose turned 1 last week and for a treat he got to spend a night in the doggy hotel while the kids went to Edmonton for their annual pre Christmas retreat.  Here he is with his Birthday hat.  Happy Birthday Moose!!!

Friday 13 December 2019

Countdown to Christmas

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We have been recruited by Christmas.  We have a Mother Christmas in the park and her name is Judy.  Judy is one of those people who make park life interesting.  Her passion is for all things nice and pleasing and she works tirelessly to make everything as pretty as possible.  To accomplish all of this niceness she needs a little help so that is where our recruitment comes in.  Pat and Sue are involved with the planning and crafty part.  Now everyone knows how crafty I am so Judy got H and I to put some wires on what they are using for icicles.  We can handle that job!!  This is what they look like in the end.

Thursday 12 December 2019

A Birthday Party

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today was a special day in the park.  Jolynn who lead us down here in the caravan has her mother, Glenda, is staying in the park as well.  Today we celebrated her 80th Birthday with a great potluck supper.  There was food to no end and all of it tasty.  One of Glenda's daughters had planned on coming to the park for a week to visit her mom.  Without mom knowing it, a third daughter showed up to be here for her moms birthday.  It was nice for Glenda to have them here with her.  Because she is well loved in the park and has been "Mom" here for a number of years, lot of people, (65) showed up for the celebration.  Thanks for letting us share this special evening with you!!

Back row: JoLynn, Darcey, and Shell with Glenda (Mom) in the front

Wednesday 11 December 2019

Humming birds

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Had to make a quick trip downtown today so I decided to walk.  There is so much to see when you walk anywhere around here.  Some of the walk was on the beach and some was down the streets in the town. It was low tide so there was no problem walking here. At high tide the water is up to those steps.

Tuesday 10 December 2019

Working on Brownie Points

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Another great day on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.  The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze.  Breezes are our friends here because they cool us down a wee bit.   With all the Christmas preparations going on there are lots of little projects to do around the park.  Most of the time these involve the girls but today they needed some wires put on these gnarly little sticks which they are going to paint and use for icicles.  H and I voluntold to cut some wire and wrap them on the little sticks.  Judy ordered a hundred (cien) of them.  So Harold got to cutting and I got to twisting and we got them done lickety split!!

Monday 9 December 2019

Thats Good Enough!!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Now what I am going to show you in the next few pictures has nothing to do with the pleasantry of the park itself.  I need to give you a tour one day of all of the pretty RV sites that have been set up in the last month.  Some people go to a lot of work to make it feel like home and if we decide to settle down one day, we will do that too.  And we would certainly consider this park to settle in.  But what I will show you is what the norm is in this part of the country for the utilities.  For lights, you just feed in a black and white wire through any hole in the wall that you can find and run it up to a bulb that is hanging from and old screw.  No need for wire connectors or covers on the boxes where a light fixture used to be.  This country still uses the common sense factor, and they all know to keep their fingers out of the electrical stuff, even the kids.  And it works!!  Maybe we have gone way too far in the Great White North with our making rules to keep the stupid ones safe instead of relying on them to learn some common sense after getting zapped a time or two.

Sunday 8 December 2019

A Poker Walk

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Harold and I have an ongoing joke when we ask each other every morning if anyone has checked the forecast!!  We can not believe that the weather can be so consistent!!  I'm not bragging (well maybe a wee bit) and I am certainly not complaining.

Saturday 7 December 2019

Montezuma's Revenge!!

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

I won't say anymore than the following!!

'Montezuma's revenge'?

Friday 6 December 2019

A Day in the Life

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We were talking today about how we have just been doing park things because we want to get to know the people and the park itself.  It does have a lot to offer.  We do need to start spreading our wings a bit and doing some day trips to different parts of the country surrounding us.  We are on the edge of the hills here and up in hill country there are some neat places.  There are hot springs, and tequila factories and pineapple and banana groves around apparently.  We are going to check all that out fairly soon, however today we did not!!!  We just did the regular Friday things like beer can races.  They have gone to a lot of work to dress all the beer cans up and to find cans with different names on them.  They are quite adamant that each can gets to race at least one race!!

Thursday 5 December 2019

The Ginger Bread House project

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Today was market day so I headed down to see what I could find.  We needed break, sausage and fish so those were the important things.  Out the back gate of the RV park is an old cemetery.   Apparently it was for the fishing families way back when and one of the problems is that the ocean has eroded the edge of it.  Lots of the graves were relocated when the erosion first started but it seems like some of the graves are still here. Maybe there are no ancestors to move them of look after them.

Wednesday 4 December 2019

A Marriage Discussion

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

If you remember back a couple of weeks there was a motorhome fire in the park.  I am glad to report that all seems to be ok after this tragedy however the paperwork and cleanup afterwards sometimes drags out while the insurance companies decide what to do.  This has been the case for Andreas and Deb who flew down here to get everything in order for Debs mom, who was staying in the MH when the fire occurred.  It was nice to have them back in the park because they were one of the first people we met in our Mexican travels.  One of the problems was trying to get someone to clean up the remains.  There was a couple guys in there the other day and they took down the shell and loaded it all up and hauled it away.  This is all that is left now.   Still lots of work to do because there are no tires on it and the wheels are not in great shape.

Tuesday 3 December 2019

Whats Tomorrow's Forcast?

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

The weather just keeps on going forever.  This area is known as one of the most consistent weather spots in the world.  Here's what I mean!  And it just goes on for the foreseeable future.

Monday 2 December 2019

Sunsets

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

Well Pequeno Jose was outside last night trying to help out with the Christmas decorating.  I guess maybe he should be a little more careful with where he tries to string them.  Rosie almost fell off and hit the ground.

Sunday 1 December 2019

Introduction to Washer Toss

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? We are here for a while

We got introduced to a new RV park game today!!  Washer toss.  It is apparently much the same as corn hole but played with big washers.  They had a sign up sheet at the office and it was full and flowing over so I guess it is a popular activity in the park.  It takes a little skill to figure out how to throw the washer so it slides and falls in the correct hole.  You can tell that some people have played it lots in the past.   They have three lanes set up and you play with a partner at the opposite end.