Odd Job Day

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

This morning I had a few chores to do.  I had to go get 11 bottles of water.  It seems we go through a lot of water around here. Then I had to do some wiring.  Plugs are a lot different here than at home.  Part of the reason is that no one cares if the wires get hot or short out because they are all encased in concrete.  Almost impossible to start an electrical fire.  Wiring 3 plug ins together like this at home would land a person in jail!!!

3 separate plugs in one box

They had to be wired together.  Oh yes, no ground wire.

and its in

a broken plug

not in good shape

nice and new

And a new power bar

Me and the dogs were pretty much played out after all that effort.

And Max was taking it easy today after playing hard in his tent on the beach.  He was such a good boy today and we had a lot of fun with him.  

No sunset again tonight but the clouds were casting an eerie shadow on the ocean.  The wind has picked up a little and I'm wondering if we might get some rain tonight.  We will see.  Good Nite!!!

Palm Tree Trimming Day

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

Today is palm tree trimming day.  We always enjoy watching Poncho doing his magic.  The palm have immature coconuts which some times fall and they could kill someone. The fronds themselves tend to dry up and fall as well and they are heavy enough to cause serious injury.  So once every 2 years or so they have to be trimmed and it takes a special guy to do it.  Some of these palms are 50 to 60 feet tall.  First thing on the agenda was for his assistant to sharpen the machete.  That thing will cut paper!!!

Then Poncho got to work.  He has 10 trees to trim and 2 to cut down.  It will be a busy day for him.

They managed to fill the back of the little Ford Ranger.  It was right down on its haunches.

He trimmed a few fronds from the tree that gives us shade but left the best ones that would still give us shade. 

About 1 the boys stopped for lunch.  Lunch was a few nuts and some natchos and each had a big bottle of beer.

Fany and Jeff were away today and Max came to our place for a sleep over.  He is having fun with his lego and stuff and loved watching Poncho trimming the palms.

We almost got to see a sunset tonight.  Although we are missing lots of sunsets, the weather is certainly warmer than it was last winter.  I will sacrifice the sunset if that's what it takes.

We finished the evening off with some cards with Ron and Lilly out at the palapa.  Oh and I finally won!!!  That made my night.  Good Nite!!!

A Trip to the Hot Springs

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

Today we made a trip up to the hot springs up in the mountains with John and Lauren and their friends Robin and Peter and Cher and Paul. The hot springs are called Aguas Termales Nuevo Ixtlán.  Now some people question why anyone would travel to hot springs when the outside temperature is close to 30C.  The pools are in a nice shaded area and believe it or not, they feel very good on an old tired body.  The trip is 30 kms but takes just over and hour to get there up a narrow winding road.  

Along the way we pass through a little wee pueblo named Cucaracha (cockroach).  Of course the rest of the trip everyone is singing the Cucaracha song!!!

The pools are very rustic and the water is quite hot.  It comes out of the mountain just up from the pools.  Part of the visit is the mud face the girls can get.  50 pesos is all it costs so why not.

After we got back we had supper and then I headed downtown to see what was happening.  Kenia has purchased a Starlink so she has good WiFi at the Cafecito.  She also purchased a camera that she can control remotely from home.  It helps her keep in touch with what is going on.  Suzanna was running the Cafecito and Oscar was helping her.  Kenia was at home with her boyfriend but joined us by camera.  That is what I did today!!! Good Nite!!

Kenia on the camera

Oscar as handsome as ever

Suzanna with her big smile!!! She made me my Duranzo (sliced peaches) bionico.

Watching Some Curling Today

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

Up and at it this morning with a smile on my face cause today is Sunday, and Sunday is Birria day!!  So I jumped on the bike and off I went whistling my favourite tune all the way down town where the ......oh no my birria guy was not there!!  What now?  There must be someone else doing birria, so I rode around a bit and sure enough, there was a lady with a taco stand.  Yup she had some so I got a couple. They were not as good as the Birria Guy, but they were ok.  Now I could get on with my day.

Today I had decided to watch some curling from home.  The Women of the Rings Manitoba Semi-Final and Final will be played today from Rivers, Manitoba which is our home town and it is being live broadcast on You Tube.  It makes me very proud to see the first class act the Rivers Curling Club is putting on. This is not our first rodeo and every event previous has been first class as well.  Our town and surrounding area is about 2000 people, and when it comes to curling, we putting on an event that rivals most cities around.  Today I watched the semi final, which was very high scoring for that caliber of Curling but a real good game none the less.  Then I watched the final which was very well played as well.  The ice looked excellent and my old friend Resby Coutts did a bang up job of the play by play along with Jill Officer who is a former World and Olympic champion.

I caught a shot of a group of our old curling days friends watching the game and lifting a red solo cup or two or three.  They were part of the volunteer base as well I would bet.  Good job gals!!

The Peterson rink won the championship after a tough fought battle.  I'm sure they will represent Manitoba well at the Canadian Women's Scotties in Toronto in a few days.  Right after the game they had the trophy presentation.  

Resby was the MC for the presentations and my friend Les Wedderburn was there as the Host Committee Chairperson.  Les has been the Chairperson for these kinds of events in Rivers almost 20 years now.  He and I along with Resby were responsible for dreaming up a plan for Rivers to host their first Target Juniors in Rivers back in 2007.  What a success that event was.  Now I am being nostalgic!! 

Resby giving out the trophies

Les Wedderburn speaking on behalf of the host committee

Another proud moment was watching one of the advertisements during the broadcast which highlights Riverdale Municipality.  Part of the advertisement was about Rivers Provincial Park and of course Cj's Snack Shack and Mini Golf.  

Our mini golf course

The old Cj's.  We now have a new one.

Oh and our funnel cakes with ice cream

We finished off the day with a nice visit at the palapa while we watched the sunset.  Yes we got some sunset today, but only for a couple minutes.  It was a fun day.  Good Nite!!

There it is!!

The Elusive Sunset

WHERE ARE WE? La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

A quick boring day today.  A swim and a walk in the morning.  Then a little nap.  After that I finished up hooking up the new stove after installing a new gas line.  Ed gave me a hand and we had it up and running in no time.  

Out with the old

In with the new

We gathered again for sunset on the beach anticipating a good one.  The sun has been shining all day today so it looked good.

But before the sun could set, the clouds moved in and we missed another one.  Oh well, there are a lot more sunsets to watch.  Good Nite!!