A Walk to Town

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

Kinda spent the day doing nothing.  Changed out my grey water hose to a longer one so I can now dump grey water anytime I want..(in the sewer of course!!  What were you thinking?)  I bet your glad I shared that with you.

It was about 27C but the humidity was high again today, but I wanted some fruit and veggies so I walked into town on the beach.  It is about a mile one way to the Malecon and thats where I get on the Avenida which is the main drag in town.  Want a quick Spanish lesson??  The V in Avenida is pronounced B, the E is Eh, the I is Ee and the A is Ahh. and the D is pronounced like a soft TH.  To the untrained ear th still sounds like a D because of the way their tongue rolls.  Now say it again  Abeneedah.  (How did I do Dave)??  You are now practically fluent in Spanish!!!

A Relaxing Massage

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

Today was Spanish class and we really enjoyed it again.  I think this will be a real helpful tool in learning the language enough to communicate what our basic needs are.  It will be helpful also in figuring out what people are saying in a variety of situations.   Spanish will be helpful in a lot of situations for us because we have a lot of Mexican immigrant workers around our area back home and they come to our park for picnics etc.  Also knowing Spanish is very useful in South central and South Western USA.  We don't for a minute believe that we will become fluent, however we are going to do the best we can.

Later in the morning I had a massage booked with the local therapist Rebecca.  I have never had a massage in my life so today was gonna be good.  I was impressed.   Rebecca worked on some really sore areas and was very slow and methodical.  Sue asked if she played soothing music and I said when you have the sound of the ocean crashing on the rocks below you, who needs music.  It is a very soothing venue for massages.  Thanks Rebecca!!  If you are in La Penita, look her up.

Thanksgiving Supper

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

Well another day has come and gone.  It is the American Thanksgiving today and in honor of our Merican friends we celebrate again!!   Our Canadian Thanksgiving was way back in early October but who is going to turn down two turkey dinners.

It is continuing to be hot and humid here.  The temperatures are what we want but the humidity has been anywhere from 85 to 95 percent.  We are told that the Santa Anna winds are coming but no one knows quite when.   When they do come apparently they whisk the humidity out to sea and it doesn't come back until the next rainy season in the summer.  In the meantime, all we can do is wait here in paradise!!!

A Brave Thing for a Grampa to Do!!

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

Today was back to being hot and humid.   I HAD to look at our 12 volt electrical problem because the power quit altogether and our fridge, although running on 110 volt power requires 12v to light up the front display.  Now I'm not sure if the fridge shuts off if it doesn't have 12 volt or just doesn't light up.  I never thought to check.  Oh well!!   It wasn't hard to figure out the problem once I got into the battery compartment.  Yup a wire corroded right off.  It is funny how something that simple can make you think the whole world is coming to and end when the problem first occurs.  Of course the digital display inside read good because it is hooked to a different battery post, and the actual batteries were in good shape and fully charged, just no power going to the motorhome.  I first envisioned spending big money on batteries and a converter. And of course the problem of getting them down here to Mexico!!  Nope, that stress was not needed.  I dodged a bullet this time.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!

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

Well we put it out there for all of you to respond to my question...what should we name our elf on the shelf.  We got lots of good responses however one got our attention.  We thought it was a good one because it goes with the Ponderosa theme.  DRUM ROLL...…..  and the winner is..... I'm so excited... oh dear my hand got stuck in the draw drum....  oh here it is....  We have a winner!!   Little Joe or Little Jose!!!  Our friend Angie came up with it and with her permission we are going to change it a wee bit and make it all Spanish....."Pequeno Jose" which is still Little Joe in English and for all my gringo friends it sounds like "pekenio hoseh".  Thanks for all the great ideas everyone.

Help us Name our Elf on the Shelf!!

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

Can you believe it?  Where has the time gone.  Christmas is creeping up on us real fast.  It is really difficult to get in the Christmas spirit when it is 30C out every day.  This will be our 4th warm Christmas and I think it will be one of the better ones because there will actually be celebrations in the park to be part of.  We will see how it all plays out!

Grey Cup in Mexico

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

Another day in Mexico has been successfully put in the history books.  Today we saw a little bit of football history made as well.  Although I am not an avid football fan, I must say that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are my team if there is cheering going on.  Today was Grey Cup Day from Calgary with the Blue Bombers facing the Hamilton Tiger Cats for the cup.  Winnipeg has not won the Grey Cup in 29 years and Hamilton has been 20 years.  Big game for both teams!!   Winnipeg definitely came to win and win they did.  Good for them.

Christmas Pictures and Mexican Accident

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

We decided that today would be a beach day so after lunch we all loaded up and headed down to the beach.  The beach is quite a ways below us so we cheat and take the jeep down so we don't have to climb the hill when we are done.  Beautiful day with a bit of overcast, just perfect for us.

Off to the Races

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

Had a 9am haircut booked for this morning.  A local hairdresser comes to the park and you have to sign up ahead of time.  Then you just show up when you think it might be your turn.  It seems to work pretty good.  I was a bit early so I got to sit on the deck and enjoy the view.  Where else could you have this view while having a haircut?  She was done lickety split and did not a bad job I think.

Catch up Day

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

Nothing much happened today so I will fill you in on some things that happened in the last week.  Oh yes, today was market day in La Penita and the streets are starting to get busier as the vacationers and snowbirds start to arrive in full force.  La Penita is one of the bigger markets in this area.

Revolution Day Parade

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

We decided to take in the Revolution day parade in downtown La Penita.  We walked with Pat and Harold down town for the 9 am start.  Although today is not a holiday there is great celebration in the town of the day when Mexico basically reverted from an authoritarian type rule, to a Democracy which is still the form of rule today.  Steve and Julie joined us a little later.  Lots of people lined the main street for the parade.

Attacking the Honey Do list

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

So after yesterdays story about Manana was finished and I had hit the send button, up drove a truck with a couple guys in it.  It was Alonso the AC guy!!  He must have been reading my mind.  Anyway he hops out and starts telling me that he can only do automotive AC but he has a friend who can do the roof AC's.  I ask him how much and he says 500 peso's for the automotive AC and I immediately think that is way too much.  Then I shake my head and realize that is only about $35 CND.  I couldn't get a mechanic to answer the phone for $35 bucks back home.  (Sorry Shane).  So he goes to work and within a minute of me starting the MH and him pumping Freon, we have nice cold air coming from the vents.  Fixed!!!   Gracious Alonso!!  I asked him when his friend might come and he said Manana with a sly smile. Here we go again!!  LOL  So I went and had a nap.

A Walk to the Market

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

Mexico is for the most part a simple place.  The slow pace tends to run off on us Gringo's too, not that I am a speedy fellow to start out with.  The lack of stress is good for everyone, especially old people like me.  Manana is still the operative word around here.

I tried to give the Wikipedia definition of Manana in a previous post.  It means "an unspecified time in the future".  After experiencing some manana, I think I can give you a better explanation today.   One of the things I need done is a recharge on my 3 AC units and in Mexico, local shops can still do that, unlike back in Canada.  If you read my previous post about this you would remember that I first talked to Antonio at the Park Office about finding me an AC guy a week ago last Friday.  At that time he told me he would contact Alonso the AC guy but probably not until Monday because Alonso didn't work on weekends.  So Monday Antonio tells me that Alonso "should" be here Tuesday around 9.  Tuesday came and went, and Wednesday, and Thursday I went to see Antonio about it.  He tried calling but Alonso didn't answer.  Apparently Alonso was not feeling good so took the day off and because last weekend was Revolution Day holiday, he took Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday off too.  They love to have family time and that is great.  So Antonio said he will call on Tuesday to see when he will be here.  Now, I am in no real hurry to have this done either so manana is ok with me too, but I shared this to let you know how that word works!!!  And there may be more manana before we get this project done!!

A Walk on the Beach

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

Another normal day around here.  We play pool volleyball in the morning and I must admit it is refreshing and gets you moving.  It is a move towards a routine, which is something I said I didn't want to get into.  Sometimes a little change is not a bad thing and if it makes a person smile. what the heck!!  We decided to take a little walk after lunch just to see some sites so P & H and I headed downtown.  There are so many things to see that we don't see at home.  Right out our back gate is a wide open area that seems to be an area where people gather to do whatever they might do if you get my drift.  Probably not a good place to be when the sun goes down.

Building Things

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    We are here for a while

One of the problems we have in our spot in La Penita is the strength of our cell phone signal in the particular spot we are in.  It is good in the morning but by evening it dwindles to the point where streaming is no longer possible.  Now remember that our only source of TV on the road is from the internet.  We do not have satellite TV because we were too cheap to pay for it.   So a few days ago I tried to reposition our cell signal booster from the front to the back of the Ponderosa in an effort to get a better signal.  The frustrating thing is that the cell tower is only about a half mile from us but there is some jungle between us.  We thought that changing the antenna position may catch some signal coming through a hole in the trees.  Nope!!  We have discovered that we get a good enough signal in the night to download the shows we want to watch the next day so we set up to do that now. A bit of a pain but it works.

Some Beach time

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    We are here for a while

We didn't do much of anything today.  Harold and I went down town and bought some fresh fruit to nibble on and I picked up some antibiotics for Charlie who has some joint swelling again.  He has learned how to keep cool and comfortable when it is hot outside.  Sues little fan becomes his personal air conditioner.

A Walk through the Town

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    We are here for a while

We decided to take a walk downtown La Penita today.  The market was on and we just wanted a change of scenery.  Sue has never been out the back gate of the RV Park which puts you right on a La Penita street.  I know it looks like we are coming out from and underground tunnel but there is actually a hill right behind the gate that you have to descend or climb bases on whether you are coming or going.

Spiders? Who cares. We see them all the time.

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    We are here for a while.

It was mentioned that everyone still needs to know where we are every day even though we will not be moving for a while.  I agree, so have put the header up again, if only for future reference.

We were over by the pool area this morning looking at some things that need to be done to prepare for burger nights on Sunday.  I happened to look down by the corner of the pool and there was another tarantula.  It seems there are quite a few around here and no one gets excited about them.  It was great this time because everyone got to see him/her before the boys scooped him up and put him back in the jungle.  Even Sue got to have a good close up look.  Actually they are quite pretty to look at and because they are quite big, (the size of the palm of your hand) you don't really associate it with a spider!!  One of the staff stood by patiently with a broom and a bottle while we all had a look.

A Little Scare Today but all is ok

P & H decided to get their rig washed today.  Although it looked pretty good already, there was some dust and road grime on it.  It is a good thing to get some wax on them when we are near the salty ocean.  We haven't really noticed those salty mists yet, but I'm sure the salt is hanging in the humid air.   His 8 am appointment turned into an 8:30 start.   At least it is better than my 9 am AC appointment which never happened.  Manana (pronounced Menyana) is a neat Spanish word which means tomorrow or as Wikipedia further defines as "an unspecified time in the future"!!!  My dear mother in law used to call it a "Manitoba minute" because she would ask for something and I would say "in a minute" which could be defined the same was as Manana!!!

A Couple Things to Remember

Today was Remembrance Day for us.  Although there is nothing going on in Mexico for the day, we still took a little time to remember the sacrifice our soldiers made a long time ago so that we can have the freedoms we have today.  One of things we need to do in future is make sure we buy a poppy before we leave Canada so we can wear it with pride anywhere we are.

Good Time with new Friends

Another warm day in Paradise.   We are reminded everyday that it will be cooler in a short while, but for now we are roasting.  I must admit it is more bearable as we climatize but the humidity gets us.  We played pool volleyball this morning with a lot of people who we have met in the park.  Its fun to play with not a lot of rules and lots of people on each side.  The object of the game is to laugh lots and that we did.  We worked up an appetite and decided to have breakfast at Cecies.  We are gonna have to cut back on the eating out, not because of the cost, but rather because of the fattening factor.

Rig wash day

Today was wash day for the Ponderosa.  There is a company (Car Wash Mobile) that does most of the rig washing in the park and we booked them a week or so ago for 8 am Mexico time.   So about 8:45 they showed up ready to go to work.  It is interesting to see how these businesses work because the van showed up and out got a guy and two girls and 3 kids and 2 dogs.  No need for day care or doggie kennels down here.  Just bring them along!!

Simple things in Life

Over the course of time we have been told a lot of stories of Mexico mainly by people who have never been here, or have been secluded in all inclusives, and only get out of the gate on an organized tour.  Now don't get me wrong, that is great, but you don't get to see some of the behind scenes.  Some of the stories are about how you can't buy anything in Mexico other than fruit and vegetables and trinkets.  Well I plan on writing a whole blog on all of the stuff that they have here in the local home building and hardware stores.  They have a lot of stuff.  Now saying that, there are some things that are really hard to get because the Mexican people just don't use them.  One of those things is coffee cream especially Half and Half.  The last time we saw Half and Half was in San Carlos early in our journey.   It was at Walmart.  Since then we have not been able to find it anywhere.  Sue has tried Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart, and we have tried a lot of the local stores to no avail.  Yesterday when I went over to our little onsite restaurant, Cecie was pouring Half and Half into someone's coffee.  She says she will find me some!!  Problem solved!!  You can always find someone who will get what you need down here, but it may have a slightly inflated cost!!  I'm good with that.  Now I can enjoy my coffee again.  Oh by the way they have the best coffee down here!!

A Couple of Projects

Because we are some of the early arrivals here at the park, there are some things that need to be done to get ready for the crowds.  Jolynn and Brian who lead us down here, are very involved in the activities of the park so there are lots of things to do to help them out.  Steve and Julie are involved as well and Steve set up a beach clean up for this morning.  Our part of beach is sort of secluded from the rest by the rock that the park is situated on so park people are the only ones that use this beach.  There is lots of debris that washes up over the summer and a fair bit of drift wood so we cleaned that all up.  We had a dozen people show up which made the job go quickly.  Thanks everyone!!|

Shopping Day for the Girls

Today the girls (Pat & Sue) decided to drive into Puerta Vallarta to do some shopping.  It is a little over and hour from here to the Costco there down some mountain roads.  It is only about 60 kilometers but is a slower road because if you get behind a slow truck or something, you are stuck there because there are not many places for a cautious Canadian to pass.  The Mexican use the 6 car length rule kinda like us except they use it to judge if it is safe to pass.  If there are 6 car lengths between them and the oncoming traffic then they go for it.   Also there is the rule of "out of sight out of mind" which means if you can't see around the curve ahead, go ahead and pass!!!  Scary to watch them.   Anyhow the girls hadn't been gone 10 minutes and Harold and I headed over to Cecies for breakfast.  Nice egg wraps with some fruit.  Harold had what they call a Canadian breakfast which is good old bacon and eggs.

Our Mexico Trip costs

As promised, I will give you a little breakdown of the costs we have incurred to get from the USA border to Mexico.  I am not including food or fuel but rather the extra costs of the trip.  There are lots of things that have to be purchased to legally travel in Mexico either online before hand or right at the border.

Laundry Day and a little walk

Today we are starting to put our site in order and get set up to live here for a while.  We paid the rent today which is not cheap by any means but that is the price we are prepared to pay to check out the area and get some warm weather.  9800 peso's for a month which includes full hookups but only 20 amp service for electric.  Hey we are by the ocean and 20 steps from the pool.  They have laundry service here as well and a local laundry service picks up your bag in the morning at the office, and by 7 pm it is washed and folded and back on your doorstep.  We had 2 big bags and it cost us 185 pesos.  I doubt we could do it for that in a lavandaria!

A Trip Map of our travels

So just a quick recap on our trip this year so far.  We left home on October 17th and headed south through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and into Arizona.  It you look at the map you can see that it would have been a lot closer to just go down to Laredo or Brownsville Texas and cross into Mexico.   Our trip was almost 5000 kilometers because we deviated and drove the extra miles so we could meet up with a caravan who were heading south.  We are very happy that we did.  We have made some great new friends and have a kind of heads up here in the park because we already know people from here.  I am going to devote one blog post to the actual costs etc involved because we travelled like "Gringo's".   There are lots of cheaper ways to travel Mexico, but that is a different story.  For the first trip we are prepared to pay the piper, and there are lots of pipers in Mexico if you travel the toll roads and visit the tourist places.  Here is the map of our trip.

Our First Day in Paradise!! Hot Hot Hot!!

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    We are here for 3 months

We just relaxed today and checked out the park.  The swimming pool will be the highlight for a few days because it will take us a while to get used to the sun and heat every day.  Sorry to my northern folks who are about to endure another winter, but for the first couple weeks it will be like what you endure when you come to Mexico for your annual vacation.  We will be red for a while before the tan sets in and we will be sweaty and hot because this park does not have sufficient power for AC.   But we will be living in Mexico for the next 3 months and that is something not a lot of people can boast.  We are thankful for the opportunity to be here.  Here is some scenery from the palapa where we can sit.  It is up on a hill about 100 feet above the ocean below.

Our Last Leg of the Journey to La Penita Mexico

WHERE ARE WE?          La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico

NEXT DESTINATION?    Here for 3 months

We were up at 6 am with the intention of leaving at 7 am.  Leonard and Judith have agreed to lead us to a Pemix station a piece down the road where we can get fuel.  The rest of the caravan had unhooked their trucks in the park so they had fueled up over the course of the last 3 days.  It all worked out well and we were ready and fueled by the time the rest of the caravan arrived.  This was our route for today.