Last Day at Romantic Escapes

WHERE ARE WE?  La Penita RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Towards Brownsville Texas, April 1, 2020

We had to head down to Rincon Guayabitos today to find some cream to last us for the trip.  Half and Half is something that the local Mexicans do not use so the stores only stock it while the snowbirds are around.  There are a few northerners that stay for the month of April so one store, the Mini Super Popin is one of the few stores that still stocks it.  They do advertise that they are virus friendly or I think that is what the big sign refers to!!!

Getting Ready to Move

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? La Penita RV Park, April 1, 2020

Today will be the last full day in this RV Park for this season.  Just to quell all of the rumours, yes we have made a deposit to reserve our site for this November.  We just can not turn down the absolutely perfect weather day after day, and the people in the community have drawn us back as well.  We have got to know so many people, both snowbirds and locals, and that makes us want to return again in the fall.

So this morning I grabbed a coffee and Charlie and I went out to the palapa to watch what the ocean had to offer us.  With most of the snowbirds gone, the amount of activity in the bay has dropped right off.  There are still a few fishermen out there and they usually have a wave as they go by.

Surfs Up!!!

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Heading to Brownsville, April 1, 2020

**Please forgive the crazy font background.  I don't have time to fix it right now!!

The ocean was angry again this morning but for some people it is actually inviting.  Especially if you own a surf board.  Probably 20 guys showed up all along the beach with their surf boards and headed out into the water to catch a wave.  The waves were probably 8 to 10 feet with some more like 15 feet.  The only problem was that they were not forming far enough out, so the rides were sometimes quite short.  I did manage to catch one guy at the end of his ride being pushed along by the white water.

All Washed Up

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Heading to Brownsville TX, April 1, 2020

Today was wash day for the Ponderosa.  Martin and Monica do an awesome job of washing and waxing the Ponderosa and the Jeep.  It is nice to get all the dust and salt and bat poop washed off before we head out.  We will get them to do it again next fall when we arrive back here again.

Kentucky Fried Pollo

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

The days are getting less exciting as the people really start to hunker down around here.  We ordered Kentucky Chicken tonight and I went to pick it up.  It tastes almost identical to Colonel Sanders.  We got mashed potatoes and coleslaw with it as well.  We got the 10 piece so I will have leftovers for lunch for a couple days.  I always think of the show "Breaking Bad" whenever I see a sign advertising "Pollo!!"

And They are Gone

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Our neighbours have been here for 4 days now and we have not had any social interaction with them.  They seem to be self sufficient and if they are at the pool and we go there, they just leave.  Oh well that is not a bad thing in this particular social distancing time.  They have provided some much needed cash flow for Suzanne who has had all of her reservations for the suites cancelled.

It's Mating Season

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

You know that you are bored when all you have to do is watch the Grackles mating dances.  Apparently these are local birds and will not be migrating anywhere.  They stay right in this area for the summer.  They are similar to magpies and everyone despises them.  They are noisy and rude and will eat anything.  But they are entertaining.   They do a little dance for us every day right beside our pad.  The male gets all puffy and squawks away and the female just carries on with business and ignores him.   Hmmmm  Sounds familiar!!!  And all the effort seems to be in vain because we have not witnessed any action to date!!  Familiar as well??

A New Battery

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION?  Heading toward Brownsville TX, April 1, 2020

Because of the lack of things to write about, I am just going to post every few days until we start to travel.  Our plan is still to head east on next Wednesday.  We are going to travel with Brian and JoLynn at least as far as the Texas border.  I think after that, their plan will take them in a more eastward direction and we will be meandering more northerly.

For now we are enjoying wonderful weather and deserted beaches and just trying to keep some social distancing if possible.  That is not always possible because we still have to shop and get ready to travel, but we are trying to minimize social contact doing these things as much as possible.   We are noticing that much to the disbelief of the Canadian and American people who I might add are NOT here and know nothing about what is going on, that the Mexicans are taking this thing a lot more seriously than outsiders think.  The difference is that they don't need politicians to tell them what to do, they don't need testing just to create numbers for "experts" to manipulate as they desire, they figure it out for themselves.  They will look after family first and are a strong resilient people.  They are basically saying to the world, "here hold my beer!!"  And I will put my money on the fact that they will survive and with a whole lot less stress than the rest of the world.  Just my two cents worth.

Our Exciting Lives

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

So the boredom is starting to set in just a bit.  It is funny how most human minds need the stimulation of outside sources to keep from being bored.  2 people can only talk about so many things in a day before they either run out of intelligent things to say, or disagree on something and self isolate. lol.  We have become slaves of social media and that is not always a good thing.  One starts to doubt if the decisions they have made are the right ones for them and thats when you have to press the X and reboot!!  We are still in a pretty good place as far as I can figure.
The new people who moved in for a few days have pretty well keep to themselves.  When they walk by and you say good morning they just keep on walking.  I should go find out where they are from!!!  Not very talkative!!  Except for one guy to whom I said  "Its a beautiful morning isn't it?"  I knew I had a problem when he responded "Same to you!"  Lol  At least he responded.  None of the guys must be very well endowed because all I ever hear them say is "Wee, wee"!  lol.

Thanks Sergio!

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Just me and Charlie on the beach.  He sure likes it here because he doesn't have to wear his socks.  The sand is soft and doesn't hurt his feet and I think the salt is good for them.  His pads are actually starting to get hard again like a dogs pads should be.  He runs along exploring and wagging his tail.  It makes me feel good to see him having a good time.   He eats some marginal things on the beach, but oh well, it could be worse.

More of the Same

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

These days there is lots of sitting going on.  We are staying around the Ponderosa more and enjoying sitting with our feet up.  Even the Virus is starting to get old hat and facebook has about run its course on the subject.  I even had time for a siesta today on the deck, and the nice thing is that there is no one around to disturb me.  Can't wish for more than that.

Pizza time

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Today was a do nothing day.  The beach is getting really empty now and apparently will stay like that.  The big Semana Santa which is the equivalent of our Easter is scheduled for April 12 but we are hearing that the celebrations will all be cancelled.  The RV Park where we were staying in normally has 1500 Mexicans come for the week and Carole told us last night that this year they have cancelled it.  Mexico is doing what they have to do to keep themselves safe.

Different ways to Fish

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION?  Head for the USA April 1, 2020

Charlie and I took a walk down to the main fishing boat area near the Malecon.  One of the boats had just come in from fishing and had lots of Dorado on board.  It was interesting to watch them filet them and I asked why they did it in the sand rather than on a table.  The guy told me if you put sand on the fish it makes it easier to hold on to.  That makes sense and I guess the sand gets rinsed off in the ocean before going in their buckets.

A Day with Friends

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

With the great exodus of Snowbirds happening, things are starting to become quite quiet around here.  To liven things up our friends Steve and Julie posted a picture of something they came across on the road today in Northern Mexico.   You really have to take a second look at this one don't you!!  Lots of people were fooled until you start to think about the logistics of tying down a live elephant and Rhino!!!

Supper with P & H before they leave

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

I always like to walk on the beach here because there is generally something to see.  Lots of fishermen doing what they do.  Its about a 20 minute round trip to go down and watch the fishermen and come back.  Charlie and I normally do it in the morning.  Then we come back and have our coffee while watching the ocean.

Where did they Go?

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

I was sent down town today to stock up on some essentials in case we need them.  We are certainly going to be in good shape if we have to isolate for a few days.  Here was the list Sue sent me!!

Dancing the Night Away

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Another warm day spent sitting in the shade and swimming in the pool  It is so nice to just jump in and cool off.  The water is about 28C so is quite nice.  In the afternoon, Joel and Louise from the other RV park had invited us to come play washer toss with everyone.  We headed up there about 3 in the afternoon and had a great time with everyone losing at washer toss.

We lost our Cool!!!

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Well the weather is absolutely gorgeous here right now.  Lots of sun and heat and guess what happens?  Yep the AC/Heater motor goes on the fritz in the car.  I knew it was getting bad because it would grind sometimes but I am not one to spend money on a new one until the old one is absolutely no good.  Well the time has come!!

The Corona Plan

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Today is a little journal entry on our plans for action regarding the Corona Virus.  You may or may not agree with anything I say but hey, there is a like and dislike button on the bottom and a scroll bar on the side!!!

Maybe because of our decisions, our kids will have this to look back on to see where we went wrong.  I would hope things never get that bad and we hope that our 60 years of making mostly good decisions will continue in this case.   I caution you that this is my rendition of our actions and Sue is somewhat different in her thoughts sometimes, but she also respects my judgement in a lot of things and I think we are on the same page right now.  I do agree with how Canada and the US are handling this right now by keeping people separated to slow down the spread and shutting off the pipeline of travellers from high risk countries.  Even coastal Mexico is starting to tighten things up, but remember this is tourist country and they will risk a little more to get those tourist dollars.  The real threat in my mind is not so much the virus killing people, but rather the amount of people who could have it at the same time.  I do feel sorry for our health care providers who will be overworked and will be asked to put themselves and their families in harms way for us.  We need to stop the spread as quickly as possible and the way to do it is stay put.

Look up!!

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Most of our day today was spent by the ocean or in the pool.  Sergio was busy cleaning it all up for us.  He keeps it just sparkling clean. I got a picture of him just as a guy in an ultra light flew over.  I'm not sure where he lands and takes off but he flies along the beach almost every day.

Supper Out Again

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Our time in Paradise is slowly winding down and many of the people who we shared our winter with are going to pack up and head north.  A lot of people down here are from BC and Alberta so the snow is going away there and the temperatures are starting to rise.  That is true with John and Renee and Brian and Sylvia who were gracious enough to invite us out with them to Hindi and Jamies on the hill for drinks and supper.  The restaurant overlooks Jaltemba Bay and the towns of La Penita and Guayabitos.  Supper time is popular there because you get a great sunset.

Albercas Aztecas Aztec Pools

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

A few days ago we met some great people who are staying in the suites here.  They are from Oregon and are down here on a working holiday.  They told us about a business venture they are involved in in a town close by.  Pat and Wendy, and Scott and Katy told us a little bit about their venture.  Katy has partnered with a guy she knows by the name of Alberto, who is from the little town of La Puerta de la Lima which is just up the road from La Penita about 15 minutes.  They are building a little tourist area with 3 pools that are fed from some springs running out of the mountains.  It is still in the construction stage, but the pools are finished to the point where they are accepting customers.  20 pesos a day will let you use the palapa's and pools all you want.  Great place to spend an afternoon just relaxing.

Just another Day

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020 A little bit of action on the Beach this morning from the fishermen. They caught a few fish and that always makes for some excitement on the beach. Nobody ever works too hard but everyone pitches in at the right times. These guys had just dragged the boat up on the beach out of the tides reach.

A Stay Home day

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Sometimes we have to poke ourselves to see if all of this is real or only a dream.  We have to realize that we are not really on a vacation, but rather we are living in Mexico for a few months.  We have the opportunity to just sit on the beach and watch a lot of interesting things like our fisherman friends. Today they were doing a little net fishing right out in front of me.  The first part is making the plan.  They stand around their little boat for a while and then pack a net in a tub.  All the time they are passing a joint around.   I guess they figure they may as well be smiling while they fish.

Waffle night

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Had another peaceful day in Paradise today.  Lots of sitting and maybe a small nap.  Pat and Harold came over in the afternoon and we had a nice visit.

Another ATV trip

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Our friends Jolynn and Brian have organized a ATV ride today for a bunch of people.  Pat and Harold and Sue and I don't have ATV's so we rented 2 for the day from Dale at Fun in the Sun ATV Rentals.  He rents and organizes tours as well and is a great guy.  This is our second rental from him and we would highly recommend him.  He has some great deals on rentals and our unit cost us 2300 pesos for the day.  Compare that to a rental in California or Manitoba for that matter and it is a good price.  If you are around and want something interesting to do for a day, give him a call.  He does some great tours as well.

A Waffle by Kenia

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

This morning was just a sit on the beach and drink coffee kinda morning.  Most mornings I walk to town which is about 10 minutes and get what we need for the day.  For the last week or so we have been eating out so supplies were not that important.  So on those mornings I just sit and watch the world go by.  Our resident fisherman was going out to check his nets this morning so I took a few shots of him hitting the waves.  The boat is small but still weighs quite a bit so he has to use the waves to get him off the beach.  He just stands there patiently until the right wave comes along.

A Long walk on the Beach

WHERE ARE WE? Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico                               NEXT DESTINATION? Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Sue and I decided to take a walk on the beach all the way to the far end of Rincon de Guayabitos.  I think it is about 3 or 4 miles.  We just wanted to wander along slowly and take in the sights.  The first part of the journey is through La Penita which is a traditional type of town.  They were doing some building on the road we walked on.  Her is how they get concrete from the ground to the 3rd floor.  See the metal hooks they grab the pail with from the guy on the floor below!!  No one complains that it is too much work, they just find a good song to sing and off to work they go.  The building may get finished this year or next or the year after.  Not important.

A Good catch for the Fishermen

WHERE ARE WE?  Romantic Escapes RV Park, La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico
NEXT DESTINATION?  Guadalajara, Mexico April 1, 2020

Well I guess I will have to start getting up earlier again because this morning by the time I got down to the palapa, our local fisherman had been out and came back in with a big catch.  He apparently had over 2 coolers full of nice fish that he had caught as well as some sting rays.  He was beaming from ear to ear because I'm sure the catch is worth a lot of peso's to him.

A Night out with Friends

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

Today Kenia was coming to our house for a swim and her and Sue were going to work on a menu for her new business called Mini Pop by Kenia.  She needs something she can show to her customers that they can order off of.  So about 1 pm I walked over to her house to get her.  Now she doesn't need an escort but I sure did need the exercise.  It is less than a half mile to her house from here and the walk is scenic.  She says she has been doing good with her business so far.

Dive Fishing

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

For some reason today the pelicans were on a feeding frenzy right out in front of our park.   There were 30 or 40 of them flying and then diving.  Almost every time they would swallow something but we never saw anything.  We are betting it was very small minnows or bait fish.  I took a few pictures of them when they dive.  They sometimes dive way under the water to get their fish.  They continued doing this for probably an hour or more.