Tenacatita is so tempting - cont'd

Tenacatita, Jalisco - continued

March 3 - 10 , 2009

Hollis spent hours hunting, finding, catching and releasing baby eels. No, we aren't taking one home for a pet!

Several hermit crabs made it home too but always escaped during the night.

The bay is full of stingrays that often can be viewed right from shore. This one Hollis found dried up on the beach. While we were thee two people were stung by these creatures.  ouch!

Another specimen from the sea that somehow met it's demise.  If there is something dead and smelly on the beach our boys will find it and bring it home like a treasure.

Not a great picture of the eel Remy caught but you'll have to take our word for it, it was big! We cooked it up for a yummy dinner that night- yum.

Tenacatita is so tempting

Tenacatita, Jalisco                        March 3 - 10 2009

We had visited this beautiful collection of 3 bays a few days ago with new friends, Terry and Koosji. There were about 8 RV's of varying descriptions set up along the coral  beach just steps away from the crystal blue waters where people in the know come to sightsee underwater  for the day. Remy and I both looked at each other with wide grins  knowing our plans to head south from Melaque would have to be put on hold so we could return to Tenacatita and camp on the free beach.

 Despite the  handpainted  sign saying there was "NO VACANCY" we arrived 3 days later full of water, food and libations ready for at least a week of this place that looked so heavenly to us. We were happy to discover that the primo spot on one of two concrete pads (concrete is way easier than sand when traveling with children) had just been vacated and the French couple, Paula and Serge were happy to share some of
their space with us.

The first photo is of the sunrise from our campervan. I would wake early each morning to roll out  my yoga mat to greet the sun as it rose over the mountains across the bay. It was cool then so exercise was a pleasure. The second photo was taken several hours later. You can see a small palapa shack behind the van. That is where Chuy (- pronounced "Chewey") the "keeper of the coral" stays during the day . He is the slight fellow in the 3rd picture and his companion- Tequila. Tequila rides in a plastic crate behind Chuy as they blast through town where Chuy sleeps if he hasn't had too

 much tequila...... the drink. Chuy has taken it upon himself to protect the coral by blasting his red whistle at anyone he sees walking on it or disturbing the surrounding beauty in any way. I'll bet he weighs less than 90 lbs but he blows that whistle  with great authority- people move! Chuy has built and maintains three outhouses for the campers and he picks up garbage left by the snorkeling  daytrippers.  Even though camping is essentially free on this beach there is an unwritten expectation that Chuy will receive M$50/ day (about $5) from each camper for his services.

We became fast friends with this man 
thanks to Remy giving him a Calgary Police shoulder patch. Turns out the French guy, Serge, was a police officer with the Surete de Quebec and had a patch for Chuy as well. He pinned one to each shoulder and walked very proud around the beach, elbows bent, leaning into his walk, trying to make himself look muscular and powerful with his new bling.

Most of our friends and family know of Frank, our neighbor in Inglewood who just sort of looks out for everyone and we all help him out in whatever way he needs. Well, Chuy was our Mexican Frank and in fact we have met several Mexican Franks in our travels. We are so lucky!

In all the books I read about travel in Mexico and of all the dreaming we did about the great places we would see I never, ever imagined it would get as good as Tenacatita. The intimate snorkeling bay where we stayed was just steps away from another beach where we would retire to each night to watch the sunset over the Pacific. The third bay was about a 10 minute walk over the rocks to the long flat beach in town ringed with restaurants , palapas and hammocks. You can see a photo I posted  of Bowen and me walking on this flat beach in the blog from Melaque. Most days we would take long walks on this beach and watch the various wildlife in action. One day Liz and her new friend Michelle watched a small pod of whales at play for at least 1/2 hour. Manta rays jumping out of the water gave us quite a show as well.

-Liz

So Tenacatita was our second time being truly off the grid in Mexico. Even the town itself rolled up the sidewalks at sunset, mostly leaving only the residents of the beach to watch over things. Hollis discovered that the night time beach belongs to the ants, who carve amazing roadways across the detritus of the beach to gain access to their food sources. The hermit crabs come out as well to scavenge what the day time users of the beach have left behind. Hollis tried to make pets of three different hermit crabs, all of whom eventually managed to make their way to freedom.

The beach residents were a tight community. Mas, a retired school teacher from Edmonton, is the resident father figure who lights a fire every night and gives others lifts into town for groceries. He lent us a solar panel to recharge our auxiliary battery every day which allowed us to light our van, pump our water and let the boys watch movies while we were on the beach. He also kept the boys in marshmallows while we were there and even gave them a bag for the road when we left. A large percentage of the community was from Alberta, oddly enough, with representation from Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Calgary, Cochrane and Pincher Creek! One couple, Tina and Bill own a lot on 8 ave in Inglewood and are planning on building a house there. Apparently we had to come all the way to Mexico to meet them. They are van campers too!

The incredible amount of underwater life made snorkelers of us all. Bowen and Hollis perfected their diving technique and learned a lot about the rays and how they sting (no first hand experience, luckily, though others were not so lucky). We had just parked on the beach and Liz and Remy were setting up camp when Hollis made himself scarce. The next thing we heard was "I got one!" and there was Hollis standing at the beach with a fish on the end of his home made spear. We were torn between pride that he had managed to actually spear a fish and concern that the bay we were camped in was some sort of marine preserve (it certainly ought to be). A trophy photo was taken and then Hollis was quickly hustled off the beach with his prey. Some drunken Canadian know-it-all came over and told us that we were risking time in a Mexican jail for fishing in a preserve, which certainly tainted the experience for all of us. Remy made some discrete enquiries of Chuy and found out that the area has no official designation and that fishing is not illegal, though out of consideration to other underwater tourists it is somewhat discouraged. The fish was delicious, by the way.

Armed with that knowledge, Remy set out from the neighbouring beach with his own spear the next day. At a depth of about 12 ft he engaged a 2 ft long moray eel. Talk about feeling out of your element! The ferocity with which that creature fought was redoubtable! Remy has a whole new respect for the large eels and now knows why most fishermen tackle them with spear guns- some stand off capability is appreciated after you've had one at arms length. Liz performed some remarkable feat of alchemy and marinated the beast in a sauce of her own device before we grilled it. It was delicious, too.

Tenacatita is a gem, known only to a few people. The beach we camped on, however, is located between two pieces of privately owned land, the owner of which threatens occasionally to deny access. It is possible that this may be that last season that people will be able to camp on the beach. That would be a shame, as it would deny Chuy his livelihood and it appears that the Norteamericanos who return to the beach year after year take the best care of anyone (the usual Mexican attitudes toward the country side apply here as elsewhere- plastic and beer bottles everywhere, more work for Chuy). We feel privileged that we had the opportunity to partake of this Pacific paradise when we did. We made more friends while we were there and overcame a few challenges (snorkeling with big fish for the boys, showering outside for Remy). Surely a highlight in a trip that has already provided us with so many special memories already.

**Photos for Remy's part of the blog will be posted at the beginning of the next blog. We seem to be having troubles with the editing on this website.

-Remy

Me Like-a Melaque

Melaque cont'd                                       Feb 21 - March 3, 2009

Well, you have heard of Melaque from the perspective of Liz. Now it is time for the boys' eye view!

The first thing we discovered was the surf. The north end of the bay is known as "chicken beach" for the simple reason that the beach has a shallow cline and the waves are gentle. About 100 metres north of the RV park, though, the beach steepens considerably and so increases the height of the surf. The consequence of this was that we had a hard time getting Hollis and Bowen out of the surf. They gained the respect of many other people on the beach for their antics in the surf. They tirelessly let the big waves crash into them, sometimes with with spectacular (and painful) results. At the end of the day, both boys had sand literally pounded into every orifice of heir bodies, which would slowly trickle out as they dried all over the van.

It was known that the north end of the bay offered some snorkeling potential, so Remy outfitted himself with a "Hawaiiana" sling spear. This is a simple underwater hunting implement consisting of an aluminum pole with a trident at one end and a rubber sling at the other used to propel the sling forward at high speed (but at short ranges). Hollis was also eager to do some underwater hunting, so a quick search of the neighbourhood dug up some material to improvise another sling spear. The bamboo handle from a discarded broom in a garbage can was mated with a couple of steel tent pegs and some surgical rubber Remy had brought for precisely this purpose to create the Hawaiiana Mark I. So equipped, Remy, Hollis and Bowen went out with all the newly purchased snorkeling gear. In all, Remy and Hollis made three forays into the water in search of the "big one", but the conditions were always super murky and we were plagued by tiny jelly fish or some other such creature that gave us frequent stings. Not an auspicious start to things, but Hollis persevered remarkably.

Th other thing that tortured Remy was the fact that fisherman were catching 10 lb yellowfin tuna from the beach. With careful observation, Remy was able to rig up and master the use of a hand casting line. It wasn't till the end, after having tried various types of bait and lures, catching only a juvenile pufferfish and a few small crabs, that he learned that the most effective bait is the live sardines that the fishermen were catching with their nets cast from the beach. Oh well, a bad day's fishing is better than a good day at work.

We kept our promise to the boys and rented a quad. Originally we were going to re-trace the bicycle route from Melaque to Barra de Navidad, but recalling the missing bridge across a canal and the amount of heat thrown off the air-cooled engine of the "quadrimoto" confined us to riding on the beach in the healthy breeze. It was more fun anyway, especially after we pointed out to the boys that we were breaking all but one of the safety rules. With only four of us on the quad, we were still two people short of honorary-Mexican status. As Daddy became more confident and started doing donuts and taking small jumps, the noise from the back seat increased- yells of joy from Bowen and screams of fear from Hollis, mostly (the products of blissful ignorance and an overactive imagination, respectively).

One morning we woke up to find that at the restaurant next door a fisherman was butchering a 6 ft moray eel he had speared that morning. We knew what the special of the day was going to be! It's freaky to think that those things are in the water.

Melaque is a great holiday town. A $35 cab fare will bring you here from the airport in Manzanillo. Our situation in the RV park was fantastic, located in downtown and right on the beach. The spirit there is very friendly and everything one might need is there. The quirkiest place was the combination fishing and diving shop and regional sweets shop. You could buy coco con leche while looking at spear guns and hooks. That was competing with the video arcade/bra shop on the plaza! It is funny the way the entrepreneurial spirit manifests itself in Mexico. Another Mexican novelty is the double decker trampoline, an example of which the boys got to try while we were in Barra. Gotta like relaxed safety standards- the boys both injured themselves in minor ways, but they also had way more fun. We also tried the local specialty, molcajete, which is a Mexican stirfry of meat and vegetables that is finished off in a "hot pot" that consists of a mortar carved out of lava rock that is heated in an oven- delicious! We also had some of the best tamales we have had in Mexico, bought from a cart in the plaza (M$7 each, about 70 cents)

The town has a tradition of gathering in the plaza every Sunday night. All the eligible young ladies and men eye each other up while the old folks sit and chat or play a version of bingo and the young kids paint plaster of Paris figurines. The town is allegedly named after the word "malarkey" in honor of an Irish regiment that switched sides during the Spanish American war. When the Americans overran the town, every Irishman that was wearing a Mexican army uniform was executed. St Patrick's day is apparently a huge affair here, too bad we are going to miss it.

-Remy

Inner City Camping!

Puerto Vallarta - Melaque, Jalisco

Feb 21 - 29,   2009

It was with great anticipation that we left Puerto Vallarta to continue on south. We have never been further along highway 200 than Boca De Tomatlon and we've heard great things about the curvy roads and stunning views. We aren't always sure exactly how far we will get in a day and we have stopped giving the boys any specifics about where we might end up to avoid disappointing them.

We stopped briefly in Perula and had a little walk on the beach. It was extremely hot and very dusty- not much was compelling us to stay there. We called ahead to La Playa campground in Melaque ( no easy feat in Mexico) by borrowing the phone of a shop owner. We think this is the place that my Uncle Gord and Aunt Janice love so much. For the first time on this trip we make a reservation sight unseen. Melaque is a popular spot for RVers and is often the furthest point south that most will travel. 

Playa Campground is awesome and is located right at the main intersection in town. We can step out the front gate and be right in the thick of things. It turns out that Sunday( today) is the big night out for Mexican families so we quickly get set up at our great spot ( #12) with a view of the ocean out the campervan door. To our great disappointment, the showers close at 8pm and we missed it by only 15 minutes. All the pleading we could muster was not enough to convince the attendants to unlock it for us. 

All sticky and stinky from a hot day of travel we happily walk  around the plaza watching the Mexican families and tourists mingle while the kids , Bowen included, paint small ceramic creatures under the dimmest of street lamps. 6 pesos ($.60) is all it costs for his little creation. It's late, like 10:30, and even the youngest of children are still going strong. Our gringo kids are fading though so we make our way back to the campground checking out all the little shops along the way. Imagine my surprise when I hear my name called out on the sidewalk as I consider yet another package of coco de leche. It's Karen and Robert Norten! My friend ( and City Palate boss's) brother and sister in law. They are in Melaque for  week to get away from the realities of some health issues Karen is facing at the moment. They are staying just down the beach from us so we quickly make loose plans to get together for dinner before the week is over. I forgot about the Coco con leche too which is probably a good thing as it's delicious but terribly bad for you.

Shirley and Vladi ( folks we met in Mazatlan) are camped right across from us and there are two other people staying in the campground that we have met further north ( one on the train trip to the Copper Canyon) It's interesting how this happens when travelling. It's the same phenomenon we experienced on our back packing trip in Europe many years ago. 

We set up the solar shower behind the boat and clean off the days grime so we can actually feel the cool ocean breeze on our skin as we sleep.

Tues, Thurs and Sat are 5km bike tour and breakfast days to the next town down the beach to Barra de Navidad. We get invited by the campground know it all - an affectionate term- when he sees we have bikes. The boys are not thrilled to be woken early, AGAIN, for some exercisebut we assured them it would be nothing like the hike from hell with the Germans in Guayabitos( this tour leader was a fat guy from BC). It was a lovely trip through the coconut groves, banana plantations, farmers fields, and small jungle villages. On the way we stopped for photos and to give treats to the young boy working with his father who we later learned has never spent even one day in school. We have a very American and overpriced  breakfast in Barra and decide to leave the group to return without us. We want to tour this town. It's not long before we find ourselves renting a panga for the 45 minute tour of the lagoon (200 pesos) Liz can't resist the quaint restaurants along the lagoon so we have lunch and watch Bowen swim in his underwear while we eat. 2 fishermen pull in and show off the 2 -40 lb Dorado they caught earlier in the day which gets Hollis all excited about renting a boat for the day and catching our own. Ya right. He doesn't know he was born into a family of bad luck fishermen. 

We fall into the routine of the campground quite easily  which consists of playing in the surf all morning, eat, play at beach, eat, shower at 5ish, meet neighbors on the beach for happy hour drinks then candlelight dinner at the camper or venture into town for a taco. We can see why Uncle Gordie likes it here!

We learn to Skype and make calls to everyone we can and Bowen is happy to finally talk with his buddies, Josh and Isaac. They mostly giggle and don't say much but hey. We did hook up with Robert and Karen for dinner eventually and had a great time getting to know them better in a really cool place.

Thurs- Terry and Koosji invite us to travel in their truck to Tenacatita- about 30 km north)

It's the most beautiful beach and is great for snorkling as the coral grows almost up to the shore and the small bay is very protected. This area has three beaches all within a 2 minute walk of each other. One is for snorkling, one is flat and sandy and is ringed with palapa restaurants selling fresh mariscos and the other is on the Pacific side where the waves are vicious but the sunsets are beautiful.  We eat coconut shrimp for the first time and make plans to return here next week to free camp on the snorkling beach. On the way home Terry and Koosji stop at the Riacilla distillery for some sampling and some purchasing. Raicilla is similar to tequila but is made with the green agave as opposed to the blue which is used to make tequila. This drink was favoured by Pancho Villa and General Zapata so of course we just HAD to get some.

Our final stop of the day was at La Manzanilla to see the crocodiles. It's a weird experience to see them in the wild even if there is a flimsy fence that is supposed to keep them off the road. 

-Liz

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco - February 19-21

It was with some regrets that we left Guayabitos, where we had made some new friends and the site of our "second wedding", but we feel the pull southward and the need for a Walmart run. Guayabitos is fine for day to day needs (Doritos and beer and cocadas) but there are a few requirements which only a bigger centre can provide.

There is not the same sense of anticipation, as we feel  that Puerto Vallarta is, for us, terra cognita. At least we are going with the assurance of having our spot reserved by our Inglewood neighbours, Stan and Marion, who snowbird in Mexico for almost 6 months per year.

We started by completing one of the much-anticipated stops that highlights every trip to Mexico to date- the roballo burrito at Tacon de Marlin. An unplanned tour of the airport parking lot finally led to a parking spot up the street from our favourite PV eatery. When we were done, however, we found that the iffy starts the van had been having all day had finally matured into a complete failure to ignite. We got the nice English-speaking folks at the car rental agency to leave a message for the local mechanics, who were out for siesta. It wasn't as bad as it seemed, as the time zone change worked in our favour and we only had to wait an hour before Chuy the mechanic appeared in his car and soon had the problem diagnosed as a faulty battery cable connector which had finally cracked right through. For M$400 ( $40)we had parts and labour to get us on our way.

Taking advantage of the Mexican big-city lifestyle, we had the complete car wash for M$80 to rid the van of all the grackle pooh we had gathered in our camp site under the trees in Guayabitos. And then, finally, having turned what should be a 1 1/2 trip into an all-day affair (which is becoming the norm in Mexico- an interesting experience in relativity) we arrived at the trailer park in downtown PV.

We were ushered to what was probably the last camping spot in PV- a spot so small, right beside the washrooms, that the next-door motor coach had to push in his mirrors to let us in. For the first time in Mexico, we found that we were in the minority. The park was full of Quebecois who had travelled in a caravan led by a tour guide to get them to Mexico together.

The first two days were spent in the air conditioned monotony of shopping, hitting all the evil multinationls- Costco, Walmart, et al. We took advantage of the superior cinema situation to go see "Yes, Man" with the boys, an extremely funny movie in any language.

Security in the park was never an issue, as the porcelain in the neighbouring washrooms is highly prized by the local gendarmerie. They visited a couple of times per day to catch up on their paperwork. Remy introduced himself and traded some patches, getting an issue PV police cap in return. The boys got to hold the machine gun for a photo. The police here earn about $8-9K (American $) per year. The police had a shootout in the main plaza last September with a drug gang armed with AK47s and hand grenades. One cop was killed by a hand grenade. Not sure it's worth what they get paid, but they laughed when I suggested they apply to CPS- "hace mucho fria" in Canada, no matter what the pay.

We did some good eating in PV at both ends of the spectrum. First night at Pepe's Tacos, second at a nearby pozole restaurant where they pulled the tables outside for the whole group from the trailer park to eat together. That represented the lower end of the food cost spectrum. Last night at Barrio Del Sur, the two of us went to a very nice courtyard restaurant in the Romantic Zone highly recommended by every gay man that we met, so we knew it was probably going to be all right.( the boys were snug in the campervan watching a movie knowing Stn and Marion weren't far away ) That was at the other end of the spectrum, by Mexican standards, but well worth it. We stuck around for the Carnaval parade, which is apparently what they call the gay pride event here- not a single one of the women was actually a woman. There must have been something in the air, as we took a piece of the Romantic Zone back with us.

We caught a day of the Mexican National Rodeo Championships which were happening over the weekend in nearby Pillitlal. The events were very different, as was the clothing, but the cowboys all walked with the same swagger that I am sure is common the world over. We were some of the very few gringoes there, so it was a very authentic Mexican event. Remy was particularly glad that we went- it really gives insight into how the Stampede started.

We met some cool hippie types on the last day in the trailer park, Hal and Elaine. They live full-time in a converted school bus in Santa Fe and were in PV so Hal could take a course in teaching English as a second language to take back with him to teach immigrants in New Mexico. They were the ones that we connected with in PV, too bad that we didn't meet them earlier. Since her two trips to New York City, Liz has discovered how much she loves a heavy Bronx Accent!

We found that PV has really grown, but it remains one of our favourite cities in Mexico. The Old Town, the art, the malecon all keep it vibrant and interesting. It was neat for us to drive into the city instead of flying in as we usually do, it really gave us a sense of how the area is developing and changing, particularly to the north. It was nice having Stan and Marion there as a knowledgeable resource and for moral support when the van broke down on us, as well. They were able to show us a part of the city into which we normally would not have ventured, and we are indebted to them for having found us some open ground on which to park!

-Remy

With this ring I thee wed....again

Rincon de Guayabitos, Niyarit

-The Tompkins Family weds-

The boys were most upset that Remy and I had opted to leave our wedding rings at home in Canada  while we travelled to Mexico. I was worried that we might lose them in the ocean or God forbid if we did get accosted by some bad guys looking for jewels then they might get stolen. 

Bowen became concerned about our status and somehow thought we would be less married if we didn't have the rings to prove it.

So... the plan was that we would purchase some inexpensive rings in Mexico, Hollis would perform the ceremony and Bowen would be the ring bearer/ flower boy. Remy and I have talked many times about renewing our vows and having a big party to celebrate our 20th anniversary (only 1.5 years to go for that!) but instead we decided to spend that money traveling - sorry all.

 The boys seemed keen on this idea and while we were on our train trip to  Creel, touring the Copper Canyon, we found the perfect rings . (We later ate at the restaurant owned by the same family.)

 The rings  are made of braided copper- perhaps locally mined?! and cost $12 pesos each ( about $1.10)  We are very sentimental about these rings already and really hope that they don't make our fingers too green as we'd love to keep wearing them after our travels here.

The beach in Guayabitos was the perfect setting for us to have our little ceremony as we love
it so much here and we have made a few friends who could witness and take photos for us. All the planning:  script writing, flower gathering, ice purchasing, dressing, marguerita making and invitations took a grand total of about 30 minutes! All weddings should be this carefree.

 The boys created the flower arrangement to which Remy tied the rings onto. We were worried that Bowen might accidently drop them in the sand.

  I picked a hibiscus for my hair from the plant growing just outside the corner store where I also bought ice for our drinks and refreshments for the boys. I love all this one stop shopping.

Remy wrote some beautiful words and Hollis did a great job of officiating. Jeff and Pam were our chosen guests who also took video and pictures for us . Five  minutes later we were all toasting to our good fortune and raising a glass with a our newest friends and our two boys by our sides. We stayed late on the beach that night laying in the warm sand and watching the sun go down on yet another day in paradise.

NEVER hike with a German

We had been apprised by our Inglewood neighbours, Stan and Marion, of an informal hiking group that went twice a week from Delia's campground in Guayabitos to Lo de Marcos. We were assured that the hike was spectacular, taking in jungle climbs over the mountains along with stretches along the beach. The group had a favourite restaurant in Lo de Marcos where lunch was had before taking a colectivo (Mexican bus/taxi) back to Guayabitos.

Liz took a bike ride to Delia's and met Lutz, the Teutonic hikenfuhrer, and had the four of us pencilled in to join the group for the Tuesday hike.

The launch time of 7:30 AM (to beat the heat of the day) meant an earlier-than-usual reveille for the boys, but Liz managed to have us all dressed, fed and on our bikes in time to make the short ride to Delia's. We arrived at 7:29 by Liz' watch, only to find that the group had already left the gate! While Remy locked up the bikes, Lutz ran out and whistled down Walter, one of the hikers (and another German), to wait for us and show us the way.

Now the boys were not in a mind space particularly well suited for the kind of effort that was before us. It was early, they had been force-fed breakfast and ( we are not sure why our blog has suddenly gone yellow and is underlined- oh well)only knew that they had 20 km and four hours of hiking ahead of them. Coupled with this was the fact that our guide was of the nationality that had invented the blitzkrieg and was obviously chafing at having landed the responsibility to guide us. Liz, as the family organizer of the event and the one that had negotiated with Lutz to include us on the trip, was placed in the unsavory position of feeling responsible to all. It was obvious that Bowen's 8 year-old legs were not suited to keeping up with Walter's blistering pace, and our desire to see the countryside and take the opportunity to look at butterflies was obviously at odds with the singleminded intensity with which he was covering ground. Remy had flashbacks to some of the forced marches he had had to do during basic training in the army. Walter was forced to wait on us as the route was not signed in any way and involved tracks through the jungle, walks through farmers' fields and, at one point, cutting through a construction site. Finally, Walter suggested a turn-off on the trail which meant shortening the hike considerably for us, which we gladly accepted. 

As Walter's dust settled gently on us, we were all able to relax and enjoy our surroundings- except, of course, our encounter with some terrifying cattle. OK, maybe not all of us were terrified, and the photo will indicate who was not frightened. The day was incredibly hot and we were all covered with a thick layer of the flour-like dust that constitutes the soil in this area. But the jungle was beautiful, as were the beaches we passed, some of which are sea turtle preserves.

We hiked over another mountain where we took the left turn off the path and travelled down to the little town of Monteon. We passed an adobe brick factory and found turtles in the streams. We were notable in Monteon, which does not see a lot of tourist traffic- OK, none- and sat down at a restaurant on the square to let the boys enjoy the bottles of Coke that we had promised/bribed them. When it came time to use the washroom, we discovered that one had to pass through the bed room of the family that ran the restaurant to use their bathroom, which was in need of a good cleaning and a toilet seat!

We fetched ourselves a colectivo from Monteon back to Guayabitos, which in itself is an interesting cultural experience. When we returned to Delia's to collect our bikes, we were told that the hiking group tries each weekend to beat their time from the weekend before! Not really the sightseeing mentality that we had. As well, Liz' competitive nature was challenged a couple of times by Walter, who intimated that we were not able to keep up. She wants to take him on in a head-to-head hike and show him who is in better shape! Of course, Bowen was not able to keep the pace, but considering his and his brother's ages, both boys still out-performed any one of their peers. We were both quite proud of them and quite enjoyed the hike with them.

When we returned to our campground, we found that our new acquaintances Jeff, Cindy and (another) Liz had returned from their fishing trip heavily laden with gold - dorado, that is. They had hooked three very large fish, the biggest of which was about 35 pounds and the other two not much smaller. They passed the word around the park and that evening, right behind our van, much of the population of the park gathered to partake of the fish which Jeff had grilled up. Another of the campers had negotiated with a family band of marimba players to come to the El Flamingo to play during dinner, for the princely sum of M$100 (about $10 in our coin). A hat was passed for tips after they had played for an hour, and they probably tripled their earnings! The fish was very tasty, too, and we heartily enjoyed our second party in a week.

-Remy