A lesson in fractions in Melaque

Back in Melaque after two weeks in Seattle visiting friends and family.   Everything in the house and yard were well taken care of by my neighbors.   Getting used to the humidity but it's cooler than it was 3-4 weeks ago before I left.   Hopefully a trend for the rest of the year.

On the half empty plane from LA I sat next to Marta who's mom owns Alice's Restaurant in Barra.  She had a friend picking her up and she offered me a ride rather than paying the $430 pesos with an airport taxi.   I paid for her parking and bought a few beers on a stop in Cihuatlan.  They let me off in Jaluco and I grabbed a local taxi to Pinal Villa.

Hugo and Oscar and families were waiting under the palapa when I arrived.   Got all the latest updates from them about the house (few water leaks on marquesina) , their lives (guys are working and kids back in school), the flooding a few weeks ago from the heavy rains ... and I brought out a few 'up north' presents for the kids.

Today Lorena came over with Yari and Yari's math book thinking we could look up the answers to her fractions assignment on a link in her textbook.   Found the site does not exist any more even tho there are lots of links to it on the Internet, so we sat down and went thru the 20 or so problems.  I could remember most of it but the terminology and explaining in Spanish took some thinking.  The hardest part was determining which was largest - 2/5 or 1/3.  I finally remembered you need a common denominator for a proper comparison.  Been too many years since school type problems.  We'll see how she does next week but more impostant she understands than just gets the right answer.

Naches Loop Trail

The last few times I've visited family in Seattle we've gone on hikes in the Cascades. It's not something to keep me occupied because they do this a couple times a year. Last week they did an 11 mile hike into Lake Valhalla on Stevens Pass and I told them about a 2-3 mile route to Valhalla with another lake included and very little elevation. Yesterday we did the Naches Loop Trail on Chinook Pass.

The Naches Loop Trail starts very near the pass summit, is about three miles long (2+ hours) with about 700 feet elevation. We talked to two hikers that said two weeks earlier there was too much snow and they turned back. We did run into some snow on the shady side but the western side looked to be dry for quite awhile. They suggest going from east to west (clockwise) so you'll be facing Mt Rainier on the return.

High mountain lakes (5-6 of them), lots of wild flowers, little water falls and the great views of Mt Rainier are the attraction. The distractions are the mosquitoes so bring your repellant. On top and the west side they are not so bad due to wind. Anyway here's some fotos of the hike with my new camera.

Area map

Trail head

Trail and a little snow

Wild flowers

One of the lakes

Mt Rainier

The remnants of Ernesto

As of this morning most of Ernesto's weather system has passed over Mexico to the Pacific. Even tho the heart of the tropical depression is near the coast of Guerrero we have a solid cloud cover here in Jalisco. I just hope whatever it does next it does it slowly so not to disrupt flight plans tomorrow afternoon.

Hurricanes that cross over are rare with the last Atlantic to Pacific being Earl in 2004. Tropical Storm Hermine in 2010 went in the other direction, from the Pacific to the Gulf and continued to the US. Crossover storms will be reclassified and renamed as they enter their new domain

Melaque Summer Vacation

This summer vacation is turning out to be one of the best here in Melaque. The tourists have been coming in numbers that rival Semana Santa (Easter Week) which is usually the biggest beach vacation time. All the beach restaurants were full even with extra tables out. Cars were double parked and we ended up 2 blocks away which never happens here. Since we brought our own food we just rented a table not in front of a restaurant which normally goes for 50-60 pesos. This weekend he wanted 130 pesos. We called a local Deposito (beer vendor) who delivers on a scooter and he brought 2 cases of iced Estrella. Lots of people having fun, cooling off and great for the local economy.

Looking toward central Melaque

Looking toward the malecon

Waves were large most of the day

Garden shots on a rainy day

The first good rain we've had in almost a month, about 3/4 of an inch this morning. The driest July neighbors remember. I'm almost over this cold I got from the heat and humidity. Lots of coughing and wheezing in the neighborhood. At least we'll have one cool day.

Lorena is here showing me how she breads and pan fries fish fillets. Just waiting for them to defrost and we'll have lunch. My big 28" TV bit the dust a few days ago so I bought a 22" Samsung LCD model. Not as large but should be more economical compared to the big tube.

Bananas

Oleander

Garden with grass still struggling

CFE trimming trees

CFE (Mexico electric company) is responsible for keeping their main lines free of invading trees but also their lines to your house. The neighboring vacant lot has an old Mango tree that needs to be trimmed every couple years to keep my lines free as well as the transformer on the pole my lines come from. A good wind could have taken out my power along with the neighborhood in this case. This tree is actually on the lot line so partially in the street. Not sure what their attitude would be if the tree was 5-10 feet inside the property.

Last time they were here was two years ago so I knew this was their job ... but the new girl at the desk in Cihuatlan told me it was not their responsibility. I told her they had done it twice before at my request so she checked with the back office and scheduled a crew for this week. This tree has been a shady spot for neighbors to congregate so I kinda hated to do it but preferred to have my power more than a bit of comfort for neighbors. Looks kinda ugly but will green up in a month. We put all the cuttings in a burn pile and salvaged a number of mangoes that fell.

Starting

Finished