Calechosa visit

Pool with a view

Calechosa sunset

Barbara or Babs, the Blogger from San Miguel is spending about a month on the beach. She is staying with her long time friend that lives in Calechosa or Ranchito Beach. First time I was over there her friend was living in a trailer waiting to build but the Ejido didn't want him to. Finally, he got permission and now has a very pretty house with a great view. His house was the only one over there for awhile but Canadian developers are selling community lots next to him .... that aren't selling very fast.

I spent about two hours on the patio talking with Barbara as we kinda brought each other up to the present on each others lives. Very enjoyable time and a great view over the pool into Cuastecomate Bay. I wanted to leave before dark because the road in from Ranchito is very rough and longer than I remember. I stopped by the beach to capture the sunset

The skies over Pinal Villa

We don't get the sunsets over the ocean like those living in Melaque or Barra do but ours are still pretty spectacular.   A little more to the north over the mountains produce some good ones depending on the clouds.   Lately we've been getting thunder heads over the mountains bringing hopes of rain that only arrives rarely.

I think it was Wednesday night that we had lots of rain, thunder and lightening and I had to shoot a video.   While a few other videos I took are over all more interesting I choose this because  about half way through you can see a lightning strike that looks to land just outside the window I'm shooting from.   I looked around for evidence the strike hit something but nothing.

Pinal sunset

Thunder head over the mountains

From my roof overlooking my Canadian neighbors house

Tomas the Cat

I was upstairs hanging up the laundry last night and saw Tomas in the laundry room window. Rather than following me he waited there for me to get the camera. Nice little sunset in the background. Another small moment in my Mexico.

Two school projects

Yari is a fifth grader and this is her pig which eventually became a piggy-bank. She worked on it for a week on my patio day by day. It's paper mache over a balloon but then each coat of paint has to dry. Then glue on nose, ears and eyes ... and a pipe cleaner for a curly tail. She has contributions of about 27 pesos so far.

The second is Euriel's Biology project. When he got in the car after school he announced he needed to buy some condoms because everyone in the class had to learn how to use one. He described the dummy whatever as looking like a bird. We haven't figured that one out yet. He was embarrassed to go into the pharmacy to buy them so I went in with his mom. I hadn't bought one for years so felt I had to explain they were for her son who had a school project. 43 pesos for a 3 pack of the basic kind. Euriel is in 7th grade

The last foto I just threw in as a sunset from farm country

Yari's piggybank

A 3 pack of Trojans

Sunset from my roof

Fishing with Ron

Well setting up an inflatable is not my favorite thing, I'd much prefer trailering it and just dropping it in the water. Neither is bouncing along at a rather fast trolling speed in a 10ft light boat. Besides that it was good to be out on the water and we had a really good time.

We caught a Barrilete right out of the Barra de Navidad harbor and we let it go. They were jumping everywhere so thought we might be pulling in a bunch. Out around the point to Playa de Cocos and then up to Cuastecomate. No more hits on that run heading west. On the way back closer to shore we had 5-6 strikes and at the mouth of the bay Ron hooked one. We first thought another Barrilete but then it jumped. Barrilete's don't jump.

With a very light pole and tackle Ron wasn't able to muscle it in so played it for about a half hour. We weren't sure it was a Dorado until it surfaced close to the boat. It was a female so didn't have the big head that males do ... but was about a meter long and weighed 8-9 kilos.

It made for a wonderful dinner made by Dora and her mom. I brought my neighbors so the kids could play in the hotel pool. We watched the sunset and headed home very full.

Dorado on the surface

Dorado in the boat

Ron with fish and mother in law

Getting ready to eat

Melaque sunset

Langostino on the beach in Cuastecomate

I'll trade a ride to the beach any day for a fresh lobster dinner. Nine of us total including four kids and two sets of parents piled into my van and headed to Cuastecomate. We went to the restaurant on the far end where Hugo has been working building a deck. They asked me earlier if I liked langostino but I had no idea what was coming. Friends had given them about 10 of these caught the day before. So much better than the frozen ones you get in local restaurants.

We brought everything needed and only had to buy caguamas (quarts of beer) from the restaurant. I bought a bag of those beach toys and the kids made sand castles and figures. Even went swimming even tho the water is a little chilly. Had a beautiful sunset just before we left.

Langostinos a la diabla

My plate

The girls and sunset

Sunset from Pinal Villa

We get much prettier sunsets when we have a few clouds but lately there have been none. These are a couple shots from the second floor

Pinal Villa, Melaque Mexico

Grasshopper and Backdoor

Yesterday's big happenings in Jocotepec Mexico


Large grasshopper in my lime tree (limon)


My back door around sunset

Rain clouds and thunder over Jocotepec

Rained lightly this morning and has been threatening this afternoon. Rather odd for December but the rain last week in Melaque was unusual as well. Don't imagine it's enough to change our brown hills green but we'll see tonight. We're planning a short road trip tomorrow and the possibility of driving in the rain will end that.

Took these off my back porch upstairs facing SE and SW. Would be nice to get my web cam up there - we'll see. Some nice sunsets.

Barra de Navidad Sunset

Saturday was the Costalegre Rotary Chili Cookoff on the plaza and I took the kids over. Fun party but the kids were a little bored with all the gringos. The most I've seen in one place in Mexico. Anyway, just before we left the sun was going down