Trip to Tonala

On January 21st my friend and neighbour Bev and I returned home from a three day shopping spree in Tonala, Mexico.  Tonala is a suburb of Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico.

We signed up on a ladies' bus trip that had 42 ladies wanting to spend, spend, spend.  We stayed at the Hacienda del Sol hotel which was in the heart of the Tonala Thursday and Sunday market area.

  We walked everywhere.  If we bought something too big to carry easily we had it delivered to the hotel.  I bought some beautiful lamps for 290 pesos which works out to about 24.00 Canadian.  I am sure that if I tried to buy them at home they would cost about five times that much; shades included.  I bought a couple of other small things and a few gifts for folks back home but nothing major.  Bev and I rewrapped the lamps in a bigger box and the shades and the gifts in the old lamp box.  Bev said she was giving me her shopping parcel space on the bus home.  I'm glad she did.  There was some (I mean a lot) of juggling of parcels and suitcases to get everything on the bus for the return trip.   The bus driver was very good but it annoyed me no end that he would end up talking on his cell phone and driving us home.  Total cost of the trip excluding meals and purchases was 1100 pesos which works out to about $100 Canadian.  That included the bus, driver's tip, tip to the first night's restuarant, and hotel room for two nights.  Do you think we could do a shopping bus trip at home for that price? 

We've had a pretty busy month.  Hubby and I took a drive up to Las Varas.  It is a real Mexican town not too far north of here.  We looked around, had lunch and then came home again.  I think we saw one gringo in town.  It looked pretty prosperous.  If you want to buy good shoes, go there.  They had lots of shoe stores for men. 

One morning the shrimp sellers came down the street so hubby and Vic went out to see what was for sale.  These crusteaseans (sp) were pretty big.  Pretty good too if I do say so myself.

Hubby and I continue to go to our yoga exercises in the morning.  Hubby is also reading a lot of books; our friends Vic and Bev were given lots of books by his brother so they've been reading them and passing them on to the library under the palapa. 

Alfredo and Erica's grandson was born December 31.  Bev and I went to the Fruteria yesterday, and ran into Alfredo, who pointed us to the store where his daughter was shopping and baby was there.  He's a beautiful baby, now one month old. Already.

There hasn't been a lot of motorhome traffic here this January.  I think we've had four vehicles come in and four move out.  Two couples moved down the street to the new rv park on the beach.  This last week we've had two vans come in.  Two of the men were from Ontario and they drove on down south after staying only two days.  Yesterday Jennifer left for the south to visit her friend.  She is a bird watcher so she stayed two days too, but she liked it so much here that she says she just might come back next season and stay longer.  She's from Ottawa and drove all the way down here by herself.

While she was here we had a beautiful sunset one evening.  Hubby tried to capture the setting sun but cameras never do the same job that God does. God being whoever or whatever one believes.

Till next time,
we are the Holoidays on holiday

Time is flying by...

Yes, I know.  I haven't written anything since January 1, 2011.  I'm glad you all noticed.  What can I say?
It must get boring for you to read that the weather is sunny and warm, with a cooling sea breeze to make every day bearable.  I guess I can say now that we have had quite cool evenings here lately.  After all it is January.  One night the temperature went all the way down to 12 degrees C.  Today we woke up and it was still dark.  It was foggy out.  We went to yoga with the fog but by the time we started the sun was out, the sky was clear, the waves were wild and noisy.            


Our yoga instructors and one of the students (in the hat)

The golfing is good; sorry Ken, they don't have electric or gas carts here so it might be hard for you to golf here unless you put Brooklyn on a trailer and pull her out here. :)  In case I haven't mentioned before; hubby golfs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and sometimes Wednesdays.  I golf Wednesday and Sundays.  This hole has an island green that is surrounded by water with only a ramp up to the green.  Kind of hard to see but it is a par 4 hole.  I've left quite a few golf balls in that water and it is so deep one cannot retrieve one's ball unless one uses a floater ball.  At this course it doesn't seem to be illegal to use one.


Signature hole #6 Field of Dreams Golf Course












We've been having a great time watching the hummingbirds devour the sugar water.  Bev and Vic went to P.V. to Home Depot and found us a real bird feeder and we've now got two; one at each end of the rig.  Our neighbours went to Guadalajara last week for a few days and their feeder ran out of sugar water.  Needless to say we had lots of visitors fighting for position as pack leader, so to speak.  The most hubby has seen around the feeder were 11 birds at one time.  This time there are five birds and four feeding at the same time, which is very unusual.  One usually warns off the others and feeds by himself (herself?)  Both of us will turn the lawn chair to face the bird feeder just so we can sit and watch them fight over the sugar water




Hubby and I went shopping at Costco in P.V. last week and on our way there and home we drive through a small village called San Ignacio.  On the highway there is a house that is a very bright green.  I had the camera and I opened the window to take a picture of the house as hubby was driving by.  I got a pleasant surprise when I viewed the photo on my computer.  I got the house but I also got the tree in the yard.  These trees are all over and they are beautiful.  I think you all will think so too.



The green hacienda with the parota tree in the front yard

Until next time,

Holoidays on holiday  < :)

First blog of the year 2011

Feliz ano nuevo mis amigos y familias,

My Spanish is deplorable so I look up words and put them together, even though it may not be correct.

Anyway I mean Happy New Year friends and family!

I'm so tired today, but not because I'm hung over.  We did go out for potluck and stayed until after midnight.

The sunset was beautiful so I had to take at least one photo; actually I took about six but I chose this one.  It really was darker than the photo shows, but cameras can do marvellous things.

We were actually talking of moving over to this rv park next season.  It is on the beach but quite sheltered and has this lovely patio to block some of the wind.  The biggest drawback to moving is that the sites are narrow and the little sitting areas are very small. 
One of the fellows who was here last year has taken up residence in the newest park at the end of the street.  It is called La Parota and has large pads,wide roads for backing into the spaces and a new laundry and restrooms.  It is also along the beach.  Drawbacks?  Yes.  It doesn't have any large trees except the parota tree at the entrance and the palms it does have are either too small still or have coconuts that haven't been removed.  Coconuts falling on rigs can sound like a bomb going off or if you are hit by one could kill you.
Pros-  just walk out your rig, down the park roadway about 100 steps and you are on the beach.

A few days ago our friend Victor made us a hummingbird feeder.  It is made out of a plastic bottle, one of my plastic containers, which I used a lot but happily give up for the sake of the hummers, flowers made out of a coke can and string from our string bin.  I think I got a bird in this picture somewhere, or maybe not.


We really worked hard today.  I have started going to Thai yoga classes in the morning and if any of you know of my sleeping habits, getting up early is not one of my favourite things.  I started with my first class yesterday.  Today after that long evening outdoors, I was up late but duty called.  Today I could not do a flipper exercise.  I knew my stomach muscles were almost non existent and today proved that theory.  I could not raise my legs to do flippers with my feet off the mat.  But, that will not stop me from getting those tummy muscles back in good working order.

Back at the rig, I went for a shower, had some breakfast and putzed around until I decided it was the day to make my friend Carol a pair of earrings.  I had earlier made the hooks for her from niobium wire and she tried them out for a day and felt she could wear them.  Today we sat and designed a pair of earring for her.
They turned out great and they look great on her.  She wore them to Happy Hour so I know she likes them.
Here they are for all to see.  Constructive criticism is welcome.  Prices vary but I only make one of a kind pairs. lol  They henceforth will be known as Carol's earrings.

After putting away my bead box Mike headed out to the beach with our buddies Vic and Bev.  I caught up to them and realized we needed to show everyone that the beach on New Year's Day was warm and sunny.  Mike took a polar bear swim that was watched by the whales (just kidding).  He went in the water for a while.  Before we left I did spot some whales but they were a long way from the beach.

Here we are wishing you all good times, a safe haven, peace of mind, kindnesses to all in the new year.

Holoidays on holiday

Happy New Year Family and Friends

 What a surprise.  Friends we've known for years show up just before Christmas at our Couples golf.  Turns out they are building a home in Los Ayala.  Afterwards we drive up to their new home which is not yet finished.  They hope it will be soon.

The lovely dancer in the photo below is Lupita.  She works at the golf course and obviously takes dancing lessons.  Here I caught her smiling for the camera.  She and Paulette entertain us after golf on Sundays.

Mike was walking home from town one day and saw these turtles sunning themselves.  Notice how they have their heads reaching for the sun?  They live beside us in the slough, swamp, whatever it's called.

Wishing you all the best in 2011, we are

 

Holoidays on holiday

Merry Christmas friends and family; Feliz Navidad

It's December 23rd, 2010.  I've been to the market in La Penita; hubby is golfing at Mens' Day at Campo Ensuenado (sp?).  I am making stuffing and Mike is doing Caesar salad for Xmas dinner at the park down the street.  We are so few here that we, being Mike, Mave, Vic and Bev, were invited to El Caracol rv park to have Christmas dinner.
I picked up five heads of romaine, some garlic powder and whole garlic for the famous Lori's Caesar Salad dressing.  I bought a very fresh loaf of white bread which I have already cut up into thin slices to dry for making the stuffing, and some potatoes and onions.  The bread was so good I had to steal a few slices for myself.  Nothing like fresh white bread and strawberry jam for lunch. The market was very crowded today and the traffic on the highway was heavy.  We were going to P.V. for Xmas dinner but the hostess has decided to go back to Edmonton for Christmas leaving her hubby in good hands.
I'm missing my kids.  Only daughter is in Vancouver and I just wish she could have made it out here.  I know she would have loved the beach.  The waves are very quiet this visit.  Last visit they were noisy and strong.  Hubby has only used his boogie board twice so far. 
Only son and lady partner are in Tucson living the rv lifestyle.  Hubby isn't back from golfing yet so I might go to the beach or just lie on my zero gravity chair and have a snooze.  In case you haven't seen it yet, here is a picture of our beach.  It is exactly 260 steps from our park's front gate.  This is a photo from January 2010 when we first came out here, but it's still the same beautiful beach.  You can see why we came back.

Here is the cayman



The sun is warm on this side of the ditch.  He's about six feet long.


Now that you've seen him, don't worry.  He's seems harmless.

Turtles in transit

Here are the little turtles (tortugas) that I told you about in my last blog.  The Grupo Ecologista de Nayarit, A.C. were advertising for anyone interested to come out and help these little guys and gals find their way back to the sea from whence their mother came.  The group watches for turtles laying eggs in the sands near Guayabitos and they collect the eggs and wait for them to hatch.  There were 100 turtles this evening and there were probably 30 people, including a few children, who came out.  We were invited to pick them up (and both Mike and I did just that) and put them on the sand facing the water.  The waves sometimes lapped over them and turned them upside down but by the time it was dark most of them were well on their way out to sea.  It is estimated that out of those 100 only 1-3 would be back laying their eggs.  Most would not survive their journey to adulthood. Just writing about this is making me teary, as it did when we were told about the Riley turtles.

This season, having the car, we are able to go golfing anytime we want to go.  Mike paid 6500 pesos for a four month pass for two.  That is about $270.00 Canadian each.  We have golfed 25 games as of today, December 15.  We have paid for the passes and are now golfing for free.  We go out by 9 am but the breeze doesn't come up until about 10 am.  Then golfing becomes bearable.  The course is a par 29.  Ok, so it's not Royal York or Spallumcheen, but it is challenging.  The grass (if one can call it that) is no where near like our fairways at home.  The tee boxes are small and it is hard to find a good spot to insert the tee.  Number 6 hole is the course signature hole.  The green is on an island, surrounded by water.  It is a par 4, one of two par 4's.  When I first saw that green I refused to try and hit the ball onto it.  Now, it's ok.  Most times I can get close enough to pitch it on without it rolling too far or not enough and it plops into the moat (I call it that).  Twice today my partner and I hit our balls; they hit the rocks on the built up sides and ricoched back onto the fairway. Whew:)

Beside our rv park is a piece of bare land that is virtually a swamp (slough?).  In the early part of the year this year there was a lot of water and wetland birds, eg. egrets etc. and reptiles; like caymans.  Well the cayman is still there but there is not much water and the cows are herded in there to eat.  Anyway, to make a long story shorter, one day our neighbour came over and said the cayman was across the road, sunning him/her self in the ditch.  Sure enough, we took a walk over and there it was; but that is another picture for the next blog.

Cheers for now,
Holoidays on holiday