Amazing Mexico

You go to bed after a Saturday like yesterday (it was Saturday wasn’t it?) and little wonder  you are exhausted. It started with a morning walk with my little buddy and ended with a little beach drama.

First a few pictures of Tenacatita Bay on our morning walk. 

After the walk we filled the solar shower to get a warm evening wash after our last swim of the day. Ron showed up and the three of us braved the pebble strewn beach to go swim the clear waters of the popular beach. We had swum the waters of the north beach on first arrival and were told no one swims there for fear of the undertow. Oops! That north beach with its steep black sand is reserved for sunset watching. We had the popular beach to ourselves in the morning hours before the weekenders showed up. 

Ron communicating below. If he gets motivated he may start north today to get back to his business in the States. We have no such plans. 

He helped us stake out the Moonshade awning against the increasing breeze and we sat in the taut shade and watched the cars arrive. It was a peaceful family scene with picnics and swimming and not even music to override the sounds of the ocean. 

The black sand is a deep fine powder and very difficult to drive on. This truck was incautious and barely backed out in time. Even his ATV had a hard time after he unloaded it. Nice guy, lots of waves and smiles. 

Ivan came by on his motorcycle and took our lunch order which he delivered shortly thereafter. Delicious of course.

I had breaded fish for lunch and Layne had octopus ( below), $15 for both. 

Ivan offered to take our trash to the dumpster and delivered Layne a $3 margarita… service! 

Americans and Mexicans and French Canadians all hanging out enjoying a day at the beach from their rental homes often in Barra de Navidad half an hour away. One guy was down from Colima in the mountains and keen to practice his English. 

After our swim we decided to go for a walk over the hill and just to give you an idea it’s quite steep. The hill separates our small beach area from the scene of the main action out of sight and hearing where we are parked.  Our heavily laden Promaster created quite the dust cloud scrambling up here. 

Before I knew what was happening Ron and Layne were looking at a menu:

We took a table in the sand and placed our orders. Layne required me to order something other than breaded fish again so I had buttered fish. Never headed of it before but it was delicious.

Our beach dinner was delightful and serene. It’s not fashionable to think of freedom hiding out in Mexico but our meal was emblematic of the true freedom of life you can’t imagine. 

Layne ordered her fish in an almond sauce and it too was lovely. We both had left overs for fish sandwiches for Sunday dinner. No frills, no huge sides. Rice, salad and a huge fillet on your plate. 

The vendors wandered between tables, families stood waist deep in the water chatting. Children played out of sight of their parents with no fear of kidnapping and all that weirdness that creates fear and paranoia in the US. Children are cherished in Mexico. 

We had seen this little guy and his very pregnant mother on the beach earlier and he was totally engrossed in his own world, disturbing no one and undisturbed. There were no tantrums or cries for attention. He was free to play. There was a sense of contentment across the beach. 

Rusty got some quality time in as well and after sitting next to me wandered off with his new pal. No health department warnings either. 

Ron had no idea what he had ordered and he received a rolled up fish filled with shrimp smothered in almond sauce. He pronounced it more than he expected to get.  A $35  dish in the US cost almost $9. 

We watched a large family order dinner then one of them got up and went for a swim.  When their food was ready he came back and sat down in his trunks dripping wet. He took his beer, stole some of his wife’s French fries and started telling stories as he toweled off with his t-shirt. No shirt? Dripping wet? No problem! 

Ron and I were laughing about how we will cope back in the States. 35mph? We’ll just pull onto the shoulder to let traffic by. And the magic third lane? We’ll miss traffic pulling to each side to let a passing car through the middle. I don’t know how I shall cope with angry drivers. I’ve lost my touch. 

We found the river we used to take our dinghy up to look for beach restaurants across the isthmus when we sailed here in 1998. In those days the river opened into the bay and you could motor up the river in a shallow boat. Not anymore. It dead ends here. Hurricanes shift sand. 

The walk back through the tropical dusk was spectacular so Rusty and I held up progress as he sniffed everything and I couldn’t make enough pictures. They looked like this:

But by the time we had trudged back over the hill in total darkness we discovered shock horror drama had swept “our” beach. 

Of a dozen vehicles that had pulled up to see the sunset two had got stuck in the fine grained sand. An older Mexican man rangy and tan with gray hair and an air of experience was directing the recovery. Ron and I joined in and I brought along my folding entrenching tool in the vain hope it might help. The man who took charge of the recovery efforts was the owner of the Tracker is dressed in orange in the photo below. He and his wife have an elaborate and sophisticated camping set up on the beach. His four wheel drive Tracker was the only car on the soft black sand. 

Actually of all the trucks and SUVs at the beach none except the director of operations had a shovel so after I exhausted myself shoveling sand a young Mexican took over from me digging with my tool. Many hands make light work and with a tug from the four wheel drive Tracker and all of us shoving we got the first one out. 

Similarly with number two and everyone was chatting and laughing. No one talked of liability or of calling a tow truck. We as a community got the job done talking amongst ourselves and making friends. I learned there are lots of shooting stars to be seen -estrellas fugaces. Who knew? 

As they drove away calling out good nights Ron and I reflected on the old fashioned fear-free sense of camaraderie we had witnessed. 

Think of all the stories of reasons to be fearful of Mexico and think of my actual experiences, and wonder why one reality does not match up to the other. Damned if I know why. I just know what I see. I saw a lot of good people living well yesterday. I was happy to be among them and to top it off Layne calculated all the food and drink the three of us ordered all day amounted to less than $45. Mexico is amazing.