Good bread is hard to find

This is what started it all

La Tanda on Nueva España

Jaluco cruzeiro no-name bakery  

We went into Cihuatlan to buy Yare's new school uniforms and couldn't go without doing some serious shopping at Bodega. I noticed these sandwiches, they looked very fresh, were loaded and were only 14 pesos. Best part is the bread. Crispy crust, not soft and almost soggy like the typical bolillo.

I started asking around and some said there was a good bakery at the old Barra Casino. Nobody in Barra knew of a Casino let alone an old one, Glen then remembered there used to be a Casino in the strip mall on the road to Barra. I dropped by and nothing there. Someone finally popped up and said there was a good bakery on Nueva España just past the cell tower. There is one there but it's more like 7 blocks past the cell tower on the right. I talked to the guy and tried one of their banana breads. He also said nothing they make is crunchy and much of it frozen. Maybe some day because they have a good selection.

I asked again where the old Casino was on a message board and someone finally said at the Jaluco cruzeiro in that rather run down large building on the corner. So it wasn't in Barra at all but definitely in Jaluco. Stopped there today and they said only open Mon, Wend, and Fri. Someone suggested don't go before 10 because they are still baking, 

Peaceful breakfast at the Bogavante

Had a peaceful breakfast at the Bogavante yesterday while my car was being fixed. The mechanic gave me a ride into Barra and I found Glen and Oliver sitting on a bench on the plaza. Oliver is only down here for a month and Glen may be for 6 months. Walked around town and had a couple beers on the beach later. Nice day!

I haven't been to this mechanic for quite awhile because he moved from Jaluco which was more convenient to on the lagoon side of the road to Barra. Gerardo is perfectly honest, very good and less expensive than most. My car had overheating problems and Pancho sent me to an electrical shop down the highway. The guy charged me 600 pesos for nothing.  The car overheated the next day. Had to go to my favorite mechanic so I emailed Glen saying I'd be in Barra. End result was Gerardo charged me half the price, replaced a part and switched my fan. My part was bad and the bearings were shot in my fan. No issues for two days and I don't expect any. Muy bien !!

No 24/7 Emergency Medical here

What a night. I awoke at about 1:30 AM with a neighbor tapping on my kitchen window. His friend down the street was stung by a scorpion and wanted a ride to Centro de Salud. What am I gonna say, NO?

What none of us knew was that Centro de Salud is not open 24/7 ..... so after checking Melaque we made the drive to Barra and the same thing. Closed up tight. Now that leaves me wondering what their days and hours of operation are.

Colores y Sabores en Barra

I went over to Barra to get a free computer yesterday from "Fast Eddie" and decided to check out the 3 day event - Colores y Sabores - on the Barra Plaza. Lots of Colores but no Sabores. Maybe later in the day along with the music and dancing. Lots like a Tianguis but almost all crafts. Pretty cool stuff but nothing I needed.

Every time I've been in Barra the old fotos museum has been closed but yesterday it was open. I only took the one foto as I thought they might not like cameras and a flash. Nice collection if you can find it open. It's located in the Hotel Tropical

He's all dressed up - maybe Oaxaca 

Ceramics

Little purses - all for women

Camping on te beach before the Malecon

Certified last Gringo in town

Getting back to real life in Mexico

Adios Gringo

I took my neighbors Danny and Linda to the airport Wednesday and Jimmy and Sandy hopped a bus to Vallarta yesterday.  All headed back to Canada, BC. Glen is driving back to Victoria and he has a little less than two weeks before he leaves.

We learned a whole lot more about each other this year and relationships expanded and contracted as conditions presented themselves. It was an interesting and eye opening year.

Diana who I'd not heard from for a year or two came back in November all "lovey dovey" and liberated from a divorce wanting a ride from the airport. She rapidly fell into a "get lost" scenario of moving from one place to another and new "friends" from who knows where. She married a very unhappy guy and has not figured out how to escape.

No idea what happened to Red Neck Steve and Buzzard West.  Their nice houses in Barra look abandoned and overgrown. Life changes here and everywhere it seems.  Actually I think Buzzard West just got too fat and died.

A day on the beach in Barra de Navidad

Big waves and GeoTubes

It seems the whole west coast is being pounded with big surf. Surfers love it here and in famous places like Puerto Escondido. The beach and vacationers ... not so much. Most of the many visiting Barra for Semana Santa favor the lagoon side of the Malecon because there are no waves. Much safer for weak swimmers and little kids.

I wasn't aware of the 5-6 new GeoTubes they have installed. 3 or 4 more parallel to the beach out several hundred feet and 2 perpendicular but on the beach. I believe the perpendicular ones were meant to stop sand moving down the beach toward Melaque but the one below has had unexpected consequences. It has channeled the waves directly at the built up beach behind and laid bare the stone "breakwater".

After spending too much time walking the beach and Malecon looking at the surf and the Semana crowd it was time for some shade, a beer and something to eat. Our usual place is Nacho's who have Estrella and Pacifico and a very nice shrimp brocheta which is nothing like Italian bruschetta. It's simply shrimp and veggies on a stick. I usually don't like most Mexican rice but theirs is dry and very tasty. Picked up a kilo of shrimp at the local seafood store and will enjoy over the next week unless neighbors find out I have them ;)

Turbulence behind the GeoTube

Rocks laid bare

From the Malecon - new GeoTube

Up to 10 surfers out at one point (sorry, no zoom)

Nacho's with waiter Paco

Spay and Neuter clinic in Jaluco

Pro Animal Melaque does it again this time with a Spay and Neuter clinic in Jaluco.  One of our neighbors dogs on Saturday and this one was way overdue by the size of her tits .... and not that old either.  Lorena's cat on Sunday along with a small sick puppy the neighbors wanted checked for free.

Sadly the vets said nothing they could do and needed a real Vet. Took the dog and girls to Mi Mascota in Barra who was open until 2 on Sunday.   The dog had been loosing liquid from both ends and needed to be re-hydrated but it was too much a shock for his system.  We got a call a few hours later the dog had died so we let the Vet dispose of the body.

Municipal office near the highway

Christine seated running the show with people waiting

The Score

Winter rains and swallows

The weather sites said no more rain after all we've had and lots of sun coming later in the week but it had to go out with a bang and we've had thunder and rain all afternoon.  I know it won't last forever but has sure been hard on the roads and holiday vacationers.

What the rain brings is puddles in the street which is not real common this time of year.  The swallows are not always here either and combined they made a real show the other day.   I've seen swallows skimming over a lake or pond trolling for bugs but never over puddles.  They were following the streets, turning at each corner and turning around doing it again.   All this activity at just a foot above the ground and I expecting one to fly between my legs as I watched them.

I don't have a camera that would capture this and evidently no one else has seen something similar so I just decided to use an attractive Japanese print.

With road conditions, overcast and rain we didn't even try to see the fireworks last night.   Fireworks at Grand Bay and probably a few more hotels in Barra or Melaque but we'll do it when it's easy.   Instead many neighbors used my garage for carne asada, music and party very late into the night/morning.   We had our own fireworks that we bought at the tianguis days before.  

A good new year to all !!!

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

I survived Jova

Not literally ... but early the morning after neighbors were waving to each other from their second floors just like you see in the flood disaster videos.

The wind woke me about 4am, I checked my car and there was only about 6 inches of water around it. I went to the unfinished upstairs to watch the storm for about an hour and a half and when I came downstairs I noticed water in the patio. I thought the pool had over flowed but then noticed the water was brown. Took another look at my car on the street and water was up on the hood ... too late to move it. Headed back to the bedroom and noticed water coming in from the garage. Since I had not prepared my pile of sandbags I had to sit and watch the house fill with a foot and a half of water and mud. I spent the rest of the night upstairs waiting for daylight. Closest thing to a flash flood I can imagine without a wall of water. Only took two hours for water to overflow the canal by 5-6 feet.

About 9am a few families started to walk out when the water had reached waist height and the bridge was passable. I waited till noon and headed for Vern and Elke's where I am to this day. My car got towed to a auto cleaning place yesterday and will head to a mechanic Monday. The neighbors are cleaning the house I was "sitting" and most of the houses in the area have cleaning crews in them.

So I'm actually quite lucky but many home owners NOT. My house in Pinal Villa was not affected except the access road is pretty bad. Lots of road closures in Jalisco and Colima. The Marabasco river overflowed and flooded Cihuatlan ... and actually cut a channel to the Barra lagoon which became a river mouth.

 

 

Cleanup efforts are massive here and emergency food is being brought in by the military. Spirits are surprisingly high and the sun is out

Families walk out as water receded

What the area looked like about 9am

Hurricane Jova experience in Melaque

Ceviche de caracol y camaron

Last Friday was a quit work early day and everyone wanted ceviche. Stephen, my neighbor and a fisherman and I went shopping for caracol (snail) and shrimp. First stop was Pescaderia Ramos in Barra on the lagoon. Barra was a zoo with all the vacationers walking in the streets and Ramos only had shrimp.

Next stop was Pescaderia Aguilar near the northend of the mercado in Melaque and they had caracoles. Melaque was a little better for traffic but this holiday season is not the time to be driving any more than you need to.

So back to the house we go with a stop for a kilo of limes, veggies and crispy tortillas. My first time for caracoles and not overly impressed but was a great ceviche over all.

Stephen in front of Barra fish store

Fish store in Melaque

Hugo cutting caracoles after cleaning the shrimp