Chacala Medical Clinic Dedication

Over three years ago a Rotary Club from North Carolina made it their mission to build a medical clinic for the town of Chacala, approximately 13 miles north of La Penita. Chacala is a quaint Mexican beach town with a beautiful beach and marina nestled in a cove with many foreign and national tourists through out the year.

New clinic in the back ground.

Just a few days before the dedication an American tourist died after suffering a heart attack and was transported to the closest hospital in Las Varas, only 15 minutes away. Unfortunately, this person waited for over four hours for treatment and did not survive. This incident just reinforced the need for closer medical services in this small community.

The dedication ceremony was attended by several Rotarians from North Carolina, Compostella (the county seat), Tepic, and the newly formed club in La Penita. Special guests of honor were Governer Ney and the President of Compostella, Hector Santiago.

Crowd waiting for the arrival of the Governor of Nayarit and President of Compostella.

The morning was steaming hot and humid and the guests of honor were well over one hour late. Finally the grand arrival was via a helicopter and an entourage surrounding the men while walking to the clinic site. Not unlike politicians north of the border the two men were busy shaking hands as they made their way to the stage.

President of Compostella (county seat) and Governor of Nayarit

Governer Ney

President of Compostella

Even though this was a dedication ceremony politics still made it into this event. A very dramatic moment occurred when the opening speaker made a comment stating that had the President and Governor arrived in cars instead of the helicopter they would realize how bad the condition of the street/roads are. At this point the Governor just walked off the stage toward the helicopter. There was a big gasp and the non-Spanish speaking gringos asked "what did he say?".

Finally, and I suppose after making his point, the Governor returned and the celebration event went on as planned.

This was a great celebration for the North Carolina Rotarians and people of Chacala. Of course, the politicians made this day even more memorable with their drama.

Adventure on the Coast South of Puerto Vallarta

For an after graduation vacation Krista and I decided to explore the coast south of Puerto Vallarta. We did it in style taking my 1990 Madza Miata with the top down the entire trip.

The drive through the mountains on Mex 200 was beautiful, the coastal area in this part of Jalisco is called Costalegre. Lots of small towns with many topes (speed bumps) slowed the speed down just enough to take in the sites of the towns and people.

The first day took us to to Bahia Tenacatita. The bay is absolutley stunning with out croppings of rocks in the ocean. It's mostly a Mexican vacation spot and was very quite during our one night stay. We did a small hike over the hill to view the sunset and deserted beaches. The guacamole/chips, dorado fish dinner and a Pacifico was perfect after being on the road for several hours.

Our second day was a shorter time on the road as we decided to stop in La Manzanilla, just down the road for some retail therapy. While looking in jewerly booths I looked out into the estury that runs through town and much to my surprise saw a slew of crocodiles watching us shop. I've never seen so many in one place. It was a bit errie and they make the strangest noises when defending their territory.

Tummies full and several pesos lighter we headed on down the road to Barra de Navidad, a real gringo stop. We stayed at Casa Senorina B & B located just across the street from the beach. After a nice afternoon swim we walked through town looking for a good spot for dinner.

Barra has a great malacon (boardwalk) for people watching and just sitting to listen to the ocean.

We decided to wine and dine at a beach front Italian/French restaurant. The sunset was spectacular and dinner fabulous. A wonderful end to a great day.

After morning breakfast, coffee at a local shop and a bit more shopping, we continued on to Comala, a three hour drive just north of the city of Colima, in the state to Colima. Comala is one of 50 (only 37 to date) designated Magical colonial cities in Mexico. The drive was beautiful. We passed salt fields and stands selling salt in bulk. During the drive we also passed the large beach city of Manzanillo, a popular tourist spot with an international airport.

When arriving in Colima a taxi driver offered to escort us to Comala and the Casa Alvarda B & B for 100 pesos. I snapped that bargain up in a heart beat. What a cute and intimate B&B. The owners, Jupiter and Mara, are great hosts with two little girls, a dog and Stinky the cat who happened to guard my car all night.

The B&B is just two streets from the main square. Most shops closed early so we settled in for the evening at a funky recycled art gallery and bistro. The food was so so but the owner and ambiance made the evening magical with a full moon adding to the mood. The gallery was packed this evening.

After a scrumptous morning breakfast of pastries, freshly squeezed orange juice, brewed local coffee and stuffed puffed pastry, Jupiter took us on a tour that included viewing the active volcano Volcan del Fuego (fire volcano), one of the top 13 most active volcanoes in the world. Since our time was limited this particular tour did not get us too close to the volcano. After picture taking and turning around the volcano decided to let off some steam.

Another stop on the tour was a small colony where a third generation mask maker lived, Gorgonio Candelario C., a Nahua Indian. His masks are worn in festivals throughout Mexico. Of course, Krista and I now each have a mask on our wall.

During our drive we passed this wall sculpted by a local artist.

It was finally time to start our journey back to La Penita. Our travels took us back to Barra de Navidad for the evening staying at the same B & B and ate at the same Italian/French restaurant. Don't want to change a good thing.

We finally arrived in LP late the next day, exhausted but very content as we had another great Mom/Daughter Adventure.

One of our best yet!!

Morning After The Storm

On July 21st, the day before I departed for Denver for a two week jaunt to help Krista move to Vermont, what felt and looked like hurricane force winds accompanied by heavy rains hit La Colonia. The storm came from the east and arrived at dark. I rushed to close all windows but given the force of the wind the rain still came through every crevace. Out came towels and rugs to try to control the flow of the water.

At the end of the storm bedroom floors were saturated, the 1st floor family room and 3rd floor needed big time mop up as well. Two large 3 foot planters (with soil and plants) blew over and broke up, patio furniture was blown around and a tempered glass table shattered.

The neighbor's tree lost major limbs that fell on three vehicles. Nearby neighbors started cutting and removing the large branches after the storm and finished early the next morning.

Colonies just a couple miles to the south didn't get the high winds La Colonia experienced. A fluke of a storm.

The morning after pictures told the whole story about the powerful winds.

My Little Piece of Heaven

My back yard is so peaceful and quite. It's small but surrounded by beautiful tropical foliage and flowers.

The yard is fenced up high to keep my cats in and everything else out. It backs up to an estuary and is home to a large variety of birds, turtles, iguanas, lizards, and crocodiles. I can hear the waves of the ocean crashing on the beach, just on the other side and watch the tropical birds fly through the trees.

The sweet flowers of the garden attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Of course, with all the green foliage there are lots of lizards and a few baby turtles that make their way up to my back patio door that I relocate back to the garden area.

My cats are great stalkers and are always on the prow. Lizards or geckos get dropped at my feet (or so they try). A snake or baby croc will push me over the edge.

The lovely gardenia tree is now in full bloom. The Mexicans call this the "scent of the night" as the sweet scent only comes out at night. Some mornings the house is filled with the fragrance of the flower.

The two camerones bushes (shrimp plants) are loved by the hummingbirds.

















The colorful elephant ears are going wild with all the rain.
















And then there are several varieties of palm plants and trees all around the yard.














Last year the mango tree was full of fruit, this year it was pruned just before blooming so no fruit for another year.
It's a great climbing tree for the cats.

What better best place to just sit back, sigh and take in the all the tranquility and peace my back yard offers.

I'm Finally Back!

It's been much too long since my last post. I have so much to write about but time gets in the way, a lack of time that is. In the next few weeks I will write about different things that have happened over this past year.

Below is a sampling of some stories I want to cover:

The first item of importance is my daughter Krista. Time has blown by so fast that it's hard to believe she graduated from CSU in May. I don't feel any older but I have to be! I am truly proud of this child of mine. More pics and stories to follow about our Mom/Daughter Excellent Adventure in Mexico.

The second thing that takes up so much of my time is my business; Hidden Paradise Real Estate - http://www.hiddenparadiserealestate.com/

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to take off like a rocket. I opened my office less than one year ago near the busiest intersections in the area. I am so lucky to have the best clients ever and have made great friends along the way. I can honestly say "I Love My Job". More on real estate in Mexico later.

The swine flu scare, renamed H1N1, hit Mexico in April. Unless people live here or have close connections, the outside world cannot imagine what the publicity of this "non-event" has done to the economy of this country. Mexico City shut down, large resorts in Nuevo Vallarta (just outside Puerto Vallarta) closed for over a month, flights and cruise ships cancelled. Infrared temps were taken of incoming/outgoing passengers at the airport.

The resorts are now open and the cruise ships arriving but the damage is done and tons of reservations cancelled. This non-event will take some time to recover from. All I can say is that it must have been a bad news week.

A friend and I went to a great free concert in PV that was to promote tourism in the state of Jalisco. Headliners included Alejandro Fernandez, Enrique Inglacius (stole the show), Juan Sebastian and many many more artists that are very popular in Mexico. What a great time, one that I will write about as well. Below is a picture of the long line to get in before the sky opened up.

Now that I'm getting the writing juices flowing ,I'm thinking of so many interesting things that have happened over this past year. Time to start a list.

Stay tuned for more......

So Much To Do, Too Little Time

Life has been rather hectic the last three months in Paradise. I'm not sure where to start but here goes.

Kids selling popcorn balls in the hood

It's Official! I've come out of retirement. Dennis will tell you I never really retired because I was always so busy with community functions; spay/neuter clinics, silent auctions, fundraisers, beach clean ups, etc. You get the picture?

Well, I hung out my shingle and started a real estate company. The name of my company is Hidden Paradise Services. The colony we live in is called Paraiso Escondido, translated means Hidden Paradise. Clever huh?

The first step was to get approval from Immigration to legally work in Mexico and then to register with Hacienda (Mexico's IRS). Both steps were rather painless and ones that I accomplished on my own, even with my limited Spanish.

My biggest challenge in this whole process was building my website. I wanted to pull my hair out on more than one occasion. I'm computer savy but this was beyond my knowledge. I designed the website and didn't know the steps to get it on the web. So I enlisted (maybe twisted his arm) the help of a high school senior visiting La Colonia with his family. Did I say thank you enough times Cheyne? A big pan of bread pudding will be waiting just for you upon your return. Check it out: http://www.hiddenparadiserealestate.com/.

Long story short: I have been very busy ever since. My initial plan was to just market a condo property, but after an open house, setting up a table every week at the tiangis (market), and ads on the Internet, my business snowballed. I'm now listing homes, land, condos, and lots for sale and have several clients looking to buy. I come home at the end of each day with at least two hours of computer work and then I'm out for the count.

As exhausted as I sometimes feel, I'm having a blast!

Baskets, Baskets and More Baskets at the Market

Colorful Oaxaca Rugs at the Market

Over the holidays Krista visited for eight days. Unfortunately, she was sick before arriving so most of her time was spent recouperating. We did sneak in a Winter Solstice party, the market, a massage, pedicure, accupuncture and two chiropractic visits. Krista's friend Melissa joined us for five of those days. "Us girls" spent one night in Puerto Vallarta, met friends from La Penita for dinner, walked and shopped the malecon, and partied with other friends that just arrived from Denver. We had a blast! Krista's time here went much too fast.

In between showing/listing properties and having a table at the market each week, I try to slip in fun things as well. Sunday morning I organized a nature hike with friends and a zoologist/biologist I met through my business. Jerry and his wife own a bed and breakfast type property in La Penita. Our two hour plus walk was so educational, Jerry taught us about the different hummingbirds that visit the area, several species of birds, and a variety of trees and plants native to this region. I now look at the local plant life and birds with new found awareness.

A recent first for me; while walking the beach with friends early Monday morning, we discovered a turtle nest. The waves were slowly eroding the sand and exposing the eggs; the birds were having a feast. After shooing the scavingers away, we quickly dug up at least 125 eggs due to hatch at any time, placed them in buckets and sand, then carted the buckets to the turtle reserve for rescuers to properly care for. The rescuers responded quickly and called back to give a big thanks. What a good feeling to give mother nature a hand in her quest to save the endangered loggerhead turtles. It is believed that after many many years, the turtles return to the beach they hatched on to lay their own eggs. If only I had my camera to record our experience.

Another thing I really enjoy this time of year is looking for whales from the 4th level of our house. Lately my time has been limited but I have been so lucky to see several pods of whales. Two days ago a pod of about 12 whales located several hundred yards off the beach were putting on quite a show. This afternoon, several different pods where having too much fun breaching and splashing for as long as I watched them.

Just a few of the many reasons I love living here.

Children Around Town