Shrimp and Hummers

The camarone truck comes to our area twice a week and today we bought some little guys for din-din. They cooked up really nice on the barbie. MMMMMMM goood!

While Bev went off to Tonala this Rufous Hummingbird paid a visit to the feeder. I saw it just two days, then he moved on somewhere.

Rufous Hummingbird

3 on the feeder, not identified

Getting close, they really don't mind much. This is likely a Black-chinned Hummer.

One on, and one in-coming

January 29, 2011

Our daughter-in-law, Shannon, captured some beautiful photos of our beach area here in Lo De Marcos when they were here the first week of January so we've included her pictures in this post.

View looking north.

View from the southern point, where we boogie-board.

Looking out from the point, with morning shadows.

Below is a photo of the view of the harbor in Puerto Vallarta from a restaurant we dined at on the evening of January 10th before Warren, Shannon and Maxine boarded the plane to return to Toronto.

Pirate ship cruise.

Bev went on a shopping excursion to Tonala from Jan 19th to Jan 21st.  Tonala is an eastern suburb of Guadalajara which is the second largest city in Mexico.  The population of Guadalajara and it's seven surrounding municipalities is approximately 5 million.  The trip to Tonala took 5 hours (1 hour just to cross from the west side of Guadalajara to the east).  A coach bus was chartered for the 42 women on the excursion.  Total cost was $1100 pesos (about $92 Canadian) for the chartered bus, 2 nights hotel accommodation plus associated tips.  Food was cheap (less than $1 to $3 for a lunch, $9 to $11 for dinner and a drink).  A great time was had by all and new friendships formed as Bev only knew 1 other person on the bus when she boarded it!  The following photos are of some historic buildings, statue and fountain surrounding the town square in Tonala.  The first two photos include our friend Mavis who was travelling with Bev.

We have seen a few new species of birds this year in our campground.  The most beautiful being the Painted Bunting, as seen under our car, looking for seeds.

Internet sourced.

Another bird is the Yellow Winged Cicaque.  We had noticed their nests hanging from trees over the highway on the way to Puerto Vallarta and thought they were Oriole nests. Here is the link to view a photo of this bird and it's nest.
http://www.vivanatura.org/Cacicus%20melanicterus%20ExtraPhotos.html

The morning of Thursday, January 27th we came across the tracks of a large sea turtle who had come to shore to lay it's eggs on the beach.  Unfortunately, we did not have the camera with us but the turtle must have been quite big as the tracks were 4 feet across from one flipper imprint to the other.  Since then, we have seen additional tracks of other turtles, one about 5 feet across.  The beach is a protected area in regards to sea turtle eggs.

Thursday afternoon we attended a music session by talented gringos and Mexicans who get together once a week to perform for the enjoyment of family and friends.


We seldom have much in the way of cloud cover so sunsets are generally not something to write home about. Friday night (Jan 28th) was an exception.

January 14, 2011

Happy New Year to all our friends and family!  We have had a busy time since our last post on December 26th and friends and neighbours have been asking if we are still alive. Nope...just missing in action. We get into a lifestyle here that somehow doesn't leave time to update the blog regularly.

After Christmas, Bev joined the Thai Yoga classes held every morning at the El Caracol RV Park.  A great way to start the day!

This coast area has been busy since Christmas with Mexican families vacationing here as the children did not return to school until January 12th. The beach was usually busy with many Mexicans enjoying the Christmas break at the ocean. It is always great to see them here as we like this location with all its Mexican flavours.

The 3 couples here at the Savage RV Park joined the gang at the El Caracol RV Park to dine on New Year's Eve and stayed to toast in the New Year with an evening. The owners and workers of the park joined in, as well as three younger couples staying in the rental rooms. A fun time was had by all. Right after midnight the oldsters headed for bed and the Mexicans stayed on. Yup, they like to party.

Over the next week we spotted humpback whales 3 times surfacing along the coast.  The surf has become stronger so we've had a chance to boogie board most days.  The high tide is once again shifting the sand and changing the beach area.

On January 3rd, our son Warren and his family flew down to join us for a week.  We had a wonderful time with them and especially with our granddaughter Maxine who is now 11 months old.

Grandpa took her to see the caymen (like a crocodile) sunning himself in the ditch across the road, the horses grazing along the shoulder of a nearby street, and the beach dogs.  She loves dogs and is trying hard to say the word "dog".  We spent one day in Rincon de Guayabitos and another at the market in La Penita.

Maxine enjoys a breakfast of cream cheese on toast.

 The surf was fairly good and Warren and Shannon got to learn how to boogie-board and had a lot of fun. I think they got some appreciation for why we stay here in Lo de Marcos, with the great long beach, not a lot of people, and a real flavour of Mexico. They got to eat tostadas and beer on the beach from a palapa restaurant, take long walks on the beach, see the birds in the lagoon, and enjoy the sunny weather.

Sharing a tasty morsel with Mom.

Maxine wears her hand embroidered Mexican dress.

Maxine gets in close inspection of the camera.

While Mom and Dad go for a walk, Maxine gets a car ride with the park owner's daughter.

Always be alert when making right turns!

 The hummingbirds are very active now and we have bought an additional feeder from the Home Depot. Maxine got a real thrill seeing these little birds go zooming around. She would reach out to touch them and would talk to them, almost like asking them to come closer. The birds are very comfortable around people and you can stand right under the feeder while they feed, not more than  2 feet away.

Three on the feeder at once.

We miss our little Miss Maxine.

Its only been a few days since Warren, Shannon, and Maxine flew home and we miss them a lot. It was pure joy to be around Maxine for a whole week. We got to appreciate her development and amazed by her sign language. That was something that didn't exist when we had kids and what a great way to communicate. She was a great entertainment and we look forward to seeing her again in April.

The next event for us is a bus trip for Bev to Guadalahara. A group of 42 women in the area are going on a chartered bus on Jan  19-21. Vic will stay home to keep an eye on the beach.

On Feb 4th, daughter Laura and husband Bill will fly into Puerto Vallarta, staying at a hotel in town. We will join them a couple of days and probably drive them here for a visit. If Laura wasn't so pregnant, I'm sure she would enjoy zip-lining in Sayulita. Maybe another time.