Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!  The local greeting is Feliz Navidad!

We thought we'd include a couple of photos of the RV park where we are staying.

our rig is the one on the left, Mike & Mavis on the right

The palapa where we all socialize

The 3rd rig in the park.  Other years some transients come to stay after the New Year's

We purchased fresh poinsettias from a local vendor to decorate our patio and set up our wee artificial Christmas tree.

white and red poinsettias purchased from vendor who came to our site with a truckload -- cost only 50 pesos

Hand woven straw bells top our Christmas tree

Lit up at night.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we strolled through the village to see how the local people were celebrating the holiday. It was mostly quiet, with small family gatherings. The streets have been decorated this year with pinatas hanging from the wires.

 The village square has been decorated with a Christmas tree and nativity display.

 Neila asks for "dos" packages of dried cranberries which she will do up for our turkey dinner tomorrow.

 Neila and Mavis oogle the tinkets table of the street vendor. You can never have too many ear rings. Bob (with light bulb obscuring his face) holds thing in check.

 Ahh...the churro truck. Churros are like fresh donuts cooked in the shape of stick...or donut sticks. They are then dipped in sugar and cinnamon. They are a treat that you don't want to make a regular thing or else you will be having sessions with a cardiologist. Lots of carbs and lots of "grasso" fat.

The restaurant upstairs is nicely decorated. This one is newly opened and owned by an American from Colorado. We hear the food is good so we will have to try it out soon.

A sing-a-long outside the front door of a house.

A young hombre serenades his friends with Christmas songs.

This church is so crowded that the overflow stands outside the doors to hear the ceremony.

 Christmas Day

We started the day early by putting the turkey in the barbeque. We had to put the BBQ on the lowest setting and prop the lid open a bit to get the temperature to stabilize around 350 degrees.  In about an hour, things were really starting to smell good.

About 4 o'clock the turkey was turned over and then was ready about a half hour later. The three couples rounded out the main course with mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, carrots, stuffing, and green beans. Dessert was brownies, pumpkin loaf, and Neapolitan ice cream. We were stuffed to the max and sat around talking. The only thing missing was our families, which we all missed the most.

setting the table for Christmas dinner

Neila, Mike, Mavis and Bob ready to sit down for our turkey dinner

Local Entertainment

 

A new restaurant called "The Blue Pig" opened 3 weeks ago in San Pancho, a town 11 km south of us.  We drove there the past 2 Saturdays to enjoy the food (ribs, pulled pork and chicken) plus dance to the great sounds of the Deep River band.

The Blue Pig flying in the rafters

Bev, Vic, Mike, Mavis, Linda & Frank (hidden on left)

Sunday afternoons are "Open Mike" sessions where local winter residents entertain free of charge.  Last Sunday (Dec 18th) we had 2 gentlemen from Peru played traditional songs of South America on a wooden flute and conga drums.

Peruvian Quena Wood Flute

Conga drums

 A couple from Hawaii played guitar and sang Hawaiian Christmas songs.  Others groups played guitars, bass cello and keyboards in their performances of blues, country, etc. music.  The Open Mike sessions will resume in January and maybe we'll remember the camera to capture photos of the entertainers next time we attend!

Since schools in Mexico closed for 3 weeks on December 15th, the beach in Lo de Marcos is becoming busier with Mexican families joining the snowbirds.

Thursday Dec 22nd we found 2 or 3 volleyball nets set up on the beach which led to a few games.

Vic (in centre of photo) joins the beach volleyball game

the waves aren't big enough to boogie board so let's play volleyball!