Over Half Way

Every company and most organizations that I know of provide the people with whom they are connected a mid year report summarizing their activities up to that date.  This is my mid "Big Adventure" mid adventure report for all to read.

We are now about 50% through this journey and probably about 65% through the Mexico portion.  The final 35% of Mexico will consist of our continuing stay at the lot, the massive pack up of our gear and the drive back up to the border.  We have talked to our friends Larry and Maggie and we will be following them back up through Mexico to the states sometime at the end of March.

After we reach the border we will part ways and Canyonwren (our camper) will take us up into some of the areas we want to see in the Four Corners region of the United States.  Our plans will be to flow where the winds take us until some time near tax time, in April, and then we will stop our rambling and land back home.

At this point in our Big Adventure we have settled into a rhythm of daily activity.  We have all the lot logistics figured out and under control. Water still comes and goes so we fill the camper tanks when we hear the pila filling. The sound of trickling water sends me running to the front of the camper where we have our water pump and hoses.  I turn on the water valve, hook the connectors up to the truck battery and run the hose into the camper tank intake and just like that we have water!

We are averaging about 11 days per propane tank which, we use to run the refrigerator and the hot water heater. I have collected four propane tanks, two from Larry and two from our camper.  The process to fill these tanks involves driving to Cihuatlán about 20 miles to the south and going to the Global Gas filling station.  I don't know if I told you about this process but it goes like this.  You pull in and put the tanks on a platform.  The guy looks at the tanks and writes out a slip and gives it to you.  You then go over to a mirrored window and stand there. In a few minutes a very small slider opens and you hand the slip to a lady (or just a hand) and the slide closes. Then you wait and the slider opens and the slip is returned with a total on it.  You hand the slip and the pesos back inside and then if there is change it is returned with a receipt. Then you nod and take it back to the platform and your tanks are filled but you don't get them until you hand the receipts to the man who takes one receipt and then hands the final one back. A tank costs about $11.00 US dollars to fill, which is less than in the US.

The final two logistics are the toilet and shower.  When we have water, the toilet flushes. When the water is not running we have to dip water from the pila and fill the tank and then flush. It's that easy. We take showers each night to get the sweat and grit of the day; the mosquito repellent and heat off our bodies.  We use the outside shower with water from the camper.  The dirty water washes off us and collects in a shower basin with a hose attached to it.  The hose drains down away from the camper along the wall of the lot.  I have planted some various plants at this point and they are doing quite well.

Our daily rhythm is nothing special, the days come and go. It does however seems like we meet new people every day and so Linda has, for my sake, started keeping a note pad of who's who in Melaque. She has about two pages of notes and it has been very helpful for me as the days pass.

The last couple nights have been movie nights. We have watched American Hustle and August: Osage County and enjoyed both in different ways.  We try to watch movies about two to three nights a week.  It keeps us from going out and spending money on dinners and entertainment. 

We talk about our adventure all the time and have come to the conclusion that we are doing the right thing and that everything sometimes feels somewhat surreal. We sometimes have to pinch ourselves to see if we are actually doing this and not just dreaming it.  

As you can see our mid trip report is "muy bueno". I have taken the stance that I won't make plans for our next exploration until this one is over, Linda is ready scheming how to get back down here, visit everyone we have met and come to call friends and explore new areas. 

It looks like we could be on the road a lot in the next few years.

Here are some pictures I have collected that don't fit any of my blog stories. :-)

Goofing around on Mike Anderson's birthday.

Mike gave Linda this bike. Thanks and happy birthday big guy!

Dennis playing on his last day in Mexico.

Iris and her intense smile as she go for a killer spike.

Sun falling on the rocks of Melaque.

The Pink House Party

Love how the sun reflects off the sand!

In the last week or so we have been able to get to know two couples whom we have heard a lot about but were never able to meet.  They are Pink House people too!  Berry and Leigh, Tom and Debra come from Nanaimo BC.  They rent old Pink from January 3rd until March every year.  Therefore we have never met them until we were able to stay down into January.  What a great couple of couples!

Just another sunset.

Like I said, we have been able to find out more about them and have noticed that we have quite a bit in common, plus we have the same opinions of the Pink. We all agree the Pink needs some repairs and we also agree that it is a super location.

Last night we watched the sun set and then attended a party at their (our) house.  Everyone was invited and it was a great turn out.  Folks talked and shared wonderful foods while a group of talented friends provided music.  It was another great night in Melaque!

Fishing fleet boats anchor by the point.

The two Teds and Hal.

Mexico Can Be A Bit Confusing

This sign points us to the main highway.

This year when we arrived in Melaque I noticed that they had installed tsunami evacuation route signs through out the city.  Last year there had been several off shore earthquakes and I guess this was their way of improving the safety of this city.

As I rode the streets on my daily travels I became interested in the signs and where they directed people to flee to escape the rising waters of the ocean in a catastrophic event.

Today I decided to follow the signs leading away from our area near the laguna.  I grabbed my bike and off I peddled. Some of the signs had arrows and some did not.  I kept going and the ones with the arrows lead me to a place where I could see a point of safety up on a hill overlooking the highway.  I stopped below the sign and took a photo and then started looking for a path up to the sign and the safety zone.  I couldn't find one.

I can honestly say that they must have bushwhacked up the back side of the hill to install the sign that showed that this was a point of safety.  My guess is that the signs get you to the rock face and then it is your job to climb to safety.

Honest I checked for a trail or something.

As I rode back to the lot, my attention went to the small arrow signs on the walls of buildings that denoted the direction that traffic was supposed to flow. One way streets are common in Mexico and it is up to you to discover which streets are one way and which direction they are going. The arrows help but are almost always hard to see or non existent.

Just after I took the first photo, I rode to the next corner and spotted a one way arrow.  As I sat there I saw three cars and a taxi go the wrong way on the one way street.  I took a photo and then rode home.

At home I grabbed a drink and sat down to think about what I had seen this morning.  Tsunami routs up cliffs and one ways that no one follows. I smiled and remembered where I was.

Street going right is one way, Straight ahead is a two way.

One way to the left, cars driving to the right. ???