Night of the Iguana

Sometimes you can't go back to where you had a fantastic time - everything has changed and you have changed. In this case, a hurricane wiped out the small village of Mismaloya - actually, a storm surge. What is there now is tourist central: palapas and beach restaurants. filled with sunburned tourists. In the past there were small kiosks and children and chickens running around in the trees, and you could walk along the rocks above the ocean to the infamous restaurant that looks out on the whole Bay. Supposedly the set is still there from the time of the movie, which made the Bay and Mismaloya famous, in the 60s, but we were so stunned with the

crowded beach, we
sat down to have a drink - and found out later that our non alcoholic drinks were more than $20. One of the hotels was not there, last time - with Jean and us - Linda? - and many of the houses on the hill are recent. I can't remember when we were last there - but remember the dress I wore, the large iguana that was sunning him/herself along the stream and the laid back ambience of the area. The trip out to Mismaloya is on a winding road, passing upscale houses and hotels, and all I could think was it would be wonderful to find the "old" Mexico that we experienced in the past. Robert and Lisa look bemused at the crowd.

Jon bought us the expensive drinks - we did have a good time, wondering if we could anchor there like the little sailboat - but I would think the surge would do us in.

The photo below shows the river, and a sense of how it all used to be: calm, peaceful, beautiful ----

We drove back into PV and Jon and Lisa discovered an organic health food store.

Typical cruiser day.

The thousand words

Photo from our stern one night....many nights like this. How great is that?

You can go home again - sort of.....

Eileen is one of the best friends anyone could ever have. Her cats were put in jail so that our two monsters could roam her house. She has the best guest bed of any I have ever slept on- and I hate to leave, as well as a shower that is firehouse strong. Bliss. Remember we sleep on a bunk and get wimpy showers in marinas or injure our elbows in the head while trying to wet down or use the camp shower on deck.

The laugh is typical and wonderful. It carries us all through prooblems and her, through life. We love her, big time.

The garage sale ladies - Caroline giving the values on the goodies that were brought over. We had thought it would be a huge one for the girls who had lost their mom, but it ended up with minor stuff from Caroline, ( I should have bought the church), a lot of stuff from Debbie, and our beads, and some furniture. It was as if we had never left Az. and being with friends was the greatest gift of all. We couldn't stop talk talking - Robert had to go hide out.

Shelley and Debbie -in the frozen south.

Us, hiding in the garage when the sun came out. The refrigerator behind holds a case of champagne. Sigh.

Eileen checking out what the girls brought over.....her hand had surg.
and she may have been walking around heavily medicated. Couldn't tell it by us..... We watched wonderful old movies with her when we were collapsing after all the running around.

Brunch with Bob and Eileen -in the sun. We look a bit tired - Bob spent a lot of time in Hawaii and is blessed by God, big time, with surfing summers in Calif. We will see him this summer. We are blessed with his friendship.

Canadian complaints

This looks like Paradise, doesn't it? Well the residednts of Mar Rosa, an rv park in Mazatlan, right in the hotel zone and on the beach - expensive real estate: were complaining, shivering, wearing heavy clothing. We had left PV in 80 degree weather, and found that the frozen north had arrived in the tropics. We cooked a fast dinner and went to bed with both sleeping blankets on top, and later, both dogs crawled up on the bunk....the van/ rv has a good sized bed, but not that big!

The road was full of the usual cows, and critters, but pretty empty - a herd of huge horned white charolai menaced the highway and we couldn't find any keepers around to keep an eye on them. There are signs of spring, in this freeze, trees that are totally bare of leaves have strange yellow flowers - shades of the Shop of Little Horrors, and the cinder cones are covered with green fuzz. Heading north means putting on socks, and finding out that the temperature in Scottscale is 13 degrees. And that the Canadians brought this strange weather down from home.

We found a very nice trailer park in Ciudad Obregon, but rented one the the rooms - and piled the sleeping bags on the bed. Still freezing. It was great getting over the border the next day, and we checked into a motel and pigged out on Jack in the Box, bypassing the Gem Show in Tucson. In years past we would have been right in there spending our kid's inheritance.....this year we buy food to take back. And will sell all the beads at the garage sale. I hope. It was fun to create the jewelry - but will have to stay in one place to market the stuff. Or Ebay when we are 98.

We got as far as the gate to the beach above and I was mentioning watching the sunset when Robert suggested not- too cold for romance. I think all of Mazatlan was hunkered down in heavy clothing wondering if romance is worth removing clothes.