JOURNAL OF TININTHEWIND

     Seems like eons ago that we had our Thanksgiving celebration but it has been only a few days and in that time it sure has been anything but boring. 

     Ken and Debbie announced that we were invited to their place to sample Ken’s chili that he will be entering in this year’s chili cook-off.  The impromptu party was well attended and the chili, well it was excellent.  All the other competitors need to crank it up a little if they intend to stand a chance against Ken.  Ken and Debbie’s dog “Buck” has gotten to know us all and when we pay a visit to Ken and Debbie, Buck is sure to request his share of attention.  He is a very gentle giant and a delight to have around the party.

     Of course there has been the Sunday night hamburger night at the pool and several visits by friends to our pad and us to their’s, but the focus for us was to get ready for a road trip.

     There is a “bass lake” that has been getting some press in the states.  The lake, Agua Milpa, was established approximately 9 years ago by building a huge dam and then allowing the reservoir to fill.  The dam doesn’t come close to the humongous Hoover Dam in the states but by Mexican standards it was a very big accomplishment.  Shortly after the reservoir filled it was stocked by an American bass enthusiast with Florida strain bass.  I will let the link I am providing here to tell the story of what has happened since.  www.wheretofish.com/milpa1.html

     Lake, Agua Milpa, is located well into the mountain range that is very prevalent when you go anywhere inland of the Pacific Coast.  Kathleen and I planned a two day adventure, packing an overnight bag, and letting our RV Park neighbors know where we were going and when to expect us back.  Even though by miles this trip should be a relatively one day adventure, but going anywhere in Mexico if not on a four lane road can be a real challenge.  One big truck loaded with steel rebar or the like in the mountains can make an expected short trip a very long day.

     The drive North to Tepic was uneventful and to our surprise we were able to make good time.  Finding the road that was shown on all our maps that would lead us to Agua Milpa turned out to be a bit difficult.  After looking around for awhile trying to find it on narrow streets and unfamiliar territory I decided to stop at an Auto Parts store and see if anyone could speak English.  There were four guys present counting the customers at the counter and none of them spoke any English at all.  No worries, as by pointing to a map and a few gestures and I had help from everyone.  Some contradicting the other and it was getting a little confusing.  Finally one of them pointed to his motorcycle and indicated that he would lead me to where I had to go.  Everyone patted me on the back and in there way wished me luck!  My new motorcycle friend indicated that he did not expect anything in return for leading me but I insisted and gave him the equivalent of $5.00 U.S.  Down the road we went and some five or 6 blocks later he pulled over and pointed with big gestures that all I had to do was continue straight ahead.  A big hand shake and “Gracia Amigo”, and we were on our way.

     The drive from Tepic in to the mountains really got interesting.  Not wanting to bore you with too much detail I will let the pictures tell some of the story.  The drive was beautiful but not a road I would want to take the motor home on as overhanging tree limbs would do a number on the top and sides.  We encountered two military check points, the first of which I apparently ran without stopping on our way in and the second one was on the way back when they were set up fully expecting me to return.  They were relatively pleasant about it all and soon we were on our way.  I wish I could have got a picture of these dapper chaps with their M-16’s slung over their shoulder but somehow I don’t think they would have appreciated my attempt.  There were donkeys on the road and on occasion you would come upon one laying in the shade right in the center of your lane.  Several Mexican Caballero’s on their horses were herding a bunch of Brahma type cattle down the center of the road but motioned for us to pass.  Surprisingly the cattle just moved over and let us by, paying us very little attention.  It was obvious they had done this before.

     After reaching Agua Milpa I got the opportunity I was looking for to visit the lodge and even visit with a couple of American fishermen who were there and had flown in from Oklahoma.  They had been boating from 40 to 50 bass per outing per boat and both the quantity and quality were pleasing them.  I on the other hand was not very impressed with the layout of the lake and the look of the water.  The water appeared to be extremely dirty and looked like the Mississippi does after a gully washer of a rain.  Really my sole purpose in checking this lake out was to see if I could get the motor home to it and perhaps find a facility with an electrical hook-up.  Neither are going to happen, and because of the distance in to the mountains it will not be a lake that I can fish by making day trips from La Penita.  I haven’t totally given up on the possibility of doing a two day trip and will wait for an e-mail from the owner of the lodge as to the charges for accommodating about four of us from the Park.  We will see. 

     Water Taxis are a way of life here.  Somehow one feels as though you are deep in the Amazon somewhere as these Taxis leave regularly with goods and people being returned to the villages that are miles away along the reservoir and not accessible by road. 

     Our next adventure awaits!

Posted by George at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Special Thanksgiving 2007

     What do you do when you are far from family, friends, and home and it is an important traditional holiday time?  You will miss family of course, but you surround yourself with new friends, talk about home and family, and then try to celebrate the holiday best that you can.

     Today, November 22, 2007 we did just that.  We celebrated with two other American couples and six very special Canadian couples.  Basically, this was our “hooker” group with three added couples who now have unofficially become honorary “hookers”.

     Several days ago the three American couples, us included put out the invite to our Canadian friends to come to our pad for a traditional thanksgiving celebration.  All accepted, and each couple offered to bring a dish to share.  Of the tree American couples, Kathleen and I, and Ken and Debbie offered to each cook a 10 lb turkey.  The other American couple Jim and Debbie would come up with some pumpkin pies.  Neither turkeys nor pumpkin pies were going to be an easy find in this foreign land.  Jim and Debbie were planning a run to Puerto Vallarta to take care of some business and would stop at Wal-Mart.  Kathleen and I were also headed for Wal-Mart and would try to find the turkeys.  Jim and Debbie stopped at Wal-Mart early in the a.m. and found that they didn’t have pumpkin pies but they had some fresh made excellent looking apple pies and with satisfaction that they would do they left to go conduct their business and would stop to pick them up on their return toward La Penita later in the day.  To make a long story short they returned to Wal-Mart in the afternoon only to find that all those good looking apple pies were sold out.

     Now the story about the Turkeys!  Kathleen and I found the section of Wal-Mart where the frozen turkeys were located and they were pretty well picked over but a few remained.  They were very different looking and even though they were packaged much like the traditional butter ball from the states something was just not right.  The price for one was confusing because as near as we could figure the exchange rate from pesos to dollars, these birds were going to cost us about $26.00 to $27.00 each.  The packaging was in a dark rapping rather than the traditional see through that we were accustomed too, and of course everything about the bird was in Spanish. 

     Ken being a pretty good chef and myself wanting to show my abilities at roasting a bird were going to have a little friendly competition with us each doing our thing and we were going to make fun of it.  Kathleen and I selected two equal weight birds, finished the rest of our shopping, and headed back for La Penita and the RV Park.  We dropped off Kens bird apologizing for the price we had to pay, but what else could we do, after all they had probably been trucked a long way to get them this far into the tropics, where for sure not a lot of people were in to doing a traditional thanksgiving thing anyway.  Kathleen and I proceeded to our RV.  A few minutes later Ken showed up at our door to let us know that he had just figured out why they were so darn expensive.  The turkeys were precooked and mesquite smoked.  News of our mistake spread quickly in the RV park and for the next 24 hours we took some good natured ribbing as our guests would stop by with tongue in cheek to wish us well with the turkey preparation and to let us know that they hoped we didn’t get wore out with all we had to do to bake that bird!

     The turkeys did require a finishing treatment of about 40 minutes at 300 degree’s and both Ken and I made the best of it. 

     Our guests arrived and like always no matter the country of origin or place of celebration the food quantity was more than enough and the quality of dishes to share were outstanding, and get this, many agreed that for future celebrations when a turkey was called for they might just go looking for a precooked, mesquite smoked bird, as it was very juicy, tender, and tasty.

     The afternoon was filled with good eats, pleasant conversation, more than enough good beverages, and the fostering of friendships that will only become stronger as our time here in La Penita continues to play out.

     Thanks to our Canadian Friends, and the other two American couples for making this a very special day.

     Click below on the word Photo to be taken to an album of photo’s depicting the day.  Enjoy!

                                                            Photo

Posted by George at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     For some two weeks now at about 1:00 in the afternoon while outside on the patio or working around the motor home we could hear in the distance the beating of drums and the blowing of bugles.  We learned early on that it was the local school practicing for a special celebration.  Today was that celebration.

     The parade was to start at 9:00 and we made plans to meet some of our RV park friends at the Avenida Restaurant and from there we could have breakfast and then stay sitting to watch the parade as it passed by.

     The parade got under way on Mexican time (around 10:00) and one could tell by the hustle and bustle leading up to its start that this was going to be a big deal.  Moms and Dads rushing about helping their little ones get in position.  Police cars and police on motorcycles with lights flashing and sirens blaring led the way.

     The whole parade was led by the littlest of tykes first all dressed in their finest and prompted by mom or dad as they marched along and then the rest of the parade which strung out for some 3 hours as each group to come by was represented by next in age it seemed.  The costumes were representative of the defenders of the revolution or participants.  If you ever want to see color used in all its splendor just attend a Mexican celebration.

     There were a few of us gringos on the street to witness what was obviously an important day for our friends the local La Penito residents, and we were welcomed and allowed freedom of movement and the taking of photos as the parents and grandparents all beamed with pride as their family members paraded by.  If mom or dad saw us struggling to get a good picture of their little ones they would encourage them to pose for us and then grin from ear to ear happy that these strangers in their land wanted to photo them.

     It is hoped that the pictures that follow will give you a flavor for what we were privileged to witness.

     If you are still with us, some history can be had by reading the following.

November 20, 1910 was the beginning of the Revolution in Mexico to overthrow Porfirio Diaz. General Diaz had successfully led Mexico during the wars with foreign invaders. His popularity gained him many followers. He and his supporters tried unsuccessfully to overthrow President Benito Juarez in 1872. He did succeed in his rebellion against President Lerdo de Tejada in 1876. Under his rule, Diaz did great things for Mexico creating industry, better railroads, as well as an increase in foreign capital. He had good intentions for Mexico but this prosperity did not help the citizens, especially the peasants and blue collar workers.

Political unrest resulted and the outcome was the creation of the Mexican Liberal Party by Ricardo Flores Magon. Magon was persecuted by the Porfireist regime and died in prison.

Francisco Madero created the “Anti-reeleccionista” Party, being a strong supporter of democracy. President Diaz saw him as a threat. Madero fled to the United States. While in exile he declared himself President Pro-Temp after uncovering information that proved the elections to be a fraud. In this declaration, Madero promised to return all the land that had been taken from them and he called for universal voting rights. His call for an uprising was on November 20^th, 1910, marking the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

This led to a northern uprising led by the famous Francisco Pancho Villa who fought for rights for peasants in that area. In the south, Emilaino Zapata led an uprising to claim their rights over local land and water. Revolts began in other parts of the country. President Diaz was finally defeated and resigned, fleeing to exile in France where he died in 1915.

Posted by George at 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kathleen, here.

Ah, La Penita.

We waited so long to get here and the road was long and winding. We are now settled in. We have become familiar with our surroundings, the sounds, the sites. As one studies our pictures, the thick growth of the jungle is quickly noticed. The small towns that line the beaches continually fight the rapid growth of the lush green palm, banana and mango trees. These small towns exist between the jungle and the Pacific Ocean with its waves relentlessly pounding the white sandy beaches.

We have our cameras close by at all times waiting for a shot of one of the many exotic animals that live here. Geckos can be spotted quite often as I walk to my clothes line behind the coach. These little guys are fast and can feel you coming so they are gone in a flash. A small black snake lives in a pile of dirt and rock not too far from us. A much bigger serpent lives in the thick jungle behind us. He has been spotted by George; I haven’t seen it. I don’t want to see it. Spiders of various sizes keep their distance. Iguanas are often spotted sunning themselves on the wide heavy branches that hang out over the park. A story is told that one morning an iguana was sleeping on a branch. He lost his balance and he fell into the swimming pool startling volley ball players. Exotic birds sing outside our windows and tiny aunts continue to find ways to enter our coach. We are constantly fighting the aunts but welcome the beautiful song of the birds.

We have caught a few photos of these locals. The one that everyone tries to get a shot of is a family of crocodiles that live in a swamp near by. Their tracks can be seen on the sandy beach. A few lucky photographers have gotten pretty good shots. We will post the first pictures that we get of them.

The RV Park is on the Northern edge of La Penita.  A short walk will take you to the down town area where shops line the narrow streets. Pretty much everything you need can be found in these tiny shops. The town has many restaurants, as well. (Mexican food, of course, along with other quisines). There is nothing like the fresh produce that is reasonably priced. There are several wonderful bakeries with their fresh loaves of bread and pan dulce which means sweet bread. So Good. A perk for staying at our RV Park is that twice a week, a vegetable/fruit truck and a bread truck visits us.

There is no time to be bored here at the park. Volley ball every morning at the pool. Several types of exercise classes are offered. Twice a week there is a social gathering for any one who is hungry for tacos or hamburgers and hot dogs. The holidays are approaching and a social gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving, (no matter where you are from) is planned. Christmas will be a day of celebrating and good eating as well I hear. 

We have gotten to know a lot of the folks who traveled with us from Tucson. Most are staying the whole season. We are looking forward to spending time with them as we get more acclimated to Mexican life. So far it seems to agree with all of us.

The caravan that brought us down here was broken up into several groups. Our group of six RVs consisted of three from the USA and three from Canada. We have stayed close  and are enjoying each other’s company. We call our little group the “Hookers,” as we all enjoy fishing and one cannot fish without a hook.

Below are more photos from our album. Enjoy them and keep posted for more stories and more great pictures.

Posted by riverjones at 09:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     Today is one of those lazy kind of days where you feel just enough ambition to clean up a little around the place and then just kick back with a cold beverage.

     Kathleen started the day by getting up early and going to exercise class.  Came home and showered while I puttered around outside sweeping the patio and putting a few things in their place.

     I dropped what I was doing when the “bread lady” as we call her came through the park singing “rodillo.”  Apparently that is the word for rolls/breads or something to that effect.  She walks along side of the pick-up as her husband drives and the back is filled with fresh baked goodies.  Her fresh baked goods are second to none and she does a brisk business a couple days of the week here in the park.

     Marg and Olga came calling to let us know that the “hookers” were getting together at Jerry and Marg’s place about four to have supper. The main course to be the fish we caught on our charter yesterday.  We are to bring a salad. 

     Kathleen has been at the pool for awhile now.  It is much cooler today than it has been and for the first time ever we have a little cloud cover.

     I will be including some pictures from around our “pad.”  We like our site as it is handy to go to the pool.  A place that we frequent often.

Posted by George at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     La Penita Charter Fishing is not a high ticket item, nor are the boats available to take a charter out anything fancy.  Jerry, Ken, Brian and I booked our trip for this morning a few days ago by giving the Charter service a down payment of 400 pesos and were told that the boat would pick the four of us up at our RV  park beach Thursday a.m. at 6:30 give or take.  Right at 6:30 our boat showed up and we got on board.

     We had booked a 4 hour charter which would cost total 1600 pesos or $160 U.S. so $40.00 U.S. each.  Our two Mexican guides spoke very little English but that was not a problem as fishing is fishing no matter what language.

     We hooked and boated three fish.  The Dorado that you see in the picture and two small Tuna which we threw back.  We had one other hit but the fish got off before Ken got the rod in his hands.

     I would guess that we were at most approximately 3 to 5 miles off shore most of the morning.  I did get one picture looking at the RV park up on the hill as we were coming back in to be let off at the beach.

     The Dorado has been cleaned by Jerry and Brian and I believe we will all be getting together for a fish dinner in the near future.

     It was very pleasant out on the water if not a bit cool, but we jumped back in the oven the minute we landed on shore.  It has been a very warm humid day today.

     As an added note:  We have had a battery failure in the Jeep and buying a battery here in La Penita was an expensive proposition.  I now have a Mexican battery in the Jeep and I do believe they are communicating OK.  I passed on the first one I found as the price was $105.50 at the first auto parts store I stopped at.  At the second auto parts store I did purchase one for $105.00 U.S.  It has a little more cold cranking capability than the one at the first store plus I saved .50 cents.  Ha.  The dash fan motor for using the a/c has also failed in the Jeep and we have an appointment at the Chrysler Dealership in Puerto Vallarta Monday morning so will get that taken care of while we do some shopping in the big town.  The warm/hot humid tropical air is hard on things, we are finding.

Posted by George at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     A few evenings ago we had the opportunity to participate in the release of baby turtles belonging to an endangered species of the Sea Turtle family.  The local University has an ongoing program of rescuing eggs from nests along the beaches in this area that would otherwise be disturbed or robbed by the local people who haven’t quite got with the protection of endangered species programs.  The eggs are highly prized by some of the indigenous people of the area.  The University students then incubate the eggs for 45 days and the little ones hatch.  At one day old they are then released to begin their journey back in to the sea and the possibility of one day becoming an adult who then would return to lay eggs, and the cycle would be repeated.

    The odds of having 100 eggs hatched in a protected environment, and then 100 baby turtles released, only one will survive to adult status to return to the beach one day to lay eggs.  If there were not programs to protect, hatch, and release, it would take 1000 eggs in the natural environment to allow 1 baby turtle to make it to become an adult.

     As part of the fund raising efforts of the local program we were asked if we would sponsor a baby with a thirty peso donation ($3.00).  We chose to sponsor four on behalf of our four grandchildren and promptly named our four, Mason, Maddie, Zak, and Ellie.

     A line was drawn in the sand well up from the ocean surf as the little ones need to experience the struggle of reaching the waters edge on their own power.  Kathleen released two and I released two.  It was emotional moments for us both to know that the struggle for survival was very slim but yet we know that our little name sakes are tough and they should have a good chance to make it.

Good Luck Little Ones!

Posted by George at 09:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     Our stay at La Penita RV Park just gets better and better.  We are doing a lot of exploring and having a great time with every thing we find.  This park was billed as the friendliest park in all of Mexico and I can believe it.  Not only did we make life long friends with the group of 5 couples that traveled together and were affectionately named the “Happy Hookers”, but those that continue to show up and claim their spots are all extremely pleasant to be around. 

     There are so many structured events that take place within the park that for sure one can not get bored.  Every morning from 7:00 to 12:00 breakfast is served pool side.  At 10:00 pool volley ball starts.  Thursday is market day in down town La Penita.  Sunday afternoon starting at 5:00 is burger night at the pool.  Tuesday evening starting at 5:00 is “Taco Tuesday”, taco’s are six peso’s each (.60), and the margaritas are free.  There are water aerobic classes, stretching and yoga classes, line dancing classes, and several others that I can not remember.  The local beautician comes to the park two days a week for hair cuts, and manicure sessions for the ladies.  There is a chiropractor who comes once a week (he gets lots of business).  The purified water truck comes through the park every day and you set your empty 5 gallon jug outside with $1.70 taped to it and he leaves a fresh one.  The fresh fish/shrimp truck comes a couple times a week.  The lady who runs the bakery delivers to the park twice a week.  At any given moment someone can knock on your door and announce that they are hosting a patio party, just bring a dish and come on over. 

     This is going to be a tough ticket to leave if we decide to move on at the end of our month that we initially committed too.  The park managers have given us the green light to stay till March if we like but we have this itch under our saddle and may want to go further down the coast and check out a few more parks.  We will see.

     The jungle surroundings are all around you and the critters can be very interesting.  We have yet to see our first iguana but others have seen a lot of them.  Some up to several feet in length.  We did have a big snake come by our site a couple days ago but he was going “hell bent for leather” and I just caught a glimpse of him.  Last evening Kathleen went to move the little wooden portable cloths drying rack we have set up outside and a “walking stick” about 8” long had taken up hanging from one of the spokes.  There are little geckoes (lizards), everywhere.  Some of the guys who have managed to catch them place them on their shoulder and the little things become quite a pet, the problem surfaces, when they want to go in to the motor home and the wife says---“no way with that thing on your shoulder.”

     Remember if new entries do not appear below as you scroll down just check to the Right to see if there are any that you may have missed.  I have uploaded a bunch of them today to try and get caught up from when the WiFi was not hooked up.  Also remember to put your pointer over a picture for a description.

Posted by George at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Breakfast at La Penita RV Park Pool

     Breakfast is and always has been my favorite meal of the day.  How lucky could I be that a Mexican Family from the little nearby town of La Penita has set up a very basic open air restaurant next to the pool for the express purpose of serving from 7:00 to noon.

     The menu is pretty complete with one being able to order pretty much as you would in any good restaurant in the states, but this Mexican lady makes and omelet that is to die for.  There are eggs any way you would like them, hashbrowns with a traditional Mexican twist of green and red pepper chunks mixed in, ham or bacon, sausage links and I believe even sausage patties if you like.

     With every plate comes a generous portion of cut up fruit, picked fresh in the local tropical area.  It is almost more than a little guy like me can handle at one sitting, and the price, well it seems that no matter what you order it is going to cost $4.50 U.S. or forty five pesos.

     Many of our fellow park residents, show up early for a swim in the pool, then while still dripping wet, sit down at the tables under the palms that surround the pool, and have breakfast.  Kathleen and I on the other hand tend to wander over and sit for breakfast before swimming cause the pool is only about 35 yards from the front of our Motor Home.  We can swim anytime since we are so close and usually do several times a day, and then again at about 10:00 p.m. when all are turned in for the night----well, that’s another story!

Posted by George at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     I am sure there is some disappointment that I have not been updating the web-site but we are still waiting for the WiFi to get up and running throughout the whole park.  The wires have now been strung and the repeaters have been positioned on the various levels of the Park.  I can get a fairly strong signal but apparently there are things to finish up because I can not connect.  I have looked for the guy who is doing the work as has everyone else and he seems no where to be found.  Bummer.  Until it is up and running it is difficult to sit outside at the office even though one can access the web that way, cause you can’t get anything done.  Many are on line and or mingling and you can’t concentrate as everyone is talking or asking questions.  I will wait and then bombard you with many updates.

     We have been taking exploratory trips in the jeep almost daily and have had some neat experiences.

     One of our first trips was to Chacala.  A small sea side village, mostly inhabited by and frequented by native Mexicans.  There is however an American lady who came to Chacala some five years ago, decided she liked the people and location, settled in, and has been living there.  She writes an almost daily blog and I have been reading her off and on for about 3 years now.  She also has always done a great job with adding local pictures to her blog.  She is a bit private about talking about herself and one never sees a photo that she would be in, also over the three years I have been reading her, the best I could come up with was her name was probably Ann.  She appears to be living on a very meager SS check, but then her needs are kept quite basic.  I have had other observations about her and was anxious to see if I could find her.

     While having a fantastic meal at one of the beach side restaurants I tried with my very broken Spanish to ask if anyone knew of her.  No one did.  On walking back to the car there was a few 5^th wheels parked along the beach with Canadian plates and some of the people were sitting in the shade under the coconut trees.  After visiting a bit and finding out they had been coming here for several years I asked if they knew of an American lady who lived in or around the area.  “You mean Andy”, one of them said.

     It appears that she is around throughout the day and can be found hanging out in various places.  The gentleman who knew of her offered to help me find her and even to take me to where she lived if I would like.  I declined, for the moment, but promised to take him up on his offer later on.  After all we are to be in the area for a good deal of time.

Posted by George at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     As I sit here writing this piece, Kathleen is at the pool playing water volley ball with the gang.  There is a lot of clapping and laughing going on so I assume they are having a good time.

     WiFi came on line and it is so good to have access to the internet from the comfort of "home" rather than having to go sit outside, usually in the dark, near the front office, where there was far to much activity and chatter going on the concentrate for very long on anything.  It worked for getting ones e-mail but that was about all.

     Speaking of outside, I am sitting on our patio outside the coach enjoying a nice breeze while I start to bring this blog up to date and get some pictures posted for you.  If Kathleen comes back from pool volley ball in a few minutes I will get her to take a picture of my little corner of this world and post it for you.  There are exotic birds in the palms making their unique sounds and in spite of my sleeping in till 10:00 this morning it isn't getting to tropical in temperature just yet.  When it does this will be put on hold and the pool will be very inviting.

     I will be updating much more frequently now that I have easy access.  I will always try to include a few pictures relevant to what I am writing about.  Thanks for being along and interested in what we are doing.

     In the above at the pool you can see Kathleen is at Serve.  In the background you can see the area where breakfast is served by the Mexican family every day except Thursday.  It also is the area where Sunday hamburger night is held. 

Posted by George at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

     Rather than go in to a lot of detail now I will let the pictures I will include speak for themselves.  In short I can tell you that it far exceeds our expectations.  It is stunningly beautiful.  We couldn’t be happier with our site.  I have tried for now to only include pictures that are representative of what we see while on or very near what is to be our “home” for at least the month of November.  In addition the pool is great; our fellow La Penita residents are warm and friendly.  It is true we are high above the beach area but a short winding drive down hill in the jeep and we can park within an easy walk of a spectacular soft sand beach.  Life is good! 

More to come!!!!

Posted by George at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)