Muy agradecido

Happy Thanksgiving All – we are happily and humidly hanging on the hook, here at La Cruz. 

We are cooking in! with a local theme – seafood. There are turkey dinners (catering to us yatistes) in some of the restaurants in town, but a visit to the Mercado Pescado yesterday morning has led us to marinating shrimp, defrosting Mahi Mahi steaks, cooking up a batch of cayote (a squash that crosses a zuccini with a pear), and topping it off with pumpkin bread baked yesterday. We plan a day of cooking, reading, floating, and maybe a phone call or two to family. Thinking of all our friends and appreciating your enthusiasm for our year away.

On Monday, it will already be two weeks that we have been off the town of La Cruz. We have enjoyed the relaxation, scouted out all the most authentic places in town, and are ready to move on. We will wait to formulate a plan about how/when/where? to receive the exhaust pipe that we want to carry as a spare for the distance ahead. So no departure date yet…

Photos will help paint a picture of some of the highlights of our week. (Things like laundry, fridge defrosting, and boat washing didn’t make the photo file.)

A highlight last weekend was a horseback ride before we left the beach at Bucerias. That’s “Tequilla” on the right and “Platano” on the left. Antonio, the horse owner was happy to let us run them. What a treat! The only thing that was missing were our long pants – we came away a little raw after a 30 minute ride.

A great stretch of beach for riding

We bought one of these beautiful hand turned painted bowls.

The birds go crazy when the fisherman brought their nets into the beach
at Bucerias

The courtyard at Yaya's and sweet resident dog

Next, we had a Saturday night dinner reservation at YaYa’s, back in La Cruz. The dinner was so-so, but we were really there for the Cuban dance band. We danced together, and joined the owner’s daughter when she led us in the Cha-cha-cha. Melinda even got to dance with the bartender who left his post regularly to show his smooth style on the dance floor. The band was a trio – bongo drums, keyboard, and vocalist. They added to the top of recorded music – but a decent sound system and great fun!

Rick's cuban dance band

The Chachacha

The dancing bartender

Some of my little friends, Carlos and Kamus
playing "Memoria" with the flashcard I made.

On Monday and Wednesday nights, I volunteered at the little outdoor night school in town. There is another American who teaches English regularly to older kids and teenagers. I was there to help out with any younger kids who showed up. The first night I had two, a 6 and an 8 year old. We got to know each other and did some math story problems, a little singing and lots of laughing. They were surprised that I didn’t know more Spanish! They loved drawing, counting, and learning some English words. The next night, 3 different kids came. We made flash card for parts of the body and play a memory game, along with some more singing and movement. They were like kids everywhere – loved to get moving, made it playful, and beamed when I praised them for learning new things. If were going to stay here a longer time, I would commit to more sessions. I am thinking about ways to help send school supplies to Angelica and Sergio who run the program. Their dream is to have a mobile library in addition to the evening classes. Continuity seems important. They said they had enough supplies in November through March, while the cruisers are here to donate, but the rest of the year was tough for them.

The older kids working on English lessons

These guys were so proud of the puzzles they worked. They insisted that I take their picture

This town has definitely had much impact from the building of the fancy marina – for better and probably for worse. We suspect that most of the locals will be bought out in the next 10 years. Apparently the marina owns much of the waterfront and hopes to develop it with hotels, etc.

These kids were playing a popular street game that I haven't quite
figured out -- a cross between Twiddly-Winks and Pokeman

That’s a quick up-date. I’m going to take the dinghy into the marina and try to post this today. 

HAPPY TURKEY DAY ALL – Feeling especially thankful for today’s slight breeze, for our flopper-stoppers, and such an amazing travel opportunity!  Love, M & L