More Chacala news

The weather just moved to really really hot and humid. Big time. With lots of mosquitoes and no-see-ums to add to the pleasure. I am sitting quietly at the computer, in a small breeze, dripping with sweat. Oh well. I still love it here in Chacala. I have gone from sleeping under a sheet most of the night, in a shirt and undershorts, to sleeping in nothing and no sheet on top and the fan on high. A couple of evenings ago we were watching the novella (short term soap opera) finale at one of the restaurants. It was so buggy that the normal method of burning coconut shells (to make smoke and run the mosquitoes off) didn't work and we all ended up wrapped in the restaurant's tablecloths.

The latest gossip in town is that three gringos from California have bought the restaurant on the beach - across the beach street from Juan's tienda ( which is also known at the Joker tienda). (Later, haven't heard any more about that sale). The big one with a chain link fence across the front. Apparently they plan to open a "Club". Whatever that is. I am thinking really loud music really late at night. Who knows. Probably I got it wrong anyway. I hope so.

The road in front of the c/puestos (the little shack type stores that run from the entrance to town on the beach road to about Chico's restaurant) is a total mud hole. But not as bad as last year, since it hasn't rained as much and since a lot of the dirt excavated from the new hotel on the paved road was dumped on the beach road in that part of town, to help prevent flooding of the road. Now the c/puestos flood instead. But not too much.

The beach and town has had a lot of tourists from Guadalajara and wherever all summer. On the weekends the beach camping lot is usually pretty full. Lots of buses are parked along the road and in the restaurant parking lots on the weekends, and on weekdays too when it isn't overcast and rainy. The last two weeks of summer vacation ( first two weeks or so of August) were very busy here last summer. Tons of people on holiday. So I am expecting a big influx this August too.(Later: Didn't happen)

Someone mentioned to me yesterday that Marina Chacala, formerly known at Chacalila, has had an upswing in buyers from the US. Until sometime this spring almost all the residents were people from Mexico who wanted a vacation home. Mostly people from Guadalajara, I think. And two Canadian families and one from the US. But in the last few months there are about five new buyers from the US. One seems to be there full-time, working in real estate in Sayulita.

Don't know what that means for Chacala. My main experience with people who live in Marina is that they drive big fancy cars and drive much much too fast. Really fast!!! Day and night. And if the security people don't open the gate fast enough after the first time they honk their horn, they will just keep beeping until the gate is open. Lovely in the middle of the night. Of course, they don't ALL lean on the horn repeatedly, but they do all beep their horns to get in. Being the closest house to the gate sometimes I feel like I am living in NYC. (not really!!!). Particularly on the weekends. My other gripe would be the amount of trash Marina people throw out of their cars within maybe a hundred feet of the gate.If I sound resentful I guess I am. Maybe this is the first time I have lived on the poor side (outside a gated community) of the tracks.
(Later: the current security gate people (those guys work 24hour shifts) are doing a great job of keeping the trash picked up around the gate.