Changes in Nayarit

I have noticed some changes around the area:

It looks like there is a new Pemex going up right outside of Lo de Marco. And maybe another Pemex south of Guayabitos. Not sure.

They are widening the intersection at the main highway and the road into Sayulita. It's kind a a big mess. And the big drop-off right to the NW of the intersection is still a big drop-off. Twice I have seen cars upside down after going off the road there. Both timesthe wheels were still spinning as we went by.

In Las Varas, at the intersection of the main traffic light, the SE corner has been remodeled. Teseo the dentist has moved to offices about a block away, and his wife now has a totally remodeled office upstairs at the old office It looks quite different from the outside. The other two newly remodeled spaces right at the corner (formerly a dark pharmacia) are now a Kodak store and a Telcel store. A phone store it looks like. The Canadian woman from La Penita, who has been teaching English to the EBACH kids this last summer, has moved her School in Las Varas to another location in Las Varas, kind of around the corner.

The Friday morning Las Varas Tsuangui (sp ??), the street market, seems to be getting bigger and bigger. It's a few blocks to the west of the main traffic light. So is the market in La Penita. During the non-tourist season (April-November) the tourist-focused vendors (artisty and souvenir stuff) go somewhere else I guess, but there are still lots and lots of vendors selling all kinds of stuff.

The Guadalajara paper announced continuing findings that the ocean water at the beaches in Banderas Bay (the Vallarta area) still does not meet ANY international standards for clean water. The pollution levels are at some times of the year and in some areas hundreds of times the limits for human safety. Apparently Mexico has created it's own standards for beach water safety that are meaningless, but allow the tourisst areas to announce the beach swimming water is safe. According to the article the water north of Brucerias continues to be safe. There have been numerious articles in the papers about the totally inadequate sewage system in PV and Brucerias. I don't know about other areas. I think most of the little beach towns only have brick septic tanks for each restaurant, house etc. Problems waiting to happen.

Tomorrow and Friday are Independence Day in Mexico, which is a big big deal. I am expecting music and fireworks and lots of families camping on the beach, etc. The weather is still hot and muggy but there hasn't been any rain for about six nights. I hope this is not the end of the rainy season.