Chacala Visitors

Chacala has had a bunch of nice visitors the past few days, and a couple of really interesting ones. And the Alaska kids are arriving, today maybe, for a two-three week stay. They don't really inter-mingle in Chacala very much. Generally seem to be very closely supervised, and mostly sticking together in groups and "official" activities. Nice kids though.

A lovely couple camped next to me for a few days and we had a couple of very interesting conversations. They both spoke Spanish, English, German, and he also spoke Portuguese, having been raised by a German father and Portuguese/Brazilian mother in the eastern-most point in Brazil. He teaches Economics, especially Environmental Economics, at the big Catholic Science university in Guadalajara. She was also very interesting. And I really liked her. They met in Germany, but I didn't hear all the details of that. Another couple is staying at Concha's for a few days. They are living in San Luis Potosi while he consults about community relations issues at the local university there. The parents of the Scottish couple that have been spending the past week at Mar de Jade. They are really fun to visit with. I can see why they daughter is so much fun.

Of course, the best visitors are the whales, who are here daily right now. The weather has finally warmed up into the 70F at 6:30am, with a nice warm breeze blowing and huge!! waves very early this morning. Calmed down before I left my camp.

Several people have expressed interest in camping down here. I thought I would mention some details. Several families/restaurants offer camping and use of toilets/showers and sometimes electricity. For campers it starts at about 50pesos a night, about 4.50USD. Slightly less for long term campers, more with electricity. There isn't much juice and they kind of dole out who gets use of it (gets to plug in). I have a small electric fridge and a light bulb that I move around from tent to tent and to the kitchen table. It's a bring-your-own extension cord situtation. The camping end of the beach doesn't have town water and all the water is trucked in in black plastic tinachos in the back of pickups. The shower was is stored in the same type of tank. Where I am staying there are little booths with "doors" for the showers and toilets. There are four toilets, with no toilet seats. They are flushed by dipping a small bucket of water from a tank in the middle of the toilet and shower area and pouring the water into the toilet. Except under periods of extreme use, the toilets are clean and tidy, with plastic cans for toilet paper. I am not sure about the other camping toilet/shower facilities. You buy your drinking water from the water truck, in five gallon jugs for about a dollar.

Where I am camping there are five double (two camp sites) flat roofed palapas ( shelters with flat roofs covered with palm fronds and about 8 feet high). There is nothing provided. The palapas are set in a small palm grove so there is shade from the trees and the palapas. The first row of palapas is right at the edge of where the sandy beach starts. There is a low piles of rocks, a little barrier against the higher tides I think, all along the beach, with little paths into the camping area. I have a hammock between two palms, and two tents, one for sleeping, a bed with foam mattress, and four plastic tables, for my kitchen, eating table, and "office". and same chairs. I brought everything with me. During vacation periods and weekends, campers are kind of shoulder to shoulder but so far it's been very nice, every with close company. Sometimes my landlady has chairs and tables to rent, but at a daily rate only and it's kind of expensive.

The five-gallon jug water guy comes most days, and the fruit/vegetable, tortilla, bread/pastry and ice cream trucks come by everyday. The coke truck and gas trucks don't seem to come down to this end of the beach.

Anyway, that' s it for camping from my perspective.

Today is Three King's Day, the day for gifts in most of Mexico, and then school starts again on Monday. The little puesto booth that has plastic figures to paint is here again and there are always kids and women working away there. There is also a temprary booth with video games this year, 1 peso a game. Full of boys and young men of course.