Our very simple Christmas complete with compostable wrapping paper. |
Our family blog following the events leading up to and during our efforts to live in our ever changing pueblo of Sayulita, Mexico.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Friday, December 17, 2021
Alex Comes Home With The Hardware From Oaxaca
Back in the spring of this year Alex qualified for Mexico's Junior National Games aka the Juegos Nacionales CONADE. She would join other youth surf and SUP athletes from all over Mexico for a week in Oaxaca's Puerto Escondido. Each state would send their 15-18 year old representatives to compete. Our state of Nayarit is not all that organized especially on the SUP side of things so she would be representing a Team from the neighboring state of Jalisco. The organization called CODE is the athletic development body for each state and Jalisco's CODE program is exceptionally strong and well funded for all athletic pursuits. SUP is still relatively new to the CODE program so to have a paddler like Alex with her experience is definitely an asset to the program.
One last practice before traveling to Oaxaca |
Alex had been practicing occasionally with the kids on the Team from the Jalisco since last April. Alex was by far the most skilled and experienced of this group. Her Team would be joined by another group from the interior of Jalisco who were in a developmental program for canoe. Some of these canoe athletes were crossing over into SUP. The crossover to SUP from canoe and kayak is exactly what the sport is currently seeing especially in Eastern Europe. The two groups would meet up in Guadalajara and fly together to Puerto Escondido. Alex had actually met many of these "Canoe" kids at a two day qualifying event last spring to she was happy to see them again.
The two groups of the Jalisco Team meet up in Guadalajara. |
The impressive part of all this is that CODE Jalisco would be picking up the bill for everything. Travel, lodging, meals, uniforms for the entire week! The Team even traveled with a doctor and physical therapist. Alex' Jalisco group would be led by the Jalisco Surf and SUP Federation president "Fiky" who has been super to Alex since she joined the Jalisco Federation last spring.
Alex and Fiky. |
After practice back at the hotel. |
Post opening ceremonies Team photo. |
Such an amazing experience for Alex and her Team in Oaxaca! The Conade Games is something she can continue to compete in for another couple years and Trace will be old enough in 2022 to try and earn a spot to go to the games as well. Alex absolutely loved the week traveling with her Team and meeting kids from all over Mexico and we really think it was a fantastic learning experience. She will be doing more traveling like this when she goes to Peru in March with her online high school. Capable world citizens was Ashley's goal from the day the kids were born so this type of thing helps move that along. SUP has provided several great opportunities to travel and a meet people inside and outside Mexico and we are grateful for that. Looking forward to more in 2022.
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Dia De Los Muertos 2021
Pre-COVID Sayulita rocked a Dia de los Muertos celebration that was on a level that any town or city for that matter would be proud of. Vistors would come on that holiday from out of town to be part of the celebration. Well, celebrations were understandably subdued in 2020 and though people were certainly out and about this year the planning for the return of the grand event in Sayulita was postponed until 2022.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
A New Casa - Casa PŌNO Sayulita - November 2021 Update
What? Another update? Isn't the house done yet? What could possibly be happening now? I think we kind of feel the same way but this will hopefully be a short project with a look to the future. We have been renting the PŌNO Suite, our one bedroom apartment, for mostly long term stays since COVID turned the world upside down. There are certainly pros and cons for that kind of occupancy arrangement. There is always someone living in your house to consider when doing anything disruptive, we cannot use that space to accommodate friends and family and the overall monthly income is probably a good bit lower than if we rented it nightly. Fortunately we have liked our long term renters and have undoubtedly enjoyed any extra income it generates. Plus, there are fewer hassles with check-ins, check outs etc. That rental income pretty much goes right back into the kid's monthly school tuition. Such a benefit to help cover those expenses!
The backhoe arrives to dig out all the extra soil that filled the lower 2 tiers. |
But could we do better renting using what we already have? Well, we knew we wanted to reduce Ashley's flying time but how are we supposed to do that when college is looming in the very near future? What could we do now that would help? I began scheming and coming up with ideas. In our family, I am the one who comes up with a plan(aka a "scheme"), Ashley poo poos it for a time and then she eventually sees the light and provides the capital for the project. Then it is my job to get it done. To be honest, it is sometimes her scheme and then again, it is my job to get it done. I have to say it has worked for us pretty well to this point.
The front yard of our property provided an opportunity for and additional rental unit. The original plan for the yard space was for a grey water treatment system. That whole idea got scrapped during construction and it had become a kind of 3 tiered minimalist garden space. What I could see was that the middle tier was about the size of a hotel room. The walls were already in place and tall to allow for a high ceiling. The lower tier could accommodate a small outdoor seating area and we could steal some space from the existing bodega in the upper tier for a bathroom. Genius!! Well, Ashley didn't quite think so at first but after a few months, some number crunching and the scary reality of college tuition looming she came around to the idea and said "let's do it"! Get it done!
My official napkin drawing the contractor is working from. |
The vision was a large room with kitchenette, closet, king size bed, decent size bathroom and a private outdoor seating area. One side of the room would be all windows and there would be a skylight providing some additional light to the space. All the utilities were right there and the bathroom location provided easy access to the sewer line that ran from the house. The space resembled our master bedroom so it was easy to measure up and walk the contractor, Antonio, through the plan. Antonio was also the foreman on the original house construction and has been our "go to" guy for everything the last several years. He knows pretty much every part of this house so there would be few surprises.
The front yard with most of the extra fill and debris removed. |
We also saw an opportunity for additional water storage. Water will continue to be an ongoing issue in Sayulita since the town has yet to grasp the relationship between the amount of construction, visitation and resources available. So, buried under the adjoining patio we would be adding a 5000 liter plastic cistern. This would help to bridge the every increasing times without water pumped to the homes in town. No water days are usually due to water department pump problems, line repairs or lack of supply in the late spring and early summer. Sometimes the only way our neighbors get water is to get 10,000 liter water trucks to deliver water every week or so. Water trucks are a booming business here. This cistern addition would bring our on property water storage capacity to over 12,000 liters. A smart and easy add-on with a machine on site and space big enough to hide it.
The cistern pit partially covered by planking. |
After about 3 weeks of demolition, debris removal etc the crew formed up the roof and a pump truck was hired to make the job quick. I must admit that sometimes it's frustrating when local construction blocks the narrow streets in town but it is super AWESOME when it's our construction!! With the roof poured in less than hour it was on to cleaning up extra debris to make way for a final level for the floor and some roughing of electrical in the walls.
Pump truck making quick work of the roof. |
Additional debris gone, bed base and door to new bathroom at the back. |
Inside looking out. |
Saturday, September 11, 2021
The Surf Brands Arrive
I was only a matter of time. Time marches on an it was inevitable. The global surf and surf lifestyle brands have arrived. With the completion of the hotel in the center of town, the retail spaces are premium locations for those who can afford it. A couple restaurants occupy some of the space but two well known, world wide surf brands have also moved it. ROXY and BILLABONG.
I saw the arrival of big brands during my days back in Park City and it resulted in many of the smaller and locally owned operations closing. I wrote about the arrival of chain stores in Sayulita back in 2017. Fortunately, it appears that these stores will mostly offer their own clothing lines but I cannot be 100% certain. All I know is that the chain stores cashing in on the Sayulita surf lifestyle have arrived. They were not the necessarily the first chain stores in town but they will most certainly not be the last.
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Saving Peggy
Alex and Peggy when she first started riding. |
Alex started riding, encouraged by her friend Ava, at a ranch called Vista Pariso (VP). She had a trainer, we will call him Juan. Juan had an assistant named Stephanie (her real name). Juan owned many of the horses that were lesson horses at VP including Alex’s love, Pegasus, aka Peggy, Peggers, Pegasarus and even sometimes Trace because his behavior could be very similar to Traces at times. (We have a few blog posts about Alex and Peggy and she even wrote one on April 9, 2018 as guest to the blog if you would like to read backstories). Juan had personal conflicts that sometimes interrupted his ability to teach and he would be gone for months at a time.
Well, Juan had another conflict and was gone for good this time so VP now had Juan’s horses, Hernan was in charge of them and Stephanie was in charge of the training. Everything was going smoothly for a while and the riders liked Stephanie as their trainer. And then we hit a “concrete wall”. We learned that Stephanie was leaving VP because they wanted her to do twice the work for the same pay which was less to begin with because she was a woman. There was now no trainer. Before she left, Stephanie and the riders had a last Halloween show and get together. It was super sad because the group was breaking up and we didn’t know what would happen to the horses, or where Alex would go to ride. We knew the horses there were treated poorly, not beaten but not really taken care of. As we were worried about all of the horses I was especially worried about Pegasus. It was heartbreaking for me to think of Peggy being treated poorly as a trail riding horse or worse. I knew I couldn’t afford to buy and board him plus the medical bills and Alex would be leaving in a couple of years for college. We were just hoping he would be somewhere that Alex would be able to see him. She remained strong and positive as she always does but I was slowing becoming a mess. I had to save Peggy! So the brain spun, the tears flowed, questions were asked, homes for him were inquired upon. There just weren’t any options unless I bought and boarded him. “Concrete wall”.
Peggy at VP. He was raw and bleeding under his neck from cribbing. Other riders at the ranch put the gauze on him. He looks so sick and sad. |
A word about Wendy, she would drive Alex and a few other girls to lessons 2-3 times a week. I believe she became a role model, confidant and friend for Alex. Wendy was like the ranch mother as she had about 20 years on the other riders.
I had heard that Caroline took in rescue horses but was told that she had no more room at her current ranch. She was in the process of building a new ranch but by the time it was done it may be too late. What to do What to do. I am not going on hearsay, I am going to contact Caroline. I knew I could not board Peggy but I could buy him. On Saturday October 24 I texted Caroline told her the story of Alex and Pegasus and the situation and asked her that if I buy Peggy will she take care of him and I will be out of the picture, he would be her horse. She literally texted me back within two minutes and said yes. She would take him. She didn’t really have the room but she would make it work. Anything for the horses, she said. I about died! I could not believe it. On Sunday the 25th I call Juan’s sister, Maria, who was kind of overseeing Juan’s horses but not really because they are now supposedly Herman’s, and ask her if I can buy Peggy. She speaks with Juan and they both agree to the purchase.
Maria texts me in the morning of the 27th and tells me that there is a problem. Juan told Maria that we cannot take the horses and if we try Hernan will make problems. “Concrete wall”. Maria will talk to him and try but she will need a few days because Hernan is super pissed because he has heard that Stephanie is leaving so he needs a few days to calm down. Everyone was afraid this might happen. I am a mess but Alex tells me, “ we got this”. That has become her mantra.
Knowing that we will not be able to take Peggy we still go to VP at 1:30 to support Hazel. Also Alex wants to see Peggy and go to the new ranch with Hazel. We arrive to a scene of silent panic and confusion. There is a huge horse trailer there to get three horses. One is Stephanie’s and the others are owned by someone else. They are going to a ranch called La Patrona. Luke and Jorge are there with a trailer to take Havana to her new home. But we are told that Hernan isn’t letting ANY of the horses go, even the ones owned by other people. There is a group of us there, Stephanie, Maria, two other women that have come to pick up the three other horses, me, Alex, Luke, Hazel, Jorge, two official men who are newly employed in management positions and other workers. Jorge is the “Sayulita fixer” and he isn’t even stepping in. I asked Luke if Jorge could fix this and he was like, “yeah, NO”! Jorge was not getting involved in this. He just sat there, drank beers and patiently waited. FYI, he had a driver No one knows what is going on. I am the only one who doesn’t speak Spanish. The men are in contact with Hernan. First, no one can take the horses, then they can take them if they have ownership papers for their horses. No one has the papers on them and I learn that Juan doesn’t even have the papers for Peggy. He never got them, the previous owner has them and is in another town the last they heard which was who knows how long ago. So once we have the balls to ask Hernan if we can have Peggy we next have to find the person that has the papers and then transfer the ownership into my name before we can take him. “Concrete wall”. I am looking at weeks before we get him if ever. Did I mention that I had been off for eight months prior to this situation and was going back to work in a few days. This needed to be taken care of now. Couldn’t it have happened months ago? This is never going to happen. We sit, we wait, phone calls are made, conversations are being had in the open and around the corner, horses are being loaded and unloaded. The men are wondering who I am, why I am there and what horse I want. Little did I know some these conversations were being had about me and Peggy. Maria and Stephanie are trying to get Peggy for me, telling these men that I bought him a while ago and was letting Juan use him as lesson horses. This goes on for hours. Finally we are told that the only people able to take a horse is Luke and Hazel since they own Havana. For the others, get your papers and try again tomorrow. They load up Havana quickly and leave before Hernan changes his mind, taking Alex with them. We will see what tomorrow brings. I stay for a minute to thank everyone for helping us and that we will be in touch. I go to leave and my car will not start so I go back to get jumper cables and help. As we are trying to jump my car Luke, Hazel and Alex come back because Hazel forgot something at VP. As I am sitting in the car trying to start it the men tell Maria that I can have Pegasus right now, no papers, nothing. Holy shit really? I have Luke call Jorge and they come back and get Pegasus. They were in and out in seconds. He and his girlfriend Havana are in the trailer side by side going to their new home.
It was such an amazing moment, the timing was perfect and I have no doubt in my mind that my angels aligned each minute that day so that we could have Pegasus! They even broke my car. It wasn’t the battery, it was the starter that died. Lol The “concrete walls have been torn down”!! Alex was right, we did have this.
Side note: We think that Hernan let Peggy go because he was not a good trail riding horse. Any time he could escape he would. He was a flight risk. He could even take off his bridle. A few days before he was used for a trail ride and bolted down the beach with a young kid on him. He was a liability. Also, the guy that had the papers for Peggy was never tracked down. He was MIA.
Once Peggy and Havana arrived they were greeted by their new trainer, Toño and HT’s veterinarian. And of course the other riders who are mainly young girls. They were so excited to see the new horses. We received a very warm welcome from everyone there including the parents as they all knew about the drama we had been through that day. Peggy and Havana were given a once over and dewormed. Peggy was immediately put on a cleanse of fresh hay and clean water and in a few days he would be fed proper and quality nutrition as his hair and skin were bad, he was underweight, his wither had an open sore and something was wrong with his leg. The next day the ferrier came to fix his hooves and shoes as they had not been attended to in months because the ferrier at VP was on strike. It was obvious that his feet were hurting him because of this. Alex did not ride him for a little bit so he could heal, rest and get healthy again.
Check out the black heart on his head between his eyes. |
Pegasus was was doing wonderful. His leg was good, wither healed and his hair had grown back on his neck where he had rubbed it raw from cribbing, People saw a huge difference in him. He looked healthier, stronger, had more energy and even carried himself better. Alex said he was riding great and doing awesome.
Alex and I saw Pegasus in a different way. I cannot speak for her but know she loved him dearly and I believe he loved her dearly. He was a challenging horse, so she says, stubborn, hardheaded, trying. He reminded her a lot of her brother, so much so that she called him Trace very often, accidentally as I mentioned earlier. But that was totally to Peggy’s benefit because Alex had lots of experience and patience dealing with that particular personality. He wasn’t grand, large, beautiful, from a good blood line, or always well behaved. He was a Mexican circus horse. I don’t even want to think of how poorly he was treated in that career. Then he was bought and used as an equestrian horse where his care may have been a little better. Alex met him on the equestrian side of his life and they were both new to this world and learned much of it together. His first big jump would be her first big jump. His first competition was her first competition. They were a team, learned together, trusted each other, loved each other. It was beyond sweet and heart felt. He even recognized the sound of our car whenever we drove Alex to VP. She said he would always poke his head out of the stall when she pulled in.
Deep down I knew that Pegasus would bring us heartbreak at some point, because we came to love him. I loved him because of the joy he brought to Alex. I felt the connection between them. I loved equally what she gave to him. She challenged him, had patience with him and stuck by him and his special personality. I feel like she was the first person to ever really love him. Someone asked her once how long she was going to ride him, didn’t she want to get better and ride a more experienced horse? Her answer was always no, that she and Pegasus were getting better, stronger, jumping higher. It wasn’t about Alex using an animal just to advance her riding skills. It was about the connection and the learning together that she had with Pegasus. It wasn’t about her, it was about them. To see that between an unfortunate animal and a patient, open, loving human is so special. Animals do not have control of their lives and a say of what happens to them, so I felt that I needed to be Peggy’s voice. I could not let anything happen to him after what he had found with Alex.
Maybe horses do not think this way, don’t feel a connection, I think they do, maybe I am making up a sweet human/animal love story in my head. I don’t know, but I do know what I saw, what I felt about their relationship, the energy I felt from horse and rider. Without Alex, Pegasus would not have had that person in his life and since Alex was my child I felt like Pegasus had become my child as well. That is the way I saw Pegasus, the way I loved him.
Alex still rides at HT. She didn’t ride nearly as much after Peggy because she said it wasn’t fun without him. She is now riding much more. She hasn’t found another horse that she has a connection with so she just rides who is assigned to her that day. She “gets” horses and she is good with them and riding them. I have started riding as well and Alex rides along with me giving me pointers or using her horse to get mine moving. It is hard as shit. I have a much greater appreciation for it now. I always thought Alex would be an amazing Equine therapist in that she would use horses to help mentally and physically handicapped people because she loves horses and loves helping people. Since she lost Peggy she wants nothing to do with horses other than her few lessons a week. Not now and not in the future. Period. I really hope that changes.
Since we have lived in Mexico I have learned that it truly takes a village. Whether it be you helping others or others helping you. So many times I have seen and been a part of the village and it is an amazing thing. I do not remember that at all when living in the USA. It is the culture in Mexico. It just happens and it is awesome. Saving Peggy could never have happened without angels and a village and I am forever grateful to all of them.
Side note:
Everything is Mexico is made out of concrete and I have learned recently that you have to break the concrete sometimes to fix a problem hiding within its clutches. That is why I kept referring to a “concrete wall”. That wall is there and stops you until you pull out that jackhammer and start breaking it apart to fix the problem.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Hurricane Nora 2021
We honestly didn't know Hurricane Nora was headed this way. We have watched hurricanes and tropical storms come through every year. When landfall is focused in on this part of the coast Sayulita barely blinks. We always respect the storm, prepare and thankfully we are usually spared any real hit and effects. Stress out about such things? After 10 years? No, not really and if you looked out the window or walked around town last weekend one would not see or feel anything different with a storm approaching.
I only really heard a storm was on the way from seeing a Facebook post from a group in Puerto Vallarta. Maps, time tables, estimated paths of the storm put Nora in our area on late Saturday night. A tropical storm elevating to a category one hurricane. I tucked in Ashley's plants that were outside, put away the cushions on the roof terrace and made sure the roof drains were clear of debris for what would be a wet overnight.
The wind and rain started late afternoon and it was no worse than some of the summer storms we experience here every year. Gusts and heavy rain usually arrive and leave within an hour our so as mother nature cools things off but this time the wind and rain was hanging around and didn't feel like it was leaving anytime soon. I made my rounds each hour making sure leaves and things did not clog up the roof drains as things intensified outside. Alex was safe in a neighboring town with a friend so Trace and I had some dinner, listened to the storm outside, occasionally looking out over town and the ocean and were happy that the power was holding as was cell phone service. Part of our house is open to the outside so we had to occasionally mop up rain that may have come in from the wind blowing the water sideways.
We were stuffing our faces when we started to hear loud thunder which was odd. The atmosphere is so scrambled that thunder and lightening don't occur often during this kind of storm. The thunder became louder as Trace and I looked at each other across the kitchen island and suddenly the thunder sounded like it was coming in through the roof!! We ran over to look up towards the roof of the clear story which has a fairly transparent polycarbonate roof system. We saw that the blue polycarbonate shade shelter protecting the front terrace had ripped free of the screws holding it in place and had flipped over on top of the clear story.
The blue roof panels tucked safely away from the wind. |
The terrace framing with anchor screws still in place. |
Fortunately this panel found its twin and like two spoons stacked in a drawer the second panel settled in along side the other with just a little maneuvering. Then suddenly it stopped! The wind and rain both stopped and all was calm and we walked out onto the roof terrace and watched as our neighbors emerged as well to see what was up.
We could see the wind ripping still above the ridge behind and to the east of us but the wind had taken on a new direction and it was totally calm down where we were. This certainly eased my concern about more critical parts of the roof blowing off. At this point power was out as were phones so there was nothing we could do but sit this one out for the night as the rain began to fall heavily outside again but this time we were protected from the wind. In bed and listening to the rain and wind at 8:30pm.
You could see the curving rotation of the storm clouds out to sea. |
After getting up a few times during the night to check on the drains responsible for moving water off the roof the evening was mostly uneventful. The next morning Trace and I woke up and with a break in the rain decided to go see the effects of the storm on town. Town faired reasonably well but power was out and many visitors were out wandering around looking for something that might be open or sitting on the beach with their luggage having planned to spend part of their departure day on the beach and had to check out of their accommodations.
Mostly debris, trash, eroded beach and nasty water greeted those on the beach but that didn't scare off the surfers who bravely found waves at the river mouth in town. Power was off and on as were communications for a few days and town and beach still needs a serious clean up but is getting better bit by bit.
One thing we did see more of were back up generators in use the day after the storm. Something we had not seen much of in the past. We knew several stores had them to keep their coolers cold but many places had them running out of the sidewalk to be able to do business even during a power outage. The large complex across from us with 4 small residential towers and event palapa has been lit up like a Christmas tree with their back up system and had been the only location with serious power on this end of town for a couple nights. Each year we discuss getting a generator since each time the power grid goes down we seem to have recently filled the refrigerator but each year goes by and we forget we ever had the conversation. There is always next year.
Puerto Vallarta |
Puerto Vallarta was not as fortunate as they experienced flooding, building collapses and fatalities due to the storm. Very sad to hear the stories just down the road a few kilometers from us where several of our friends live, paddle and go to school.
There are, however, still many places in Sayulita where you wouldn't even know there was a storm a few days ago. Let's hope this is the last big weather event for 2021 and we have more mornings like yesterday but there are still two months left of storm season.
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Sayulita Plaza Summer 2021
Coming home from summer adventures can sometimes be filled with anxiety. One never knows what changes, good and bad, have occurred in the few weeks we have been away. This one, however, was very welcome and made us smile. Our Plaza received a new paint job and it looks fantastic! Updates on all summer adventures coming soon.
Friday, May 21, 2021
Some New Photos of Casa PŌNO Sayulita
These shots of our house were taken by our friend, Tony, who came to visit recently. He took the photos with his iPhone 11 and are amazing!!