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.

Saving Peggy

Alex has been riding horses for 4 years and is now at a ranch called Hippico Toscana in Nuevo Vallarta. This is the story of her beloved horse Pegasus and her transition to Hippico Toscana. It is a long story of course because anything that happens in Mexico has its trials and tribulations. If you read our blog you know that nothing here is easy. So sit down and buckle up your boot straps.

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. 

Enter Hernan. Hernan is a Mexican machismo asshole who is in charge of the horse portion, trail riding and equestrian side, of VP. Everyone knows his personality and no one wants to go up against him. Juan made an “agreement” with Hernan, that if there was another conflict then VP could have his horses.

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.

I did know of one ranch called Hippico Toscana owned by lady named Caroline. A friend from VP, Wendy was now there and really liked it.

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.

All I have to do now is pay for Peggy and get him to his new home. Hazel, another rider at VP is also taking her horse, Havana, who is Peggy’s girlfriend, to HT. Hazel’s dad Luke has a “guy”, Jorge, with a trailer who is going to pick up Havana at VP on Tuesday the 27th. He has a two horse trailer and since we are all going to the same place is letting Peggy hitch a ride. The plan is to meet at VP at 1:30.

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.

The construction was complete on the stalls of the New Hippico Toscana and the horses were all moved on November 30. The stalls are large, there are two arenas and the groomsmen live on site. This was a super exciting day for everyone. All of the horses had a week’s vacation due to the stress of the move. Caroline put Pegasus and Havana in stalls beside each other.

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. 

On January 10, Alex received a call from Wendy that Pegasus wasn’t doing well. He had colic during the night and was found in the morning by a groomsman. Colic is an issue with the intestinal track. In Peggy’s case his intestine twisted. The vet immediately jumped in and did everything he could besides surgery. They had been working on him for six hours. Putting a hose up his nose, IV, pain medication, physically trying to straighten the intestine. He was most likely going to be taken to Guadalajara to have surgery as there was no vet closer that could perform this surgery. Alex and I immediately sped to HT to be with him. In the hour that we were there he got a little better so they waited. An unnecessary five hour drive was not what he needed if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. We went to Caroline’s house to wait it out and soon received a call that they decided to take him ASAP so we hurried back to see him before he left. He was already loaded up and ready to go. Caroline made the decisions for him along with the vet. She wanted the best care for Peggy and she wanted to give him a chance. She borrowed a small trailer and sent him off with her vet and Toño. I believe they arrived close to midnight and were met by the vet there who tried again to clear his intestine unsuccessfully so they did surgery. Peggy did great. He was up walking and eating. On January 14 he had another bout of Colic so they performed another surgery. He did not do well after this second surgery. He had another bout of colic. The vet suggested that he be put down. His body and organs could not support a third surgery. Caroline called me to let me know and wanted to know what Alex wanted to do. She said that Pegasus was Alex’s horse and she was his godmother. She was in constant contact with her vet that stayed in Guadalajara the whole time with Peggy, and Alex and myself sending updates and photos of Peggy’s surgery and recovery. She wanted Alex to have a say. She was very concerned as well as Wendy about how much Alex could handle. They were trying to protect her throughout all of this. Luckily Alex is super strong. I told Alex what Caroline told me and that she had a say in this. I will never forget her asking me with tears in her eyes, “ Mom, what do I do?” I told her she had to give Caroline the go ahead. That it was the best for Peggy, that he was in a lot of pain and that wasn’t fair to him. On January 14 we lost Peggy.

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.

Caroline is an angel. A wonderful human with a huge heart. We are so grateful to be a part of Hippico Toscana. It is like a big family. And more importantly a family that you like and that supports you and that does not have drama. Stephanie is now at HT as a trainer. So the gang that was at VP is together again. Some of them anyway.

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.

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 wind was ripping and blew the approximately 16'x 4' blue plastic panel towards the back of the house where I tried the best I could in-between wind gusts to wrangle the thing into the narrow space between our house and the neighbor's garden wall.  This whole exercise did not impress Trace one bit as he watched anxiously as the wind and rain over powered anything his dad might try to do to with the large plastic sail. I was super concerned about what would happen if the panel got free and blew around so I kept trying and was finally able to tuck the long panel down enough to not blow away.  As the storm blew around us we returned to our dinner as I hoped the same roof system that protected us and the interior of the house would hold up and then moments later a second terrace ripped off following the same path as the previous panel.

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.