Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Sunny San Carlos

Roger and I decided to go to San Carlos for the weekend which is less than 1-1/2 hours away.  We didn't make hotel reservations, and were able to find a beautiful hotel, right on the marina so Roger could be within "petting" distance of some beautiful cruisers and sailboats.
  
Above:  The marina and a perfect view of Cabra de Tetas (Goat Tit mountains)!
 
Above:   The picture of the pool area at our hotel shows just how quiet it is in San Carlos.  Between the economy, H1N1 (a non-issue), and the drug wars (increasingly a huge issue) people are staying away in droves.  We tried to go on a sunset cruise, but they didn't have enough people to take the boat out.
 
 Above:  Roger looks like a kid asking "how much is that doggy in the window..."
  
Above:  Roger and I forgot just how white we were with our first real dose of basking in the sun -- we both got fried.
   
Above:  Jose is my taxi driver, guide, personal Wikipedia, and friend.  I was putting a basket of Sonoran specialities into a gift basket to give out at a function this week, and Jose took me to some amazing little stores where I bought coyotas (large cookies with various fillings), tortilla chips dipped in honey, beef jerky, dates, Bacanora tequila, and chiltepins (really hot berries that you grind in special grinders).  I couldn't have done it without him.  Since having our Expedition down here, I've been driving for groceries and errands so haven't used Jose as much -- yesterday I ran into him and I felt like I had cheated on him!  It's great having the freedom of driving, but I do miss Jose's expertise of getting around the city.
  
Above:  Feo and Negro are the guard dogs at the office.  They are incredibly smart dogs who are friendly when we're with them, but have a fierce bark when strangers walk by the fence and once bit an intruder who jumped over the fence.  

Below:  Last week Tracey and I were at a loss of Spanish words to deal with a couple of children who were literally leaping from the table to a bookcase and back again.  I felt like Roberto Benigni who after accepting his second Oscar for "Life is Beautiful" said, "...I've run out of all my English words!"  This week was a different story and we had about 12 children and they were all well behaved (including the rambunctious boys from the previous week).  We try to do different things with the children -- this week I brought paints, crayons and colored pencils along with coloring books that I bought when I was home at Christmas.  Tracey bought a white board and pens and the kids enjoy learning new English words (and we in turn, learn Spanish).
  
 A new little guy came in this week along with several other children.
  
My little buddy, Antonio, with those beautiful eyes.
 
Roger is off to Mazatlan for a few days trying to round up some work for the drills --- buena suerte, Roger!
There aren't enough days in the weekend.  ~Rod Schmidt

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