Lunch on the Beach

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Katalina

Wow, I should never, ever complain about living here. This is how the beach looked today, after a morning of overcast and thick grey clouds.

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I am on a mission to eat at every restaurant on the beach. The local ex-pat regulars tend to hang out at certain places to the exclusion of others. I don’t like to do that. I prefer to spread the wealth. Today it was the Marlyn, and boy I couldn’t have timed it better. The sea is still cold and there were fresh oysters, so I indulged. It was awesome.

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The datura is blooming all over the village, huge pale orange bells hanging in massive clusters. They are a night blooming flower, so their scent perfumes the evening breeze.

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Walking home I found a toad – sappo in Spanish – on the path. As the dry season progresses, the flow of the Rio Tuito decreases, and the river ceases to open the beach. This creates a lagoon behind the beach, a perfect place for tadpoles to hatch. So in the spring the toads emerge from hiberation (where?) and they mate in the lagoon, their mating calls echoing along the river canyon. I can hear them from my house, and I am half a mile away. They also hop around the village trails at night, so one encounters them often. If you get one in your house, they eat bugs, but they leave large piles of toad poop.

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The tulip trees are blooming, here is one of my favorite ones. I wonder who planted it. Wasn’t here my first time in the village in the 60s. That building is very nostalgic to me. It is the Eclipse Cafe now, but back then it was Juan Cruz’s store. I learned my first Spanish from Dona Clementina, his wife.

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When I got home this guy was perched on my terrace. He’s a Magnificent Frigate, and they rarely land any where near people. It’s happening again. The eagle who hangs out near my house is starting to communicate with me too. For years I’ve had interesting relationships with birds, wild and tame, who seek me out. I’m hoping some day a shaman happens by and tells me what that is all about.

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And last but not least, here’s a picture of last week’s full moon rising behind Yelapa. There are many orbs in the photo. I’ve been told they are the result of humidity, water in the air interacting with the flash. Funny that I only get them in photos I take here though.

I hope whoever is reading this, which I’m not sure anyone will any more thanks to the freaking hackers, finds the photos interesting enough to take the time to click on them to see them in a larger format.

Be well and happy. Talk to you soon.

Moon Rising and Orbs
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Writing my Novel

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Katalina
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The past has returned to me in unexpected ways this week. This boat, the Elias Mann, was here in from 1988 through 1992 when I was also here, having one of the most interesting experiences of my life. In my storage unit in the States I have some wonderful photos of a trip to the Islands with a group of friends on her, an unforgettable day. When I go north again, I’ll bring the photos here, scan and post them.

I started writing a book about those years after I left Mexico in 1992, got through 19 chapters. Sadly, the computer they were on was stolen, and I didn’t have them back up adequately. This was such a terrible experience, the only way I could deal with it at the time was to let the whole thing go.

However, I had forgotten that my sister had copies of some of the chapters. On my birthday last December she Skyped me and reminded me that she had some of them. Those chapters were delivered to me by a friend this week.

Reading them has been quite surreal. This summer I hope to get started on re-writing them, and especially on finishing that first novel.

For those of you who have written wondering why I’ve been so absent here, problems with hackers continue. I got the blog all cleaned out and a few days later it was hacked again. I despair, and I feel so victimized. Why anyone would bother screwing up this innocuous little blog is beyond me. GET A LIFE YOU FREAKING SLIME BALLS!

If you have good anti-virus software, most likely you cannot even get onto my blog to read it. So maybe now I am only writing for myself. Will that change the writing? Probably. No more posturing, trying to look good, or caring what anyone else thinks. Perhaps more honesty. That would be good.

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In an effort to stop the hackers, I have had to disallow any posting of comments on this blog, and I deleted all previous comments. I hated to do that. I love hearing from you, but apparently that was an open door for the creeps that are screwing with me, so I had to close it.

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Crazy Days and Hackers

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Katalina

Well gosh, it’s been a very hectic couple of weeks with some high drama for this writer and her blog. The Old Gringa was hacked and anyone with decent anti-virus software couldn’t get onto it. Thankfully, the virus only got transmitted via the RSS feed and one of the contact forms, which were not used during that period, so I don’t think any of my readers received it. But, and I’m really sorry about this, I recommend you all do some scans, including a boot scan, to make sure.

The timing was interesting, as there is currently a very talented hacker in Yelapa, and he was able to find the virus and delete it. However it had infected my server as well, Telmex, so it took even more time to straighten out, until they deleted it. All’s well that ends well, but it was a pretty frustrating experience, and I sure was reminded how important it is to have good anti-virus software, and to run scans regularly.

Meanwhile, back at the rancho, I managed to get through croquet without embarrassing myself or my partner. We placed a healthy second in our round, though we didn’t win anything for it. Sure was fun though, and here are some photos.

This was one of the only sunny moments from the whole 4 days. I actually played in the rain, which wasn’t good.

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Speaking of weather, I feel for all the people who are here on vacation. The weather has been cold, overcast or rainy for the last two weeks. I’m wearing a jacket as I write today. Sure will be nice to see the sun again!

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That last one really cracks me up. It’s Phillipo judging a round. The Yelapa Croquet Association is very strict about rules, and wearing whites is required. Since his shorts were not white, Phillipo turned them inside out. Works for me!

After the tournament was finished On Valentine’s Day, we all headed home to get ready for the awards ceremony and costume ball. There were so many great costumes, it’s not possible to post them all, but here’s a sampling.

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The whole week was a lot of fun, and despite the crappy weather, I wouldn’t have missed it for anthying. I will be practicing croquet this summer, that’s for sure! Tomorrow I’m off to Vallarta for a couple of days. Sure hope the sun returns by the time I do!

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Overwhelming

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Katalina
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It has been said for years that Yelapa is one of the vortexes on the planet, as are Mt. Shasta, Sedona, Stonehenge, and many other places that have a mysterious and powerful energy. The center of the vortex here is said to be is at the mouth of the Rio Tuito which opens into Yelapa’s bay.

Casa America, the house in which I live, faces the vortex.

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All I can tell you for sure is that Yelapa is a place that magnifies energies. It brings up what is buried in the shadows of the subconscious and casts bright tropical sunshine upon it. If you don’t come here with some peace in your heart and mind, it can be difficult to find.

After years of working my ass off and not having much social life, living a solitary existence with rather few fun activities, living here I feel like a starving person staring at an overloaded banquet table, so overwhelmed I hardly know how to begin.

Take the last three days’ events as an example; a benefit wine tasting and auction for an old friend who is very ill, scrabble with girlfriends, breakfasts with boyfriend, dinners with more friends, jam and singing session at El Cerrito, croquet practice (my girlfriends here are encouraging me to play in this year’s tournament, in the Sweetheart round – more on that later), dancing at the Yacht Club, and today Super Bowl parties at two different places upriver – Passion Flower Gardens and El Manguito.

Wow, I just can’t keep this up! Twenty years ago maybe. And I’m not resting up as much between activities, because there’s this other person in my life now. If I’m going to get through this high season with any peace of mind left, I need to stay more focused on what I’m trying to accomplish here. It can’t all be fun and parties, I’ve got work to do. My sister copied the old chapters of the book I started in the 90′s, and she’s mailing them to a friend who arrives in a week. I hope to start working on it again soon.

Next week I have to go into Vallarta for two days, one day of work, the other errands – get money from the ATM, pay phone bill, return locks that weren’t right, get supplies, a haircut and a pedicure.

Also next week the Croquet Tournament begins, four days of play and nights of parties, culminating in the costume ball. This is the 27th annual, I believe, always the high point of the season here. I’ve noticed a big increase in the number of passengers on the pangas arriving, and the energy level in the village is increasing daily.

I haven’t played in the croquet tournament for 25 years, and despite the fact that all the players say it’s just for fun, doesn’t matter how bad you are, I know better. These people wear whites and play British rules, and give silver plates as trophies. They absolutely do care, and I’m not about to embarrass myself by playing this year, when I’ve not had time to practice. The good news is, “He” is going to play the sweethearts round with his daughter who arrives this week. Lovely! I’m off the hook for that!

I will attend as many of the events as I can without burning myself out completely. Camera in hand, I’ll make an concerted effort to report on the festivities.  (Still don’t have a costume for the ball though, and that’s worrisome.)

So your intrepid reporter is over and out, heading over to Rita’s to dye her and my roots, then off to the Super Bowl parties. The mind reels!

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Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Katalina
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God, it’s beautiful here. I live in a near constant state of awe at the magnificence of the jungle and the sea, at the bustle of boats and people and energy that permeates this small village.

This house is closer to the water than any other I’ve lived in here, and the sound of the sea is sometimes deafening. This usually happens at night, it is the music of my dreams, and even when it’s really rough and waves are crashing below me, I feel peaceful in ways I find difficult to define.

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While I was busy making plans about how it would be living here, the Universe was laughing at me and cooking up surprises. My intention was to get to work right away after I moved in; doing paid writing work, hiking and swimming, visiting with friends, getting to work on the novel I started years ago that I want to rewrite, blogging more.

I’ve done all those things to some degree, but then Hurricane Robert stormed into my life. He will leave in the spring, as will many other old friends who only stay for part of the year. If I’m going to enjoy all this, I have to do it now. By June or July there will hardly be gringos left until after the rains end in October.

So instead of working as many hours as I’d planned, I’ve been going to dinners and parties, breakfasts and swims, musical events and dances. This week I’ll be trying my hand at croquet practice to see how bad an idea it is to perhaps enter the annual tournament next month. There have been tango lessons promised – Yikes! This is both exciting and terrifying – I’m not very graceful.

Walked upriver to El Manguito this morning to have breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Rio Tuito. (Spaced out the food photographs again!) This flock of birds included two juvenile great blue herons and a very macho young egret who rushed at all the other birds, waving his crest and taunting them.

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On the way home I caught these planters in the village made of old, worn out soccer balls.

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All in all, I’m pleased with my progress, even if I’m not working quite as many hours as planned. After 3 weeks I can finally say Yelapa feels like home again. I’ve made peace with the vagueries of the house, and I’m very, very glad I’m here.

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