Mother Nature's Representative

Goldifish and The Three Turtles

 

In a pond not so far away there lived three turtles.  These turtles were called map turtles because their shells had lines on them somewhat like a map does.  There was Papa turtle whose name was Yurtle and he was quite large.  There was Mama turtle whose name was Myrtle and she was medium sized.   There was a baby turtle who was rather small; his name was Shelly.  Shelly still had lots of time to grow.

Lots of other animals lived in the pond.  There were salamanders and frogs.  There were lots of tadpoles.  There were different kinds of insects who walked on top of the water.  And there were lots and lots of goldfish.

"Turtles," Papa explained to Shelly, "are morally superior because we are vegetarians!  We eat roots, and leaves, nuts, and twigs, and fruits and berries, but not other animals."  Papa was especially fond of berries although he seldom got any.

"Now, Dear," said Mama, "we must all live as we are made."  Mama did in fact find some of the eating habits of the fish absolutely disgusting, but the less said about that the better.

Shelly was greatly interested in just about everything and especially eating, but when a fish had dared him he found he was unable to eat a live insect.  So Papa explained that Shelly was an admirable turtle and should not compare himself with fish who were silly creatures and rather low.

Every morning about nine o'clock a Lady came out to visit the pond.  "Here Fishie, Here Fishie, Fish Food!" the Lady called.  The goldfish immediately swam to the top of the pond and began jumping around excitedly.  The Lady threw handfuls of fish food pellets into the pond where they floated enticingly.  The fish shoved each other about greedily to be the first to get the pellets although there were plenty for everyone.

"Here turtles, Here turtles," the Lady called.  The turtles who could hear quite well, resting snugly on the bottom of the pond, did not respond immediately.  "Here turtles. Where are my beautiful turtles?' the Lady called.

Eventually Papa swam up and stuck out his nose.  Papa turtle liked pellets when they were hard and crunchy.  The lady threw a handful near Papa who immediately began crunching on them.  "You are so beautiful!" the Lady said.  Papa turtle nodded agreeably; he knew he was beautiful.

A little while later Mama turtle swam up to check things out.  Mama liked her pellets firm but not so crunchy.  After they had been floating on the water for about five minutes they were just right for her.  "Well there you are," said the Lady.  "How are you this fine day?"

Mama did not reply.  Although she was grateful for the food pellets Mama turtle was not quite sure what to make of the Lady

.

Shelley waited another 10 minutes before he swam up to the surface.  He liked his pellets to be quite mushy.  Also Shelly knew that if he waited a little longer the Lady would leave.  Shelly was a little bit afraid of the Lady and besides that he was quite shy.

And they all lived happily ever after.

 

Pictures of Our Lady of the Pond: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157644586009000/

(You may need to copy and paste the above link.)

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

MAY I PLEASE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Some of you may recall that a few years back Mrs.T was the featured artist at one of our local art cooperatives, The Zanesville Appalachian Art Project.  Not surprising the show was TREES and featured some of her paintings and glasswork evoking one of her favorite topics.  The show was very well received and an overall success.

Well, now I have been 'recruited' to be the artist for the month of June.  My show, Nod to Noir, will mostly feature black and white photographs.  There will also be some ink prints, a medium I have just begun to explore.  The show is described in a bit more detail below.  It will open 6 June about 7pm and run for the month in the Z.A.A.P. gallery on Main Street in Zanesville.

Now I do not expect many of you will have the opportunity or ability to attend the show, especially not the opening.  Of course you are invited and welcome.  But I realize Zanesville is out of the way for most of you.  To make it easy for you to view the show from afar, follow this link: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157644051085137/

and you can look at photographs in the show at your leisure.  I hope you enjoy them.

Thank you,

Dan 

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

NOD to NOIR

I am a fan of film noir; I could discuss that art form at length.  But we will skip that discussion.  Suffice it to say that most of the classic films in that genre were in black and white; light and shadow were part of the narrative.  Intrinsically shadows can be indistinct, not well-defined, subtle and fuzzy.  And shadows can be difficult to capture with a camera – I did not say 'get on film' because in today's world most of us are using digital cameras, often one with a phone attached to it.

There are essentially three ways we can capture black and white images:  The subject matter is already essentially black and white; with even an inexpensive camera one can change the setting to b&w, classic, or something similar; or one can do some computer manipulation.  There have not been any computer - today's darkroom - adjustments to the images in this show.  All photographs were made using only adjustments on the camera at the time the pictures were taken.

I call this show a Nod to Noir because the images are mostly black and white although some have a touch of color.  You will see an emphasis upon shadows, some geometric and some rather natural.  Some images emphasize texture.  None of the photos was actually staged; mostly I just happened to be at the right spot at an opportune time.

Rest of Cruise Summary

SICK at SEA

We have been back at the Summer Estate for almost three weeks.  We have things up and running, and are mostly back to our normal routine.  The hot tub is hot; the water filters replaced; the waterfall hooked up (most important!); and our pantry and freezer are being replenished.  Mrs. T has been planting more things - spreading mulch, manure, and topsoil.  And the whip-poor-will has returned with its incessant calling at dawn and dusk.  (Listen here:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_whip-poor-will/sounds) So all is well done here in the holler.

In our last posting we had traversed the Panama Canal and were heading up the west coast of Central America.  I asked the muse if she was ready to post another story about some of our stops and she said, "No."  She is 'storied-out'.  Seems her creative fire is smoldering embers at the moment.  Maybe it was the Tuesday snow we had, the grey skies, or the lack of green in our forest.  In any case, she delegated the story authority to the editor.  So I will cover a bit more of our cruise adventure.

Although, as you may recall, I thought the doctor from Colombia was well worth a visit, I really did not intend to be a patient.  But as it happened I did get sick.  I am almost positive it was an allergic reaction to something.  I had a bit of congestion and some difficulty breathing.  I took a generic antihistamine tab of diphenhydramine - you probably know it by its brand name starting with "B" - which we had brought with us.  I thought we would possibly need it for a bug bite or sting encountered on one of the excursions, always a possibility for R who is a mosquito magnet.

The pill worked.  I cleared right up and felt fine.  Except, as normally happens with this drug, I was dried out like a prune.  I thought it was a onetime thing and I did not need to do anything else.  Wrong.  The next day I was again congested, perhaps even worse, but I thought it would pass.  But I got worse and worse to the point I had severe problems breathing.  Obviously I had a significant bronchial problem.  When I could not make it to the elevators to go to dinner, Mrs.T insisted I go see the medical staff.  With all the stories about cruise ship illnesses it seemed the prudent thing to do.

The infirmary was actually around the corner from our stateroom.  It was a very modern and clean facility, very similar to Clinica Santa Rosa.  But I did not see an operating room.  I wanted to take some pictures, at least of the staff, but Dr. Colombia would not let me; she did not want me to take pictures of the equipment.  Hmm.

I was diagnosed with a case of acute bronchitis and some pneumonia.  I underwent treatments similar to what Mrs.T had in January.  But I was not in quite as severe a condition.  I was given some antibiotics and needed to come back another day for some additional breathing treatments and followup.  The very competent Dr. Colombia was assisted by as equally qualified Dr. Pretoria and a couple of nurses.  The trip to the infirmary was definitely a good idea.  I improved significantly and finished the cruise with few problems, although a bit weaker perhaps.

But we made a mistake.  For this trip we had purchased insurance.  We thought it was just for trip interruption or cancellation should we have a problem or the cruise line have some difficulties.  As it turned out the insurance also covered illnesses.  We wish we had remembered the insurance while we were on the ship.  Instead we needed to file a claim when we returned.  We hope we will be reimbursed for at least some of the cost of treatment. Oh well.

Once through the canal we made stops in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and then Mexico.  We scheduled excursions in most of the stops.  Rebecca took a suspended cable car excursion through the rainforest in Costa Rica and a visit to a botanical garden in Nicaragua.  As you know, Mrs.T is the plant woman.  And while I like flowers and plants very much, I took a pass on those two side trips - a bit too much plant overload for me.  And the idea of being several hundred feet over the jungle canopy did not play well with my phobias about high places.  I might have enjoyed the serpentarium she visited.  Rebecca took a lot of photos in those two places.  Here is a pared down group of them:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157644336963205/

But we took a trip together to a restored sugar cane plantation hacienda in Guatemala.  (Cane is first refined to sugar, then molasses, and finally to rum where the real money is made.)  As always, the rich people lived quite well.  The house was large and well-furnished by the standards of those times.  It had a well-tended garden with several species of flowers and plants that interested R.  Now it is being restored to its former glory by a doctor who lives in the capital.  He feels it is important to preserve the history of the country.

Here are some pictures:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157644336324594/

Our guide was quite good and knowledgeable.  It was a bit of a bus ride to the site but that provided one of the highlights:  We saw a couple of active volcanoes, one of which was smoking at the time.  Another excursion had offered a trip up to the top of one of them.  But as it was listed as a strenuous five-hour trek, we both decided that we could skip that.  So being able to actually see the same volcano, albeit from a distance, was a nice bonus.  Our bus driver is to be given extra kudos for being able to back up a narrow alley to the hacienda entrance.

Finally we got close to home when we anchored at Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa is southern Mexico.  We sometimes refer to this as the 'real' Ixtapa because this is the one most tourists think about.  There are literally hundreds of towns named Ixtapa throughout Mexico; we even have one near Bucerias.  It is like the name Springfield in the US.  But the Ixtapa in southern Mexico was designed from the ground - or rather beach - up to be a resort town to bring in some extra pesos to this part of the country.  

I passed on a chance to visit another botanical garden.  Rebecca actually hired a taxi to drive her to an archeological site and the botanical garden, both of which were somewhat out of town.  Although the beach was busy, the pyramid and museum were essentially empty.  Mrs.T has a personally guided tour by the people responsible for the area.  They were hoping to get more funding to do additional digging and restorations.  The garden was closed when she arrived although someone at dinner said they had gone there earlier in the day.

Here are some of R's pictures:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157644325771921/

Next stop was home for a couple of weeks before our trip north.  Now we are hoping spring will finally arrive.

Warmth to all of you,

Dan and Rebecca

It looks like the links did not come through properly so you may need to copy and paste them.

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Traversing the Canal

THE CANAL

 

The Muse has been really inspired and has quickly cranked out another episode about our recent vacation.  This posting covers our actual time at the canal.  The pictures will give some idea of the enormity of this monument to engineering.  It was the largest concrete structure ever constructed until the Hoover Dam, a.k.a Boulder Dam, was built about 20 years later.  In the last posting we mentioned that the canal runs basically north and south; also interestingly when entering from the north one goes west to east.  Here is Mrs.T's story:

 

When Dan first said he would like to see the Panama Canal I was not too enthused.  I thought when you have seen one canal you have seen then all. (She was probably thinking of the lock on the Muskingum River in our town of Philo. –dt) They are basically a ditch full of water with gates.  But I was wrong.  While on the ship we saw a movie made for NOVA about the making of the canal. ("A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama" narrated by noted historian David McCullough who wrote a book on the subject.  –dt) We also attended the first of a series of lectures about the canal, but alas, I slept though most of this (That was a really bad lecture and we did not attend any others. –dt.).  The first thing about the canal is it is very big.  There are three locks to take you uppity, up, up.  Then you go across a large lake.  There are three more locks and you go downitty, down, down.  Getting across is pretty simple now if you have a ton of cash to pay the toll.  But when you consider that the toll saves literally 8,000 miles and lots of expensive travel time maybe it is not so outrageous. (and avoid Cape Horn –dt)

 

The much simplified history goes something like this:

When the Spaniards were conquering the New World they needed a way to get their loot from the West Coast of South America to the East Coast.  They discussed building a canal across Panama but nothing came of it.  Three hundred years later the French thought they would do it.   After all they had built the Suez Canal.  Of course building a canal through a rocky mountainous jungle was not the same as building a canal across the desert but they could deal with the differences.  Well, not exactly!

 

The French canal venture was a private company with political connections.  They had a lot of investors and they kept running out of money.  They did a lot of surveys to determine the best route.  Where there is now a lake was then a river valley.  The plan was to connect the cut on the eastern side to the river.  Then they would enlarge and dredge the river to make it more navigable.  There were two problems.  The first was that tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever killed about 75% of their workforce within their first six months on the job.  At this time no one knew the connection between mosquitoes and the illnesses.  In spite of this, work commenced on the eastern cut.  The cut through the mountains was a lot harder than they expected.  Money was running short.  The French then discovered a fatal flaw in their plan.  The area was subject to sudden unpredictable tropical storms, or should I say deluges.  The height of the river would rise 10 or 20 feet within a couple of hours.  This made planning a sea level connection to the cut impossible because no one knew what the water level would be, not to mention the actual location of the river which shifted as the water rose.  Finally after several years the French effort went bust.  The investors lost everything and many adventuresome builders lost their lives.

 

The Americans took over the effort.  President Teddy Roosevelt was the front man for the effort. (an example of his 'big stick' –dt) The first fortunate thing was that someone discovered the link between the mosquitoes and malaria and yellow fever. (including Dr. Walter Reed –dt) Do you remember them burying the 'yellow fever' victims in the basement in Arsenic and Old Lace?  The company made a tremendous effort to eradicate mosquitoes.  They also installed window screens on the worker housing.  This did not solve the disease problem but it helped a lot.  (They also used bigger equipment, much of it built in Ohio.  –dt)

 

In a revised plan instead of using the river the Americans decided to build a lake on top of the river. (one of the largest manmade lakes in the world  –dt) By spreading out the space the change in water level would be a lot less.  Surrounded by huge dams the lake is about 90 feet higher than the oceans on either side.  That is why when you enter the canal from either side you go up to the lake.  Then on the other side you go down to the ocean.  In fact the sea level of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are within a few inches of each other.  I can't remember which one is higher or why.

 

The canal has been reconditioned a couple of times but it still uses the same general route.  The Canal is very big but then so are the ships.  When our ship went through the canal was just inches from its sides.  I understand that most of these ships were built just small enough to fit through the canal. (Panamax ships –dt) To pass through the canal you need a reservation made months in advance.  You pay a huge toll; the one for our ship was around $360,000.  They said the smallest toll was $.76 for someone who swam through.  In spite of the high fees ships were lined up for their turns.  Mostly we saw the big ships, which go through during the day, two side by side.  At night small boats go through in bunches.  (The canal also runs one direction during the day and the other during the night.  –dt) (A parallel system of locks is currently under construction and should be operational in 2015 to accommodate larger ships. –dt)

 

Our ship like most was guided through the locks by large gleaming silver electric locomotives, which are called "mules".  You remember "I got a mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal…."? (http://www.eriecanalvillage.net/pages/song.html , one of many on the web. –dt)  So from the decks and through our stateroom window we watched the whole process.  We were lifted up through three locks, steamed across the lake and were lowered down three locks.  In one day we traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, although it is about a century old it was still amazing.  And then we headed for home.

 

Here are some pictures:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157643066387424/

 

On the Pacific side of the canal we stopped in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and southern Mexico.  Perhaps Rebecca will be writing about some of the other excursions during our return to the condo.

 

See many of you soon.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Vacation 2014

THE PANAMA CANAL

 

Rebecca and I have discussed the possibility of taking a cruise for a vacation while down here at the Winter Residence.  We have thought about going either north or south.  Or perhaps even taking a ship instead of a plane to get here.  Cruise ships routinely stop in Puerto Vallarta.  Unfortunately one can only get off and not on.  A trip through the Panama Canal seemed to be a logical way.  I have always thought the Panama Canal would be a wonder to see.  And so we investigated what was available, making sure the itinerary included a stop in P.V. and that we could indeed disembark there, and booked our passage on the Celebrity Century, one of the smaller cruise ships of the major lines by today's standards.

Unfortunately nearly all cruises originate in Florida, either Ft. Lauderdale as did ours, or Miami.  So we needed to book a flight and hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale.  We had to go to Mexico City and then Atlanta before finally reaching Florida.  Things went rather smoothly except for a small glitch for some immigration papers to get us back into Mexico.  And our hotel had shuttles from the airport and to the port.  However, it was a fifteen-hour travel day.

Boarding the ship was straightforward; the port authority folks have the system down.  There were people from many countries, all anxious to get going.  Most prominent were Germans; as we would later hear most of the on-board announcements in English and German.  There were a smattering of Japanese and other Asians.  And we heard other languages – Swedish, Italian, French, etc. – during the cruise

.

Below Mrs.T reviews our first stop, Cartagena, Colombia, which was our only stop on the Atlantic side of the canal.  As are several of the places we stopped, Cartagena is a major seaport for cargo.  Most of the shipping these days is containerized and we were to see them stacked and being moved about during our times in ports; Maersk, the company of Captain Phillips, was noticeable.  As a note, even though the Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the canal itself goes north and south.

 

As some of you know, Dan and I went on a cruise through the Panama Canal.  The cruise was on a very big ship.  Dan who seems to have a natural sense of direction immediately figured out where everything was.  With 12 different decks I think it is understandable that I sometimes became confused.  Fortunately they had little 'You Are Here' maps by each elevator. (There were three banks of elevators. –dt) The ship had 5 or 6 each of lounges, bars, restaurants, and stores - also a theater, a cinema, a medical clinic, and a customer service area, not to mention cabins for 1800 passengers and 900 crew.

On the first night at the traditional toast held in the theater, the captain introduced the main officers only one of whom was a woman, the ship's doctor.  She was from Columbia and quite nice looking.  Dan commented that he wouldn't mind her taking care of him. (Maybe that will be another part of the report.  –dt) Sigh!  We settled into our cabin which was snug but had a very nice window.

The passengers were people in our age range who evidently liked to eat.   There were about 4 or 5 passengers on the skinny side but most were either average or shall we say well-rounded; we fit right in the demographic.  And eat we did!  We had breakfast, we had a midmorning snack, we had brunch, we had lunch, we had a midafternoon snack,  we had tea, we had dinner, we had a postprandial tidbit, and then of course a snack before bed.  Well we did not eat at all of these times, but passengers did munch their way through the days.  Actually Dan and I pretty much restrained our gluttony to breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack before bed.  But the food was very good in both quality and quantity.  One person I met stationed herself by the ice cream bar and whenever they brought out a new flavor rushed over to investigate.  She could not understand how she gained 15 pounds.  I will admit I personally consumed substantial amounts of bread pudding and many different exotic chocolate desserts.  It is disconcerting to think that we took this tour during Lent but all I can figure out is that we gave up healthy eating and abased ourselves in decadence.  

Of course we worked off a lot of these extra calories with strenuous on board activities such as reading; watching movies - Dan saw Captain Phillips and found it good; shows - we went to one but Dan fell asleep; lectures - we went to one but I fell asleep (It really was bad.  –dt); trivia contests, I won twice; chess games - Dan lost twice which made him grumpy (I hung some rooks. –dt); and sitting in the lounges listening to music.

 

The third night was the first "formal" dinner.  A couple of people were a little late arriving.  "They probably did not have someone bullying them into what to wear!" explained Terry, the other male at our table, who looked very nice in a dinner jacket.  Dan growled in agreement.  It was the first time I had seen Dan in a tie in many years.  (We had a very nice group of six table mates; we enjoyed meeting all of you.  –dt)

Our first stop was at Cartagena, Columbia.  Even though it was Sunday and also Election Day, the locals were ready for us.  When we disembarked we walked around a little park at the base of the fort (Castillo San Felipe de Barajas  -dt).  We were surrounded by street vendors.  There were ladies dressed up like Chiquita Banana (Actually probably Carmen Miranda even though she was from Brasil.  –dt) who wanted money to take their picture with you. (You will see me warning her in one photo.  –dt) I made the mistake of buying a couple of tee shirts and was mobbed by vendors throwing articles of clothing and jewelry on me.  (Our vendors in Bucerias are sedate by comparison. –dt) Finally I was rescued by the guide – we were last on the bus - and we went on to our excursion. 

We had scheduled a shore excursion that featured a tour of the city in a horse drawn carriage. The horse was fine; I think he had memorized the route and would have placidly taken us around with no driver whatsoever.  The carriage was fine, picturesque and well kept, it seated four of us.  The tour part, however, left a bit to be desired.  It was in fact non-existent.  After we had covered a couple of blocks I said to Dan, "I wish he would tell us about these buildings."  The driver who evidently understood English quite well asked me in Spanish, "Do you speak Spanish?"  "Yes, some," I admitted.  He then proceeded to give us a very nice tour in Spanish which I translated for the other three.  The only problem was when he gave dates - which was quite often as this was a historical kind of tour - I could not keep up.  Dan who is good with numbers in any language took to translating the dates and then we did fine.  The buildings were from three to five hundred years old and included a lot of churches and convents not to mention the fort and city wall.  There were many statues; my favorite was fat saint somebody or other.  I do not make this up, they really do have a statue of a fat saint; I just can't remember her name.  (Not really a saint, although the locals may call her that.  It is the bronze Mujer Reclinada by Fernando Bortero.  From another's post:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Cy3bgafPA6STMJnRoioI4Bf1bRGfAiytkKNUqXeQXV39AKhidffInhv52z9fM1jkT6NyOaGFRBQssKLK4iinyRKe9kIItHBRjtsN6xv65EK2C9WF7OAZgrdzkeUGMkin01mE0D8DfE_h/s640/IMG_7100.JPG  -dt) I had a little problem with Dan because when the tour was over he thought I should get a cut of the tips.   We went on to a local market where things were a lot more subdued.  Here I was able after a bit of haggling to buy a little puzzle to take back to our group in Bucerias.

Here are a few photos of this stop:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157642876659795/

I expect Mrs.T will provide us with some additional stories about the trip.  But soon we return to the Summer Estate and need to prepare for that.  Will spring be there when we return?

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

News Flash

REBECCA THE FISHER PERSON

As several of you know we have just returned from a two-week vacation – a cruise through the Panama Canal.  It was quite a lot of fun and Mrs.T is putting together a story, perhaps more than one, about our trip.  And we are starting to think about our return to the Summer Estate in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, R has had a bit of an adventure.  I am writing the story as R is probably reluctant to, even though she has shared the incident with several others.  And although I was not in attendance, there were witnesses upon whom I can rely.

As she has previously written, Mrs.T and her posse enjoy going up the road to Destiladeras beach for boogie boarding; there usually are more consistent waves that allow for long rides into the beach.  And so off they went and were having a good time.

It is not uncommon to be tossed around quite a bit and accumulate a bit of sand inside one's swimming attire.  Thus after one of her rides Mrs.T was not surprised that there was a bit of discomfort in her swimsuit.  However, as much as she tried to straighten things out, there continued to be a wiggling in the canyon.  Well after a closer examination what should she find?  A fish has been caught in the boobie trap.  After deftly removing it, the critter apparently was too small for ceviche and was returned to its natural habitat.  (DS should be proud of this catch and release.)  I imagine the fish is sharing a story with its piscine friends about being caught in a cave in between two mountains and somehow making an escape.  But it probably has a smile on its face.

(Unfortunately no one took any photos.)

 

Will spring actually have returned when we do?

See you soon,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Down to the water again

Bucerias Boogie Board Bunch

 

Before we get to a further adventure of Water Woman, we should review some of the other highlights of the last month.  We had a nice - although too short - visit from Nick; we hope he enjoyed his time here.  The puzzle people were at it.  Philippe formerly of Laval, Quebec, and now a nomad – some say he is mad - brought a rather 'challenging' puzzle of a peacock.  When you see the picture you will understand that strong words were muttered while working on this one.  And Mrs.T and I had a wonderfully delicious Valentine's meal.  As the story will reveal, we are fully recovered from our illnesses.

 

I was the first.  Others came and went – Rita, Crystal, Chuck.  But year by year I was always there boogie boarding.  Why?  Because I love it.  There is a Spanish word encantado.  Literally I am enchanted.  Two years ago Doug showed up.  He loved boogie boarding too.  He would tell me in passing, "There are good waves today!"  It was nice to think someone shared your love.

 My friend Judy (aka Dr. Puzzle –dt) had been going to a beach called Destiladeras.  She said it had lovely waves.  The first time I went it was a great  beach: not too many people, smooth sand, lots of shells at the rocks on either end of the beach, great view of the bay where you could sometimes see the whales jumping, but alas no waves.  My second trip was the same.  But finally, on the third try the waves were perfect!

Doug and I were out riding wave after wave.  They were big enough to give us a nice ride but not too big to be scary.  Doug is, to be honest, better than I.  He is younger, stronger, and not so Rubenesque. (And he works out at the gym almost every day.  –dt) He offered me the help of his personal trainer - his wife Pam. (She also works out at the gym almost every day.  –dt) Doug was sure she could whip me into shape in no time at all.  I politely declined.  After about ten waves I was exhausted. 

I retired to the beach while Doug rode on.  I asked my neighbor Lynda if she wanted to try.  I showed her the basics.  Doug gave her a couple more tips and Lynda was riding those waves.  

After I rested I reclaimed my board and rode some more waves.  It was fabulous.  Another half hour and I went to rest and let Laurie, Lynda's husband, use my board.  Doug finally came in for a break for munchies and sunscreen.   After we rode some more waves I lent my board to Don while Judy and I went to look for shells.

After this day Laurie, Lynda, and Don all bought their own boards and someone is always going boogie boarding.  Judy has learned to boogie board too.   Pam, thus far, remains a trainer.   So every day or so we bravely ride a Mexican bus speeding around mountainous curves, bouncing from one pot hole to another and climb down the rocky cliff, to the beautiful beach in search of the perfect wave.

Dan says the Bucerias bobsled team will probably be next.

Here are some pictures.  Sorry about the fuzzy pictures of our Valentine's meal but I was a bit shaky with the phone camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157641325299324/

A late bulletin:  Pam may go boogie boarding and Judy may get her very own board.  Dan still is not going near water.

 

Hope you all are ready for the Year of the Horse.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com