Alamos and beyond . . .

This is the latest in the weight loss craze - I may have to try it when I get home . . .  Duck Tape and Saran Wrap - what a combo!!

On to better things - after leaving Villas Onac, we were headed to Alamos . . . but to get there, we had to follow the right road - NOT!  Getting through Esquinapa should be a no-brainer, but I guess I was looking at the road side BBQ instead of the road signs


but just look at the pollo and peppers - I couldn't resist snapping a photo!

Anywhooo - instead of turning onto the cuota (toll) road, we kept on going through town and when I figured we were not on the right path, I asked some locals "Mazatlan???" and they pointed to the left - so that's where we went.  Thing is, it wasn't to the toll road, but to the "libre" (free) road - which in itself is not a bad thing, but to get there - you guessed it - we had to maneuver through narrow cobblestone streets.  At one point, we tried to turn around (right!) but again, the locals just pointed up the hill and told us to turn left and we'd be on the road to Mazatlan . . . so we did, and we were - on the libre road.  Now, normally, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but you do go through many smaller towns, which makes travel slower - and there has been a few reports of "violence" on those free roads - but we didn't see any evidence of that.  On a good note, we missed a few heavy tolls, but did make it back to the 15D and pulled into Celestino for the night. 

You could see the results of the "episode" at Celestino last year - we stayed at an RV park that is usually packed - but there were only 2 rigs there, and then about 4 others came just to overnight.  It was cool and windy, but we did get another sunset and Kipper got a long run on the deserted beach chasing the sea birds.



Beach at Celestino




Our travelling companions - Craig and Denise




Celestino Sunset



Yup - got the jackets back on!

Now, on to Alamos . . . sort of.  To get to Alamos, we need to take the 15D (toll) around  the big city of Culiacan (pop 950,000) and then continue on to Navajoa.  Somehow, we ended up going through the big city of Culiacan, and then onto the libre road - which again, isn't a bad thing, but it's slower and there is more potential to run into problems - but we didn't - so that is all good.

Now . . . on to Alamos! 

• The town of Alamos is about 30 miles off the main highway - inland from Navajoa.  It is both a national historic monument and one of Mexico's Pueblos Magicos (Magical Towns) - and is currently bidding to be come a Unesco World Heritage Site.    In 1683, silver was discovered near Alamos, and it soon becam a boom town of more than 30,000 people.  After Mexican independence, Alamos became the capital of the province of Occidente (present day Sonora and Sinaloa).  During the Mexican revolution, Alamos was attacked repeatedly, and left a virtual ghost town of beautiful mansions and haciendas.  Alamos was "reborn" in the late 1940's when it was discovered by north americans who bought and restored many of the beautiful properties.  Carroll O'Connor used to have a place here - who knew? 

Here's a picture tour of what we saw in Alamos - and I have to say, we just loved the whole place!




Looking down an old street



... and another street ...

The church - just off of the town square

The town square zocola

Looking up at the roof of the zocola

Inside one of the restored mansions

Outside of the mansion

another part of a restored mansion - this is the "guest" house - btw - the place is for sale if anyone is interested

This was once ONE house - a whole block!!

Alamos from viewpoint - each of the mansions used to fully enclose a court yard, and were typically one block square

The cemetary - many old, old graves of the original townfolk

The graves are all above ground - that's a sign of wealth

Of course, we had to go out for street tacos!

Bev and Arturo

Arturo tried to ride the horse!!!



City Hall at night




The RV park is pretty much empty



... and off to San Carlos - adios Alamos

Had a leaky valve stem - so had to have it fixed in Navajoa - 70 pesos (< $7!)

- and now we are off to San Carlos, and then on to the US border.  One thing we had heard of, and really noticed, was the huge amount of frost damage to the vegetable and fruit crops here - probably north of Celestino right to the border.  We saw fields of tomato plants black from frost, and fruit trees that had lost all their leaves and fruit due to the unusually cool temperatures here this winter. . . . we will all be paying dearly for our fruits and veggies in the future, I'm sure!

Next stop - Arizona . . .

Again, another excellent adventure -

Arturo and de Beeb

Adios, Lo de Marcos . . . and off we go!

 

OMG! I can't believe I have been so sorrowfully tardy with my blog (I'm pretending to be Anne Shirley - haha). My last post was just before the music night in Lo de Marcos. This was another fund raiser for the Amigos de Lo de Marcos - and what a night of music it was!

These three were fantastic!!!



. . . and then more jamming . . . just great!



Where has the time gone???

This post's for Sonia - she's on the mend and we are so thankful!

February 10, 2011

 - thanks to Ricardo, Garry, and Brian for sharing some of their pictures with me.

Hola - time is winding down for us in Lo de Marcos.  Where has the winter gone???  I feel like we just had Christmas . . . but I guess that really was over 6 weeks ago!

Here's a bit of what we've been doing over the past while -


Kipper's new BFFs - Brendan and Cassidy from Kitscoty (and Dad, Scott)



Last week we attended a fund raiser for La Casa de los Ninos - a free, after school enrichment center for the children of Lo de Marcos.  For more information about La Casa de los Ninos, go to     http://www.lacasadelosninos.wordpress.com/ . 

The food was prepared by the great staff at Arcelia's Sugar and Spice Restaurant - a tasty Mexican buffet.  I can't imagine that anyone went away hungry - I think there were close to 100 people there, and all the money raised went to La Casa de Los Ninos - a very worthwhile cause.

After dinner, we enjoyed some wonderful Mexican dancing by these two beautiful senoritas!



I think everyone had a wonderful time, although, we were just heading into a cool spell - and a bit of a storm heading our way.

Needless to say, we didn't spend a whole lot of time at the beach when it was like this!

But, like anything else, the weather changes and it's back to the beautiful soft waves that brings out the kid in all of us - or most of us.  I call these following photos "Greys on Trays" - someone once told me that's what they call "cottonheads" who snowboard - but it applies here as well - just a lot of born-again kids playing with their boogie boards . . . (well, except for the one in the bikini - but she just happened to get into the shot!)



Just say "No" to "crack"

At one point, I must have counted at least 20 old farts in the water, just having a ball - and yes, Arturo and I were two of them (we're not in the photo)!

Another wonderful volunteer organization here in the village is  Amigos de Lo de Marcos .  "Amigos de Lo de Marcos is a registered Mexican non-profit association formed by concerned residents, local and foreign, to represent the needs of the community of Lo de Marcos.  Amigos exists to serve, advocate for, and be true "friends" to the people of Lo de Marcos."  Click on the above link to see what they are all about - and to find out all sorts of interesting information about Lo de Marcos.

On Saturday, the Amigos organized a Lo de Marcos Walk-about - to share information about what the village, and what activities they actually support.  They had a great turn-out - somewhere around 85 people, and it was a real eye-opener for me. 

We started out at the square - which is literally the center of town and wear most of the "action" is.

  First we headed to the Elementary School which is located on the main street heading towards the beach. 



Elementary School street side




Elementary School from inside the school yard




The lunch area

 The Amigos helped the school out and raised money to put in these picnic tables for the kids to have their lunches.  Before that, there was none.  They have plans to put a cover over the tables in the future - so the kids will have some protection from the sun and rains.


The Cafeteria



 

Inside a classroom



The School Yard

 As you can see, it's pretty basic - I think the kids here are from grades 1 through 6.  There is a Secondary School (Secundaria) on the other side of town, but we didn't visit there.  The students at the secondary school receive their lessons via TV from Guadalajara (or maybe Mexico City - just like when I was in school, I wasn't paying close enough attention to get all the details).  The secondary school goes to grade 9 - and after that, the kids have to go to another town if they want to continue with their education - and pay for daily transportation, etc. to get there.  One person gave us a figure of 60% drop out after grade 9 - many of the people here just cannot afford that.


Not too far from the square is the kindergarten - it looks so bright and cheery. 

We didn't go in the kindergarten, so I only have pictures from the outside.

Day Care

Further down the road is the day care centre - during the week, you will always see the little ones playing in front area.

Next stop -   La Casa de los Ninos

Library

Activity Room - and "Wall of Fame"



Front entrance - with one of the founders of La Casa de los Ninos



Arts and Crafts Room

The story and activities of La Casa de los Ninos can be found at http://www.lacasadelosninos.wordpress.com/    - a very worthwhile charity that will make a difference in the lives of the children of Lo de Marcos.

Then, at the other end of the life cycle, is the Seniors Centre.  Every Wednesday anywhere from 30 - 90 Seniors from Lo de Marcos meet for social activities, and sometimes, even a nice meal.

Senior's Center

You notice the golf cart out front - one of the volunteerss with Amigos de Lo de Marcos, picks up some of the seniors who would otherwise not be able to attend the Wednesday program - how great is that!



Medical Center

 This is the Medical Centre in Lo de Marcos.  Doctors who train in Mexico, must provide one year of service to rural communities.  The clinic is staffed by one nurse, and the doctor.  The doctor lives right at the clinic.  One of the fund raising efforts for the Amigos de Lo de Marcos, is to purchase an Air Conditioner for the building - can you imagine being here in the sweltering summer heat without A/C?  I'm sure the doc will appreciate it.  In the past, the Amigos donated a washing machine to the clinic - so towels, linens, etc. could be cleaned right on site.

A couple of other things that the Amigos are involved in, and I don't have pictures of, are the free spay and neuter clinics that help control the pet population, and the recycling program (see the previous post).

Excellent efforts on everyone's parts!

We are gettng to the end of this trip - and are most likely leaving Lo de Marcos on February 23rd - and heading north - with plans to cross into the US on March 1st.  We'll spend a bit of time there with Art's sister and brother-in-law, and then head her home!



Chacala Beach

Next post - the hot springs adventure, a night of Jazz and Blues, great amigos - old and new . . . stay tuned!
Hasta Luego -

Arturo y de Beeb