February 12, 2009

The ladies all dressed up yesterday and we attended the nicest fashion show I’ve had the privilege of attending. It had all of the elements: friends to enjoy the show with, beautiful clothes, designers, and models – some we know, especially model Bee, Carole’s mom, and designer, Lucy, who is making dresses for us already; entertainment to die for (The backup singer for the Supremes), the seventeen year old girl singer that is pretty as a picture and sings like a lark, and the handsome, romantic Mexican vocal, Roberto Curiel (who signed my CD, “with love”….are we never too old to swoon?); and the perfect setting with delectable food at the San Carlos Hotel in Rincon where they have a pool and a bridge crossing for the models and white table clothes for us. The MC was good too and it was a very special day. I owe a lot of my fun times to Shirley Lewis, who has gone out of her way to include me in all of her discovery places to go from past experiences. She and her husband, Bob, have shown us all of the best of Rincon Guayabitos and surrounding areas. We can never repay their kindness. They have truly made a great trip into fantastic.

Early to bed and early to rise….that is us…..there was a beach party last night and we decided it would be easier to cook for ourselves and then go down to the party after. Our gathering at Carol and Grants, their delicious BBQed ribs with Shirley’s salad, and the people coming and going lasted until our early bedtime and we missed the beach party altogether.......just went off to bed!


Andy’s comments on his kayak adventure of the day before:

I took the kayaks (on top of the Honda) to a secluded beach that one should have 4 x 4 to get to. That is why it is not too crowded. Gregory’s, their friends, Webber’s, and Lewis’ came, but Mom had promised Judy she would help her paint decorations for the upcoming Pig Roast. Dave hopped right into the blue kayak and went way out to the edge of waves by a reef and was riding them in. He claims he had never been in a kayak before. The waves were only a foot or so high on the shore so it was fairly easy get past them without mishap. But the ones Dave was playing with were two or three feet and he was a long ways from any help.

Quentin decided to go out and make sure nothing disastrous happened to Dave. It took two of us to get him through the first little waves and he went out for a brief while. When he came back in he somehow did not manage to keep the kayak coming straight in and ended up rolling over. That was enough kayaking for him. John went out and paddled around with Dave quite awhile. Then finally they came back in.

Teddy, to not be outdone by her husband, Quentin, wanted me to accompany her in a kayak, which I did. I warned her that I was not all that experienced, so she should not get her confidence built up too much. She was great and came back in under control.

The next day I spent quite awhile trying to come up with a system to wash all the sand out of the kayaks. I decided 95% will have to do. I do not understand how Quentin managed to get so much sand into his kayak. I did not catch on to the trick he had, but then I learned that he had been in the earth-moving business. Well, now I know why we hit it off so good.

This is Shirley's take on the full moon last night and it is well written!.....

Turtles under the moon
Now what does that mean.......well. ... . the ladies of La Penita RV park gather at 8:00 pm when their is a full moon....
Yes they gather but what do they do ...you ask
It is a gathering of the ladies who all jump into the pool NAKED........yes naked. So I was invited To come and see...bring a towel I was told. Well to say the least I was a little shy and decided to just watch. I watched these ladies strip their clothes (now mind you they come in all sizes and ages...all the way up to and over 80 years old) . Now the next thing you hear is laughing and music!!! All this under a FULL MOON.
ONLY IN MEXICO...AND ONLY AT LA PENITA RV PARK

PS Sorry no pictures of this event!!!!

February 9, 2009

Gayle Dixon little suspected four of us on two quads to appear at her house just starting to be built in La Penita. It is going to be a wonderful brick house, palapa, pool and all. The builder is working on it and we got to see it in it’s “before” stage and envision the finished house as it will be. Gayle is planting and cutting in the big yard and there is a new wall around it. The rest of our Sunday quad ride was just that, not too long or rough. We went to the top of the hills above Los Ayalas and viewed the sea and town below, among the beautiful newly built homes and lots for sale. Then there was lunch in Guayabitos , at a restaurant on the sand, with the sound of waves hitting, boats being launched, and children building sand castles. It was a rush to get home on the quads in time for me to make fresh shrimp cocktails before Shirley and Bob had to go up to their 400pm duty, cooking for “Hamburger Sunday” at the pool. The Gregorys, their guests, and the Webers came by and we made shrimp cocktails for everyone. At karaoke that night, we found out that our neighbor, Ken, and two other residence of the park could really sing. Jo even did one line dance.

Saturday evening it had been our privilege to be invited to Allen’s Bungalows Alexa to partake in his Saturday evening potluck. He invited us, his quad buddies, and entertained us by introducing his guests and Olga, his wife and fantastic cook. Olga made the best-we’ve-had chili rellanos. Two of his guests were wonderful entertainers and sang with their key board and guitar. One little boy named Andrew says he can imitate Johnny Cash!

A new project for Infinity coach???

Today, Monday, Andy has taken a bunch kayaking at Cave beach and I stayed here to help Judy paint wagon wheels of cardboard for the upcoming “Pig Roast” that promises some good times on Thursday.

February 07, 2009

Andy's observations:

Co-incidentally, JoAn has been working very hard this past week on a breast cancer volunteer project in the La Peñita RV Park where we have been staying the last ten weeks. They have been fitting Mexican women with prosthetics who have suffered with mastectomies and could not afford to be fitted with proper equipment. It was a huge team effort that came from everyone’s hearts. They made well over 300 hundred women very happy, many of whom went away crying in tears with happiness. Obviously their previous trauma had pulled them down and had changed their lives. This act of charity made a wonderful uplifting change for them. Maruka, speaking both English and Spanish was invaluable, along with a few of the other Spanish speaking helpers. Jackie, who lives in La Peñita, was first to organize this project and has carried it by herself for many years. Now it is time for others to help her.


While the men could not be involved helping directly, they supported with other projects like shuttling the women between the park and the buses, which stopped maybe a mile away. I was one of the drivers for three trips and when I helped the women off the van, practically everyone of them hugged me and thanked me—mostly in Spanish—for all of the team, especially the leaders, for the wonderful thing they made possible for them.


One Mexican friend who brings produce to the park twice a week donated a huge amount of food for the small restaurant to turn into soup and snacks for the patients who were waiting for their turn to get fitted. The three Mexican women who work in the restaurant donated their time for three hard days of work feeding those women waiting. They had never been so busy! Other women and men worked behind the scenes preparing the food, and running errands.


In preparation for the event, regular guests of the park and people outside of the park brought nearly 500 used bras and prosthesis from Canada and the US. It was quite a job setting up shelves and boxes to sort the sizes and types of everything, and fabricating eight fitting rooms in the clubhouse and setting up several sewing machines outside for customizing and adjustments. That is one place where some of the men came in to help. It was a big undertaking.
And you know what? It really brought the camp together even more. The guests here are pretty much a giving compatible kind of people that want to help. We believe it centers around Carole, who is the lady who rents the park and runs it. She is completely involved constantly. Carole instigates events and is always present.

February 06, 2009

Andy is spending bus cleaning time...

My miniature garden

One of many open pasture roosters

For those of you that stayed at the Hacienda Bungalows, this is how the front wall looks right now with flowers in full bloom and the duck still in charge!

The Webers and Gregorys (of southern Oregon Diesel) and their friends flew into PV yesterday and Bob drove to pick them up. In the evening there was a potluck dinner for the Mama clinic volunteers up at our pool and one catered for the passengers arriving from stateside (complete with party decorations) at Weber's house. Dinner was delivered to Webbers house at the same time they all walked in together from the airport....perfect timing and delicious dinner and chatter. Tonight we went to restaurant Latitude 21 to try the winning Margareta from the Margareta competition, called a coconut lime Margareta......delicious and afterwards had a Chi Coffee drink at Ada's new coffee shop and purchased a tiny dress with bonnet for little Karen's birthday (her mommy works at the pool cooking breakfast and we love little Karen....cute as a bug). Andy went to Chiropractor and I did line dancing and a facial! What a day!

February 04, 2009

There are alligators here…..just below in the swamp area just uphill from the beach.

Today and tomorrow ends our Mama Clinic….we have fitted several hundred women with a prosthesis and prosthesis bra and pride and wonderful exuberant happiness. For some of them they felt like they had been restored a bit of themselves that they had lost. We took pictures of all of the volunteers and many of the ladies strutting around with new confidence.

Last night we celebrated Lewis’ 38th wedding anniversary at one of the nicest restaurants in the area, The Xaltemba, with Lewis, Thackers, and their daughter, Rebecca. Time is flying…..tomorrow, the Webbers come home from their stateside vacation, along with the Gregory’s and another couple that is friends of theirs. Bob is driving to PV to pick them up.

February 02, 2009

Sunday pm Andy and I cooked and chopped at the hamburger night by the pool. It is all volunteer help and it was fun with the gang in charge. I sliced onions and tomatoes, filled containers with pickles, peppers, ketchup, mustard, and mayo, and kept them filled during serving time. Andy helped cook and deliver burgers and sausages to the table. A few laughs go along, good music, and many smiles!

There was a bit of shopping today for a couple of new plants. I love the nursery and even Andy enjoyed the tropical paradise there. The tall potted trees are used for shade for the little ones that need shade and we can stroll underneath the canopy and it looks to be a botanical garden.

We are working for the next three days for the Mexican women who have had Cancer and then Mastectomies here. Apparently many prosthesis and bras for them were donated in Canada and in the states for the women that need them down here. The women down here do not have follow up groups and do not share their fate with anyone and do not get information to take home after surgery……so our RV park has set up its own clinic that is for the next three days, bringing bus loads of women in from all over the state. We expect 3 bus loads and more coming on foot and by car. Andy will be one shuttle driver to get them from their buses at the nearby PREMEX gas station to the park. We women will fit as many as possible with prosthesis and extra bras. We have some nurses and a Mexican translator to help. Directions are passed out in Spanish for how to knit prosthesis that can be stuffed with soft stuffing and be worn comfortably so they can make them themselves. They say it will be very an emotional experience……I will let you know.