Still Manzinillo...

Manzanillo is a port on the way to becoming a
bigger port. Lots of ships come in and out of the
bay and some stay for a couple of days. Wonder
what it must be like to be on a ship day in and
day out. I go stir-crazy in a condo in a matter
of hours.

There is a lot of sealife to be seen and watched out
for. Turns, pelicans, seagulls and some little white birds that attack the pelicans and are attacked by the turns. Then there are the dead fish that wash up in the surf. If you are not careful you can get stabbed by one of these little guys:

Cutest little faces! When I first saw a pile of these they looked like furry fish. Closer examination they are puffer fish. Though some cultures consider them a delicacy, the Mexicans don't and the birds don't seem to be interested in them either.

The architecture is pretty amazing and diverse. From your typical beach restaurants to clean modern lines.




And then there is the footprints in the
sand that seem to appear out of nowhere.

Walking on this beach takes a lot of effort. Recently the shoreline has changed and become very sloped. Usually where you would have hard sand to walk on it is just soft. To get the hard sand you have to walk very close to the incoming waves and often get very wet from a large powerful wave. The water going out is as forceful as the water coming in and often cause an explosion of water on meeting.





So, my purpose in coming to Manzanillo was to see if it was a good fit for moving here.
While there are plenty of nice places to rent at very affordable prices, it is large with a population of over 130,000. A bit too big for this small town girl. Although I keep vascillating between maybe coming for 6 months and then heading back to Oregon for 6 months. I am left feeling life this picture ---------------------->
grrr!

Service & Snorkeling!

yesterday, Friday, we went out in service in the morning. Some calls, some coffee (some things are the same wherever you go) and then some territory. This fishing expedition didn't turn up any English speaking people.

Many of the need greaters have only been here a short time. Its usually a young couple that moves in and is then joined by retiring parents.

Manzanillo is a rather large town, or rather set of towns. One area blends into another area. There are no signs that seem to mark the borders. The locals know the names of the different communities, the untrained observer just refers to the whole area as Manzanillo.

They have Costco, Wal-mart, KFC, DQ, Burgerking and of course Starbucks. Somethings are really expensive and other things are cheap. You can get a new 2 bedroom condo/apt for $150-250 off the beach and pay very little for electricity. Move beachside and it is a different story. The electricty rates are reminiscent of rates back home.

The people here say that driving is crazy. After the D.R. and Bolivia, I'm not seeing it.

Off to the beach in the afternoon. The popular spot is a beach that has a row of restaurants with tables and umbrellas that go right down to the beach. It is so close to the water that when the tide comes in you are at risk of loosing anything that is on the sand under your table. We had lunch and then Brandon went to test the waters. He proclaimed is was a bit on the cool side. This was not going to stop me from getting my snorkeling in, especially when there was a sunken ship to explore!

So off I went and trailing after was Josh. Josh reminds me a lot of Safstrom's dog duke. Pearl or Earl would tell that dog to go look after us as we went to the creek and that dog stayed by our side the whole time! I was thinking that Josh was a fellow snorkeler and would be snorkeling too. No, he just kinda hung out on his board and moved where I moved. His wife and Brandon and Skye and another couple stayed close to shore and to the umbrellas.

The colors aren't as vibrant as the Caribbean or Hawaii but still some interesting fish, pelicans and I think terns. After the ship we went to find the reefs. It seemed that the shore where the reefs were from the ship was not all that far. When you got to swimming it, it turned out to be really far. The water was a bit murky so the pics aren't all that great. The coolest thing was a snake or eel that was white with spots.

Got to the airport and was detained because of not having Brandon and Skye's address! I was envisioning having to live in the airport and was sure it was not going to be as great a time as Tom Hanks had in his airport movie.

Finally I was released and had Brandon and Josh to meet me and carry my bags! What great brothers! Took me in a roundout tour, some of the places look a lot like Greece.

Then we went off to meeting and guess what?! It was freezing! Really well working a/c. Friendly congo and just like the states "When are you moving here?"

Well, although it is two hours ahead of us, Brandon gave me a squirt with tequilla and I am ready for beddy bye! TTFN!

April 20 & 21, 2010

The begining of my trip to Manzanillo, Mexico had to start with the same ritual of previous trips. A pedicure! The toes have to be ready for photo opps. Ain't they pretty?




Off to a motel. Listened to Wyatt's (my nephew) first talk. Did an awesome job! Turned in early and up at 4am (really 12 am, 2:45 am, 3:30 am and gave up at 3:50). Onto the shuttle and off to the airport. Uneventful trip to L.A. Got an upgrade from L.A. to Manzanillo. Feeling a little out of place in first class, but I'm sure this "Glacierita" (a blue margarita because of flying on Alaska and going to Mexico) will help me get comfortable. (Oops, once sip & already I'm feeling tingly : -) )

If you are thinking 'Oh, how brave!' Yup, as long as you remember that bravery requires fear but doing it anyway, than you have it right! So, the now common phrase "What am I doing?!"