Travel Log 7: December 20, 2008 - The Pelican Whisperer and Kaptain Kelp

After clearing customs, we felt much relieved and sailed on down Mex 15 to the area of Guaymas and San Carlos. We are staying at an RV Resort just in between these two towns. The area is called Miramar. You likely will not see it on your atlas as it is very small. Guaymas is very much a “working” city. Not much for tourism. It’s just a large community of Mexican families doing their thing.

 

 

There are parts of Guaymas which are very affluent. There is a mall here which includes a Ley’s grocery store where we do our shopping. It has most of the things we need, but I have to say…it kind of smells. The produce section is huge, but some of the fruit on display is already well beyond rotten. The meat section freaks me out a little bit as there are animal bits in plastic wrap that, in my opinion, should never be displayed. If you can get by the tripe and chickens feet, there are some okay cuts of beef in the offing.

 

San Carlos, which is about 6 miles away, is much more the tourist town. It is right on the Gulf with a some beautiful beaches and a lovely malecon for walking along the sea.

 

 

Our resort in Miramar, which is in between San Carlos and Guaymas is called the “Hotel Playa de Cortez”. It is an old colonial railroad hotel, which also has an RV park area on the grounds. The hotel is well-worn, but the charm of yester-year is intoxicating. Adrian has coined the phrase “filled with the patina of a bygone era”.

 

We have become very fond of this place and would definitely return if the opportunity permits. The hotel is on a small cliff overlooking the Gulf and has a nice pool and garden area. Inside there is a courtyard, a ball room, restaurant and bar. It has been a treat to stay in an RV resort with a restaurant facility. It is really nice to have the option of not cooking, particularly when arriving from a long day of travel.

 

 

The RV area is nearly desolate. Our “big rig” travelling companions, Dan and Sandy, are staying here as well. Adrian and I selected a spot by the tennis courts away from the few other units parked here. We have tons of room all to ourselves and as the property is contained by a concrete wall, Bailey can roam around freely.

 

 

Dan is strapping big fella who is a Vietnam vet, among other things. He has story after story to tell, including a story of having cocktails with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Puerto Vallarta in the 70’s. He was on a motorcycle trip through Mexico with a friend of his. Also during this trip, he and his friend were staying somewhere along the coast near a marina. On the beach there was a pelican which they noticed had a fish hook in its bill – I know what you’re thinking…why is she telling me about this??? Bear with me as it will make sense shortly! Anyway, Dan “caught” this pelican and removed the fish hook. He said that the pelican kept returning day after day tame as could be, even allowing him to pat the pelican on the head.

 

 

Here’s where it all comes together. Yesterday, Adrian and I were sitting outside our RV enjoying the sunshine and suddenly here comes a pelican, half-flapping its wings, half-hopping. The pelicans are everywhere here along the coast so this was not an unusual sight. Bailey of course, usually loves to chase birds, but she really did a double-take as this one was at least twice her size. The pelican walked so close to us that we could see it had a fish hook in its wing and had fishing line around one wing and around its bill. Adrian was off to get Dan and the two of them caught this poor pelican. It was obviously weak from not being able to eat. Dan held the pelican by the neck and the bill while Adrian performed the extraction of the fish hook untangled the fishing line.

 

 

Hoping that the pelican would not retaliate in panic when Dan released the bill he looked the pelican in the eye and said “now just remember what we did for you; we are the good guys”. They released him and off he flew.

 

 

So now I call Dan “the Pelican Whisperer” and Adrian is “Kaptain Kelp”. Such good guys they are!

 

 

We’ve spent a lovely week here. The weather has been hit and miss. Some days have been nice and warm and others have been cloudy and cool. As tonight is our last night here, we (Dan, Sandy, Adrian and I) went into San Carlos to a restaurant on the water. We sipped Margaritas and watched the sunset over the ocean. A fine farewell.

 

 

Dan and Sandy are heading to Alamos for Christmas. They will follow Mex 15 south to Navojoa, and then inland to Alamos. We had considered this option. Alamos is an old silver mining city with many colonial buildings. It has been declared an historical landmark for Mexico and is one of the oldest cities in North America. We will definitely visit this city on our way back home in the spring. Because it is in the mountains, it is even cooler again than where we are. We are going to keep heading south for now.

 

 

We will leave tomorrow (Sunday). We thought we would get as far as Los Mochis, however we are doing the math on the mileage and realize that is a bit aggressive. Driving on Mexican roads is quite draining. The roads are in moderate condition, but very narrow with no shoulder. Mexican busses and freight trucks can make traffic a bit crazy. Also, Lola, our GPS, is of little use to us here. We can input the GPS coordinates for our destinations, but there are gaps in her communication. There was one point where Adrian and Lola were having words. The next day, Adrian wouldn’t speak to her. So I am the full time navigator while Adrian drives. We make a pretty good team and don’t mind the odd wrong turn as it often leads us to see things we didn’t plan.

 

 

Tomorrow, we will head south on Mex 15 to Navojoa and then to the coast to Huatambampo. Depending on the condition of the RV park where we plan to land, we may stay a day or two, and then move on to Los Mochis.

 

 

We are not sure where we will end up for Christmas, but we are not overly concerned. We are happy to just be together in our little house. We have stocked up on champagne and other treats and will make it a great day wherever we are. Our only criteria is that we would like to spend Christmas on a beach!

 

 

Our overall plan is to make it down through Mazatlan and on to Puerto Vallarta early in January. We would like to spend at least a month in Puerto Vallarta as there is so much in that area to explore, including going inland to Guadalajara, which is shopping mecca for things like silver and pottery. We want to get as far south as Acapulco, lord willin’ and the crick don’t rise!

 

 

While we were in Mesa our camera was stolen along with about 40 pictures which had not been downloaded to our computer. Gone forever are the pictures of the giant fishing pole in Quartzsite (sorry Carl and Emil!) and the picture of me by the road sign for a town called “Brenda, Arizona”, among others. We’ve bought a new camera and are assembling some pictures to send along to you all shortly.

 

 

As far as Christmas goes, we are thinking of you all and missing you all greatly. We hope you have a grand Christmas season and enjoy all your festivities. You are in our thoughts and prayers.