We have settled into a routine; taking a walk usually in the mornings and then going out for lunch. We decided we wanted to go to the Grand Bay once a week to do a walk. We have not seen as many birds as in past years, we are not sure if it is because we are here earlier than usual or if the numbers are truly declining. We were happy to see several groove-billed anis and I got a great picture of one.
We were happy to see that Candace and Norman had arrived back on their boat Kyalami at the marina. As we visited we were entertained by a pair of boxfish. After Richard and I walked over to the Pacific side we met at Sea Masters in Barra de Navidad for a lovely lunch.
Today was market day in Melaque. We went to buy a few things including legumes (chick peas, lentils). We were surprised to see a parrot on the overhead power lines. It has been suggested that the parrot had escaped from a nearby cage. But it was great to see a free one!
We took a taxi to Cuastecomate today for lunch. It was one of our favourite places to anchor just north of the bay at Navidad. We always went to Ramada El Camaronero for lunch or dinner and we usually were served by Miguel. So it was like old home week when we sat down and Miguel brought us beer and shrimp (of course!). We both ordered the Shrimp a la Cubano but we had forgotten how generous the portions were!
The town has had some improvements over the past year. Most of the roads have been paved and the best addition has been a cellphone tower. The one disadvantage of anchoring here had been no internet access. That has now been rectified!
We walked back to our apartment and stopped at a fruit stand to try out their produce. The pineapples were delicious!
We have started doing our favourite past time: going for walks to see birds and other wildlife. On Monday we went back to the Grand Bay Hotel and walked to the golf course. We have never been here this early in the season so there was a different combination of birds to see. It had rained last weekend so the flowers were out in wonderful colours as well. We walk up the hill to a view point of Barra de Navidad. We call it Dougies lookout as our mascot likes to have their picture taken there.
We were lucky to spot a green kingfisher at the golf course. We have seen him there in previous years but have never been able to get a picture of him.
We spotted an iguana climbing along a tree limb and he showed his anger at a bird that came too close!
Today we hiked up the hill behind our apartment. Saul at the marina office suggested it was a good place to see birds. It also has a great view of the bay were we will be spending the next 2 months!
El Día de la Revolución, or Revolution Day in Mexico, is considered to be November 20th although the first shots of the revolution were fired on November 18th. In Melaque the students had a huge parade on Friday to celebrate the start of their current country.
All students in the towns of Obregon and Melaque, including kindergarten students, dressed as revolutionaries and the military band paraded in the streets. We were lucky to see the muster point of the parade and enjoyed seeing all the costumes. We even got to see the Queen.
The revolution began in 1910 and lasted for 10 years. The man we know best from this period is Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Many of the children wore costumes to look like him. We had enjoyed a visit to Durango a couple of years ago and visited a museum in Pancho’s memory.
We have arrived at Bungalows Corona in San Patricio Melaque (we just call it Melaque) where we will spend the next 2 months. It has a nice Mexican decor and I think we will be very happy here.
Richard has already set up his computer and gotten onto the internet; the internet seems as fast as we have in Calgary!
The kitchen is a bit basic but it has the most important item: a coffee maker! We normally drank instant coffee on the sailboat so this will be a nice improvement. Now if we can just get the stove to work!
We are a half block from the beach where there are several restaurants to try. This is Restaurant Leovy right at the closest entrance to the beach where we had our first lunch. And this is the view of the beach…
We have settled into a routine; taking a walk usually in the mornings and then going out for lunch. We decided we wanted to go to the Grand Bay once a week to do a walk. We have not seen as many birds as in past years, we are not sure if it is because we are here earlier than usual or if the numbers are truly declining. We were happy to see several groove-billed anis and I got a great picture of one.
We were happy to see that Candace and Norman had arrived back on their boat Kyalami at the marina. As we visited we were entertained by a pair of boxfish. After Richard and I walked over to the Pacific side we met at Sea Masters in Barra de Navidad for a lovely lunch.
Today was market day in Melaque. We went to buy a few things including legumes (chick peas, lentils). 
We were surprised to see a parrot on the overhead power lines. It has been suggested that the parrot had escaped from a nearby cage. But it was great to see a free one!
