The Effects of No See'ems

The last day we were in San Blas, we went to the beach. We went late afternoon and I got eaten up by sand flies. There is a Spanish name for them (which I can't remember), but Dalena says in the States, they're known as no see'ems. You really do NOT see the little boogers and don't know they're even around, UNTIL they bite you! Their bite stings! We wore repellant, but apparantly not enough! I think I got it the worst. I knew I had been bitten, but I didn't get this reaction until about five days after we got home. I ended up going to Insta Care on a Sunday morning! The docs there were quite intrigued with my predicament. They said, "This is really cool - well not for you, but..."

Two-Fer at Plain City RS Retreat

I was so excited to be able to go to our stake camp and see both Amy and Becky in action! Amy, as a counselor in her Relief Society, was in charge of their retreat. She arranged for Becky to come and speak and sing to the women in her ward. What a pleasure it was for me to be there and see the talents of two of my beautiful daughters-in-law!I got a picture of both Becky and Amy before the program started. I love these two!Becky shared so many of her personal experiences with her family and her music career. She did a wonderful job and many women were inspired by her story.Of course, she sang to us too - songs that she had written and used at the BYU Women's Conference last year. Beautiful!

Spring has Sprung!

Here are my first signs of spring - my little yellow crocuses, pushing up among the dead leaves in the garden in the middle of February! I love these little guys!

Adios, San Blas

Unfortunately, it was time to leave San Blas. We had such a wonderful time there. It was so fun to be in such a peaceful community and see some "real" Mexico. The only part of Mexico I had ever seen was Tijuana - and that is NOT Mexico! I loved San Blas and being there with Dalena was very cool. It was great to share what she had lived in her childhood. Her brother Dave said that San Blas has not changed in at least 50 years - so we saw it as Dalena saw it. It was a great experience!

Magdalena cooked us a fabulous breakfast the morning we left. Hash browned potatoes, scrambled eggs with ham and bacon and cheese, plátanos fritos (fried bananas) and fresh fruit.

I had to get a picture of the cool water jug at Magdalena's. Everyone has these dispensers in their homes. Water is delivered daily, by street vendors. This is drinking water.

When we were at the plaza, the morning we left, we saw little Liseth again. She was with a school group celebrating something or other. She's the one in the yellow - tossing confetti on everyone.

Once more to the plaza shops - to find something for mamita (me).

Thanks so much to our dear friend, Magdalena...
for her hospitality, her home and her wonderful food!

¡Adiós San Blas! ¡Teníamos una tan gran hora!

Ahhh! Magnum bars! We were driving past this convenience store on our way to the airport and Dalena yelled, "Stop! I know this place has Magnum bars!" She was right!

Had to stop at the Costco in Puerto Vallarta on the way to the airport!

These sombreros caught our eyes as we walked through the airport on our way home. What a fun trip we had!

Our last full day in San Blas

On Monday, we got up early and walked to the market. Dalena used to go down in her PJs. I don't think she was in her PJs that day, but I know she went sans makeup. She has known Chito all her life. He seemed like a really nice guy, and I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them!

Here's a photo of Jack watching Chito make Danny's favorite... chocomilk.

Here's sign at Chito's - we were taken by the yaka that he adds to his drinks, upon request. "FRUTA 100% AFRODISIACA." ;O)

When we commented about the yaka, Chito had his son bring one over to show us. He said, in Spanish, "This is Mexico's viagra!"

We all had Dalena's favorite - a torte. It's basically a crisp, breakfast sandwich. Very big and very yummy! Dalena ate both halves! For someone so tiny - she can put away the food!

After breakfast, we went on a Crocodile Cruise!

Crocodiles were everywhere! We had to really look for them, because they blend in with the dead branches of the mangrove trees.

We saw lots of baby crocs...

And lots of big ones!

One of the first things we passed along the river was a termite nest! Not very beautiful, but interesting nonetheless.

We didn't see a lot of birds on the cruise. Had we gone in the morning, we would have seen a lot more. This white crane is one we saw along the way.

We saw what I think was a snail kite - perched in the top branches of a mangrove tree.

We passed this young iguana on the branch of a tree.

We also saw this big old iguana - Dalena says they lose their vibrant color as they age. Don't we all? Haha

The guide docked our boat at a bend in the river where there is a crocodile preserve and a swimming hole. I guess I should include the fact that there is a fence between the two. The path back to the preserve and swimming hole was very pretty!

Danny and Dalena turned back for a photo on their way down the path.

A white fig tree grew along side the path. Pretty cool, old tree!

We passed a family of turtles in the middle of the river.

And we passed this baby cocodrillo, sunning himself on a rock.

Once we got into the preserve, there were lots of huge crocs! Most of them looked like they were asleep. Dalena said, "Don't let them fool you!" We were very careful not to disturb them!

Dalena said this one winked at her. Haha

I got a close up of this dude's mouth...through a fance! Yikes!

After we walked through the preserve, it was on to the swimming hole. It was a little piece of paradise! Beautiful and refreshing!

Danny did a somersault into the river and he wanted to make sure I got it on video!

Dalena was just like a little girl at the swimming hole. It was apparent that she had been there before.

Toward the end of the ride, the cruise opened up. It was not jungle-like anymore. What a beautiful sky that day!

These little shacks were constructed for a movie set several years ago. They were kind of cool.

After the jungle cruise, we went to the beach at a little town near San Blas. It was late afternoon by the time we got there, but it was so beautiful! We were pretty much alone on the beach.

This is a postcard picture I took from the beach. It was very pleasant there, except for the pesky sand flies. There is a Spanish name for the little critters, which I can't remember. Dalena says that in the states, they're called no see'ums. You truly do not see them! You don't even know they are around, until they bite you! And THAT hurts! I guess they have razor sharp teeth and actually take a hunk out of your flesh when they bite. Ouch!

Here's some video of Dalena dancing on the beach. she said, "This is how you keep the mosquitoes away!"

At the beach, most of the vendors had moved on for the day. But once one came buy and sold us something - word got out to all the others and we were visited by quite a few of them before we left.

When we finally left the beach (we were pretty much driven out by the stupid sand flies) we drove back through the town of San Blas.

Jack asked me to get a picture of one of the utility bikes before we left. If the vendors don't have trucks or motor bikes, they strap coolers or other containers onto the backs of their bikes. But some of them get really creative and come up with contraptions like this! Whatever works!

Dalena said we had to stop and buy taquitos from this guy. She said he's been in the same spot ever since she can remember. If you enlarge this photo, you will see some white things that I thought were eggs. They're onions, and they're very good! This meal was a yummy way to end our last night in San Blas.

To top off the meal...fresh pineapple juice! It was absolute heaven!

Valentines Day in San Blas

The next day was Valentines Day. We weren't able to go to church because we found out last minute that it was regional conference that day - in a distant city. We were disappointed, but glad that we had been able to attend the fireside a couple of days before. It was fun seeing a movie about the restoration of the church. Magdalena leaned over to me during the movie and said, "You didn't know all these people spoke Spanish, did you?" We also got to sing a couple of hymns at the fireside. When I'm reading out of the hymnbook, my Spanish is not too shabby! Once he figured out that "j" is pronounced like "h", Jack did pretty well too.

While we were in San Blas, we stayed at Magdalena's - in her bedroom. When I came out in the night, this was the view out of the bedroom door. Imagine it in the dark, with a little light coming in through the front windows. I loved the ambiance! Magdalena designed the arched doorway and the arched window in the kitchen. She said her head is full of ideas for future projects, and she's always busy with a new one!

Another wonderful breakfast! I can't find the words to describe Magdalena's cooking!

Here's a shot of Magdalena in her doorway. The house doesn't look too inviting from the outside. David told Jack that they like to keep it that way, because it blends in and people leave it alone while Magdalena is away. She's in Mesa most of the time, but comes to San Blas several times a year to check on her properties and visit with family.

The water line on the archway brick is from the hurricane that past through San Blas in 2002. Magdalena lost a lot of her property in the flooding!

These are just a few of the vendors that travel up and down the streets all day long. Each has a special honk, or bell, or loud speaker that alerts the home owners that they are there. This is what you call curb service!

I had to get a shot of Magdalena's table. She designed it herself. She wants to paint the carved wood design that is underneath the glass. She was asking our opinions on color. I'd sure like to see how it turned out!

Yum! Another Magnum Bar!

Magdalena fed the missionaries that day. Lucky missionaries!

We were so spoiled with all the yummy fresh fruit, sold by street vendors, right outside the front door!

Danny and Dalena are a couple of doors down from Magdalena's home. They are standing in front of the property that is willed to Dalena. One of her cousins is living in it right now.

Here's the bandstand at the little town that had the festival a couple of nights before. There are kids playing there, but it seemed pretty deserted.

Okay, here is one thing I have no desire to eat again in my life! When someone has to tell you, "Don't try to chew them, just let them slide down," they are not worth eating! Yuk! Ostiones!

On the other hand...I could eat these every day! We tried both the flan and the date pudding. Deliciouso!!!

Because it was a holiday, the city had set up a lot of blow-ups for the kids to play on! They were having a great time!

A vendor had set up to sell lots of toys and gag gifts for the kids to buy. Almost all of them were getting spray cream to squirt on each other, or bags of flour to throw!

This kids looked like he was out for revenge. He was covered in flour, but had his "weapons" in both hands. He was determined to get them back!

I sat in one spot and took photos of all four corners of the plaza center. There were so many people out that night!

We bought confetti filled eggs from this little niño.

Jack told Dalena that he had seen someone coming from around the corner with chocolate cake in their hands. She and Danny took off in search and found a bakery that specialized in cakes. They couldn't decide which kind to buy, so they came back with FIVE huge pieces! It was all wonderful, but my favorites would have to be tres leches and the fresh lime! Oh my gosh!!!

At the plaza, we ran into several of Dalena's cousins. We visited with them for a long time. The little guy in the upper corner kept telling joke after joke after joke! Dalena and everyone but the three gringos laughed their heads off after each one... then Dalena translated them for us. He was hilarious - an entertainer for sure!