Buenaventuras!

Short Version:
We find a nice place to stay

Long Version:
We were woken by the twin sounds of skillsaws and pelicans diving for fish. Straight into the water for a swim, we were not long out when Janine broke the toilet, and we decided to hit the road southwards sooner rather than later. A stop at Bertha's for a second breakfast of delicious foods was rewarding, then back in the van, south a few more km, to the Hotel Buenoventura! It was closed.

The bar wasn't, though, and Craig managed to negotiate with the owners the rent of their spare house for a couple of nights for a wonderfully cheap rate. The house is on the beach, and has either 2 or 3 bedrooms, depending on whether you count the one with the toilet in it as a bedroom or a bathroom. The peninsula which forms the far (eastern) side of Bahia Concepcion* sits across an 8-mile stretch of crystal-clear water which is teeming with sea- and bird-life. The peninsula itself looks inimical to any forms of life save maybe cacti, but looking back in to the shore we're staying on from out to sea has the same effect, so we're assuming a similar habitable zone where land meets water exists over there as well.

We've spent a lot of time in the sea, which is incredibly warm, and some time on it - kayaking to and around a nearby island, in hot pursuit of a pod of dolphins - and next to it, reading books, drinking beer, and playing scrabble. We've seen eagle rays, angel fish, a dead turtle, and fishing dogs**. We've watched fish jump - including a boil-up which we all turned to look at because of the incredible sizzling noise it made - and we've seen pelicans and blue-footed boobies in action. The only negative so far was the infestation of biting ants that attacked Janine and I at 2am, but we slept the rest of the night comfortably enough on the couches, and the bedroom's been de-pested today. The food's great, and the bar owners took a trip into town this morning, bringing us back beer and delicious foods for tonight.

If this is Mexico, then Mexico is really good.









* = Conception Bay, which is kind of scary

** = Two of the three dogs (Mona Lisa and Zora) which live here spend hours standing in the shallows, snapping at the fish which cruise by. The other one, Gremlin, won't go near the sea, and spends his time hanging out in the bar near the parrot.