A Day at the Beach

People sailing, fishing, kayaking, swimming  A typical holiday weekend.

Hurricane Patricia - 2

I have been back in Mexico for 2 weeks, but haven’t gotten out much to take a look around.  We have had 2 huge rainstorms that have left large puddles and very muddy roads. 

The following are pictures were taken while driving down the main highway.  It shows some of the destruction, but not nearly what was destroyed in the way of homes.

Signs are still bent over. 

 

Coconut trees are looking shabby.

Telephone pole in use, leaning at a bad angle.

You can see the new part of roof, as it is a different color.

Some people put tape in the windows to try and save the windows from breaking.

 

 

New palm for some of the roofs.

Trees are trying to make a come back.

This wall tumbled right on a couple of cars.

 

New electric towers are being installed.  There were two men on this tower.  Look at the one at the very edge, don't think he has any safety harnesses.

Hurricane Patricia - 1

Hurricane Patricia hit Mexico on October 23, 2015.  It was the largest storm on record.  The original landfall was to be right over our village, but landed 20 miles further south and destroyed a small community.

Tom was in Mexico and I was at our home in Washington.  To say it was nerve racking for us both would be an understatement.  There was no phone service, internet or electricity.  Tom evacuated in the van with the pets to the east.  He still experienced lots of rain.  Not knowing what was happening was frustrating at the very least.

While we did have some damage, the town and surrounding area had lots of damage.  There were families with no roofs, no walls and no furniture left.    Wish we had more photos of the destruction.  It was unbelievable.

A group of missionaries from Puerto Vallarta came and delivered food and water.

The rebuilding is still taking place.

These are photos Tom took.

 Down to one lane on the main highway.  Taking turns going North or South.

Lots of foliage down.   Where you weren't able to see the coast before, now you can see the water.

The back patio walls is gone.

The RV park has no trees left.

 Our patio roof needs some repairs.

Lots of gates blew over.

The CFE, local electric company, had trucks on almost every corner with generators trying to supply power to the town.

Catching Up, A little of this and a little of that.

 The railings are in on the stairs.


All the interior doors have been installed.

This woodwork was done by a different carpenter.  Much better work.




Tom decided to hang my kayak off the wood beams with pulleys.

 When we went to Guadalajara looking for a car to drive within Mexico we went to the town of, Zacoalco de Torres.  The town is known for making equipale furniture and we ordered this set.    We also have completed the outdoor kitchen with a sink, refrigerator and BBQ. 



When we went to pick up the equipale furniture we stayed in the town of Villa Corona.  The campground was actually part of a swimming pool complex, Balneario Chimulco, that heated the pools with natural hot spring water.








They also had a sweat lodge.  Not sure how it all worked as you can see the campfire on the right and it somehow heated the sweat lodge on the left.



There were lots of picnic tables and even a restaurant within the complex.  

Villa Corona and Balneario Chimulco are located on Laguna Atotonilco.  The entire lake is very shallow, as you can see the pick-up drove in the water to the boat launch.











 This man was using a paddle to push along the water. 










Looking across the lake.  The foreground is part of a bird sanctuary.














An interesting insect on the wall of the house.    
















These birds sit on the power lines in the morning and make the lines sag.





Dusty loves to run in the surf.


 
Now you see there is a little puppy looking out with Dusty.  Yes she is a new addition.  The neighbors found her wandering in their yard and no-one claimed her.  No surprise, as there are tons of dogs in town.  Tom thought having another dog might calm Dusty down.  Dusty is so full of energy, but the jumping on people when they come, pulling on the leash and digging all my plants up and destroying them the day after I plant is getting a bit old.  

The neighbors called her Camaron, meaning shrimp with a shortened version of Cami.  For some reason I kept looking at her and calling her Mollie.  So Mollie is her name.

Dusty and Mollie get along great, Dusty lets her climb all over him and they play together all day long.