Sparks Mexico

Best vivero on the Costalegre

2012-01-23T17:37:00.000-06:00

I would have waited a little longer to visit this nursery but there was a surf competition in the area so I combined the two into one Saturday. I've passed by a number of times but never really noticed it, tho heard of it. It's about the last place on the north side of town A great old guy that seems to run it and he'll talk to you about ideas you may have; size, speed of growth, fertilizer,

My new fruit trees

2012-01-20T12:58:00.001-06:00

Well the almond tree (almendra or almendro) is not exactly new since I've had it for about 6 months. The winds from hurricane Jova knocked it over and I replanted it a little deeper. Many almendra trees went down during the hurricane. Now that the storms have passed there is a new threat ... the neighborhood kids. The tree is planted just outside my sidewalk on the street to eventually shade the

Visa time again

2012-01-16T17:52:00.000-06:00

I went to Immigration in Manzanillo last week so I'm almost set for another year. Still have to pick up the new one in about 3 weeks. The Immigration office is now located outside from where the old office was last year. Just look to your left. With all the changes going on I took everything just like my first year: proof of income, CFE receipts and copy of passport. There was a rumor that

Behind Cihuatlan - up the river

2012-01-09T09:32:00.000-06:00

We drove up the Marabasco river valley the other day as far as you can go to the larger dam site (Presa El Naranjo). Lots of work going on there but mostly cleanup and repairs from the rain from Jova. They gave the impression there were no tours like I'd had before so we just took the road to the right outside the gate that leads towards the river. Down stream you can see the results of the

Mexico Message Board Hell

2012-01-07T18:24:00.001-06:00

Gringo Message Boards in Mexico for me are a great resource for finding out what is going on in your area and around Mexico. Information on Visas, border crossings and other subjects and areas. If you are lucky enough to have one specifically for your area it can be that much better. Info on where to buy things, worker suggestions, current activities and lots more. Sadly (only in the sense

Hammock weaver in Melaque

2012-01-02T14:30:00.001-06:00

My neighbor is a hammock (hamaca) weaver and has been short of material so we went to Manzanillo a few days ago thinking we could get better prices. It turns out we can buy this cotton (algodon) just as cheap here in Melaque. We definately need to find a wholesale source in the future because we are looking at $1000 pesos per large hammock with these prices just for material. He learned his

Hurricane Jova Video

2011-12-30T15:25:00.001-06:00

This video was made by a Storm Chaser and was taken in Emiliano Zapata which is about 50 kilometers north of Melaque. The winds there were much stronger than I experienced in Melaque. Good video From iCyclone.com: Footage from the violent inner core of Hurricane Jova as it raked Emiliano Zapata, Jalisco, Mexico on 11-12 October 2011. The wind starts to really pick up at 2:29, steadily

Christmas Tamales

2011-12-24T07:36:00.000-06:00

My sister emailed that she was listening to an NPR program on Christmas posadas in Mexico so I visited their site. Didn't find anything on posadas but did find this tamales article on their food blog. Got my mouth watering for tamales tonight. NPR article by Maria Godoy It's Christmas Eve, and many Latinos will celebrate the holiday tonight by unwrapping a delicious little present:

Night of our neighborhood posada

2011-12-22T15:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight is the night for our neighborhood posada and altho it may start a little earlier, the pinatas are scheduled for around 7pm. It's getting dark here by 7 so I took these fotos of the two pinatas I bought in case I get none of the party. There should be two more, possibly hand made by neighbors. I bought these two in a little shop across from Cruz Roja in Cihuatlan, $130 pesos for the

Stove made of clay or barro

2011-12-21T15:52:00.003-06:00

One of the benefits of hurricane Jova (I guess) was all the mud like clay it brought down from the hills. Eventually the mud must break down and become decent soil because this is a very fertile valley. I wasn't nearly so happy with the mud/clay that filled every space in my car. However my neighbor knew the value when he built this stove of brick covered with clay. The clay hardens like in

Trying my IPhone camera

2011-12-18T09:27:00.001-06:00

Tried my IPhone camera yesterday while at the open mic at Sirenitas. There are no adjustments so you get pretty much what you see. This one is a little darker than reality and a different angle might have helped. Keeping it steady is the most difficult part .... practice and more practice. You can switch from still foto to video and my few video trys looked pretty good. Still not ready to edit

Escape raft seen off the south Jalisco coast

2011-12-16T16:18:00.003-06:00

At least that's what we surmise. Almost 3 weeks ago prisoners from the Penal Coloney on Islas Marias were picked up by the Mexican Navy on a raft off the coast from Puerto Vallarta (a bit of the story below). This foto was taken by a fisherman off the southern coast of Jalisco near Bahia de Navidad. The raft had the name "Liberti" written on the front. Raft called "Liberti" Six inmates from

Back in the connected world

2011-12-13T14:43:00.005-06:00

I've been trying to get back into the connected world since I moved to my house outside of Melaque where there is no telephone or Internet. Two weeks ago I got my first cel phone, the Nokia 1616 below. That's the cheapest phone and for $350 pesos you get the phone and $100 pesos of airtime. First cel phone in this day and age ... yes I know, I should have had one before. Had to have a neighbor

Getting back in the saddle

2011-11-25T12:21:00.000-06:00

Still using Internet Cafes while trying to figure out if I want a short or long term contract with Telcel. Hear you need to go to Manzanillo for a contract with more options. Still haven´t found if Iusacel is going to work in Melaque. All these little booths that sell Telcel and Iusacel "minutes" seem to be full of misinformation. Hope to get back to more frequent posting soon

I survived Jova

2011-10-15T13:18:00.002-05:00

Not literally ... but early the morning after neighbors were waving to each other from their second floors just like you see in the flood disaster videos. The wind woke me about 4am, I checked my car and there was only about 6 inches of water around it. I went to the unfinished upstairs to watch the storm for about an hour and a half and when I came downstairs I noticed water in the patio. I

Living on the cheap in Mexico

2011-10-06T18:22:00.001-05:00

This is where my neighbors live. You might say: 'well they have an RV' but it's very small for two people. Especially during the rainy season when the whole yard is mud. Truck is broken with no money to fix and had to use a tractor to move the RV in. Next door is a little out building where they cook to keep the heat out of the trailer. Things are looking up now since we haven't had rain for

Surprising what you can get done in this heat

2011-10-02T16:54:00.001-05:00

Looking at each day I don't think I get much done but looking back at the last two weeks ... actually quite a bit. Just like today, my battery died for the second time and this time it was fatal. After working in the sun with the help of neighbors we decided it was dead. What are you going to do on a Sunday in our area ... so after a jump I drove to Cihuatlan and Bodega Aurrera. They had the

Corn and the unhappy iguana

2011-09-16T18:52:00.002-05:00

Picked my first two ears of corn a few days ago and realized growing corn really does work. Also learned that the earth/dirt has to be better than most of my yard. Not sure if some areas have too many rocks, sand or maybe construction debris. Anyway the next crop will be better planned. Asked my neighbor when they were ready to pick and he said now before they become 'cow food'. Not sure he is

My first crop of corn

2011-08-20T09:01:00.000-05:00

Some friends brought down some Peaches and Cream sweet corn seeds from up north and I was given a few. I really didn't expect much as I've never grown corn before. I usually grow green veggies, fruit or flowers. So I was surprised to suddenly see the male tassels pop out on top of some of the larger stalks and the very begining of ears forming off the large leafs. The male seeds/pollen will drop

Marquesina

2011-08-09T09:43:00.001-05:00

The weather has been good, a little too hot actually. It has allowed the guys to stucco the inside of the roof wall an build two marquesinas (awnings) over windows and doors. The large awning below on the side of the house and a smaller one over two windows in front. I just finished painting them this last weekend. Besides providing a little bit of shade the marquesina stops water from running

Mexican Ivy

2011-08-06T09:03:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite plant but I still don't know the name. A friend had this almost covering his house and he said it's part of the Boston Ivy family. Why Boston I have no idea but it does look similar with more delicate leaves. I had it half way around my property in Villa Obregon supported by a chain-link fence. The landlord cut it back to almost nothing and his wife was furious. I was pulling

Charles Bowden on Mexico

2011-07-26T08:24:00.001-05:00

On June 30, 2011 Bowden sat down for a video interview while in San Francisco for a speaking engagement. In his responses he argues the extreme violence seen in Mexico is a sign of a deeper societal disintegration resulting from governmental corruption, failed economic policies, and the War on Drugs. Truthout article - The Real War on Drugs: Veteran Border Journalist Charles Bowden Speaks

I'm trying bamboo

2011-07-23T18:26:00.002-05:00

There's a large clump of bamboo in the vacant lot next door that I've admired for the last couple of years. A month ago it looked like it was dead. With our month long rains it suddenly sprang back to life, all the brown turned green and a few side shoots were popping out. I've been warned about bamboo that "runs" rather than staying around a central clump. This bamboo has not moved from it's

Mystery Clock

2011-07-17T20:32:00.003-05:00

Or what time is it really? This five foot pedestal clock came with the house I am sitting here in Melaque. One of the last things the owner said as she walked out the door was - "you get the puzzle of setting this clock". Since I really don't care what time it is the challenge means very little except I keep seeing this not inexpensive time piece sitting around waiting for 'day light savings

Gardenia and Coffee

2011-07-15T19:23:00.002-05:00

Fresh brewed coffee that is ... both have great aromas, are in the same family ... but luckily smell nothing alike. Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee familyPeople have been giving me plants over the last year and I've had no idea what some of them are. Some died of natural causes, some the dog dug up and some were just plain ugly and I pulled them up. When the