Stormy Weather & Market Day

Tuesday night and Wednesday were stormy with heavy rain and wind gusts.  Our neighbours gazebo was damaged.  We had decided to put in our awning early, having experienced the joy of taking it down during the storm in the past.  I rather enjoyed the storm.  It makes our humble abode seem cozy and we like to watch the ocean crash on the beach.  We are once again adjusting to the constant sounds of the ocean.  

Rainy day

We went into La Peñita on Market Day and saw the construction on the main street.  The street is mostly done however the sidewalks are torn up and bricks are piled up in the road.

 Looking back towards the highway on the main street

 Towards the ocean

Sidewalk is mud

Many of the local merchants in the market recognized us and welcomed us back.  There are some really nice handcrafted items and also the usual mass produced items.

 Very nice handmade placemats in a variety of colors

We had our private internet installed, put on our tire and window covers and continue to work our way through the to do list.

Hey is that a Black Cat on the mat

 Yep BC is back and goes for walks with us

Clean and expecting rain

Well, we had the RV and car washed and waxed so we can start setting up outside.  It is going to rain tonight and tomorrow so I washed the table and chairs but didn't put out mats or the gazebo.

 Valeria Valentina and me colouring while her parents wash RV

Valeria's english is now very good and she is teaching me Spanish.  Her parents sometimes call her Valeria and sometimes Valentina which was initially a little confusing.  We learned that many Mexicans have two names.  Someone told me they thought a friend had 4 brothers for a long time before they learned they just had 2 names each.  

Teri and I went to El Monteon today to the bodega to get our outside furniture and stuff out of storage.  There were some giant spiders and geckos in the bodega.  Yikes!  I squished one spider but the biggest one stayed in a corner and we figured that was good enough.

 Downtown El Monteon

I forgot to mention the humongous black and orange tarantula we passed over on our way from Mazatlan.  At first Cam thought it was a small turtle and so we went over it and didn't hit him.  Later when we stopped for lunch I told Teri and said she better check her truck grill.  The look she gave me!  She did check though.

Tonight was Taco Tuesday so we enjoyed cheap tacos and free margaritas.  They are putting a new roof on the big palapa so Taco Tuesday is temporarily being held at the pool.

Buenas noches

Made it!

361 Km.

Total trip south - 4,708 Km.

It was a nice clear day for a drive as we set out from Mazatlán to La Peñita.  Beautiful country and highways.

Leaving Mazatlan

 Crops

 Agave fields

People selling products near toll booths

 Mountainous country

 More vendors

 A bit of low cloud

 Ocean in distance

 Yeah, Nayarit!

 You know you're in Mexico when...

Very healthy cows and horses all along the way

Eventually we got to the area hit by the hurricane.  There had been major washouts and rivers widened to a half mile.  This area got it both from the ocean surge and the runoff from the mountains.

 Overpass nearly washed out

 We only had one minor detour due to road washout

There was a couple of miles where the river water had been washing over the highway and eroding the downstream side.

 Clams or oysters anyone?

Sugarcane

After we reached Tepic we had to go through a nearby town with very narrow streets.  I was too busy watching the motorhome squeeze its way through parked cars on both sides to take any photos.  Then we were on our way again beginning the winding descent down what is called Tepic hill.  We were very fortunate not to have someone in front of us the entire way.

 Narrow lanes & sharp curves - let's throw in some cows...

 The red sign says dangerous curves 23 km

 Huge trees

 Poinsettia like flowers on this tree

 La Peñita RV Park

We are in our site after an uneventful roller coaster ride down Tepic hill.