Copyright - All Rights Reserved
2005
2005
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December brought us more abandoned animals; this time in the form of two tiny puppies. We picked them up,
took them to the vet for medication to eliminate parasites, fed them and played with them until we found homes
for them. At the vet we asked whether there was any type of animal shelter and were told that there isn’t. There
is an animal control function where they round up strays but they are all euthanized. We have decided that we
are going to have to start wearing blinders for now and perhaps in the future we can organize an animal
shelter. Like everywhere it would have to be done in conjunction with spaying and neutering…for now the
problem is much bigger than we are.
Colleen has continued to work on the pathways around the land and gets impossibly dirty doing it. Off she
heads some mornings with her machete, some water and a rake. The paths she is chopping are through pretty
solid jungle and clearing a good path may only advance about 10 feet an hour. There is the constant watch for
snakes and other creepy crawlies and she just loves it. A couple of days ago she came back to the rig with her
bandanna tied around her forearm and she spent quite a bit of time bandaging her arm. When I asked her
about what happened, she was reluctant to tell me but I finally got the story out of her. She was whacking away
at the brush and noticed a large, scary looking, white spider on her forearm and swept it off her arm with the
sharp side of the machete. She was a bit sheepish about what she had done but did it without thinking of
anything but getting the spider off of her arm.
We are working on our project here in Calderitas and it is starting to come together. The weather is glorious…a
little rain once in a while with warm days and cool nights. We are expecting lots of guests over the next four
months; if you are thinking of coming to visit, get your name on the calendar.
Our friends, Jonna and Mimi, visited us in their Lazy Daze Class C on the 23rd to the 25th and we had a little
mini campground going at Maricasa. They are on their way to Yaxchilan and then San Cristobal de las Casas
for a little jaunt around Mexico for a couple of weeks. They will stop by again on their way back.
On Christmas Eve and we went to dinner at the home of Colleen’s Spanish teacher. We had a good time eating
some great food and then went to the town square of their small village for a Christmas party. They revived an
ancient tradition of decorating a branch of a tree. There were three groups that decorated tree branches and
then they had to sing to the crowd a particular song about the branch. The singing was all pretty bad, but the
prettiest branch had the worst singers and the most ugly branch decorations had the best singers. Apparently
the singing was more prized than the branch decorating and the best singers won. Then there was a contest
where local women had provided food for all to taste and then prizes were offered for the best food. The final
contest was one where some judges had wandered around the entire village looking for the houses with the
most nicely kept grounds and living areas. Now, this is a poor village with mostly block houses with some type of
open air living areas that are under roof but with no walls. The mayor, a woman, explained that it was important
to keep the village clean of old cans and bottles to prevent dengue fever which is transmitted via mosquito.
Anyway, the household where we were invited to dinner was one of those that received a prize.
On Christmas Day we went to dinner to meet some of the local gringos. Here in Calderitas there are not many
of us and we have already met some of them. There is a group that has been here for 15-20 years – most of
them are Canadian – and then there are some more recent arrivals like us. We had a nice visit and another
great meal.
On the 26th we headed back out to Xcalak about which I have written numerous times and will return on
January 2nd. Most businesses are closed or short staffed until January 9th as families celebrate the holidays
and vacation with their families. We can’t get anything done with the architects or any other businesses so we
might as well go on holiday too.
So, we are ensconced on our favorite camping spot in Xcalak where we visit with our friends, hang out on the
beach, work on repairs (John is very handy and generous), meet all the guests that are staying in John and
Danice’s cabana (Danice is really busy with baking for the local resorts and taking care of the cabana), and
just hanging out.
I don’t know how many of you have gone to our new web page and read the new Helping Hand , but we have
received two offers for help for Pablo our neighbor and Colleen’s jungle hacking buddy. Both of the people
offering are Escapees and at least one of them is a Boomer. Once the holidays are over we will be moving
forward with the surgery for Pablo. Thank you so much for your generosity…you know who you are.
Now there is another new section to our website entitled Report A Cop that is for RVers who have difficult
encounters with the Mexican police. That new page, which is a form to submit, is being offered in conjunction
with a well-connected police official in Mexico. Check it out – print out the form to give to friends – email the
document or the web link to those who will be traveling to Mexico…. Report A Cop
Today is December 31, 2005 and we are going to a New Year’s party at the Leaky Palapa here in Xcalak.
Happy New Year to you all.
took them to the vet for medication to eliminate parasites, fed them and played with them until we found homes
for them. At the vet we asked whether there was any type of animal shelter and were told that there isn’t. There
is an animal control function where they round up strays but they are all euthanized. We have decided that we
are going to have to start wearing blinders for now and perhaps in the future we can organize an animal
shelter. Like everywhere it would have to be done in conjunction with spaying and neutering…for now the
problem is much bigger than we are.
Colleen has continued to work on the pathways around the land and gets impossibly dirty doing it. Off she
heads some mornings with her machete, some water and a rake. The paths she is chopping are through pretty
solid jungle and clearing a good path may only advance about 10 feet an hour. There is the constant watch for
snakes and other creepy crawlies and she just loves it. A couple of days ago she came back to the rig with her
bandanna tied around her forearm and she spent quite a bit of time bandaging her arm. When I asked her
about what happened, she was reluctant to tell me but I finally got the story out of her. She was whacking away
at the brush and noticed a large, scary looking, white spider on her forearm and swept it off her arm with the
sharp side of the machete. She was a bit sheepish about what she had done but did it without thinking of
anything but getting the spider off of her arm.
We are working on our project here in Calderitas and it is starting to come together. The weather is glorious…a
little rain once in a while with warm days and cool nights. We are expecting lots of guests over the next four
months; if you are thinking of coming to visit, get your name on the calendar.
Our friends, Jonna and Mimi, visited us in their Lazy Daze Class C on the 23rd to the 25th and we had a little
mini campground going at Maricasa. They are on their way to Yaxchilan and then San Cristobal de las Casas
for a little jaunt around Mexico for a couple of weeks. They will stop by again on their way back.
On Christmas Eve and we went to dinner at the home of Colleen’s Spanish teacher. We had a good time eating
some great food and then went to the town square of their small village for a Christmas party. They revived an
ancient tradition of decorating a branch of a tree. There were three groups that decorated tree branches and
then they had to sing to the crowd a particular song about the branch. The singing was all pretty bad, but the
prettiest branch had the worst singers and the most ugly branch decorations had the best singers. Apparently
the singing was more prized than the branch decorating and the best singers won. Then there was a contest
where local women had provided food for all to taste and then prizes were offered for the best food. The final
contest was one where some judges had wandered around the entire village looking for the houses with the
most nicely kept grounds and living areas. Now, this is a poor village with mostly block houses with some type of
open air living areas that are under roof but with no walls. The mayor, a woman, explained that it was important
to keep the village clean of old cans and bottles to prevent dengue fever which is transmitted via mosquito.
Anyway, the household where we were invited to dinner was one of those that received a prize.
On Christmas Day we went to dinner to meet some of the local gringos. Here in Calderitas there are not many
of us and we have already met some of them. There is a group that has been here for 15-20 years – most of
them are Canadian – and then there are some more recent arrivals like us. We had a nice visit and another
great meal.
On the 26th we headed back out to Xcalak about which I have written numerous times and will return on
January 2nd. Most businesses are closed or short staffed until January 9th as families celebrate the holidays
and vacation with their families. We can’t get anything done with the architects or any other businesses so we
might as well go on holiday too.
So, we are ensconced on our favorite camping spot in Xcalak where we visit with our friends, hang out on the
beach, work on repairs (John is very handy and generous), meet all the guests that are staying in John and
Danice’s cabana (Danice is really busy with baking for the local resorts and taking care of the cabana), and
just hanging out.
I don’t know how many of you have gone to our new web page and read the new Helping Hand , but we have
received two offers for help for Pablo our neighbor and Colleen’s jungle hacking buddy. Both of the people
offering are Escapees and at least one of them is a Boomer. Once the holidays are over we will be moving
forward with the surgery for Pablo. Thank you so much for your generosity…you know who you are.
Now there is another new section to our website entitled Report A Cop that is for RVers who have difficult
encounters with the Mexican police. That new page, which is a form to submit, is being offered in conjunction
with a well-connected police official in Mexico. Check it out – print out the form to give to friends – email the
document or the web link to those who will be traveling to Mexico…. Report A Cop
Today is December 31, 2005 and we are going to a New Year’s party at the Leaky Palapa here in Xcalak.
Happy New Year to you all.
December 2005
Around the World with Kathe and Colleen