Walkabout and The Great Flood of 2020

Walkabouts

San Carlos is not a huge town but usually we take Stubby to go to the store or restaurants… so convenient and fast.  But I try to take walks in the mornings for exercise but also to just enjoy the town.  So here are some snip-its from a couple walkabouts.

Walking from our condo to the main road

Beautiful bougainvillea on my path

At the bottom of our stairs

The main part of the main street of San Carlos, Boulevard Manlio Fabio Beltrones is divided in a couple of ways.  The mainest (most main?) of main street is 2 lanes each direction with a large divide in the middle.  There are stop signs, topes (large speed bumps),  crosswalks plus several U-turn areas.  Then running parallel to main street are single lane side streets called security corridors or what I would call business routes.  There are wide sidewalks and walkways pretty much all through town.

A view of the main boulevard

I think they mean stop!

Sometimes spelling is just a bit off, but always understandable.

Costumers get priority parking

I think I will stay the weak

No misunderstanding this place

 

Here area a couple other miscellaneous photos.  I had no idea there was a statue of the founder of San Carlos until I wandered through a plaza by the Catholic church.

The founder of San Carlos

 

Walking our beach

A great mocha roca at Meri Meri coffee shop

 

The Great Flood of 2020

I wish I had pictures of the great flood but I was too busy trying to figure out what had happened.  On Friday we were going to take out some people on our boat for a few hours.  Just before we left the condo I put a load of laundry in.   When we got back about 6 hours later it was clear that something had happened.  There was clear evidence of water in places on the floor in most of the rooms.  Furniture was moved, some things moved up high off the floor to dry and things out on the balcony to dry.   I knew it hadn’t rained but I still looked up.  Then I wondered if our ice maker had gotten carried away and went into overdrive… nope….

As it turned out a hose had come loose on the washer and it just kept filling and filling and filling….for at least 2 hours until it was noticed.  We are on the 7th floor and Martin, our maintenance man was on the ground floor having lunch when he felt a drip of water on his head.  Oh dear!   The entire staff of the place jumped into action and  started dealing with a pretty major flood.  The hallway outside our room was flooded and water had seeped into all the adjacent units, but it was minor compared to our room.  They had done an amazing job of cleaning but there was still residual water to be mopped.  The only damage was to some electronics and a couple cardboard boxes.   Our bathroom scale died with Garry quickly exclaiming that we could now eat all we wanted.  And the end of one of our cell phone charges was in the water so it shorted out.  Both are now replaced and no longer eating all we want.   I commented to Christina in our the office that they had not told me our unit came with an indoor swimming pool.

 

One Last Thing

Garry caught this the other day… it was about 7 – 10 pounds, he said, and is called a California Sheepshead.  It will be dinner tonight.

California Sheepshead

Time for an Update

I just realized how long it has been since I posted anything… Lots of things have happened but many not note worthy.

Kino Bay

We took a road trip to Kino Bay the end of January to visit friends but Garry came down with a bad head cold that he passed on to me so we ended up coming home early rather than sneeze and sleep all day in a hotel. Total bummer but it was so good to be back to our place where we could just spend some lazy days getting better.  We did notice lots of places for sale in Kino, but also lots of new homes being built.  Our brief time with Jackie and Ray, and Jose Luis and Juanita was nice.  We never made it to the rodeo because we would have just been too sick.

Fundraisers

Fundraisers are a big thing here, especially in February and March. Maybe there have always been this many but it seems like there are one or two almost every week. Some are week days and some are weekends. The funds raised go to a variety of organizations and charities but it is beginning to feel like overload.

Garry, being in Rotary, gets involved in several parts of their fundraisers. After helping cook ribs at Cow Plop Bingo several weeks ago, he helped cook burgers and hotdogs at a Saturday market a week ago.

Gar cooking at Saturday Market

Lots of stuff like this at Saturday Market

Catholic church in background

Then on Tuesday, the Rotary held it’s annual Tour of Homes. For $20 or 400 pesos you go in a caravan of cars from house to house to see what living in San Carlos is like. After the home tours there is a margarita party (free… all you can drink), live music and a silent and oral auction of donated items. You now understand why the margaritas are free. It opens the wallets. About 350 people went on the home tours and most came to the after event. You could buy food and buy drinks from a full bar also.

Margarita party and auction

Ditto

I worked as a hostess at one of the homes. There are about 4 hostess per home to explain the home and make sure no one trips or falls or breaks anything.

Casita in one of the houses

Crazy bathroom in casita

Bedroom at one of the homes

Interesting decor at a home

Beautiful kitchen

Great patio, pool and view

It was lots of fun. Garry helped at the auction as a spotter and he really worked the crowd. We donated a 2 hour afternoon cruise on our boat that came with appetizers, margaritas and prosecco. It was so popular it was sold twice… $300 dollars a cruise! We took the first group out yesterday and it was a really fun time. They just wanted beer and prosecco so that made it easier for me.

Garry somehow volunteered to help auction a few items this afternoon at a first ever tea and auction fundraiser in conjunction with the annual cancer Walk for Life that happens tomorrow morning. All funds to to cancer screening for locals who are not able to afford screening.

Getting ready for the Walk for Life

I went with another lady to a fashion show luncheon fundraiser a couple weeks ago. It was quite the deal.  In addition to the fashion show there was a silent and oral auction.  About 300 attended. Tables of 10 were ‘sponsored’ by someone and decorated to a theme. Some were amazing. It has been an event for several years that has evolved into all the decorations and costumes. It was a fundraiser for the spay and neuter clinic that does free surgeries once a month. They did something 29,000 last year. Lunch was a salad, rolls and dessert. They ran out of rolls and some ladies kept waiting for the main course, not realizing the salad was it. Oh, and they ran out of margaritas, too. They were not free but they sure sent fast.

My table.. mardi gras theme

The flamingo table

Under the sea

Close up of jungle theme table

Carnation dog

Another nautical theme

Oh, Canada

Pickleball
I went to my first pickle ball tournament last weekend. It was a 6 day tournament with about 180 participants from all over, not just San Carlos. It is very very popular down here. Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle . Three dads – Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum — are credited for creating game. Pickleball has evolved from original handmade equipment and simple rules into a popular sport throughout the US and Canada.

Why Call it “Pickleball?”

1. According to Joel Pritchard’s wife (Joan), she started calling the game pickleball because “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.”
2. According to Barney McCallum, the game was officially named after the Pritchards’ dog Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it. According to McCallum, “The Pritchards had a dog named Pickles, and you’re having fun at a party, right? So anyways, what the hell, let’s just call it pickleball.”

Others claim both accounts may actually be true. In the early years, no official name was assigned to the game. However, a year or two after the game was invented, the Pritchards purchased a cocker spaniel and named it Pickles. As the game progressed, an official name was needed and “pickleball” was it.

Anyway, I described it to Garry as a cross between tennis and ping pong… One of our neighbors in our condo from Port Townsend was in the tournament and won several medals. I didn’t see her play but got to see her when she was a referee. It was really fun and interesting. The last day of the tournament was a ‘just for fun’ day that included lots of tequila shots. I should have gone to that day! I guess it gets pretty rowdy!

My friend in pink as referee

 

Stop Signs and Topes

Driving in San Carlos and pretty much all down here can be a real adventure. Stop signs are often treated by Mexicans as just a suggestion but as gringos we always stop to avoid tickets. A tope (huge speed bump) is a much better way to stop everyone. If you don’t see the tope sign and hit one you can really fly high and bounce pretty hard!!!

A week ago a new stop sign was put up down the road from us by the entrance to the one RV park in town. There have been several instances of people almost being rear-ended by trucks and Mexican drivers who don’t see it or don’t care. So as of last night the sign is now gone and a speed bump has been added. This morning as we drove to the marina we noticed another new speed bump. Lesson learned is to keep your eyes open!

Scarlett Johansson Spotting

Word was spreading around all the San Carlos on-line forums that Scarlett Johannson is staying up in a beautiful home in an area not far from us. She supposedly has a good friend here. I imagine there is lots of security but I would guess for the most part most people don’t care, so maybe she has privacy.

Beautification Week

This week I did all sorts of things just for me.  Tuesday I had my nails done in Guaymas, Wednesday I had a wonderful facial here in San Carlos and Friday I got a haircut at a new place for me…  The nail salon is tiny and she speaks no English but does a great job. The place where I got my facial is owned by a mother and daughter from England.  The haircut was a popular place run by Mexicans who spoke good Spanish.

Fishing Report

None.  No fishing has been done for awhile because we have been so busy and it has been very windy.  The boat is running great and Garry hopes to fish this week because the winds will be light until Thursday.  We have learned that there will be a fishing tournament the end of the month.  The restaurant and bar that put it on in the past is closed so another place is going to run it.  Their information flyer is pretty vague so hopefully we will learn more about it this week.