Friday the 12th – our anniversary. (We celebrate any 12th that we remember. Today, we remembered!) We went to the downtown beach to surf and play and swim. We sat in a restaurant and drank fresh coconut milk (hugo coco) and beer (cervesa). Then we went to town to check out the nightlife there in the square (mercado). We had amazing dinners – each of us something different, from different vendors who were there. Matero had corn on the cob (elote) and a beef (carne) taco. Shandro had a cheeseburger (hamburgesa con queso) and fries (papas fritas). He also had a Marlin taco. Merle had a few different tastes – burritos and tacos for sure. I also had tacos and an amazing ice cream and a bite of Dan’s churros – a deep fried doughnut that is shaped like a long finger, and eaten hot with sugar or cinnamon sugar. Amazing! It was fun to eat a mishmash from the different vendors. And then, to top it off, we saw a parade! People were all dressed up and there were 2 groups making music or maybe 3, and it was awesome! It ended in the church in the center of town. We saw a couple of familiar faces at one taco stand – John and Joanne on Western Grace from Victoria, who sail down here every year, and then sail back again via Hawaii in March. It takes them 3 weeks to sail to Hawaii, and another 3 weeks to sail back to Canada. That’s a long trip!! We did return to the boat after a very full day. Matero was asleep in the dinghy before we returned to Kenta Anae. Saturday we sailed and anchored south of San Blas to avoid the no-see-ums. On route, Merle spotted a couple of whales rising, so we all had a look. That was very cool to see over and over again.
On Sunday we returned to San Blas to meet with Dan’s friend/schoolmate from France (Paul), who just happened to be visiting at this time for Christmas, and his extended family who live in Mexico. Paul’s family became our own personal tour guides and hosts, including Maria de Jesus, Paul’s family Natalie, Mae and Agate, Paul’s sister Perla and her family Choy and Jesus, and Paul’s brother, Christian.
That was a great day! (It was also a really good Spanish test. My Spanish is getting better. I can understand way more, but I still have a lot of trouble saying what I want to say. The verbs are not there.) We ate with them at a restaurant and then they decided to go on a tour of the local castle – which was at one time the only part of San Blas that was out of the sea! Since the sea has gone down, San Blas has grown considerably. Anyway, Paul’s family took us by car inland to the castle. It was amazing!! And up so high! It was a great change in perspective, and we all felt so lucky to be there! Too bad I didn’t take my camera. Amazing photos from there! Following that, we returned to the beach where we had been Friday, and ate and drank until after dark while the kids played on the beach. It was wonderful. Very relaxed, and very typically Mexican – fresh, not commercial, not eroded, just perfectly San Blas.