VENIMOS Y PASAMOS/WE COME AND WE GO!
Up the lazy Rio Tuito on an equally lazy day...
Las Palabras: Maestro - master; imigra - slang for immigration; Rancho Naranjo - Orange tree ranch and a very special place; Todo el grupo se despidieron! - the entire group was fired; Un milagro - a miracle; La anima - the spirit; Un lugar de comercio - a place of commerce
These past few weeks I have observed how much we all come and go from Yelapa - sometimes it's just a day trip and other times people return after being away from the pueblo for years. It is a vacation location. It is a day trip on a party boat. It is a one-time visit or a lifetime of visits, winter relief from the frozen north or in a few odd cases, a year round experience stretching over a lifetime.
We (that ole dog, Lucky, that cute dog, Desi and I) all went to Puerto Vallarta to do legal imigra business. My pal, Kate, who lived here for about 10 years met us, along with our immigration maestro, Victor Cueva, who helps most of us here and we all had a mini-reunion. Victor also goes way back in Yelapa memories. He once recalled to me how 40 some years ago when he was a federal policeman he came to Yelapa on an "immigragion" raid and arrested Peggy Mandel....he laughed when he said they had no idea she was a personal friend of the then president of Mexico: Todo el grupo se despidieron!
Later we came home on the panga with Hanna and Ahmed, who return each year for at least one night on the anniversary of their meeting in Yelapa, this year with their son, Justice. In the 45 minute ride, we exchanged news about "old" Yelapa and where everyone was now. I got a long distance hug from Julie...we discussed Susana, who lived here until she died, surrounded by Yelapa friends in hospice in Oregon. Being part of the big Yelapa family, they are in touch with almost everyone who lived here 15 years ago up through today. It was as though no time had passed since we last had a visit.
Just the week before on my walk upriver I stopped at Jarret and Natalia's Rancho Naranjo and ran into another old friend from those old days. We were all so close and more involved in each other's lives back then. After all there was no electricity, phone, internet and only one panga per day. One was not expected to phone before dropping by; hospitality was required and visits were truly welcomed and prolonged and usually included sharing a meal.
Farther back in time the first panga (after sails) to Puerto Vallarta took 2-3 hours via smelly, diesel powered engine. When we did go to Puerto Vallarta there was not much to do. It was possible to do all your chores in one day since selection was so limited. These days we shop at several stores. Pretty much everything else can be found in the pueblo now that we have refrigeration. I've heard a few people even have air-conditioning! Beware, the end is near!
I can only hope the connections formed here among the newer international residents will continue on beyond the current trend toward business ventures. Few people realize they are changing the scene, changing the tempo, bringing a faster, most sophisticated attitude, maybe even interfering with the pueblo's right to self-determination. Well, maybe not. Just yesterday at the playita where I swim I had a chat with a pal, who barely told me how he was, never mentioned how many whales he had seen, who had come for a visit - I barely recall being asked anything. Instead he told me how business was. Before I left an old-timer gringo who was carrying his laptop told me he couldn't be bothered to use dial-up internet; he was too impatient; he needed highspeed-wireless...this from a man who used to fish for his existence here...my, my, my. It shocks me that dial-up is no longer un milagro.
I know there's no putting us back in the bottle. I just hope everyone remembers each unit built must have water, septic, trash removal and creates not only wealth but waste. Mostly remember to be a good friend to the pueblo, take time to make real friends, and keep the custom alive of leaving but always coming back because Yelapa has always been a healing place for la anima as well as un lugar de comercio.
Vamos dejar atras huellas diminutas! - Let's just leave behind tiny footprints!
Maria
