Baja Desert Blooms

May 1983 Baja; returning home, first time in 50 years there is so much rain in the desert and it is blooming everywhere!

The spinster lay alone, dry, unloved, wrapped in a dusty sandstone housedress.

She moaned as lizards slithered between her thighs and slept a dream of wetness like an orgasm of the sky.

Her silent longing made her cry and as she wept these tears of life tumbled down her withered breasts feeding the growing things inside her as if they had been blessed.

She dreamt of hidden valleys voluptuous with mounds of variegated colors, flowers in between and all the sweet young things of virgin youth suckled as she cried out.

Maidenheads were formed again that night. The desert became a blushing bride.

Fables and Legends

Be sure to visit the Insider's Guide to Puerto Vallarta where you'll find tons of info about PV and Yelapa. There's a fun chapter called Fables and Legends that goes well with my Raicilla Dreams blog.

http://vallartainfo.com/puerto-vallarta-fables.htm

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude....

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

http://a-word-from-yelapa.typepad.com/

Birds... January 1979

Pelicans drifting above cresting ocean

Diving before me in repetitious motion

Occasionally scooping a shadowy streak

In its otherwise amusing most useful beak.

Blue-footed Boobies step in syncopation

Sifting for tidbits with antic gyration

Sooner than later you sight one a munchin'

While searching on sandbars for tasty luncheon.

Up Rio, Egrets cluster together

Flocked on the river, birds of a feather

China white cloud as they burst into flight

Souring together in compadre delight.

Paricos abound in this tropical clime

Verdant, turquoise and radiant lime

Chattering loudly as if in agreement

That paradise suits them far better than cement.

While Hummingbirds hover as if in suspension

Sipping the nectar in every direction

So silent these tiny jewels of the air

Except for their wing songs, you'd not be aware.

Myriad creatures abound in this bay

So grand to witness another Yelapa Day.

Brian Mathson RIP

Brian J. Mathson, 63, of Grand Marais, Minnesota died February 8, 2010, in an automobile accident in Lake County.

Rabo de Meztisa

Pepe's Receipe for Rabo de Meztisa

which he prepared for me and demonstrated how to make in his own words...

eggs, 2 per person

Chile poblano, roasted and cut into ribbons

Tomatos or puré

Onion, garlic, oregano, sweet basil, nutmeg

Cream or mild yogurt

Cotija; dry cheese

1. Fry minced onion (plenty) and garlic til transparent

2. Add a good bed of crushed tomatoes or puré let simmer 10 minutes, adding the spices and salt, plus a good pinch of knorr chicken bullion

3. Carefully dispose the eggs in a pattern, on the bed of tomatoes to poach

4. Locate your eggs between slices of poblano (to know where they are) and grate a generous amount of cotija

5. When the eggs are nearly done, cover everything with a layer of sour cream or yogurt

buen provecho!

Learning to Spearfish and then some...

I make a wonderful new friend. Bob D. and I become bosom buddies and play together for 2 weeks. He teaches me about the sea and snorkeling. Especially, how to use the sling. I hit my first fish right before I leave Mexico in June. I can't believe the rush of killing a fish...my bloodlust surprises me totally. Massage was another thing I learned how to do. There was so much about him I loved - such a good man - a very sweet relationship between us, unusually honest and in that honesty - pure. I miss him.

At a PV medical lab before we split Mexico, we find we both have entamoeba histolytica. However, once back in the states they say there seems to be no sign.

I go ahead with the meds anyway!

To Burn or Not to Burn?....That is the Question

Last week I started reading old journals and letters from my first years in Yelapa. I intended to separate into piles and decide which might stay and which would go the way of a special burn. Did I really need to keep all these ramblings and letters? I managed to shred a couple...just bad memories....why keep them to remind of something sad? I laughed through most pages and some set me back a bit with hard memories and tough times...put the letters d. wrote in a folder for her...found a couple from Izzy...kept to treasure....one from Peggy M...also now gone who gave me sound advice about an old beau...amazing letters from all sorts of people...

I even found the last name of a friend I have not seen or spoken to in 32 years. I had always wondered what had become of this gentle man that crossed paths with me that first year in Yelapa. Could never find him as I thought I did not have his name..and there it was in my journal. I immediately went to FB and found 4 with his name..I asked if they had ever been to Yelapa and by sheer luck...there he was....we reconnected and I have a new old friend again. He taught me to spearfish.

Most of my poems and notes are corny or overly dramatic..here is a poem I wrote about Yelapa that first year...I was 29 and it had been raining for 3 weeks.

Nothing moves when it rains

even the sea looks calm, unable to rush against the weight of falling water.

Each tree is a dreamy vision

Each palm frond is a memory unmoving locked into position

no longer vibrant with life, no movement.

Down, down the torrents pour encasing all the living,

enveloping all with long cool fingers.

Blurred mist.

I am locked into position unable to escape my boundary

while the cats continue to demand.

Ok, if you can handle that one, I'll publish some more!