We're Back in La Manzanilla!

We arrived in La Manzanilla Saturday the 4th at 5:00 PM to cloudy skies and drizzle. Around midnight it stared really raining and thundering and lightening. At 6:30 we had water seeping into our bedroom from the lot next door and a river running down the street that nearly as wide as the street. The river ran for 24 hours.



After the initial shock dealing with the seeping water and worrying about the chance of the water jumping our sandbags and really flooding the house we joined in the fun of the river! In the afternoon the kids built dams and played in the pools of cool, clear water. Video was shot in the late afternoon on Sunday, the flow was about 1/4 of that in morning.

Monday morning the river was dry but the street and those streets around us look like a war zone with huge crevices, some as much as 7 feet deep. We can’t get our truck out of the car port and even if we could it’s doubtful we could make it off our block without falling into a crevice. So, we walked Lyle to and from his first day of school in the rain, walked to Juan’s to buy tamales for dinner and were happy we still have electricity and internet! It’s the little things after all….

Carnitas- no wonder its so delicious

On Sundays you can get Carnitas in La Manzanilla and only on Sundays. On the main road paralleling the beach you'll find aborrotes Chona. During the week it's a humble food store and meat market but on Sunday the street in front is lined with tables and chairs and people waiting in line to snag one.

I was curious how one would go about making carnitas so I checked out a wiki site and this is what I found.

“The traditional way to cook carnitas is in a copper pot which disperses the heat evenly (one may use any thick bottomed pot to get the same result). Lard is used to cover the dish in proportion to the amount of meat being cooked. Once the lard has melted, pork and flavorings are added (usually salt, oregano, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf, crushed garlic cloves). Traditional carnitas is then made by process of simmering the meat until tender over a very low heat. Once appropriate tenderness is achieved, the heat is turned up and the outside of the pork begins to crisp. The carnitas can then be cooled and shredded.”

At 8 pesos (.67 cents) it's a fattening treat I indulge in almost every Sunday! They do handmade tortillas and a very spicy pico de gallo that just adds to the culinary delight.

Next time you come for a visit to La Manzanilla be sure you stay the weekend so you don't miss out.

Lyle builds a bonfire!

We’ve been in La Manzanilla for 3 years now and last week was the first time we’ve been to a bonfire at the beach! Lyle has been bugging us for months to go to the beach and have a fire; basically because he wants to roast these HUGE marshmallows we bought in Patzcuaro (to roast in the fireplace at the hotel we stayed!) It doesn’t get dark here until 7:30, the only nights we could do a fire at the beach would be Friday or Saturday (school and all) and something always comes up.

Last week my friend Alex, chef at La Manzanilla’s Café de Flores, invited us to a bonfire to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Well, it was a Thursday night and lo and behold no school on Friday so we accepted.

I can’t believe we waited this long to have a bonfire. It was a blast! At sunset we light the fire and the hot dogs and marshmallows came out accompanied by the sounds of guitar and drums. Lyle was the only kid there but that didn’t seem to bother him. He usually goes to bed at 9:00, but this night he was dancing by the fire and roasting mellows until 11:00 pm.

The next morning it was all he could talk about!

Day at the water park

Here in La Manzanilla Mexico, the kids get lots of days off school. This week they are out Monday-Wednesday in celebration of Labor Day. Yesterday I took Lyle to the water park in Barra de Navidad. It’s the first time we’d been to the park and we had a great time sliding down the big water slides, swimming in the big pools and playing pirates.

That is WE had fun, until a group of boys aged 8-16 showed up. Then mom was out and big boys were in.

I’m always amazed how Mexican kids love other kids. I’m guessing it’s because of the family structure; big kids are expected take care of the little kids without a second thought or complaint. That group of boys played the entire afternoon with Lyle and his friend Elior. Keep away, water tag, took them down the big slides and it went on and on. They never tired of our little boys screaming for more rides on the slide, asking to be put on their shoulders in the water, yelling the “throw the ball to me!”

The day was a highlight that Lyle won’t soon forget.

La Manzanilla Primavera

We have the most beautiful Primavera tree in front of our house in La Manzanilla Mexico.

Actually, I think it’s the most beautiful tree in town. About 3 weeks ago all the leaves fell off the tree, 2 weeks ago the yellow buds started to appear, 1 week ago the tree was glorious, bright yellow flowers about the size of a child’s hand filled the branches and were juxtaposed against the deep blue sky.

I watched each day as people walked by with camera in hand trying to capture the beauty of the tree.

The flowers are now fading and gracefully falling to the ground. I’m not sad at all to see it go, it was so gorgeous in its prime that it had to be fleeting! Looking forward to next spring already.

Arroyo Seco for some surfing!

Arroyo Seco, 25 mins north of La Manzanilla, is hosting its first surfing competition this weekend. We headed up to check out the action and the beach, we had only been to Arroyo Seco once so this was a good excuse for another visit. La Manzanilla is a metropolis compared to Arroyo Seco, the long and expansive beach has one hotel and one restaurant.

There were lots of young surfer dudes on hand and judging from the license plates they came from as far away as California. We arrived at 11:00, the start time was 9:30, but they were just getting going when we got there. From what I could gather a couple of surfers headed out each 20 mins and had 20 mins to catch as many waves as possible. I’ve never been to a surfing competition but it was a very entertaining way to spend the afternoon.

Lyle makes some music

Lyle has a few toy musical instruments and on occasion he likes to "make music", he also likes to dance to rock star music when he thinks I'm not watching. La Manzanilla and not having a TV, is great for letting kids be creative when it comes to making up fun.