Morning Constitutional

Another interesting and challenging day in Puerto Peñasco, beginning with our morning walk.
Out the door by 6 AM- we drive down to the Penasco del Sol hotel, then cut around the side of it to public access. Purple line is our drive, blue line is our walk:


This is the Penasco del Sol hotel from the beach:

The entrance to the beach:

The view towards the Sandy beach condos:

Happy Shadow wading in a tidal pool:

The track of the rare Shadowopogus:

A view towards the Old Port (Melacon), where we went to the restaurant yesterday:

Beach birds- who can identify them? Little long-legged waders of some kind:

Another shot of the birds:

Roaks with moss, vivid green:

Our boy in his new element:

Stalking birds:


Now, since we got here, my hip and back have been bothering me more than usual. I figured it was from the drive, it would fade. But it's not fading, and today when I started work on the laptop, after sitting for 15 minutes or so, I could hardly stand, and putting weight on my right leg was impossible. Damn. Quite a lot of pain. What to do?

Luckily, there is a new doctor in town, a medical clinic just for dumb gringoes such as us. I made an appointment and got right in. He thought it was probably sciatica, along with muscle spasms, etc. He took a couple of X-rays. Now, here's the strange part. He says I have an extra lumbar vertebrae, most people have five but I have six. Also my hip bones are different sizes. So this has been building for years, and nothing can really be done. Well, true; I have had back and hip problems for years, but...sheesh. Anyway, he gave me a shot of anti-inflammatory, and some very effective but scary pain pills, and sent me on my way. Any advice or ideas would be welcome- he says I should go back to Canada, get an MRI and see a back specialist.

Anyhoo, the cost of this adventure was $187. Not bad. But this clinic also has a program whereby you pay $660 US a year per person, and all doctor's bill and tests are covered. If I go for that, today's bill will be covered in that. Get this- it includes house calls. Strange and interesting. So that was today's adventure. (however, the pain pills are $3 apiece)

We also found out that there is only one way to get beer where the bottles are returnable. There are places called depositos, one for each type of beer, Tecate, Corona, etc. You buy beer there, pay a deposit, get a slip of paper and when you return the bottles they give you the deposit back. Otherwise, all the cans you buy go into the trash. Not that I can be drinking beer while I'm taking these scary pills, but maybe that's for the best anyway. Soy gordo.

What else? We took three 19 litre water jugs in to fill today, not having any idea how much that would be. They carry them from and to the car for you, fill them in about 3 seconds flat, and it costs about $1.00 each. Tip them a buck and that's some cheap water!! We're trying to remember to drink lots of that, since every trip around town, walking or driving, is a sweatfest. And we frankly love it. It's gloriously hot here!!

Here's more on the Jazz fest: http://www.cometorockypoint.com/jazz_festival.html

Last night we took a fairly long walk down Melchor Ocampo to the Mexican shopping area. I love it down there. It was about 1/2 an hour walk there, same back. We bought a Melon juice (con helio) and sipped it as we walked along. Really nice! As we walked there, we were facing the sunset, and caught some of its glory. We haven't been down to the beach at sunset yet to see it, but there's time for that.

We went back to our new favorite store today, Salmo Importado, and got some more towels, a mop bucket, a mop, a hose (I have a little pool for Shadow that I need to fill), and a few other sundry items. Still searching for a desk for Mel, we have a line on two different ones. From the other day, #1 was too big, number 2 is too expensive. We saw a good one today, not necessarily the right color, but very serviceable. Alternatively, the place with the rustico furniture will custom-build a desk for us, in one day.

Tonight's dinner will be scrambled eggs with leftover shrimp. Yum. Oh, Cheryl and Dan, we found a fairly nearby Panederia, will check that out soon. Tonight working more on numbers (past twenty) and days of the week, months, etc. I'm finding I'm already understanding a bit more as people talk to me, listening to the radio, eavesdropping, you know how it goes. And Carl has rediscovered his talent for mime.

Tomorrow there may not be time to blog, we have to work on getting our shipment released, we need to call a whole bunch of people with our address change (City of Calgary, AMA, AHC, etc. etc.), and I have to get some work done. Also, there is a nearby store that I HAVE to investigate. It apparently has great crafts, and it was pointed out by Osvaldo, so it's bound to be reasonable. I'm sure you can all see how that would supercede a blog entry. CRAFTS! REASONABLE!!

Take care, all, and thanks for all the great comments. You're keeping us from getting lonesome. There is some kind of Thursday get-together for gringoes in town, I'm thinking we should go this week and get to know a few people.