Another ho-hum day in Paradise

Warning: do not read this if you are prone to fits of extreme jealousy or depression.

Sandy writes: Let me describe our stay in Mulage so far. We are camped right on the beach and have our own palapa, which is a three-sided shelter thatched with palm fronds. Yesterday morning, we woke up to a beautiful, golden sunrise over the bay. We decided to take the kayak out for a spin, and spent a couple of hours paddling up the bay to the next beach and around an island. It was Ellie’s first kayak excursion, and, while, she wasn’t thrilled, she did stay in the boat and eventually got comfortable enough to nap.

After our kayak trip, we were relaxing in the shade of our palapa, and the vendors started showing up. First it was a woman selling vegetables and tortillas out of the back of her pickup. We bought an onion, a potato, and a bag of fresh flour tortillas. The tortillas here are nothing like the ones in Salt Lake—they are paper thin and delicious. Then, pretty soon, along came the ice cream man. He had a little ice cream truck that announces itself with music, just like at home. But along with the usual ice cream bars, he offered cones and banana splits with homemade ice cream. Being lunch time, we decided to go with the banana splits. We couldn’t believe our eyes when he handed them over—FIVE scoops of ice cream (vanilla and pistachio, chocolate sauce, peanuts, and of course, the banana. It must have weighed a pound. We could have easily split one, but I am sorry to report that we each ate a whole one. Not long after we’d finished “lunch,” the fruit guy came by, selling oranges (2 pesos each—20cents) and orange juice that he’d squeeze right there for you. We bought 5 oranges. Then came the first of three or four people selling fresh shrimp and scallops. The shrimp were HUGE, and cost 12.50 for a kilo, which is about 2 pounds. We bought a kilo. I cooked some up for supper last night—sauteed in butter with onions, mushrooms, and rolled in our fresh tortillas with verde salsa. They were to die for. And we have lots leftover for another meal, or two or three.

Today we woke up and the bay was calm and glassy, so we took the kayak out again, sans Ellie. We paddled out to Isle de Coyote, about an hour’s paddle. There is a pretty little beach on the island, and apparently a hike to an overlook, but we didn’t do those this time. After we returned, we lunched on cheese quesadillas with the last of our tortillas, hung out on the beach for awhile, then came into Mulage to hit the bank, market, and internet café. Steve is delighted to find that “good” beer is only $1.50 a bottle,m and he is happy sitting in an outdoor bar while I’m typing this.We’ll have an early dinner and drinks here before going back out to Los Cocos.

There is a lot to see and do here, but Steve is getting itchey feet—LaPaz is calling to him—so we’re moving on tomorrow. I hope to stay longer on our way back. There is only one road, so we have to come back the way we came, at least as far as Encenada.

Oh, by the way, it was Steve who got led to the bathroom by the dog, not me.