Rainy Day at the Beach

 

It has been unsettled for the last few days with occasional rain some areas of sunshine. Last night the weather changed as we had rain all night, sometimes coming down in torrents. I’m glad! No, I’m not against nice weather, but for nearly two months we have been subject to the salt air and mist that blows in from the Caribbean. Each time we drive off in the car, we have to use the windshield washer to get the salt off the windshield, even when we use the car every day. So what this great rainstorm has done is rinse all the salt off the motorhome, and that is a good thing

I took a walk to the beach and it was a view I hadn’t seen since we got here.

On a normal day this area would be crowded and the restaurant would be extremely busy. Today………..nothing.

Looking north, there would be scores of tourists walking the beach. It’s an ill wind that does no good, and this cool weather makes it easier for the guys on the left to sand the hull of their boat.

 

This picture was meant to show the bleakness of the day. There are no people in the water, no snorkelers, no jet skis, nobody at all.

Even the empty parking lot of the restaurant doesn’t tell the whole story because not only is the parking area normally full, but so is the entire area. Every possible place to park a car is usually occupied and management had to rope off the access to the campground to keep people from driving in and parking with us. One day, a tour bus parked in the campground when there was no room anywhere else. Now the extra vehicles are forced to park on the access road and the line extends well up the road.

This is Leica, one of the campground mascots. This was taken today during a lull in the rain, but it could be taken almost any day as Leica enjoys chilling out in any depression in the sand. We have to be careful backing up as she is generally someplace  in the parking area.

 

This is one version of the panga, a style of boat found all over Mexico.

As you can see, this one had a deck, center console, and dual engines. It also has the wood trim along the gunwales, making it something of an “upscale” boat. The hull is basic, but the way it’s used will determine how it is fitted out. There are dive boats, with racks for air tanks, fishing boats with outriggers, there are plain open boats, and boats with an awning for shade. We took a trip up the coast in one last week to snorkel near Puerto Adventuras. Although the sea was rough, the panga was very comfortable and handled the waves very well. In addition, the ride was MUCH drier that I would have though with the wind and waves,

This panga is behind our camper. Is this the end of the line? Not necessarily. There is an enormous amount of fiberglass on one of these boats and when I knock on the side, it’s like knocking on a piece of granite. Since there is NEVER a frost down here, there is little damage from letting it sit a while. One day this “relic” will be repainted and re powered and be put back to use.

Later