WONDERFUL San Carlos

Wow, we have been in San Carlos a month! We can hardly believe it. We have been so busy…NOT! And yet, when recently made friends have asked us to dinner and to play cards, we find that our schedule is, well, packed.

It has been very windy the past couple days…actually, for a couple weeks. We had a totally calm day on Wednesday this week, but wind off the Sea of Cortez has been fairly relentless. The past couple of days, we have been doing what all folks must do…bookkeeping, budgets, expense allocation, financial reviews; all the mundane stuff that must be done. We are NOT on vacation…rather, we are living in the Retirement Villa (RV) and still have the normal bills to pay, et al. Life goes on while having fun, so every once-in-a-while we have to “pay the piper.”

I thought I would give you an idea of the food. Here is a picture of Coconut Shrimp prepared at Charley’s Rock restaurant which sits on a small point in the Bay. There were six shrimp on the plate, but Betty and I had to each have one to be able to tell you that they were FANTASTIC. GIANT shrimp, and well prepared. About $9.50 US including steamed vegetables, rice and toast. The Modelo Light was about $1.80. (Okay, several Modelo lights!!)

Did you see the movie “Catch 22” with Steve McQueen? Made in the early 1970’s? This movie set is located about 2 km from where we are parked, and the Catch 22 beach is close by (formerly? Clothing optional). We drove on the old airstrip just off of the new parkway which leads to Hotel Paradiso (former Club Med) to the old movie set. There is a concrete ramp for cameras still in place. The extensive rock structure is in ruins (see photo), but still visible. The old airfield has lots of weeds in it now, but is easily distinguished from the surrounding desert. We will have to get the video from Netflix when we get back to the states to see the movie. Don’t believe we ever saw it, but in our advanced years, even if we had seen it, it will be new to us…HA.

Coming up soon is the Carne Asada Festival at the Ranchitos Elementary School. Parents of the attending children prepare their favorite foods, and we get to buy tickets to lunch to support the school. Benefit: we get REAL local fare. We did the Homes Tour, sponsored by the San Carlos Rotary Club for the benefit of local school. Wow, some pretty impressive homes. Coming recently from California, we viewed these Bay-Front homes as multi-million dollar properties. If fact, $7-800,000. Still seems expensive, but killer views.

Don’t forget to look at the previous post (no notification sent) for maps and locations.

Time for happy hour. Retirees cannot pass that up. Until next time…..

MAPS of Sonora and San Carlos

Betty's brother, Robb (Hawaii) has been after me to post maps. So, here are two maps: The first map shows the route from Arizona to San Carlos. The route is on Mexico 15 from Nogales through Hermosillo, the state Capitol, to San Carlos. Four lane highway and about a 5 hour drive. Three toll booths paying a total of about $33 USD. Save your toll receipts. Is something happens to you (accident with another vehicle, his a cow, etc, this is insured by the Federales, or at least the locals say so.
CLICK ON A MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER.

This next map is a location map of the San Carlos area. We are at point #2, Marina Real. The former Club Med is just to the left of #1, now Hotel Paradiso.
CLICK ON A MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER

The third picture is of San Carlos Bay. Lots of sail boats anchoring in the bay. Fishing boats come in here, too. The mountain as the backdrop is called goat horns by one friend. Her husband calls them Goat T--ts. Well, not sure of the translation...you be the judge.

CLICK ON A T-- (oops) MAP TO MAKE IT LARGER

If you have questions, don't forget you can post them on the website (blog) with your login. If you have forgotten how, I can have the blogger site send you a new invitation, which will likely mean you will need to set up a new password.

Beautiful San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

We arrived in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico on January 26th about 6:30 in the evening. We set up our campsite, had dinner with friends and hit the hay. It is hard to believe that we have been here 10 days already. We have barely relaxed. The skies are sunny, and the town has many fun little places to stop and shop, wonderful restaurants, a good ice cream store, and beautiful sunsets. Betty has been busy with the digital camera, and pressuring me to get on the stick to get some posted on the blog. I am struggling to learn how, so if you have any hints, let me know. I know this should be easy, but heck...I didn't know what a blog was a year ago.

Last Friday, we drove to Hermosillo, the capitol of Sonora, to do some shopping. Our friend who lives here wanted to go to Home Depot to get a chop saw for cutting bricks and paving stones. Across the street is a Sam's Club and a Super Wal-Mart. Costco is a block away. WOW, not the Mexico I remember from 25 years ago. Hermosillo is about 130 km north of San Carlos and four lanes the entire trip. Diesel fuel is subsidized by the government to aid the trucking industry, so apparently Mexican citizens are not allowed to own diesel vehicles. Tourists, however, need to buy fuel, so I filled up the other day at $5.72 pesos per liter. 3.78 liters per gallon. I "think" that is about $1.97 per gallon at $0.09089 USD per peso. I paid $2.69 USD per gallon in Nogales, AZ before leaving the US. It is fun to see all the brightly painted shops and houses as we drive along the streets and roads.

This picture is the Palapa Restaurant (a palapa is a thatched canopy) on the beach just a little bit out of town. It is in a site where an old hotel is being torn down and a new one is being built. This little oasis had two large and wonderful crab cakes for $100 pesos (a little over $9.00 USD) including a salad. We have eaten at several local restaurants and are trying what the locals tell us is good. Tequilla's is a restaurant at the marina where we had their fish special: mahi mahi browned on an iron skillet in butter with garlic and lime. Seasoned perfectly, and the garlic was crispy. It came with house rice (all the dishes seem to come with rice and always VERY good) and steamed vegetables. This was also $100 pesos. An evening or two later, we went to the Fiesta Hotel and enjoyed 1-1/2 whole lobster with steamed vegetables and rice for $220 Pesos.

Well, it just about margarita time, so I had better get the limes out and cut them up. Limones are small, cute little limes that are used everywhere on everything. Drizzle them over food, in your drinks and even over your hands as a sanitizer. One of the local bargains, for sure.

Until next week...hope you stay warm. WE ARE!!!!!