I finally got it right! My husband and I booked a month long stay at a little fishing village two hours south of Mazatlán, in Mexico. We both loved it, and I knew it was going to be perfect when I wrote to an ex-pat blog on Mexico, to see if Teacapan had taxis, and a ATM. Jerry one of the site monitors wrote me right back to tell me there was a three wheeled taxi in town, you just call the pharmacy to order it.
Unfortunately, the nearest ATM is 40 minutes away by bus. And then he said “Here’s my number, call me when you get into town and I’ll pick you up and deliver you to Margarita’s Airbnb.”
After I booked, we discovered that our old neighbours spend six months there yearly, an added bonus. In the village of 4,000, there are about 35-40 families of ex-pats.
We walk to the village every day to grocery shop. A couple of weeks ago, we were in the fruit and veggie shop, which looks like something out of the fifties. You can buy half a cabbage, one celery stick, a tiny bag of raisons or ten grapes, they will split up anything.
I asked if I could take pictures. From behind me I heard someone laugh and say, “You’re such a tourist! And I know who you are, you’re Jean Michael and Karen’s friends.”
“Please come to our drink’s party at 4pm, and bring a dish.” We did, and it was probably the best party we’ve been to in years. Forty or so people, Mexicans, ex-pats, visitors like us all celebrating the successful first of their annual two-week Project Stretch. Project Stretch was started in 1988 by a group of dental professionals who saw the need of providing dentalcare.
This year they saw 700 children. Dentists, dental assistants etc. pay their own air, and the town volunteers house them, feed them and entertain them when they aren’t working on the childrens’ teeth. One dentist has been coming for nine years. “It is the best week of my year.”
And this isn’t the only volunteer work, the ex-pats get involved in. Tom and I helped Amigos of Teacapan run their most successful annual garage sale yet… US $1200 profit. Locals lined up an hour before it opened, and about 200 people rushed in the minute we moved the cat that was sleeping in front of the gate.
Another group of volunteers led by Brenda helps migrant workers.
As our month came to an end, I started thinking about what we liked best.
I asked Tom, and he went into a long dissertation regarding the birds. “The frigates are amazing; they know that following fishing boats will result in a feeding as the crews start cleaning the fish on the way back to their shoreline moorings. You know who has fish from the frigates following the boat.
The Pelicans arrive to our area and perch on a couple of outcroppings of rock close to shore near the docking area. When the tide is high, they are on the water or sitting on the empty moored boats. They arrive in the morning, hang around most of the day and take off at night where they roost in the darkness.
There are white and grey herons wading through the shallows patiently waiting for the small fish to swim into their area, but only one at a time. When another one nears, they are chased away by the dominant ones.
The turkey buzzards circle above looking for anything washed up with the tide. You can see one enjoying a feast, with 5 or 6 waiting their turn, orderly feeding one at a time.
As the tide recedes, the Sandpipers search the sand for something to eat. So, they all have plenty to feast on one way or another. It’s not unusual to see over a hundred frigates and buzzards cruising overhead all day long on the lookout for food.
Ask me and I have a long list.
I Love our Airbnb with its three units to rent. Tranquila, Casa Jardin and El Mirador in Teacapan. They are spacious, and beautifully decorated, with everything you could possibly need. The property is right on one of Mexico’s largest estuaries, 50 kilometers in total, full of water fowl, fish, and the opposite shoreline is lined with trees.
Our apartment is amazingly bright with views facing the estuary, the beautifully landscaped gardens, the fishing boats next door, and the dirt road, where you’ll often see cows and horses wandering. The pool and shady palapa beckoned. Our hosts live on site and are amazingly helpful and delightful to share a drink with.
I love to be able to walk to the Malecon, the many little stores, and the main square.
Yes, there are stores; a small supermarket, four hardware stores, cosmetic shop, beauty salon, it was all there. We learned which hardware store has the freshest eggs in town, two fruit markets; one that makes customers ask for the avocados, because they don’t want customers squeezing them.
But the real delight is shopping in peoples’ homes. They have merchandise stocked on a counter in their living room, and all their furniture is pushed to the side, so you can peek at the house while shopping, and get a view of the formal dining room. Some homes on the side streets offer second hand clothes, and other things for sale on a clothesline strung between trees.
Yes, there are restaurants lots, of them, with prices so reasonable, we wonder why we cook. Even my cooking tastes good, probably because the food is so fresh. We could buy anything we needed in the village. Want fish and oysters? Just go to the pier, it couldn’t be any fresher.
Did I mention the 50 kilometers of empty beaches? The weather? Perfect.
