Lasts of the beach

Well this post is the last of the lasts of our time at the beach.  I know, aren't you glad??  Well, I think I have cut it down considerably since I took 562 pictures while I was in Mexico.  Our last night there was filled with our favorite things.  We had dinner out (but that was a nightly occurrence).  We then headed to George's for a Chocomoco.  That was something we had to do every single day.  It is chocolate and coconut that is iced down and chopped up.  Only I got mine without the coconut and it was delicious!!!  I miss it so much!  Thanks to my sis for getting me addicted.  After walking around looking at the native wares, we headed to the beach.  It was a sad good bye for us.  We really didn't want to leave this place.  This is our last sunset.  Thank you Lord for giving us another beautiful night!

This is where my parents lived while they stayed in Rincon de Guaybitos.

This is what is down and across the street from their place.  We passed this house and others like it every single time we walked out the door.  Wow!  Really?  Do you want to know what's really sad?  This is one of the nicest houses that we came across.

As you walk up and down the streets, you can peek into make-shift curtain doors that are hanging up in what looks like alley ways.  It will break your heart to realize it is really a home.  A home with dirt floors.  A sheet for a door.  Broken furniture.  Little dirty faces staring back at you.  Really?  People really live this way?  Remember the mansions from a previous post?  That area is less than a mile away.  How can you have so much wealth and so much poverty within feet of each other?  It was a lot for me to take in.  I just can't even imagine.  I know that I am blessed.  Seeing this still leaves me speechless even six weeks later.  The images are so real in my mind.  My kids are so spoiled.  I am so spoiled.  Our house is what we make it.  We turn it into a home.  A safe place for our family.  This is true for wherever in the world we are.  Thank you Lord that is only our temporary home!!  I am so very thankful that my Father has a mansion awaiting me and all my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I need to go back to happy now.  I feel the tears coming as I re-live.  Of course, we have to spend our last few hours at the beach.

It was 8:30 in the morning and the sun and the moon were both out.

We had lots of fun laughing at these dogs.  This first one was a wee little dog.  She was going crazy mad chasing those pelicans and her little pink outfit kept getting in the way.  She didn't let her clothes falling off keep her from running after them.  They would scatter like a bear was coming after them.  The pelicans were so scared of her.

This big dog was running out into the water chasing the pelicans.  He was having a good time; you could almost see the smile on his face as he was running free.

Pelicans riding the waves were always fun to watch.

Pelicans sitting on the roof were fun to watch too.

I just love this picture.  I love the little trails that the pelicans leave behind.  This pelican looks like he's keeping an eye on me.  Hehe!

See how the palm trees are lined up.

Well, it's time to say goodbye to the beach, the pelicans, the palm trees, the sunshine.  We so enjoyed our stay this year and looking forward to going back next year!

What a learning experience this trip has been for me.  I always thank God for all that I have because I know that I am truly blessed and truly thankful.  I'm grateful for the reminder that God is no respecter of persons.  He formed us, shaped us and made us all in His image.

Another morning walk and lessons learned

The next morning, we woke up before 7:00 am.  Does Dad not realize this is our vacation?!  But it's a good thing we got up so early because 4 hours later after we finally finished our walk, we were sweating!

This is an all-inclusive resort called "The Coco's".  They have five very colorful buildings.  I checked into renting a room over Christmas break for the kids and ALL five buildings were completely booked for that time!

We walked up the mountain to the cross that you saw in a picture from my last post.  It was closed for remodeling, but we were able to get this close.  The Catholics will stop at each station.  I'm assuming they are praying to or for the saint at that station.  If you know, please enlighten me.  I forgot to ask our Mexican amigo.

The sun is rising...

The beach and the mountains

We walked on around the mountain and went to another little village.  It was so much smaller and dirtier.  But we did find some beautiful flowers while we were there.

I love this color combination

Beautiful yellow!

I loved how simple, yet how beautiful this was.  I stopped in front of a wall of a courtyard to get this picture,

When I stood up, a lady was waving at me.  I told Jodi "Uh oh, we're busted... hurry, let's get out of here!"  We kept walking and she started hollering at us.  He he!  She wanted us to come inside her courtyard and take pictures.  She spoke no English but we figured out that's what she wanted.  She had the biggest grin on her face.  Her little pepper plant...

Against her house

This is a fountain that she turned on for us.  The water trickled down into the pool

The lady's daughter was following us all over and smiling so big.  We asked if we could take her picture.  By the time we were leaving her courtyard, five other kids were out there following us around.

Lovely pink!  Cora, I need to learn how to texturize photos like you do.  I think this one would be so pretty with texture.

This "hut" is actually a garage.  I thought the greenery and flowers were beautiful.

A close up of the pretty pink flowers

By this time, Dad and Daryl had gotten tired of our often picture stops so they left us to walk back on our own.  We took a different route going back home.  We walked along the beach.

Ah yes, more pelicans.  He he!

Flying low...

Walking through the mountains and along the beach this morning woke me up to God's beautiful creation all around me.  I was in constant amazement at the beauty in every turn.  Yet... as you look around at the people that live there, the things they live in, the cars they drive that look like they will break down any minute, the kids that look like orphans in raggedy clothes and covered in dirt from their head to their toes..  you feel like you are in two different countries at one time.  I'll be honest.  My first few days there, I was looking at the filth and saw filth.  I couldn't believe people lived in so much dirt!  I'm grateful that God softened my heart while I was there and woke me up to the real beauty that was all around so I could see how precious ALL of His creation is!!  Look at that sweet little Mexican girl.  Did she get to pick when and where she would be born and live?  Did she pick a tiny house with many people on a dirt road?  No, God put her there.  He put her and me and you where He needs us to fulfill the plan and purpose He has on our life and the lives of those around us.  When I finally came to this conclusion, I realized how grateful I am to serve a God that has something grand in store for me, something grand in store for that precious little Mexican girl.  That precious little Mexican girl that probably doesn't even have a clue how dirty her clothes are because she is looking past the outside appearance and bashing this world with a beautiful smile.  Shame on me for not being able to look past the dirt.

The beach and a few pelicans

The sun streaming down on your face, the sand squishing between your toes, the waves crashing on the shore, the palm trees swaying in the slight breeze... as close to paradise as I have ever been.

I love this picture of my sister Jodi and Dad.  I thought they were discussing something serious.  When I came upon them, they were just chit chatting about the beautiful beach.

 

My brother Daryl was the only one of us to swim in the ocean.  I had my swim suit on, but I didn't go swimming.  I really enjoyed wading and letting the waves crash up against me.  That was good enough for me.

The buildings were so colorful, so bright.

I just love how the beach is set inside the mountain. It's a perfect little cove.

There is a restaurant on the right side of this island.  We never made it out there.  My mom is not a fan of water or boats.  We thought it would be so cool to go exploring the island, but definitely not at night!  It is eerie dark at night, you can't even see the island from the shore.

He he!  I love the expression on this pelican.  It's almost like it has a sly grin.

Oh man, I was so engrossed in the pelicans!  They were so much fun to watch.  I so wish my kids could have been there.  The pelicans let you get within a couple of feet from them, then they start walking away as they keep an eye on ya.  There were seafood vendors on the beach.  You pick out your shrimp or fish, they load up kabobs and stick em on the grill while you wait!  The "excess" gets thrown to the pelicans.  You always knew where the seafood vendors were... look for the hoard of pelicans.  In this picture they are grabbling for a bite.

This one looks like he's coming right for me!  They will knick you with their wings when they fly in.  We got hit a few times and boy does it sting!

Okay, the feeding frenzy is over... time to go back to the ocean.

This lucky pelican was able to grab some seafood!  Look at that other one just standing there patiently watching and waiting for a chance to grab a bite.  Yeah, I know it's gross.  Jodi already told me that.  But I thought it was cool how their neck swelled up when they got a bite.  That's why I needed my kids.  I know they would have thought it was cool too.

A perfect landing and even a beak full...

Fish for lunch... check out that tail sticking out of that beak.

Don't they just make the cutest little tracks...

Up close and personal

I love the cross on this mountain.  Can you see it in the picture?  It's right smack dab in the middle.  Almost every single village you come across will have a memorial like this.  This one was actually closed for remodeling so we didn't get to walk up to it.  But as you travel the mountain up to the cross, you will come across the 13 stations of the Catholic faith.  How neat to be on the beach-- as you glance over toward the mountain and see the cross.  What a sweet reminder of God loving us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us.  Not only was I surrounded in God's beauty, but I had a neat reminder any time I looked up the hill.

For a perfect ending to our afternoon on the beach, we had a little fresh fruit.  Now when I say fresh fruit, I mean FRESH!  I have never tasted any fruit so tender, so sweet as the fruit we had in Mexico.  My, I miss it sooooo much already!  The vendor carved out the inside of the pineapple.  Crushed it with some ice and put it back in.  Then he added whatever fruit we wanted.  Jodi chose coconut.  I chose watermelon and oranges.  Two straws, two spoons  and we were set!  Delicious!

"Farmer Man" enjoying a pineapple chunk that was carved out of the middle of our drink.  Dad wore that John Deere hat (that Rich gave him) everywhere we went.  The Mexicans, Americans and Canadians alike were calling him the farmer man.  "Hey farmer man, how you doing?"  Dad would just wave and smile.  I think he rather liked all the attention he received.  Don't you just love this picture?

We ended this day with a trip to the pizzeria.  Unless you've been there, you have no idea how nice it is to sit in an open restaurant on a beautiful moon lit night.  I was trying to steal a picture of that sweet fire-brick oven that was cooking our pizza.  They saw what I was doing and had me come up by them.  He said "Your pizza, your pizza."  They posed with our pizza.  Too funny!  Yum, it was so good!

I'm grateful for the reminder lesson that I learned on this day.  Even in the vastness of the creation, God chose me.  He created me and loves me even though I am so undeserving of His love.