The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

The yoga mat serves many purposes: yoga, windshield shade for the truck, and as shown above, mechanical aid for repairing a drive shaft.

The Good:
Kelly and two of his med. student friends were able to head to the coast and meet up with us at Chalacatepec.  We have decided that Kelly is good luck, bringing a swell (a.k.a. some good waves) like we had not seen since the last time he was here.  We had a grand time and feasted with the fishermen, as usual, only this time it involved caviar, lobster, and many a variation of different types of fish (pics below).
The Bad:
We decided to head south to look for some better surf after Kelly and friends left (Kelly is off to see friends in El Salvador and his Dad in Panama, and his friends had to return to school) .  The waves had died down and while it was hard to say goodbye to our friends, the fishermen, it seemed like the right time.  We checked out some small beaches on the way to Melaque and just as we were entering the pueblo of Melaque we felt a strong vibration from the gut of the truck... and then wham!  A large tube of metal dropped out the bottom leaving the truck looking like a newborn with its embilical chord still attached (I believe it is called the drive shaft, pardon my lack of mechanical knowledge).

The Beautiful:
The truck broke down right in front of a mechanic, around the corner from a store that sales car parts, and walking distance to a place called a torneo (they can turn metal to see if it is bent, such as a drive shaft.  I do not even know the name in English).  It seemed incredibly lucky considering the potencial difficulties that could have insued had we broken down anywhere else we had been that day.  Griffin was able to fix it with the help of some kind mechanics and we were able to buy the necessary parts, and have the shaft spun to see if it had suffered any damage, all for well under $10.

We found a place to camp in town for very cheap and are now getting some necessary items, groceries, etc. before we head out to a fairly isolated beach called Arroyo Seco.  I am typing this on computer set up for Danish (the kind Danish couple camping next to us is letting me use their computer) so pardon the lack of conjunctions (it seems the apostrophe is always acompannied by a vowel in Danish?).

The BEST taquitos.  EVER.  Pelocha made these delicious fish taquitos (fried tacos) and the homemade salsa verde on top.

Pelocha loved this shot of his boat going out at sunrise (he was trying to catch some good air for the camera).

Kelly shows off an equally red-freckled lobster.  YUM.

Pelocha cooking up some delicious food!

I just love how cattle and horses are moved here.

Griffin and Pelocha play checkers on this homemade board while Hairo watches.

My great-grandmother, Gram, used to say:
¨A wonderful bird is a pelican. 
His beak holds more than his belly can.
And I don´t see how in the hell he can!¨

Friggots and Pelicans trail the fishing boats looking for handouts (which always come when the fish are gutted).