Reflection on 2008

2008 was a very interesting year.
It was the saddest; The loss of Ramiro's Mom, a dear friend and of course the loss of Ramiro's finger.
The happiest: The sale of our business, the purchase of our new RV, the completion of our new floor and entrance, the new things we have learned about life and our freedom, the assignment as a keynote speaker in Tennessee and our visit to Graceland, spending time with all kids and grandchildren and my wonderful 60th Birthday celebration.
The busiest: The sale of the business and all the preparations, our travels, the renovations and our Rotary and Toastmasters involvement.
We look forward to what 2009 will bring. We are now finally starting to feel retired. Or semi retired, because we still have our Property management business going in Spruce grove


Wednesday, January 1, 2009


What a night it was. We turned in just after midnight, regretting that we did not wait for the fireworks at the beach. But we were too tired and I was in desperate need of some sleep.
Then the music started. Not romantic music or ballads. No, dance music and not the kind you and I would dance to either. Boom, boom, boom. The most annoying music. The party had begun. Of course we could have gotten out of bed and join them but I think the crowd in the bar, next door to the RV park, were the type that are able to stay awake until 5 am. Yes, 5 am, that’s when the boom, boom music finally stopped.
I could hear Ramiro snoring throughout the night, so he must have gotten some sleep. I’m lucky I got two hours in between the booming noise and the loud voice of the DJ.

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I get up at 7:30 am anyway and make a Skype call to my Mom to wish her a Happy New Year. She is excited to join us in Colima in two weeks and ask what kind of clothes to bring. Summer clothes Mom, lots of summer clothes and a warm jacket for the cooler mornings and evenings. And of course some sturdy walking shoes for when we go Geocaching.

As much as we both would like to hang around for another day, we leave San Carlos.
There’s not all that much to do here. I did learn a bit about the history:
The first recorded human habitation in San Carlos was that of the Guaymenas tribe, which dwelled in and around the area for more than a thousand years. In early 1769, a Spanish military detachments took over the natural harbors in the area and established a settlement.
In 1814 the port was opened for international trade and the town flourished as a major supply centre. During Mexico’s war with the US, two US naval vessels captured the area taking control of the harbour and town until late 1848. After the Mexican revolution ended the area became known for its great sport fishing (over 650 species of fish) which still attracts many visitors to this day. We don’t fish so have little business here.
In 1960 the Hollywood movie Catch 22 was filmed here. Many North Americans enjoy this place for its tranquil white beaches.

We continue south via the Guaymas bypass. The scenery is very appealing. We are amazed by the enormous amount of birds. There’s an inlet and as we drive over the land bridge we see little fisherman's harbor with thousands of pelicans on the tiny boats, hoping to find a snack. We also see cranes, albatros and numerous other birds we are not able to identify. Further down the road we see a large flock of pink flamingos.
As we slow down to go over the speeed bumps. Local salesman approach us with a bag of cooked shrimp and lime. My mouth is watering. That looks really good. We look at each other; Not this time, we will have another opportunities for seafood as we will be traveling along the coast for three more days.

The road to Los Mochis is reasonably good. We cruise along at the allowed 80 km per hour with a good fuel mileage of 15 miles to the gallon. That’s much better than the 8 miles per gallon on our old Itasca.

The scenery changes drastically as we enter the Yaqui Valley, which is also known as the bread basket of Mexico.
On the west we see fertile farmland with a variety of crops, which include marigolds, which is used for chicken feed for the US market. This give the egg yolk its nice deep yellow colour. We also see enormous fields of corn and cotton that stretch for miles and miles.
It was Emiliano Zapata who cried “Tierra y Libertat” ( Land and Liberty) as he seized and burned the haciendas in his home state of Morelos and divided the land amongst his white-clad Indian followers, paving the way for part of the Mexican Constitution on which land reform laws have been based.

We follow the mountain range on the east and see small Indian settlements here and there. There is so much undeveloped land here. And we thought Canada was large.
As we enter Ciudad Obregon which has an easy bypass road, I continue to read from the Sanborn’s travel guide, which we received with our vehicle insurance policy. This is an excellent guide. It indicates mile by mile what to expect. What restaurants, gas station or factories we approach. It helps us identify many things we see, but have no clue of what it is, such as the giant shrine of the Virgin de Guadaloupe which is carved out of the mountains. Bit by bit we learn about the history and culture of the area.

For lunch we find a spot behind a service station. It feels good to have the sun on my face as I sit on the steps of the RV. We don’t have much time however. It is important to find and RV park before dark.

One more city to go through: Novajoa, which in Mayo Indian means “place among the tunas. Tunas being the prickly pear from the cactus plant.
We spot a Soriana Supermarket, very conveniently on the corner and buy meat, fresh fruit and veggies as well as some water purification drop to wash the veggies and fruit in. Let’s hope we will be spared from any serious stomach problems this time.
It takes some getting used to, buying fresh meat in Mexico. The cuts and uses are much different from what we are used to. I miss the nice sandwich meat and the abundance of fresh, dark leafy vegetable we have at home. But as long as there are tomatoes and cucumbers I am happy.
I’m not doing too bad reading the labels on the packages. I prefer to try myself before I ask Ramiro for help. I’m learning lots of new words and phrases.

We finally reach Los Mochis, after we pass the Valley of the Devil where we are treated to a beautiful view. Too bad, it’s already too dark to take nice pictures.
Our “Camping in Mexico” guide indicates the coordinates for the GPS, which help getting there without having to drive around town looking for an address, but we still miss the turnoff onto the small service road. We continue to the first opportunity to safely turn around. I hear the squealing of car tires and the sound of a collision. I see a pick up truck veering away from us with an enormous speed, and coming to a stop to the left at the median. I put my hands in front of my eyes and scream. Someone hit us! We get out of the RV, Ramiro walks to the front, I walk tot he back thinking the car is totalled, but see no damage. The left side of the RV, no damage. Then I walk to the front and see how the right corner of the truck grabbed the corner of the drivers side of the RV, ripping off the large mirror, and the left corner which hold the lights It also tore off part of the fiberglass front panel. The hood is laying on the road.
I shake like a leaf, Ramiro keeps himself together as he assesses the damage and walks over to the passengers of the truck. Thank God no one is hurt.
Within minutes the police arrives, blocking the road. The traffic is able to take the service road and it’s safe for us to stay here. The police continues to ask if anyone is hurt. I assure him we are alright, just terribly shaken.
While Ramiro talks to the police, I walk over to the truck and ask if everyone is alright. A father stands next to the truck with his 11 or 12 year old son and his 8 or 9 year old girl in his arms. In Spanish I am able to inquire about their condition and ask if the girl is alright. Everyone is fine. The father admits that it was his son who saw us. I won’t bother saying anything about the speed at which he came racing around the bend on this 60 km per hour road. I tell him I am very grateful that we both only have material damage and that no one has been hurt.

We wait for another police car who will do an investigative report. We put the hood in the back of the car and call the insurance. An adjuster arrives in half an hour and we discuss the details. Everyone, including the police is very friendly and again they ask if I am alright. They take Ramiro’s drivers license and explain that this will be returned once the fine is being paid. Ramiro is asked to sign the police report and reads through it carefully before he signs, reassuring we are not signing anything that may put us in a bad position later. The Insurance adjuster is acting as our alliance at this point and confirms Ramiro’s questions abd concerns.
The fine comes to 700 Pesos. That’s peanuts as far as we are concerned. The insurance guys keeps the cash and is handed the drivers license. Tomorrow he will come and see us for the rest of the paperwork and to give the license back. There is no written ticket or receipt from the police. I wonder if this is beer money.

I am very happy that Ramiro is able to communicate every details in Spanish.
He asks if we can stay in the RV in the park, rather than having the RV taken away and stay in a hotel, until the insurance has done their reports.

2.5 hours later, after tying the loose front to the RV frame with ropes, we are being escorted to the RV park with one officer in the police car and one in the RV. The gate is already closed but the flashing lights alerts the park attendant and he opens up to let us in. He is very friendly and suggest we park along the side until tomorrow morning.
He checks out the damages and suggests that tomorrow he will find someone who can fix the fiberglass. Ramiro suggests that the mirror gets welded.
For now we want to settle down and deal with everything tomorrow.

We open a bottle of wine. We don’t talk, but just sit, hug and I cry.
I prepare something to eat and we agree that we consider ourselves very blessed that the damage is minimal. It may look bad, but it could have been a lot worse.

In our conversation we recall, reading that the high deductible could cost us a lot of money. But, we also know that it’s only money. We have a roof over our head, but most importantly we still have each other.