Easter Dinner in Bucerias at the Trini and Ishmael Lopez home

By Jack Brummet, Mexico Travel Editor

We went to Easter dinner at our friends Trini and Ishamel Lopez's house today.  The live across the arroyo on the hill above Bucerias.  We brought along our entire crew--Keelin, Dave Hokit, Maureen Roberts, Eric and Megan Sanchez, and their two kids, Otis and Olivia.  The Sanchez's departed for the airport and San Francisco after dinner.

On Thursday, the Lopez extended family (eight of them) comes to our house for dinner (I'm cooking).    And on Friday The Ericksen-Curran family arrives (and we depart for Seattle on Sunday). 

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Photographs and video from Good Friday's crucifixion procession (Santa Via Cruces) in Bucerias

By Jack Brummet, Mexico Travel Ed

We first saw Santa Via Cruces maybe six years ago.  Many towns and cities have a full blown pageant on Good Friday.  This is more a religious instructional exercise than any sort of entertainment.  Probably 150-200 people followed the procession as it wound its way up the hill.  The procession stopped 12 times for song and prayer at each of 12 stations of the cross along the way.

Station of The Cross Stop No. 8

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Vegetables in Bucerias

By Jack Brummet, Mexican Cuisine Editor

This is a pile of vegetables that were the snack and salad/verdure part of the dinner I cooked last night for the Sanches, Curran-Brummet, and Hokit-Roberts families.  There was also a big pot of four chili carne, another pot of beans, and a mess of sauteed mushrooms.  The availability of vegetables has much improved since our first trips here in the late 90's, and it's wonderful.

We discovered--via Eric Sanchez--a great new snack:  sliced cucumbers sprinkled with lime juice, salt, and a mild chili.  Amazing.

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My niece Olivia sings a song for me. . .a loop. . .

Almost live, from Bucerias.

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Banda Music in Sayulita, Nayarit

By Jack Brummet, Mexico Travel Editor

On the beach in Sayulita today, there were thousands of Mexican tourists. The Americans and Canadians have largely cleared out (this is true of our other visits here...in April, the Americans stop coming and the Mexicans have their beaches back).  A couple clips of the drum band (and of whom I unfortunately failed to get a great clip of) and the marching band (tuba, three trombones, three trumpets, two drummers, two clarinetists, and a flugel horn player) are below.  The drum band clip includes some pretty enthusiastic booty shaking by an audience member.

I am going to write in detail about this later, but Sayulita--far different than we experienced before, when it was a pretty sleepy surfing village)--is a lot like Fort Lauderdale in the day.  By noon or so, most of the younger folk were clutching and swilling quarts of Pacifico and Modelo. 

Banda Buchona

The tuba player, soloing for KeeKee (I think he was sweet on her)

 

The unnamed drum band and their booty-shaking fan

Today, there were at least two bands playing, and sometimes competing.  Interestingly, neither of the bands even passed the hat. . .or sold CDs...

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A painting for Good Friday/Black Friday I saw today in Sayulita, Nayarit

By Jack Brummet, Mexican Travel Editor

A fascinating and probably controversial painting I saw today in a gallery in Sayulita (a town maybe 20 miles up the coast from Bucerias, about which more later tonight...).

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Faces No. 283 - Gringos!

By Jack Brummet

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Poem: Joshua Brought The Jericho Walls Tumbling Down

By Jack Brummet

Jericho was locked down tighter than a submarine.
It made Helms Deep and Fort Knox look porous.

Joshua studied the walls, trying to find a way in,
When a man with whirling gaslight eyes appeared.

"Hey you! Spook! Are you for us, or against us?"
The spook whirled around, rattled his sword

And grew ten feet tall and five feet wide.
"I am the General of all Generals."

It was The Lamplighter himself. "Take the shoes
From your feet on my holy ground,

And follow the ark, with seven priests with seven trumpets.”
Joshua told the peasants, "All right, beat feet!”

Seven priests tooting seven horns led the parade
Around and around and around Jericho

Like Sambo marched the tigers around the tree,
Or the way the earth spins in the dark around the sun.

They marched in silence six long days.
On the seventh day they lit out at dawn

Behind the seven priests and seven trumpets
And marched around the city seven times.

After the seventh orbit, the priests blew a cadenza
And Joshua said to the people, "Shout"

They roared louder with each passing minute,
And the walls came tumbling down.

They destroyed everything with a heartbeat:
Every man, woman, animal and bug,

Young, old, red, yellow, black and white,
Fell on the sword.

Joshua was the Lord’s boy now.
He became famous throughout the country

And put the hairy eyeball on anyone
Who even thought about resurrecting Jericho.
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Bucerias Travel Pals

By Jack Brummet, Mexico Travel Editor

On the first week of our trip to Bucerias, Nayarit, KeeKee and I have been joined by the Sanchez family--Megan and Eric, my sister-in law and brother-in law, and their two children, Otis Valentino and Olivia Jane (four and two).  On Saturday, our travel pals since the mid-80's, Maureen Roberts and Dave (known in Bucerias as Senor Daveed) Hokit, arrive.  This will be the fourth time we've been together in Bucerias.  And then, the Friday after that, Dean Ericksen, Mary Curran, their children, Declan, Augie, and Althea arrive along with some friends of theirs from Athens, GA, arrive.   On Friday, we surrender our casa to them and move across the street for two days.  On Sunday, April 15th, after two weeks here, we head back to Seattle. 

Eric

Otis Valentino

 Olivia Jane

Megan Curran Sanchez (it's barely possible to get a pic w/o a youth entangled in some fashion).

My number one travel partner, Keelin (with Trini Lopez, one of our local friends)

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Billy's Gym in Bucerias

By Jack Brummet, Mexico Travel Editor

After a couple days of slacking (but still walking many miles a day around town), I joined Billy's Gym in Bucerias (two weeks=200 pesos, or $16 American).  It is totally a lifter's gym, but they have some decrepit treadmills and stationary bikes, which is what I want.  What was most interesting about the place was the statue out front.   It is based on--at least this is what Billy told me--a Spanish artist who paints various celebrities in gordo versions (I've seen reproductions here of his Elvis, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kiss, and other people).  Anyhow, this is obviously his, or his local imitator, version of the Marilyn Monroe Times Square shot.  It was originally commissioned by a now defunct rock club upstairs from Billy's.  When they folded up their tents, they left the statue.  I'm glad they did. 

Keelin spends a lot of time in the surf swimming, but I am finding it hard to swim seriously with the breakers constantly rolling in.  And besides, on the bike at the gym, I get to listen to music and TBTL.  Then, when I swim, I can just body surf and get tossed around in the waves without sweating whether or not it's cardio-effective...

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Shaggy Dog Story No. 15: The Brass Rat

The Brass Rat

A man walked into an antique shop. He looked around for a while and then noticed a beautiful brass rat. He picked up the brass rat and asked the shop owner how much it cost.

The owner said, "It's $10 for the brass rat and $1,000 for the story". The man paid the owner $10 and left the store with his brass rat.

As he left the store he noticed a little furry face peering at him from the gutter. Then he saw another furry whiskered face watching him. As he walked along the street he began to see rats everywhere he looked. They were coming out of trash cans, running out of downspouts, dropping down from roofs. They were everywhere!

The man began walking faster, hoping to get away from the rats but soon thousands were following him. He started running and tens of thousands of rats followed him, running even faster. He began to panic as hundreds of thousands of rats chased him. As he ran he noticed that he was approaching the river. In horror he saw millions of rats closing in on him and he had no means of escape!

He ran to the river bank and hurled the brass rat into the water. He watched as tens of millions of rats jumped into the water and drowned!

The man was quite shaken by all of this. He ran back to the antique shop and burst through the door. "So," the owner said. "You are back for the story?"

"No," the man said. I was just wondering if you had any brass politicians."

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Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico - first two days

By Jack Brummet, Travel Editor

Casa Andrea (our home for two weeks)

Outside the Roman Catholic church in Bucerias on Palm Sunday (standing room only)

What did they cross out here?  My son Colum took this horseback excursion

a few years ago--an all day trip into the jungle.

Strange dust writings on a car from Oregon

My brother-in-law Eric Sanchez airs out his 'tats.

my niece Olivia Jane Sanchez

My nephew Otis Valentino Sanchez

A sad sign...

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