Monday, December 8, 2014

Mexico ~ San Pancho

Our dad lives in a little Mexican village called San Pancho that is about a 30 minute cab ride from Bucerias. The drive was absolutely beautiful and as we drove through the jungle towards this little town I started to see why he chooses to live down there. As we pulled off the highway and into the little village I was overwhelmed immediately by the culture and the diversity of the people that inhabit it's crowded little streets. The streets are so narrows that with cars parked on both sides there is really only comfortable space for one car to drive at a time.

Our first stop in San Pancho was at an amazing non-profit society Entre Amigos group space where we did a lengthy tour of all of their facilities, including a library, gift shop, kids play area, glass bottle recycling centre, sewing shop, second hand store, coffee shop, circus facilities and so much more. The group's main goals are to recycle everything they can and to sponsor mexican children from their village to go to school. They make and sell all sorts of glass works and even some fun toys all made from recycled products. We bought one for Jordie and he loves it! Their Facebook profile page is HERE. Check it out for so much more about them than I could ever tell you!










































































After our tour of the centre we walked out towards the parking lot and Dad explained to us that this is San Pancho's post office! There are very limited hours and if there is mail for you then your name goes on a list and once you pick it up you scratch your name off the list. Very primitive but for this little town it works!
 

And of course James found a friendly dog to pet!


Next up was lunch at a very authentic Mexican restaurant where the server spoke almost no English and the menu was almost completely in Spanish. It was awesome food and a wonderful family meal all together, even if Ben was so hungover he could barely talk and we learned quickly that a lot of Mexican places do not have toilet seats or toilet paper! I was glad I learned that before I made a trip to the bathroom....and was very glad Dad's suite was just a block from the restaurant so I had the luxury of using a toilet with a seat!

 

A worker fixing the road right outside the restaurant




















It was great to see where Dad is living these days and to know that he is doing what he loves best. He is sitting on the beach with his dog and playing crib with new friends every day. His little suite is tiny, with just a bed, small table and chairs and a tiny bathroom, but it does have an awesome roof top deck that he shares with just two other guys for the winter where they hang out and cook and visit.


























Our last stop in San Pancho was just a block from Dad's place and was literally the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen in my life. It was white sand with roaring waves and maybe 150 total people in a huge expanse of beach. It felt like we were all alone and I wish we could have spent hours exploring the lagoon on the side of the beach but sadly we ran out of time and had to head back to the resort. This is a definite must do for our next trip to Mexico.








  











 It really was just so beautiful that it kind of took my breath away, and I live near the ocean where I can see and smell the water daily but this was just very different!


A cropped picture of C&T where their kids were all squinting but they looked great!





Such a genuine smile from Livie




Cropped from the family photo where the others weren't all looking

Woohoo....a family photo with Dad's eyes open and everyone looking in the same direction!










Cute daddy/son moment captured while they splashed in the water by themselves. James got absolutely soaked and loved every second of it!




Now some scenery pictures of just the beach







Great photo of Dad and Uncle Garry at the little beach front marketplace while some kids got changed and the rest of us shopped around


Adorable Grandpa/James moment captured while they walked back up the street to Grandpa's suite and where the cabs were waiting for us

Overall our day in San Pancho was just wonderful. I can absolutely see why Dad chose this little town to live in!!

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