SailingKnitter

Yeah, Opal thinks she's hiding among the balls of KnitPicks Palette yarn from my latest design work. Don't the colors of the yarn match her fur? Now I wonder if her calico coat is where I got the idea for this particular colorway for my swatch in the photo below.

I spent a good hour clearing off the counter behind the setee on the boat and within a few moments she discovered this spot and claimed it for herself. Oh well, keeps her off of my computer keyboard! She's only "ours" for a few more days, then her real peoples will be back here in Mexico to claim her. I hope she's had a good time at the Niki Wiki summer camp!

We've survived the summer of HOT & HUMID - wait, it's still 97 degrees and 75% humidity. But in just a few weeks we will be allowed out of the marina to cruise again!!! Whooo hoooo!

In the meantime, we've been keeping busy with some local travel around the Puerto Vallarta area, to Ixtapa. Where's Ixtapa? Who knows - so we boarded a bus that had Ixtapa listed as one of it's destinations. After a bumpy climb up the mountain on a rutted and rocky dirt road, the bus stopped in Pittillal. Dang. End of the line again! We had to wait for another bus to begin it's route DOWN the mountain and over to Ixtapa.


So we wandered around a little up in this remote area. These pink/purple pom-pom flowers were everywhere. During this wet, green season, there are fewer flowers than during the dry season so it was nice to see some color. check out the termite mud tunnels on this dead tree! Termites are one of the reasons why homes here are built with cinderblocks and cement. No wood! We've seen extensive damage to furniture and wood trimmings here in the tropics due to termites. Nasty little critters.


And speaking of critters, here's a pic of some of the neighborhood chickens looking for good eats (bugs) in the lush growth. I wonder how local folks keep track of whose chickens are whose? Chickens are everywhere!

Also, all around Mexico, there are beautiful, polished, wood posts decorating bars and restaurants. These decorations have creeping vines of other wood wrapped around a main trunk. We found this tree in a field which shows how these wooden posts are created naturally! So, they peel off the bark of both the vine and the tree, polish it up, and voila!

Soon the bus was ready to take us to Ixtapa. Jonesy waited by the bus to make sure they didn't leave without us. Just another day in paradise.