Enjoying Hutalco for the last time this year!

Mary went for a walk to catch the sunrise and took some more pictures of the villas surrounding us.

We had Huevos Rancheros for breakfast plus the assortment of fruit that we also enjoy so much.

It was close to noon and we were still in the pool. We were finishing the last beers and eating chip, salsa and quesadillas. The day was beautiful!

Christopher had the bottom of the bottle of Mezcal and ate the worm too!

Rebeca packed sandwiches for everybody so we could eat them for dinner on the plane.

The cars came to pick us up and we had to come back a couple of times because a couple of the Ferrer boys forgot stuff.

We were the last ones checking in at the counter. Jonathan forgot that he had his nice pocket knife with him in his carry-on and we tried to check it in but it was too late.

The trip home was uneventful. Chicago was waiting for us with a 10 degree weather and snow on the ground. The limo couldn't drive in our driveway because of the snow.

Adios Huatulco, we'll miss you :(

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Day number 7

We’re having a blast!

Mary and Diego took a walk around the neighborhood around 7:00 AM. They found several paths taking them to several cliffs and beaches. They took a particular good picture of a small green bird with a yellow chest.

We had Mexican-style French toast for breakfast, scrambled eggs, fruit plate, yogurt and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Around 10:00 am Doug, Diego, Jonathan, Megan and Ainslie left to go to La Entrega to go snorkeling. Carlos picked us up in his Suburban and left us with his friends at the restaurant “Langosta Gorda” (Fat Lobster). We left our t-shirts, towels and other belongings in one of the chairs and went snorkeling. A tour guide suggested he would take us to see the very large school of fish with thousands of them and guide us to the cave. We declined and were lucky enough to see both. The large school was incredible, even though it looked like a dark coral underneath us. Once in a while fish would flip on their side and they would shine like silver. The water was kind of murky at first and I felt bad that I took the bunch there but as we moved towards the rocks the sea view got a lot better. We approached the cave and Jonathan, Ainslie and I went in. At the beginning it was kind of scary as the current moves you in and out and against the rocks in either side, but once you go through, you get to a shallow open space and you’re able to stand up. There’s an opening above you, so it’s not really a cave but a space between the rocks. We took a couple of pictures and continue snorkeling to the next small beach. We took a little rest and shared our “fish stories”. Diego dropped his underwater camera without noticing it but he was lucky enough to have Jonathan pick it up.

After snorkeling a bit more we went all to the beach and ordered drinks, guacamole and chips. The beach was getting busier by the minute as local Mexican tourists came in large boats and took snorkeling tours. We enjoyed people-watching.

Carlos took us back to Villa Pacifico where we were greeted with a pitcher of sangria. Later on we were served salsa, guacamole, chips and quesadillas with ham. During the afternoon most of the kids played around the pool.

Mary started packing around 3:00 PM to be able to spend more time having fun later on.

Christopher and Alexander took a taxi to town. They had a cup of coffee and smoked cigars overlooking the center square. After that Christopher bought a few souvenirs for his friends including small bottles of Mezcal with a worm in them. They both arrived safely back. Alexander finished his cigar at the villa.

Mary walked to Playa Arenas once more. Diego was a baby complaining about his sun-rash and stayed at the villa writing this silly post while his wife was in danger of being kidnapped :)

In the meantime Betsy was checking the weather back at home. She warned us of snow and low temperatures..I say: Let's enjoy Huatulco weather while we can!

We finished the day with a spaghetti dinner and watching tennis on the TV.

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Chilaquiles, Tejoncito, Playa Arenas, Mole, fried bananas and live music in town.

Breakfast included Chilaquiles, which is a Mexican dish of tortilla chips with on a bed of salsa, covered with cheese and sour cream and onions. After breakfast a group of us went to Playa Arenas and setup the canopy that Diego improvised with an IKEA tarp, and PCV pipes. We brought a cooler with beer, water and pop. Diego, Jonathan & Christopher attempted fishing and Mary went exploring. Alexander smoked a pipe while Doug and Megan went snorkeling. The sea was very wavy so there the water was too sandy to see anything clear with the masks. The weather was perfect once again.
We had salsa, chips and quesadillas by the pool at lunchtime. In the afternoon Diego, Mary Dough and Megan took a walk to Playa Arenas.
Dinner include chicken in Mole sauce, rice, tacos and saucy guacamole.
Diego, Mary, Doug and Betsy took a taxi to La Crucecita in the evening. We walked around town and sat down at Casa Mayor, which is a restaurant in the second floor overlooking the town center square. There was a guy singing nice Spanish songs and playing the guitar. After that we walked by Dublin but it looked dead. La Crema was packed but it seems kind of hot. We ended up at Hemmingway’s again. We sat outside and listened to live music. We were greeted by Alfredo once more who spent a lot of time with us talking. A group of English-speaking people came in and we found out there were from Freeport, Illinois. The singer sang some of our requested songs.

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Lizards, Tequila Sunrise & Animal Balloons

Today it was another peaceful day at the villa. We spent a lot of the time at the pool. After breakfast we walked to Playa Arena, went swimming in the ocean, and looked for crabs, shells and other sea creatures. The kids played with the Frisbee and a group walked to the rocks that divide the beach, while others rode the waves.
At the villa, we had salsa and chips and had sandwiches for lunch. We saw an iguana climbing in one of the bogenvillia bushes, and some geckos walking on the wall. Diego went to prepare a tequila drink and Rebeca suggested mixing it with orange juice and grenadine syrup: a perfect tequila sunrise!
Hugo pulled out the balloon pump and made balloon animals for the kids. Christopher and Alexander had a restful siesta on the hammocks.
Rebeca planned a dinner with pasta and a choice of shrimp or chicken sauce. Dessert was fried bananas and vanilla ice cream.

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Day at the villa and evening in town

Today, we decided to stay and enjoy the villa. Rebeca, as always, had a great breakfast for us in the morning. We lounged around the pool most of the day. The kids wanted to go back and grab some coconuts from a nearby coconut tree down the block. Rebeca overheard them talking and called her friend on the phone, who has a large property with plenty of coconut trees and a ladder to climb them. She drove them there and came back with a trunk full of coconuts (45 according to Nicky). Pretty soon we were drinking coconut water with a straw after Hugo cut them open with a machete.
Mary went with Christopher to Tejoncito beach, while the rest of us stayed. Christopher and Diego were mixing alcoholic drinks with coconut water.
For lunch we had Tlayudas, sometimes erroneously spelled Clayuda, which are handmade dishes part of the traditional Mexican cuisine of Oaxaca, consisting of a large and thin crunchy partially fried and filled with cheese meat and vegetables.
Carlos picked us up at 5:00 PM to take us to town. We walked around the square, peeked into the church; Jonathan bought a sombrero and Nick a hacky sack. We had drinks at El Patio and ended up at Hemmingway’s where we were served by the owner Alfredo. We had Mojitos, Bohemia beer, Rum & Coke, quesadillas, guacamoles and other dishes.
We came back to the villa around 9:00 PM. Doug, Diego, Alex and Christopher stayed up watching tennis on the TV.
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Boating Day

They day started with an early breakfast. Carlos was ready to pick us up in his van at 9:15 AM. He drove us to the marina; we paid the marina fee (5 pesos/person) and boarded the boat. We had a 42 foot yacht. Rogelio (Gelio) the captain and his two skippers (Adrian & Miguel) treated us excellent. They had a cooler full of beer, pop and water. They set up two fishing lines behind the boat and most of the kids had a chance to pull a nice Bonito fish.
We saw sea turtles along the way, and tons of fish swirling by the surface of the water. Birds were also flying by try to catch them. Once in a while we would see sea rays swimming by.
Our first destination was San Agustin. Gelio setup anchor close to the beach and everybody got their snorkeling gear. Adrian and Miguel were the tour guides in the snorkeling trip and showed us sea urchins (white and black). Some of the kids held the white ones. They showed us star fish and surgeon fish. An exciting moment was when Miguel held a blow fish in his hands as it tried to puff up and swim away.
Later on we navigated close the shore and went to La India beach, where we did some more snorkeling.
Finally we arrived at El Maguey beach where we sat down at a restaurant on the beach. Among the food that we ate include grilled shrimp, whole fried fish, and steak and fish tacos. We also had some pina coladas, margaritas, cuba libres and beer. We ordered two pitchers of fresh lemonade for the kids.
Carlos took back to the villa where Rebeca treated us with green and red enchiladas and a nice noodle soup.

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First full day

The first full day in Huatulco was a blast! We walked to the nearby beach (Tejoncito). To get there we had to climb up and down a long trail of steps. The kids did a little snorkeling. Christopher & Diego attempted fishing from the rocks with the fishing rods they brought. Mary explored the rock and collected shells, corals and rocks. Alexander & Diego went swimming to the buoy and waved back.

The rest of the day we spent it at the pool. Everybody played games and jumped from the balcony.

As always we had a delicious lunch.

Diego & Mary walked to the other nearby beach (Punta Arenas). Everybody was too happy in the pool to go with them.

Rebeca prepared a great dinner to finish up the evening.
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