Jan 12th to 15th - San Carlos

Jan 12th - Sat - San Carlos
Rick & Pat and we went for a great kayak excursion today. We drove just partway through San Carlos to launch. The water was smooth and the temperature was perfectly warm. We went through a couple of “holes” in rocks that was initially a bit scary for me but ended up being a lot of fun. We took out the kayaks, drove to Catch-22 beach, had lunch at the Soggy Peso Bar and then the guys watched some kite surfers while Pat & I looked for shells.
We all (“group of 8” and “lot people”) went to dinner tonight to say farewell to Dave & Margo who are leaving tomorrow. We went to a Greek restaurant where they roast a whole lamb on Saturdays and have live music several nights a week. Terry & I danced a bit.
We made a special wind chime for Dave & Margo and gave it to them when we got back from dinner. I can’t believe I did not get a picture of the wind chime - we used a huge seed pod from a tree in the park for the “hanger” portion, decorated with a couple of shells and used beer cans for the “chimes”. It turned out much better than this description sounds!

Jan 13th - Sun - San Carlos
We got up early this morning to say goodbye to Dave & Margo. Terry & I went for a bike ride downtown before going to JJ’s for lunch. JJ’s has a central eating area with a grill area, a food prep “building”, a deep fry “building”, an old trailer selling tobacco & cigars and a drink/smoothie “building” around the edges. I put “building” in quotes as they are partially open sided structures. We split their carne asada Donkey which is a large burrito with spiced, grilled meat to which you add your own condiments. Another interesting experience.
Another lovely day for golfing this afternoon.

Jan 14th - Mon - San Carlos
Another trip to Hermasillo today. We started with the casino this time and it beat us all up. Then Costco for hot dogs and shopping, Home Depot and Wal Mart. Pat had shopping lists for Geri and Craig so shopping took a while. We wanted to find an outdoor market but decided to get better instructions from Pat’s masseuse instead of driving around the city looking for it.
We got back about 4:30, unloaded everything and then had a drink while we waited for a macaroni casserole (made ahead by Pat) to cook for dinner. Guess we hadn’t crammed enough into the day as we played Canasta again.

Jan 15th - Tues - San Carlos
Laundry this morning and then Pat & I took the bus to Guaymas for dentist appointments. Steve & Linda recommended another dentist. I had my teeth cleaned and had a sensitive tooth looked at. Pat had one filling and a price quote for removing a 3 tooth bridge, doing a filling underneath and replacing the bridge. She had this work priced in Canada for about $1000 more than it will cost her here. I have to get 2 fillings and am going to get a root canal, post and crown on the sensitive tooth that is nearly all metal filling right now. We both liked the dentist and felt very comfortable with his work. He used an ultrasound cleaning system that I have not experienced before and it was wonderful - very gentle and painless. My teeth were not the least bit “sore” after the cleaning as they usually are.
When we returned on the bus, we found that Terry & Rick had gone golfing so we walked to a small store for some groceries so we could make crab tostadas with the fresh crab that I bought from the fish vendor in the park this morning. We walked a little further to a clinic and I made an appointment for tomorrow to have a couple of skin issues looked at. I decided that I didn’t want to go to the dermatologist in Guaymas.
The guys had a great golf game, we had super crab tostadas together and then played Canasta to end a busy day.