Porvenier kids 12 

Porvenier kids 11 

Porvenier kids 10 

Porvenier kids 9 

Porvenier kids 8 

Porvenier kids 7 

Porvenier kids 6 

Porvenier kids 4 

Porvenier kids 5 

El Porvenier church 

El Porvenier Kindergarten school 

Jeff, Alejandra & Ann  

Setting up to serve the kids in Bucerias 2 

Street next to school in Bucerias 

Bucerias kids 1 

Serving the kids in Bucerias 2 

Serving the kids in Bucerias 

Setting up to serve the food 

Porvenier kids3 

Porvenier kids2 

Porvenier Kids1 

Coming Home

We are back in the states for our much anticipated three-month visit with family and friends. It’s hard for me to believe that it has been six months since we left San Diego. Never having done this before, we weren’t sure how we would take to the cruising life style (Barry has confessed more than once that he was really concerned that I would want to high-tail it back to the states within the first month). Well, fortunately that wasn’t the case! I count our experiences these last six-months as an incredible adventure. We have seen places and things the average traveler would miss, have met other cruisers from all kinds of back-grounds, have developed a real affection for the people of Mexico, gotten to experience different aspects of their culture and enjoyed lots of wonderful food. We have also enjoyed our time at sea. There is nothing quite like being out in the vast ocean; being enveloped in its serenity at times and being challenged by the forces of nature at other times. Fortunately, we did not have any fearful experiences at sea. In short, our first season of cruising has been wonderful and we are grateful for the opportunity to do it. Hopefully, when we head south again sometime in November we will make it all the way to Costa Rica. I think I’ll feel like we really accomplished something big then!

We spent the latter part of April and first two weeks of May in Nuevo Vallarta at Paradise Village marina getting the boat ready to keep it closed up for three months. The days were getting quite warm so we tried to work in the morning, stop for lunch and then spend a couple hours at the pool. We now have a deeper appreciation for the siesta time. It gets darn hot in the middle of the day. It was in the high 80’s to low 90’s during the day and only cooled down to the mid 70’s at night. At night we slept with no covers and a fan on! Humidity was as high as 80% some days. It is actually perfect weather for vacationing in the Puerto Vallarta area. So, if you ever think of vacationing there I highly recommend the month of May. However, when you live on a boat without air conditioning the heat can really drain you. Since we will be returning to the area in August and staying until November before sailing south, we bought a used room A/C. We tested it and it really made the boat quite comfortable. It brought the temperature inside the boat down from 85 degrees to a comfortable 78 degrees. I know that we will be very glad to have that during August and September, which happen to be two of the hottest months. September is the wettest month of the year. It is not uncommon to get 2-4 inches of rain in one day. We would stay in the states longer to avoid these hot months except that there is quite a bit of work to do to the boat before we continue south next cruising season. Actually, it is all work that Barry must do so there is a possibility that I will stay longer than August. We’ll wait and see. While we are in the states we are having a screened cockpit enclosure made that will provide shade and protection from bugs when needed.

We had increased our involvement with the feeding of the school kids since being in the marina. We were especially needed the last two weeks since two of the other transient volunteers returned to the states. So, on Tuesdays I made enough rice and vegetables to feed about one hundred kids since Anne, who was doing it left for a month. It was such a blessing to feel useful again and do something that demonstrates to these precious kids that they are valuable and loved. At first we were only helping on Mondays and Tuesdays at two different schools in Bucerias (a thirty-minute bus ride from the marina). Anne would always talk about the kids on Wednesdays in El Porvenir and how special they are to her. She said as a mom raising three kids she was always fastidious about keeping hers clean and well dressed. She spoke of how dirty the kids in El Porvenir are, but that she really loves to scoop them up into her arms to hug and kiss them. She sights this as evidence that God is, as she calls it, "doing a new thing" in her life. It is apparent that even she can’t believe that she has become so attached to these little rug-rats. Well, since Anne and another volunteer, Jeff, were returning to their stateside homes in Colorado and Indiana respectively, we offered to take their place. So, for our last three weeks we have also been helping serve food to the school kids on Wednesdays in El Porvenir.
El Porvenir is a small farming community about fifteen miles northeast of Puerto Vallarta. The trip there takes you through grazing lands with lots of horses and cattle, small farms and huge mango groves (mangos are abundant everywhere in Mexico and are cheap). Frequently, you see cowboys riding through town on horseback. The heart of town has a central square surrounded by a church, an elementary school, a kindergarten, some small homes and a few family stores. We had a funny experience the first two times we got on the bus at the resort to go there. Both times we said, "to El Porvenier" and both times the two different bus drivers said "No" while shaking their head. Then, with a puzzled look asked us, "El Porvenir?" as if to make sure he heard us correctly. Once he understood that it was our intended destination, he gladly sold us a ticket. He was obviously confounded about two gringos wanting to go to this area when most get on one of the other buses headed for Puerto Vallarta or one of the surrounding coastal towns. Barry and I got a chuckle out of these two encounters with the bus drivers who weren’t used to having gringos on their route. Maybe they’ll be used to our presence after a few more trips!

Immediately we could see why Anne has such affection for these kids. They are so friendly, inquisitive and loving. During our first week there I had water gun fights with the boys. One of the older boys had two guns and he gladly gave me one to play with. The boys were in one line and the girls in another, waiting for the food to arrive. The boys wanted me to squirt them as they stood in line. When I did they would giggle with delight and want me to do it again. The other thing that they were enthralled with was our digital camera. They wanted us to take pictures of them and then they’d run over to us so we could show them the photo on the small camera display. While we were having a great time with the boys, the girls were being entertained by two teenage girls from Canada who were staying at Paradise Village Resort with their grandma who always volunteers whenever she is in town using her time share. All of this was taking place in one corner of the town square. There were lots of moms with little babies sitting on benches watching all that was going on and waiting for their older kids to get fed before walking to their homes.

I had so much fun with these kids the first week I couldn’t wait to go back. I really felt confirmation that I was where God wanted me to be. Once the kids were fed it was time for us to leave. Many of the older kids came to give us hugs, kisses and to say thank you (surprisingly, even the boys!). Those were two of the only English words they knew and I think it says a lot about the hearts of these young children. They seemed genuinely grateful for our presence. I think that was just as, or more, meaningful to them as the food we served them. My heart was truly touched by these kids.

We have been in Chula Vista one week today and have been able to connect with quite a few people. We spent one day with Amy and our two grandkids. It was so great to be with them after so long! We’ve also had time with our dear friends Don and Sue as well as Wayne and Lynn. Both made their guest rooms available to us. It’s so nice to have a car again and be able to go anywhere we want. We got our Explorer out of storage the day after we arrived and we also have the motorcycle. Today we are leaving S.D. for about two weeks. We’ll be with Barry’s mom and dad in Idyllwild until June 7th. During that time we will enjoy the annual PCI (horseshoe tournament) where we will get to see most of Barry’s family. It is always loads of fun. This year, I’m bringing my mom to the tournament. I know she will really enjoy it. We’ll visit at my parent’s house and my sister Julie’s house before returning to Chula Vista around June 13th.
I’m planning on maintaining the blog while we are stateside. So, if you want to see what we’ve been up to or what’s next on the agenda you can. Till next time . . . . Stacey