Bichos, Bats and Beaches

The Month of December is in Full Swing.

I have a little work and a little play in my agenda, and I started the month off right with a two night trip to La Libertad. Dan Hinkle's grandparents John and Beverly came to see the Savior and made great beachhouse-mates... playing cards, sipping sangria and dishing out lightning fast, one-line zingers.

Some local Beachies
Waiting for the Mytical Green Flash

Heading out for a twilight fish?

Jugando....

Salvadoran Sea Cows

With the change of the season, I have had a new array of plagues in my house. They all keep me company...

The Latest Intruder

They stop by several times a day. Tito and his little sister.
Despite local gossip, she is NOT my child.

BATS! They came back, unfortunately.

Milena and Carmen (or is it Cristina?) after we spent the morning selling chicken.

My Neighbors across the street.
The Little boy looks like Bobby Hill to me...

My pet Leafcutter ants.
These guys are HUGE and go crazy for citrus fruit.

I don't know what species of spider this is, but those tiles are 12in x 12in.
After I took this I went back to take another with something
else in the photo for scale, and he was gone. Cold Shivers.

Another Ant, working away.

Despite my new hatered for shampoo, like I said, I love seeing the finished product. Here is the first in a soon-to-be-expanded line of handmade shampoos. Champu de Manzanilla... or Chamomile shampoo...

Ooohh La La!

Things finally got BETTER!

After about a week long bummer fest, things in El Salvador have finally, finally, fallen into place.

Some frustrations came up with my ADESCO members. They're really protective over me, to a fault, and were trying to take the lead on getting me a house. They had chosen a little, dark, no electricity, no water craphole. (Literally, the latrine was a nearly full craphole in the ground).

I vetoed, and found myself a spacious, electroded, superpad (photos to come once I have it looking better). So far, all but one of the bats have moved out, and I've patched the roof up nicely.

My friend Nancy came over to help me hacer limpieza, and she we shared some hot toast and jelly with icy Salva cola on the front porch. She informed me of the tasty treasure trove in my yard. Cocos, limes, jocotes, chiles, mangos and bananas (which are about a week or two from being ready to pick and eat)

That, plus the garden beds I plan on putting in once I'm a little more settled will make for some good eating.

My host family has been really moody about my leaving. Despite my insistance that it is just as far from my house to theirs as it is from theirs to mine, they say it is just way too far for them, but not so far for me. Pish Posh. I guess I am being a little moody too.

There has been some chambre concerning the love life of yours truly here in both El Cocalito and all interested parties of La Barra de Santiago. My salvadoran friends and family want so badly for my life to be like a telenovela (as do I, on occasion) that they really like to embellish the littlest things. But that is a story I will save for another post.

With that, here is wishing a happy retirement to my Aunt Kathleen, and speedy recovery to Aunt Judy.

With Love.