April 11, 2009. Mexico. The Beach.

When we first arrived at Punta Mita the beaches were crowded. During the three hours we were there, the people poured down the little lanes and alleys to find their spot on the beach. It was quite a sight. Whole families and extended families arrived all together, bringing everything but the kitchen sink. They brought chairs and large beach umbrellas. They brought coolers. They brought pots full of food and every type of beach toys under the sun, all to spend the whole day at the beach. From young children to grandparents and everything in between, everyone wanted to be at the beach. Victor tells us that this is the tradition in Mexico. If you are not working this Easter weekend, to the beach you go.

We dined at the Cafe des Artistes in Punta Mita, a very elegant restaurant. While we ate and drank, we were able to watch the action on the beach and a very happy group they were. One group of four couples of young adults arrived with all their stuff, and set up their space just to our right. I noticed then because they were all in their 20's but they had no children. While they were all in their beach covers, the dining fly was installed along with their eight chairs. It was all very efficiently done, with the instructions given by one of the women, who obviously knew how it was done. So no fuss or muss. Then the women took everything off except their bikini's, where they stretched out in the sun. The men stayed fully clothes, including hats, and stayed under the shade, drinking beer and talking and sitting in the chairs.

Next three couples arrived with two children and they chose their spot on the beach right in front of the restaurant. The two Mothers with children sat on the wall while they waited for the three men and one women erected the dining fly for shade. Fortunately they were a very congenial group of people, and good natured too, because they had no idea how to install this fancy shade. The box was opened and all parts dumped out on the sand. Two of the young men started to put the pieces together but it was not working properly so they tried a second method. It also failed except now they have two people holding up two sides. We can not hear what they were saying, but you could kind of guess. Finally, someone suggested that instructions should have been in the box, and low and behold, there it was. The four of them all laughed and one man wore the instructions as a hat. The lady who had no children finally got the instructions, and started to give out the directions, and finally a kind man walking along the beach gave a critical suggestion, which allowed them to put the whole thing up and functioning well. This took them an hour to install this cover. When it was finally in place, the Policeman came along and told them that they could not keep it there, because the view from the fancy restaurant was being occluded. They laughed and cheerfully picked it up and moved to another spot on the beach. By the end of the day, I bet a lot of burned people would be headed home, all happy as clams.