Just Hanging Out At The Beach

There is a beautiful stretch of beach just south of Centro San Clemente where the fisherman have their boats. We have seen a great deal of pelicans as well as the blue-footed boobies just hanging out.

They look pretty happy and are not disturbed by people walking by or the fisherman working nearby.

 

“Follow Me, and I Will Make You Fishers of Men.”

The Catholic church at the entrance to San Clemente recently received a new coat of paint. Today I noticed the beautiful painting on the entrance wall. This is a wonderful tribute to a fishing village.

If anyone knows the artist please let me know so I can give him/her credit.

New Boat Motors

Back in Early October our friends Keith and Becky Williams sent me this information and photos of new boat motors being handed out in San Clemente. I am going to reprint their email below:

One weekday recently, I was driving down the Route Del Sol of San Clemente and I suddenly saw over 30 pickup trucks lined on both sides of the road. I also saw a tractor-trailer unloading giant boxes while over 100 local people watched. I immediately pulled over to check it out. I was shocked when one family opened one of the large boxes to see a brand new, 100% Japanese made, Yamaha 40hp Enduro outboard. I know all about these outboards. They are super heavy duty outboards made especially for third world countries for salt water fishing. They are built to last 20+ years ! They are not sold in the U.S. because they last too long ! If one ever was sold in the U.S., it would cost over $5,500..I was shocked again when a fisherman told me that 70 of these were delivered and each one was sold to a fishing family for only $1700. I learned that the Ecuadorian Government subsidizes these outboards to help the people stay employed. I didn’t see large sums of cash paying for the outboards. Instead, I saw a table where three men registered each family wanting one and the family signing for them. I was impressed and amazed at how happy the families were and that their government really cares about them. now, I get to watch the fisherman use them almost every day. Ecuador is an adventure !

Best, Keith

thanks Keith and Becky for a great story and pictures.

High Tides

The paper called it an aguaje with higher than normal tides. The waves were crazy wild and even kept me from walking the beach most days last week.

The fishermen who keep their boat at the end of some of the beaches moved them onto the streets behind to keep them safe. We take our coffee to a spot about a block from our house and sit most mornings enjoying the ocean and fresh air. One day I noticed that the picket fence surrounding the fishermen’s cottage was a bit eroded the next day the fence was gone.

Always worth watching what the locals are doing, that will tell you what is happening in your community.

Nuestros Perros de la Calle

There are three dogs that protect the street we live on, The alpha dog Café is not as sociable as the other two. Beethoven and Baby Dog (my name for him as he has none that I know of) will sometimes come with me on my walks. That can be a good or bad thing depending upon the other dogs that are out and about.

This picture was taken from an empty lot near our home that overlooks the water. Joe and I bring our coffee many mornings and sit here just enjoying the water. This day the fishermen were dragging in their nets and two of our street dogs were very interested in the catch – or could it have been the birds?

They are working dogs and do an excellent job of informing all the neighborhood if something is not right. I did find that they do not like yellow taxis, have a true hatred for certain cars or maybe a driver who is driving too fast. Caution is necessary as they are not friendly. A friend from San Jacinto dropped by to visit one day while Baby Dog was sitting at our gate – Ken went to pet the dog and was snapped at. Thank goodness his reaction was fast or he would have gotten bit.  Because we have been feeding them for some time these two are very friendly towards both Joe and I. As soon as they realize it is us walking the street or disembarking the dreaded yellow taxi, they stop their barking and go about their business. It is good to be accepted!

Found on the Beach – WHAT Is It?

Now if you are going to start to ask what this is, I am going to let you know right off, I have no idea. It was on the beach one day while I was walking, it looked to me like half sting-ray and half fish…maybe half shark.

I did not get too close, I know it was already dead but again I did not get too close. Sometimes when the fishermen are hauling in their nets things get tangled up and end up in them that are not of interest to the fishermen. Usually within a few minutes a frigate bird has scooped it up. And the beach is once again clean…works for me!

Here is a close up to help you name this fishy for me.

My first email and comment came from John and Mary MacDonald our neighbors here in San Clemente. See what they wrote”

John Macdonald	8:38 AM (50 minutes ago)

Nancy,

I did a little reading on the guitarfish after Mary found the picture in our book and learned that they are in the ray family.  Google search has a lot of material on them and notes that the body is sort of a blend between shark and ray.  I think if you saw this swimming toward you near the surface the dorsal fin would convince you that it was a shark.

When I was out whale watching we saw some fish that I was sure were large sharks, but the fishermen told me they were Manta rays.  They have a large dorsal fin that looks like it came straight out of “Jaws!”

Have a great day,

John and Mary

Thanks John and Mary, I am learning so much about our new hometown.

Nancy

Trouble in Paradise Part 4

This mural reads SAVE THE BEACH. What were those lyrics – paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Trouble in Paradise Part 3

What do you think about an elevated highway right on the beach in San Clemente? This sign illustrates the beach with the highway and without it and asks, what do you think?

I’m still trying to figure out where the money is coming from. What will be the impact on the fisherman, the environment, the other small businesses in town, tourism? This road hurts or destroys tourism, how can anyone, with a straight face, say this highway will help tourism? Who would possibly benefit? And how did they convince those in power.

Somebody commented how interesting it is that it might be easier to transport drugs to waiting boats? Could drug money be behind this?

Right before we moved into our home here in Clemente bales and bales of drugs were found hidden on the rocks on the shoreline very close to our new home awaiting transport by boat.  See the articles below:

http://dialogo-americas.com/en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2012/07/30/ecuador-submarine

http://blogs.razzjango.com/Scoundrel/mexicans-arrested-for-alleged-drug-trafficking-in-ecuador/

Again, what is the motivation behind this highway? I can’t see any benefit to this small community, especially because we already have a Pacific Coast Highway!

Los Delfines Del Norte de San Clemente – Cooperativa De Produccion Pesquera Artesanal

When we walk to our beach we have seen this very small building with a nice sized porch area under construction. We were not sure if it was going to be a house or was it part of one of the other properties located right on the beach. A few weeks ago this sign went up on the building.

Still not sure what it will be used for but it seems to be owned by the fisherman who work on what we consider our beach.

Walking home from town yesterday we saw all these poles and all the fishing boats were gone. These poles are used to roll the boats down to the water and then back. This artisan fishermen have done this for ages, no fancy trailers, just palm or balsa wood poles. The younger boys do the moving of the poles from back to front while the older guys push the boats along with two rollers one in front and one in the middle under the boat. 

Looks like the wheels on Fred Flintstones car. Very simple technique but it works!