Back In Santa Cruz

We left Mexico on the 13th of March and arrived in Santa Cruz on the 16th, in time for Christine to show us the ropes before leaving on the 18th to join Kenny in Vietnam. From there, they are heading to Cambodia and Laos. They will be back home on April 7th and we're planning to leave for home on the 9th after celebrating Christine's birthday on the 8th with them.



Views from West Cliff Road


Ziggy helping Stan read his papers in the morning

Our Time at La Casa de Gagliardi

We had a great time and the six weeks we spent with Frank and Anna just flew by. Thanks for the fantastic hospitality!

One of our many get togethers with Elio, Silvia, Bianca and Perla as well as Anna's sisters during their visit from Italy.



Our weekly oyster feast


Casa Gagliardi taking shape


Is this Stan Zappata?


Mexican dancing lesson from Elio


A little plumbing work


Anna doing a little barbecuing - isn't this a man's job? Where is Frank? Oh yes, the doctor told him to take it easy...


Guess he only listens to the doctor when there is work involved, hey Franco???


Where there is wine you'll find me...


View of the main living area

Morning routine - coffee on the front porch for Frank and Anna

Snapshots of Pitillal

Another litter of puppies...


Boy going up a field on his horse on a Saturday morning


Benson the Second


A young family living near Frank and Anna


Roosters and hens everywhere


Schoolgirl waiting for bus in the morning - using her mother's chair (she's a bus checker)


White egrets hanging around with the cows


Woman doing her laundry outside her house; her horse is standing nearby


This pinto horse was tethered to a tree nearby for most of the time we were there - he was often visited by the mare and her foal


Another puppy sight in the morning


Bougainvilla in full bloom everywhere


Roman catholic church in Pitillal


We found many dogs on roofs in the mornings


Streetscape


Mare and foal on side of the road, also wandering the streets


Container garden


A herd of horses roaming through a playground


This burro woke us up throughout the night for the 10 days or so he was tethered in a nearby yard - hee-haw hee-haw!


One of the many cows roaming through the streets but always coming back to the milking station in the morning


Boys waiting for the school bell in the morning


Someone from the county comes around to a local corner store and innoculates dogs against rabbies for free. It was very hard for me not to beg for one of those puppies!

Antonietta and Franca's Mexican Adventure

Anna's sisters, Antonietta and Franca came from Italy for 10 days. They are great gals and we had a blast.

The three sisters


Franca relaxing on the back patio


Getting a temporary tattoo at Los Muertos Beach


Antonietta and Waco, the parrot


With Perla


The four Graces...


On the beach at Boca de Tomates - pretty much deserted during the week


The tree sisters at the base of an enormous Banyan tree on the way to Boca de Tomates Beach


Franca and Franco dancing up a storm - Click on the play arrow

Elio, Silvia, Bianca, Perla -and Carlos the eldest) and family

Hanging around the family truck - Elio yet fixing something...


Carlos, his wife and new baby, Morgan


With Bianca


Bianca


With Perla and Lupo, their little dog


Elio relaxing after a hard week's work


Silvia and Perla with Waco in the background (those are bananas from one of their trees)


Waco, the parrot. She has a great vocabulary and she sings too; she was a great part of our entertainment in PV! Here she is singing the praises of Mexico - I couldn't get too close as she would stop singing...