For the past week, the weather’s been just about perfect here in Melaque. Still red flag conditions down on the water, but the resort we’re parked at has a nice pool. No complaints there.
Our days mostly consist of a bit of school with the boys in the morning followed by some sort of fun local exploration in the afternoon/ evening. Some days, there is laundry to pick up or drop off. Other days, an ATM run is in order—no small feat given that the nearest ATM is deep in the Centro (a 40-minute walk from the RV park).
We try to vary our routes into town. The gridded layout makes this feasible, but really there are only two practical ways to go if we don’t want to add considerable time and distance.
One of our regular walking routes takes us by this guy. The boys like to see what he’s up to, which generally means one of two things—standing and eating, or just standing.
Chavakiah might be the most eclectic and artisan coffee shop in town (and it’s reflected in their prices). We’ve been wanting to check it out, but wanted to wait until the right day to do so. That’s today, apparently. Good stuff.
Noe’s favorite book of the moment. Spanish and English and lots of pictures. His English reading is just on the cusp of taking off, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he graduates to fewer pictures in the near future. For now, we’re enjoying the fact that our seven-year-old’s favorite book is a Spanish-English dictionary.
Another lagoon behind town (or maybe an extension of Laguna del Tule—it’s hard to tell). It’s also hard to say whether this one is croc-infested as well.
There was an eight-foot croc spotted on the other side of town (near Trailer Park Melaque) just yesterday with a warning posted to social media, so they do exist.
Apparently, Canadians have their own season here. Which must tell you a thing or two about what Melaque’s like in other parts of the year.
Passing on the ancient art to the next generation.
Riley’s preferred spot for doing his 30 minutes of home school app. I don’t blame him.
Kid hour at the pool. Today, they did something extra special.
Riley loves his face painted. Wherever you’ll find a large group of children in Mexico, you can rest assured there’ll be face painting.
Not a lot of RVers here these days. But there are a lot of coach buses that basically use the RV park as a parking lot or rest area.
Generally, it’s not too much of an issue, but there are a couple of loud and stinky diesel pushers that turn on and off their engines for eight hours straight.
Kind of detracts from the palm-fringed beach vibe, but there’s not a lot you can do. Better than an RV Caravan, I suppose.
In other news, our aspiring mini-Cousin-It paid us a visit. Come to think of it, has anyone seen Riley lately?
The hotel lobby. Nothing unusual here.
The portal to the outside world that is Melaque.
We’ve been itching for a good hike lately. That’s not to say we aren’t getting in our steps. Just getting to/from town has us averaging over 10,000 these days. You know how I know that? Noe asks every hour or so. He’s even started counting his own steps—you know, because his legs are shorter and he doesn’t want to be shortchanged by what my phone says.
With that all said, this is our first bonafide hike since Mother’s Day, so we’re pretty excited. It’s taken us two weeks to do it because it’s four miles roundtrip from our RV just to get to the beginning of the actual trail, so there was a bit of feet dragging in that respect.
But today’s the day we do the Melaque Mirador!
There’s no way you’d know it’s dry season if I didn’t tell you, right?
This hike is about 2.5 miles roundtrip from the highway, and gains about 300 feet of elevation from sea level, so it’s not what I would call an intense hike.
Like I said, the hardest part for us was gathering up the motivation to get ourselves to the trailhead. But it was definitely worth it for the views!
The Melaque Mirador hike follows the ridge of the headland on the westernmost edge of town. At times, the crest of the peninsula narrows to only about 50 feet, offering stunning views on both sides, particularly facing west toward the dramatic Jalisco coastline and deep blue waters of the Pacific. It’s not hike you want to lose sight of your kids on.
The viewpoint at the end of the trail has a smattering of mysterious graffiti-clad structures. This one appears to be an altar, but smells like a bathroom.
Hard to say if this was once a restaurant, residence, or utility company post. Whatever it may have been at one time, it hasn’t been that for a while.
Whatever it was used for, they had a pretty nice view.
The return hike offers a different perspective on Melaque from behind.
It’s that time of the day, again—pool time!
Today, pool time migrated a few meters over, quickly becoming beach time.
Quiet time! Riley’s been wanting to sit in his “room” and listen to tunes more. None of us are complaining.
I was awakened this morning to a strange, yet familiar aroma. Lori, is that you?
Noe wanted to try his hand at what I taught him a few days earlier. Lori helped facilitate that. Can’t say I remember the last time somebody made me a pour over. And quite a good first effort at that.
After making me coffee, Noe proceeded to give me a run for my money in chess. I should have seen this coming.
We’ve wanted to have tacos for dinner on the plaza for a while, but most evenings opt instead for catching the sunset on the beach. We figured Saturdays are probably the best days for making that happen (when all the best taco stands usually come out).
We don’t make it into the Centro much these days. When we do, we like to stock up on fruits and veggies. There are a couple of small stands right outside the compound we’re staying in, but they don’t compare to the offerings downtown.
We arrived at the plaza and took a few loops around before deciding on the most local looking brick-and-mortar eatery. We were hoping to find taco carts, but here around 5pm, I reckon we’re either too early or too late. No worries, the wet burritos at Rincon Mexicano are pretty epic.
After dinner, we went next door for a special treat. Lori’s been having a hankering for a Fresas con Crema, so we thought we try that.
Who wouldn’t like fresh strawberries smothered in sweetened condensed milk. Yep, that’s what that is.
Mexicans have a wonderful way of taking something that’s already delicious (and healthy) and turning it into something that’s marginally more delicious and much, much worse for you.
The boys, of course, thought it was the best thing ever.
As with most evenings out in Melaque, our day ends with a long walk back to the RV, culminating in a stroll through street snack alley right outside the resort.
Everlasting ‘cruise’ through Mexico. You all are getting a thorough education! Lucky boys.