San Patricio - Melaque Lagoon

This idyllic scene is across from Melaque Prepa (High School) which is about a mile north of the highway and downtown. It is this wet or wetter all the way to the lagoon by the Sports Complex. The road from the Prepa to the Pinal Villa road is not passable due to running water. Running water crosses the Pinal Villa road in 3 places and fields are filled with water similar to the foto above.  Most water on that side is headed for Laguna del Tule but there is still a lot to the west. 

I've heard they stopped pumping waste water out to the old non-functioning treatment plant for awhile but it does not seem to lessen the amount of water flowing everywhere. There's some talk of an artificial lagoon for sewage treatment but the whole area is becoming a natural lagoon without help from people.

Palapa on a rock

Hopefully the new roof is just to improve that train-wreck of an idea

West Melaque eye sore for years

This very lame idea for a bar/restaurant died years ago and has been a blight to the natural environment since it closed and began falling apart. An extremely dangerous set of stairs and something alcohol lubricated people should not attempt. Even over weight out of shape gringos should stay away. No running water and certainly no bathrooms. Was a rumor a drunk fell off but who knows. Think the place only lasted part of a year.

Carnitas El Sorry

What's in a name

Carnitas El Sorry

Good carnitas but you'll be sorry if you don't get there early. Usually all gone by 1pm or sooner. I used to buy there for lunches when building the house. Across the highway from the old Melaque Secondary school and a block toward Jaluco

Dead planta de aguas negras

Well it used to work and the guys that ran it were real proud of it. I went out there in 2007 and they gave me a tour. I hear it only operated for 3 years and I can only assume the Cihuatlan administration changed and decided to not fund the upkeep. Could have been a few of the machines broke and expensive to fix but the pump that pumps black water out there is still working full time. Problem is you combine that mess with the high water table issue and you have some real health concerns for anyone living in the area. This water mixed with an abundance of surface ground water mostly heads for Laguna de Tules but it's probably in well water and it crosses the main road into Pinal Villa in 3 places.

2007 waste treatment plant

2015 waste treatment plant

It smells really bad

The State requires any town over 2500 pop to treat waste water but the date to comply was in 2010 and they want a plant like that in the fotos but it's expensive to build and maintain. El Grullo decided to go with an artificial lagoon which is much cheaper and very little upkeep. Some group here is trying to get a tour and technical explanation of how it works in El Grullo. Something has to be done

Melaque Sports Complex

Every time I've checked this place out there is nobody there so I assumed it's used very little. This day I was waiting for my car to be fixed at Poncho's next door and surprised to see all this activity. Probably because it was 6:30 and cooling off and people getting off work. Years ago I brought down a bunch of basketball nets, kept them in my car and would hand them out in various pueblos when I ran into guys playing. Hard to find a basketball hoop in Mexico with a net in it.

May be the soccer league my neighbor plays in 

An audience

Basketball without a net

A new Comex location

There seems to be a real lack of common sense when it comes to opening restaurants in this area .... or maybe all of Mexico? Or maybe it's money to burn? The Chinese place on that corner must have set a record for the shortest lived restaurant in Melaque. I doubt it lasted 5 months. Roasted chicken places open and close in less than a year. Many restaurants last awhile but are constantly playing musical chairs with locations. Part of it is situating themselves better and part is the landlord jacks the rent if he sees them making money. Pretty sad actually and I've seen some of my favorites come and go.

So Comex took advantage of the open space and moved from their hole in the wall store a few blocks toward the beach to this very visible and open store. Good move Comex, we won't have to wonder if you are there 6 months from now.

Old Cine Melaque

Cine Tropical

Met the same fate as Hotel Melaque or Casa Grande in '95

I don't really know what the name of the movie theater was (just learned it was Cine Tropical) but this is the first time I noticed it and had my camera with me. Now it's just storage and a workshop. Behind me are the projection booths. Flat floor so don't know if it had a slope before. Another victim of the 1995 earthquake

Cuastecomate surprise

I hadn't been to Cuastecomate in quite awhile and I read an article about many improvements and making the beach accessible for disabled people. Someone that lives there also made a list of changes like sewer, waste treatment and underground utilities .... but neither gave a hint about the current progress. 

Turns out the place is a complete mess and must be a real pain for those that live there. We went on a weekend  so it was crowded and we parked about 4 blocks up from the beach on the entrance road. Beach is still nice even though it was raining. If I had known I'd probably have waited a few weeks ... or maybe months?.

Bottom of entrance road

Beach road cement with open sections

Road in front of the hotel

Hot Dogs and Papas Relleno

I dropped by the Melaque Plaza after spending the day on the beach in Cuastecomate. I'd heard about a good hot dog stand and a potato place on the south east corner so wanted to check them out and I was hungry. The hot dog stand was open so I tried a bacon wrapped with fresh topping.  I could have skipped the fried onions as the raw stuff was better. He also sells hamburgers but some other day for that.

The filled baked potatoes was behind him across the street on the corner. Tacos and Quesadillas is what their sign says but down on the bottom in red it says Papas Relleno. They open at 6:30 to 7 so I was too early but it sounds like they have basic topping rather than many options and lots of it. She said they were 50 pesos  but I'd have to see them for value.  Seemed in Mazatlan they were about twice the price of a taco, not 5 times

Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

Couldn't wait

Papas Relleno place

Melaque is waterlogged

Normally dry canal is full

Normally just sand and a little lagoon back 100 yards

Open to the ocean

Here is our constant battle

This water is coming from well inland just like the water in Pinal Villa and behind Jaluco. Locals say it's been 15 years since this happened. Many fields in our area are waterlogged and way to wet to plant. There are even less migrant farm workers due to the lack of crops. I don't look forward to the rainy season if the water situation we have now continues.

It's almost mango time

They are small, only the size of marbles, but they smell just like a ripe mango. Cared for and irrigated orchards may be much further along. This tree in in the lot next door and gets no attention at all.

You can almost see the bees on these palm flowers but not quite. They are also in the mango trees which are full of blossoms. 

Second Annual Festival Playa del Sol this weekend

Second Annual Festival Playa del Sol this weekend - both Saturday and Sunday. Gringo bands are invited today and more traditional things tomorrow. Near the beach at the foot of Alejandrina. No admission fee. Food and drink available.

Feb. 7 and 8

Stage at the end of Alejandrina

Laguna del Tules open again

Some people from La Manzanilla were amazed

Some people from La Manzanilla were amazed but we that live here see it quite often, especially this year. As long as the water keeps coming up out of the ground on the north side of the highway the lagoon will continue to fill. Lots of fields can't be planted because they are pure mud and puddles. This happened 15 years ago and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon. Melaque, Mexico

Papas Las Guinas in Villa Obregon

Papas Asadas Rellenas - Estilo Sinaloa

I just ran across this place today on the corner of Aberto Macias and Fco Villa in Villa Obregon. I guess the reason I didn't look sooner is the fotos I've seen of their potatoes. Even though they say "Sinaloa Style" they are nothing like what I've eaten for street food in Mazatlan. In Mazatlan the potatoes are all medium (not large) and a spoon full of crema. After that you put on whatever toppings go on their tacos which are sold from the same stand. The foto of this restaurant's potato was dripping and over flowing with way too much for me to eat in one sitting. Sign says open Monday-Saturday, 6 to10pm. 

I hear there is a "Papas Lady" on the SE corner of the Melaque Plaza - same street as the church .... and maybe a hot-dog vendor on the same corner. People have really enjoyed both so gonna have to get in there some night and check it out.

Remember the FUKU

What's in a Name?

Another of the here today - gone tomorrow restaurants in Melaque. I ate there once and thought it was pretty good. It was gone before I could give it a second try. At the time I think it was the second Asian restaurant in town until a cook from the one of the highway opened his own Japanese. 

This is now a laundry and one the block behind Telegrafo and at the entrance to the new Secondaria.

Melaque Cancha de Futbol Iluminado

Pinal Villa gano el segundo lugar en la liga local de soccer

Team Pinal Villa

Jugando hasta tres en la manana

I think the only reason I heard about it is Pinal Villa won second place and my neighbor is on the team. He says there are 11 or 12 teams in the league. They all took up a collection for lighting and fencing, etc. Saturday night they finished up at 3 in the morning. Good to see the people that matter excited about that sports center. I don't know who all the teams are or if there are schedules

Another article made it sound like the Municipio of Cihuatlan was totally responsible and did not mention that all the teams chipped in to make it happen. Typical government ... but they did arrange for the installation of the lighting.

Last day for 15% discount for Tarjeta de Circulacion

Last day for 15% discount for Tarjeta de Circulacion

La SEPAF informa que a partir de 2015, el recibo de pago hará las veces de tarjeta de circulación, la cual llegará posteriormente a su domicilio, según lo dispuesto en el artículo tercero transitorio de la Ley de Ingresos, que aprobó el Congreso de Jalisco.

El plazo para realizar el pago del Refrendo Vehicular 2015 concluye el 31 de marzo próximo, y su costo es de 476 pesos. Los contribuyentes cumplidos se beneficiarán con descuentos escalonados, según la fecha en que realice el pago:

 
MES DE PAGO             BENEFICIO                  PAGO TOTAL
Enero                             15%                         405 pesos
Febrero                          10%                         428 pesos
Marzo                             5%                          452 pesos

What's with this weather?

What's with this weather ..... thunder, lightning, rain and it's cold