Palapa dreams

While Allie was at school Robert and I drove to Puerto Escondido to look around. He has boats on the brain--he wants one so bad. On the way we stopped in a little palapa village (for lack of a better descriptive.) It's a community right on the water that arose from a campsite. Over time people rented space or lots and parked their RV's permanently. They built palapas (woven palm leaf roofs) over them, installed solar panels and generators, portable potties and barbeques, and called it home. There is a man there who helped Robert pull his borrowed dysfunctional boat out of the sea a few weeks back. Robert wanted to thank him again with a visit. He wasn't there but his wife was and she invited us in for my first look at the inside of one of these habitats.

Pretty cool, really. It's like camping with lots of great amenities. Her abode grew out of the RV camper she drove all the way down from Oregon. Over it went a giant palapa, rooms divided by woven straw screens, a functional kitchen with a stove/oven, sink and refrigerator, a good size living room with rattan sofas and chairs, a working tiled shower and bathroom, and best of all a little bedroom with a bed completely enveloped in mosquito netting. She had a little fenced yard (mostly gravel and potted trees) and a elevated wooden deck which provided fabulous views of the Sierras and the Sea of Cortez.

She was happy to share the history of her little homestead project. She'd come from the wet and gloomy Pacific northwest all by herself to settle on her found piece of paradise. Here she found contentment along with a permanent suntan (she was as dark as the darkest Mexicans) Later, she met and married her husband who shares her love of the ocean. They are active in the Harbor Club (don't think yachts, white linen pants, and cocktails; think fishing boats, tee-shirts, and beer) and organize annual events like Loreto Fest where boaters come to party. Within minutes she was encouraging us to join the group, come to tonight's meeting, come to the monthly potluck.

So, Robert is presently at the meeting. I passed. It's for him to explore. He has always wanted to sail. Since I met him his dream has always been sail the globe, to be a good will ambassador to the world. All I wanted was a Ralph Lauren-styled cabin in the Rockies with a view of horses grazing out my kitchen window. But since his close brush with death via the heart attack, we're humoring him. Ha ha. Still, I'm concerned he may trade our house for a boat. It better be a nice one is all I can say.