Las Brisas 2020

Las Brisas, Huatulco - 2020

Friends and Family	Las Brisas, Huatulco	Carmen's 80th
Ted's bird photos		Ted's best photos

Louise and I were able to get away for two weeks in January to Las Brisas - Huatulco, Mexico. This was our 10th year visiting this resort. We feel at home there - and the area and resort seems very safe. We enjoy all of the activities offered by the resort and have gotten to know many of the staff over the years - lots of good friends! Our friend Wilf, who always joins us on this trip, was there for three weeks. He arrived a week early, and then we travelled home together.	We call this Bird Sh*t Island and we paddle around it every morning.
Louise on a morning paddle	Our days at Las Brisas remind us of "Groundhog day." Every morning we get up and try to make it down to breakfast before the restaurant closes at 10:00. We then go for a Stand Up Paddle around the bay, which is about 3.5km and takes us about an hour. We then alternate between reading (in the shade) and going for swims (floats) to cool off. Depending on the day, we may also go for a sailboat, or kayak ride. At 1:00, we head up for lunch.
We then sit in the shade reading, and either go for a snorkel on the local reef, or maybe play some frisbee. At 4:00 I play volleyball, if it looks like there will be a good match. This year, the volleyball was a bit of a disappointment. We had some good matches the first few days that we were there, but the people we were playing with left for home and there didn't seem to be any new players arriving after that. After that we freshen up and get ready for supper - which begins at 7:00.	A curious fish - while Snorkelling in the bay.
Louise with some of the guys on the Sports beach. Francisco Paco, and Syed	After supper, we may or may not take in a show, and then we find a quite spot to play some cards, before retiring. The next day we repeat, and then repeat again. You would think we would get tired of it, but we don't seem to. We will miss 2021, but I hope we might be able to go again in 2022. We did have one very special and unique day this year. For years we have had a favourite waiter in the main restaurant, Eliomar. We like to practice our Spanish, and Eliomar is patient with us. Louise always asks about his family, and keeps track of their names and ages from year to year.
Anyway, one day, Eliomar came up to us and asked if we would like to spend a day with him and his family. We like our daily routine, but how could we say no? Eliomar and his family met us at the resort gate at 8:00 the next day. They had already driven an hour to get there. He was driving a small Toyota truck with an open cattle gate style box with a canvas cover. We made introductions all around, and then Elimar's wife, Cecila, and daughters AmisadiaTailta and Cielo Sarai climbed into the back, and Louise and I squeezed into the front.	Ted - out with Louise in the Kayaks
Louise with Eiliomar and his family Eliomar, Amisadai Talita, Louise, Cecilia, and Cielo Sari	We drove to Ventanilla, which is a small village on a beach next to a freshwater lagoon. It was a two and a half-hour drive. On the way, we stopped for Coconut water, and then again for another break. It can't have been very comfortable in the back. The beach was beautiful but very rugged. There was huge surf pounding the shore which was totally closed off, so there was no way to go swimming.
Eliomar then arranged for us to go on a boat tour of the lagoon, and paid for it. The tour was interesting, but all in Spanish, so we missed some of of it. We did learn that the sand has a lot of iron in it, so is attracted to magnets. You can see black in the sand, and black layers on the rock deposits next to the shore. Our guide took us through a trail to the river where he showed us some crocodiles. He fed them some raw chicken pieces. The first was a small croc - probably less than three years old. He was lying in a pool of water and very hard to see. The next one was a large crocodile, probably over 30 years old. He was pretty impressive, probably 12 feet long.	Ted sipping on coconut water at a road side stand
Boat ride into the lagoon	We then went on a boat ride through the mangroves. There were lots of birds, and they had a few small platforms set up in the mangroves. When we got to one, our guide pulled the boat up to it and threw some wet leaves onto the platform. The iguanas started literally coming out of the woodwork. I counted about a dozen, all gently fighting over the food. The small ones were the first there, but then the big ones came down and just pushed everyone else out of the way. Interesting. The rest of the tour was gentle and beautiful.
On the walk back to the truck, we looked at some tourist trinkets, and Eliomar bought us a couple of mugs. He insisted on paying. I am not sure what we will do with the mugs, but it was an extremely nice gesture. When we finished, we got some food that Cecilia had prepared out of the truck and walked down the beach to a sheltered area which was opperated by a friend of Eliomar's. The fellow set us up with a table and a couple of chairs. Cecilia had prepared some sandwiches for us which we ate with chips - and a coke. She cut open a fresh avocado and put slices of it into the sandwiches, which also had some meat and cheese. They were delicious!	Older Crocodille - probably 30 years old
Beautiful beach, with a huge surf	After lunch, we walked the beach for a while. I tried to go out in bare feet, but the sand was just too hot, so we had to put on our shoes. The beach was very impressive! After walking on the beach, we all loaded back into the truck, Mom and the Kids in the back and Louise and I squished in the front, and we set off for home. Eliomar is a very careful driver, gentle on the clutch and gears, and always putting on the four-way when he has to slow down for one of the many speed bumps or some other traffic obstruction.
We stopped for Gas by the airport, and I insisted on paying. It was about $400 pesos, or $35 to fill the truck. I felt a little better at least paying for his gas. We got back to the resort at about 3:00. We were tired from all the fresh air, and sore from our cramped truck ride. We all said our goodbye's! How humbling that he would do that for us. It was really a special gift!	Beachfront
The Lagoon	Our Tour Boats
Two Year old Crocodile The guide told me I should step back as they also like white meat!	Iguanas fighting for food
Beautiful Lagoon and Mangroves	Our guide
Sisters	Cielo Sarai loves her Dad!
Ted with Eliomar's family Amisadia Talita, Cielo Sai, Eliomar, Ted, Cecilia


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