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La Unión de Isidoro Montes de Oca

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    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      Day 19

      Birding Walk with Pat and Gail

      January 19, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      For the past two mornings, Pat has gone to a good spot that he found to go boogie boarding. We had heard the news about the volcano erupting in Tonga and the anticipated tsunami waves headed towards the west coast of North America, including this area. Well, the waves never reached tsunami height but they were a bit bigger, a good size for Pat.

      Today, Tuesday, we took a break from our new routine, and decided to go for a early morning walk to check out the birds in the area. Armed with our cameras and binoculars, we headed on the road to the river and we were not disappointed.

      Jeremy’s son loves looking for birds, insects and animals and had been gifted a Mexican bird book. It was here and we have been using it daily to identify the birds that we see. I also got a compact pamphlet that shows common birds of the area. Great resources.

      Our walk took us through the jungle, farmland, palm tree groves and beside a river so we saw a variety of birds. The highlights of our sightings included a wood stork, several caciques and their hanging nests and a tiny green Kingfisher. The photos below are ones that Gail took with her camera.

      We came home for breakfast and I sadly realized that I had lost my new sunglasses, an Xmas present from Chris. We weren’t disappointed by the birds but I was very disappointed about my sunglasses. While I made breakfast, Chris took one of the bikes that Jeremy has here and retraced our 8 km walk. He miraculously found them on the edge of the river close to where we had seen the kingfisher. He was my hero and I was a happy camper!      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      2
      Day 22

      Goats and then Coconut Shrimp at Emilios

      January 22, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      We kept hearing about a new restaurant in Majahua called Emilios. People raved about their coconut shrimp and we were ready to try them out.

      But first…A herd of 15+ goats had invaded the yard and were headed for the newly planted bougainvillea plants! Chris, the hero in most of my stories, rushed out to shoo them away. He used his most ferocious ‘shoo-the-Canada- Geese’ voice that he uses at the cottage. The goats scampered away from the flowers but occasionally grabbed at the green weeds, which was okay.

      Most of the goats stuck together in their herd but two of them ran in the other direction. So while Chris went to get them, the others went to the back of the yard and pooped all over. Once again, I was laughing at the herding technique Chris was using. A good dog would have done better, I think, but whatever technique he used, he got the goats to run through the broken fence that they had come through and back into the jungle.

      The photos that I took weren’t great as I was taking them using my iPad on the run, this way and that. Goats move quickly when threatened.

      After that episode, it was time to find Emilios. That was easy. In Majahua, there is a clear sign advertising the restaurant. We were the only people there so we had a wonderful experience.

      Chickens, yes those Majahua chickens again, were running around the sand floor of the restaurant pecking at any bugs that were there. A young teenager showed us his new fishing boat and motor. He was fishing on the beach using a long fishing rod. People were swimming and the waitress rested in a hammock while she waited for our food to be done.

      Chris had the best Margarita that he has ever had. Small but mighty! I enjoyed a refreshing Limonada while we waited.

      The meal was excellent. We had six giant coconut shrimp, French fries, rice and a salad. I think that our meal with the drinks and tips cost us $40. We intend to go back, sometime during our stay.

      From chasing goats to eating coconut shrimp with chickens. What a good day!      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      1
      Day 9

      Walk to Boca de Lagunillas

      January 9, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Three weeks ago, I sprained my back. The doctor suggested that I see a physiotherapist who kindly saw me on an almost daily basis for the 2 weeks before travelling. She used a variety of methods to relax the muscle including dry needling and she gave me a belt to wear when walking. At the end of the two weeks, I was feeling that I could handle the flight and it all went well. Today, we went for a 6 km walk and it wasn’t too bad! Thank you Hilary for your care. It worked!

      We decided to follow the dirt road that we live on, to the end. It turned out to be a pleasant and Interesting walk in the country. At first, we saw hotels, El Munro was one. The little houses with dogs, chickens and pigs. Mango orchards and areas with tall coconut palm trees . Most of our walk was in the shade.

      Then we were surprised when we came to a large and beautiful river. Across the river was a village, Boca de Lagunillas. The birds here were plentiful! We happened to see a couple of hanging cacique nests and the beautiful bird himself. At a later time, I will do a bird blog with our friend Pat’s help. We may need our real camera to take those photos.

      Walking along the river, we heard a big splash and then saw a truck fording the river to cross to the other side. The water came up to its floorboards! On the other side of the river are kayaks that belong to a eco travel company in Troncones. Birding trips down the river with a guide can be arranged.

      Walking a little further upriver, we encountered an elderly man who was digging something in the river. We said, hi, and he was happy to talk to us when he realized we spoke and understood Spanish.

      He told us that there had been a concrete bridge at one time (we saw the remains of it) but floods during rainy season had destroyed it. Now, to cross the river, vehicles had to drive through it to the other side. He showed us a place that we could cross that was much shallower. The other options are to take a horse across or a little boat.

      Walking home, we saw several little houses with kids, dogs, chickens and pigs playing outside. Motorcycles seemed to be the main mode of transportation here.. We even saw a tiny ‘corner store’ with cold drinks and a few necessities.

      We will definitely do this walk again, early in the morning. It was lovely and mostly in the shade.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      62
      Day 8

      The Mahajua Beach

      January 8, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      The beach, which is about a five minute walk from the house is lovely . The sand is golden and sparkles. Very few people use it and it is full of sea-life. Sea turtles lay their eggs there and in the distance whales swim by. The pelicans dive continuously and little sandpipers skitter across the beach dueling with the approaching waves for their food.

      At one end of the beach, surfers come from all over to try out its challenging waves. We have heard of two good surfing spots, La Saladita and The Ranch, but we haven’t seen them yet.

      At the other end of the beach, there are gentle waves and people can walk in quite a ways as it is shallow. It is a great beach for walking along but at this time, we are not sure if it is a good swimming beach. There are hardly any people on it and no one seems to be swimming.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      1
      Day 7

      A Walk to the Beach

      January 7, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Today is Friday. We arrived 5 days ago and really haven’t left our house except to go food shopping and checking out Troncones and Majahua (not much to check out). We felt that we should self isolate for a few days while we get the lay of the land.

      We learned that garbage is collected on Mondays and Fridays here so we walked down the driveway and left our little bit of garbage across the street. People here don’t have the huge amount of packaging that we have at home so there was only a small bag of it even after grocery shopping. We love that you don’t have to buy huge quantities of anything.

      Well, once we deposited the garbage, we saw the trail that Jeremy had mentioned that we would take to get to the beach. It is wide and well taken care of. After walking around a gate, a little pack of dogs on La Princesa del Mar BnB property either heard or saw us and sounded the alarm. We thought that they were behind a fence, but no. The five or was it six dogs found a way through the fence (?) and surrounded us. Big and small, and a mix of breeds. Haha. All bark and no bite. The lady, who is our closest neighbour came out and introduced herself as Reina (queen). She said that if we needed anything, to let her or her husband know.

      We have met several people who live here now and we are pleasantly surprised that we understand them clearly. And, we are recalling our Spanish and no difficulty communicating with them. Mind you, I feel that they are speaking a little slower and enunciating well. They are thrilled to find out that we speak Spanish.

      The walk to the beach was short and when the jungle opened up we were rewarded with a lovely view - a big bay with golden-coloured sand and only 1 person on it for as far as we could see. Immediately in front of the trail, there are some large rocks on the shore but beyond that the beach is sandy with big waves. Pelicans were diving into the water and a type of sandpiper running along the edge of the waves. Very peaceful.

      We walked a little bit but the sun was intense and we hadn’t really planned on going so we weren’t prepared with a proper hat or sunscreen. We returned home and went for a cooling swim.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      3
      Day 24

      Lagunillas Tianguis (Market)

      January 24, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Lagunillas, the place of little lakes. A couple of weeks ago, the baker in town told us that she was originally from the town of Lagunillas that is located on the main road heading north. She also told us that there was a weekly market, a tianguis, with fruit and vegetable,s as well as odds and ends that people might need, i.e. shoe laces, tea towels, little toys, underwear. Kind of like a Mexican travelling $1 store.

      So when our cleaning lady, Sara, came at 9 a.m., we drove to Lagunillas. The quickest way there, we were told, was to take an unpaved and windy backroad over the mountain. We knew that there was a large cave off of that road that used to be used by the indigenous people as a ceremonial site. People can visit it but it is recommended that you get a guide as there are no lights in the cave and it is quite large.

      The road is in fairly good conditionalthough somewhat dusty, with potholes and big rocks on it.it was recommendedto drive slowly, which Chris did. After driving 6 km (1/2 hour), we got to the main road, took a left and went over the river into town.

      It wasn’t a big market but they had all the fresh fruit and vegetables that Mexicans use on a daily basis, chiles, avocados, cilantro, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupes, watermelons, apples, pineapples, bananas, and so on.

      There was a little stand where a lady was selling a pineapple drink called Tepache. It is an old indigenous, fermented beverage made from the peel and the rind of pineapples, and is sweetened either with brown sugar, seasoned with powdered cinnamon, and served cold.

      Though tepache is fermented for several days, the drink does not contain a lot of alcohol. Some people add beer to this drink. The lady added chilli powder, pineapple bits, lime juice and orange slices to fancy it up for us. We have never had that drink before so we bought one to try it out. It was good. We just hope that the water and ice was purified and the fruit clean!

      We had time to walk through the village. It was interesting to walk through this sleepy village.. We passed several cages of handsome roosters probably used for cock fights.

      In general, we enjoyed being there and will probably go back to the market.

      Our drive home on that road was just as interesting. All in all, it was a pleasant morning and we returned with fresh cilantro, apples, celery and two new tea towels.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      Day 18

      A Walk on the Beach to Majahua

      January 18, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      This morning, Monday, we all decided to do our own thing. Pat went boogie boarding near La Barra. Chris took Jeremy’s bicycle to Troncones and did an 18 km. ride.

      Gail and I decided that we would walk the 1 km to Majahua on the beach and she would would take some photos for me. I took a bag of empty cans to Andrea, the local baker, who can get money for them.

      Andrea bakes her bread in a wood-fired clay outdoor oven. She heats up the oven the night before and at 3 in the morning she starts the bread making process. Between 7 and 8 a.m., she is ready to sell her buns, not loaves of bread. It is very rustic. She hurt her back recently so when we went she hadn’t made any.

      As you have seen in another footprint, Majahua is a tiny village. I think that there may more chickens and dogs there than people. Fishermen go out early every morning and the little restaurants on the beach serve up seafood at lunch and dinner time.

      Except for the animals, a few houses, the bakery, the 2 little stores, the school, the nursery school and the restaurants, there isn’t much more to see. It is tiny and dusty with friendly people ekeing out a living.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      Day 11

      The Little Village of Majahua

      January 11, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Majahua can hardly be called a village. What’s smaller? A hamlet? It is tiny.

      We went for the 1.5 km walk from our house to the village to see if the lady who bakes bread, had fresh bread this morning. She didn’t but we were able to take some photos of the walk and the village itself.

      The road to town is a dirt road. At one point, we have to cross a small stream that runs across the road. A friendly burro lives on the other side of the stream and it may be nice to bring a carrot for him the next time we do this walk.

      Entering the village, one is greeted by lots of chickens and dogs. They all mind their own business and seem pretty friendly. You can tell that the dogs are mostly related. Haha.

      On one side of the road, there are little lanes that run to the ocean. Fishing boats with nets are parked there and there are a few little restaurants close by. Seabirds sit on the rocks waiting for their next meal. Houses are open to the sea breezes and as we passed them, we waved and said, hola. People here, in general, don’t speak English.

      We passed a two or three roomed school and a nursery school, both empty of kids. Kids can go online, if they have the money to afford to do this. I doubt if any elementary kids go online here.

      We think that there are 2 little variety stores but we have only see one that is open. The lady keeps it very clean and it has all the basics, including specialties like Magnum ice cream! Btw, they are much cheaper here.

      At the curve in the road, there is a condo development. We really don’t know anything about it but maybe later on we will visit it.

      At the end of the village, the dirt road changes to a paved road which goes to Troncones.

      We turned around and walked back to the house. When we got home, we realized that all of our power was out. Our handyman, Jaime, came to turn off the pool pump and we unplugged various appliances. Apparently, a line came down across the road in the area that we were just in. It was fixed by 5 p.m.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      Day 70

      We Saw a Big Cat!

      March 11, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Tonight, we saw a very big cat run across the road close to our house. At first we thought that it was a black lab but it has a very long black tail and definitely was a cat. We asked if anyone on the Troncones Lets Chat board had seen anything similar and someone mentioned a puma and another person said that we may have seen a jaguarundi! We felt very fortunate to have seen this amazing animal!

      Of course, we didn’t have time to get a photo but the photos have some Spanish information given to me re jaguarundis.      Read more

    • LadyandtrampMajahua, Guerrero, Mexico
      Day 60

      The Maria Cookie

      March 1, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

      Wherever we have travelled, we have always been able to find a simple, round, dunking cookie that goes well with coffee or tea, the Maria cookie. For us, it has been an old and familiar travelling friend..

      When I was a child, my mother would serve tea after school with a plate of these cookies if she didn’t have home-made cookies. They are round and usually had the name stamped into its top surface. The edges have a fancy design as well. Fun for taking tiny bites. It is made from wheat flour, sugar, palm oil or sunflower seed oil and is usually vanilla-flavored.

      I am not sure what they were called then but I did a little research and learned why they are called Maria’s.

      This cookie was invented in London to celebrate a royal marriage. The Marie biscuit was produced in 1874 by the London bakery Peek Freans in commemoration of Russia's Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna's marriage to Prince Alfredo, the Duke of Edinburgh.

      Although the wedding took place at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg (Russia), these cookies were baptized with the name Marie Biscuit, in honor of the new member of the Royal Family, and to drink them with tea, that we all know is part of British culture.

      The English quickly adopted Maria cookies as their favorite, a treat that we have found anywhere we have travelled. In Uruguay, a cookie sandwich was made with 2 cookies and caramel in the middle. Then it is rolled in coconut. In Portugal, two cookies would have a cream between them. There seem to be several variations on the names depending where we have been. Here in a Mexico, these cookies are called Marias.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    La Unión de Isidoro Montes de Oca, La Union de Isidoro Montes de Oca

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