a day at the beach

We explored a new beach yesterday: Playa de las Naranjas, north of LaPenita and about three miles off the highway. After leaving the highway, we drove through an area with lots of tobacco fields and mango orchards. Nayarit is a big tobacco state. We saw a tree with unreal-looking blossoms shaped like bunches of vibrantly pink strands. They look like something you might dust with.

There are many palapa seafood restaurants along the beach, and we settled into one, ordered huachinango sarendeado, and took a stroll along the beach. Big Mexican families were coming in by the carload. Everyone brings supersize bottles of soda, coolers, and big bags of chips. And there are always several generations of family members. I think we were the only twosome in about 1/2 mile of beachfront.

On the way home we stopped Lima de Abajo, a pueblito near the highway, because I wanted to find out about the statue of the man's head in the center of town. There were fresh flowers at the the base of the statue. I should have known--it was Lazaro Cardenas, expropriator of petroleum.

el dia de expropiacion petrolera in San Pancho

Today is sort of a holiday here because we are observing the expropriation of the petroleum industry by Lazaro Cardenas. All we have done so far to celebrate is have a tank of propane gas delivered. (Propane is derived from petroleum, right?) I'm not sure what else we could do that is petroleum-related to mark the occasion. We had a burner on the stove fixed last week, but if I had know today was the big day, I would have waited. Maybe we could have a party...hmmm....having trouble thinking of how to work petroleum into a party theme. Any ideas?