Our Last and Possibly Best Day in Mexico

 

Once we found the Cabanas Esmeraldas and got settled in watching the group play soccer and had been invited to the lake with our new friends we decided to spend one more day in Mexico, what a good choice it was.  We woke up kind of late and after taking care of the dogs and a few errands we joined the rest of our new group for breakfast.  We munched on a type of Gordita with a long indigenous name that I will not attempt to spell, and asked for eggs but the manager of the kitchen explained that they were out of eggs… no problem I ran out to the truck to get ours out of the fridge.  We then hopped into the truck and followed everyone to their property on the lake.  The drive was short maybe 15 minutes of dirt and cement road followed by another extremely hilly red dirt road, on the way I commented to Fritz that this is not a road I would like to drive after a rain.

Once at the spot we couldn’t believe the spectacular view of the lake bellow.  The area of Monte Bello is made up of 58 separate lakes fed by springs and rain.  They are perfect for kayaks, canoes or paddle boards as motorized boats are prohibited to keep them from becoming polluted.  The day was perfect, blue skies and no wind. We walked the boards and kayaks the others had brought down a steep path to the lake (with the dogs exploring every inch of the area) and then got into the crystal blue water.  With Kona and I on one board and Fritz and Haole on the other and the kids and family in kayaks we set off from our spot to an island across the lake.  

After our paddle each of the kids took out a board and loved it so much I think they will soon be getting their own.  Once everyone was properly tired we returned up the path to a great lunch of gorditas, watermelon, hard boiled eggs and avocado. 

 

As we were sitting there Fritz asked me if I heard the thunder, when I looked up I saw the dark menacing clouds and we all quickly headed back down the path to get the boards and kayaks before it became too slippery to climb.  With boards and kayaks loaded back up and rain falling with big tropical drops we headed out.  We were the third of 4 cars, the first one made it out fine, the second wasn’t so lucky.  We pulled up behind it and offered to push it up one of the hills but it was clear that our bumper would destroy the other trucks bumper.  We edged around them hoping that once past we would be able to hook up a tow rope and pull them out, only to realize we might not make it out ourselves. 

Slipping past the truck we barely made it up hill, the ground had literally turned to red clay during the 15 to 20 minutes of rain that had fallen.  Knowing that we would be no help and possibly become a bigger problem our hosts urged us to return to the Cabanas.  Once back we waited anxiously for the rest of the crew to arrive, the first to get there was the stuck truck followed shortly thereafter by the truck hauling the kayaks. 

We said goodbye to our new friends as they had to return to San Cristobal and Tuxtla and headed to bed early ourselves.  After 6 weeks in Mexico the generosity and friendliness of everyone we have met still amazes us.  To be invited to one of the prettiest places we have seen and to be included on a family outing by people we had only known for a few hours touched us so much that I tear up with joy and gratitude when I think about it.  Thank you Mexico and all the amazing people we have met, words can’t express how wonderful our trip through your country has been, we realize that it isn’t luck that we have had, it’s just the way it is here.