San Carlos Skydiving and Other Scenery | Mexico

San Carlos has skydiving down to the beach.  They fly from Guaymas, about 10 miles away (by road) and then turn you loose at 10,000 feet.  The two I saw come down both had two people, so they must have been first-timers.

 

This is a chute that's ready to be packed up.  You just hang in the sky, it actually takes quite a bit of time to come down to sea level.  Looks like it might be fun, and I'm adventurous, but I really don't think I want to jump out of an airplane that's running perfectly.

 

It's rare to see this type of vehicle in San Carlos, a 1953 Dodge pickup.  The owner told me that it was used back in the 60s to pull boats out of the water to take them to a storage yard.  I had not seen it around town until a few weeks ago.

 

 

I love this kind of fencing.

 

 

There are free range animals here, even though they may belong to someone.  This particular road is not lit at night and sometimes you'll find cows wandering in the road.

 

 

Most Mexicans are Catholic, and are quite religious.  There are all sorts of shrines in the country.

 

 

I'm not sure how this boat got way over here......

 

 

Most Spanish towns I've been in have plazas, a park-like area in the city somewhere.  San Carlos has not had one, so they are now making one, with an ornate fountain and lights that run off solar.

 

 

This is the community church where the plaza will be located.

 

La Manga is the fishing village on the outskirts of town. 

 

This view of the Tetakawi is coming down the road from the overlook, which has been getting a facelift and opened right after I left.

I like this area and visit this little tree and the island each year I'm here.

 

Seaweed adorning rocks along the beach.

 

Domes and Margarita Decks | San Carlos | Mexico

 

Domes of all types are seen on many houses in San Carlos.

 

 

They come in many colors, shapes and sizes.  Many of them have windows that let light into the house below.  Some are solid, with no windows, as shown below. 

 

This house is under construction.

 

 

 

 

They even appear on commercial buildings.

 

 

Another thing I love are Margarita Decks, usually built on top of a house.  Most of them have some type of shade, palapa type as shown below or just an aluminum cover.  Being above the buildings means that you'll get more of a breeze than you'd get in a yard.  As a bonus, sometimes they're close enough to the water to get a view of the Sea of Cortez.

 

 

 

 

And another sunset in San Carlos!  They are quite good here.

 

 

Alamos | Mexico

Quite a few of us San Carlos people went on a bus trip to Alamos for a few days, put together by Mark Mulligan, a local performer from San Carlos.

This is the City Hall, a massive building. 

Inside, there is a plaza for plays or other functions.

The city has many interesting buildings and architectural points.

 

It's not uncommon to see the residents riding horses in the street.  In San Carlos, sometimes we see kids riding to school bareback.

This massive church, La Parroquia de la Purísima Concepción,  is near the town square.  The building was started in the late 1700s and finished in 1826.

As massive as it looks from the outside, you see only a small part when you walk in the front door.

Opposite the church is the town plaza, with this gazebo.

Interestingly, the inside of the gazebo is quite ornate.

 

A friend and I took a walk to the cemetery, which was quite interesting.  As you can see on the right in this photo, there are graves that are stacked 3 tall.  We didn't find any names or dates on any of these.

 

 

 

 

This was the view from our room at the Hacienda de los Santos, a very nice resort with multiple pools and wonderful grounds.
 

 



An old open carriage was on the grounds.

The grounds were very large, taking up 3 parcels of land and has been family run.  The food was great and everyone was so helpful and pleasant.

Seems that I may have taken more photos of the Hacienda than the town! 

On the way back to San Carlos, we were treated to a stop at a local brewery that makes Bacanora.   It was started as a type of moonshine, but has now been regulated.  Below is a shot of the actual processing system.

The agave fronds are fermented in these vats inside the building.

For such a small operation, they produce some fancy bottles of the product. 

This ladder was outside,  I just love rustic things like this.  Down here, they make things last and they know how to fix just about anything, as well as sometimes making their own tools.  A big difference from our "throw away" attitude in the States.