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.

 

La Manga | San Carlos | Sonora | Mexico

 

 

La Manga is a small fishing village just outside of San Carlos, Mexico. They fish from small boats, no huge fishing vessels in this neighborhood. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are quite a few restaurants in the village,  and of course, they have mostly seafood. 

     

 

 

 

Numerous piles of fishing nets were on the beach.

  

 

 

Of course, the sea birds were swarming all over, hoping to catch a stray fish.

 

There is nothing fancy about this area, there are about 3 of these windmills used to pump water.

 

Laundry day starts early in the morning.  This batch was on the fence before 10 AM. 

 

 

They have their own branch of Alcoholics Anonymous, and it looks like it just had a paint job.

 

I met this man outside a little store.  He posed for a picture and then indicated that I could have a ride on the horse if I wanted.  I declined, but thanked him and shook his hand, then he took off down the road. 

These shark jaws, complete with teeth are hanging outside the little store in the photo above.

 

Old RVs and trailers of all types come here as homes for some of the residents.

 

I'm not sure why this is here, although someone may have lived in it at one time.  It has been parked here for a while, judging by the look of the tires on the trailer.

This is one of the more interesting homes in the area, I think I'm intrigued by the license plates.

As I was leaving the area, I passed this gate.  I know they are building either condos or homes down that road.  The entire road to La Manga is lined on the sea side with condos and fancy homes.   I'm wondering how long before the residents of this little community are displaced by "progress".

 

Christmas in La Manga | San Carlos | Mexico

 

 

 

 

The small community of La Manga is just outside of San Carlos, and they have a posada celebration a few days before Christmas.  This celebration is a re-enactment of Joseph and Mary trying to find shelter at an inn.  Posada is now also used as the word for a small inn, motel or cottages for rent.  The residents of San Carlos are invited for this celebration.  On the table below, you can see crafts that were made by the children, using locally found objects such as shells, sea fans, unique rocks and other items.

 

All the village children were involved in this posada, from small ones up to teenagers.

 

 

These little ones did a dance to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer" - in Spanish.

 

Here's another group dancing to more music.

There was a lunch prepared by the local women, and shortly after that, Santa arrived!  And there were presents for all the children.

 

Santa had a different type of sleigh for the desert! 

 

 

This is the sunset we had the evening before this event.  Merry Christmas to all!