Thanksgiving…Chacala Style

Well, we had a very nice Thanksgiving here in Chacala. It was much different than the hustle and bustle I’m used to but it was truly lovely. After a full day of doing literally nothing we managed to get our coconuts cut, rum added and enjoyed our giant sized cocktails on deck overlooking the nearly empty beach. There’s something special about drinking rum and fresh coconut milk out of a massive coconut that your man just cut open with a machete. It’s a pretty manly thing to watch!

Around three o’clock two other boats entered the anchorage thus ending our sovereign reign over it. One was a large power boat. The other, SV Jo, an Island Packet sailboat. We finally got up and dressed and readied ourselves to hit the beach around 4:30 p.m. Dinner reservations weren’t till 6:30 but we thought a couple of beers on the beach were in order and we needed to stop by a tienda to replenish our supply of beer and vodka.

On our way to shore we stopped by the sailboat that just arrived to let them know they could get a “gringo style” Thanksgiving dinner at  Las Brisas. Yep, my guy is always taking care of the other cruisers whether he knows them or not. The couple on board, Kelly and Jay, seemed very nice and were thankful we stopped by.

After a few minutes of chatting about where everyone was from and going we were off to the beach. Dinghy beached and secured we headed to the tienda for supplies. It’s was a nice little walk along the bay and with the sun getting long in the tooth there was a beautiful golden hue reflecting off the beach and the colorful palapas. I never tire of this beautiful site here. It is quintessential Mexican!

After restocking our beverage supply we stopped at Acela, a palapa we love to visit. They have the best zerandeado fish but on this night we were there just for a few beers. Luis, our normal server, brought us the chilly nectar of the Gods known as Pacifico! With ice cold beer in hand we watched as the huge, orange sun slowly slipped into the Pacific Ocean. Ahhh….paradise!

After a couple of beers we walked next door to Las Brisas. Normally they have bare plastic and wood tables but tonight they had about six or eight tables lined up next to the beach. Each was covered with a white tablecloth and had a small blue vase with a single yellow Allamanda flower. Next to the vase was a white candle. It was simple yet lovely. The setting was rather romantic.

One of my favorite things at Las Brisas is their cucumber, jalapeño margarita. It’s THE BOMB! It’s refreshing yet has a slight bite to it. I’ve never had a better one anywhere. We sat and chatted for a bit over our spicy cocktails and before long we saw the lights of a dinghy leaving SV Jo heading toward the jetty where everyone beaches their tenders for time on shore. Realizing they are coming our way, Dan immediately gets up and checks with the staff to be sure they have enough of the turkey dinners to include a couple who had not made reservations. The staff informs him they have four extra dinners so we should be okay. That’s my man…Captain Save-A-Hoe to the rescue!

After a few minutes we see Jay and Kelly enter the restaurant. Kelly speaks rather good Spanish and as she is conversing with the staff, Dan goes over to be sure they know this is the couple he was talking about. The server directs them to our table as he thought we were planning to dine together. While it was not the original plan, we do decide that dinner together would be nice. We moved to a larger table and our night with new friends began. It turns out they are from Texas and are builders. They spend several months a year on their sailboat and are possibly planning to live aboard one day but for now they are just trying to carve out the time to spend here. They’ve been coming here since 2011. The two of them are really great people and there isn’t a single lull in the conversation throughout dinner and dessert. This is one of the reasons I love this life so much. You get to meet amazing people from all walks of life. Everyone has a story and they are all interesting. So tonight we made two new friends!

Our dinner was wonderful and for once I left a Thanksgiving dinner without feeling like my gut would explode! They served turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, stuffing and a roll. For dessert we were given mini pecan pies with ice cream and apples drizzled with caramel. It was wonderful. They even offered us seconds of anything we wanted. All of this for $250 pesos per person! That’s about $13.50 USD at today’s exchange rate! You can’t beat that!

Certainly I missed my family and friends back home but this Thanksgiving was one that I will always remember. Even though we’ve been dating a couple of years, it’s the first that Dan and I have actually been together for and it was spent in paradise with new friends. I’m thankful for so many things in my life. My family and friends, the new friends I’ve made, the new life I have here with Dan and most importantly the love we share together. I just don’t think it can get any better than this!

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as we enjoyed ours!

Until next time,

Jilly