pulpo muy bueno

(octopus)

this was the beginning of rob's problematic hair. he tried to solve it by buying shampoo, only what he bought was conditioner. that made matters worse.

it grew on us, but it was still a spoonfull of mayonaise.

here is our favorite mayo and brown spice apetizer. limes and sea salt are for eating.

the mariachis called it a day

since the lonely planet guide calls chachalacas a "resort" town, where mexicans go on vacation, there are a lot of places that advertise themselves as being cheap, or económico. since we were each paying $12.05 a night for our high-class digs where the toilet broke and we ran out of water twice, we didn't feel the need to investigate much further than this.

first the guy hacked at it with a machete, then he cut a hole in it, squeezed in a lime or two, and then added a bunch of rum. i love healthy drinks!

cocos fresca preparado fuerte

everywhere we went in mexico was full of dogs sleeping in the streets and sidewalks. it doesn't seem like anyone owns them, but they aren't wild.

these little guys, along with their mothers and their fathers (who rudely awakened us each morning), where running loose everywhere. including in the restaurants. we also saw a wild bird walk into a restaurant, steal a chip from someone's meal while they weren't watching, and then fly away. it was super clandestine, and very well executed.

just to show how both ends of the restaurants are open.

this is how close the ocean is the the restaurants. it's low-tide. i'm guessing chachalacas might have to be redesigned pretty soon.

chachalacas... custom entertainment, even in the off-season.

this place has the best shrimp

in chachalacas the resaturants are open like this on both the ocean and street sides. i found the "ruta de evacuacon" signs really funny in this context.

holy camarones coctail goodness. that is all i have to say about this.

in Chachalacas, all of the many beachfront restaurants are actually waterfront. in the sense that the beach has apparently eroded to the point that even at low tide, the water laps against the buildings. at high tide, the waves splash rght into the places and get an entire row of tables wet.

fresca, not squirt, but you get the idea.

everywhere we ate on the coast presented us with this odd arrangement... chips, sometimes saltines, dark brown hot sauce that is basically pure spice, and mayo. everywhere.

eventually it kind of grew on me.

this is the reason why we kept sneaking away. worst huevos rancheros ever. oh, and that bloody mary-like beverage is actually called a clamato vampiro. eh, close enough. right?

on the left that's victor, who pushily encourages everyone who drives or walks past to eat at his fine beachfront establishment. we were suckered in right away, and from that point on we had to pretend not to hear him yelling "MY FRIEND! MY FRIEND!" from across the square every time we tried to sneak somewhere else to eat.

rob, showing off the expanding bald spot in his beard.

the sunburn was from the day before, and it happened in approximately ten seconds in the gulf coast sun (ten days later, and my nose is still peeling).

our swim was watched over by this cow

this beach was gorgeous, and covered in little burrowing crabs, and tiny mosquitos

las dunas