April 6th, 2009: "More pics and movies from San Felipe"

[Citi]

My time in Mexico is almost over. Next Monday I'll be making my way back to the ol' US of A. But before I go I wanted to upload a few more pics and movies for you. As usual they are all available via my Photobucket account. I'm going to stick a couple small photos here but the meat of everything I've taken since leaving Connecticut is in that account.

Here is the boat I went fishing in.



That was a crazy day. My face got a little sunburned but all in all I'd say it was fun. I tried to get another, hopefully better day to go fishing but the weather has been real hit and miss and the fellow who took me last time has disappeared off the face of the planet so it probably won't happen. That also means I'm out my $30 deposit. If anyone down here asks you for a deposit for anything don't go for it. I thought since this guy had already taken me fishing once it wouldn't be a concern but honestly folks; if there is one lesson I can take away from my experience down here it is no matter how nice, how accomodating and how professional someone seems they will still stab you in the back for a quarter.

It's actually pretty shortsighted because I was down here for over a month and there were some places where I could just tell they were trying to take advantage of me. So I wouldn't do business with them. Alot of the men down here like to try and offer themselves as a kind of "concierge" to the entire city of San Felipe and these guys are real hustlers. You have to be careful with them. If you want fresh seafood, want to rent ATV's or horses, even if you need companionship (I've been all over the world and I've been offered hookers all over the world but here in Mexico was the first time someone suggested I "take a look at the menu" before declining; yeesh!) they will offer to hook you up. They promise facilitation and usually thier price is built in (but they still accept tips).

The thing is; it's a great idea. I mean if a guy had come to me when I first got here and had been completely straight up with me about what he could do to enhance my stay I would take care of him. The problem is, these guys usually rank just slightly above con men and will often not deliver what they promise. So if you come down here; and I can't recommend the place enough; it's beautiful and the people are very nice, the prices are cheap and there are lots of interesting things to do; but if you come down here, watch yourself. More specifically, watch your money. There doesn't seem to be a lot of crime down here. I'm driving a car that is ridiculously nice in comparison to what most folks here are driving (and it has got me a lot of looks and questions) but no one has tried to break into it in even the worst places I've parked.

It seems like the Policia keep a pretty good hold on property crimes here. As I mentioned, the thing you really need to watch out for are the hustlers. Victims of confidence schemes usually feel so stupid that they don't report crimes and there is some questions as to whether or not the Policia would even bother doing anything about a few bucks here and there. For example, even though I have a reciept I seriously doubt they would do anything about the $30 I'm owed for my fishing trip. So it's important that you only trust people in very small increments. I'm not too broken up over my loss. The guy was fishing for the full amount and then giving me a sob story about his daughter needing asthma medication. It could have been worse.

Here's a very cute little fellow with some animals for rent.



I went over to take a picture and say hi. The animals were very sweet but I question whether or not you could call them "horses". I'm calling into question thier lineage as I firmly believe the one on the left to be a mule and the one on the right looked like he was at least part donkey. I know nothing about such animals but I have seen horses (and ridden them) up close and none of the three animals looked exactly like a horse to me.

I'm not certain as to whether or not these animals are capable of such a complex emotion as anxiety but I will say that when the owner rode up on the third animal and asked me if I was looking to rent a horse they all looked scared. At 330 pounds last time I checked I cannot say thier fears were not justified. That said I politely declined. I am against cruelty to animals and the idea of me riding anything smaller than a full grown elephant definitely strikes me as cruel.

I have uploaded a bunch of beach shots and movies (don't miss the short ones with the mariachis at the malicon [beach] or the frantic little guard chihuahua, if anybody asks for more mariachi movies I'll go down and shoot some more this weekend) including some very unfraid birds but I think this shot is my favorite.



The mountains in the background, the quiet, secluded beach with the town in the distance. This to me is San Felipe.

Have a great week. I'll talk to you again soon.