Yelapa Green-Part 2

In a recent post, I broached the topic of Yelapa’s degree of environmental greenness/friendliness; using metrics most likely established by those responsible for assailing the environment in the first place. These included: recycling, energy efficiency and the protection of native plants and animals. Not surprisingly, each of these three components has birthed a plethora of profitable industries. We now enjoy collection centers throughout most towns; these are then serviced by massive garbage collection-type vehicles which transport the various recyclables to some distant processing center. A deluge of expensive, energy-efficient products pass into consumers’ hands. We revel that a product is “more efficient” yet we lack any awareness about the overall energy “footprint” associated with the raw materials, production methodology, or subsequent transportation. We simply delight in displaying our twenty speed blender which required a financial outlay approaching the hundred dollar mark.

Yelapa’s electricity is provided by CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad). The village has enjoyed commercial electricity for less than fifteen years. Prior to that, business ventures (i.e. markets, a hotel, restaurants, some lodges, and homes) met their needs via generators. Individual generators are noisy, emit toxic exhaust, require repairs and periodic service and need a close (stored) supply of fuel. Those without generators either used kerosene lanterns or simply embraced the cycles of sunlight.

The Mexican government considers Yelapa an impoverished zone. I am unaware what that determination entails. As a result, electricity is provided to the village at a fifty percent discount. Rumors surface that this benefit may be removed since Yelapa’s main industry is tourism, not fishing, and that just possibly villagers are not as impoverished as earlier believed. The providing of deeply discounted electrical power was an economic and logistical boon to the village. It also removed the incentive to monitor overall energy costs. Previously these included fuel, lubricant, parts, service, transportation and handling. Now all you have to do is await your bi-monthly statement.  

Nonetheless, Yelapans are frugal. Construction is expensive due to material transportation costs. Sand/gravel, the single exception to this, is extracted nearby from the Tuito River bed. Unlike American domiciles, the number of electrical outlets and light fixtures are normally no more than one or two per room. The only running appliance, excluding the odd boom box or an oscillating fan, is a small  refrigerator. As of this writing there is only one ductless air conditioning installation and less than a hand full of portable/window units.

There is no centralized delivery system for natural gas. Villagers satisfy this need via individual propane tanks. Once again, due to transportation costs, propane is expensive. More lodging operators and homes are installing on-demand water heaters

instead of the diminutive gas/electric units. In addition to reducing consumption, this design also eliminates the chance of an unnoticed, extinguished pilot since there is no ignition until a demand is placed on the system.

A word about vehicles; Yelapa is home to perhaps thirty motos (ATVs), a hand full of small displacement scooters and one electric golf cart. There are no cars or trucks and never will be. All but one of these vehicles are gasoline powered and produce toxic emissions. To some villagers, the growing popularity is of concern. To their credit, many of the motos are used in the service of hauling heavy goods (i.e. bottled water, ice, concrete, cinder block, rebar, scrap, luggage), while others transport heavy adults and their hefty children to/from school daily.

Pack animals are still employed to haul building materials. A few use a mule for personal transportation. Most Yelapans walk from point A to point B and back again as their forefathers/mothers did before them. The old ways flex to accommodate the new ones which seem less flexible. As of yet, those who return home to Yelapa have not declared that they “are strangers in a strange place.”   That is a good thing.  

Yelapa Green

Yelapa is green. The verdant jungle embraces the village like a proper parent snuggling a squirming child. As the rains establish their routine, trees, plants, vines and shoots discard former browns and beiges and transition into Yelapa green.

Language, like other cultural aspects, evolves. The word “green” now conjures thoughts of how environmentally friendly an area is relative to its observable recycling program, documented efficient use of energy plus a respect for resident plants and critters. In large communities these benchmarks assert themselves via huge blue dumpsters, energy bills reflecting current versus historical consumption, and museums filled with flora and fauna (yes, Joni Mitchell was prophetic: Big Yellow Taxi, “Pave Paradise, Put up a Parking Lot”).

It is no shocking infusion of fact to state that the less modern a culture the more environmentally aware and protective it is. Impose the concepts of modernization and progress and voilà along trek the twins of pollution and environmental degradation. Yep, that is progress, right? Let us consider a solitary item and its impact on Yelapa: individual sized containers of purified water. Without performing actual bottle counts, and only judging by the cases of water seen disembarking the re-supply pangas, my best guess is that there are several hundred individual bottles of water sold, consumed and discarded weekly. As evidence of our greenness, we place collection containers throughout the community. A number of the discards are collected; others are tossed into streams to be washed into the bay, others are pitched on the path to be flattened by passing motos while others are simply flung among the plants which line the walkways. The collection containers are emptied weekly, the contents consolidated at the town pier for return to Puerto Vallarta. My comments here are in no way intended to diminish the intent or activities of those involved in this project. My intent is to proffer the understanding that while displaying random acts of greenness; we fail to address the underlying cause; the creation of large amounts of discarded trash. Just a thought.

Update-Adventures with Teo

The first three editions (The Lonely Egret, The Dogs of Apaley, The Church) are due back from the readers/reviewers this week. Their comments and suggestions are anxiously awaited. Once those are received, I will release the next three editions (The Popsicle Man, Fun in Apaley, The Farmer’s Market) as well as display cover pages on the Yelapa Memo Face Book for your viewing. The covers reflect the richness of the story and the illustrations within each edition. Be sure to visit that Face Book page frequently for announcements. Or, simply “like” the page and check the “receive notifications” box.  

Rains Arrive

My three birria tacos have apparently re-constituted deep within. My otherwise svelte profile now more aptly imitates that of the Happy Buddha. Alas, life is good on a Sunday morning in Yelapa.

It appears that the rains have arrived, albeit a week early. Our village experienced three consecutive nights of significant precipitation. One enterprising soul trenched from the lagoon to the bay the other morning so the two bodies of water now ebb and flow in unison. The rains flush the silt from the mountains into the Tuito River. The river flows through the lagoon and into the bay altering an otherwise emerald green hue into a rich light chocolate brown. I prefer the emerald green.

The crabs which have remained dormant for nearly two years await some subtle celestial signal to emerge from their land caverns. Several of their scouts have already paid the ultimate price of exploration. Their diminutive carcasses adorn intermittent cobble stones along the path. Once the major migration commences, their numbers will increase a thousand fold. I sense this activity is one of seeking a mate versus sprinting into the surf. These are land based buggers. All animals deserve a moment of happiness, right?

This will also be a week of preparation as Nikki and I gather pertinent belongings required for our summer trek to the North. We will leave behind great friends, great food and 80 plus percent humidity. San Diego will welcome us with great family, a nearly one year old grand-daughter, the warm and tender touch of my wife, and four of Nikki’s canine cousins. We’re all good on the first three; Nikki is lukewarm on the last. We’ll make it work. I will continue to post as events unfold which demand reporting with the now famous Memo-twist.

Update-Adventures with Teo

The first three editions, (The Lonely Egret, The Dogs of Apaley, The Church) whose covers appear on the Yellapa Memo Facebook page, are presently in the hands (eyes) of a group of readers for critique and review. Comments are due back to me before the end of the month. My technical advisor, Erin, and I will have a second round of three more editions awaiting them. Once those are released to the readers, I will post cover pages on Yelapa Memo as well. It will be a busy summer. Our goal is to e-publish the first edition, The Lonely Egret, in early November 2014. Be sure to frequently check in on the Yelapa Memo FB page for updates, better yet, click on the "like" and receive notifications as they are posted. 

Yelapa Kayak Rentals

Yaks will remain available for rent through Saturday 06/14/14. Beyond that time, has yet to be determined. I will keep you posted. Happy Paddling! Memo

Holy, Moly!!!

It is Monday morning and I have just consumed my weekly ration of birria! Wait a minute, I hear my readers screaming. Birria is a Sunday event, right? Well, usually yes. Allow me to digress a mere twenty-four hours, or so. Yesterday, the first Sunday in June, is perhaps the busiest, most congested, unbelievably concentrated day in Yelapa for the entire calendar year.

The sequence of events tracks something like this: Thursday night the bulls for the rodeo are delivered and paraded through town; Sunday morning, locals as well as visitors from surrounding pueblos amass to participate in Dia de la Marina (Marina Day). It is pretty much one giant beach party with lots of sun, fun, sauce (beer) and salsa. Early evening arrives and virtually every woman between the ages of seven and seventy zooms home, dawns the tightest pair of jeans they can pour themselves into, digs cowboy boots out of a closet somewhere, slaps on some sexy little sleeveless plaid top, and out they trek to the rodeo ring. They are going to watch the bulls, right? It is a time of much merriment. Two fully laden water taxis bear revelers back to their origins at 6-ish in the evening. Only those with Yelapan relatives or rodeo fans remain. 

My venture down the main path this morning, finds our village nearly in its usual state. Fernando is out washing his boat, readying it for the next charter; Leticia’s market is open with staff sweeping the aisles from the prior day’s traffic, and alas, Ray’s enormous grin welcomes me for birria. Not a bad place to be on a Monday morning.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must acknowledge that I pass three vaquero clad chaps with their heads down as they collectively appear to be supporting the wall behind them. Whether or not they have been immobile since early morning is irrelevant. Two other gentlemen, similarly clad, experience difficulty in ambulating from Point A (their present position) to Point B (anything other than their present position) without having the shortest span of travel appear more like an arc than a straight line. Alas, they are peaceful and bother no one.

Soon the bulls will retreat, the beach will be scoured free of litter, the panga used as the beer dispensing booth will be pushed back into the sea and Yelapans will revel in yet another party perfectly purveyed. This is not the time, however, to take an extended break. Historically, the rainy season announces itself with vengeance on/or about June 15. At some pre-ordained celestial moment, the land crab migration begins within a fortnight of the first serious rains. Several scouts have already been spotted charting routes.

That brings me back to Ray’s for birria on Monday morning. My three birria tacos adorn a rectangular plate, a cup of consommé steams while a cold Bloody Maria sweats profusely onto the plastic table cloth beneath. Ray, in an outward display of generosity to locals/visitors alike, and in an inward display of brilliance, re-scheduled his weekly culinary event so as not to compete with the other major activities. What a guy, he’s my compadre!

Update on Adventures with Teo

There should be a major announcement by next week. Be sure to check (and “Like”) the Face Book page Yelapa Memo for any mid-week activity.

Commercial Break

The bay has been like glass every morning. It should continue until mid-month when the full moon arrives. Yelapa Kayak Rentals right equipment, right price, right on the playita (little beach) under the giant fig tree. Call Memo to check availability 322 146 5064 (Yelapa cell) yelapakayakrentals@gmail.com or ask you lodging manager for assistance. Happy Paddling.  memo