Noel Melaque Style

Noel in Melaque is an exuberant outdoor affair. It starts with huge travel buses slowly rolling into Melaque on the 24th, mostly from Guadalajara we suspect since it's the closesty big city. Today the 26th, there are probably over 50 buses we didn't really do a count so it's a rough estimate. I think we're erring on the conservative side, hard to say but the population of Melaque has definitely swelled to fairly big proportions.
The 24th started out beautifully. Carol and Max who manage the bungalows where we're staying came here two years ago. Carol bought some toys for the neighbouring kids and last year it sort of went viral with over 100 kids showing up some from the town of Villa Obregon. This year, with the help of some local women, they decided to restrict it

to the Colonia of Primaveras. A Colonia is the Mexican term for neighbourhood. All the toys were organized in terms of gender and age. Kids started lining up around 10:00 am. They were very well behaved and even though it turned out to be a fairly long wait there was no pushing, shoving or crying. I have to say that I don't think our Canadian kids would have handled it quite as well. Mexicans, in general, have learned the art of patience. Patti, who owns the bungalows with her husband Andreas, had bought some buns and she was waiting for them to arrive along with some milky concoction flavored with strawberry. Both finally arrived and the handing out of the gifts proceeded without a hitch.
The children were delighted, it was a joy to see.
I took quite a few pictures and will post them on Picasa when I update my pictures.
The rest of the day was pretty mellow. We went to the beach and noted that the big crowds had not yet arrived. In the evening some of the older kids went a bit wild with firecrackers exploding all over the place as they played war throwing them fearlessly at each other. It was quite the cacophony but as per usual nobody complained. There was, however, an unfortunate accident. One of the kids, Andreas' son, got a second degree burn on his thigh when the ones he had in his pocket ignited. That incident put a damper on the whole affair and kids retreated to their respective houses. It's a little scary to see kids as young as five handling firecrackers but it's the norm here. Little kids appear to be much more competent, certainly not as protected and coddled as ours. Today we saw a little girl of 3 having come back from the corner store clutching a roll of toilet paper and some chips which she had just purchased. Scenes like that never cease to amaze us. Of course Melaque is small and people do look out for each other. Nevertheless I don't think I'll ever see a kid of 3 shopping by himself or herself in Summerland which is only slightly bigger than Melaque.
On the 25th, the buses started rolling in earnest and there were more revelers on the beach.
We staged our own little party at Bungalow Itzal. We had turkey, chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, desert the whole enchilada in other words. It was very nice. We enjoyed it a lot, eating outside with stars shining above our heads. Later on we took a walk into town not knowing what to expect but it was business as usual. Most of the stores, restaurants were open trying to cash in on all this influx of tourists to their town.
It hasn't been easy to make a living lately for most businesses in Melaque, this arrival was definitely welcomed.
Today, boxing day, was probably the biggest day yet in terms of the crowds. The beach was packed
but the waves were still mellow and everybody was having a great time enjoying the sun, sea and sand. If they're coming from Guadalajara which is the 2nd. biggest city in Mexico they must appreciate it tremendously after possibly living under fairly cramped conditions.
Tonight I didn't cook. We went into town and had a dinner of barbeque ribs which were actually quite good. We wandered off near the Jardin which is the central square in Melaque.
It's nearly impossible to adequately describe the controlled chaos which reigns supreme in most of the town. Any house who has the space and desire can improvise itself instantly into a sidewalk taqueria. There is the pervasive sound of cleaver on wood chopping all matter of meat, organs and all, into stuffing for tacos. The Mexicans love to graze. They don't actually often sit down for a big meal but they do consume food, in smaller quantities, on a regular basis and when on holiday there's no holding back. Surprisingly one of the most popular stands was the crepe stand. Yes crepes have finally made their way to Melaque and they're extremely popular with neverending lineups of eager customers. I lined up today as well. After Bretagne where crepes reign supreme I just had to check these out. I took a crepe with Nutela and, indeed, it was very good. That little stand was making a killing having replaced churos, the sweet cinnamon sugary donut as the finger food of choice.
We slowly walked back home under a moonlit sky, a perfect end to a really good day.
Tomorrow we're off to another beach, by car, it's called Tenacotita, it should be another great day. Hope you're enjoying reading about our adventure. Don't forget to comment if you're so inclined. Merry post Christmas to all.