Dogs are Welcome!

I've been in San Carlos 2-1/2 weeks now, and I'm already bumping into folks I've met when I'm out and about. Yesterday at Soggy Peso Beach I ran into Eric, the fellow whose scuba tank went overboard on the boat. I keep running into this couple and their puppy named Max. (Notice I know the dog's name but not the couples!) I went to the local produce stand and saw the gal who had been my waitress only a couple of hours earlier. And last night Betsy and I went to a local joint called Captain Jack's and ran into a lady named Tina who we met last week on the Soldier's Estuary Beach. She had been collecting sea shells and had quite an accumulation of them in a sack. She makes mirrors and things like that with the shells. On this evening, she remembered us and our names, even though she clearly had been imbibing a bit.

Betsy and I went to Captain Jacks for dinner last night. It's right at the bottom of the hill from the house.


It has a seafaring theme, with pieces of boating equipment as outside decor, and heavy nautical rope outlining the parking lot.


Fishnets, flags and pirate paraphenalia adorn Captain Jack's interior.


Argh Matey!
Dogs are welcome.


The characters sitting around the porch at Captain Jacks seemed to fit the buccaneer decor as well. In addition to Tina in her wild colored garb, there was a crusty gentlemen wearing a pair of sun glasses than only had a lens in one of the eyes. Another rough looking older man sat nearby, bald with a giant bandaid on the side of his large head. Everyone was friendly, even though not always intelligible.

We had learned that Kathy - our Yoga Instructor at the gym - is married to a musician named Omar. Omar plays piano, guitar and sings at various locales and tonight he was the musical entertainment at Captain Jacks. The food is a mix of seafood and Mexican food as are many of the restaurants here. I ordered the chile relleno special and they were the best I've had, although I hear a joint called "Tequilas" across the street has that claim to fame as well. If you've been out fishin', you can bring your catch to Captain Jacks and they'll cook it up for ya.

The place got pretty crowded after awhile and so we ended up sharing our table with a couple from Boulder, CO and a marine biologist from Chile who had been part of a 10 year research project that was just wiped out in the earthquake two weeks ago. They invited us to go sailing with them in the morning on their 44 foot sailboat. We declined as we already had our day scheduled, but may take them up on it at a later date.

This afternoon I headed out to Soggy Peso Beach with Frances. It's about five miles north of where we are. About a mile down the road is a little mud hole where a lot of pelicans and cranes hang out.



There are some ramshackle buildings, rowboats, rusty cars and vans.




A Taqueria sits at the edge of the mud pond with some metal picnic tables. I stopped and took a ton of pictures.


I know I mention from time to time the story I'm writing (if I EVER get back to it) about a coyote. I see the story set in the desert, and so when I see settings that I think Mr. Coyote may find himself in, I stop and take some snapshots for future reference. Mr. Coyote is more inclined to visit establishments that are a bit rough hewn, as opposed to places of refinery. In truth, I myself am more drawn to environments and characters found in "less classy" joints. After all, John Steinbeck has been a favorite author of mine since adolescence, and it's just - well - it's just more fun! Nothing will send me running out of a restaurant faster than the appearance of white linen table cloths!




Soggy Peso Beach is at the end of the paved road and the last part of a long sandy beach. This is the part of town that houses a few high rise hotels and condo complexes. Just before turning onto the dirt road to Soggy Peso, there is a cardon cactus forest.


As I was taking some photos of the cactus, the Bimbo Truck blew by me and headed down the dirt road in quite a hurry.


Bimbo is the name of the main brand of bread at the grocery store, like our Wonderbread. And that's all I know about THAT!

Soggy Peso Beach is named after a beach in the Virgin Islands called Soggy Dollar Beach. Supposedly it got it's name from people going swimming and forgetting that there was money in their pocket. There is a palapa bar and restaurant at Soggy Peso Beach called The Hangout. A "palapa" is an open sided building with a thatched roof made of palm leaves. The Hangout is mainly drinks and snack food like chips & salsa, guacamole and crab cakes. Lively reggae and salsa music is piped through the sound system. They have live music four evenings a week.



Dogs are Welcome.

The winds are prone to pick up in San Carlos between noon and 3:00pm. Soggy Peso Beach is one of the windier parts of town much to the delight of the kite boarders. If you're not familiar with kite boarding, here's my best shot at describing it.

You have a kite that when filled with wind, forms an arch shape like a parachute. The kite is about four feet wide and eight feet long. It has four lines attached to it that are about 70 feet in length. Two of the lines are on the outside, two on the inside. The other end of the lines are attached to a bar that you hold onto. The bar has three prongs that make it look like Neptune's trident. The two inside lines are attached to the middle prong and you pull and release these lines to increase or decrease the amount of wind in your kite. The other two lines are attached to the two outside prongs and are used for steering. You attach the bar to a belt that you wear. While still on the beach, you fill the kite with wind, put your feet on a board that's about two feet wide and four feet long and off you go. I watched a couple of kite boarders doing many antics as high as 10 feet in the air. I can see the attraction but won't be trying this sport. I know nothing about wind or sailing and I don't think I have the upper body strength. It sure is fun to watch.





The wind got stronger and created a mini sandstorm on the beach, so Frances and I moved to a small concrete patio to watch. It was right next to a restaurant called The Cotton Club. Here you can sit indoors or outdoors and enjoy fine dining, a sunset, and kite boarders. The waiter from the Cotton Club strolled over to Frances and I. He promoted the restaurant and hoped that perhaps he could be my waiter if I dined there sometime. He asked my name and I said "Lucy." I asked his name and he said "Ricardo." I think I can remember that! And even though I think I caught a glimpse of white table cloths, I may give The Cotton Club a try because as it turns out...

Dogs are Welcome!