QUARANTINE ALONE IN LA CRUZ

March 30, 2020

Resort in La Cruz

Walking to Bucerias

Semana Santa (Holy Week) was approaching and bringing with it the potential for a horde of travelers from Guadalajara and Mexico City where instances of the virus were much more common. I decided to stock up on enough groceries to last me until after the revelers had moved on. I also needed to pay the electric bill. Because we don't have mail service and foreign credit cards aren't accepted for online payments, this involved a trip to the office in Bucerias. I decided to take care of both of these errands on Monday.

Urban Horse

View Towards the Sea

I didn't want to take public transportation, so decided to walk into Bucerias early Monday morning. It was an interesting walk and not nearly as far as I had feared (about 5km to the power company.) I got a chance to walk down the laterals and see all the pretty little plazas between the condos lining the beach.

The power company had a 24 hour lobby with ATM-like machines to accept payments. I took care of my bill and then my friend, Jennifer from Bucerias, picked me up and we went to the Mega to do our grocery shopping. This allowed me to buy whatever I needed without worrying about how much it weighed. I bought enough to last me at least two weeks and then Jennifer drove me back to La Cruz. This was very kind of her and was much appreciated.

Kiosk at the Power Co.

Normally, I don't worry about washing my produce any more than I would in the USA. This time, however, I dumped all the produce into a sink full of soapy water and let it soak while I either repackaged or wiped down all the dry goods and beverages. On that day, there were still fewer than a thousand confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico and only 20 deaths. I was glad to be where I was while the virus played out in California.

I spent the remainder of the day sanding the worst of the rust off the fence. Finally, it was ready to paint.

March 31 – April 3, 2020

Tuesday, I ran into the hills again and then spent the day painting. It was hot and I followed the shade.

Pasture

Following the Road

New Calves

The Horse Behind Our House

Fishermen Mending Their Nets

Wednesday, I walked in the marina. The fishermen were using the downtime to mend their nets. Gradually, they reclaimed the space usually devoted to the farmers' market.

I spent another day painting the fence. In the evening, I chatted with my friend, Matt, online and we shared a glass of wine together.

Thursday and Friday, I skipped exercising so that I could paint the driveway gate while it was still cool. That part of the fence was in full sun, so I couldn't work on it once it warmed up. I had to remove all the chicken wire and fabric that kept animals and dust out of our yard. The gate looked much nicer without it, but it was necessary. In normal times, I probably would have replaced it with something nicer, but I had to way to get to Home Depot for supplies without risking my health on public transportation.

April 4 -5, 2020

Saturday, I needed to stretch my legs. Once again, I ran up the highway towards Punta Mita. It was still empty. The beaches had been closed and travelers discouraged from coming to Nayarit for the holidays. It seemed to be working.

Bare Trees Just Outside La Cruz

Looking Towards Cabo Corrientes

Empty Highway to Punta Mita

My Improvised Mask

I spent Sunday making masks from an old bra. I had begun by using one of the straps to try to make a strap with two buttons on it to hold the elastic hair bands from my folded bandana mask in place. My ears were too small to do the job. Unfortunately, the only buttons I had were not big enough to secure the elastic and the project was a failure. The cups, however, with a layer of foam sandwiched between two layers of nylon, made great masks with the addition of ties made from nylon cord.

By Sunday night, we were up to 2,143 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico with 94 deaths. Thankfully, there were only a handful in the state of Nayarit where La Cruz is located. I still felt very safe, but I was prepared. No one knew what Semana Santa would bring.