End of the Road

On Tuesday we broke camp at Hotel Playa de Cortes in Guaymas and headed south. We are leaving the traditional area of the Yaqui (who inhabit the Yaqui River Valley) just before reaching Ciudad Obregon. Here the landscape becomes considerably greener and more agricultural. In the historic and pre-historic past, the Yaquis and the Mayos were traditional hunter-gatherers who practiced flood plain horticulture along the two river valleys. The highland slopes and foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental  to the east known as "La Seranna" was originally inhabited by indigenous hunter-gatherers and later by Jesuit missionaries and Spanish miners. This eastern area dominated commercially and culturally until the 1950s. By then, rapid growth of irrigated agriculture in the Western Lowlands shifted the emphasis to the fertile flood plains, and this process was accelerated by the rapid construction of dams and reservoirs. 

To sum up, the intense agriculture of the flood plains of southern Sonora is a relatively new event, and it dominates the development. The first photo below is the gigantic statue of a Yaqui native that designates the southern border of their territory on the outskirts of Ciudad Obregon. Obregon is a large and prosperous city founded on agricultural industry.

Ciudad Obregon

Ciudad Obregon

Ciudad Obregon

Flood plain intensive agriculture and canal.

Flood plain agriculture

Roadside "store"..

Flood plain agriculture

After we pass though the city of Navajoa, we cross the flood plain to the west, about 20 miles

wide, and reach Huatabampo, in the area of the Mayo people. They still speak their native language as do the Yaquis. They are some of the only remaining indigenous' people in Mexico to do so.

Huatabampo has a few thousand inhabitants and does not suffer from the lack of a doctor (see below) or pharmacy.

Or the lack of groceries

Or paper and gifts

We chuckled at the sign below. We had just come from Navajoa, had passed through Huatabampo

and were heading for Huatabampito on the beach.

And here we are. Huatabampito on the beach.

First sunrise with pelicans soaring en masse up the beach.

The beach restaurant is straight ahead. The RVs line up on the beach to the left, and Maria and Enriques's "motel" used mostly by Mexican locals, is on the right. There is also another building

out of view.

They are continually adding things and improving things every year. This year Enrique is adding a new house for himself and converting an older house into a rental. In addition they have planted young palms along the second tier of camp sites.

Maria is getting tired of the responsibility of running the business, so this year she is training

the husband of her niece (Manuel), to run the office. He is a super young man, very personable

and speaks beautiful English. He told us his parents sent him to school in the US because he would

need English to get a good job in Sonora.

Yesterday Manuel came through the campsite to all the RVs who are staying long term for a month or more, to deliver to us a calendar and a special Tee shirt emblazoned with "Huatambampito" and a nice Mexican beach scene. We also got a 10% discount off the normal monthly rate when we arrived. They do a lot to make us feel welcome and to encourage us to come back (which we intend to do of course).

This is the restaurant from the beach.

We are the rig on the right side. The Austrians are in the middle. They actually shipped over this RV version of a tank (UNIMOG Expedition Vehicle.) and are exploring Mexico in it. Personally I think it is a bit overkill, but they do add a bit of interest to the campground.

This is us on the beach

And the Austrians next door. For some pecuiar reason they parked their "tank" at a strange angle inside their site which contradicts the normal convention of backing straight in on one's site. As long as they enjoy themselves and they seem to be doing so. In Mexico, the motto is "live and let live".

The traditional way to enjoy a Mexican beach. Live outside as much as you can.

Second sunrise today. It was absoutely spectacular and it covered the entire sky

so was impossible to photograph. 

We intend to really relax here and have no immediate plans to do ANYTHING exciting.

I suppose this is the end of the trail of the blog for now, unless we happen to have an adventure

along the way. If so, then we will post. Otherwise, we are always accessible via email,

and we would welcome any message you care to send.

So it's adios/chau/nos vemos and hasta luego… 

Rick Barbara and Flossie  on the beach at Huatabampito Sonora Mexico.