big doings in a small town

We may be a small village, but we do have our attractions. Growing attractions, it would seem.

I have already told you about our local dog park. Well, the dogs think it is a dog park. Everyone else thinks it is a sports park. And it looks far more like a sports park these days.

Last April I mentioned a variety show was in town (the pail woman). The troupe had staked their tent just inside the park's fence. And, for over a week, the entire show was broadcast to the neighborhood over speakers positioned on top of the tent. Mexico may have a reputation for being a calming country, but it is not a quiet one.

If the show rolled into town today, it would need to find an alternate site for its doings. What you see at the top of this essay squats on the ground so recently occupied by the variety show.

I cannot remember the exact date, but Barco and I were wandering by the park on an afternoon outing when we encountered a group of people (mainly children) being addressed by the 30-year old attorney who is the president of our municipality. All of them standing in front of a grader and a backhoe.

A fellow who works in the park, who we see often, was walking by. I asked him what was happening. He knows the shallow depths in which I wade in the great sea of Spanish. So, he slowly gave me the short-syllable version that a football field was being installed.

That seemed odd to me. The space looked far too small for a full soccer field.

It turns out I was correct. But my lack of soccer knowledge betrayed me. It is an indoor soccer field -- or what the local kids call showbol or fútbol rápido.

What was rapid was the construction. The contractors had the place up and running within two months. The first official match was on Friday -- once again with our young president and hordes of children in attendance.

And to show we are part of modern Mexico, the inaugural match was played between girl teams. A game that went well into the evening. And, in true Mexican fashion, the contractors managed to get a lighting system erected just in time to prevent the game from being rapid -- and blind.

But the football field is not the only new construction in Barra de Navidad. Ed and I took a stroll along Barra's newly-reconstructed malecon. Hurricane Patricia did its best to turn the whole thing into a rival Atlantis Road.

The town relies heavily upon tourism -- especially upon Mexican families who have trekked to the beach to indulge in sand, sea, and a sculpted mango on a stick. Because the sand has been retreating from our beaches, the malecon is an important tool to let visitors enjoy the natural wonders of Barra.

What made it so vulnerable to the storm is its beauty. On one side is the bay and the Pacific Ocean. On the other side is the lagoon with its boat marinas and moorings.

A friend of mine convinced me years ago that one of the joys of living in Barra de Navidad was getting up each morning and walking the malecon before digging into a breakfast by the sea. After living here for almost two years, I still have not done that. Not even once.

It may be time for me to slip the leash on the dog and fully enjoy where I live. I may even challenge Barco to a game of fútbol rápido.

I now have a new GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!