San Pancho Life Newsletter

Panchito's Bar

Photos Courtesy of  SanPanchoWeather.com 

CIRCO DE LOS NINOS

an amazing success!

By Nicole Swedlow

More than 65 San Pancho children participated for 10 days of workshops taught by professionals from Cirque du Soleil and Cirrus Cirkus and sponsored by Gilles Ste.-Croix of Cirque du Soleil.  

The results were shown in the Circo de los Ninos presentation on two nights.  The first night in front of 300 eager parents and community members.  There was loads of excitement and anticipation and many who had no idea what to expect.  The children performed flawlessly and the crowd left in awe that "their kids" were at the center of it all.

The second night was the much anticipated and rapidly sold out Fundraiser benefit for entreamigos.  The evening was a tremendous success, full of love and support for these children and once again, total awe at what they had accomplished in such a short time.  Entreamigos is waiting for final numbers and receipts but expects to have raised more than $17,000 towards continuing their work in the community.  Thank you to all!

More than 200 people worked together to make this show and the two weeks of workshops a possibility for the children of San Pancho.  Entreamigos would never have been able to do this without the support of our volunteers, the artists of the Collectivo, our business sponsors and of course, Gilles Ste.-Croix, Monique Voyer and their amazing team of professionals. 

A HUGE THANK YOU  to the community of San Pancho and a grand HURRAH for these amazing kids!!  

Photos by Tara Gimmer Photography 

www.taragimmer.com 

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So, I got up and grabbed the Falcon´s temporary cage and drove him to an area on the east side of Highway 200 with plenty of palms and fig trees where the Bat Falcons like to nest.

As I removed the cage the Bat Falcon started to flap the wings and was able to fly for short  distances close to the ground.  I thought putting him on a perch would be a good idea for the bird to stretch and exercise its wings; so I used a stick to put him on a fence pole. As soon as he/she was higher up he was able to fly somewhat erratically into the woods: Mr/Mrs Falcon was back into the wild!

As I got back home my 5 year old son Quetzal was waiting for me very upset: how could I have taken the Bat Falcon back to the jungle without him saying goodbye? He was totally right. I explained him that Bat Falcons normally hunt very early in the morning or late in the evening so it was a good idea to take him as early as possible so that he could hunt and I added that probably his family was wondering where he/she was. He accepted my apologies and arguments but he requested to go look for it that same evening to know whether the Bat Falcon was doing all right or needed some more help.

That evening we packed binoculars and spotting scope and we drove to the same spot where I had released the Falcon that morning. As we parked the car, for our excitement the first thing we saw landing on a tree-top was a beautiful Bat Falcon!!! We immediately place the spotting scope on him at the kids´ height so that they could see it: he is coming to see us dad, just like we are coming to see him!!! That was a beautiful and accomplishing moment. Maybe it was a mere coincidence that a Bat Falcon had perched at the very same moment we arrived on the same day I had released a member of this species in the area. Who knows?  For us it was a powerful connection with the jungle and an initiation for our children in the commitment of respect and love for wildlife.

We spent that evening birding in that area, my wife Wendy and I were surprised to see how rapidly Quetzal could spot and ID the birds he knows. Our younger son Utsil enjoyed running along the dry river bed scaring the birds.   

Una historia verdadera de  halcones, niños, familia y libertad ... Parte 2  

Entonces, me levanté y me tomé la jaula temporal del halcón y lo lleve a un área en el lado este de la carretera 200 donde abundan las palmeras y las higueras que es en donde los Halcones suelen anidar.    

En cuanto quite la jaula, el Halcón murciélago comenzó a agitar las alas y fue capaz de volar en distancias cortas cerca de la tierra. Pensé que ponerlo en una percha sería una buena idea para que el ave ejercitara y  pudiera estirar sus alas, así que con un palo lo puso en un poste de la cerca. Tan pronto como él / ella estuvo a mayor altura que fue capaz de volar un tanto errático hacía el bosque: el Sr. o Sra. halcón estaba de vuelta en la naturaleza!     

En cuanto llegué a casa, mi hijo de 5 años de edad Quetzal me estaba esperando muy enojado: ¿cómo podría haber llevado al halcón de vuelta a la selva sin que el le dijera adiós? Él tenía toda la razón.  Le expliqué que los halcones murcielagueros normalmente cazan muy temprano en la mañana o antes de caer la noche por lo que era una buena idea llevarlo lo más pronto posible para que pudiera cazar y añadí que, probablemente, su familia se preguntaba donde  estaba . Él aceptó mis disculpas y argumentos, pero pidió que fuéramos a buscar al halcón esa misma tarde para saber si el Halcón murciélago estaba bien o necesitaba más ayuda.      

Esa tarde preparamos binoculares y telescopio y nos dirigimos al mismo lugar donde yo había puesto en libertad el Halcón esa mañana. En cuanto estacionamos el coche, para nuestra sorpresa, lo primero que vimos aterrizar encima de un árbol fue un hermoso halcón murcielaguero!  Inmediatamente colocamos el telescopio sobre él a la altura de los niños para que pudieran verlo: viene a vernos papá y nosotros también venimos a verlo! Ese fue un momento hermoso y pleno.Tal vez fue una mera coincidencia que un halcón se habiera posado en el mismo momento que llegó el mismo día que había liberado a un miembro de esta especie en la zona. ¿Quién sabe? Para nosotros fue una poderosa conexión con la selva y una iniciación a nuestros hijos en el compromiso de respeto y amor por la vida silvestre.  

Pasamos el resto de la tarde viendo aves en esa zona; Wendy y yo nos asombramos de ver la rapidez de nuestro hijo mayor Quetzal para identificar las aves. Nuestro hijo menor Utsil se divirtió corriendo a lo largo del lecho del río espantando a las aves.   

Luis Morales is a Marine Biologist, Director and Founder of the San Pancho Birding Club, and Owner of Birding San Pancho. Luis has vast experience on leading nature tours both in land and aquatic habitats. He has lived in San Pancho for 3 years and has become not only a frequent and avid observer of the local birds and nature but also an educational resource for our community and an environmental activist to help in preserving and restoring natural habitats.

Notes from the Ranch  

Blessings, Tamara

Tamara Bode has been living in San Pancho for 15 years. She is the owner of Harmonia Holistica. She is a Massage Therapist, and also specializes in nutrition counseling and lifestyle coaching.  Contact

Tamara 

And Here's the Curve Ball....

By Alana Mac  

Reprinted from her blogspot:  http://thenautilustemplate.blogspot.com/ 

Sunday, March 13, 2011

This post will serve as the forum to touch upon every out-of-this-world type of experience that has left me completely stunned in a clash of wonderment and slight confusion. Here's to the "what the hell is going on" life "accomplishments."

1. Encountered a scorpion spider the size of my face in our "communal" pantry. Imagine a daddy long legs on sport enhancing drugs with claws the size of a king crab spitting venom. WHOA moment.

2. Played wedding planner for a day in Sayulita, Mexico. I helped organize and execute a lavish Mexican wedding for 60 guests. My day consisted of running around with lace, paper flowers, bottles of tequila and white wine, color coordinating every napkin and chair seat, lighting 1000+ candles, comforting a crying bride, taking care of a drunk bride and groom as they were the last to leave the dance floor, and having the first college test kind of pressure of decorating the entire wedding cake that was melting before me. I think I will wait until I get hitched to be involved with another planning extravaganza.

3. Observed the lunar eclipse through a palm tree canopy amongst the nocturnal orchestra of the San Pancho jungle after my lovely mother woke up the entire jungle community including myself at 3 a.m. announcing this spectacular siting.

4. Learned how to maneuver and rock out on a surf board twice my size over treacherous coral reefs with only 2 feet of water cushioning my inevitable fall.

5. Worked at an Circus de Soliel show in San Pancho for the community center's, entreAmigos, annual fundraiser. 70+ kids from the community were chosen to participate in the performance. They only received 10 days extensive training while beautiful recycled costumes and sets were being simultaneously constructed by community members to culminate in the most magical event ever to take place in San Pancho. The entire campus of entreaAmigos was transformed into a carnival for 48 hours with unicyclists, jugglers, unbelievable acrobatic performances, your typical friendly clown, and a plethora of vibrant colors, scents, sounds and people to satisfy anyone's senses. I even had the privilege to tote around a bucket o' beer and wine on an unicycle-bringing it back to the good ol' kinder days!

6.  Had my face shoved into a cake for my birthday by a group of 6-8 year olds while 50+ kids cheered them on. Mexican frosting is best when licked off your nose.

7. Drank some the oldest family owned tequila in the world on a lovely New Year's Day in Tequila, Mexico.

8. Received the pleasure of jamming out and busting a move with a total of 7  different 8 piece Cuban bands while I spend a winter in

Mexico

9. Learned how to navigate the machismo, corrupt waters of Mexican bureaucracy and come out alive with every goal accomplished and plus some.

10. Have fallen back in love with donuts, churros, fried bananas and ice cream bars.

11. Shot a quincinera photo shoot for a good Mexican friend on the beach in the dead of night. I was asked by the local Fruteria owner to take pictures for her daughter's quincinera- the coming of age celebration for young women in Latin America. I accepted the challenge, but did not foresee my girl being 3 hours late for her own photoshoot, therefore leaving me to take pictures of her and her lavish dress from the headlights of her boyfriend's dune buggy in the waves of the Lo de Marcos beach pitch black. I have to admit though, the final product was sensual and elegant- very Mexican.

12. Made an extensive Sangria concoction and gathered with 50+ people for one of San Pancho's biggest social events of the year- the exotic and cherished Superbowl Sunday.

13. Worked the margarita booth for the Amigos de Lo de Marcos fundraiser and sold 5 water fountain sized jugs of invigoratingly potent margaritas-it was a good party to say the least.We raised $50,000 pesos=$5,000 dollars for the cause. Cheers to that!

14. Discovered the first sign of wildlife on our property- a 1.5 meter long rattle snake. I don't think I will be ever going back to that neck of the woods.

15. Have been given the honor to be apart of opening 2 different non-profit thrift stores for the local communities of San Pancho and Sayulita, and am now working on designing and constructing a large community garden and composting center with Amigos de Lo de Marcos.

16. Fallen back in love with the good ol' One Tree Hill. On a "furthering education" level, I have taken this time to critically analyze the show's commentary on the socialization of sex, drugs and rock n' roll. At least that's what I tell anyone that catches me in the act.

17. Witnessed a tragic car accident on the jungle mountain highway from only meters away, but subsequently witnessed a miracle-they first car to drive by in the dead of the night with no major hospital nearby within 30 miles was an ambulance. Still, I have now made a vow to not travel at night no matter what.

18. Final curve ball for tonight- I don't go to the beach every day.