Welcome to all 830 subscribers of the Jaltemba Bay Life Newsletter, and many more who view it on our sponsor site, Jaltemba Bay Life, and our forum.

The average temps are rising here in Jaltemba Bay, as is the humidity (Allyson actually considered sleeping in our air-conditioned closet the other night, but decided that the cold hard tile floor wouldn't be comfortable for very long).  

The annual Patron Saint's Festivities are going on this week in La Peñita. Today is Day 7 of 11, with the finale to be held this Friday, May 20th. See below for more details. 

In case you didn't read our last issue, the Jaltemba Bay Life Newsletter is now being published bi-weekly. This will continue throughout the summer months. The next issue will arrive in your InBox on May 30th just in time for your morning coffee.   

To find out what else is going on this week, read through the information below. Be sure to take a peek at our online Community Calendar for even more local happenings.   

Did you know that the Vacation Rental and Real Estate sections of our site get the highest number of hits each week? If you haven't seen how this portion of our site works, click here: Vacation Rentals or Real Estate (for rentals, you can also click on the "Hotel & Rentals By Owner" tabs to view listings in each individual rental category). If you have a vacation rental and want to receive more bookings, or if you have a home or property you want to sell, why not let us help promote it for you? 

Saludos! 

Allyson Williams & David Thompson

JaltembaBayLife.com 

If you enjoy taking pictures, send us one of your favorite photos taken in the Jaltemba Bay area. Simply email us a title for the photo, a brief description of the photo and/or where it was taken, and the photographer's name. We will feature photos as we receive them.  

Photo of a shy baby green iguana peeking over the edge of a roof top.  

Christina Stobbs owns "This & That - Arts & Marketing" in Los Ayala. To learn more, click here >

We want to congratulate Martin and Christina, who were married at Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart) Church in Los Ayala on May 7, 2011. Many of you may know Martin from of his reupholstering business, La Magdalena Tapaceria, in Los Ayala. He has a great reputation for friendly service, quality work and reasonable prices.

A special thanks to Christina Stobbs who allowed us to use this photo. To view more photos of the wedding, click here. 

We are sad to report that two well-known locals have passed away. Luciano Pineda Vazques, from Pineda Restaurant in Guayabitos, died of a heart attack; and Antonio (Toño) Resendiz, age 40 of Hotel Ma. Estela in Guayabitos, died from complications during brain surgery. Our heartfelt condolences go out to both families.

(top left) Pitayo Cactus (since no one knew of any Pitayos growing here, I had to borrow a photo from the internet). (top right) Pitaya fruit. (bottom) bright red Pitaya fruit cut in half so you can see the edible seeds inside.

On the afternoon of May 4, while David and I were driving through La Peñita, we noticed a woman sitting on the corner of main street with a table overflowing with Guamúchil (which I featured last week--click here to read the article). I asked David to stop the car so I could take some more photos. On the side of her table sat a medium blue plastic bowl filled with a few small semi-round and very odd looking things. Quite honestly, I wasn't sure if it was a type of food or an insect. She and her client explained that they are called Pitaya (pronunced pee-tie-yah). 

Pitaya fruit comes from the Pitayo cactus (Stenocereus queretaroensis). The Pitayos are columnar in shape, and are very common in the arid zones of central and northern Mexico. The fruit has attractively colored pulp that ranges from bright red to yellow and orange. To eat it, you peel back the skin and eat the fruit as well as the numerous soft black seeds. It didn't occur to me to buy one at the time (why, I'm not sure), so I went back the following day. Luckily, she had another bowlful. These were larger, riper, and bright red inside. She told me that she was saving these "special ones" for a client, but agreed to sell one of them for 5 pesos. I was delighted! I walked back home, washed it in Microdyn, and cut in in half (as you can see in the photo above). The consistency is similar to that of a watermelon but less firm, and the flavor is mildly sweet and tastes like a pear. It is much better tasting than it looks, that's for sure. 

The woman explained that Pitayos bloom in the spring, are harvested, and commonly sold at local markets or transported to nearby cities at the end of April. In this particular case, both the Pitayas and Guamúchil were grown in the town of Cuastecomate, which is located east of Jaltemba Bay in the municipality of San Pedro Lagunillas, Nayarit.

Hellmann's Mayonnaise --  

a bit of history.

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as... 

Sinko de Mayo!!

We have created a new Featured Article Page on our sponsor site, Jaltemba Bay Life, to make it easier for you to find the information included in our weekly newsletters. This page is located under the "Newsletter" tab, and contains links to past and present featured articles including the hike to El Monteon, banking in our area, and even this week's recipe. You can now find and re-read an article without having to search through the entire list of newsletter archives. Click here to view the Featured Article Page now.

Our website, forum, and newsletter have been up and running now for 5 months. During that time, only a few of our readers have submitted articles and photos to be featured in our newsletter. This really surprises us, because we know there are writers and bloggers amongst you, and even a few photographers too.  

While we don't mind being your roving reporters, we think it would be a lot more fun and interesting if we included other peoples' points of view as well. Our sister sites, Sayulita Life and San Pancho Life have a slew of volunteers who write articles about everything from local hangouts, food, surf, fishing reports, birding and sea life, to interviews and personal stories. I guess what we're trying to say is that it doesn't matter "what" you write about, just that you participate in some way, shape, or form. And you certainly don't have to submit something every week, although we'd be thrilled if you did. Come on folks... join us in making our community website the best it can be!

"Kilometer of Books" Program 

by Susana Connors 

Jaltemba Bay La Peñita Rotary Club is asking all Rotarians and visitors heading to our area to bring books for children of all ages for the "Kilometer of Books" Program. The books should be in Spanish, or Spanish and English. The books will be used to stock new kindergartens and libraries at the local high schools, as well as for literacy programs. Books can help open a child's imagination through the world of knowledge. It may be summer and your winter trip is six months away, but no matter... start collecting your books now. Ask your friends and family to participate. Volume is not important, as we understand that books take up precious space and weight in your luggage.  

For more information about Rotary Club Jaltemba Bay La Peñita and its programs, email Susana Connors. Register for the Rotary bulletin here. 

We are proud to promote these businesses, vacation rentals, and real estate listings on the Jaltemba Bay Life site. Please support these and the other local businesses that make our website possible through their advertising. Thank You!

To see our complete directories, click the links below...   

> View all Businesses   

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> View Map of Businesses, Hotels & Vacation Rentals 

Add your business, hotel, or vacation rental (rental home, condo, apartment, bed and breakfast, or trailer park) to our directories, and be seen by people who are specifically interested in the Jaltemba Bay area -- VRBO and other rental sites can't offer that. And because you list "By Owner", you can change your information, pricing structure, discounts, photos, and availability as often as you like. For more information click the links below, or call or email us today!

> List your Vacation Rental or Hotel 

> List your Business 

Listing your Real Estate By-Owner on our site is easy, affordable, and runs until you sell. And for a limited time, we will also include an ad for your property in our weekly newsletter like those shown below. Click here to find out how.