Los Mochis to Celestino Gasca

We were quite impressed with the agricultural region south of Los Mochis. The farm fields seemed to be endless with corn, lettuce, broccoli, peppers, and huge silos. This valley region is between the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range and the ocean. It's beauty and serenity reminded me of growing up in the Santa Maria, CA valley. When I was a kid mostly vegetables were grown there but has since become a wine vineyard region. This region, the state of Sinaloa, produces 80% of the mangos in Mexico. The road conditions seem to be improving as we head south--wider shoulders and smoother pavement. It was a beautiful and relaxing 5 hour drive. At one of the toll booths, where there are always taco stands and small mini-marts (similar to Circle-K or 7-11 but here they're called OXXO) we stopped for lunch. Our first true gastrointestinal adventure! We ordered 2 carne asada tacos and a coke for 28 pesos, or about $2.25. The tacos came complete with lettuce, and on the side were radishes, cucumbers, green onions, and two types of sauces. There is no refrigeration at these little stands, and the morning ice had long melted when I reached into the chest cooler for a still-cold bottle of coke. The vegetables and condiments were kept covered with small towels to keep flies and insects away. I grimaced a bit but you know, when in Rome...The food was delicious and we were soon on our way again.

One of the most interesting agricultural sights were they HUGE tents that covered large parcels-5-10 acres-of land. The picture shows the color and shape but doesn't begin to show its enormity. We've learned they grow all sorts of peppers in these tents as winter nights are too cold and damage the crops. John noticed many of the fields held new crops, amazing considering it is December. The region is criss-crossed with aquaducts. Most workers we saw in the fields seemed to be doing irrigation-related chores. Only a few fields were at harvest. In our twisted sense of humor we joked about how funny it would be to see gringos out in the fields, doing work that the "Mexicans just won't do."

We arrived to our campground near the small village of Celestino Gasca about 1:30. Campers gather every evening under this palapa patio to watch the sunset. Below are a couple pics I took that first evening.

The campground is located 1.2 km (kilometers) down a dirt road outside the small village of Celestino Gasca. (1 mile = 1.6 km) We walked there for lunch our first day. Along the way we saw the sign warning against violence to women, and next to it an anti abortion sign. The circus is in town too. You will notice in the satallite picture that only the main road in from the highway is paved. The small school is located on the main road.

We'd been told there were three restaurants in town. In these villages, "restaurant" is actually a home where food is prepared in the family's kitchen and served on a palapa-covered patio. There are usually 3 or 4 plastic tables with chairs. Here, mostly seafood is served. We decided to walk around a bit and check out our options before choosing our lunch destination. Though we always carry a bottle of water with us we like to contribute to the local economy by buying snacks and bottled drinks from small stores, also located in street-side houses. I stopped at one to get a bottle of OJ and asked the young teen clerk where was the best restaurant in town. He said, but mostly it was his hand directions that I understood, to go down the street one block and over another block. So, we did. But we found nothing that resembled a restaurant. There was a man and woman watching us, so I went over to them and asked if there was a restaurant on that block. He asked me what kind of food we were looking for. I said it didn't matter, just something good. When we said "camerones" (shrimp) he motioned for us to follow him. So, we did. He took us back in the direction we'd come from on the main road through town, (passing the boys who'd sent us in his direction) but continued another block to one of the restaurants we'd passed. He said they were the best for shrimp. It was about 11am but none of the tables were set up and we weren't sure it was open. He went into the house (everyone's doors are always open) and we heard him speaking with two women. A young girl soon appeared with our new friend and asked what we would like to eat. Between the four of us with a mutual language barrier we weren't quite sure what she was offering but we ended up ordering what sounded like shrimp cocktail, and two cokes. She returned inside and we could hear several female voices. Our friend retrieved the cokes for us and we asked if someone in his family owned the restaurant. He said his brother does. He was being so kind and helpful John told him to get a coke for himself and we would pay for it. He stayed with us till our food was delivered and he seemed pleased once we tasted and said it was delicious. In our time with him we asked what basic questions we could:

How many people live in Celestino Gasca? 300

What does he do for work? Fisherman

Has he lived there all his life? Yes

I don't know why we didn't ask his name! We won't make that mistake again.

We asked about the circus and if there would be clowns. He said yes, that it is very amusing. These experiences and interactions could be described as "small town hospitality" but there is something more to it. There is a gentleness, warmth and kindness we find here that I hope many of our friends will experience sometime.

After lunch we walked back to the RV park. We did not take Gracie with us to the village so we retrieved her and walked about a mile down the other direction from the RV park to see a brand new RV park that some neighbors here told us about. We walked about 5 miles that day.

Below are links to a couple of web albums to see pictures of this area. I've added captions so if you view them with a slide show, make sure to adjust the slideshow timing to 6 or 7 to allow enough time to read.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dealegria1961/GoingToCelestinoGasca?authkey=dXWF9zYSS-U#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dealegria1961/MiscPicturesWhileStayingAtCelestinoGasca#

http://picasaweb.google.com/dealegria1961/VillaCelesteCampground#