11.4.-31.5.2008: Huatabampito We cleaned up Winnie, said our goodbye's and then left Álamos. We drove to Huatabampito which is on the coast not far from Navojoa. We were going to do some "House-sitting" for an American couple who were returning to the States and needed someone to water the garden, switch the security lights on at night and generally keep an eye on the place. We had arranged to stay there until the beginning of July. There was also another woman, Esther, living in the Cassita - a small flat on the property, but it wasn't clear whether she could be there for the first three months which is why we were needed. The house is really nice and is directly on the beach. Great view! We found out what our duties were and how to do them and got to use the blowing machine to clear the sand off the patio and we also cleaned it. We were given a list of people who are allowed to use the house and barbecue area whilst the owners are away and all the other details that we needed to know about. We went out to lunch on the Sunday with the owners and the administrator for the property who looks after any repairs that need doing. Later that afternoon, the owners walked with us to the campground to introduce us as we will need to use the dump station and internet there. The following day, the owners left and then we cleaned the whole yard using the blower. The yard is very big and whilst Kirsten did the blowing, Helen shovelled all the sand that she had accumulated and dumped it on the dirt road. We couldn't believe how much sand there was! But it made a huge difference because it gets very windy here and we end up getting sand storms in the yard. Once the yard was done, we parked Winnie next to the house where it was level. We also cleaned out the outside toilet near the barbecue patio and outdoor shower. Sand had accumulated inside through an open window. So Kirsten found some polystyrene and filled the "window". Then we put cardboard across the bottom of the toilet door to stop the sand from getting in. The first guests turned up on Friday and stayed in the house. They stayed up very late at the barbecue but at least they kept the noise level down. Esther wanted to clean out the garage and put up some shelves so we got roped in to help. Esther's little poodle, Coquetta, sat and watched with an amused grin on her face! There is no rubbish collection here so we have to take it into Huatabampo which is the nearest town with a supermarket and leave it there or we have to go to the local dump. The first time we went to the dump we were in the motorhome. They weigh your vehicle when you arrive and again when you leave. We only had about 2 kg of rubbish which probably didn't even register seeing as Winnie weighs 3 tonnes!! All we had to do was drive up to a huge container and throw the rubbish over the sides. The second time we took Esther's car and had loads of rubbish because she had cleaned out the garage. This time we had to drive up to the actual dump. There were flies everywhere and when we got out, the smell was horrendous! Kirsten immediately started retching and was leaning against the side of the car. Helen shouted that we had to quickly get rid of the stuff and get out of there. Kirsten started killing herself laughing because she wasn't actually sick, but she kept retching! Helen managed to throw all the rubbish on the very smelly pile and we raced out of there! We were laughing so much we were crying!!! One problem we get here is that we are getting bitten alive by all the no-see-ums and the mosquitos!! They really are a plague. Even the strong winds don't seem to bother them. And seeing as we have to water the gardens, life isn't all fun and games! But Kirsten is manageing to get some work done on the computer and Helen goes for her daily walk on the beach for about 8-9 miles to keep fit. There are bottle-nose dolphins here and they swim right in front of the house nearly every day. On one of Helen's beach walks she found a really beautiful shell which she carried all the way back so that Kirsten could take it to Hamburg with her for her mother. It was a Queen clam. But Kirsten wanted more! So Helen went out hunting and came back with five shells that she brought back with her - more Queen clams and a concha with a beautiful bright pink opening. The next day she found 50 pesos ($5 US). On another day she saw a huge dead elephant seal that was being moved along the beach by the waves and she fetched Kirsten so she could take photos. It was very smelly and didn't exactly look very nice! We carried on sleeping in Winnie for as long as possible and used the house during the day because it is cooler inside. But eventually on the 19th May we gave up and moved into the house to sleep there because it was getting unbearable. At least we have air conditioning in the house and fans aswell. But it will end up just getting hotter. Kirsten is going to Hamburg for 5 weeks at the end of May but will Helen survive until July??