Hunting Tacos

Cali and I started out the day with a morning stroll down the beach. The ocean was calm and the winds were light, so I decided to take advantage of the conditions and get in a paddle out in the bay. I set my sights on Isla Cardon just a short paddle from Tres Amigos. I reached the island in a little over 15 minutes and explored it from all sides. Lots of birds are making their homes here; pelicans, frigates, boobies and herons.

The water went from deep seas to a rocky shore that I could watch pass by at about 10 or 12 feet below the surface. I was occasionally surprised by a shallower section of Reef that would suddenly rise up beneath me. Around the island, the waters were churning as they reflected their energy back from the steep bluffs. I head south towards the hill that marks the harbor entrance and when I reached the inlet, I turned right to follow the inside of the bay.

I cruised in close to restaurant row watching the vendors and rental people getting set up for the day. A herd of horses were trotting up the beach to spend the day being ridden by tourists as the kayak boys drug their plastic boats out onto the sand. I did another circumnavigation around the island for the exercise then beached myself in front of our park where I jumped in the water for a cooling swim.

It was a mellow morning hanging out under the awning eating oats and chatting up a few neighbors. The fruit truck came through and the residents surrounded his truck selecting the best of the vegetables and fruits on offer. I wrote up a post and got it up on the interweb and by that time, I was experiencing a slight hunger pang or two.

I unleashed the bike and pedaled into the local area of Isla de la Piedra in search of an open taco stand. So far this trip, every location has had rows and rows of seafood shacks but no basic tacos. There are some stands, but they don’t open until night time. After passing by the Dept. of Fishing, I came across a small hole in the wall taco stand adjacent to the little bakery. I grabbed a seat and sat for a couple of tasty tacos de birria and cabeza. A few colorful locals were finishing up their lunch as the passing traffic would honk at the one clueless dog that kept hanging out in the middle of the road. Just as I was getting worried about him, he ran off to a house down the block figuring he was safer inside. The tacos were unreal and I got some kind of pineapple pastry that had just come hot out of the oven from the little bakery and took it home to munch in the shade.

When I started feeling a little FOMO, I found my kickboard and went out into the snappy little shorebreak and body surfed a few small waves then sat around in my shade chair watching the comings and goings. There’s always a drum and brass band somewhere kicking off a cacophonous flurry of celebratory noise nearby and tourists, usually Mexican nationals, riding by on rented horses or quads. A few too many motorized vehicles on the beach, but it what it is.

Cali got bored, so I put her inside then hiked down the shore to the south and watched the sun do its thing from multiple angles on the way back. A beautiful day in Isla de la Piedra. A different ambiance here. Villa Celeste was peace and tranquility, here it is party city. Lots of drinking going on and overly loud slurred conversations “so I says to him, I sez………” But by eleven or so things quieted down and we slept pretty good.