Bodies Found in the San Carlos Desert

A few weeks ago in the evening, while I walked my doggies in the desert just north of Loma del Mar's gate, my neighbor Marge popped over to warn John. 

“Tell Levonne it's best not to wonder around in the desert. Twelve bodies were found at the old airport!” Marge went on to explain to him that her neighbor had just popped over and informed her about the report on that evening's news.

View of the desert surrounding Loma del Mar community in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Upon my return home after the lovely outing along a dirt path among creosote bushes and Ocotillo, John's first words were about the twelve bodies discovered in the desert and Marge's warning not to go out there.

Daily over the previous two months that we'd been in San Carlos, we'd reflected on our feeling of safety in our small part of Sonora, Mexico.

“You mean right out there where I was walking?”

“That's what Marge said.”

“Who were the murdered people? What happened?”

“I don't know. She didn't have much information.”

Stunned I walked inside. My head spinning with images of bloody bodies scattered throughout the desert. I imagined a drug-gang shootout the preceding night. We had heard sounds coming from the desert but sloughed it off as kids with firecrackers.

As I sat in bewilderment, I imagined other possibilities for the deaths. Could the twelve bodies have been migrants traveling on foot toward the U.S. who had perished from thirst? Quickly I ruled that the migrants surely would not perish so near a town in their own country from thirst.

It occurred to me to check the U.S.State Department website for warnings about travel in Mexico. Surely they would know of this if it was on the news already. Nothing there. No report of a recent rash of murders in Sonora. I did however learn about “prohibited travel destinations” due to violence. 

Sonora state – Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Reconsider travel due to crime. Sonora is a key location utilized by the international drug trade and human trafficking networks. However, northern Sonora experiences much lower levels of crime than cities closer to Sinaloa and other parts of Mexico.

Okay. So roads to our destination and San Carlos were good although for other parts of the state of Sonora, the warning was Level 3: Reconsider Travel.

I went on to google current news stories on "murders in San Carlos." No reports of twelve bodies in San Carlos area. After nothing but dead ends on the internet, I decided to get on with dinner prep and to make the rest of the day as regular an evening as possible. But I must tell you that “my realilty” began to take a major turn.

What had we gotten ourselves into? I began to wonder how we could live in the middle of such violence. Had I been too cocky with talk about he violence of Mexico not being dissimilar to violence in the U.S.? I wondered if we should leave Mexico immediately. We had already invested so much time and energy and resources in getting our winter abode set up.

That same evening as we got news of the twelve bodies, we were sure that that night's "firecracker pops and bangs" were indeed bullets. Another shootout in the desert?

The next day, as soon as the Loma del Mar office opened, I went in and asked the Mexican National employees what was up. Surely they'd be concerned too.

“There's a rumor going around that twelve bodies were found out there in the desert.” I pointed toward where I had walked the previous day.

The manager replied, “Yes. Bodies were found.”

“Oh my God!”

“Don't worry yourself with all that. Cartel just kill one another. They aren't interested in you and me.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

“Just put it out of your mind.”

“But. Aren't you concerned?”

“Not really.”

I could hardly believe my ears. And I was sure she must be lying. How could anyone ignore twelve dead bodies.

“Aren't people concerned?”

“Yes, People are concerned. They want to know whose bones they are.”

“Bones?”

“Families want to determine if the bones belong to a missing family member.”

“You mean they found bones?”

“Yes. An investigation will happen to determine identities.”

All of a sudden my mind made yet another major shift. I cautioned myself. Always check your news sources. Always ask questions. Don't accept the first thing you hear about what someone heard on the news. After asking what the manager's source of information was and being given a web address for Sonora news, I returned home and got back on the computer.

The address took me directly to the story about the twelve sets of bones. The speculation in the news report was that the remains belonged to twelve fishermen that went missing in 2015.

In the days to follow, I learned more about the airport that had been shut down many years earlier because it had begun being used by drug cartel. I was relieved that the locals, or whomever made that decision, did so. 

Fast forward. A few weeks later, I still love San Carlos. I am amazed by all the beauty, the people, the abundance of great activities. I love the place at Loma del Mar that is now our winter home. But I am also reminded that no matter how safe a place comes to feel, one best continue to exercise common-sense caution, while simultaneously maintaining a positive attitude. For where I put my focus, is what will be my life.

Our winter home at Loma Del Mar, San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico.

“Envision the future you desire. Create the life of your dreams. See it, feel it, believe it.” Jack Canfield

Hector Lives!

There is a painting above my San Carlos, Mexico, studio door.  On first glance, I wondered whether I might paint over what was there and put one of my own up. Then one day John returned from a walk and said "Hector Vari's murals are all over Loma del Mar."

In the days to follow, I too noticed all the different beach, sea, and desert scenes throughout our little gated community.

Sure enough, upon inspection, Hector Vari's signature adorned the work. I began to wonder about this Hector Vari. Who is he? Does he live in San Carlos? Is he even alive? Our painting is dated 1987.

Part of the Hector Vari painting above the door of my studio.

One person invited me inside her place when she saw me photographing a mural outside. Senor Vari had painted scenes throughout their casita.

So my quest began to discover more about the artist that created so much art over the years in the two-hundred-resident community that we are now part of.  From an internet search, I found this information on the What's Up San Carlos website.

"While the desert landscape around San Carlos is beautiful, seeing the multitudes of murals throughout town painted by our very own Hector Vari makes the scenery even more spectacular.Hector’s hands are gnarled from arthritis from holding paint brushes for most of his life. He never had any formal art training and says that the best teacher was him practicing his drawing and painting in the streets as he was growing up. He did work at an art institute in Nogales for eleven years. His paint brushes are stiff from paint but he can certainly still create his magic with them. He paints with acrylic paint because it dries quickly and can be washed.

"If you wanted Hector to paint something for your wall or home, you can give him full creative ownership; you can tell him what you have in mind and let him run with it; or you can be even more specific. For our project, we told him what we didn’t want and then what we liked. He spent seven hours on our mural (the cacti painted around our glass blocks pictured above). It was awe-inspiring to watch him create another one of his masterpieces. He can paint anything from fruit, to landscapes, to people, to animals, to sealife, and in any size from entire walls to wall hangings.

"Hector Vari is 83 years young and has been in San Carlos for 33 years. He never married but was with the same woman for 48 years before she died of cancer four years ago. Together they produced seven children. Hector has numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren and will proudly show you their photos. Hector spends the winters in Mazatlan.

How to contact Senor Vari? "About the only way to track Hector down is to find him most days in front of Rosa’s Cantina after 10:00am painting canvases and other articles. Go see what he is currently working on, have a chat with him (his English is quite good), or pick him up for one of your very own ‘Hector Vari’s’."

A few days ago, John and I went to Rosa's Cantina for lunch. Sure enough there was a thin, older gentleman across the street. I approached the man that looked all of eighty plus years. In spotty Spanish on my part and limited English on his part, I thanked Senor Hector Vari for all his creations at Loma del Mar. He graciously accepted my words and said that the location where I had found him would be where he could be found in the future.

Knowing an artist of a place breaks down barriers of language and culture.  The need to create, to paint, to imagine unites us. For an instant, all seemed well in the world.

What is your experience when you come to know an artist from another part of the world?

Wealth or Triple Trailer Trash?

As of January 1, 2018, six weeks after arriving in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, John and I are officially TTT (Triple Trailer Trash). Yes, we now own three RVs. One (the Jazz) is permanently affixed with a sun room on our property at Surfside RV resort in Parksville, British Columbia, Canada.

The second trailer, (The Wanderer), we use to travel about North America. And the recent addition to our fleet, our third RV (Wanderer II), is our new winter home. This second Wanderer is a 28-foot travel trailer that is set up on our property at Loma del Mar Recreation Park (www.lomadelmarsancarlos.com) in San Carlos, Mexico, alongside a small casita.

Charlie and I walking at Loma del Mar,
Sonora, Mexico.  The community
where we now have our winter home.

Yes, over the holidays, John and I gave ourselves the gift of a permanent snowbird destination. We now have a summer home in Canada and a winter home in Mexico.

Our living space inside Wanderer II.

How did we come to this decision? We fell in love with San Carlos; its desert geography on the northeastern edge of the Sea of Cortez, its small friendly tourist atmosphere (similar to Parksville's), the warm winter climate, and the excitement of being in a new country with a different language. Creating a way of life in Mexico feels good.

Being part of an established snowbird park offers us an immediate community. People travel to Loma del Mar from all over North America. Utah, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Quebec, California, Wyoming to name a few places out of dozens.

The diversity in retirement ages at Loma del Mar ranges from people in their fifties to many in their eighties and nineties. The older folks are great inspirations! Active and adventuresome.

Now that we have a home base here, John and I have thrown ourselves into our Spanish lessons with increased gusto. We are committed to learning about this place and the people beyond the surface.

We spent the last ten days of 2017 making our little Mexican hacienda our own. John went through all the electrical, plumbing and gas systems and repaired problems. I cleaned and organized the interiors of Wanderer II and our little casita (that I'll use as my art studio). We tended to plants and spruced up and furnished the outdoor living space.

The studio (on left) and Wanderer II (on right) shot from the patio.

Wanderer II  on left and studio casita on right.

Charlie is enjoying the new place.  Inside the casita
that I'll use as my art studio.

I guess we're officially retired now, which translates to "ready to fully live". We're looking forward to at least a decade of snowbirding pending good health and barring unforeseen circumstances. For now, we have three months before we head back to our northern home in Parksville. Just set the studio up today and plan to get back to painting tomorrow. Funny...it strangely feels all just right!  Ahh! Deep breath.

New Year's Day hike in Nacapule Canyon minutes from
our new winter residence.

The pool and hot tub area at Loma del Mar.

If you have questions or comments, I welcome them. Just leave your message below and I'll answer. Thank's for reading along.