Waiting For The Hordes

Semana Santa is in full swing, bus loads of tourists descending on beach towns throughout Mexico for two weeks of fun in the sun. Playa La Ropa is transformed during this period from a somewhat sleepy beach populated mostly by long-time visitors from the States and Canada into a madhouse of activity brought about by thousands of crazy Nationals from colder inland cities.

Memo, shown here under his umbrella, comes to the beach every day during his five month visit, except Sunday which is his laundry day, at 9:00 am and leaves at 3:00 pm. He hauls the same gear from town, sits in the same spot, reads books, and swims in the ocean. Typically, he is all alone on his stretch of beach, but not during Semana Santa. Now he has to share with tables and umbrellas for rent. In a couple of hours, every one of these will be occupied and they will remain that way until dark.