We have a little sound recorder, and here are the sound files we’ve made. I think that if you have an mp3 player on your computer, clicking on the file name will simply play the file.

Jolly Mexican Mechanics is a 45-second mp3 file that was made about 7:30 AM on December 13, 2005. We had been traveling down Highway 15 from Arizona, when somewhere between Guaymas and Mazatlan our clutch began slipping. We limped into a delightful campground on the beach on a Saturday afternoon, at least an hour from any city. The folks at the front desk called the mechanic, and he came by on Monday and said he’d be here early the next day. He arrived at 7 AM with two helpers and the three of them had the clutch disassembled in less than an hour. During this time, they kept up a steady patter of jokes and onvesation.

Kelly put my recorder in his shirt pocket. He walked by their pickup to catch a little of the music from their radio, then stood by them as they worked. Their joking around didn’t slow them up a bit.

(As for the clutch, they came back later in the morning with one new Toyota part from the nearest city and another part they had fixed. Within an hour, we were all back together again. Total cost, $100 US, not counting the extra days we stayed over at the beach.)

Others:

A party next door to where we are living. It kept me awake so I went outside with the recorder.

Children singing
when we were in Michoacan in 1970.

Cicada The sound of the rainbird is common before the rains begin here by Lake Chapala.