On any given afternoon you might hear a bicycle horn as a three-wheeled yellow adult bike heads your way. The hand pushed vehicle is adorned with many types of snacks and hand made beverages. Prices range from $5 to $30 pesos. Try, the Tostilocos for a full snack that goes great with an afternoon Netflix.
Tostilocos are a popular Mexican antojito that consists of Tostitos tortilla chips topped with cueritos, cucumber, jícama, lime juice, Valentina hot sauce, chamoy, Tajín chili powder, salt, and “Japanese peanuts”. The dish was first conceived in the late 1990s by street vendors in Mexico. Wikipedia
La Casa is a safe and fun place for the Kids of Lo de Marcos to spend time. It is also an enviornment that invites authentic interaction between people of different backgrounds and cultures.
Company OverviewLa Casa de los Niños was conceived between Patti & Dave Martinez and Dulce & Jim Heinrich in October 2005. We had lost our family Lauren, Kailee, Cameron and Matthew, in January and wanted to use the memorial fund established in their honor to do something for the kids in Lo de Marcos. Dulce had been tutoring kids in her home and thought that a place for kids to go after school to get help with homework and perhaps do art projects would be a good thing. We decided then and there that we would find a small place in town and call it La Casa de los Niños! Well, on December 12, 2005 we opened our doors and found 85 kids waiting to come in! Luckily, we had a number of volunteers recruited from the snowbird ranks that come down to Lo de Marcos and split everyone into groups and went off to various parts of town and the beach, as our small space couldn’t manage that many kids. We soon grew out of the small space and moved into a larger space within 4 months. We have had English classes, ongoing art classes, computers to use for homework, a great kitchen to bake and cook, a game room, sports activities and most recently the creation of a library. Our kids have performed community service work, cleaning trash from the beach and streets, baking treats and taking them to the senior center, educating others about the importance of recycling, and participating in bi-yearly spay clinics hosted by La Casa.
Out of the tragedy of losing our family in an auto accident in 2005 and most recently the loss of Dulce and Jim’s son Fernando from Leukemia, we have learned to accept the love of many children and return it as part of our healing. We have enjoyed being a part of and accepted by the community of Lo de Marcos. We are all invited to the various special events held by the two local schools and are honored to be a part of the yearly graduation ceremonies in the escuela primaria. We have had a number of people from the US and Canada come to La Casa to volunteer their time and share their special skills with the kids over the past years. In our recent move to yet another location to the center of town next to the new town plaza we received the overwhelming support of the townspeople by helping us move, performing electrical, plumbing and roof repair, the trimming of the very tall coconut trees and the generous donation of gravel for our huge yards path and sports field. We have experienced healing to our souls…we feel…lucky!
La Casa is a registered Non Profit in the USA and is supported by donations of money, supplies, materials, computers and furniture. Our expenses include rent, utilities, salaries for two teachers and the purchase of various materials and supplies. Our estimated yearly expenses are little over $10,000 US. We have a number of fundraisers throughout the year, a golf tournament in nearby Monteon, ice cream socials and bake sales in the states, and our Eternal Circle of Light ceremony held on the anniversary date of our loss. Donations are continually received via the Spencer Martinez Memorial Fund, c/o of Westamerica Bank, 800 Gravenstein Hwy, Sebastopol, CA 95472. or La Casa de los Niños, P.O. Box 1355, Sebastopol, CA 95473
On La Viena is a treasure chest of sweets. On your way to the river on a hot afternoon stop by with $5 pesos. If you need a map of the town, stop by Galvan Real Estate.
The Library of Lo de Marcos is located behind the plaza. There are books in English, Spanish and French. It is open each weekday afternoon.
The site is also the office of the Delegado. Next door is the town seamstress. On Wednesday evenings starting at 6:30 there is a one hour guided meditation.
There is a spade/neuter clinic held most months to reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats.
The library is the home of the Lo de Marcos Food Bank and the Bilingual Story Hour.
We enjoy this wonderful beach restaurant in Lo de Marcos most recently yesterday March 5th having ordered two delicious pizzas! We have enjoyed many lovely meals with friends at their beach side restaurant. Their music nights on Wednesday’s are awesome enjoyed by many people and open to all!Classic cocktails · Great food · Cosy atmosphere · Scenic views · Outdoor dining
This little coffee window is located directly across from Talaquepaque. It is part of Endless Summer and boasts many types of coffee and occasional pastries.
There is a wine shop in Lo de Marcos at the corner of streets Luis Echeverria and Metalica Hildalgo. This is a small watering hole that carries wine, beer and speciality drinks. Live music can be heard floating out into the pueblo on selective nights. Stop by and check it out most days from noon til 10:00 p.m.
Secrets of Lo de Marcos 