February 19

February 19

On our last day in Mexico I rose earlier than usual. I showered and and dressed in my "going home" duds - long pants, sox, runners, and a comfortable t-shirt. Patti rose early as she couldn't sleep. We weren't excited that we were going home but both sad that we had to leave already!

I had my last breakfast in the hotel dining room. 

  

I chose hueves divorcado, divorced eggs.   

It was too much for me.

I said my goodbyes to the wonderful staff

and then I made my way upstairs to finish my packing. Because the internet was impossible to access, I put away all my electronics.

We cleared our bills, emptied our safety deposit box, and headed for one last time at the beach and pool. We said our goodbyes to our poolside friends and to Patti's sister and her husband. 

They were staying on until the end of the month. Patti's other sister came to say goodbye. She was leaving a little later in the day.

The night before, Patti had booked our room for next year and put down a refundable deposit for next winter. It would be the same room but with the addition of a refrigerator. Made leaving a little easier. I took one final tour of our home for 3 weeks.

Our taxi arrived at 10:15 and we loaded in our suitcases and carry-ons and we were off to the airport where we were already checked in but needed to get our baggage checked. Patti's suitcase made the 50 pound allowance with a pound to spare.

Because check-in was so smooth and fast we had almost 2 hours to wait for our flight.

As we headed for our gate we had to walk through several duty-free shops where I discovered the identical bottle of tequila I had bought at our local grocery was $10 American cheaper than the duty-free price.

The 5 hour trip from PV to Calgary was uneventful. We were at 36 000 feet, the sky was clear, and we had a great view of the Mexican and American states and the Gulf of California.

Our 2 hour layover was delayed by one-half hour and our gate was switched. Had I not checked the departures board we would not have noted this as no announcements were made. We alerted other Winnipeggers about this change who were also waiting at the old gate.

Our son David picked us up and we were home by midnight after facing whiteout conditions on the Perimeter. I must admit that while I was happy to be home I was unhappy that I was still not in the warmth and in the culture of Mexico!

February 17

February 17

Our second last day here! I spent a day just soaking up the Mexican culture and the Mexican sunshine. I have finished 7 novels and I started on my 8th. Yes, I read quickly from 60+ years of intensive reading. I only read words if the person writing what I am reading uses words that are not in ordinary use. Otherwise my eyes and my brain absorb sentences at a time. I can't explain it but it works for me.
 
I have developed my sandbag role at the pool to the fullest. I have made many new friends here by engaging people in conversation. I especially like torturing the Mexicans in and around the pool with my Spanish. The language comes a little easier each day. And then when I get home, I lose it because I don't use it. Next year I will have to repeat the whole learning process again.

Patti and I have got the last of our souvenirs. She did a lot of beachcombing here and we will be bringing back a lot of materials for an art project she has in mind. I will be sacrificing a lot of my old stuff to make way for our treasures which is what I had planned to do.

I left the hotel around 5 p.m. to make my way slowly down the Malecon. I say slowly because my hips and legs were letting me know they were feeling some stress. I forged on slowly and got to Banc Banorte where I recharged my wallet with a few more pesos. I did a lot of people watching and I came to the conclusion that this would be a good place to live if there weren't so many of us tourists.

At Corona Street I turned inland. The first 3 short blocks put me about 25 metres above the Malecon. The next block had 98 steps interspersed in the sidewalk leading up to Matamoros Avenida which raised me up about another 25 metres. Then 20 more steps up Matamoros brought me to the Chez Elena Restaurant. In the restaurant there were a lot more stairs leading up to the roof top patio. I was tired when I sat down at a table overlooking the Bay of Banduras. We were on the same level as the top of the spire on the Cathedral near the Main Plaza. The waiter reserved 6 more chairs for me and I order a restorative mango margarita and enjoyed the scenery and the sun starting its descent into the ocean far out on the bay.

The rest of the group arrived shortly after 6...we had reservations for 7 p.m. There were quite a few whales breaching in the bay and we saw many water spouts before we filed down 2 levels to the restaurant part.

The group ordered. It being Fat Tuesday in PV and since I hadn't had any pasta since Winnipeg, I ordered fettucini alfredo con camarones and I must say that it was very delicious. I also had a cuba libre and the waiter and I were then had a running dialogue about Cuba for the rest of the meal. I received the nickname of Fidel. Herb ordered a special coffee drink for dessert.

After we left the Elena, I made my way down the stairs...going down was much easier than coming up!

At the hotel I caught up on all the news and sports and did some web-surfing and read more of my novel. Patti came home shortly after. She mentioned that they missed the parade but some friends had seen it and that it was disappointing. It seemed that the rainbowgroup was disproportionately represented and that there were few Mexicans in it!

On Juarez we separated and the group headed south on the Malecon hoping to catch the tailend of the Mardi Gras parade and to get some new ice cream sensation. I waited for a bus along with 100 others. There were none coming. I determined that they were being blocked by the parade. After 10 minutes with no bus - they usually run every minute or 2 - I headed down to the Malecon and enjoyed a slow evening stroll. There were just too many of us tourists and because tomorrow was Ash Wednesday there were many Mexicans starting a pre-holiday celebration.

At the hotel I caught up on all the news and sports and did some web-surfing and read more of my novel. Patti came home shortly after. She mentioned that they missed the parade but some friends had seen it and that it was disappointing. It seemed that the rainbowgroup was disproportionately represented and that there were few Mexicans in it!

February 16

February 16

It will be difficult to leave here on Thursday. The weather, the activity all around us, the sounds and smells...all of these have made a memorable impression.

Today the 3 sisters planned to go the zipline for the beautiful hike/trek there from the bus stop to the top of the mountain. I on the other hand remained behind to do my blog and to take some of our clothes to the lavanderia. I skipped breakfast in order to have brunch at my new friend's tiny restaurant located a few doors down from the restaurant.

I was greeted very warmly by Antonio and made to feel like a guest of honor. I gathered that I was one of his rare tourist visitors as most tourists would avoid his place because it looks too Mexican. He made sure the table was clean, my chair was comfortable, and that I understood the menu printed on the wall. The walls were covered with blowups of old Mexican heroes. Antonio took me on a tour to explain them when I showed interest in this one of Pancho Villa with one of his soldiers. He was peasantly surprised at my knowledge of Mexican history and the fact that I could identify many of the figures before he told me about them.

I received many surreptious stares as it was obvious not many gringos or Canadians made this restaurant a stopping place.

I ordered two tacos de chivas and a Jarritos naranja drink. While I waited for my order to be prepared, Antonio brought me a styrofoam cup of a type of spicy meat broth. His partner, the cook, brought a sectioned plate with chopped up cilantro, onions, and cabbage on it. She instructed me in Spanish and through hand gestures that I was to spoon a small amount of each of these into my broth. I did. and when I sampled it. it was delicious.

My two tacos arrived. They each consisted of 2 deep fried corn tortillas laden with goat meat and some fried onions. Antonio put down 3 containers of salsas in front of me and pointed to them saying, "No, No, Si!" This signified that 2 of them were very picante and one of them wouldn't kill my taste buds. I took a small sample of each on a finger tip, found he was right, and so I chose the "Si!"  I must admit that tacos de chivas now rank right up there with my favorite of tacos de lengua.

After I finished this delicious meal and I had assured him that I had realy really enjoyed it, I asked him for permission to photograph him. He insisted on his partner joining him. She was so reluctant because she felt her appearance wasn't worthy of a picture, that I had to hurry my photo for fear that she would bolt. Thus the blurry effect!

My meal cost me 38 pesos and I left a 12 peso tip. Cost in Canadian money about $4.50...but the meal and experience were priceless. And no, I am writing this 24 hours later, and I have no "turista" because they did run a sanitary restaurant as evidenced by the many customers.

Black Bart just visited me as I write this. He walked right up to my chair and squawked at me for not being a more messy eater of snacks. The pickings around my feet were slim. Now he has been sitting on our balcony railing and keeping track of me plus all the avian activity in our neighborhoood..fly-bys of pelicans, pigeons, blackbirds, and frigatebirds. He is quite noisy and seemingly unafraid. Iam reluctant to go get my re-charging battery to load into my camera for a video. He has so many different calls!

After I got back to our room, I had the painful process of doing my blog as the internet connection kept breaking. But I was successful and then I headed to the pool! I took several pictures of the flora around the pool and some beach pictures of the activity there and then I took on my role as a sandbag with intermittent dips in the pool. I also read from a new Lee Child novel on my Kobo.

At 4:00 p.m. Patti, Susan, and Phil joined me at the pool and we had our happy hour of a refreshment and totally delicious but really decadent snacks of Mexican limed peanuts and Mexican Chitos.

For supper Patti and I shared some chicken and fresh buns from Ley's. These buns have very little nutritional value but they taste so good and at a cost of 3 cents each, they are good deal! Patti and I then worked on our journals and some reading. I followed the Jets/Oilers scores and Jennifer Jones curling scores when I could access them on TV. The evening was warm ... about 23C with a hint of breeze. We did see a group of vaqueros ride by on our street with their beautiful horses. By the time I got to my camera they were already out of range in the darker part of the street.

And life goes on!

February 15

February 15
As our time here winds down, we are torn between staying here another month or two and seeing our children and grand children whom we miss very much. If we could import them here, we would!
We spent a quiet day with our OXXO coffees, some meditations on the balcony,and then Patti went beachcombing while I resumed my role as a sandbag at the pool with my NY Times Crosswords and a good Lee Child novel on my Kobo.

Every day when I go to the pool, delicious scents from some of the exotic flowers around the pool tickle even my old nose!

 At 1:30 our Guadalajara friends arrived and we set off for the Barracuda restaurant located on the beach 3 blocks away on Paraguay Street. Phil had gone on a motorcycle ride to San Sebastian to scout out where we will be making a day trip to on Tuesday.



The restaurant was open on 3 sides to the ocean and, of course, sea food was their specialty.

Everyone ordered their favorites. I had tacos de pulpo(octopus) and were they ever good!

Phil joined us at 2:30 and he and Mario did some discussions on road travel to Guadalajara and beyond aas he and Sue will be in Mexico until the middle of March.

At 3, Mario and Maggi had to leave for Guadalajara, 4 hours away. We had had a short but intense visit. Mario insisted on picking up the bill for the meal as we were his guests in his country!









At about 6:30 I took a Centro bus to the Main Plaza to hear the assembled orchestra on the bandstand and to watch the dancers that were already doing their thing to the music. As I made my way to the Plaza on the Malecon, I noted all the people and the beautiful sunset.

I saw some other Winnipeggers there. Patti and her sister Millie showed up after 7 to take part in the dancing. Because of my leg problems, I once again enjoyed my role as an observer.

I lasted until 8 and then I took a bus back to our hotel. As I walked past the food stands on Uruguay Avenida, I noticed that the 3 stands were doing a great business. I stopped at the only one which I had not tried yet. I ordered a pollo burger and a Fanta naranja. The young woman I ordered from dug fresh chicken out of the refrigerator and her husband, who looked about 22, chopped it up and fried it on a grill. As I sat there waiting, I noted how large the burgers were and how much the local Mexicans were enjoying them.

I received the bottom half of my burger while he toasted the top half-bun. I could load up with raw onions, peppers, shredded cabbage or lettuce, chopped jalapenos, and any kind of dressing imagineable. I took it easy as I had learned that a lot of dressings are mucho picante, very spicy hot!
I managed to eat half of it and I had the rest wrapped so that when Patti got back from her dancing in a famished state (3  hours of dancing will do that to you) she would have something to nosh on.

Again a great day!

February 14

February 14

The day started off with several intoxicated young men yelling beneath our window to their friend situated on the floor above us at about 5:00 a.m. After they had been escorted away by hotel security, I tried dozing for about an hour without any luck.  I got up showered and shaved and went and got a coffee from OXXO plus some ice for our cooler.

Patti and I had a light breakfast and then Patti, Millie, and Sue met our Mexican "son" in the lobby and he drove them to an authentic Mexican market. I meanwhile struggled through our poor wi-fi connections to get a blog published. It took me the better part of the morning but I was successful.
I spent the rest of the day pool-side.

The beach was filled with Mexicans enjoying a day at the beach.

The waves had subsided to normal size and there were many people in the water.

At sunset we took some food and refreshments to Sue and Phil's ocean-side balcony and we toasted the setting sun and enjoyed our food and drinks and some really good conversation.

Tomorrow we get together with Mario and Maggi!