February 2

February 2:

I woke up early Monday morning hoping that the rain had stopped but I saw that it continued to fall and harder than ever. There was no venturing out to OXXO for a coffee. In the short block there I would have been soaked!

I read from my novel that I had selected on my Kobo -The Plague - by Albert Camus. When the restaurant downstairs opened at 7:30, I decided I would "splurge" on one of their breakfasts. I ordered in Spanish (a lot of my lost Spanish is slowly returning) and sat back to admire the waves rolling in on the shore and the low-hanging clouds emptying themselves of their moisture on PV.

The young waiter brought me a large cup of "cafe americano" and some crema and azucar (cream and sugar). At first he was hesitant with me because his English was limited but when he saw or heard that I had some Spanish he was emboldened to use his English and I practised my limited Spanish on him. Together we were able to communicate quite effectively.

I had ordered a huevos tapatio breakfast which was 2 eggs sunny-side up on a large corn tortilla with some hot sauces on top - a hotter green one and a milder red one. Bookmarking the eggs were frijoles covered with quesa (cheese) and with corn chips in them to enable scooping the beans up and on the other side was a substantial amount of chilaquiles covered with some cheese curds. Also there was a side dish of 4 slices of Mexican pan (bread) with 4 packages of mantequilla (churned butter) and some delicious jam made of a berry that the waiter couldn't identify to me in English or Spanish.

The young man hovered over me because I wasn't as demanding as some of the other foreign guests in the room and probably because he felt comfortable talking to me. I must admit that for all this service and attention I left him a substantial tip.

Part of the rest of the day was taken up in watching the Mexican weekend vacationers trying to make the best of the weather situation. There were families in the pool because the water was warmer than the surface temperature which hovered around 20C. There were families on the beach with some of them cavorting in the waves.

During heavy downpours some of the older people retreated to shelter under overhangs and large beach umbrellas.

I did my daily blog, read some more from my novel, napped - I hadn't been sleeping well because of the arthritis in my shoulders - and then when there was a little bit of a break in the weather, I went down to the pool and did some water exercises and I visited with a French couple from Hearst, Ontario who were sitting at the pool's edge with their feet dangling in the water and sipping on some Budweiser beer.

The rain let up enough that Patti and I were able to walk the 6 blocks to Pepe's restaurant where we joined Sue and Phil and Millie and Wally for our evening meal. Patti and I had a platter of cut-up chicken thigh meat fried up with spices and onions and mushrooms. This dish came with a stack of soft corn tortillas and you made your own tacos and put your own hot sauce on the tacos. The sauces ranged in strength from mild to "Fire-engine hot"! Wash this down with ice-cold Fanta Naranja - orange crush type - and you can get a taste of nirvana!

After the meal we made our way back to the Rosita. Phil peeled off to our hotel and I stayed only a few minutes at the “Rosie” watching the 3 sisters play fast scrabble. I left because my arms and legs were really paining me.

Back at our Hotel Pescador I took an Advil and then tried to read more of my novel. Patti and Sue had to stay at the Rosita a while longer because just after I got back to our hotel, the sky opened up again.

Tomorrow's forecast is for 25C and mostly sunny!

As I finish this my friend the blackbird is back, sitting on the rail, preening himself and watching me type. Now he alights on the patio and moves up to the door sill but does not venture in this time. I guess the pickings inside our room are too slim to chance being pounced on by the big creature at the laptop!