Buzzing about PV

One and all,

Very little to report, just that we continue well and are enjoying our time in PV. We are at about the halfway point in our stay and are continuing to get out a bit more each day. The weather has not been real cooperative. By Portland standards, one feels remiss in complaining at all, but there has been pretty much a continuous cloud cover for the last couple of weeks. Temperatures continue warm and pleasant and we do get periods of breaks in the overcast, but just clear skies have been absent. A morning will begin clear, but my mid-morning, the clouds move in and remain for the most of the rest of the day.

Our social life continues to be lively. We even begin to feel that it is perhaps too lively. Even when we think we are spending some time on our own, someone we know shows up and the whole nature of the evening shifts. A couple of nights ago after lunching with Phil and LaJule from Chicago, we bid them adieu as they were set to return home yesterday. So, in anticipation of an evening by ourselves, we went to El Patio and, after sitting for about 10 minutes with our glasses of wine, Phil and LaJule show up for their last night in town. As I say, we enjoy them a lot, but we have just come to expect the unexpected in PV and go with the flow.

Tuesday had been a busy day as we lunched with Phil and LaJule and then met Ray and Mary Anne Sander that night to introduce them to El Patio. They knew nothing about it and we love to introduce the place to people for the first time. As I am sure I have said before, El Patio sits behind a sort of Colonial-style wall. You enter by walking up a narrow ramp that reveals nothing about the place. You turn the corner and suddenly the place just opens up to the sky. It is such a warm, pleasant, tranquil environment. Tuesday evening was also one of those crystal clear nights where the clouds had vanished and the stars served as our ceiling.

Wednesday was a sort of break. However, it started in crisis mode! Polley had developed some severe redness in her right eye. By Wednesday morning, it was worse. So, about 8:15 am, we headed to the hospital to an ophthalmologist. In one of the most frightening Mexican cab rides we have ever taken, we were at the fancy, new Premiere Hospital in 10 minutes. I think an ambulance with sirens blaring would have been slower than this cab! Anyway, in 15 minutes Polley was in to see the doctor. For those of you expecting that Mexico would provide a sort of backward, 3rd world level of care, think again! Within minutes, the doctor has computer images of Polley’s eye, had dilated them, given pressure tests, etc. He assured her that it was not a danger and prescribed some drops for her. We caught a cab back to town and were back in an hour. Amazing. At Kaiser, I would still be sitting waiting for my Primary Care Physician to refer me to someone who might actually help.

That afternoon Polley was pampered. Hair coloring, pedicure, the works. Meanwhile, I took myself to the beach for the first real sun time since we arrived her more than 5 weeks ago. I picked up Polley after a couple of hours and we enjoyed a very low-key afternoon, eating both lunch and dinner in our place.

Thursday was back to the beach for some sun, when it decided to break through. We lunched in again and that evening joined Neal and Judy Higgins at their place for drinks before going to dinner a new place, an Italian trattoria called Baccon de Vino. A tiny place, but the food was excellent. Polley and I shared a delicious Niçoise salad. It has all the ingredients of a Niçoise, but was chopped and the flavors were blended; it was fabulous and all for about $5. Also had some meatballs that were fine, but nothing to really rave about. However, Neal and Judy had a Pesto Lasagne that they said was also very good. Prices were reasonable and flavors were memorable. We will return soon.

Today we are back into the social scene. We are taking the shuttle upriver to El Rio BBQ. It will be a nice afternoon of friends, food and some good music. I will try to get some more pictures of the place this time and give you a full report next time.