Three and Beginning to Count

Dear Friends and Family,

We are confessing that we are truly ready to come home. The sun, warm breezes, cold beer, tangy margaritas and some very tasty food have all been great, but enough is enough. We suddenly realized it last night as we sat at El Patio enjoying a truly lovely evening. We are tired. Mexico, despite the surface glamor, is, in many ways, hard work. I think it is true of any significant culture shift. You are always working to fight language, mores, and simple inconvenience. While we relish the differences, after nearly 13 weeks it does wear you down. We always say that travels helps you appreciate differences, but it also helps you become aware of what you value in your own country and own home town.

Our main focus yesterday was a little shopping for family. We had put it off long enough. Time was running out, so, after catching a final performance of our friend, Bobby, with his band at the Saturday market, we caught a cab to the large mall, the one where Polley had found those famous "green" shoes. As I said earlier, it sits in waiting directly across from the marina where the cruise ships come in. Although they were for their "Cruise Victims," were told that most of the "cruisers" run to Walmart and Sam's Club which are right next store.

Since it was such a beautiful day, I did get a photo of the marina and the large ship that was visiting yesterday.

We managed to shop rather efficiently at the mall before running over the Walmart to pick up a storage bin. Since we have committed to next fall, we are storing some items that we don't need at home and will serve us well here. That done, we caught a cab back to La Fuente, not wanting to miss margarita time. We almost never drink a margarita at home, but, like hot dogs at a ball game, they just seem to taste better here! Then it was on to lunch duty. I call it duty because we are now obligated to finish what remains in the fridge. We got through the leftover pizza yesterday!

Since we didn't want to miss one of our last sunsets, it was down to Roberto's for putting the sun to bed at 7:15. It was quite a show!

The sky was filled with these kind of swirling clouds that made it all the more dramatic. I shot this standing on a planter, just over the heads of the crowds and carts on the Malécon.

Following the light show, it was on to a new restaurant that had been recommended to us by a couple we see nearly nightly at Roberto's. They are from Montreal and are regular visitors to the sea at sunset. The restaurant is called "Viejo Vallarta" (Old Vallarta) and is located on the very top floor of a building directly across from the Malécon. The view is spectacular.

I wish I could say the same about the service. While the food was quite good, we ordered two unique kinds of quesadillas: squash blossom and corn truffle, both good, but squash blossom was the winner. The service was horrible. It was clear that they had little or no interest in us as they were much taken with the larger parties who had come in. Three times I had to ask for water and twice for the bill. Despite an interesting menu, it was not intriguing enough to necessitate a return. However, it was a lovely evening, so we strolled to El Patio to say a final goodbye to our friends there. We will miss those very charming young people. When we return in October, Paola will be a mother and Alejandro will be yet another new arrival.

Then it was on up the hill for a nightcap, a bit more reading and lights out. A nice day, but we must admit to counting the days until Tuesday!

 

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