Dear Family and Friends,
I think this will be the final entry in the 2013 Mexico Extended Vacation. WE discovered last night that our flight leaves an hour and fifteen minutes earlier than we thought so our morning, tomorrow, will not be as leisurely as we planned. I love all my Apple products, and the way they coordinate with one another. However, things get tricky when you cross over time zones. Suddenly, a time you entered in PST shows up differently when you take the computer to CST. When you add the fact that the US has switched to DST while we down here have not yet, things get even more scrambled. It does mean that we get into Portland a bit earlier than planned.
Yesterday was Easter here, as it was for you. Somehow I thought in this predominately Catholic country, it would, somehow, be a bigger deal. Wrong! While there have been a series of religious events during the week, and the town has been packed with Mexicans from Guadalajara, Mexico City and other inland cities, yesterday you would have never guessed it was anything other than a regular Sunday. It was a beautiful day and very warm. The day before a Mexican cab driver had taught me a phrase to describe the weather: "hace muchingo calor!" (It is too fuckin' hot!). It is amazing how quickly I can remember that phrase and how quickly I forget other more utilitarian expressions!
I did get out for my walk and capture the Cathedral with the beautiful, clear blue sky in the background.
It was a very lovely day and it was very hot. Polley and I, in our last desperate efforts to polish up our tans, hit the beach for about 90 minutes. We were at Langosta and it was so nice that we stayed for lunch. We had a wonderful Ensalda Vallarta Style. It was lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers with grilled fish, fresh shrimp and octopus. Amazing! Even more amazing, for those of you who know how we eat, we ate it all!
We whimped out and caught a cab all the way up the hill as it was "hace muchingo calor." We got in a good nap and then managed to both finish up our books. I am now reading Redfield Farm about the Underground Railroad bringing slaves north in the pre-Civil War days. Polley is continuing on with a sequel to the Kate Atkinson novel. I love the title: "Started Late, Took the Dog."
As we were getting down to our last sunsets, we headed for Roberto's. The sunset looked promising, but sort of fizzled out at the crucial time. We did, however, meet our "3 Amigos," the musicians who were going to play for us Monday. They let us know that they were taking Monday off, so they would be happy to play for us tonight. And they did.
From Roberto's, we went on to our regular Sunday night table at Vitea. It was a warm, calm, lovely night and we had a lovely dinner of a couple our favorites. Polley had there excellent Gaspacho, and I had what is called the "Andalusian Salad: Potatoes, Chorizo and Octopus (how many of us can say we had octopus twice in the same day!) on a bid of Arugula. Truly a favorite. Angel, the maître d at Vitea, gave us a complimentary second glass of wine and we just sat there taking in the busy Malécon scene and listening to the fine piano/flute duet. Eventually, we needed to call it an evening. We did have a nice chat with the second owner of the Trio/Vitea restaurants. He is a big, bearish German (the other owner is Swedish), but very congenial and seemed to appreciate our loyalty. Such a nice place, nice people and a wonderful, romantic setting. We then caught a cab up the hill, had a quick tequila and jumped into bed, ready for our last full day.
As a closing note, I did want to include one more picture, especially for Kay Doyle. As we were coming down the hill last night, a sweet cat that we have always called "Squeaky's Brother," was lounging on the pathway. One of our neighbors, a very sweet man from South Carolina, who was out walking his dog, informed us that the cat's name actually was "Figaro."
A very different looking Figaro from Kay's, but Figaro nevertheless!
Well, as I close, I just want to say thanks to all the "Friends and Family Members" who have tolerated, and, occasionally, even corrected my ramblings from here in PV. This little informal newsletter allows Polley and I to share a bit of each day and to feel a better sense of connection to those at home. It has been a good trip, but we are ready to return to Oregon despite the weather. But after 90 days of wonderful weather, we should be able to hold and survive until June or whenever summer decides to arrive. Best to all and we will be home, God and Alaska Airlines willing, on Wedneday.
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