One and all,
Not a great deal to report over the last two days. And, frankly, that is the way we like it. After the Thursday surprise rain storm, the weather has been ideal: low 80s, gradually cooling off to the low 60s for excellent sleeping.
I am starting a new feature on this blog: Trying to be Mexican. Periodically, I will select a person at random and ask them to compare thier skin tone to mine as I dedicate myself to the Mexican sun. My first willing victim was Arturo, as Langosta Loca:
Mine is the hand on the right. Still not Mexican!
These last couple of days were also about friends. We had some drinks at their very fancy condo and then on to a nice dinner at Hacienda Fantasía with Neal and Judy Higgins. Neal was an Associate Dean in the School of Business at UP and we have been hooking up with them the last several years. Sadly, they will only be in PV for a month this year and will be returning to Portland next Saturday. February seems to be the busiest month down here and they simply could not find a unit for that period of time.
Friday morning as I was walking the Malécon, I caught up with another Oregon friend: George Gray. He of the silver hair and the dapper black shirt and dog (perhaps a new superhero: Dapper Dog), demanded a photo
We are going to dinner tonight with George and his partner, Pat. They are both from Salem, part time as they also have a home in Las Vegas and, of course, here. After dinner, we are seeing a cabaret show with a fabulous performer, Kim Kuzma, who we saw last year. She has a new show that we have heard great things about. I will report on Tuesday.
Yesterday, it was another walk with a friend. This was actually a hike with our waiter friend, José. On his day off, he like to hike into the hills behind the city. He invited me to accompany him yesterday and it was a hike.
We headed up out of a little pueblo call Paso Ancho, about mile east of PV. It is amazing how quickly you can leave the hubbub and hustle of the city and suddenly feel the stillness of the countryside.
The road we took runs right along the Rio Cuale which is a lovely river that runs through PV and right to the sea under the Malécon. As we hiked we stopped at a nearly literal "hole-in-the-wall and got a couple of beers and as we crossed the Cuale I got this moment with José
just before we carried on up into the hills
This shot is from quite high up, looking back towards PV. While the area is quite isolated, there are a few lovely spots where people have carved out a home
This place is owned by the parents of the fellow who runs the bar up at Canopy Adventures, a zip-line, ATV adventure place located at the end of our climb. One thing about José is that he knows everybody! Every roadside laborer, every passing truck driver, every storefront Mexican seems to know José. When we got to Canopy Adventures, the bartender offered us the use of his grounds for a little fiesta if every the mood should strike us.
It is a lovely setting and I hope that we will return to it before our 3 months are over. We did make the climb to Canopy Adventures and stopped for a little more beer, some chip, salsa and some excellent gucamole.
The guacamole was very distinctive and they told us they use an avacado that is grown locally. They truly made a difference. After that, it was the return trip. The downhill bit went quite quickly and within 30 minutes we were back to Paso Ancho, the truck and the ride back to civilization. I jumped out at the bidge and stopped into see my cat food lady and took Polley 3 kilos of Whiskers as a token of my devotion.
Poor Polley, having been held captive in our apartment all day as a result of our "día de los hombres," man day, was invited for some wine and a sunset followed by a 2 x 1 champagne special that I discovered at El Patio. The sunset was quite dramatic
It started with what I often refer to as a "Biblical" sunset with the dramatic light and contrasting clouds. Following that, as the sun descended, the sun was nearly shut out, except for this tiny break in the clouds through which there was a bright beacon
That is why we make a point of trying as often as possible to make sunset. You never what you are going to get. But, as they say, "that's why you play the game." And so, we press on. Happy Weekend!
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