Sunsets Are the Drama in our Lives

Dear One and all,

I know, another 3 days have passed with no reports. Again, I apologize, but this time the delay was caused by my believing something significant might come into our lives. It didn't. Mind you I am not complaining, but in terms of news, there will be little of a dramatic nature in today's blog.

The days are warming up and that seems to be the topic for most people we meet. It may be the reason that many come for the month of February and then head north once again. We still find the days delightful, but we are moving closer to spring and summer with each passing day, and down here, that means warmer temperatures and a bit more humidity. Yesterday, at mid-afternoon, it was 82, but it was reported to feel like 85. For the Canadians, this is becoming too warm, yet in the mornings the poor Mexicans are freezing and are often seen in scarves and hoodies. In our open-air apartment, we wander around in the minimal decencies and feel perfectly comfortable. We are, however, finding less and less need for any sort of blanket at night.

Monday we ventured out for dinner, to a place we had enjoyed previously, Boco di Vino, an obviously Italian place in Old Town. We shared the seafood soup and were, sadly, disappointed. They place has a lovely garden setting, but even it was not enough to compensate for the old seafood in the soup. Even the garden was packed with diners and seemed to lack a bit of the charm that it has held before. Perhaps we are becoming a bit jaded.

Tuesday we decided to lunch out at the little cafe down the bridge in the park. It is a lovely, quiet setting, just a short walk from a main, busy thoroughfare. Yet, it is so peaceful. A nice change. However, while lunch was fine, we were again reminded how good the kitchen is at La Fuente. Polley had Tortilla Soup and I had some grilled beef tacos. The soup, which we have often at La Fuente, lacked the subtlety of flavors of our favorite spot. The grilled beef tacos were actually quite good. While there, and with the sky a clear blue, I did get a picture of the hill on which we live.

This photo is taken over the roof of one of the buildings of the cultural center. Our place is not visible, but lies just below and to the left of the white and red radio attenna. There are, obviously, some very nice places on that hill.

Last night, we met some new friends, Art and Marilyn, for a drink at a beach place called Burros Bar. Art and Marilyn are those rare people from Vancouver, Washington, not BC! Very nice people and we had a lovely time with them, sharing two buckets of Coronas and stories about one another. I do hope we have another opportunity to see them. Thoroughly enjoyable. I only wish I had been less involved in talking and listening and had gotten a photo!

The high point of the last 3 days was, no doubt, Tuesday evening. We went down to Roberto's for some wine and the sunset. It was, perhaps, the most spectacular since arriving. I know we have sent other impressive moments of puesta del sols, and there may have been one or two equal to Tuesday evening, but it was certainly right up there.

While early on the swirling cloud formations were eye-catching, I caught this sailboat passing quite close to the Malécon.

The, the eye of the cloud formation formed a kind of circle around the setting sun

The sun then began to pass below the bank of clouds as a pelican passed by, focused on the sea and his/her dinner.

As the sun was ready to dip into the sea, another sailboat passed in the opposite direction and appears to be nearly set ablaze by the heavenly fires

With the fire gods satisfied by devouring the sailboat, the colors became more muted. This often happens, where the the show seems to continue long after the sun has left.

However, after being softened, the colors begin to intensify. The swirling cloud patterns continue, seeming to following the lead of the dancing couple, and provideed a heightened dramatic effect, like some brilliant, abstract painting

Finally, leaving us with this amazing image that seemed to be there for a minute and, then as night crept in the color was just as quickly was gone. I give you these photos with the reminder that countless times I returned to our table at Roberto's, only to have the sky provide an encore. I was up again, often at Polley's urging, to capture yet another beautiful moment in this constantly evolving montage of colors. It was the real drama in 3 days of dull, but oh so comfortable routine. More soon!

 

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A Lame Excuse

Dear One and All,

How does one who does nothing all day find an excuse of not getting a blog done yesterday. Any excuse can only be lame. So, here goes! Sundays are always a bit rushed which is ironic given that the church bells go off at 6 am and repeat themselves every 15 minutes until every last PV citizen is converted! However, yesterday, despite the bells, I was determined to finish my book: Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed. It is a good story and told in a circuitous yet engaging way, from a number of different perspectives that gradually give you the whole story. Very touching ending, but I don't think as strong as his first two books.

Then, of course, on Sunday, Rae Minten and Polley chatter about their lives via Skype. I am the head technician for this long distance gab-fest. And, in fact, the call did get interrupted one time and I did have to step in. I also had an extra-long walk as I scouted out where my brother and his wife will be staying (and how to direct a cab to their mountain-side condo) when they arrive on Sunday. So, all in all, the morning just disappeared. So, here I am, on Monday, ready to bring you up to date on the weekend.

Friday, was quite a normal day, except for little less beach time, as we were schedule to go "up river," as we say, for some music and beer at El Rio BBQ. We met our friends, Phil and LaJule Gant and caught a cab to Paso Ancho. It is always fun even though I now almost have the order of the repetoire memorized. I guess part of the fun is being able to sing along with the variety of 60s and 70s tunes that all our age know without even thinking. One of the delights of the afternoon was when we received our bucket of beers. They waiter neglected to open any of them. So, our friend, Art, and very nice Canadian, tipped his hat our way

We were saved! Most of us had never seen such a handy addition. Art swears he found the sombrero in the snow somewhere in Alaska. We were pleased to have it with us on Friday.

Saturday was a bit more relaxed. I am not sure why, but up river trip always wears us down. It may be the city bus ride back from Paso Ancho. It bears a strong resemblance to being spun about in a cement mixer with about 20 other bodies inside. An experienced not to be missed if you are in PV. We just read and rested, had a nice lunch at the little cafe in the park and then watched the sun retreat.

It was a lovely evening. I sauntered (something I rarely do) along the Malécon and captured the smells and colors of some of the food carts along the way

The grilled corn that can be eaten on the cob or you get in cups mixed with a variety of additions

Some with peppers, some with a red salsa and some plain, but then doctored up to one's own taste. Additonally, you will find French fries, which are served in a strange combination with little vienna sausages!

Some of the sausages are wrapped in tortillas, others just naked on a bed of fries. The Mexican's love sweet things , so you see the strawberry parfaits and other sweets

There are also a variety of crepe vendors and other snacky sorts of offerings

Obviously, something for everyone! With the clouds in the sky on Saturday, it did make for another dramatic after effect in the western sky

Sunday, surprisingly, was just the opposite. We went down to Lagosta Loca, supposedly for a Chile Relleno. We later found that they, in fact, did not have Chile Rellenos, we were forced drown our disappointment in tequila and lime! It was, however, a brght, clear sky and light just seemed to intensity the energy of a Mexican Sunday evening

I captured this group of young musicians putting on a show on the Malécon to a very appreciative audience

It was just a very festive night and I think that the clarity, purity and intensity of the light lifted everyone's spirits.

Not a cloud to be seen and I even managed to capture a reflection of the sun off some hotels at the other end of the bay, it was that clear

These nights, as I say, are rare and everyone seemed to be relishing the moment

We remained around long enough for the sun to truly disappear and for the lights of the pier to come on at the south end of the bay

As often occurs, as the time passed and the sun had been gone for nearly an hour, the sky took on new gradations of color that were nearly as dramatic as the sunset itself

I am not sure it gets any better than this. Finally, the tiki torches were lit

and the sky turned to black. We bid the Malécon a good night, caught a cab up the hill and turned in, prepared to dream of Chile Rellenos! More soon!

 

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Indiscriminate Musings

One and all,

From the title, the last couple of days, while having varied very little from the normal routine, seemed to have no rhyme or reason. Perhaps it is simply habit at this point. Nevertheless, despite the redundancy, at the end of the day, we seem to have little complaint.

It has mainly been beach, margarita, lunch, siesta, Malécon, El Patio, dinner, and sleep, with substantial times for our books. Which brings me to a book that we both highly recommend, one of the best we have read in the last couple of years: it is called The Light Between the Oceans by M.L.Stedman. It is her first book and it is fascinating from beginning to end. Its premise, a man goes to man a lighthouse for 3 years, might sound like it possesses little potential, but it is a grabber. The writing is strong and the situation is fraught with dilemmas.

Our beach days did bring us in contact with a couple of delightful vendors. Pepé is our jicama man.

A skinny little guy who runs up and down the beach with piles of fruit on his shoulders. Great fun, and nearly everyday greets Polley with a kiss. We have been devouring jicama just so we won't disappoint Pepé and he won't make his 20 pesos. We even have dinners we have come to call Chickama. We buy a whole, grilled chicken from Pollo Feliz and eat it with a bit of mayo, while we chow down on jicama in a kind of ranch dressing. Heaven.

I have been making some soups from the chicken bones as well (we are working on making moccasins from the skins as well,but the process still needs refining), and then I pile in all sorts of veggies.

This we have dubbed Chicken Sink Soup as it has nearly everything and anything in it.

Tuesday, at the beach Polley bought a big hat, I have yet to get her to model it, but the vendor was kind enought to show off his skill

Obviously he thrives on a "balanced diet"!

Yesterday, as it was one of those rare days when a trip to the grocery store (mostly for cat food) was not required, I decided that my morning walk would be up the Rio Cuale, going east out of PV. It is amazing how quickly you can be out of the city. I walked to a village called Paso Ancho. It is only a mile or so to the beginning of the village and another mile as you make you way through. All of it runs right along the Cuale

While making my way up the mostly dirt road, I came across a fellow giving his horses a morning bath

A bit further on, I came across this enormous rock

I stepped further back and got this photo, just give you a sense of scale.

Anyway, I did my Thoreau thing for about an hour, in the tranquility of nature

before returning to the rattlings of the city busses, the musical calls of the gas men, and the repeated refrain of "No Gracias" along the beaches. It was a nice change of pace.

I guess my blog would not be complete without a couple of animal shots. I managed to catch the two dogs down the hill in a moment of Puppy Love

And, later, caught the dachshund fellow in a pose, as he fried himself in the sun

I call this Sausage on the Grill!

Lastly, there were, of course, sunsets and the last two nights, each in their own way, was dramatic.

Wednesday had some dramatic clouds, which nearly always provide a powerful contrast against the light

Thursday was fascinating as well, but not nearly the same, as the clouds hung out at the horizon, providing us with some clear sky

We nearly always hang around for at least 30 minutes after sunset, because you never know what you might get after the sun goes down

That color even continued on, giving some light clouds a wonderful pink tinge as it faded. A great show that took probably an hour from start to fiinish. We might have stayed longer, but it was 2 x 1 margarita night at El Patio and one must keep one's priorities in order. A toast to all!

 

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Amblings and Ramblings

One and all,

If the old saying, "No News is Good News" is true, then I have some very good news! Little in our lives has changed. Tides come in and tides go out, the sun is up and then down, the margarita glass is filled and then emptied -- life goes on and it seems a good life.

As is somewhat the tradition with the blog, I will begin with animal life and end with a sunset, with a few other things in between.

I did manage to capture the "little snoot," alias the "little shit," in his new napping spot

He is a lively little guy, but he is into everything! He is also a bottomless pit. He eats his food and the proceeds to finish every other plate in the place. And he is NOT EVEN our cat!

Yesterday morning as I was taking my morning walk, I came across this interesting set of friends

A cat and a pelican! I am not sure they are friends, as each seems to be pretending the other doesn't exist. Anything is possible!

And, in our pet portion of the show, closer to home, we found these two sitting and waiting for us in the park.

They are sitting in an abandoned restaurant and have, in fact, taken the place over. Called Le Bistro, it, up until this season, was a quite fancy place. Now, like a number of places in PV, it is just gone.

Turning now to a more human aspect of our ramblings, I did manage to walk up the beach and find Bruno, the waiter that we reconnected with the other day.

Admittedly, he is not looking as dapper as he did on Sunday, but he has work and seems very happy. You also may notice the enormous number of rocks in the photo. With the high tides, the ocean has, in particular places on the beach, thrown up a great piles of stones. The amazing thing is that the next day the tide can come in and the rocks are completely gone and are likely deposited in an entirely different place!

Last night we were able to join up with our Chicago friends, Phil and LaJule Gant. They rent this most spectacular house a bit north from where we are, with an astounding view of the bay

They are fun people and we met at their place for some wine and conversation

We finished up with a meal at a very authentic Mexican restaurant with some old fashioned tamales, enchiladas and pozolé.

Very good and very cheap. With finished up with some time at El Patio with some sangria and some pretty good jazz. It was a lovely evening and we enjoy their company a lot. We are hoping for another get together before their return to the cold of Chicago next week.

So, aside from the regular routine, that was a bit of our last two days. The weather continues ideal although some of the regulars are complaining that it is warmer. Feels good to us. Monday evening we sat at Roberto's and enjoyed another PV sunset

The Pelican Airforce was out in full strength

There was nearly no breeze, it was as close to perfect as one might feel confortable requesting

Lovely times, seemingly everyday. Life continues to be better than we most likely have a right to. Best to all and more soon.

 

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