Meanderings along the Malécon

Dear Friends and Family,

Not much new to report. That is the way we like it. However, we have not been hermits, exactly. So, I thought it might be fun to just throw together a collection of a few impressions that have ended up in my camera the last few nights. They are not particularly special, but as we now move inside of 3 weeks until we return to Oregon, they may just be a bit more treasured as the time slips away. It seems a long time until December when we will visit them again.

Yesterday, of course, was Mothers' Day. It is celebrated here in PV as well. Actually, as you see the displays in the various small grocery stores, the choices appear to reworked Valentine's Day offerings. I did manage to shine for a few minutes by returning from my morning walk with a dozen roses.

I do hope you aren't so blinded by my vision of lovliness to not notice the vase. The woman who owns the place seems to be fascinated by laboratory gadgets. With the long-stem roses, I was forced to reach a high shelf for this huge beaker. It was only after filling it with water that I discovered it was the tomb for former resident of the place

So, Polley got two gifts for the day.

We have been getting down to the Malécon pretty regularly for sunset. We just sit quietly and watch the world pass by. With the exception of Saturday and Sundays, it is very quiet. We are often the only table in the place - tough time to be a waiter in PV right now - and watch the Mexicans drift up and down the oceanside walk way. Occasionally, there is a change in the rhythm. As when these cute little girls came dashing along, posed and then shot off to the next thing

They had there 15 seconds of fame with the crowd and then vanished.

Another moment, as I was sauntering over to capture another dramatic sunset, I caught this little queen lording over her plate for French fries

You could use of up endless computer chips trying to capture all the cute kids in Mexico.

And while we are on the subject of sunsets, there have been some good ones lately. The other night I strolled a bit north from our regular location at Restaurante Roberto's. I had forgotten the variety of sculptures that are up that direction. There is this wonderful Dolphin fountain

It has been a bit tempermental as some days it is closed down and others it is going full tilt. The other night was a bit of good luck

it was not only bubbling, but changing color as well

From there I drifted a bit further to the famous "Arcos" of PV.

There is an amphitheatre there as you can see and there is a show there nearly every night. It is a major gathering spot for crowds as the sun begins to leave us for another day.

Lastly, as I was on my walk this morning, there was another strong impression, nearly opposite of the dramatic sunsets. As I came down the south end of the Malécon, moving quickly past a number of beachside cafes that shades the beach in the early morning hours from the sun. Suddenly, I came around a corner and the sun poured down a side street in the shockingly clear air of morning , I was confronted with the pier.

I pass it nearly everyday, but somehow it was particularly striking this morning. It implored me to capture it -- I did.

It seems had to believe that after 8 years of travel to this town there are still moments to preserve. These were a few in the last few days. I will continue to keep my eyes peeled.

 

 

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Bathroom!

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been far too long, I realize. I can only say that food poisoning will set you back a bit. It is even more embarassing when you poison your self! Yes, in the manner of my good friend, Jeff Gauthier, I selected enticing comestibles from the rear of the refrigerator. Not good! Friday night we got home from some sunset time on the Malécon and she decided she was tired and not hungry. So, with her tucked in, I decided to ignore the delicious, not to mention safe, chicken risotto I had made. No, save that for the two of us. I'll take a more improvisational approach to dining. So, a couple of eggs, some left over Cesar dressing (there when we moved into the place a month ago), a little week old salsa and an old tortilla. What could be better? Wrong. I awoke in the middle of the night very sick and it would be all of Saturday and Sunday in bed, a little norishment on Monday, before I emerged from mausoleum on Tuesday with some renewed strength. I am back, and, perhaps, a bit wiser.

Outside of a certain discomfort of the digestion tract, life continues pleasantly uneventful. The town has become very quiet. Some restaurants are restricting hours, it is a nervous time for workers as they are unsure what layoffs there might be. Hopefully, they have squirreled away some pesos for the slow season. It is actually a little surprising that it is so quiet, as the weather has been lovely. This may be an odd year as we have never been down here this late, but so far the days are mid-80s, with little or no humidity and very comfortable nights. It has seemed ideal to us.

Life in the new house continues to be enjoyable. It is a bit noisey during the day and in the early to mid-evening. But as I have said before, you truly feel you are in a Mexican neighborhood. People regularly greet us as we come down the hill. Of course, despite the new location, we have been trekking down the same path for the last 8 years. We do miss some of the people we got to know further up the hill as we seldom venture up that way any more. Sort of surprising considering Polley's attachment to the stray cats up there for so many years. Apparently, our current single live-in cat is enough. She also seems to be comfortable in the place and has stopped whinning and pining for the fields.

We have made it down, on a nearly nightly basis to the Malécon for a drink and a sunset. Sometimes two drinks, but always just the one sunset. Last night, rather than our usual spot, as it was closed for Cinco de Mayo (a seemingly "non event" in PV), we went further south to see our old friends at Langosta Loca. While the rest of the town has been quiet, it was a madhouse. Drunken Mexicans, screaming, sand-covered children and perhaps the world's record for the longest string of absolutely terrible musicians. It was, however, a dramatic sunset.

Fishermen were finishing up for the day and just bathing in the last rays of light.

I caught this through the palm fronds of a nearby palapa

While moving out to freeze these two pelicans in mid-flight and catching the sun and its reflection.

However, while the Mother Nature was providing a romantic backdrop, the cacophony of sounds in the restaurant soon drove us to the sanctuary of our home. We did get this final glimpse of the night sky as we ambled back up north to our usual haunts. Despite so much time in this place, it still holds a certain enchantment that keeps luring us back.

 

 

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Global Weirding in PV as Well

Dear Family and Friends,

Life must be picking up as I am writing you a bit more frequently. Actually, if it is picking up, it is very subtle. We have pretty much settled into a routine and seem to have settled into our new house as well. I always get a sense of that when I can move about the place freely, in the dark, and also know where all the light switches are, in the dark.

The weather here continued to be very pleasant. which is a bit of a surprise. Nearly everyone we know makes a point of getting out of here by April 1st, or the 15th at the latest. Having never been down here this late, we just naturally assumed that heat and humidity would be the culprit driving all away. At least this year, it has been very comfortable and even a bit disappointing in terms of sunshine. There have lots of clouds and some mornings we have hardly seen the sun at all. I think the purchase of our lounge chairs was a kind of meteorlogical curse! However, sitting in the courtyard in the direct sunlight, is pretty punishing, some we are not really complaining.

Our live-in cat has been enjoying the weather. While she still has periods of claustrophobia, having always had the run of her place, she too has seemed to settle in. We secured the two front windows to our place with chicken wire and it is now a favorite place of hers to relax and keep an eye on the neighborhood

You might also notice our lovely orchids. I would like to take credit, but they were blooming when we arrived.

Each evening has taken us down to the Malécon for some refreshment and, if we are lucky, a sunset. Last night was particularly good and made even more striking by the presence of the pirate ship, quite close to shore.

The company that runs it now seems to have added a "Sunset Cruise." Each evening it appears about 30 minutes before sunset and then slowly move out toward the horizon as the sun goes down. Last night was a great photo-op.

Dramatic clouds, but also a nice clear horizon with just a thin bank of clouds to provide a bit of definition.

Sitting for 90 minutes or so each evening is our bit of entertainment. The crowds, which are thin (the crowds are thin, not necessarily the individuals) and, at this time of year, nearly all Mexican. As we sit at Roberto's, we are often the only Gringos in the place. One of the fun things to watch for, are the young Mexican entrepreneurs who find new ways to make a peso. The latest idea is this pair of "banditos." They have dressed themselves to match a statue that sits in a tourist shop.

They have done quite a good job of matching the finish on the stationary hombre. They have been very successful providing photo opportunities for the passing tourists. Capitalism is alive and well here in PV

So, that is the latest. Not a lot new, but we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves and now are looking forward to our first true Mexican Cinco de Mayo. Coming soon.

 

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Drifting Towards May

Dear Friends and Family,

The silence that has eminated from PV is just our quietly doing our thing. Life here has been quite uneventful. The last of our regular buddies have headed north. We had a nice dinner with John and Mollie, friends from Beaverton last Monday. They packed up their car on Thrusday and headed for the border.

Since then we have been on a pretty regular routine. I get my 4-5 miles in every morning, usually trying to combine it with some practical errand: groceries, cat food, more wine! We have also been enjoying a half hour to 45 minutes in our new lounge chairs. Strong sun shines in the back patio beginning about 10:30 in the morning. After that we make sure that we get in our prescribed medication: "A Margarita a Day, keeps the Mexican doctor away!" We have become such regulars at our local haunt, La Fuente del Puente, that when Polley checks on the "sopa del dia," the soup of the day, they just ask her what she might fancy, and make it up to order.

Afternoons are for siesta and a bit of reading. Lately, we have given ourselves a break by tuning into CNN for an hour or so, feeling some obligation to check on the world. However, after three consecutive nights of protests in Baltimore, we decided the necessity to "check in" was a little less important.

Friday, we revisited an old favorite, El Patio de mi Casa. It is a bar/pizza place just down the hill. After years of being nearly nightly visitors to El Patio, we had a less than satisfactory meal there in February and had not been back since. Funny how quickly a bad experience, despite how often you previously visited, can turn you off. We so love the setting and the people there, that we decided to give it another go. I am pleased to report that the food was once again, good. The added plus this time was a visit from a cat who jumped down from an apartment above and settled in to a nearby planter.

While he is looking quite alert in this photo, a few minutes later he was completely flaked out.

Speaking of cats, our house sitter, Sam, sent us a wonderful picture of our own Quirk.

Apparently within minutes of an Amazon delivery, he had taken possession of the box!

I guess I will continue with the cat theme, if you will indulge me for a moment longer. Each morning on myu walk, I cut through the little park that is on the island that divides the Rio Cuale, just below our place. There must be in excess of 100 cats on the island. I caught a number of them appreciating a work of art the other morning

Actually, I think they were impatiently waiting for a blond-haired lady, who regularly feed them, to arrive.

Lastly, we have taken to ending most evenings down on the Malécon for a couple of beers, some serious people watching (mostly Mexicans as there are very few of us Gringos left), and, of course a sunset or two (limit one per night). The weather lately as been a little strange, with a good number of cloudy evenings. However, a few nights ago, I did get this dramatic puesta del sol\

That is the "Pirate Boat" silhouetted to the right. And last night, I caught a large cruiseship head toward the sun as it began its descent

So, little that is really different, but, somehow, we are happy with the patterns of our daily lives. I promise more soon, but I am not sure I can guaranteed much variety. All, take care.

 

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Milestones and Mexicans!

Dear Friends and Family,

Life continues to slide along here in the land of the sun. There have been some events this week. The big one was our trip to Walmart. We had decided that with these nice courtyards and the morning sun, that we might pursue some lounge chairs for the back. There was not thing included with the house, so we decided to make our contribution to a place that provides nearly everything else. Walmart is always an adventure. Despite that endless Gringos, both from in town and fresh off the cruise ships, stop in there, there is no staff that seems to speak English. Of course, I always enjoy a challenge, but in this case it became a bit more complex than my "taxi/hotel/restaurant" Spanish as capable of. We found the lounge chairs, but as they are molded plastic and unwilling to conform to a cab, getting them delivered was the rub.

 

Not the most elegant of chairs, but they will do the job. And yes, by learning a new verb, "entregar - to deliver," I managed to get the chair to our place, free! Yes, Walmart does deliver and deliver they did about 2 pm yesterday (Sunday even). So now we anxiously await a few annoying clouds to clear and try them out.

Sunday evening we took our friend and waiter from La Fuente, José Flores and his wife Esperanza, to dinner at our favorite, fancier restaurant, Vitea. Each year we try to treat themn to a dinner at some place they might not ordinarily go. Vitea is a good choice because they have an excellent wait-staff and since José is a very good waiter, you don't want to take him some place where the help is sloppy. We have done that before. It was a lovely evening, although as always a bit of a chore, as Esperanza has not English. But we always manage to have a good time. Then yesterday, with our new accommodations, we invited them, after José got off work, to join us at our place for a beer. They brought along their daughter and her very new (4 months) granddaughter.

This time I was sharp enough to remember to take a photo. A lovely family and very devoted grandparents.

They enjoyed the house and I finally was able to get the cat off the bed so we could take a picture of the other major room in our new place: the bedroom

It is huge, nearly as big as other place was in total

Boy, are we becoming spoiled. Polley and I continue to pinch ourselves at the good luck in finding such a place, in an ideal location, at a price we can afford. What can be better.

So, as we begin the 3rd week of our stay, we are truly settled in and plan to spend a good deal of time in those chairs, in the sun. We have dinner with John and Mollie, friends from Beaverton tonight. They leave for home on Thursday and from there on out we will be on our own. The last of the people we know will be gone. Even now, the town is very quiet. Very few Gringos wander the Malécon, restaurants are beginning to close down. The "Season" is definitely over. THE PLACE IS OURS!

One last note. It was exactly 3 years ago today that the University honored myself along with colleagues from the College of Arts and Sciences, Judith Montgomery, Jill Hoddick and Richard Rutherford in a retirement ceremony. That day my brother gave me a Nike sports band, to officially record my walks. I am an avid walker. Today, on the anniversary of retirement, I recorded my 1000th walk. I captured it on the phone.

Thanks Dave, for keeping me young(er). More later

 

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With Tax Season Behind Us

Dear Friends and Family,

Little to really report, but I was aware of that infamous date yesterday, despite having filed (thanks to good friend, Will Price) several weeks ago. While it is a significant date in the US, it also seems to be an important date here in PV. YOu have a real sense the Season is over! It has become noticeably quieter. Some restaurants have closed. There are no lines at the grocery store and walking the Malécon is almost lonely. The familiar faces you see (not people you truly know, but you pass each other on a daily basis) are missing. They are all gone and the town now seems to be ours!

We continue to enjoy the new place. I mentioned our gaining a cat, Kira. The result of that is that I have yet to get a good picture of our spacious bedroom since she seems to be a constant addition to our bed and it becomes impossible to get the bed made. Also, because the only true light in the room is through two sets of very tall (I would guess 9-10 feet) double doors, out of which you don't want her to escape, I am unable to get adequate light for a representative shot. So that photo will have to wait. However, I did get this shot of the kitchen

The problem with photographing this place is that the rooms are so large you can't get back far enough to get the whole room in the frame. They recently put in a new range, so we have been doing a bit of cooking, soups, risottos. Things we make from our left over rotisserie chicken from Pollo Feliz. The owners were obviously cooks so the kitchen is equipped with about every pot, pan and utensil you could desire. Or course, there is rarely a lid that fits the existing pots, but it is hard to complain.

As you can see, behind the kitchen is one of two little courtyards.

With it comes, of course, responsibility for the plants. Yesterday morning was taken up with a good deal of watering. The second court yard, while similar, is primarily a space for hanging clothes to dry. The place comes with a washing machine, however, we prefer to take them down the street to the lavandería. It is not so much cost, as I enjoy another opportunity to connect with the Mexican population. The gal there now knows my name and each week I learn a phrase or two as she rattles away in Spanish without pause. I just hang on for dear life, smile and shake my head.

The weather continues to be delightful, however, I am sure it is too hot for many. That is largely what bringss the season to an end. It has not been particularly humid. And I thought we were here for the warmth!

Otherwise, life moves rather slowly. Lots of reading, a bit of strolling about, but little very dramatic. As I said in my last posting, this new place truly feels like you are just living in a Mexican neighborhood and you are a part of the action (or lack thereof). No complaints, from this end at all. I promise more soon, but I may have a difficutl providing different.!

 

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Bear with Me

Dear Friends and Family,

I am trying this old blog program that I like, but have struggled with the last few months. This blog is a bit of an experiment. Bear with me!

It may be hard to believe, when two people have little else to do, but "settling in" seems to take longer each year. Of course, this year we have a new home, so discovering how things work slowed us down a bit. Also, Polley continues to battle some health issues. Nothing dramatic, just nagging and annoying! Our first week was a couple of visits to the doctor, some medicines and some time. Things are still not quite in balance, but we are being cautious and conservative in our treatment, unlike earlier in the year.

We very much like our new place

Pictured here is the living room. As you can see, it is to big to get into one shot. It is very Mexican in style and many of the furnishings and decorative pieces are from the owner, who lived in the place up until the first of the year. As this blog is an experiment, I am not going to load it with photos this time around until I gain a bit of faith in it.

I may have mentioned in the first blog that our only complaint is the noise. While we have walked down Calle Guerrero hundreds of times, but because we lived well off it, we had no idea how busy it is. People, gas trucks, the garbage men and taxis, coming and going at nearly all hours, except, perhaps bewtween about 1 am and 4:30 am. Actually, I enjoy it. I love to hear the men, women and children chattering away in Spanish all evening long. I watch the old men and women trekking up the hill as they have done for decades I am sure. You truly feel you are "not in Kansas anymore"! Polley prefers the tranquility of our previous abode. However, the spaciousness of the place, its convenience to restaurants and the beach along with the fact that a cab can drop us right at the door, seem to outweigh the nightime cacaphony.

The other news, is that, surprise, surprise, we have acquired a cat! Actually, the cat is Kira, the old cat from our previous location. Our landlord felt that she was kind of lost, with no real cat people currently staying at his place. So, with our slightly reluctant permission, he brought her, a little box and litter down on Saturday. So far, so good. Within a day, she had found a comfortable spot on the bed and has settled in much more quickly and easily than we did. This morning she did seem to be a little bit stir-crazy, as she had always been able to come and go as she pleased, but after half an hour or so, she was back on the bed resting. Because of the busy street, we are apprehensive about letting her out. She has only lived one place her whole life and it was very removed from traffic. We will see if she manages to control her wanderlust.

So, that is the latest. The weather has been a bit strange. Very warm, but somewhat more humid that we usually experience. It makes us wonder what May will be like. Stay tuned!

 

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