3rd Week Comes to an End

You can certainly begin to see a pattern to our days here. Four days have slipped by since I last posted an update (not counting Polley’s recounting the adventures of the wedding dress). The weather was unseasonably cool. I overheard someone quoting a coffee barista that in 30 years he could not remember it being this chilly. Certainly by Portland standards, there is little to complain of. However, as this is high season, temperatures have dipped into the low 60s during the day and into the very low 50s at night. We have often gone out with a long-sleeve sweater or a sport coat in the evening. Thursday we went to a bar after dinner, called Que Pase? The band that had played at the wedding was doing a gig at this place. We had enjoyed them during the reception that we thought we might take them in again. The bar looked to be in doors, but, in fact, while you went in through two doors, the place was largely open to the sky. We had not dressed for it and by 10 p.m. we needed to leave as we were simply too cold.

I am not sure if we mentioned meeting two girls from Australia. They had basically sold everything and were traveling the world. They had done South America and the US, but decided to settle, at least for a while in Vancouver, British Columbia. We met them on Thursday night for drinks and had a great time talking about their travels, and their future plans. They are looking to buy a landscaping business in Vancouver and eventually take up residency there. Also got some good insights into our next travels. We had become increasingly interested in both Buenos Aires, Argentina and Australia. Having prolonged discussions, I think Australia will be next winter’s destination. We decided that due to the size of the country, we needed to tackle it while we still get about with ease. Argentina will just have to wait. At least, that is what we are thinking at this point in time.

We did the Artwalk again Wednesday evening. That is a small version of First Thursday that happens each Wednesday evening. We did about half a dozen new galleries in a pretty high end part of town. We really didn’t see a lot we were taken with, and the prices ($5,000-$20,000) made everything out of the question. Very little temptation this time around.

We did make it to the beach a couple of times. If you were right in the sun, it was fine. When clouds passed over, it was quite cool. The beach we go to has some great bodysurfing and I usually venture out for 20 minutes or so about half a dozen times each visit. We are still regulars at the gay beach and part of the problem is that I get very little reading done since the conversations are often so outrageous! Pedicures, manicures, massages, cute waiters, late night parties, the tales go on and on! They all seem to be having a great time and believe me it is certainly a lot more interesting than what you hear from the retirees: aches and pains, the best breakfast deal, effective laxatives, and the plunge in the stock market. Boring!

We also have settled into a number of restaurants that we have enjoyed and have not been very adventurous. We are trying a new place tonight, but it was back for fajitas last night at Fajita Republic. We snacked at Que Pase during the music concert on some pretty good Mexican appetizers Thursday evening. And ate for free at the wedding.

Weekends are kind of wild here. Last night (Friday) loud music and noise went on until nearly 4 in the morning. The amazing thing is that no one seems to call the authorities to complain. And it is loud. We had some no-stop polka beat going all night. As I say it stops about 4 am, but after 10 minutes of silence the roosters can no longer stand the quiet and figure it must be their turn. Needless to say, we did not sleep well last night. Tonight we are approaching it from the “can’t beat them, join them.” We are going to head out a little later and see if we can party a little longer.

My walks in the morning have been taking me more and more into the true Mexican sections of the town. Things are much simpler there. People seem to have and need very little. I am actually aware of how much like the native we are living in our place. Everything is open to the air and as I look in doorways, I see that things are sparsely furnished. However, you get a strong sense of community as neighbor greets neighbor, on the street and in the open market. Kids seem to feel safe as they play in the streets. However, one of my favorite things to do is walk by the number of schools near 8 in the morning. It is a madhouse as parents are walking and driving their uniformed children to school. Polley and I have happened into the streets near one school around 1 p.m. when some are getting out. It is like a festival with street vendors there to sell fruit and drinks to the kids as they flood out of the school courtyard and onto the streets. Traffic literally comes to a halt as boys and girls run up and down the streets, laughing and playing. Very delightful.

Well, as we come to end of our 3rd week here, I think I have brought you up to date. This next week we hope to have a drink with Neal Higgins, formally of the UP Business School and also join Pat and George for a meal. Otherwise, we continue to plow through our pile of books (many provided by friends and relatives) and Polley increases her typing speed on a daily basis.