Mexican Mother Nature: Virgin and Whore

One and all,

Last night was, I believe, the lovliest evening we have had so far. We sat at Roberto's and despite the lack of a true sunset (it was overcast all day - I didn't say the "loveliest day"!), the evening was just delightful. It was February suddenly at the end of October. What a difference 24 hours can make.

Tuesday evening we were in the same location - same cafe and same table, but from the very beginning of our visit there were distant rumblings. About an hour into our evening, it hit, with a vengeance and customers ran for cover, some without even paying!

People scurrying everywhere as the lightening lit the sky around us.

But, as people can always seem to find a way to make the best of a bad situation, these two conjured the spirit of Gene Kelly and danced through the flood

Polley and I, along with four Italians visiting from Rome made our way to the entire of the cafe where we found ourselves trapped with an endless supply of beer and gelato!

Leave it to Italians to lead us to a stash of gelato. The waiter and waitress in Roberto's were great, as they toweled off chairs, brought us drinks (or cups of ice cream) and generally made us feel at home. Polley and I have gotten caught in one of these many years ago in Toulouse, France. The same thing occured, people got into the spirit of the night, enjoyed the comradery of the moment. After about half an hour and with the water on the Malécon up to people's shins in some places, the rain finally subsided and we made out way to the main street, and with surprising ease, caught a cab up the hill, relatively dry considering the amount of water.

Since I got the picture of the mural that our neighbor is having done, I have been a little bit more aware of ornamentation around town. This little tile collage of the sights of PV sits right across the Malécon from Roberto's

And, when I was walking Tuesday morning through what I have been calling the "Mexican Section" of town (a term I was not very comfortable with), which I now know to be El Coloso, I came across this painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe on a neighborhood wall

I will try and do a better job of keeping my eyes open for this additons to the scenic wonder of this place. More soon.

 

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When Will These Folks Do Something!

One and all,

Well, it certainly wasn't the last two days! As the weather has become more bearable, we have fallen into a glorious routine. We are making a concerted effort to "beach it" everyday. Yesterday, in fact, I had a Mexican tour guide that we have seen for years come up to me to "compare tans!" I didn't win, but he gave me kudos for a valiant effort. Of course, he had a head start, he's Mexican! While I tell this story, I am aware that I will not be including my dematologist in this particular blog.

For those of you looking to Mexico, I can now report that I would not recommend arriving down here any earlier than the 15th of October. We have met a number of "regulars" recently who look for sometime after the 20th. These last two days have really been lovely -- and with very few people.

This view is looking north from our regular place in the chairs at Langosta Loca. Skies have become clear and there is just a slight breeze to keep the humidity down. That last ingredient was missing when we first arrived.

This is the other direction. You can just barely make out the new pier (new last season) in the distance. The point is the weather is great and there are still very few people around.

We did get out to dinner last night. We tried a new place, very Mexican, called San Lucas. During our entire 90 minute dinner, we were the only ones in the place. As we left, thankfully for the staff, another couple made there way up the stairs. We had a garlic shrimp dish that was very good.

Beyond the beach and watching sunset and drinking a little wine, at least one margarita a day, "to keep the doctor away, it has been the sun and our books. I finished the Wally Lamb book, "She's Come Undone," which he actually wrote 20 years ago. Polley has polished off the 800 page Booker Award winner, "The Luminaries, the sage of New Zealanders written by a 28 year-old woman. I am into it now and it is very good. Polley has started the hot new mystery, "The Goldfinch," by Donna Tartt. Every critic has been raving about this, and it must be good, because Polley is into her Kindle if I allow even the briefest of pauses in conversation!

I did mention that we met a fellow who lives just down the hill from us. Dennis is his name. Very nice fellow and absolute fluent in Spanish. Anyway, he had informed us that he lived where the new mural was being painted. Yesterday, we strolled by. It is nearly complete.

It seem to be a nod to Mexico's past.

I have not run across him recently to ask him whose design it was, his or the artists. Anyway, it is right next to the dramatic white bridge and certainly adds a bit of color to the neighborhood.

So, I think that is about it. Not much action; it may not make exciting reading, but it is a great way to live. Hope all is well at home. We are now just a couple of weeks from returning. As always, we will be ready to revisit friends and family. More dull reading soon!

 

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Days Passing By

One and all,

In some ways it is hard to believe that we have moved inside 3 weeks until we return to Oregon. In other ways, it is hard to believe a month has gone by. We look forward to seeing friends and family, but we also have grown a family of friends here as well.

Both and Friday and Saturday were the usual. We managed to get to the beach both days and get a little sun. Sunbathing is a bit difficult at this time of the year; it is still very warm. More than 5 or 10 minutes and you must seek the shade or the water. Friday, for a bit of a change of pace, we took a taxi up to the little village of Paso Ancho to a kind of beach restaurant, El Rio Barbq. Some of you may remember it from last year. The former owner of a beachside restaurant, Época, last his lease and then opened El Rio, which is up the river about 5 miles. The owner, Kurt Sinner, is a former Portlander, and still runs the Blues Festival on 4th of July, bought the land, cleared it, brought in sand and created his own little paradise that runs along the Rio Cuale River.

It really is a gorgeous setting. Friday, it turned out, we stumbled into a wedding party, so we sat on the periphery and enjoyed the beer, the setting and the music. Our friend, Bobby, the bearded Scotsman, and his very talented guitarist, Gilberto, play music for a couple of hours every Friday afternoon. Here you see them accompanied by an amateur stand-in from Seattle.

Couples dance and eat and drink. Here I caught the ring bearer and his little girl friend enjoying a few spins on the concrete dance floor.

We highly recommend an afternoon on the river at El Rio.

We came back from that and were pretty wiped out. We managed to stagger down to Roberto's for a beer and a sunset, but the activity up river had done us in.

Yesterday is was back to the beach for some sun and a few beers (and some excellent guacamole). Just read and relaxed. We did talk with a nice fellow who is always sunning himself on the beach. At some point we do need to learn his name!

We read a bit and got our siesta before deciding that instead of eating out, we would just return to Roberto's for some wine and people watching along the Malécon. I did try some of the grilled corn-on-the-cob from a nearby cart. This was in a cup rather than on the cob and had been mixed with red chili peppers and a Mexican herb, epazote. I then added a bit of a popular sauce, sriracha, which has recently been featured in a number of recipes. It was quite spicy, but I will say that I was less than overwhelmed.

One of the fun things about PV is that it is constantly changing. Yesterday, we discovered some new art work, right across from La Fuente. Catch this handsome iguana.

It is a combination of paint and three-dimensional mosaic type pieces. A lovely addition to the neighborhood.

The weather continues to grow more mild, with more air moving all the time. High season is coming and for the Mexicans, I am pleased. It has been painfully slow in the month we have been here. The burden of carrying the whole PVG economy on our shoulders was beginning to wear. Thankfully others are beginning to contribute!

 

 

 

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Warm Days, But a Cool Shower

One and all,

Very few surprises the last couple of days. People continually talk about the weather. We keep trying to convince ourselves that it is changing. With every little breeze, we think, ah, relief is on its way. The locals have been saying the humid, sticky weather has continued far longer than usual. Apparently storms that normally strike the Baja, have been diverted to the mainland of southern Mexico and pushing very warm air our direction. The result has been pretty stifling!

So much for weather. Our days have been routine. Wednesday we needed to do some errands, so the beach was not part of the routine. We did have a nice lunch at our regular haunt, La Fuente del Puente, just down the hill. We tried their Shrimp Ceviche, which, not surprisingly, was delicious. We keep raving about their kitchen. It looks very touristy, but the food is very good.

We also settled up our debts with a group of local musicians. There are two sets of 3 musicians that we have become friendly with. Of course, familiarity breeds, in this case, not contempt, but a sense of obligation. We try one a week to let them seranade us at our table. You have to understand that over the course of a day, we see them two or three times. You can only say "no" so often; financially, you can only say "yes" so often! So, Wednesday, Lorenzo, Victor, and Pedro gave us a couple of "cancións," one romantico and one alegre. It was very nice and it does continue to strengthen our bond with some of the locals.

We did get down to Roberto's on Wednesday evening and the sunset was spectacular!

However, what was even cooler, as a kind of "art shot" that I was able to get.

This is that same sunset that I discovered reflected in the window of the cafe. I am not sure how it worked, but it was very cool

II may have to play around with this some more and see what other effects I can get.

We also managed to pick up a little local color as this group of street performers wandered by.

It was so nice of them to pose. 2 minutes late they would be dancing madly and they would have been little more than a blur!

Thursday was a beach day. We headed for Langosta Loca, a little beachside shack that we enjoy. We drag the chairs from the restaurant out on the sand and enjoy a couple of Coronas. With the weather so warm right now you don't remain in the sun long. So would do a few minutes in direct sunshine and then retreat to the umbrellas for a few minutes before venturing out again.

Last night was another hot, humid evening, but we ventured down to El Patio for their 2 x 1 margaritas . Then, we moved on to Miel. We enjoy the place and the people at Miel and while we had been there a week ago, they had not had their new menu in place. We went back to see what changes had been made. The truth was, very little. However, we did try their lamb chop special last night. They were delicious and were served with a kind of chopped salad couscous. Very interesting idea of taking the basic ingredients of a Greek or Mediterranean salad and combing them with the couscous. It was really very good.

Having filled out stomachs, we caught a taxi up the hill, just as a thunderstorm hit. And just as we stepped from the cab, it really came down! We inched up the final 65 steps, trying to walk between rain drops about the size of bullets. We were less than successful. As we stepped in the door, I snapped these, one of Polley

another of me

Naturally, some serious tequila was needed to dry ourselves out! It seemed to be a day for water. Earlier, at the beach, a rogue wave had washed up and taken out shoes, my bag, and my wallet. All survived, but as with the end of the day, and probably with our livers at the end of this trip, they needed to dry out! More later.

 

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Little to Report

One and all,

Life simply seems to chug along. Believe me, that is not a bad thing, but for regular readers of these ramblings, it is less than fulfilling.

The weather continues to change as the humidity seems to be dropping and there are more breezes. Last night, we wandered down to the Malécon for a half bottle of wine and a sunset. It was quite spectacular, the sunset, not the wine! Did talk with fellow that we have seen there a number of times. His name is Dennis and he lives not too far from us. He told us, when he learned the information, that he was surprised that we were Americans, largely because we were not fat! I think it was a compliment. We also joked about the tight-fistedness of Canadians. He said that the difference between a Canadian and Canoe, is that the one tips!

After the sunset, we walked up the hill to El Patio Es Mi Casa, a local haunt that we pass nearly everyday. I sent a photo a few days back. Very lovely setting, nice people and excellent pizzas. Last night is was 2 x 1 sangria and pizzas. We now have enough leftovers for a week.

Finishing up the topic of food, Monday evening we ventured to a little Italian place that we had tried a couple to times in the past. It is called Bocca de Vino. Very plesant little place. As an appetizer they served us some toasted bread and the most delicious garlic pesto spread. Fabulous! We immediately held the chef hostage until he revealed the recipe, which he did. After that, Polley had a very tasty seafood soup that was loaded with mussels, shrimp, clams and octopus. I had a portobello mushroom in a balsamic reduction topped with goat cheese and walnuts. It too was excellent, but very rich! We will have to add this place to our regular stops.

Polley is much better. It turns out that the problem, we think, was an intolerance to ibuprofin! Someone had recommended it to her. She started taking some and her stomach problems seemed to start about the same time. She stopped and voila!

However, it am now the one who is dragging a bit. We have been getting to the beach each morning for an hour or so. Somehow, with the sunshine, the light breezes and the tepid water, I was feeling 25 again. It did not take long, yesterday for cruel Mother Nature to remind me that in reality I am going on 67. While pulling myself from the sea, a wave caught me sideways and I seem to have pulled a back muscle. Now I truly do walk like I nearer to 70! These are the vagaries of travel. It will pass, but in the future I will keep my distance from that siren of the sea. More soon.

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Lying Low

One and all,

Another quiet weekend in PV. Polley came down with some sort of stomach bug and we have avoided a good deal of eating and drinking this weekend. Saturday we pretty much stayed in all day, finally taking a stroll down to the Malécon on Saturday night. Even then, she was not up for the walk back so we grabbed a taxi up the hill/

We did get a good deal of reading done, that I will admit. Polley tore through a couple of books: Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone," and Catherine Hyde's "When I Found You" ; I managed to complete "The War Brides," which I quite enjoyed until a kind of hokie ending and am now into something called "The Ghosts of Belfast," which, so far, has really grabbed me. Polley is now starting on "The Luminaries," the book that just won the Booker Award and is, apparently, an 800 page sage of New Zealand. Reports later.

I did manage a couple of rather humorous photos as I wandered about on my walks over the weekend. Some of you may not know that my brother, Dave, and his wife, Katie, have a paint striping business in Portland. Saturday morning I came across the Mexican equivalent:

A hand-painted masterpiece, no doubt.

Also, just down the hill from us a home has sold and the workman are doing some major repairs for the new owners. We often joke about whether these projects include a cement mixer. This is a Mexican cement mixer

They just throw down some bags of cement in the middle of the street, add water and stir! Then, they just leave the residue and allow it to serve as a kind of mortar between the cobblestones! As you walk along the the streets, you see places in the cobblestone that are smooth, obviously the leftovers of previous housing projects.

As I have mentioned, the weather is now beginning to change. There is more air moving and, for most of the day, it seems less humid. You see more and more people willing to dine outside. We did get another thunderstorm on Friday evening, but it was relatively brief. It did make for a very fresh Saturday morning. Most people suggest that by November 1st, we will be into more comfortable times

Lastly, just as filler, I will leave you with another photo of the bridge that I included in a previous blog.

It really is a very nice design. And it is so convenient! When you get to the top of the bridge (125 baby steps), it is just 66 more steps to our front door!

As I mentioned, this bridge leads right into a lovely park, just filled with cats. Polley and I did manage to capture a couple of them -- on camera that is.

This photo show the interesting mixture of breeds - notice the tail especially. Here is another very handsome fellow

And, yet, a third look

Always a treat to wander through. I have to think there are in excess of 50 in all, some very friendly and other just being cats!

We will hope for Polley's improvement and out being able to provide you with more interesting adventures.

 

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Random Thoughts in the Sunshine

One and all,

We have, not surprisingly, not been up to much the last several days. The weather has continued quite warm, oppressively at times, and just when we think it is changing to what to more attractive winter patterns, another wave of high temperatures mixed with high humidity comes languidly sauntering (or is that saun-ering in) in. While our apartment may have much to be desired, we do thank our landlord on a daily basis for the ceiling fan.

The mornings have been quite comfortable and Polley and I have been going out of our way, a bit, to take advantage of the new white bridge that connects our area of town to the park that splits the Rio Cuale.

They did a terrific job on it. It is 125 small steps and leads to a lovely park that includes a cultural center, about 3 restaurants and about (just guessing?) 50 cats. They are everywhere and because of the unrestrained inbreeding there are some of the most fascinating mixtures of colors, and breeds. At its entrance, the park also contains a statue tribute to director John Huston.

It was his filming of "The Night of the Iguana," in the early 60s, that put Puerto Vallarta on the map. At that time, it was little more than a sleepy fishing village.

We are focusing a bit more on acquiring a bit of sun. I can think of little worse than coming back from nearly 7 weeks down here and looking like we never left Oregon! So, each of the last two days, we have headed for the beach. The sun is still so intense that about 30 minutes each day is about the extent of our "Tomar del Sol" - to take the sun. We then retreat to a tent at a little beach-side cafe and finish up with a couple of Coronas!

I have been getting walks in each morning. I make a point of not listening to music or books, or anything. I use the time to take in the town, the tourists and the locals. Yesterday morning I passed this fellow

and his 5 (yes, 5!) matching pugs. Very funny. I also thought it might be nice to stop at the store for some frijoles and give you a different perspective on my so enjoying my breakfast treat. This is breakfast from behind the tub of beans

Pure heaven for just 8 pesos!

One other pleasant change that has happened, is that some of our favorite restaurants are opening. Thursday evening we went to a sweet little place called Encuentros (it means "encounters"). It has always intrigued me as it is billed as a "Pizza, Pasta Lounge." And it is. The sweet little fellow, and he is very small, works very hard. It has a nice feel and is beautifully decorated. He has an amazing selection of pizza toppings and the gimick is that you can have those toppings either on a small, personal pizza or mixed into a bowl of pasta. The food is very good; we had an interesting Mediterranean salad as neither of us was particularly hungry.

Last night Miel (means "Honey") opened for the first time this fall. We always enjoy Willie and April, who run the place. Willie is the chef and takes real pride in his offerings. April is Willie's rather loud, heavily tattooed blonde, who is everything she doesn't appear to be: warm, caring, attentive. Very nice people - and the food is excellent. It was great to reconnect with them and to sample their excellent offerings. We enjoyed at ginger, shrimp stir-fry, a favorite of ours from last year. Very nice evening, once we made out way there between quite dramatic thunder showers! Did cool things off for a while, at least.

Life continues to be good and we are looking to a relaxing weekend of a bit more sun, our books and good food. "Esso si que es la vida" - Life is good!

 

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