Day Two

I went to Que?Pasa last night and saw everyone there. It was nice to be "home" again ... BTW, my picture is now up on the wall in the bar so I am feeling very much like part of the local scene. Just look for the babe in the tiara and boa -- that would be me! LOL I didn't stay out too late because I had been up since 2AM Vallarta time. After a yummy dinner of beef stroganoff, prepared by Brenda Martin (70MXP) and two Coronas, I was ready to call it a night. It rained for about an hour until 9PM and I headed out soon after that. I think I was in bed before 10PM and I woke up after 8AM this morning. I was one tired Goddess! The beds here are fantastic. I didn't need any air conditioning after that glorious rain. The air was fresh and breezy.

Today I unpacked and straightened out my room. Adan made me a coffee and I logged on to check my messages. I was ready to go by 10AM and had breakfast at Karpathos. My friend Soccorro ("Coco") made me a special meal of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. I am trying to eat lighter and get more exercise. Today has been a good day so far in that regard. I took the bus up to Mega and bought some provisions. That store is just so great ... clean, big, air conditioned. The quality of the produce is wonderful and I love shopping there. I got off lightly today; only spending 350MXP and took a cab back. It's always a treat to practice my "muy malo" Spanish on an unsuspecting cab driver! ;)

I have stuff stored all over Vallarta so I called my friends Jeff and Kathy to come over and pick up a few things. Of course, I got waylaid on the way there at Sunset Properties. I just had to stop in and say "hola" to my good friend, Tom Carota. If you are looking for a long term rental or even to buy a place in Vallarta, I would certainly recommend him to you. The website is www.vallartasunset.com. Of course, that took some time and by the time I got to Jeff's place, it was MUCH later than I had originally thought but then, that is the Mexican way. :) Realized I didn't have the keys to the locks on my suitcases so I could only rifle through the boxes. Picked up a few things (including my laundry from July!) and headed home again after being invited back for dinner tonight.

By this time, it was getting really hot and still quite sunny. I got home, made some lunch and headed down to the pool and to use the computer. Before too long, three American tourists walked in from Seattle asking for a room so I got my first chance to earn my keep at Casa Andrea by translating information for them from Paty, Andrea's employee. Of course, once they saw the room, they were delighted and now they have made arrangements to stay for 2-4 nights. I helped them with their bags and then joined them in the pool. I think they are on their way out now in search of a margarita. Shouldn't be too difficult of a task since there are any number of good bars and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. I'm just finishing up here and will head upstairs for my siesta before walking back to Kathy and Jeff's for dinner. So far, it has been an absolutely wonderful, relaxing day in Vallarta.