First Blog of 2005

Well it is another beautiful day here in Puerto Vallarta. Feliz Ano Nuevo to everyone! I woke up early and decided to languish in bed until after 9AM. I haven't had a Saturday off since early October so I thought I would take advantage. The morning was eerily silent, except for the birds and the roosters. Not a lot of traffic or music or "people" noises if you know what I mean. Just the breeze rustling through the leaves and the sound of acorns hitting the cement outside my window.

I treated myself to a pot of Tim Horton's coffee this morning and that made me homesick so I called my good friend Rose in Toronto and had a wonderful chat with her. I left the house around 10:30AM and headed north. I wanted to see what was open today besides Viva. Guadalajara Farmacia was open. The cheap internet cafe on Insurgentes was open. As I wandered over the bridge, I decided to take some back streets in order to get out of the sun. I ended up in front of the big church on Hidalgo and went inside. It was about 3/4 full but there was nothing going on. I sat for 15 minutes, counted my blessings and left. Once outside, I realized there was a mass scheduled for 12 noon and when I went by at 1PM, people were spilling out of the church onto the steps for a chance to hear what was being said inside.

I walked up Juarez and looked in a couple of shop windows but Centro was deserted. I found Woolworth's to be open so I was able to buy a few necessities such as shampoo, chocolate, etc. I paid 49.50MXP for a bag of Hershey's kisses. UNBELIEVABLE!!! :) Then I had a craving for McDonald's so I went there and had my annual Big Mac attack. It was predicably bad but what the hell ... I was reminiscing about the same trip made with a girlfriend the year before. Her boyfriend is a vegetarian and would have died if he knew she wanted to eat at McD's!!! LOL

I walked back along the Malecon and was ignored by every single timeshare person. My transformation into a local must now be complete! After I got home, I took a nap. What's the point of having an extra day off if you can't relax so that's what I did. I needed to meet a woman at 5PM to see her condo so I did that and then wandered over to Sweeney's for dinner. I started to eat alone but my friend Jennifer soon joined me and after she left with her take out, my friend John joined me. We had a beer, watched the end of the Rose Bowl game and then I came home. On Sunday, I ate breakfast out, did my grocery shopping, grabbed a matinee with Colleen and watched a video before bed.

I guess those of you who thought I lead a pretty amazing life must be bored stupid by now! Actually, work keeps me fairly busy and most nights, unless I have friends in town, I usually just come home and relax. I expect February to be very busy with friends visiting from all over North America so I'm resting now. The store is practically empty since we sold everything in it during the last two weeks. I have tons of merchandise to mark and once I do, the store will look totally different than it did before Christmas. Make sure you stop by to see us when you're in PV. We are also ambassadors for PV so don't be shy to ask if you would like a recommendation for a nice place to eat or any other tourist information. We are MORE that a jewellery store!