Back To School!

Yesterday was the first day back to school for a lot of the Mexican children here. All over town, I saw shining fresh scrubbed faces, crisp new uniforms and smiling proud parents. There were a few tears as well, especially for one little girl who obviously was not thrilled to be moving on to the next phase in her life. The youngest children are the cutest with their eyes filled with excitement, wearing large square name tags strung around their necks like badges of honour.

When I was home this summer, sitting in a movie theatre before the film started, they showed a number of interesting facts on the screen to entertain us. One stuck in my mind. Did you know that the average adult will eat approximately 70 bugs in their lifetime? Last night, before bed, I filled up my water glass to bring upstairs to my bedside. I placed it on my night table, turned the light on and discovered the glass was filled with tiny, thirsty ants. Good thing I only had one gulp because as I brushed my teeth, I found an ant on my toothbrush! LOL BTW, the mosquitos are back and feasting on me, especially after the rain. Thankfully, I haven't run across any more of those BIG bugs.

I've been out walking in the mornings, getting up around 7AM and doing "laps" on the Malecon for about an hour. In my opinion, this is the best time of day here. The air is fresh and the breezes are cool. It's been overcast lately and still quite dark at that time of the morning. If I'm lucky, I'll be on the Malecon when a well-lit cruise ship slips into port. As my walk progresses, the sun comes up over the mountains and burns off the clouds, leaving a crystal clear blue sky with just a hint of the heat to come over the course of the day.

The town is really quiet and a lot of the restaurants are closed until October. My fridge is fully stocked so chances are I won't starve to death. I ate out this weekend with my friend Scott for dinner. He had a craving for fajitas from El Brujo, which just happens to be right down the street from me. The restaurant, usually packed in the high season with a line out the door, was virtually empty! We enjoyed our fajitas (shrimp for me, mixed for him) and got caught up on all the things we can't talk about while we're at work. LOL

A few of us went out last night to "demonstrate" against the demolishment of Lazaro Cardenas Park. A short burst of rain delayed the proceedings by about an hour and probably inhibited a lot of people from coming out to join us. We are going to try to be there every evening this week, at 6PM, to show the City that we value this park, with its shade trees, palm trees, grass and wonderful seating areas. The huge, gaping hole in the empty lot across the street would be a much better location for a parking lot. If you're in town and read this, come out tonight!

On a sad note, one of the older, retired ex pats living down here is in the hospital with a very serious head injury. Bob Pugh was found by his landlord, near his home, unconscious, bleeding from the head. No one knows what happened and we may never know. Bob underwent surgery to stop the bleeding in his brain and has been in a coma ever since. His chance for survival is 40% but it looks like he will be in a wheelchair if he does survive, with limited mobility on his right side. Bob is one of the many characters down here. He was well read, witty and always had a glass of red wine in front of him. Send your prayers down here to Bob in Puerto Vallarta.