Fast livin' in Tenacatita Bay

This is Michael's and my first night 'home alone' in many weeks as we take a quick rest before greeting our next roomies. It's a chicken soup and veggies night, chased by some ukelele and fiddle playing. Life in the fast lane starts again tomorrow at 10.

Cousin Ruth Bills left yesterday after a great three weeks at the Casa Lupita B & B --- what she probably didn't realize is that she'd be part of the staff. Every day was filled to exhaustion --- beginning with a walk on the beach, then breakfast at El Girasol, home for chores, on to a beach afternoon, late afternoon naps, finally a walk three blocks to 'town' for dinner. Then a late night collapse. Oh, and some shopping at the plaza!

And then there were the side trips to Tenacatita, Arroyo Seco, Barra de Navidad, Melaque & Manzanillo and the occasional overnight trip to Puerto Vallarta.

Apparently the goal is to see exactly how much fun you can pack into each day.

Jenn Bills also joined us for a surprise visit --- the day she left I was reminded of how many times Michael just about had to put a gun to my head to get me on the plane to go back to the States. I think she's looking at airfares for a return trip next winter. We can't wait.

We also had a short visit from Dustin who drove down from Puerto Vallarta to have us help nurse him back to health from a lung infection. He left for home with a little more color in his cheeks but not quite enough oxygen yet. We're hoping the medication will heal him quickly and he'll be back to work soon.

Tuesday our good friends Sanders and Pat will be joining us. They're leaving behind about five feet of snow at their home in the Northern California mountains. We'll be able to spot them anywhere on the beach the first few days. They'll be the incredibly white people under the umbrellas.

Having company here has been effortless for us. Our house is the equivalent of a simple lake cottage, a mountain cabin, or a boat. Somewhat rustic, no privacy but fun, nonetheless. And the company has kept me from missing all the rest of all of you who will either be joining us later or catching up with us in New York or California.

At my work, one of the best part is the forced Spanish immersion. It's really interesting to answer the phone and not be bilingual. But as my friend Jane says, "Don't worry. You'll be speaking Spanish in no time. You have no choice."

I'm really getting good at 'Uno momento, por favor!'

Now, on for some long-needed fiddle practice. Hasta luego, amigos!

What I haven't been doing in Mexico

The last three weeks have been more of the same.

I haven't gotten to the beach much.
I haven't taken many siestas.
I haven't read more than a few pages of a book at a time.
I haven't played my fiddle.

You get the drift.

A good friend commented a few days ago that I could move to the Arctic and still be busy. Guess when I get the time, it would something to mull over...

This time I'm going to blame all this activity on the still obvious -- moving to a new country, a new community, a new job, lots of lovely house guests.

I've been at the real estate office a lot more than I had expected. But it's a great example of the seasonal frenzy of resort areas --- while real estate is always bought and sold, certainly a beach village in Mexico sees its share of winter dreamers (and buyers) who want to do the deal while they are here on vacation .... for two more days!

So it's a frantic whirl around the village for those in the business, trying to find clients the right home, the right beach lot, the right ocean view, before they head back to the states or to Canada --- while also trying to get the new home just listed online and on to a flyer on the wall, contact other realtors, get offers filled out and to the seller, counteroffers, etc.

Whew!

But I can relate to the dreamer, the buyer. It's been a great reminder of how it is that Michael and I are now living here.

Last January (was it only a year ago?) we were taking a few week's vacation with the kids in a lovely beach home over the Santana Real Estate office, when Joe Santana says to me, "You ought to see this great beach lot..."

The rest is history.

Joan Santana says the best part of her job is working with people who have a dream and are taking a huge leap of faith to get there.

I agree. It is the best part.

But the next step for me, personally, is to figure out how to still see the beach, read a book and play the violin during 'high season'.

I'll keep you all posted. In about a month.

A view of Tenacatita Bay from the inside of a hilltop home under construction.

Twenty days of no Manana time

I've thought about posting something in the past 20 days about our first month as 'jubilados' (retirees) in Mexico --- but we're not exactly retired, we're not exactly taking it easy and all news was so eventful that I would have been writing in all exclamation points --- which I am fundamentally opposed to, as a journalist.

So now that some of the La Manzanilla dust has settled (at least in front of our house), here's a quick recap.

As many of you know from reading Michael's blog, I'm helping out three or more days a week at Santana Realty. It's not even the eye of the storm in there --- it's a daily tornado of activity, often stemming from tourists coming in about a beach rental and walking out with a realtor to look at buying property or a house.

It's been really interesting.

I'm on the fast track to learn everything about buying and selling real estate in this part of Mexico while also learning how to do it in another language -- Spanish. Already I know to ask for the 'carpeta' (the file), what a 'Constancia' is (a very important property document you get from the Ejido), or how to respond when someone asks if I would like something from the local tienda.

Whew.

I'm always exhausted by Thursdays but I'm also left mulling over what was left undone, what else might be handled more efficiently (am I allowed to think that in this culture? Hmmmmm).

In the meantime, there is much other news:

Dustin and Camelia delighted and surprised us with their engagement last week! They have the ultimate international, cross-cultural relationship --- Camelia is Romanian and has been living and working in Puerto Vallarta for the past seven years.

She and Dustin combined their business space last year so Fox Marine and Full Sail Canvas are now located in Nueva Vallarta at the Nueva Marina and their home is nearby. They live about three to four hours from us (depending on who's driving!) and Camelia has been very gracious in welcoming Dustin's quirky relatives into their home. We're elated!

The paperwork to get married in Mexico is 'mui complicado' -- stay tuned for a wedding date and a wedding destination.

You've also probably read that Michael and I have bought more property. We don't have a plan (what's new?) but all 'feels right' (that's so 60s, sorry!) so we're forging ahead. We haven't decided if and when to build or where. But we figure all will be revealed soon enough. For a change, we've decided to just live here for a little while and then make a decision when we know more. That's a different approach for us.

Of course, for those of you that know us, even this philosophy remains subject to change.

We've been seeing cruising friends too --- Phil and Nora on Shiraz, and Dan and Lorraine on Zephyrus. We're headed to Barra de Navidad later today to have dinner with Zephryus and make plans for helping them fix one more boat part before they head to Central America.

At some point we're expecting to see Jeff and Anne on Fantasia, headed back from Aptos, California. And Don Tiffin is now in Mexico on Sabbatical before he heads to the South Pacific. Anyone need to hitch a ride?

Today begins the yearly La Manzanilla birthday fiesta, rodeo and four day bash that the natives have told us will require a box of earplugs. Yesterday I saw a makeshift hair salon set up in an empty shop and dozens of the local women getting their hair fixed for the festivities. So this might be quite the event and one not to miss. Stay tuned for the video.

But all in all -- when I get a chance to take a breath -- I can heartfully say that the decision to move here is still all I had hoped for. I'm doing a lot of what I had wanted to do (with the exception of finding fellow fiddle players, but I'm working on it). I'm learning the language, making friends, seeing old ones, enjoying the warm weather and the late evenings.

Michael and I walk up in the hills every morning and I'm always reminded of the disparity of lifestyles here that seem to be able to co-exist as we hike up through the million dollar homes on the hill and descend down by the stick huts in the village.

The gentlemen pictured here sits out in front of his home every day, getting the occasional visit from whomever is passing by.

It's the La Manzanilla version of extended care living -- not an uncommon sight here. It's a good daily reminder for me that whatever I have, I have enough.


And for all of you who missed Jane 'the Rentalor' Gorby's birthday on Monday, here it is:

Who said life in La Manz is slow?

We've just come off of frantic five days of searching for the perfect home or land purchase for my cousin Lynn and friends -- Suzanne, Karen and Randy --- while also squeezing in some important time for swimming, snorkling, sampling the pescado and the tequila, while also squeezing in some occasional non-real estate conversation. Basically, we did everything but sleep, rest, read or do anything else that might be considered 'idle time'.

This might be more the trend than what I had fantasized about mid-semester.

Oh well. It's still fun. Exhausting but fun.

Lynn and company went careening off mid-morning to the Puerto Vallarta airport, while Michael and I and Dylan suited up for some real estate shopping of our own, finalizing some property that we looked at in a nearby village last spring. That meant a 7 k ride down a washboard road and a hike up a hill to see what we could see.

It looked great.

I finally took my first siesta in a week, recharging my batteries for an evening trip down to Melaque and Barra de Navidad for groceries, a trip to the closest ATM and dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Mexico Lindo, with Tenacatita friends Sharon and Mario.

In the Small World we live in, we struck up a conversation with the people at the next table who turned out to be a California legislator (and family) who made it clear that he/she would really prefer to remain unnamed. But you have to wonder what the statistical odds are for sitting next to a couple of Sacramento journalists at a tiny Mexican restaurant in a small Mexican village.

Here's a video of the Tenacatita Beach, snorkling and dinner out afterwards in La Manzanilla. Tacos were 7 pesos each. Perfect for a retirement budget!

A new year in Tenacatita Bay

We only left California 19 days ago but, as usual, we've jammed more than a months worth of travel, fun, work, guests, planning and whatever into those days. I keep saying life will settle down soon and Michael just snorts. So maybe not.

Yesterday was our first true beach day. We actually worked in the morning on a California consulting project, then took off for a late lunch at our favorite palapa at Tenacatita, near our beach lot. Michael and Dylan had their usual Rollo de Mer (fish roll with shrimp, bacon and whatever, deep fried and covered in a sauce) and cervezas.

Afterwards we took the beach chairs and umbrella to the beach where our friends Sharon and Mario are building, using the same contractor we plan to use.

Today we're heading to Puerto Vallarta (three hours north if I'm driving) to help celebrate Camelia's birthday and do some city shopping for stuff we need here. I find that I hate the thought of shopping and buying, so I must be acclimating quickly.

This is a short video from the beach yesterday --- it probably doesn't do it justice, but eventually most of you will come see it for yourselves. And if you missed our New Year's Eve celebration on Michael's blog, check out the dancing video here called New Year's Eve Rocks (tango, cha cha and whatever moves your body).

Retirement is exhausting (but I'm not complaining)

It's only been a little over 24 hours since we arrived 'home' in La Manzanilla for our first extended land-based stay here. I love our new two bedroom house on the hill, much quieter than staying at the beach house we've rented for the past several years.

Last night we went to sleep with a grand chorus of cicadas or crickets (loud!), but by morning they had quieted down and the roosters started up. A lot. Before dawn. But it's a sound I relish --- a natural sound, rather than the roar of I-5 in the distance that we've heard for years.

I was still asleep when I heard the sound of hoofs as someone rode a horse by our house --- still dirt roads throughout the town. And even though we're about three blocks back from the beach, I could still hear the sound of waves crashing.

No regrets over this move --- low 80s during the day, 70s this evening. Friends are delighted we're back --- a sense of home and community.

Only downside was discovering a scorpion had hitched a ride out to Tenacatita in my purse --- the really nasty, lethal kind. I was reaching in and for some reason decided to look for my lipstick, rather than just grab. Holy Smoke! It scared the beejeesus out of me --- quite literally --- I couldn't say a word. Just a whole lot of gasps and shrieks, I've been told.

The scorpion climbed up and out and I flung him out onto the road where Michael stomped on him.

Locals tell me that you NEVER leave your purse on the floor. You hang it up. And you ALWAYS check your shoes before you put them on.

Great.

I guess paradise can't be perfect. Just almost perfect.

Hope all of you are well and know that I miss you all.

Music and Sun in our first day back in Mazatlan

We arrived in Mazatlan today, grateful to have good friends and warm temperatures greet us. Dan and Lorraine on Zephyrus are here doing last minute projects and provisions before they sail south to Ecuador, first stopping by Tenacatita for a long (we hope) visit with us.

Tomorrow we head to Puerto Vallarta for Christmas with Dustin and Cami, importing a load of GrapeNuts for under his tree. It's hilarious what you can't get in Mexico.

This afternoon the Children's Home in Mazatlan, part of the Salvation Army, put on a show for the cruisers. A great greeting and first day back. It raises money for the Children's Home --- they do a month of performances in December around the community.

Hope all of you that we've left behind in the States are staying warm and happy. My New Year's resolution is to avoid all news and especially anything having to do with the election. I'll let you know how it goes.

The Mazatlan Salvation Army Children's Home singers