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04/07/05 - Puerto Vallarta, MX (Photos) It's been a while, so we felt the need to let you know what we've been up to |
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Well, until yesterday, we've spent most of our time recently shopping for real estate and gifts and thinking about our pending renovation...oh, that's when we're not lounging on our inflatable rafts at the pool, anyway.
It's been just over three weeks now that we've been in Puerto Vallarta and we're just coming down off of the Semana Santa high... the spring breakers and Mexican families have, for the most part, headed back home, relinquishing PV back to us "locals" (ha). We stayed away from the beach for two weeks, spending some time almost every day at our pool, and eating out a couple of times each day (if you count tacos from street carts as eating out). It's amazing how fast the days can go by when you fall into a pattern like this. Breaking up this routine has been numerous shopping trips for assorted gifts and things, which has caused Scott to gaze with jealousy upon the Mexican bricklayers, wishing he could join them to escape the pain of looking at any more crafts. (If only the water weren't purified here, Scott muses, "I could've intentionally inflicted myself with the 'touristas'!")
We've also, as you may have read from the last entry, been spending some time shopping for real estate, which is much easier to handle. We've met a few interesting people, but haven't really bonded with any of the locals here (expats or Mexicans). Nice enough people, but everyone here seems to do their own thing. Scott has been busy in recent weeks with the Mexican contingent of Michigan State fans down here, doing what we can to urge the Spartans on to victory. The sports bar by our condo ("Steve's" - clearly owned by a Canadian, judging from the amount of curling they seem to show on their satellite TVs) has a healthy MSU fan base that has come out for the games, so Scott's been hanging out with quite a few Michiganders and former Michiganders as of late.
In between pool visits and souvenir shopping, we've spent the rest of our time discussing (i.e., obsessing over) remodeling plans for our new condo and attempting to find some of the things we'll need for said renovation. On Tuesday morning, we strolled over to the condo for a meeting with an engineer (Mexico's version of a general contractor) to discuss the balconies we are proposing to build, kitchen remodel, etc. The meeting was conducted entirely in Spanish, with the help only of the rough drawing we brought with us - kudos to Scott for successfully getting the point across (we hope)! After the meeting, we spent a very hot, dusty afternoon shopping for potential tiles, plumbing fixtures and exterior doors. Not as productive as we'd hoped but it was a start...
Now that the crowds are gone, we'll try to get out and see a few things more interesting than our pool and the touristy souvenir shops. Why, only yesterday we made it down to Mismaloya Bay (made famous by Liz Taylor & Dick Burton in Night of the Iguana) for some kayaking. After an uneventful hour or so on the water, we headed back up to PV and decided to make our first real foray out to a Mexican beach. We've walked down the beach boardwalk (the "Malecon") a number of times, looking out at the crowded beaches, and feeling sorry for those poor souls who had journeyed thousands of miles only to be forced into pre-set rows of chairs on the beach owned by whatever restaurant or hotel they sit in front of. They seemed more like pens... only with private umbrellas and thatched roof 'palapas', no feel of freedom or impulsiveness that a trip to the beach has always provoked for us.
Yesterday, after our kayaking excursion, we decided out of laziness that we'd just find some chairs and spend time at the beach PV gringo-style. What we discovered, much to our surprise, is that THIS is the way to do the beach! No hassle of hauling your own furniture or bringing your own food and drinks. You've got the shade of a large beach umbrella, already planted in the sand for you. There's even a small table, and waiters constantly willing to bring you beverages and food of your choice! We've decided that it would make sense for us to try out all of the beach chair setups along the waterfront so that we can establish which ones are the best, and which ones aren't worth coming back to. We sat in front of a restaurant, so we didn't have to pay anything to use the chairs (or the relatively clean and stocked restrooms located inside) since we were ordering food and drink from them. Beers are only 15 pesos ($1.35 USD) or less if you order more, making it an economical way to enjoy your day at the beach. Another great thing we learned is that one of the best spots on the beach happens to be right in front of the new condo we bought (what luck!), so we're sure to be trying out this activity in future winters. And with this discovery, Caroline is much more excited about owning a place in bustling Puerto Vallarta. |
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