March 26, 2018
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| Lobo, Andrea, and Latcho at Octopus' Garden |
Having lost my glasses the week before, I took the first
opportunity after Nancy and Shoshana left to go to Bucerias and order another
pair from Dr. Alma. While the prescription on the pair I lost was
the best I ever had, I didn’t really like the way they looked when I saw
pictures of myself, so I selected something a little less conspicuous. I went to the bank and returned home to spend
a rare free afternoon.
Don and I had tickets to see Lobo and Latcho at the Octopus’
Garden. I had not been aware that Lobo and
Latcho had gone to Spain together forty years before to learn flamenco from the
gypsies. They played music from that
time and talked about their experiences. Andrea joined them for the second set.
It was a very good show and we encouraged them to play together more
often. It was our last opportunity to
see music with Karen, John, and Janice because they were all leaving later in
the week, Karen to travel to China and John and Janice to return to Canada.
March 27-29, 2018
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| Dancing at the Brittania |
I spent much of Tuesday writing and practicing the
guitar. Our friend, John, arrived that
afternoon and we took him to the Britannia to introduce him to La Cruz
nightlife. He danced a bit with Cherie
and we all enjoyed the band.
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| Cherie at the Helm of Scout |
Wednesday morning, Cherie and I had gone to Comet to borrow Don’s drill when I heard
Scout on the radio. I hailed them to say goodbye and they invited
us to go sailing. Don and John still
needed to shower and eat, but Cherie and I made a quick change of plans and
tagged along. Greg needed to go to the
fuel dock before leaving for La Paz and took the opportunity to go out and sail
for a few hours. We filled up with fuel
and then sailed about the bay. Cherie
got a chance to practice driving, as she was trying to learn to sail. Greg was a good teacher and made her feel
comfortable and welcome. It was nice to
spend a bit more time with my friends from Scout.
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| Destiladeras Crowded for Semana Santa |
I had time to go home and cook a late lunch of liver and
onions before meeting John and Don at Ana Banana’s. The crew from Scout was there, too, and we eventually consolidated tables and got
everyone introduced. It was a fun
evening and John enjoyed dancing with Sally and me.
John, Don, and I went out for tacos at a
stand on the street when the bar closed.
La Cruz was hopping with visitors for Semana Santa and a carnival was
set up around the square.
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| John, Don, and Me at Destiladeras |
I was quite behind on my blog due to all the guests we had
been entertaining, so I spent nearly all day on Thursday writing. In the late afternoon, Cherie took John, Don,
our housemate John, and me to Destiladeras for the sunset. The beach was packed with Semana Santa
vacationers. We had to walk quite a way
down the beach before we could find a clear spot. Cherie and housemate John swam, Don lounged,
and we played Frisbee and took pictures until the sun set.
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| Sunset at Destiladeras |
We split up upon our return to La Cruz so that Cherie and I
could go home and shower away the sand, but we met up later at Octopus’ Garden to
hear what was billed as the Shuffle Band, but was actually just an amalgamation
of whomever was left in town. Joachim
got a little carried away with his guitar solos and Alejandra was nursing an
injured arm and couldn’t play the drums.
She played one bongo and looked bored.
Still, they were much better than the usual Shuffle Band lineup. We danced to the few numbers that were
danceable and John and Don ate dinner.
March 30, 2018
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| Mexican Drivers Can Really Load a Vehicle |
Friday, I worked on my blog and then spent much of the day
rehearsing for the open mic at Rhythm and Blues in Bucerias. Cherie drove Don, John, and me over there where we planned to have dinner while I was playing. This was John’s first experience of Bucerias
and he remarked that Mexicans really knew how to get the maximum usage out of
their vehicles.
We had to park several blocks away and had some trouble locating
the bar, even though we knew where it was.
It turned out to be closed for the Easter holiday and, without all the
tables on the street, was quite inconspicuous.
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| Don, Me, and John at Karen's Place in Bucerias |
Our plans for the evening dashed, we decided to take
advantage of being in Bucerias and go to dinner at Karen’s Place. Cherie drove us to the other side of the
arroyo and then we walked down towards the beach, where chickens boldly perched
on parked cars.
Karen’s was packed with Easter beach goers and they had
added extra tables on the sand. They
found us a table quickly, but it was quite a while before anyone got around to
taking our orders. Still, the view was
fabulous and the company good. We
chatted and enjoyed the ambiance. Eventually,
we were served and had a nice meal. Karen’s
dinner menu is a little pricier than most restaurants, but the quality of the
food is commensurate with the prices and the surroundings are divine. We had paused to take photos on the way in because
the setting sun made such a lovely backdrop.
Their breakfast and lunch prices are comparable to other, lesser
locations and they have a nice happy hour from 3 to 5.
After dinner, we strolled down Lazaro Cardenas to La
Postal. Bobby had asked us to check if
they were still having an open mic on Saturday night. We were able to confirm that information, but
they were closing as we arrived, so we had to be satisfied with getting cups of
gelato at their street side stand and wandering back to the car, pausing to
listen to music from a bar along the way where Cherie knew some of the patrons.
March 31, 2018
Saturday night was the last full moon concert at the marina
amphitheater. Cantus Eterna was
playing. They had a new singer and two
lead guitarists, as Hugo, the old one, was leaving and being replaced. The new singer spoke good English and had
good diction but didn’t have the voice of the old one. Both of the guitarists were very good and it
was fun to watch the two of them dueling.
They played a lot of Pink Floyd, including some pretty deep cuts. There was a group of Mexican youths dancing
in the front row who were very appreciative of the music and I got a kick out
of these kids who were so enjoying the same music I had enjoyed forty years
before when I was their age. Pink Floyd
was huge in Mexico for some reason.
Every gringo in town was at the concert, as well as some of
the townspeople. It was a beautiful
night and a great location to observe the full moon. The band had stopped playing when the sun
went down because they couldn't see until lights could be rigged. While a full moon should rise
when the sun sets, the mountains blocked the moonrise for an additional hour.
Don and John were hungry when the concert was over, so we
perused the food stands in the plaza, but nothing appealed to them. We walked up to the glorieta and they ate
quesadillas at our favorite taco stand.
We sat there until they closed at 11:00.
The temperature was perfect.
April 1, 2018
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| Tatewari at the Sunday Market |
John and I had been entrusted with the mission of obtaining
a Frida Kahlo dog collar for Shoshana, so we had to go to the Sunday market. Shoshana had sent me her dog’s measurements
and I was to purchase the collar and send it home with John. We met at the marina gate and walked along
the malecon to the market. John went
through the market much faster than Nancy and Shoshana had. I bought the collar and then we headed for
the food stalls at the end of the breakwater.
John and I had empanadas for breakfast, while Don got a sausage sandwich. I stocked up on sourdough bread, porchetta,
and raspberries. Don and I got juices
and John picked up a coffee. Tatewari
was playing, so we ate and listened to the music. I bought a CD that I hadn’t seen before. Then we went our separate ways to rest until
the evening.
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| Leon Playing Washboard at Ana Banana's |
Don and John wanted to go to Ana Banana’s for ribs that
evening. I ate at home and then walked
down to join them. The Rhythm Roosters were playing country and classic
rock. Local character, Leon, played a number on the washboard. Leon was 87 years old and played with many bands in town. He was so well known that La Cruz T-shirts featured his image. The band was entertaining and there
were some very good dancers to watch.
Cherie and her friend, Luz, joined us for the second set. Cherie and I danced with John.
John was really enjoying La Cruz and starting
to talk about coming down for the 2019 season.
La Cruz was working its magic on him.
We stayed until the music ended and then finished our drinks while the band
packed up their equipment. Cherie, Luz,
and I walked home the long way so that we could walk Luz
home. We were all a bit more security
conscious during Semana Santa with all the strangers in town. It was a perfect evening and we paused
frequently to view the full moon.
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