LA CRUZ - CAMP FOR GROWNUPS

January 14-15, 2019

La Cruz during high season was like camp for grownups.  There were so many activities it could be hard to fit in all the things one wanted to do.  There was also the option of doing nothing.  I found it necessary to keep a calendar to keep track of all the things I wanted to do.

Scooters in Nuevo Vallarta

Makeshift Road Repair

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I went to the gym in the morning.  Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I at least intended to get up and run, although the salsa lessons on Monday and Wednesday nights often left me too exhausted to do so.  There were seminars in the afternoon and free movies on Thursday nights, sailboat races on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and domino games with margaritas on Friday evenings.  Then there were the musical events with concerts at the Octopus’ Garden on Monday and Saturday nights and live music in at least one other place every night.  There were also ample opportunities to do yoga or play pickleball, swim, snorkel, surf, or paddleboard.  There was barely time left for reading or playing the guitar.  I was never so social at home.

Monday, I went to a seminar on sails and rigging at the Vallarta Yacht Club.  I was interested to see that the electric scooters that had invaded West Los Angeles, San Jose, and other cities had found their way to Nuevo Vallarta.  They were well adapted to the planned community with its smooth bike paths.  The cobblestoned streets of La Cruz and Bucerias would rattle a rider’s teeth straight out of his or her head.  In my neighborhood (as well as most of Mexico) the inhabitants took it upon themselves to fill pot holes and ruts with construction debris.

January 16, 2019

The original band known as Luna Rumba had been my favorite band ever.  I was crushed when they broke up and, while I followed the subsequent projects of the two founders, none of them had ever compared to the original.  This year, Luna Rumba had reformed with new members and were planning a triumphant return.  Wednesday night was the first of a series of moonlight concerts at Los Arroyos Verdes on the edge of Bucerias.

Stage at Los Arroyos Verdes

Getting to Los Arroyos Verdes was a challenge.  I was going with a friend from my dance class and he was busy racing until 18:00.  Shuttles from the highway had operated earlier in the afternoon, but those of us who didn’t want to eat dinner at Los Arroyos Verdes were on our own.  We took a two-hundred-peso taxi ride out to the concert.  It was a nice venue for a concert.  There was a spacious stage and chairs arranged on what might have been a pickleball court.  A shelter at one end of the area housed a bar and dessert table.  An old sail had been painted with a nighttime ocean scene and hung as a backdrop to the stage.  The show was sold out, although a fair number of empty seats testified to the difficulty of traveling to the location.

The Seating Area at Los Arroyos Verdes

Arte Puro at Los Arroyos Verdes

                                             

Each of the moonlight concerts at Los Arroyos Verdes featured two of the bands that collectively made up Luna Rumba Productions.  The first act on Wednesday night was Arte Puro, or Geo and Lobo.  Lobo played flamenco guitar and Geo played five-string violin.  I enjoyed them tremendously, but much of the crowd was bored.  Lobo seemed a little off, but it was still great to watch them improvise together.  The Luna Rumba faithful, however, seemed to prefer the slicker production, driving beat, and familiarity of a Luna Rumba show.

Luna Rumba at Los Arroyos Verdes

Luna Rumba came on after the intermission.  The new lineup featured a great new flamenco guitar player and an adorable (and talented) young bassist.  They had three drummers, one of whom was my dance teacher, Lilly.  The new guitarist was an adequate vocalist, although he only sang one song.  They performed a mix of covers, familiar Luna Rumba tunes and new songs.  One of the new songs was Bailando Los Caballos.  Geo had been inspired to write the song after one night when they were playing at Philo’s and the crowd suddenly rushed out into the street in the middle of a number.  Dancing horses are a big deal in La Cruz and, that night, the horses were dancing to the Luna Rumba music in the street outside Philo’s.  Geo told this story before playing the song, but we were quite surprised when the actual dancing horses paraded onto the dance floor and danced for us.

Horses Dancing with Luna Rumba

 The new band was very good and I liked them, but the rumba part of Luna Rumba seemed to have departed with Cheko.  It was nice to see Geo play the guitar, again, but he and the new guitarist seemed a bit unsure about who was playing lead.  No one was playing rhythm guitar, although the three drummers made sure no one lost the beat.  I missed Cheko’s vocals and his songwriting, as well as his guitar.    I was disappointed that the set was short.  They played fewer than ten songs.  Everything seemed to take longer than they had planned and they didn’t play the set listed on the program.  Still, those who had never seen the original Luna Rumba were very impressed.

Keith and I caught a ride home with a couple of Mexican ladies that he knew from Bucerias.  They were very enthusiastic about the show.  One of them said, “That made me proud to be Mexican.”  They gave us a ride to the taxi stand and we took a taxi home from there.

January 17 -18, 2019

I was so wired after the Luna Rumba concert that I stayed awake until 4:00, so I didn’t get up to run on Thursday morning.  I spent most of the day learning to play an Argentine song called Cambia Todo Cambia that I had heard at the concert the night before.  It struck me as a beautiful song, well suited for my voice.  It was popularized by Mercedes Sosa back in the 1960s and had come to Geo’s attention in Europe.

Movie Night at Marina La Cruz

Thursday night was movie night and I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express at the marina amphitheater. It was a perfect night and the movie had a large and delightful cast.  It was great fun wondering who was going to appear next.

Friday was a gym day and I spent some of the afternoon writing.  Our standing domino game was from 17:00 to 19:00 and then I rode my bicycle home before it got too dark.  I was restless and wanted to go out, but there was nothing much to do.  I ended up staying in and watching Netflix.  La Cruz was getting routine.

January 19, 2019

Sunrise on the Malecon

I got up early on Saturday and went for a run before dawn.  My hip started bothering me after the first lap around the marina, so I walked the second one.  Using the elliptical trainer on alternate days was great exercise but didn’t allow me much rest time between runs.  I was getting stronger and faster, but wasn’t able to run as much as before.

At the gym, the previous day, my friend, Fred, had suggested that I crew for the J-130, Sirocco, on Saturday’s Vallarta Cup race.  They had lost some crew and were looking for replacements.  I had considered it but was unable to hear them on the radio during Friday’s net.  When I told Fred that I planned to go to the Women Who Sail meeting on Saturday afternoon, he said, “Do you want to talk about sailing or do you want to sail?”  He had a point.  I went down to the marina that afternoon and arranged to crew the following day.

I love J boats and Sirocco was a beauty.  The owners were serious racers and they had a good crew despite its hasty assembly.  We met at 10:00 and headed across the bay to the start off Nuevo Vallarta.  We got there quite early and had time to practice hoisting, gybing, and dousing the 2400 square foot spinnaker.  I got to fly it during the practice, although my role for the day was to work down in the forepeak, pulling down and packing the spinnaker.

The start of the race was disappointing.  We started on a port tack and managed to get well in front of everyone.  Unfortunately, while we were certain we had not been over early, we were required to start again, which ultimately was all that prevented us from winning.

The Skippet, Lee, at the Helm of Sirocco

The course for the day consisted of a triangle followed by three windward/leeward laps.  That meant four spinnaker sets.  Pulling all that fabric down through the hatch was pure chaos, even with two of us working at it.  I became completely tangled in wet yellow nylon and sometimes it was all I could do to get my hands free to grab another armful.  Once I grabbed someone’s foot that had somehow slipped down through the hatch.

Once we got the chute down, we had to straighten it back out and get it ready to launch again.  This involved finding the head and then running down the edges to be sure there were no twists.  Once we had it straight, we needed to carefully bundle it all into the V-berth (The cushions had been left on the dock to stay dry.) with the three corners hanging out through the hatch opening and trapped in place by the hatch.  The entire V-berth was functioning as a spinnaker bag for the immense ¾ oz. chute.  It was a cramped and sweaty job and it was sweet to reemerge into the fresh air and sit on the rail after each performance.

The wind got lighter as the day progressed and we gradually improved our standing, although we never managed to beat Olas Lindas or Wings on corrected time.  It was satisfying to leave Wings well behind us and almost catch up to Olas Lindas.  It was fun to sail on a boat with a retractable bowsprit and watch how that was handled.  It went in and out amazingly smoothly and I was impressed with the asymmetrical spinnaker rigged that way.  I had watched the J-105 become the race boat of choice in San Francisco Bay and now understood why.  I had never considered one for myself but, later that day, I saw one outfitted for cruising and that got me thinking.  I would have to do more research, but at least there would be many to choose from and plenty of spare parts available.

We got back to the dock around 18:00 and I had to scurry because I had a ticket to see Bohemia Viva at 19:00.  I sped back to the house on the bicycle, showered, dressed and rushed to the Octopus’ Garden only to discover that the show had been cancelled due to lack of interest.  Alfredo refunded my money and bought me a beer.  As I hadn’t had a chance to decompress after the race, I relaxed in the bar and drank my beer.  Then I walked home and stopped at the taco cart near the bus stop that I had been meaning to try for at least a year. 

The stand was always busy.  He specialized in what, to Americans, were exotic meats like head and tongue.  Tongue tacos being my favorites, I ordered two of those to go.  They were excellent and cost me a total of 30 pesos ($1.50.)  The proprietors were quite friendly.  Since my favorite street taco place near the corner of Langosta and Coral was not operating, they would be my new go-to taco stop.  At least when I wasn’t eating with others who insisted on pork or carne asada.

I suddenly had a whole evening on my hands.  I was too tired to practice, so settled in to watch the last few episodes of Better Call Saul.

January 20, 2019

Sunday was my lazy day and I always seemed to wake up starving.  I got up and made pancakes.  The baking powder must have died from the heat, because they didn’t rise, but they were still tasty with butter and agave nectar.

Casa Melinda

Cherie and I spent the morning puttering around the house and cleaning up the patios.  I spent most of the afternoon writing.

Roof Terrace at Casa Melinda

Women Who Sail was having a cocktail party at Casa Melinda, up at the top of Monte Calvario, near where I lived back in 2014/2015.  It was fun to go back up there and see how the neighborhood had changed.  I believe that Casa Melinda had been built since I lived there and it was an impressive structure, complete with an elevator.  The party was on the roof terrace and the view was spectacular.  Everyone enjoyed the scenery and it was fun chatting with the different women and some of their partners.  There were four speakers, but I only got to hear part of the first one because they were late starting and I had to leave early to go to my next event.

The View from Casa Melinda

Alfredo had given me a ticket to see Amy Armstrong and Piel Canela at the Octopus’ Garden that night.  The ticket was his way of apologizing for having to cancel the show that I had been planning to attend on Saturday night.  The show was sold out, so I had to sit in the bar, which was fine since I was alone.  Amy Armstrong has a wonderful voice, but she is an equally gifted comic.  Her show was a mix of music and comedy.  She was very entertaining, although I, personally, would have liked to hear more from Piel Canela.

Amy Armstrong (right) and Piel Canela (Mimi left)

I enjoyed the evening and was grateful to Alfredo for inviting me.  Mimi, of Tatewari, played lead guitar with Piel Canela and really seemed to be enjoying playing rock and roll.  He was grinning from ear to ear and really playing up his rockstar persona.  He played the guitar behind his head and switched hands at one point without ever missing a beat.  His joy was infectious.  Mimi IS a rockstar in La Cruz, since he is a native La Cruzian, and always got at least as much applause as the headliner whenever he played with another band.  The show was sold out and the whole crowd was grooving.

Piel Canela would be playing without Amy Armstrong once she left for the season and they gave us a preview of their sound without the singer.  Their music was much more rumba/flamenco without her big, soul voice.  I liked it very much.  I would definitely attend if I were around during one of their shows.  Scout was poised to leave La Paz the following day and I hoped that we would be sailing south before the end of the week.  I was disappointed to miss Cheko Ruiz’ next show but hoped to catch him later in the season.  It was time for me to be sailing again.

Lunar Eclipse

Sunday night was a lunar eclipse and, though it was cloudy when I left the show, the moon did come out later and I got to see part of it from our upstairs balcony.  The weather was perfect.

A STRENUOUS WEEK IN LA CRUZ

Empty Philo's

January 7, 2019

Monday was a gym day.  I took a combi to Bucerias and stayed in town after working out to get my nails done.  The afternoon was peaceful.  Victor, Cherie, and I jammed a little.  I wrote and practiced.

Monday night was the start of a session of dance lessons given by Lilly Alcantara at Philo’s.  It was weird to see the place so empty and deserted looking.  Aside from the very small original dance floor, Philo’s was not an ideal place for dancing.  The terracotta paver floor was uneven.

The first hour of the class was Latin rhythms.  We dashed through examples of numerous different dances.  An hour of that left me dripping with sweat.  It was fun but made for a good workout.  The second hour was salsa.  We split into two groups with those who already knew something in one group and the beginners in another.  I had taken a few lessons in 2013 but didn’t remember much.  I needed to start at the beginning.  I could barely drag myself home after another hour of dancing.

January 8, 2019

Tuesday's Dawn

Tuesday should have been a running day, but I was too beat up from dancing to think about running.  I got up and walked the 4.3 miles I would normally have run.  I had been having trouble with cramps in my lower extremities due to dehydration from all my exercise.  I found it necessary to drink a bottle of electrolyte solution every day to stave off the cramps.  I understood why electrolyte drinks were so popular in Mexico.  Anyone doing physical work in the heat would need them. 

I barely had time to listen to the net and eat breakfast before I had to take Cherie up on her offer of a ride to Bucerias.  I stopped at the bank and then went to get my hair cut.  I had the first appointment at 10:00. Gabriela was late and I waited by the side of the road for ten minutes or so.  Eighty pesos later (about $4), I was feeling much cooler and lighter.

Gabriela's Salon

I had no plans for the day, so decided to enjoy Bucerias without sweaty gym clothes for a change.  I stopped at the nearby Go Zen Café for a latte and surfed the net on their wifi for half an hour.  Then I took a nice walk across Bucerias, stopping to photograph colorful street scenes to paint later.  One attempt was ruined when a giant Coca Cola truck parked in the middle of my careful composition.

Cafe Go-Zen

I stopped at the 25 peso store to buy a few things for the house.  Our plastic clothespins were disintegrating from exposure to the sun, so I bought some bamboo ones.  I got glue to repair my phone case and a plastic cooking spoon to use with our non-stick pans.  For some reason, I couldn’t find wooden spoons anywhere.

Colorful Bucerias

I spent the afternoon working on my blog and staying cool.  The cold winter weather had departed.  When the sun sank low, I took a stroll to the local tienda for bananas and limes, the two things without which we could not live.

January 9, 2019

Wednesday was another gym day but I came right home afterwards, having run out of errands to do in Bucerias.  My friends, Rick and Marilyn from Tortuga, had returned to La Cruz and we had our first music circle together that afternoon.  Tony showed up with his penny whistle for a little while and he and I played a few Celtic tunes.  He was unfortunately on his way to the airport, so we would have to wait another couple of weeks before we could continue.  The rest of us stayed and played until 15:00 when I rode my (borrowed) bike back up the hill.  With the guitar and heavy music, that was a challenge.  I had been doing a lot of stationary biking at the gym and the hard work was paying off.  I had increased the resistance since I started riding an actual bicycle, hoping to improve my performance.  For some reason, bicycling always left me exhausted and sore.

I needed a nap after all that exercise, but people kept coming to the door.  I did manage to read for a bit. I was reading Dan Brown’s Origen in Spanish, which somehow seemed appropriate, since the story took place in Spain.  Books in Spanish usually slowed me down, but this one was so engrossing that it was difficult to put it down and I was tearing through it at a rapid pace.

Wednesday night was the second session of my dance class.  I dressed more appropriately than the first time but was still rapidly dripping sweat.  We concentrated on fewer dances than the first night and I felt like I was making a little progress.  The real test would be if I could still remember the steps the following Monday.

January 10, 2019

La Cruz Anchorage at Dawn

Once again, I was too sore from dancing to run on Thursday morning.  In fact, I had trouble dragging myself out of bed.  There wasn’t much of a sunrise, although there was a bit of color when the sun finally crested the mountains shortly before 8:00.  I walked the whole 4.3 miles and returned home just in time for the net.

I was alone in the house and spent a quiet day reading, practicing and writing.  In the late afternoon, I cooked arrachera in green mole so that I could have a good dinner before the evening’s movie.  I wasn’t too fond of eating out by myself.

It was free movie night at the marina and they were screening Adrift.  There was a big turnout.  The weather was perfect and 150 people showed up to watch a sailing movie.  It was tough to find a place to put my chair.

January 11, 2019

Fridays were always busy in La Cruz.  I went to the gym in the morning and worked extra hard on the stationary bike.  

There was a presentation in the afternoon by the owners of Rutea who had spent eight weeks cruising in Tierra del Fuego and rounded the horn on a friend’s boat.  Their photographs were incredible.  I was hoping to visit Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (although I had no real desire to sail around the horn) and was interested to hear about their experiences.  I remained convinced that the best way to see the area was from a cruise ship, although I later spoke with a woman who had booked passage on a cruise around the horn only to learn that her ship had been sunk by an iceberg.

After the presentation, I lounged around the pool until it was time for Mexican Train dominoes at 17:00.  I allowed myself one margarita but even one left me lethargic.  It was getting too dark to ride the bicycle, so I walked home with some friends who were headed my way and then spent the evening reading.

January 12, 2109

Between all the dancing, working out, and bike riding, my legs were Jello.  I gave myself Saturday morning off and stayed in bed until after the net.  Victor and Saul had finally left and Cherie was off sailing for the day.  I stayed home all day, reading and completing annoying tasks on the internet that I had been avoiding, like sifting through the 1300 emails in my spam folder.  I was rewarded by finding an email from Mexican immigration stating that they had resolved to accept my application for residency.  All that remained was to wait for the delivery of my actual resident ID card.  I had successfully received three Amazon deliveries via DHL that week.  I hoped that the postal service would be as effective.

January 13, 2019

I allowed myself to be lazy on Sunday but did manage to walk down to the marina to pick up the bicycle Victor had left behind when he sailed away.    The seat was too low for me but I managed to ride it back up the hill.  Then I went to La Comer and Mega to do some grocery shopping.  La Comer had a nice coffee shop.  A tiny caramel macchiato cost 45 pesos but came with two miniature croissants.  It was pleasant and relaxing to sit there and enjoy a coffee.  Since I had mostly given up drinking coffee, it was a special treat.

I bought a few non-food items and dry goods that were on sale at La Comer and then crossed the street to the Mega and did my grocery shopping.  I managed to load all my purchases into two large tote bags but they were so heavy that I couldn’t have dragged home another thing despite having bought most of the liquids I needed at Mario’s tienda on the way home from the marina.  Unfortunately, the Modelo Cero (non-alcoholic beer) that I liked was not available at any of the shops in La Cruz.

It was late afternoon by the time I got back and I read until dinnertime when I cooked a Tuscan style chicken breast and then spent a quiet evening.

SEEING 2019 IN WITH A BANG

December 31, 2018

New Year’s Eve was a Monday and I spent the morning at the gym, as usual.  It was so chilly that I wore my fleece lined leggings.  They were a little warm for working out but felt good on the bus ride there.

At the beginning of 2018, I had resolved to reach my goal weight by the end of the year.  On the last day of 2018, I was happy to weigh in at one pound below my goal weight.   I was dumpy no more.  The gym had mirrors and I saw a rather muscular woman when I watched myself row.

I spent the afternoon practicing the guitar and trying to stay warm.  I was finally forcing myself to study flamenco.  It was slow going. I made good progress with the melodic bits but continued to struggle with the rapid strumming.  I forged on, attempting to beat the patterns into muscle memory by sheer diligence.

Geo Playing with Media Luna on New Year's

Karen and I had tickets to see Media Luna at the Octopus’ Garden for New Year’s Eve.  The band had convinced Geo to join them during the second set and the music was incredible.  We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the show.  We were in no hurry to leave afterward and hung around to finish our drinks and chat with the musicians.  We felt extremely blessed to be able to interact directly with such great talent.

View from Our Rooftop

Karen had to leave the next morning to return to the United States, so we left about 22:00.  I went home and lounged about until midnight when Cherie, our guest Saul, and I climbed up on the roof to watch the fireworks.  Every resort along the bay was shooting off fireworks and the display was more incredible than the Fourth of July in the USA.  It was unusually chilly, so I was glad to crawl into my warm bed as soon as the fireworks calmed down.

January 1, 2019

New Year’s Day dawned cold and dark.  I wanted to start the year off with a run but I just couldn’t make myself get out of bed.  It was so cold that I had closed all the windows.  I stayed in bed until nearly noon.  When I finally did get up, I made myself pancakes and hot tea.  I put on the warmest clothes I had, including wool socks, and didn’t leave the house all day.  I didn’t have enough warm clothing for the cold weather.

January 2, 2019

Determined not to let the previous day’s laziness set the tone for 2019, I got up and went to the gym after the net.  It had finally warmed up enough to leave the house in shorts.  I skipped the farmers’ market in Bucerias because I had to get to the marina by 13:00 in case anyone showed up for the music circle.  I had just enough time to return home, shower, eat lunch, and get organized.

Victor had left us a couple of bicycles and I decided to take one to the marina.  I put my guitar on my back and loaded my music into the basket.  The basket was precariously attached and wobbled dangerously as I rode over the rutted dirt roads.  I elected to take the lateral all the way to the smoothly paved main street, rather than bounce over the cobblestones with my heavy load.  The bicycle was faster than walking, but more dangerous.

No one showed up to play music so I practiced for an hour and then headed home.  Riding the bike back uphill was more difficult.  I kept getting stuck behind slow cars which made it hard to keep up enough momentum to avoid falling over.  I managed to power up the hill but had to walk the last step before I hit the lateral.  A pedestrian cut me off.

I wanteded the go to the Octopus’ Garden but didn’t dare try to negotiate the cobblestones on the bike.  I went home and returned on foot.  I picked up my complimentary ticket for the next night’s anniversary party and bought a ticket to Diego Mondragon’s second show.

That errand done, I continued to the grocery shop to buy bananas, yogurt and tortillas.  There were no tortillas in the shop, so I walked over to the tortilleria.  They were out of corn tortillas.  I didn’t know if it was because I had come at 16:00 or because they had run out of propane.  There was a shortage of propane in Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima because a propane distribution center near Guadalajara was down for maintenance (or possibly because the distributors were holding out for 2019 prices.)  No one could heat their pools and people were running out of propane for cooking and heating water.  We were still okay but were keeping our fingers crossed that the gas would last until propane was available again.

I read and worked on musical projects until dinnertime and then sat down to write after I ate.  I planned to retire early so I could get up to run on Thursday.

January 3, 2019

A Rather Dull Sunrise

I went running on Thursday morning.  It was unusually dark and the sunrise seemed to be in black and white that morning.  There was very little color in it.  That was disappointing, since it was usually so dramatic.

The day passed with the usual activities.  I was excited about going to the Octopus’ Garden, that evening, to celebrate the third anniversary party of Alfredo’s having taken over the restaurant, bar, and music venue.  As a loyal customer, I had been granted a ticket and scored a table front and center.

Lobo with Esau and Sonny from Tatewari

There was a great lineup of musicians playing that night.  Lobo began the show playing flamenco guitar.  He was eventually joined by Esau from Tatewari and the other members of the band, except for Mimi, gradually joined them on the stage.  When they were all present, Lobo exited and Tatewari played a few numbers.

The Shuffle Band

 Tatewari was succeeded by the Shuffle Band.  The Shuffle Band was never one of my favorites, but they had improved with a change of personnel.  My biggest complaint about them was that they played the same songs over and over and they were the same songs everyone else played.  The night of the party, they managed to get through the entire set without playing one Creedence Clearwater or Rolling Stones song.  The staff really seemed to enjoy them.  They dressed up in funny costumes and danced around the bar, banging pots and pans together.  It was wilder than New Year’s.

Deep River

Deep River played after the Shuffle Band.  While they played covers, they did play an eclectic set of unique songs, some of which dated from recent decades.  I enjoyed the music and so did the patrons, who kept sending them tequila.  I noted that most of them saved it until after the set.

Amy Armstrong and Piel Canela

The last act was Piel Canela.  Mimi's absence from Tatewari was explained when he appeared as the lead guitarist for Piel Canela.  His flamenco persona was left behind and he was rocking an electric guitar.  The singer for the band, Amy Armstrong, had an amazing voice well suited to songs by Aretha Franklin or Adele.  Mimi did himself proud playing rock solos.  Their set was unfortunately short, as they were playing a concert at the Octopus’ Garden only a few days later.

Alfredo Addressing the Audience

The evening was a lot of fun, but also a little sad, as Alfredo made public the fact that Octopus’ Garden would no longer be serving as a restaurant and music venue after that season.  Alfredo and MaryChuy would be moving the business to another location in La Cruz to be announced later.  There was much speculation that he might be returning to Philo’s old location, which had sat empty for a couple of seasons without anyone coming forward to buy the property.

January 4, 2019

Friday was a gym day.  I had to rush home because I needed to be at the marina office by noon to assist with organizing all the donations for the children of the Manos de Amor orphanage into gift bags for each child.  The children had written letters to Santa expressing their desires.  Those wishes were then translated into English, copied onto paper hands, and hung on the Christmas tree in the VIP lounge where cruisers and others could take one and fulfill that wish.  Donations were then returned to the office where we picked them up and organized them all.

Assembling Gift Bags

Our first task was insuring that all the wishes had been fulfilled.  While we had many extra donations, there were some “hands” that had been taken, but never fulfilled.  There was some last-minute scrambling to purchase missing gifts with late arriving monetary donations.  I tied ribbons on the forty-two recycled and reusable gift bags that Katrina had obtained. People had contributed additional clothing and school supplies and we distributed those as equitably as possible.  People had been very generous.

The loan of Victor’s bicycle made it possible for me to run home after the work was done and practice for a bit before returning to the marina at 17:00 for Mexican Train dominoes.  We had a large enough crowd that we needed to split into two tables.

When the games were over, I agreed to meet Tom and Cary from Dragon’s Toy at the Brittania, later, for Indian food.  They served passable curries and attempted to make naan, an endeavor that I had never seen succeed without a tandoori oven.  It was an enjoyable meal and a nice departure from the usual fare.  We took our time eating and chatted with the chefs who were acquainted with Tom and Cary.  By the time we got to Ana Banana’s for music, later, we only managed to catch the last set.

January 5, 2019

A Proper Dawn in La Cruz

I got up early on Saturday to run.  There was a colorful sunrise.  Back at home, I lounged around and wasted time until I needed to scurry over to the marina to watch the orphans from Manos de Amor open their gifts.  

Elinore with the Kids

The children had been invited to swim in the marina pool and the Poolside Deli provided a hot dog lunch for them with a Rosca de Reyes (a traditional circular bread sporting candied fruit that is baked for Three Kings Day) for dessert.  A Rosca de Reyes contained plastic babies.  Whomever got one in his or her piece was supposed to make tamales.  Elinore got one in her piece and the children insisted that she pose with all the other lucky recipients.

Santa Steve

Lots of Happy Faces

I got there just about the time lunch was served and chatted with some volunteers while the children ate.  Then it was time for the gifts.  One of the cruisers posed as Santa and the children all had their photos taken with him as their bags were presented.  While not every child got exactly what they had in mind, there were a lot of happy faces.  We had a tough time getting the correctly sized roller blades and ended up with many extra small and large ones.  The boy who had requested baseball equipment got a real glove, bat and ball and he was ecstatic.  It was fun watching the children dig through their treasures.

After the gifts were distributed, the children returned to the pool area for a pinata.  Traditionally, the youngest kids go first.  While the pinata was rapidly hanging by a thread, that thread never failed.  It took quite a bit of battering and one broken broom handle before one of the girls finally managed to breach the papier mache and release a torrent of candy.  I stayed long enough to watch the children scramble for candy and then departed to get out of the sun.  It was great having a bicycle to speed up my return, although riding up Langosta was a challenge.

Pedro Carillo on the Requinto

Saturday night was another concert featuring Diego Mondragon.  The first attempt having been marred by difficulties with the sound, I went to see him a second time.  At first, it looked like there would be a conflict with loud banda music next door, but a compromise was reached and the show delayed half an hour until they finished.  The show was much improved over the first night, although the poor singer still struggled to perform numbers that exceeded her range.  Diego played a very true and passionate violin,  The crowd was enchanted and refused to let the musicians leave, contributing extra money to pay the backup band so that Diego could perform a third set.  I was almost equally taken with the trio from Punta de Mita, featuring the hilarious and ”internationally unknown” Pedro Carillo on the requinto, and resolved to seek them out at their regular venue sometime.  It was quite late by the time I got home.

The Sunday Market

January 6, 2019

Sunday was my day off from exercising and I used it to sleep in late.  With Victor and Saul in residence, there was a lot of activity in the house, so I hid in my room, reading and surfing the internet until hunger finally drove me out just before noon.

I needed a few things from the market so took the bike and zipped down there after breakfast.  Poor planning resulted in my choosing a cobblestoned route and I vowed never to do that again on the bike.  My teeth were nearly jarred out of my head and I could have walked faster than I rode.  I quickly picked up some strawberries, porchetta, and a baguette and returned via a nice, smooth dirt road.  I also picked up a ticket to the upcoming Luna Rumba concert at Los Arroyos Verdes outside of Bucerias.  Luna Rumba’s following had grown to the point where they had outgrown the La Cruz venues.  Their manager, Fernanda, assured me that there would be shuttles from the highway on the night of the concert so that those of us without cars could get to the location.  The concert would end well before the buses stopped running to return people to La Cruz.

The original Luna Rumba had been my all-time favorite band.  After two years without them, I was excited (although still somewhat skeptical) to see what the new version would offer.  They had come a long way from playing for free on Wednesday nights at Philo’s to selling 350 peso tickets to events at Los Arroyos Verdes.  Posters for the concert series were plastered all over La Cruz and Bucerias.

CHRISTMAS IN LA CRUZ

December 24, 2018

While I had spent several Christmases in Mexico, I had never been in La Cruz for Christmas. I had no plans and let things unfold as they would.  I went to the gym on the morning of Christmas Eve and then stopped at the Chedraui to buy wine and chocolate to take to the evening’s dinner.

Simon's Pool

Cherie’s friend, Simon, had invited us to his home for Christmas Eve.  Simon lives on the beach in El Tizate, a small community between La Cruz and Bucerias. He had a lovely home with a nice pool and a fabulous palapa set up for entertaining.  His mother joined us until she left to go to church.  The rest of his family was partying next door.  Simon had made beans, rice, and salad and he grilled arrachera for us.  The meat was perfect.  We sat in the palapa, watching the sun set over the ocean, drinking wine, and eating our dinner.  Just to make everyone at home jealous, we went swimming after dinner.  The water in the pool was a little chilly, but it was bearable once I got in.

Simon Playing Pool

Simon had a pool table and we spent the rest of the evening playing pool.  It was a very relaxing evening.  We were ready to go home by 22:00 and Simon graciously gave us a ride home.  I was ready to call it an early night.

December 25, 2018

Karen's Place in Bucerias

I just couldn’t bestir myself to run on Christmas morning.  I seldom had more than one drink and had consumed probably three glasses of wine the night before.  While I wasn’t exactly hung over, I was moving slowly.  I managed to wake up in time for the net so that the cruising community could wish each other a merry Christmas.  Normally, I would have gone to the Christmas potluck at the Poolside Deli, but Cherie and I had friends coming to visit us for the day and we planned to stay at home.

Our friends were missing in action, so we went to Karen’s Place in Bucerias for brunch.  Our friend, Kundra, and her dog joined us.  The dog was exhausted from having spent the previous evening running around Simon’s property and sneaking out onto the beach.  She had crashed the neighbors’ party and scarfed the leftovers.  She slept through brunch. 

I threw my diet to the wind and had bacon and eggs, potatoes, beans, AND a pancake for brunch.  I couldn’t eat all of it, but I enjoyed trying.  My brunch was served with a lovely fruit punch.  Karen’s place was located right on the beach and I felt very lucky to be in such a gorgeous, warm place on Christmas.  They were setting up for big parties later in the day, but brunch was fairly mellow. It was a perfect way to start the day.

Cherie and Me at Brunch

Our friends, Victor and Saul, had arrived by the time we got back.  We spent the day lounging, talking, and playing a little music.  In the late afternoon, we went to the Brittania, expecting to be there early, only to find a full street party in progress.  They had gifts for all the local children and a turkey dinner laid on.  

Unfortunately, there was another party next door with loud banda music.  They called the police, who came and shut down the street party.  That was odd because they have street parties there a couple of times a year and there is usually no problem.  I felt bad for the Brittania because they had prepared a lot of food and I don’t think anyone stayed to eat it.  We didn’t.

Having had turkey on Sunday night, we opted to go to Casa Hule and eat pizza, salad, and ice cream for Christmas dinner.  Victor treated.  It was very pleasant.  Casa Hule was one of the few restaurants that were open.  We actually had planned to go to the Red Chairs but found them closed.  We had a leisurely meal and were all ready to hit the hay by the time we wandered home.

December 26, 2018

My Gym in Bucerias

I had slacked off on Christmas and eaten everything in sight, so it was time to go to the gym on Boxing Day.  I burned a few hundred calories and then stopped by the farmers’ market in Bucerias and bought myself a new purse to replace the dilapidated one I had purchased in Guatemala two years before.  By the time I took the combi home, I barely had time to shower, dress, and eat before I needed to leave for the Poolside Deli to host the weekly music circle.

A lot of people were gone for the holiday and no one joined me to play music.  I played for an hour and then packed up.  I stopped to visit my friends, Jen and Gregg, on the way home and played a couple of songs for them.  It was nice to take a break on the way home because lugging my guitar and music a mile each direction got tiring.

It was nearly 16:00 by the time I got home and I spent an hour working on my blog before getting ready to go our for the evening. Karen and I were driving into Puerto Vallarta to have dinner and see Naked Boys Singing at Incanto.

Planeta Vegetariana

We found a parking space quite close to Incanto, so left the car there and walked to Planeta Vegetariana for dinner.  Dinner was a good value at 125 pesos for a buffet dinner including drinks and dessert.  I wasn’t wild about the food and the veggie lasagna had neither cheese nor pasta and was just plain weird.  Still, there was a nice salad bar and the homemade bread was delicious.  I ran across a music store on the way back and managed to buy strings and picks, although I forgot to look for a guitar stand. 

Incanto in Puerto Vallarta

Naked Boys Singing was hilarious.  They were, indeed, naked, but the songs were funny and the young men talented.  Many of the songs had been rewritten for Puerto Vallarta.  It was a great production for such a small venue and had been extended for another month.  The cast, clad in towels, greeted all the patrons on our way out.  Unfortunately, photos were not allowed.

The show didn’t begin until 21:30 and it was already late when we left the theatre.  We needed to stop at the Walmart on the way back to look for a garden hose.  We failed to find the hose, but I got some eye bolts, cord, and concrete drill bits that I needed to hang the rug I had bought at the estate sale.  We were still in the store when they chased everyone out at midnight.  We were so late getting home that Cherie had given up on me and locked the deadbolt. We don’t have a key for that lock, so I had to wake Cherie up to let me in.

December 27. 2018

Cloudy Sunrise Over the Marina

Victor Cooking

I got up to run on Thursday and enjoyed the sunrise  We had a quiet day around the house. Victor’s friend, Saul, made his mother’s adobo recipe for dinner and we invited some other Mexican friends over for dinner.  The food was delicious and the conversation was nearly all in Spanish, which was good for us.  Victor spoke more, or at least more facile, Spanish than I and I had to work to keep up with the conversation.  It got harder as the evening progressed.  Cherie and Simon went out and Victor retired early, so I had to struggle to keep my eyes open until almost 23:00 when the last of the young people left and I could finally lock the door and go to bed.

.

December 28, 2018

My New Rug

Fridays were always busy in La Cruz.  I went to the gym in the morning and then came home and did projects around the house while I washed laundry.  The washing machine had been smelling moldy and I found the source of the smell inside the fabric softener dispenser, which had grown nasty.  I cleaned it out and then ran a load of strong bleach.  Cherie later commented, “For the first time, I can smell my fabric softener.”  I finally got my rug hung on my bedroom wall.  The pole I used to suspend it was a little long, but left room to hang additional items in the future.  Drilling into the concrete wall was tedious.

Mexican Train Dominoes

Our weekly domino game began at 17:00.  We had missed a couple of weeks between the Banderas Bay Blast and the Women Who Sail meeting.  It was fun to catch up with friends and play a few games.  I had planned to hang out there until it was time to meet Karen for dinner, but it got dark early because it was overcast and the game broke up by 18:30.  I took my time and enjoyed the sunset and then sat in the park for half an hour until it was time to go to the Black Forest for dinner.

Sunset Over Banderas Bay

Latcho & Andrea 

Latcho and Andrea were playing at the Black Forest and Karen and I went there for dinner and the show.  Karen had vegetable pasta and I had a chicken breast breaded with coconut and served in a puddle of Thai curry sauce.  It was very good but could have used more sauce because there wasn’t enough for both the chicken and the rice.  I enjoyed a stellar Black Forest Tom Collins with my dinner.

Latcho and Andrea played a lot of new material.  The audience, which mainly consisted of two large groups, talked through the music until they finished eating, but grew more appreciative after that.  Latcho and Andrea, who had almost seemed to run out of steam, picked up speed and played three encores.  We stayed afterwards and talked to them for a while. 

December 29, 2018

Gorgeous Sunrise

I woke up at 5:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I got up to run at 6:00.  It was a very dark morning but developed into a lovely sunrise.  The sky was pink except for some inexplicable patches of white.  All around the marina, people were stopping to take photographs.  I posted a video of the sunrise on Facebook because it was too pretty not to share.

Some friends of mine and I were scheduled to shop for items requested from Santa by the children of the Manos de Amor orphanage.  I met them at the marina and 11:00 and Judy from Wings drove us all to Walmart.  My contribution was a pair of roller skates for a ten-year-old boy.  I was not the only one seeking roller skates.  Luckily, we found them at Walmart.  We did a little bit more shopping and then moved on to La Comer.  I bought some groceries and an HP computer printer that I found for 799 pesos (roughly $40.)

Once I got home, I practiced for a bit and then tried to make enchiladas.  We had a lot of leftover tortillas from Saul’s dinner but they were too dried out to roll into enchiladas.  I ended up making a sort of enchilada lasagna with ground beef, cheese, and corn tortillas drenched in an enchilada sauce I had concocted using pasilla chile sauce and pureed tomatoes.  Enchilada sauce is hard to come by in Mexico because everyone makes it from scratch.  I considered it, but was too lazy.  The dish turned out delightfully and Cherie and I feasted.  I spent the remainder of the evening writing.

Baby Groot

December 30, 2018

It was cold on Sunday and I slept in.  I read a book in Spanish and practiced the guitar.  There were leftovers to eat.  It was a lazy day.