March 18-21, 2019
I felt too lousy on Monday to hit the gym, but I dragged myself
to Bucerias by 11:00 for my nail appointment, only to find that the salon was
closed for Benito Juarez’ birthday. I
contemplated doing errands, but ended up just taking the bus back and doing
nothing for the rest of the day.
I didn’t get up to run on Tuesday, either, and finally broke
down and started taking antibiotics. I
did very little all day but managed to make it to Unleashed by 17:00 for happy hour and a tour of the boat I would be
assisting to cross to La Paz. I was surprised
to find a full scale party in progress, when I arrived, complete with sangria and appetizers. We sat and socialized until after 20:00 and
then headed, en masse, for Falconi’s in search of pizza. Unfortunately, Falconi’s was closed on Tuesdays,
as was Red Chairs. We ended up having a
very nice pizza feast at Casa Hule where they dragged out an extra table to
seat all of us. Few restaurants were
open on Tuesdays and they were crowded.
 |
| The Twenty-Five Peso Store in Bucerias |
My digestive tract felt better by Wednesday, but I still
felt weak and was starting to get a sore throat. I didn’t want to get sick for the crossing to
La Paz, so stayed in and rested most of the day. I did get a chance to catch up on my blog,
which was weeks behind.
I had tried to text my manicurist on Wednesday to reschedule
my appointment but didn’t receive a response.
By Thursday afternoon, I had started to lose nails and couldn’t really
play the guitar. I took a bus up to
Bucerias about 15:00, only to find the salon packed. I made an appointment for the following day
and walked across Bucerias to the 25 peso store to buy clothespins for Scout.
I kept losing them overboard and we were getting low. I was finally starting to feel better.
March 22, 2019
I finally got myself moving on Friday morning and went to
the gym. I hadn’t been able to make my
nail appointment until noon, so I showered at the gym and then walked up the
street to Chedraui to buy plastic storage bins.
My departure was approaching and, as our departure date was weather
dependent, I needed to be ready to leave on short notice. Our house sitters tended to use my room, so I
wanted to pack up all my things and leave the room ready.
That errand didn’t take long, so I piled the bins on top of
my head and walked back down the lateral to the Lateral Café for a Frappuccino while
I waited. It was difficult to walk on
cobblestones with a stack of boxes on my head because I couldn’t look
down. Where the road got too rough, I
had to carry them in front of me. The
waitress at the café felt sorry for me.
I was only sorry because I would be leaving soon.
I got my nails done at noon and, having lost most of the acrylic,
decided to try just gel polish on all but my right thumb. I was betting that, after two years of not
biting the acrylic nails, I could refrain from chewing them off without the plastic
coating. I was rewarded by only having
to pay 150 pesos or about $7.50.
I got lucky and a bus was waiting at the stop when I crossed
the highway. It was much easier to drag
my bins aboard a full-sized bus than trying to squeeze them into a combi. I got a seat near the door , so was able to
get back off without incident when I reached La Cruz. The only downside to the bus was that I had
to walk farther, since the bus only stopped at regular intervals. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting
after my exertions.
I wanted to be sure to make it to the Poolside Deli for my
domino game at 17:00, since it might quite possibly be my last game of the
season. I must not have been alone
because we had such a large crowd that we had to break into three tables. We played until 19:00. Paul and Carol were there and we discussed
the effect of the projected weather on our departure. We needed three days without a north wind to
make the crossing. Paul couldn’t leave
before the following Wednesday and a norther was predicted to kick in on Thursday. If nothing changed, we would have to wait
until after that wind event to make our crossing.
March 23, 2019
I had had trouble sleeping on Friday night, so did not get
up in time to run on Saturday. I did
manage to get my laundry done, which I had not had time to do the day
before. I read most of the afternoon
and, before I knew it, it was time to meet my friends for dinner.
Karen and I had been running around with John and Janice’s
Canadian entourage (Ed and Carol, Ted and Connie) all season. Carol had
discovered a new rib joint down the street from Agave Azul where a new concrete
stretch of road had replaced the washed out section where the river ran during
the rainy season. The “restaurant” was
actually just a few tables in someone’s yard and on the street in front of
their property. They were only open on
Saturdays from 17:00 to 22:30 and served only ribs with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The chef, who also cooked the ribs for the
Octopus’ Garden and Fondo del Mar in Punta Mita, was busy on the other nights
of the week. A rib dinner cost only 130
pesos or 190 pesos for a full rack. This
was about 65 pesos less than I was used to paying and the portions of sides was
generous. A half rack was plenty for me.
 |
| Carol, Karen and Ed Eating Ribs |
With eight of us at the table, it was a noisy party and the
place was hopping. They had quite a
crowd of regulars who showed up as soon as they opened so as to be sure not to
miss out on the good, cheap food. We
all hoped that the new road wouldn’t wash out over the summer and take their
business with it. They could not have
set up tables in the river bed.
 |
| La Boquita at the Octopus' Garden |
It was Ed and Carol’s last night in Mexico, so we were
celebrating. After dinner, we strolled
up to the Octopus’ Garden to see La Boquita, a troupe of flamenco musicians and
dancers. The group had a guitarist, a
singer/cajon player, and two dancers.
There was also a cellist who played a couple of songs with them. I was pleased to see that they were joined
for the evening by Juan Ramirez, the flamenco guitarist from Cheko Ruiz’ band. Unbeknownst to me, he turned out to be quite
talented at singing in the gypsy style.
The woman who played the cajon also had a lovely voice. This singing was a nice change from the
largely instrumental flamenco music that we usually heard.
The dancers were also a nice change. One of them did an amazing dance balancing on
just the edges of her shoe heels. They
danced singly and together, with fans, canes, and shawls. Juan added a lot to the show. The audience appreciated the performance and
gave them a standing ovation but there were only three tables of us. Karen and I had tried to go see them in
December, but that show had been cancelled due to lack of interest. It was always difficult to attract an
audience for a new band. The competition
in La Cruz was stiff.
After the show, we repaired to John and Janice’s to eat
cheesecake and wish Ed and Carol farewell.
We made a noisy party as we teased each other about our various health
issues. Clearly, we were not teenagers
anymore. It was sad to say goodbye and
made all of us realize how little time remained in the season. I was only slightly comforted by the fact
that I was only leaving La Cruz, not Mexico.
March 24, 2019
I spent a lazy morning and then practiced and did my writing
for the week, finally bringing my blog up to date. Cherie, John, and I rearranged the living
room. I was waiting for a message from
John and Janice telling me what time to meet for the evening’s game of Rummikub. We needed to get in at least one game before
someone had to leave.
I spent the entire afternoon and evening hanging around the
house but never heard from John and Janice.
I read and practiced the guitar and even started packing. Eventually, about 22:00, I gave up and
watched a Mexican crime show on Netflix.
No comments:
Post a Comment