TRAGEDY STRIKES

No, I am not talking about the earthquake in Japan (more on that later)  Almost every day since I arrived here on the first of December, I have gone to "A Page in the Sun" coffee house for my daily latte.  I discovered it when I visited two years ago.  They not only made an "incredible" iced latte, but was just a wonderful place to spend time.  There was a large canopy covering the entire corner on Olas Altos and M. Dieguez with maybe a dozen small tables.  The food was pretty good too, but mainlly it was just a wonderful people watching spot.  I recognized many other regulars.  We didn't know each other, but eventually would acknowledge each other with a smile, a nod, or an "Hola".
One morning last week I found it closed and shuttered.  Former clients were wandering around in a daze.  There was a woman I recognized standing there who said she and her "ex" had been the owners and were forced to move.  "She" would be reopening but not until October or November.  What was I going to do?  It was had been one of the highlights of my day.
Thus started my quest to find the perfect latte.  I had already been to Starbucks, but it is well... Starbucks.  It is also on the other side of the river on the main Plaza so it is frequented most by "day tourists" off the cruise lines.  Shortly after I moved into my apartment a coffee shop opened right across the street.  I had tried her latte and found it to be just awful.  Then I thought, maybe I could train her.  I went back and carefully explained (make a double expresso and add to the ice after the milk)  Foam was a problem, she really speaks no English so when I told her I wanted foam on top, she handed me a lid.  Then I said,  "Leche, Pffft!"  It was still awful.
The Cafe Vayan is right on the main square and has a large side walk area of tables,   A sign said "espresso" but it is really a restaurant so I ordered breakfast with my latte.  Both were lacking.  On the way to the beach is another coffee shop in a sort of alcove.  I carefully explained what I wanted, but I got a very ordinary latte in plastic cup.  Nearby was another coffe shop but they only had sofas (a la Starbuks) with 4 short stools on the sidewalk (no tables)  I decided I don't care what their coffe was like, I would not be happy there.  
A friend who was visiting suggested Cafe San Angel just a block down from my old coffee shop.  It too was on a corner and I was encouraged to see tall glasses.  Again I explained what I wanted (with foam on top)  It was all right but the foam costs an extra 5 to 10 pesos depending on who rings it up.
Then I spotted a former customer with a coffee cup in her hand.  I stopped  her to find out where she got it.  She told me that the internet shop next to Cafe Vayan had the best coffee.  Then she told me that the "ex" husband of the part owner I had spoken to was opening in a few weeks just aroound the corner off the main square.  First I tried the internet shop.  I expalined as usual and thought she understood, but before I could stop her she threw it all in a blender and served me a slushy.  I then walked to the spot where the old shop was to open.  Work was going on and then inside I spotted the old sign "A Page in the Sun" Coffee Shop leaning against the wall.  My quest may be over, but I won't know until I get back from my trip.  Meanwhile the old canopy has been torn down leaving just a bare corner where so many people had spent the day.

NOTE TO MY READERS:   This will be my last posting until I return from Japan in mid April.  I know "Japan"  the Gods must have just learned of my eminent arrival.

PROBLEMS IN PARADISE

My friend who lives in Japan once told me, "When you move to a foreign country, language is just the first barrier.  Language is definately a stumbling block (I will begin classes soon).  Yes, it is easy to order a meal or drink, or just point to something you want to buy.  But don't expect to find anyone speaking English once you leave the tourist areas.  I alway begin by apologize for not speaking a word of Spanish.  They simple talk faster and louder in Spanish.  I have to have them write down what I owe, I will never understand numbers and don't ever get in a cab without getting a price first.

After agreeing to rent my apartment (before signing the lease) my friend told me that I had to order cable right away.  At Telecable I used my credit card and prepaid six months to get 200 pesos off my bill.  The following day I found out that the apartment came with cable and internet, so I went back to cancel the contract.  Nothing had been installed, but I could tell even in Spanish that this was a major problem.  I left with what I thought was a cancellation and credit to my card.  When no credit arrived I went back.  It seems they don't do credits, but would have a check sent to them which I could pick up in another month.  However since I did not have my passport with me, I had to take the bus back again.  It has been almost three months and no check, no credit.

My first purchase for the apartment was the equipauli furniture.  There is a tiny shop on the road to Walmart where it is made.  I ordered 2 chairs and 3 tables and paid them half the cost.  It was to be delivered to my apartment the next week.  Nothing arrived, so I went back.  It would be another week.  I gave them my number and asked them to call me before they delievered.  One day after coming back from the beach, there they were sitting on the back of their truck.  No call, but it did arrive.

I was told that the water was drinkable, but decided to have bottled water delievered.  They stop at my friend's apartment three times a week (he drinks a lot of water) so I thought no problem.  Five times after mutiple calls I will get a bottle.  After lavishly overtipping I tell them to come back once a week.  "Si, Si, and then nothing.  Twice bottles have emptied themselves all over my counter and floor.  No one seems to know why.

I knew that dryers were rarer than dishwashers, but was pleased to see a brand new washing machine.  It took be a while to figure it out (caliente, tibia, fria, etc) but the clothes don't come out all that clean and no matter how much Downey Fresh I pour in, after hanging on the line for a day, they are stiff as cardboard.  It was a week before I realized that it only had a cold water faucet (so much for my settings)..

My friend arranged for someone to come with a truck to get my plants, pots and soil.  He showed up with a hatch back (the truck was broken that day).  How we got five palms and six other plants, plus four huge bags of soil and a few pots in that car I have no idea (there wasn't much room left for me).  As soon as I got the plants upstairs (in truth he carried almost all of them) I wanted to plant them.  When I finished the deck was covered with dirt, so after watering all the plants, I hosed off the deck.  I heard someone screaming downstairs, but that is not unusual here.  Then I noticed someone was pointing to me while shouting.  I went downstairs and found out that the drain at the end of the deck merely drops three floors to the sidewalk.  Not only did it stop all traffic on the sidewalk, but ran down  on the leather goods.  How did I know?

About once a month the electricity goes off for several hours.  Luckily it hasn't happened in the evening, but I did stock up on candles and a flash light.  I could go on, but you get the point.  Nothing is perfect, but it is warm and cheap.

NOTE TO READERS:
I couldn't think of any photos to go with this post and I wanted you to know I will be traveling for a month.  I may get one more posting done, but don't expect much before the middle of April.

The Malecon

The Malecon is not a road, but a very wide side walk. Originally it was only a small side walk that ran in front of the old Oceana Hotel.  Now, it runs for about a mile along the beach in El Centro or the main part of old town.  In some sections it is wider than many of the streets in Puerto Vallarta.  It was probably made mainly for the tourists, but on weekends you will see lots of Mexican families with their children strolling up and down the Malecon, enjoying the views of the beach and sea.

Some sections are decorative concrete with writing embossed in the concrete.  I think they are Spanish proverbs, but some could be names of prominate people.  A large section was done with red abobe bricks.  It is quite attractive, but there is a problem.  They used concrete to grout the bricks.  Over the years many of the adobe bricks have deteriorated leaving just ridges of concrete (not easy to walk over).  Along the way are a least a dozen large sculptures;  the boy on a sea horse being the oldest and most famous.  I don't know where it came from but was here in the late 70's and became a symbol for Puerto Vallarta.  Some of the figures are obvious, like a dolphin fountain, or mermaids and neptune, but some are very difficult to figure out what they are meant to be.

The Malecon is used for all kinds of festivities, art shows, parades, etc.  One day I noticed there was some sort of sand castle contest (I guess it was a contest).  The theme was mainly Egyptian (before the revolution so I have no idea what it was about)  There are always vendors selling mainly touristy stuff, but one day I spotted a painting on display.  It was perfect for the wall over my sofa.  Well, the painting is by no means perfect, but I liked the colors and it was cheap.

All along the Malecon are many bars and restaurants.  I would say that Carlos O'Briens is the oldest and most famous where young kids get very drunk (I was one of those kids once).  Since all the bars and shops are some of the most expensive in P.V.  I rarely stop, unless it is a Starbucks (although their coffee does not compare with my favorite).  But a walk down the Malecon is free and besides the wonderful vistas of the bay, I love to people watch.  I don't think I will ever tire of walking along the Malecon..

A Day at the Beach

My apartment is only four blocks to the beach, but I walk an additional 5 or 6 blocks south to Playa Los Muertos (yes, I know it means "Beach of the Dead" but have forgotten why).  Most of the south beach has been set up by hotels or bar/restaurants:  I go to Blue Chairs or Green Chairs.  Oh, on the way I pass by my favorite coffee house and will stop for a tall iced latte.

If you arrive before noon you can usually pick your own spot.  I have been going to Green Chairs for they have fewer palapas and thus more sun.  Blue Chairs is a huge complex of bar/restaurant, hotel and disco on top.  Green chairs just has the bar/restaurant.  Each palapa (sort of a thatched umbrella made of palm fronds) has 3 or 4 lounge chairs and a couple of tables and each is assigned a waiter.  I have alway over tipped in the hope they will remember me and give me better service.  Alas we all look alike to them (fat old white men) so it hasn't worked that well.  After about 6 weeks Luis did remembered me.

You mainly order drinks, but you can have lunch served at your palapa.  I usually drink beer with a glass of ice.  It is popular here to pour beer over ice, it stays cooler and lasts longer.  I did finally have my pina colada under a palapa last week.  It was delicious.  I prefer to go up to the restaurant above the beach for lunch.  Unless you are just having a sandwich, it isn't easy eating off one of those little tables.  The food is just okay, but the view is awesome.

The waves have been breaking right on the sand, so it is not a great surfing beach (like I would anyway!!)
Only a few will brave the waves.  The crowd is almost all white (well, some are quite tan) and not all American.  There are lots of Canadians, and some Europeans, as well.  The water is still pretty cool, but I do walk along the beach letting the waves lap around my ankles.  There was a small pier at one end of the beach that is being torn down.  I was unhappy to see this, then learned that a newer larger pier would replace it in order to accomodate larger ships (I hope not the Carnival Lines)

Parasailing and jet skis are the popular sport (no I have not - at least not this trip).   Mostly people just drink and lie out in the sun.  I still can't do more than about 3 or 4 hours of sun a day.  Both Blue Chairs and Green Chairs blares out disco tunes all day long.  In the afternoon they both have a life disc jockey.  You don't want to sit between the two, or the competing beat, beat, beat will drive you nuts.  At five clock Blue Chairs opens the disco on the roof with "dancers".  I have yet to see this for as I said, by 5:00 I leave the beach.  The whole day at the beach (drinks, lunch, palapa, and heavy tip) cost less than $20.00 (including my latte on the way)..

Boca by Bus

When my friend, Richard suggested we spend a day in a little fishing village called Boca, I was delighted.  Then he told me we were going by bus!!  At least I found out what the big white buses are for.  They are the long distance buses with destinations like Ixtaba, Mismaloya, etc.  They are a little nicer, the seats are molded plastic instead of steel.  So, early one morning (actually about 11:00) we boarded a bus marked "Mismaloya".

The road hugs the coast line giving you magnificent views (sit on the right hand side).  It is sort of Mexico's Amalfi Drive (I did say sort of).  I was so fascinated by passing scenery, that I hardly minded the jogs and bumps of the drive.  The Mexican coast line is spectacular.  We passed Mismaloya and went to the end of the line (at least for buses).  The trip took just over a half an hour (my maximum so far).

As the bus let us off and turned around, I looked down this dirty little street leading from the highway to the beach.  It was a road that would embarrass Tiajuana.  There is no town, just this one road leading to a sand bar between a small bay and a river.  Tables, chairs and umbrellas line the sand bar.  We selected one right at the water edge.  Our restaurant was that little orange structure between two palapas.  We had a couple of beers and cheviche.  It was delicious.  We strolled up and down the beach watching the Mexican boys try to surf the waves; some were quite good.  There is also a small pier at one end of the bay where water taxis take people to Yalapa (my next trip).

After climbing up the hill to the highway we boarded a bus, but this time got off at Mismaloya.  It was basically built for the movie "Night of the Iguana".  The property where it was actually filmed is all fenced off as a National "something".  No one seems to know what they are going to do with it.   But years after the cast and crew left an immense hotel went up.  Only registered guests are allowed on the grounds, so we walked around the property to the beach.  It was packed with tourists.  I much preferred the little sand bar where we shared the beach with only a few other couples.

Some how going back to P.V. we got on one of the blue local buses.  It was not only a much rougher ride, the but driver was one of those "Indy 500" drivers.  We hung on for dear life as the bus carreened around sharp curves.  Thank God we were on the inside of the road, or I would have been sure we were going to plunge over the cliff.  We made if back in 15 minutes.  The whole day cost about $10.00.

PV Construction

If Puerto Vallarta has any building codes, they are not evident.  A casual observation of the town would lead you to think that almost everything is under construction.  In fact, there has been very little building going on since the rescession hit about two years ago.

Most roof tops have iron poles of rebar sticking up as if a second, third, or fourth floor was eminent.  Many are just rusted iron poles, some are partially covered concrete pillars.  I have heard two reasons.  One is that they are left there to show they are authorized to build an additional floor.  The other, more plausible reason is that these buildings have a lower property tax rate because they are considered unfinished.  No one seems to know for sure.

It is hard to tell if some buildings are going up or coming down.  The recent economy has taken its toll here as evidenced by the many buildings that look like contruction was just suddenly stopped and are now just abandoned .  It is hard to tell for almost all structures have unfinished sides.  You can not only see the concrete blocks or bricks, but pieces of the original wood framing is still stuck to the concrete.

I have included a photo of what exists on the other side of my white, palm, and vine covered trellis.  You will realize not only why I put up this barrier, but will see that I do not live in Conchas Chinas (the Beverly Hills of Puerto Vallarta).  No, I live in a typical Mexican neighborhood.  How many of the buildings in the photo look inhabitable?  Sadly most of them are.  You also see those tiny rooms on the roof tops that look like an elevator shaft (which they do not have).  I have no idea.

It would be nice if all the buildings had red tile roofs.  Some do, but too many are just flat black concrete, or worse yet corrugated aluminum.  Some  "homes" look more like lean tos.  In Mexico very often a "home" simply means some sort of shelter from the rain.

Watching a building acutally being built is amazing.  Mexicans seem to think that concrete will do anything and here, indeed it does.  They not only use it as mortar, but as a means of patching flaws.  Once the structure is up with walls and ceiling, they begin to add the plumbing and electrical (almost as an after thought)  They will drill or chisel out holes to accomdate the plumbing and electrical, or just run it along the floor.  They all appear sub standard (for us).  I was sure that a good California 5.0 would level the town, but was told that Puerto Vallarta has had several earthquakes (I hope I am not here when the next one hits).

NOTE TO MY READERS:  A friend of mine checked my "stats" and found that I have more readers than people I know.  So to whom ever you are out there, a big "thank you"  I am amazed, delighted and very flattered.  I just wanted you to know that I only post once a week on a Friday or Saturday and I will let you know when I am on vacation.

MY TYPICAL DAY

It is still dark here at seven in the morning.  Not until about 7:30 does it begin to get light and the sun doesn't rise over the mountain for another hour.  Therefore getting up early is out of the question (as if I would anyway).  What amazes me most about my life here is that I am busy doing something every day.  I thought I would have plenty of time to read and write.  I have not opened a book and never touched my novel.

I'll have my first couple of cups of coffee (and cigarette) upstairs on the terrace (you will note, it is no longer a roof top deck).  I make my rounds of all the plants to check for new growth or a new flower coming out.   The hummingbirds are out at the first light of day, fighting for a spot at the feeder.  I love watching them.  They are not only different colors, but have different personalities.  Some are very aggressive chasing every other bird away.  Some will patiently wait on the fence for an opening, and one female just sits there sipping away, totally ignoring the fight going on around her.  By the way, the clock on the church steeple has now stopped competely, but the bells go on.

Later I will turn on the computer and TV to watch the news on CNN.  I check my messages, but usually don't answer them until later (some mornings I am simply not capable).  Usually I will cook some eggs, but some mornings I go out for breakfast.  The patio at La Hacienda is my favorite.

Some time each day I go for a latte at my favorite coffee shop.  Once a week I will splurge on a newspaper (it costs more than a triple latte).  They are always one day old, and the guy will try to sell you one that is 2 or 3 days old.  Other days I go over my Day Timer (yes, I know how "old hat" that is).  I make out my "to do list" (usually short) and my grocery list.

There are four local stores I visit for my shopping.  I walk a lot, at least a mile or two a day. While walking to the various stores, I try to walk down different streets.  I poke into little shops and boutiques and the side walk vendors looking for another piece of Mexican folk art that I think I cannot live without (usually one a week).   At least once a week I will take the bus to Costco or Walmart or Mega (the biggest store) and that takes up a good part of the day.

About twice a week I go to the beach (more on that in a later post).  In the afternoons, I will do my e-mail and work on my Blog posts.   Each evening I take my glass of wine up to the terrace to first watch the hummingbirds and later the baby iguanas.  Some days I will go out for "Happy Hour", but do not go out late.  I don't eat out more than once a week (I have got to find something else to cook besides chicken breasts)  My attempts at real cooking have not turned out well.  The kitchen is gorgeous, but very poorly equipt and I am not used to metric weights yet. 

Whether I have been out or stayed at home,  I end each evening up on the terrace with my last glass of wine.  The day passes quickly and then another week.  It is hard to believe that I have been here for two months already.