So I'm back from vacation in Sayulita Mexico, and had a nice time. I wasn't expecting to; I thought sis and I would be at odds the entire time,and we weren't. I had a nice time, we got along well, and I got to go to two new places: Punta Mita and Chacala Beach. My goals were to swim in the ocean at least once every day, and economize. Success on both counts, yay!
Guadalupe Days started the day I got there. Each night, a different district (e.g., block or neighborhood) would have a procession, usually featuring tween girls costumed as Mary and friends on the back of a pickup truck, usually with a noisy generator perched on the hood of the truck running the lighting, followed by all the kids in the district carrying candles, and attended by parents. They'd go into the tiny church, have a service, and shoot off fireworks. Thereafter, each day started with 3 AM cannonball fireworks, followed by 2-6 rounds of fireworks anytime between 5 AM and 5:45 AM, not always at once. This set featured decorative starbursts as well, just what you want at 5 AM to wake you up for prayer. I slept through it all for 4 days, then they started waking me up.
I swam only at the south beach end this trip. It turned out that I was parking myself near Patricia's women's surf camp spot (teal beach chairs; blue Water Girl rash guards), and I enjoyed watching the students heading out to surf. The real fun was watching Patricia surf. She does this thing where as she gets close to shore, she walks out to the end of her board real|fast stepstepstep, then walks back. My swim routine was to enter the water towards the fishing boats, swim out behind the surfers at the bigger breaks (e.g., to the north but still at the south beach), hang out awhile, then swim back. I would have done more/differently if I'd not been swimming alone, but this was fun, was far out from shore enough to feel slightly risky (and therefore more fun), and relatively safe. If I'd suddenly disappeared, one of the surfers might have noticed it and at least been able to report on it. Surfing hasn't drawn me in yet, but a few people were paddleboarding, and that looks like fun; kind of like kayaking standing up?
Small victories: I packed a very small case, and did a good job. Background: I have had meltdowns over packing for travel that were so bad, friends (thank you Sharon and Shawn) had to talk me down from sobbing, gasping, hysteria. It helps to have been there before, and I remain indebted to Lisa for the regular use of her northern Marin beach trailer one summer years ago (serasempre, the place where you and Katerinabead and I stayed) that got me over my terrible packing anxiety. She no longer owns the place, so, ah nostaglia.
My cat was SO GLAD to see me. Ah, dang, here I am abandoning him again. Time to head home. The kittens are ADORABLE. Sawyer, Penny, and Kate look like British shorthairs:
Spittin' image:
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/816/464239.JPGhttp://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/858/50006496.JPGPenny is a find. She is going to make someone so happy with her adorable cuddliness. Kate is a beauty, so petite and dark with a tortoiseshell line down her tiny perfect nose. Sawyer is rambunctious and outgoing.
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