We Made it to Puerto Vallarta! - Marge

Palm tree in Puerto Vallarta

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta late Saturday afternoon, Feb. 3, 2017. Very, very happy to be here! Very happy to have driven 3000 miles in that tiny car with a dog and a lot of clothes (a lot less clothes after two of our suitcases were stolen) and a lot of random stuff (a colander, steamer insert, lids to pans we didn’t bring, a bag of batteries) that we threw in at the end when we became desperate to leave-and a lot of dishes (Fiestaware)!

There’s such a great feeling of having accomplished something big! Loved the journey! Loved being with Eric having all these new experiences! Learned a lot! For example, gas station bathrooms here don’t have toilet paper. You have to bring your own! And, people pass on the right or left or wherever there’s a gap or even where there’s no gap! And, sometimes you look in the rear view mirror and there’s a car two inches behind you! And they often don’t signal and they drive right past stop signs! It’s exhilarating! I have begun to adapt! Would embrace the driving style more wholeheartedly if not for all the car crashes I saw and all those roadside shrines!

Also learning how big a deal it is to not speak the language! It’s like having a disability! Everything is harder! You have to guess at what the person is saying. You have to point and pantomime and draw pictures and do a lot of apologizing! You have to just finally decide to throw in half a capful of laundry detergent because all those instrucciones on the bottle are unreadable! And, is it even laundry detergent? Or maybe fabric softener? Who knows! Then you just turn the dial on what is, hopefully, the washing machine, to caliente hoping it means hot! Or is it the dryer? The dials are surprisingly similar when you can’t read Spanish. And, then, too tired after spending the day trying to buy groceries and do all the other things that need to be done when moving to a new place--in a language you don’t understand—you put the chicken thighs (muslos!) in the oven and notice that the highest temperature shown is 250 and you finally just turn the knob to a good looking spot and hope for the best because (after more thought than should be required for this) you realize you are in a centigrade world now!

I am so grateful and thrilled to be here. I am living consciously for the first time in a long time. The thing is, a lot of my life has been spent living by rote, by habit, by programmed paths that carry me through my days without noticing what’s around me or what happened or what I’ve done; but since we set off on our trip, and especially since we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I am far more aware of the world and of experiences and sensations and find myself feeling far more alive and engaged. It’s not always comfortable but is surprisingly satisfying.

This morning we will walk down the hill to the beach and will walk along the malecon and will also try to find mayonnaise-mayonesa (thanks google!) so we can have egg salad for lunch.

Our condo is magnificent! Extremely comfortable with a wonderful view of Banderas bay curving around off into the distance and of the city and the beach far down the hill. We are surrounded by jungle, which frames the view with palm fronds and tropical trees! We are having coffee on the deck. There’s a warm little wisp of a breeze and the sun is shining (as it has every day since we crossed the border!).

A flock of green parrots just flew by squawking (Yes! Parrots!). Someone is playing a saxophone off in the distance (really, not making this up!). The rooster who lives in the neighborhood keeps crowing (all day and night). Every evening (so far) there are fireworks!