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The Five Week Travel Partnership Comes to an End.
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Our month in Puerto Escondido has slipped by fast. We have had a great time sharing the Puerto experience with Randy, Doreen, Russ, Viv, Rita, Mike and all the others we have met along the way. We have laughed, relaxed, ventured, and have been thoroughly entertained.
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My First Puerto Sunrise - 6:58 AM!
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The last week had many highlights. We did venture out of town for a day at Roca Blanca, had another night of great music at Mediterraneo, hosted a dinner party for friends and family, and joined in a condo party on our rooftop.
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All Hands in for Dinner Party
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Doreen's Delicious Appy.
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Linda & Jim's Contribution
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The trip to Roca Blanca started with a forty-minute drive northwest of P.E. on a commuter bus. It dropped us off on the highway and we walked two kilometres to the beach. We set up residence for the day in Lulu's Beach Palapa. Lulu is a retired Mexican school principal and now runs the beach hut with her husband. Her husband is a former competitive sea free-diver and was out spear fishing for our lunch when we arrived.
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Mike Picked Up His Favourite Mescal on the Walk In.
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Lulu's Husband Speared Our Lunch
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The sea was particularly rough but seasoned veterans that we are we, we dove right in. Deborah was caught be a large wave that tore her swimsuit and left her squirming on the sand like a beached fish. As I watched the action with my back to the sea, I didn't sea a tsunami approach and hit me from behind. My head and shoulders were immediately driven into the sand and I was left fighting to get to the surface but dragged down with my trunks filled with sand and wrapped around my ankles. Suffice to say we gathered ourselves, took stock of our injuries, and were back in for more (albeit more cautious).
Our trip home was interesting to say the least. Our taxi driver spoke little English but we gathered that there was a problem taking us all the way to P.E. We surmised that he didn't have a license to drive into Puerto Escondido and that we would be handed off to someone else at some point of the journey. We understood the words, "license", "police", and "handcuffs". Regardless, we piled in and off we went. Before arriving at the highway, he stopped at a store and spoke to a man in a police uniform. In a minute he was back in the car with the policeman's wallet and proudly showed us the picture id taxi license for P.E. It turns out his cousin, the policeman, had a license and more importantly, had a thick black moustache just like our driver. We would have laughed all the way home except his high speed cruising had us all clutching the door handles for fear of being thrown out.
On Stuart and Melanie's last day we ventured to the north border of the town to taste an authentic Mexican lunch at the Juquilena. Linda and Jim recommended the restaurant and it did not disappoint. We were the only gringos is the restaurant. The food tasted great and the size of the helpings surprised.
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Tlayuda
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Deborah and I have been very disciplined these last few weeks getting up each morning (between 8 and 10 am) and going for one hour walks throughout the town.
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Blanca Grande - Our House
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We also had a night out on our own palapa. Deborah and Doreen thought it would be a good idea to lead an appetizer sunset party on out roof for all the guests in the nine units in our condo. Everyone was in agreement. We also invited Lupita, our live in landlord. Lupita does not speak English and something about the concept was lost in translation. Before we could stop her she had tables and chairs brought in. She missed the concept of everyone bringing an appy and thought (and did) bring appies for all, as well as a case of champagne and hard liquor. Just after digesting the sunset, the band arrived. Suffice to say it was much more than an appy on the roof. We partied on the roof until we couldn’t drink or eat anymore.
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Lots of Food & Drink!
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Janet, Cindy, Elizabeth & Steve
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Rick & Janet
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Frank, Doreen & Randy
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Steve, Sarah, Carol, Frank & Mike
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The weather in Puerto has become increasingly hotter and more humid. Folks are beginning to make their exits for points further north. Randy and Doreen are headed to Rincon de Guyabitos (north of Puerto Vallarta) for a week and we are headed to Phoenix to join Kathy and Mike for further adventures in the desert.
Bye Bye for Now!
