Adiós los Cochranes de Virden - 31 December

So that party went on last night until about 03h30.  It didn't keep any of us awake, fortunately - my CPAP machine makes enough noise to mask it; Eric sleeps like a log no matter what; and everyone else was insulated enough from it that they were able to drift away.

So today is the day that we knew would come - we are losing half of our group today, as Dave, Jennifer, Drew, Matt and Emily fly away back to Manitoba (by way of Toronto).  I'm sure they will appreciate sleeping in their own beds, but then again the sun & sand made it nice to sleep here on the beach!

It turns out that Dave won a hard-fought card game battle of 31 last night, triumphing over Jennifer.  Just to rub it in, he went out this morning and had a little bracelet made saying "31 Champ".  Much to Jennifer's chagrin.  Suffice to say that if she had won it, things would be different.  Oh well, sounds like she will get her chance.  Dave says the bracelet will be up for grabs next Christmas when they do the 31 tournament again.  The trash talking started this morning already - Emily declared that she would be the one to win it next year!  And so it goes...

Dave sports the Cochrane 31 Tournament Trophy Bracelet!

Dave & Eric went down to the taxi stand to arrange their respective rides to the airport today and tomorrow.  We had an early lunch, then it was time to say our goodbyes.  Load up the van, and they were off...

Dayna and I headed back to the Mega store to pick up a few things, and because she hadn't really had a chance to browse the other times we were there (all 10 of us were there, on a mission, the other times).

Well, Mega was a complete zoo!  Something like five times the number of people there today.  Dayna couldn't get the salmon that she wanted, and the lineup for the chicken was practically the length of the store!  She settled for an alternate menu (she can do that, you know dietitians) and got the shopping done.  Everything seems very festive here today, way more festive than Christmas Eve.  Then again, the religious aspect of Christmas seemed to be more prevalent here, nice - they think of Christmas like we say we do, and leave the partying to New Year's Eve.

The bus was very full too, especially going out from Bucerias to the Mega.  We were standing in the aisle because there were no open seats, and an older fellow standing behind me broke out into a spirited song.  He was passionate and enthusiastic, and loud too.  Most of the passengers seemed to take no notice, or maybe this is an everyday thing here in Bucerias???

On the way back, what again struck me was the overt religious imagery at the front of the bus.  There was an image of the Virgin Mary painted onto the glass shield behind the driver, a wooden cross attached to the centre divider bar of the windshield, and a rosary hanging from the cross.  For a Protestant boy like me, there's a bit more imagery than I'm used to, but I love it.  I like to think that people have some morals, ethics and faith in this all-too-cold and all-too-secular world.

Painted Virgin Mary on glass on left, cross mounted on divider in centre with rosary hanging off of the cross

When we got back, the rest of the group went down to the beach to get some sun, while I set up near the pool (where the wireless signal is the strongest and the most reliable) to do my video editing (such as it is) and finish yesterday's blog.  It seemed to take forever!

Eric had decided not to go parasailing this time.  Oh well, something to take on the next time!

Eric almost forgot to take beer with him to the beach.  I reminded him on the way out, and he found that there were very few left.  Being the civic minded guy that I am, I volunteered to get some more.  We can't run out of beer on New Year's Eve, can we?

While at Mary Paz's convenience store, a fellow was headed out with 2 boxes of beer on a little cart.  As he navigated the step, the top box fell off with a crash - and there was beer and glass everywhere.  He was pretty distraught, can you blame him?  I was very careful with our box of beer.  Not that I'm big on beer, I just don't want to see the money washed down the sewer...

So tonight it's barbequed steak for supper.  I'm getting hungry just typing it.

Splashdown in the Pacific! - 30 December

This morning, the men were lazy and hung out at the condo, while the ladies went to La Palapa Boutique (ladies' clothing 100% cotton tailored to fit) and Cotton House (where you can see the actual looms upon which they make place mats, napkins, table cloths, and the like).

The loom they actually use at the Cotton House

Eric spotted four iguanas trying to stay in the heat, up on the wall behind the palapas.  It caused a bit of interest.

Looking down from palapas onto iguanas on fence

It was a cool start to the day - cloudy, wow that's a first for us here, anyway.  Rather chilly, I'll say - no extreme sun to warm the skin.  It was actually kind of nippy up on the palapas. 

Lunch was great as usual, soft chicken tacos.

Then in the afternoon, we walked down to the beach in front of the Nuevo Vallarta resorts, where they run parasailing, banana boat rides, and rent out jet-skis.  The clouds cleared for a bit and it warmed up nicely as we went out to do the activities.

Some of the kids wanted to go up parasailing, and the operators advised that children as young as seven could go.  Twelve year old Matt went up parasailing first, it went without a hitch, and he gave it a thumbs up.  A few local young ladies went up, then nine year old Emily went up and also had a good time.

Matt takes off

Matt glides in for a landing

Emily lifts off

Emily's soft landing

They were directed to pull the harness sides in response to whistle signals from the ground, and both glided down slowly in the onshore breeze; the guys running the operation caught them and slowly, gently lowered them to the sand.  How nice!  ...but apparently that wasn't how mine was going to be...

Other folks got a long winded careful explanation of how the harness works, how to sit in it, how to land.  Me, I got a short, "sit here, hold on here while lifting off, pull the bottom forward as you get up, and when I whistle, pull down here."  On with the life jacket and the harness.  They said I would be running to take off, but they suddenly told me to walk - as I questioned their instructions, they gave me a push and the rope gave me a tug, and I was rolling!  I gave a whoop as I lifted off.  Well, I got up easily enough, swinging slowly from side to side, hanging on to the straps, even though they had told me I wouldn't have to hang on (refer to "afraid of heights").  I tried not to think of how high I was, just looking out at the boats and laughing at moving through the air.  I'm flying!

Dean struggles to get airborne.  Like the spruce goose?!?

It was a blast!  Just like sitting in an old style playground swing.  Dayna tells me that I never got as high as either one of the kids, probably because I am over double either one's weight, but it was plenty high for me!  [ I kind of have a pathological fear of heights - kind of! ]

Then the boat took a turn to the north and I felt that I was descending a bit.  Wait a second, descending a lot!  Yikes, we were a couple of kilometres out in the water, and here I am, heading down!  At the last second, I pulled up my legs so I wouldn't drag, but the boat operator hit the gas and I started to lift again.  I figure I may have been 5 ft off the water by that time, yikes.

Back on the shore, Dayna, Dave and company were recording my adventure on our little Vado HD video recorders and cameras.  They were quite concerned about my dip to the surface.

Apparently, the wind had shifted on them as I took off, and that caused the operator trouble in keeping me aloft.

Well, the rest of the flight went well - as we went back to the shore, I could see and realize how high up I was.  It made me nervous, but I tried not to think about it.

As the boat rounded to go along the shore, I heard the whistle that signalled that I was to pull down on the right harness strap, which I did.  Hmm, not moving onto the shore.  There's someone down there frantically waving a red flag, wonder what that means?  Oh well, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.  Then I hear someone yell, "Pull harder, all the way!"  Of course, I complied, pulling down on the right strap with all my might.  No change!  As I slowly descended into the ocean, I'm thinking, "Hmm, this isn't the way it's supposed to be."  I hit the water slowly, gently, no problem.  It was smoother than jumping into a pool off the diving board.  I was laughing as I hit, my mouth was open and got seawater in my mouth and eyes - yuck.

So now I'm in the water with a rope in front, a parachute behind, a life jacket and a harness to the chute.  Fortunately I had taken note of the way that I was harnessed to the chute, so I unhooked myself.  Well, one side was easy, but then my weight was on the other side and it was a bit of a struggle.  It took a bit, but relatively quickly I was free.  Now Dayna was concerned because my feet came up as I rolled out free of the chute and its lines.  The Mexican staff were quite concerned too, apparently.  Eric says that when the mild-mannered laid-back Mexicans get excited, then you should start to worry.  Anyway, the boat operator circled back.  He was surprised that I was free and told me to swim back to shore, which I did.  It is difficult to swim in a life jacket and harness!  [ fortunately I swim quite a bit so it was a challenge but OK ]

Splashdown!

The guys on shore were quite relieved to see me stagger onto the beach, I was busy telling them that I was fine.  Then the head honcho reminded me that I hadn't paid yet.  No deal on that ride, although they didn't charge me extra for the excitement and for the swim, either!

Swimming for shore!

Lumbering through the waves

Staggering out

I was soaked when I didn't plan to be (kind of expected to land on the shore like everyone else), so I only hung around for a bit, then headed back to the condo.  Dave and Drew were headed out for a jet-ski ride as I was leaving.

Just before supper, we got a couple of final group photos - all of us.  Tomorrow Dave & Jennifer & family are heading back to the Great White North...

"The" group photo - (L to R) Dean, Eric, Dayna, David, Emily, Jennifer, Matt, Helen, Drew, Barrie

Supper tonight was at Claudio's, a very nice mostly open-air Mexican restaurant on the beach.  We arrived right at sunset, and got a few nice pictures as the sun went down.

Eric warned me that real marguritas would have 2 or 3 ounces of tequila, but I ordered a couple anyway.  Yep, they have lots of tequila in them.  I was mostly walking vertically on the way back - mostly.

Later, here I am shivering up on the palapas, actually quite cool up here tonight.  The 31 card tournament just ended downstairs.  There's a very loud live band playing about 2 blocks away, they've been going on and off for about two hours.  I'm thinking that there is a wedding reception or something going on over there.  I wonder if they are ever going to let us get some sleep?

It's probably time to turn in, or at least try to.

Sand sculptures and sore feet - 29 December

Today we went to and from Puerto Vallarta by bus.  The bus system here works remarkably well, and the rides are cheap.  It cost only 12 pesos to get to from Bucerias to the Marina in Puerto Vallarta (about a 35 minute ride, includes about 10 km of highway), 6-1/2 pesos to get downtown (about 15 minute ride, mostly urban).  The exchange rate is about 11 or 12 pesos per Canadian dollar.

I can't say that I feel altogether confident in the mechanical condition of the buses - yesterday on the way back from the Mega, I was sure I could smell gasoline and was hopeful that it was the vehicle in front of us.  Today, a different bus, again a very strong smell of gasoline, most certainly from the bus itself.  Being my usual paranoid self, I was watching carefully for any signs of fire, and noting my exit path.  I tend to be silly that way.  Thankfully, nothing bad happened, and we arrived at the Puerto Vallarta marina in good shape.

The signage and notices on the buses here of course is all in Spanish, so I don't understand it.  But on this bus, there were religious paintings of Jesus, his mother Mary, and the Sacred Heart.  How interesting!

See sacred paintings along sides above windows

Note "Jesusito" at front above door

Another interesting thing about the buses that says a lot about the Mexican culture.  The drivers use an open rack to sort and store the coins they receive.  We've been advised that you can just tell the driver where you are going, hold out a handful of coins and they will take the correct coins and give you the correct change - they will not try to cheat you.  Wow, having all those coins right in front, you couldn't do that back home!

Check out the change tray beside the driver!

It is quite an impressive marina.  Lots of hotels & condominiums, high end shops, at least three Starbucks that I saw, and of course lots of high end boats and yachts.  We wandered into the Embarcadero Pacifico (Eric looked it up - it's a hotel with option to be all inclusive), it was very nice, wow.  And Eric found out that when not at peak time (like now over the Christmas holidays), it's about US$800 per week all inclusive.

We hopped on the bus labelled "Centro" and headed downtown, where we walked the malecon from end to end.  Well, the rest of the group walked the malecon (stone walkway along the shore).  I hobbled away for fifteen minutes to track down a farmacia (pharmacy) and get some bandages to put on my blisters!  Eric smirked as we left the condo, saying that the new sandals were going to leave me smarting, but I didn't pay any heed.  Now I was paying for it!  Ouch ouch ouch.

Well, I managed to find some bandages, and they helped a bit, anyway.  Dayna was waiting a block along the malecon to ensure that I survived.  We hobbled back to the group along the malecon - well, I hobbled and she sighed and walked slowly with me.

Between the malecon and the shoreline, there is a beach, but it's kind of weird because there is nobody on the beach.  But then there is about a kilometre of beach with beautiful sculptures.  Some of them are religious in nature, related to Christmas and the life of Jesus.  Others were secular in nature, related to the New Year, still others of Santa Claus, legends and ancient deities.

One of the figures was too complex to be just sand - and it wasn't!  It was a person dressed up in sand, doing the statue routine.  He started to move!

We wandered across the river into old Puerto Vallarta, and went to a wonderful restaurant called, not very uniquely, "The Pancake House".  The pancakes and waffles were great, having unique Mexican and fruit flavours.

After lunch, we sauntered down the street to the flea market, where we split up into three groups.  Dayna and I went back into the old city and hung around for a half hour or so, then climbed on the bus to head back.  The other two groups met up and travelled back together.

The transfer point, and the place that everyone in Puerto Vallarta seems to know, is Wal-Mart.  A huge, SuperCenter [sic] Wal-Mart.  When we arrived there, Dayna and I hobbled (she walked, I hobbled) into Wal-Mart and got some short socks to wear in my (ugh so painful) new sandals.  Actually, I tried on some new, new sandals, thinking that I might be able to get ones that don't hurt as much, but, well, after you have blisters, pretty well anything is painful.  We purchased just the socks, and I put them on as soon as we left the store.  It helped a lot!

There is an American-style mall next to the Wal-Mart called Galleria Vallarta, so we went and checked it out.  There was a Christmas display, no obvious Santa Claus area, but with a place to put your child in a stocking!  There was a kid's train that ran the whole upper level.  There was a large RC race track that kids were running cars around on.

One thing was humourous though, check out the name of this store.  It's almost saved by "the" at the beginning.  But it still made me smile!

After wandering the mall, we got onto a Bucerias bus and went back to the condo.  The others actually had beat us there, and were down at the beach.

Supper was simpler tonight, but just as good - hamburgers!  Simple but effective, especially with the younger members of the family.

We put Back to the Future II on after supper, and the younger members were entranced!  Dayna, Jennifer, David, and I went for a walk down the beach in the dark.  It was very quiet on the beach, there was nobody there.  The sound of the waves crashing on the shore was quite soothing.

At the town square, Dayna and I went up to the square, and then wandered back to the condo.  Jennifer & Dave arrived shortly after.

We got home just as the movie ended.  Now there is talk of a playoff round of cards - 31 to the finish!  Or something like that.  I've been talking trash about my brother and I playing 31 at the cabin back in the day, always seeming to end in fisticuffs - so I may be dragged in too...