Meanwhile, Back in LaCruz . . .

Received from Suzi on Wed., Feb.4:
On Sunday afternoon my wonderful friend Gayatri (Margaret) from the yoga center and her husband, Michael, [photos above] picked me up and kidnapped me for two days. We drove first to Old Town Puerto Vallarta where Gayatri's mom is staying. She has a beautiful apartment up on a hill overlooking the old part of Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas. In the evening it felt like I was in San Francisco, looking out over the lights with the city below. Sunday night we, along with many Mexican families, cruised the boardwalk (malecon) along the bay; the teenagers cruise the boulevard looking for each other or they are on the street in groups. Sunday night is the night to witness this reality of PV. It is mostly tourists who are out walking the malecon on other evenings. There are restaurants everywhere, art galleries, and shops with incredible displays and items from all over Mexico for sale. On the boardwalk you can buy tacos, fruit, corn, ice cream and so much more; it feels like a carnival. There are beautiful bronze statues along the way as well as musicians, mimes, dancers, etc. What a fun evening it was! On the way back to mom's apartment we went by the beautiful basilica and peeked in; church bells chime every hour marking PV time. It was Super Bowl Sunday night, and all the sports bars had the game on, so we caught the exciting end to the game. Music filled the air as we climbed the stairs back to our home base and I fell asleep to a nice breeze.

On Monday we drove up into the low-lying Sierra Madre mountains east of PV to the beautiful, peaceful 17th century colonial village of San Sebastian. It dates back to 1605 and was made famous by its many silver mines. It is nestled in the pine trees, and the air is so fresh, clear and cool. "Tumbling colonial architecture merges with a colorful village square, quaint cobblestone streets, passing mules and a sleepy way of life removed from the rest of the world": I couldn't have described it better! There was art everywhere as well as local products which we eagerly tried: coffee, liquores, tequila, and racilla ( their local wild agave tequila-like alcohol). We had a fabulous lunch at a Spanish restaurant and drank the very best agua natural con hielo. Both Gayatri and I were in heaven. We hiked up a road outside of town and found a few small mines, and we wandered past houses surrounded by flowers, chickens, ducks, turkeys, colorful laundry hanging on the lines and children squealing with joy. It was really beautiful and a very fun adventure. On the way home, we stopped by a small local tequila distillery surrounded by agave fields and learned all about the making of the finest tequila. Of course, we also had to taste some; good thing Michael could handle the sips I couldn't! We returned home to the city, picked up mom and walked down to a small little restaurant with delicious food. It was another lovely evening in the city, and as I went to sleep, I again reflected on how very fortunate I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. Margaret and Michael were so kind to come all the way up to La Cruz, about an hour drive, to pick me up, and then they insisted on driving me back. The least I could do was pay for gas. Thank you, Gayatri and Michael for all the support and thoughtfulness.

This morning our LP gas ran out of the big tank, and it shouldn't have, so there is a leak somewhere. Being the mechanical whiz that I am, I was able to get the big tank out, but that is as far as I have gotten. This boat maintenance stuff is never ending!!! Luckily the marina sends out tanks on Wed to get gas. I'm such a lucky lady!! Yesterday afternoon I took a walk down the beach toward Bucerias and found a beach club where I could swim and shower with fresh water. On the way back I saw Mandy was still here, saw them heading to the marina in their dinghy with Virginia rowing into the wind, a very tedious process. I intercepted them at the dinghy dock, and we ended up taking showers and celebrating their departure with cocktails in the bar upstairs. It was great to see them one more time, and we got to hug goodbye again. They have left this morning for some coves across the bay which are supposed to be really nice, then they will explore Yelapa, and then they will continue down the Gold Coast of Mexico. We are hoping to meet up again somewhere. I think that one of the most difficult parts of cruising is saying goodbye to those you really do connect with. It is good that we all feel that way because we do appreciate the short times we are together.