What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?

One Month Living in Mexico

Downtown Sayulita

It's been a month now since Dan and I landed here in Sayulita, Mexico amongst the heat and rain and COVID concerns. A month of learning, relaxing, noticing, and reflecting. I'm going to focus less on the reflecting in this post, that will come soon. 

We've eaten a lot of great food, but that's no surprise to us, or to you probably. Wildlife-watching from the pool is a daily activity. Other than two large spiders, I've handled the critter management pretty well. We are beginning to find our groove without losing the edge of spontaneity. 

Although we try to vary our days somewhat, we are also still not out and about as much as we otherwise would be were it not for COVID. Stupid COVID. A typical day would go something like this:

 

1. Wake up around 8 - 9am. The sun doesn't come up until 8am and we don't have much natural light in the bedroom, so it's super easy to sleep late. Later than we would like even, but don't even try to tell me to set an alarm to wake earlier. NOPE. Not yet anyway. Usually you can tell it's about that time without opening your eyes because of the local roosters and the burro who seems to wake up with the sun as well.
2. A breakfast of coffee and peanut butter toast for us both. This is a comfortable way to start the day for me and Dan seems to agree.
3. I sit down to do some creating -  Journaling, watercolor sketching, or learning how to write a novel. My creative energy seems to be in the morning which is odd for me. I think it's because it's the most comfortable part of the day in terms of the heat. It will be interesting as the heat starts to wane in the coming weeks if that is still the case. Also, if I let other things in my brain first, I have a harder time getting back to the creativity. 
4. Dan usually gets into the pool while I'm "arting" and I join him when the heat starts to fight with my creative energy. By now it's usually around 11:30 or noon.
5. We spend time in the pool either listening to an audio book (so far we listened to The Silent Patient, Beneath A Scarlet Sky, and are now listening to The Dutch House) or listening to some music. We take care to notice the wildlife around us which could, on any given day, include tiny lizards, iguanas, butterflies of many sizes and colors, chachalacas (AKA Tree Chickens), dragonflies, caterpillars, parakeets, and various other birds. This will take us into the early afternoon when Dan might get out and create a fruit salad for lunch. The fruit here is so flavorful, but not many varieties are easy to get yet. The farmer's market starts in November and we're told it will "change everything" for us in that regard.
6. At this point we'll either get back in the pool or play a game (we are mostly playing Qwirkle and the card version of Monopoly)  and then get back in the pool. It's getting really hot at this point (high 80s to 90s with humidity in the same digits).
7. Siesta time is around 4 or 5. This is the hottest part of the day and because air conditioning uses a lot of very expensive electricity, we opt for laying under a fan and doing absolutely nothing.
8. We go out for dinner around 7 as it is starting to cool off then. We don't have a vehicle so we walk the 15 minutes into town (queue the sweat). Also, the bulk of the eateries don't start opening until after 6 so this is really the best time.  We go as late as possible because the town really starts to come alive later in the evening. The heat really dictates things here. Dinner after the sun goes down really is the best option.
9. Back home we sometimes don't even get in the door to the house before getting back into the pool. There is a gate to the property from the street and then you walk around the back to get to the "front door." The night time dip comes with fireflies and bats occasionally. A visit from a local cat (we call him/her 'el gato blanco') isn't uncommon.
10. Before bed we might do some reading or futzing around on our computers. This would bring us to around 10 or 11pm.

Occasionally we'll go into town twice in one day, especially if we are wanting chilaquiles for breakfast or have an errand to run (going to the bank, shopping for fruit or coffee etc). 

There is more to it than this, but that's for another post. We talk a lot about what we are experiencing, what options we have for the future, and various other current topics. We are paying attention to what is happening on the US political front, but actively trying to minimize it. We voted via the oversees absentee method which was doable but not for the easily deterred. Staying informed without getting emotionally distraught isn't easy, but we're doing a pretty good job of it. This is one of the reasons we are where we are. And glad for it.

The Great Cerveza Deficiency

Written, but not posted on our first day in Mexico

Having a cup of coffee, Dan having fresh papaya - out on the back porch. There was a massive thunder and lightning storm that lasted for hours last night. We have yet to understand if this was a “normal” nightly storm by local standards or if this was as remarkable as we think it was. 

We are noting how much this feels like Hawaii. Nancy’s Hawaii. We have a couple of cats that visit the yard regularly and a neighborhood rooster. The air is thick with the remnants of tropical rain, a multitude of palms and ferns adorn the yard, the birds cawing and chirping, the sun peeking through the clouds cating a clean morning shade of light. It is absolute perfection. 

We survived the great cerveza deficiency* of 2020 thanks to our driver, Antonio Banderas (I shit you not) who made a few calls to his neighbors in San Ignacio to procure some cerveza for us. We had to agree to Modelo because no Corona was to be found anywhere. THE IRONY IS THICK HERE.

*Come to find out that from Sept 13 - 17, there are no alcohol sales allowed in the state of Nayarit. This is because the Mexican Independence Day is Sept 16th and with COVID the government doesn’t want everyone getting super drunk and rowdy. We didn’t know this until we stopped at the grocery store on the way from the airport and the news was troubling.