Flashback: Mexico, Sept 21 - Oct 2
We got here yesterday, I’m still adjusting. When we got off the plane the heat hit like an ambush. Standing in line at customs I stripped the kids and I of socks and sweatshirts and shoes and let them fall every which way. We arrived to the condo and it’s bigger than our house. Giant beds and bedrooms, huge open-air showers and a groundfloor patio that lies right behind the pool, which lies right behind the ocean.
Time is moving slowly. I feel like we’ve been here a week. The pool is the temperature of a warm hot tub. The flag at the foot of the beach is red, a warning sign that the tide is dangerous. Randy and I went in anyway today. The water is amazing and we laughed like kids jumping the waves, racing when the tide rushed out to search for shells for the boys. Pelicans and albatross fly overhead constantly. A single red parasail takes people out occasionally. My mother swears the riders are going to drown. Hurricane Rita’s blow is kicking over from the Gulf and brought us thundershowers last night. The lightning woke Choco up and he was burning up with a fever from a canine that’s coming through.
Yesterday my dad and I played bingo. I won the first round and after two diet cokes and paying my dad back for the buy-in I had 60 pesos left. We also all went to Walmart yesterday. How sad and ironic, but true. Jaya needed a disc to email some work in and I wanted some toys for the kids. I’m enjoying myself immensely, but traveling with a one and a three year old is not exactly a traditional ‘vacation’. There is work involved.
Luckily there’s a kiddie pool and Cai is perfecting his full-head immersion. Yesterday, during his regular practice some of the guys who work here came up from the beach with a blue kid’s bucket filled with seven ducklings. They were terrified, striped glossy black and bright yellow. Randy said they looked like giant bumblebees. The man who had them said they came from a neighboring island, I imagined their mother, lunch for a shark.
The wildlife here is one of the most fascinating parts. Mexican cities always look half-built. There are building half destroyed or half-constructed everywhere, as if one day someone said, “Let’s build this place!” and the next they changed their mind and all the work crews were sent home for good. So while the jungles have been stripped away, the animals still remain. Surrounding the giant pool and waterfall outside our condo, iguanas lie in the sun. Yesterday my mom and Choco fed them chunks of cantaloupe and watermelon that they went crazy for. A little girl came up with her mom and I told my mom to give her a chunk to throw. I said, “He loves melon, go ahead and throw him a piece” as the little girl hucked a chunk of melon at Choco’s head. Well he does love melon too. I laughed so hard I almost choked.
Today we’re hoping to go parasailing. Also to town to see things and find a bank or ATM. Cai and I went outside earlier to say good morning to the cats that live outside our front door in the bushes. My dad says one of them has kittens, but we’ve yet to see them. They can’t be but a year themselves, a grown litter of three. Yesterday Choco cracked up as one of them played danagerously with a one-eyed crab that had made his way up from the beach. In the little grove where the cats live, the butterflies are especially plentiful. I wish I knew what kind they are, giant and nearly solid lemon-yellow. They are everywhere, like daffodils floating through the air.
Day 7
I can’t figure out if this is the longest or the shortest vacation I’ve ever been on. I figured by this time I would be ready to go home. And while I’m looking forward to everything and everyone waiting for me at home, I’m not ready to go yet. A couple of days ago we went the the Mazatlan Aquarium, which isn’t very impressive unless you want to see parrots riding bicycles and a couple of deer in cages. We did attend the sea lion show, which was cute and Cai got kissed by one, which he did not like. Everyday we swim, play in the ocean. Yesterday Randy, Jaya and I took a taxi downtown and went parasailing. It was amazing. As Randy landed he looked at me and said, “This is the best thing we are going to do this whole trip.” And he was just about right. It was my turn next and as I flew up into the sky, such a typical tourist, I was filled with a gratitude that would be impossible to express. I said a little prayer up in the air, figuring if there is any kind of God I was closer to him than I would ever be. And while one of my only two real fears is heights (alligators coming a close second) I really forgot to be even nervous. It was nothing short of spectacular up there. The kids played on the beach as us three took turns. We bought cups of watermelon and jicama from a vendor and the kids found yet another outdoor shower. The guy who sold us the parasail rides tried to rip me off and when I called him on it he laughed good-naturedly and insisted I give him a high-five. He then admired Cai’s Spiderman swim trunks and wondered at how his own son would love them. If Cai wasn’t so attached to them (and wearing them) I would’ve given them to the guy. The taxiride home put the kids to sleep, we ordered in lunch from La Palapa, the restaurant here and later I dragged Jaya onto the beach for a horseback ride. I found out a short time ago that he had never ridden. I was an avid rider as a child, however my opportunities were inconsistent and have always wished I’d spent more of my childhood on the back of a horse. I bargained the guy down to $100 pesos (ten bucks) for a half hour with two horses. I could tell Jaya was a bit nervous, but he enjoyed himself. I loved it. The last stretch of beach I galloped all the way, my horse was pure chestnut and fresh, his name was Nino.
Today we went shopping. Randy stood watch while the kids napped and Jaya and I fled to town in one of a million VW hackjobs. They kind of look like Safaris with no windows or doors and the familiar rumble of a VW engine. We bought gorgeous hand-painted plates and platters, butterflies to hang on the walls, jewelry and some traditional clothes for the kids and their friend Anna to play in. We admired a four foot carved Virgin Mary that I desperately want but would be miserable to get back to the states. Not that I care, Jaya is the pragmatic one when it comes to packing. I figure if we buy it we’ll find a way to get it back. Unfortunately, he’s cautious and a downer in that area.
Our plan for the final night is to put the kids to bed, order guacomole and a couple gallons of pina coladas. This trip has been a dream. I'm glad I'm so looking forward to being home again, otherwise I wouldn't want to wake up.
Time is moving slowly. I feel like we’ve been here a week. The pool is the temperature of a warm hot tub. The flag at the foot of the beach is red, a warning sign that the tide is dangerous. Randy and I went in anyway today. The water is amazing and we laughed like kids jumping the waves, racing when the tide rushed out to search for shells for the boys. Pelicans and albatross fly overhead constantly. A single red parasail takes people out occasionally. My mother swears the riders are going to drown. Hurricane Rita’s blow is kicking over from the Gulf and brought us thundershowers last night. The lightning woke Choco up and he was burning up with a fever from a canine that’s coming through.
Yesterday my dad and I played bingo. I won the first round and after two diet cokes and paying my dad back for the buy-in I had 60 pesos left. We also all went to Walmart yesterday. How sad and ironic, but true. Jaya needed a disc to email some work in and I wanted some toys for the kids. I’m enjoying myself immensely, but traveling with a one and a three year old is not exactly a traditional ‘vacation’. There is work involved.
Luckily there’s a kiddie pool and Cai is perfecting his full-head immersion. Yesterday, during his regular practice some of the guys who work here came up from the beach with a blue kid’s bucket filled with seven ducklings. They were terrified, striped glossy black and bright yellow. Randy said they looked like giant bumblebees. The man who had them said they came from a neighboring island, I imagined their mother, lunch for a shark.
The wildlife here is one of the most fascinating parts. Mexican cities always look half-built. There are building half destroyed or half-constructed everywhere, as if one day someone said, “Let’s build this place!” and the next they changed their mind and all the work crews were sent home for good. So while the jungles have been stripped away, the animals still remain. Surrounding the giant pool and waterfall outside our condo, iguanas lie in the sun. Yesterday my mom and Choco fed them chunks of cantaloupe and watermelon that they went crazy for. A little girl came up with her mom and I told my mom to give her a chunk to throw. I said, “He loves melon, go ahead and throw him a piece” as the little girl hucked a chunk of melon at Choco’s head. Well he does love melon too. I laughed so hard I almost choked.
Today we’re hoping to go parasailing. Also to town to see things and find a bank or ATM. Cai and I went outside earlier to say good morning to the cats that live outside our front door in the bushes. My dad says one of them has kittens, but we’ve yet to see them. They can’t be but a year themselves, a grown litter of three. Yesterday Choco cracked up as one of them played danagerously with a one-eyed crab that had made his way up from the beach. In the little grove where the cats live, the butterflies are especially plentiful. I wish I knew what kind they are, giant and nearly solid lemon-yellow. They are everywhere, like daffodils floating through the air.
Day 7
I can’t figure out if this is the longest or the shortest vacation I’ve ever been on. I figured by this time I would be ready to go home. And while I’m looking forward to everything and everyone waiting for me at home, I’m not ready to go yet. A couple of days ago we went the the Mazatlan Aquarium, which isn’t very impressive unless you want to see parrots riding bicycles and a couple of deer in cages. We did attend the sea lion show, which was cute and Cai got kissed by one, which he did not like. Everyday we swim, play in the ocean. Yesterday Randy, Jaya and I took a taxi downtown and went parasailing. It was amazing. As Randy landed he looked at me and said, “This is the best thing we are going to do this whole trip.” And he was just about right. It was my turn next and as I flew up into the sky, such a typical tourist, I was filled with a gratitude that would be impossible to express. I said a little prayer up in the air, figuring if there is any kind of God I was closer to him than I would ever be. And while one of my only two real fears is heights (alligators coming a close second) I really forgot to be even nervous. It was nothing short of spectacular up there. The kids played on the beach as us three took turns. We bought cups of watermelon and jicama from a vendor and the kids found yet another outdoor shower. The guy who sold us the parasail rides tried to rip me off and when I called him on it he laughed good-naturedly and insisted I give him a high-five. He then admired Cai’s Spiderman swim trunks and wondered at how his own son would love them. If Cai wasn’t so attached to them (and wearing them) I would’ve given them to the guy. The taxiride home put the kids to sleep, we ordered in lunch from La Palapa, the restaurant here and later I dragged Jaya onto the beach for a horseback ride. I found out a short time ago that he had never ridden. I was an avid rider as a child, however my opportunities were inconsistent and have always wished I’d spent more of my childhood on the back of a horse. I bargained the guy down to $100 pesos (ten bucks) for a half hour with two horses. I could tell Jaya was a bit nervous, but he enjoyed himself. I loved it. The last stretch of beach I galloped all the way, my horse was pure chestnut and fresh, his name was Nino.
Today we went shopping. Randy stood watch while the kids napped and Jaya and I fled to town in one of a million VW hackjobs. They kind of look like Safaris with no windows or doors and the familiar rumble of a VW engine. We bought gorgeous hand-painted plates and platters, butterflies to hang on the walls, jewelry and some traditional clothes for the kids and their friend Anna to play in. We admired a four foot carved Virgin Mary that I desperately want but would be miserable to get back to the states. Not that I care, Jaya is the pragmatic one when it comes to packing. I figure if we buy it we’ll find a way to get it back. Unfortunately, he’s cautious and a downer in that area.
Our plan for the final night is to put the kids to bed, order guacomole and a couple gallons of pina coladas. This trip has been a dream. I'm glad I'm so looking forward to being home again, otherwise I wouldn't want to wake up.
