Whee - ooo!

So following the family drama engendered by a passing in San Diego, we were soon off to Cabo San Lucas. The plane ride from Mexico City was uneventful except for the lovey-dovey couple in the row behind me - which Michael could see from his seat across the aisle.  They opened the overhead compartment without being careful for "items that may have shifted during the flight" so both Michael and I received glancing blows from our laptop which catapulted from the bin and eventually landed in the aisle with a loud 'thunk' of which they were oblivious. Luckily the computer seemed to have sustained no injury once we got to Cabo and plugged it in.  You would think two grown men would be aware of traveling by air procedures, but I guess they were too enthralled with each other!

Cabo is a delight! The sky has been the most amazing cloud-free blue. It has been pretty windy the last two days. Here in the third floor penthouse we're at palm tree height, so the blowing, tossing fronds provide both a visual and audible gauge of the wind - as does the overhang of the thatched roof.  The force of the wind is also shown on the water surface of the bay. While one expects the incoming waves, the off-shore wind tempers the waves and makes the surface very 'busy'. I think this morning's visit to a palapa on the beach will require long pants instead of a swim suit.  Because wifi isn't available throughout the resort, I'm writing this entry from the back bar of our terrace - where I can aim my computer at the sales room's wireless antennae - so I have a front-row seat for the weather.

Last night's dinner with friends was at a very small Italian restaurant in town, Alcaravea (Caraway in ingles).  Attentive service and wonderful food: shared appetizers of calamari frito and sauteed mushrooms with entrees which included lasagna; pasta in a creamy white cheese sauce prepared with our own rice pasta and fresh cheese for my sister-in-law, Jane; sea bass with a Mediterranean-style sauce of spinach and sun-dried tomatoes; sea bass in a delicious Puttanesca sauce; and  a seafood-rich paella.  Each was served with sides of rice, pasta or sauteed vegetables and a choice of two soups (I chose the cream of vegetable) or a mixed salad.  We barely had room to share a dessert of a Bananas Foster creation between the six of us!

No cruise ships in the bay today, but there were five yesterday: The Disney Wonder (we'll be on this, our favorite ship, later this year for back-to-back cruises from Vancouver south to Los Angeles and then the first Mexican Riviera cruise of the new season), the Carnival Splendor and Spirit, Holland America's Verdaam, and the Princess Sapphire. It's always exciting to wake up to see cruise ships in the bay directly in front of our villa. They look like they're trying to tie up to our balcony railing!

We trust that our four dogs are enjoying themselves at Wendy's Pet B&B in our absence.  We know that they'll enjoy all the space in which they can run around, though sometimes Miyake doesn't enjoy it as much as the other three.

Speaking of space in which to run around, we're looking at properties with more garden/yard space for the aforementioned dogs.  Having dogs limits our choices so we've started early in our search.  We hope our agent has a few more options by the time we return to San Miguel at the end of the week.

We've looked at a house nearby our present location that has only two bedrooms (both furnished) but has a really large patio/garden for the dogs which will be available in August.  There's also a larger home with multiple terraces (and three bedrooms plus a studio) in the hills on the east side of town near the nature preserve; it's up a steep hill and if the dogs were to get out they'd be lost in the preserve, I'm sure. We just noticed a post for a three bedroom plus studio on 5,000 square meters in the countryside 'near' San Miguel. Not sure how 'near' town it is, nor could we tell from the exterior pictures whether it's fenced or not.  That house is available in July.  We had earlier looked at a two bedroom home with a patio the width of the house into which three arched French doors open from the living room/dining room plus a terrace on the second floor as well as a roof-top terrace accessible from the bedroom's balcony.  We still need to book a tour of the inside of this 'light and bright' house. It's not far from our current home.

We do like our current home so we're not in a hurry to relocate. If we find a new house that has the space to accommodate our houseful of furniture, space for the dogs, less than our present three floors (one day the ole knees will give out, we know), and a reasonable location - all at an affordable price, we'll jump on it!

Yesterday's visit to the Super WalMart here in Cabo bolstered the pantry for our visit but after arriving home we remembered everything we forgot.  So another stroll to the shopping center is called for today - wind or no wind!

La Nieve

En el MidWest, hay mucha nieve y hace frio, pero en San Miguel hay muchas nubes en el cielo azul y hace calor con a poco de viento.

Yes, while much of the US is beneath snow, life is still balmy here in SMA.  We watched the news this morning (in Spanish, of course) and while we still don't understand everything that is said (or even most of what is said), the video said it all:  driving snow from Nevada to Kansas and more that wasn't covered in the newscast.

We belong to a DisBoards group of folks who will be sailing together next year, and many of them live in the midwest.  Morning greetings on the board include whether it is currently snowing, whether it is expected to snow, and how much snow they received the day before!  Only two of us (one person in Southern California plus Michael and I) are in snow-free areas.  We try not to rub their noses in it (pun intended), but both places are a lot warmer than most of the US.

The closest we got to bad weather was a few days of gusty winds.  We like to think they came from the storms moving across the plains so we can complain, too, but weather maps show a southwest (from here) source for the winds which then join winds from the northwest.  And lately the cold front from the plains is making its way into northern Mexico.  Chihuahua, in particular, is suffering a strong cold spell. Remember, most homes in Mexico have neither heating nor cooling. 

If one is lucky, you may have propane heaters in some rooms.  If you're not lucky, you may have an electric heater or two (unlucky because electricity is more expensive than gas). Or you may have a working fireplace.

Meanwhile in SMA, it's still getting into the high 70s and low 80s during the day - even if it is cool at night. Since we only brought leather jackets and insulated Disney/Princess jackets, we're about to go shopping for something lightweight.  We brought only two sweaters with us - which made sense at the time!

If you're from that neck of the woods, bundle up and stay warm!  Don't lick any metal pipes!! 

We're off to Cabo San Lucas at the end of the month.