Vidi

After really not having any sleep on Friday night, we surely slept soundly last night.  Last night, we went on a shopping trip to start getting in provisions.  This is a fun part of staying away for a long time.  I enjoy setting things up for our new, temporary life here.

As soon as we'd completed the morning routine we walked down to the end of our street.  Fifth Avenue is the tourist street just one block off the beach.  We'd watched many YouTube videos over the last few months, but it was, of course, much nicer doing it in person.  The avenue is undergoing a pavement makeover which should've been ready for tourist season, but isn't quite.

 

 

We've seen our share of tropical beaches from Asia to Africa but this is our first stay on this side of Mexico.  The cloest we ever came to staying here was time in Belize on a Central American bus trip.

I heard from rumours that it was a nice day in Vancouver but the temperatures fell below freezing.  This, most assuredly, is NOT the case here.  It's fairly sweaty outside with a temperature around 30°C.

The building reception lady, replaces our toaster which was only burning on side of the bread and provide us with wifi passwords so that we can now connect with the outside world.

We had an afternoon nap as we're officially in siesta-land.  We found another huge supermarket only a half kilometer walk from here and did some more stocking up. 

Beach Viewing

Day 07 - We are renting an apartment on the 29th floor. Due to the height, we can see the Malacca Strait but it is several kilometers away. So, today we decided to visit the beach and went downtown to transfer to bus #101 for a short visit to Batu Ferringhi.









We didn't bring swimwear or even a towel, although it was about 32°c today. We just went for the change of scenery. We feel we have sufficient time as we do not leave Penang until the end of February.





We were in the village at about 1:00 PM and decided to eat lunch there as well. We went back to catch bus #301 at the Komtar transit hub near downtown George Town. We got back to our place at around 4 o'clock.

Out Near UBC

I don't think we went to Wreck Beach last summer. We generally try to go, not so much for the swimming but for the short hike down to the water and back up to the road. The Pacific Spirit Regional Park is nearly 20 miles from New Westminster and is part of the University of BC Endowment Lands. Wreck Beach is posted as clothing optional.

We brought sandwiches so we could sit and eat looking across the end of the North Arm of the Fraser River and across the water towards the mountains on Vancouver Island. The weather this week definitely merits getting out when a chance presents itself.

Day 47 - Going Down to Panama

Panama is city, or I should say village, south of Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka.  The accent is on the first syllable and the initial 'a' has the sound of the vowel as in 'dawn' not 'man'.  No connection exists to the Central American namesake.  We wanted to go, as it is about as far as one can down the eastern coast without running into the Kumana National Park, which connects with Yala and other national parks in the south eastern corner of Sri Lanka.

Panama is not far from here, perhaps only a half an hour, but it is served by only two buses per day.  We did not realize this fact when we waited in Pottuvil for one that went south at 10:30 am.  It seems it turned around immediately and we'd need to wait until 7:30 pm for the return.  We didn't. 



First, however we walked past a cemetery in the sand dunes and onto the beach area.  Nothing.  Nobody.  There was just an endless stretch of sandy beach.  If ever there were a place to get away from it all, it would have to be in Panama.  We bought some short eats in a small restaurant there and found a tuk-tuk driver willing to drive us back to Arugam Bay for only 300 rupees.  For surfer tourists we had heard that charge could be as much as 1500 rupees.



In the afternoon we walked the beach from our hotel around the southerly point of the bay.  During a short late-afternoon nap, a heavy storm blew in.  Then it was grey and windy but about 28C, which is still a considerable improvement over the weather at home in Vancouver. Then again, the wind and rain pelted us between six and seven this evening. I have been comfortably sitting on the chairs storm watching. It feels nice as long as I can stay sheltered here.

The sun must've been strong earlier in the day as I currently sport a very red face this evening.


Click this photo see it on Flickr in a larger format.

Fish for Lunch on the Beach

I like finding something that didn't seem lost. A coin or banknote in the pocket of a closet coat seems like a lucky find. Likewise, re-discovering an old item that has been in storage can be equally fortuitous. Today, I remembered that there were some photos on the camcorder. We've not yet taken the time to watch the video for the recent vacation, but today I put the SD card in the computer and found a few pictures that Jay had taken.





These are the lunches we had on Mismaloya beach the day we visited the Puerto Vallarta zoo on February 17th. We, of course, had fish. Mine was the bottom picture and had more meat. I am being very careful about not eating much. I plan to lose more weight over the next few months. So, it is with renewed interest that I can view french fries!

A Reason to Head South Again

I will be teaching weekends again starting in January. I get a little tired just thinking about it. That does give the whole week to recoup and get ready though. It is also a short course, lasting only six weeks.

That means I should have a week off in the middle of February which is a perfect time for a beach holiday. I burned up a little time searching for reasonably-priced flights from Vancouver. It's pretty common for residents here to end up in the US Southwest or the Mexican west coast during winters.

I knew during most of this year, the boardwalk (malecon) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico underwent a major replacement. I found this rather slick promo about the work. It's in Spanish and lasts a bit too long at over 10 minutes. I do think it has some rather good production values though.

I Want to Make a Right Turn

Could it be the recent time spent at the beach in San Juan del Sur, Nicargaua? Or maybe it's the fact the weather here today is more typical of a rainy February. For whatever reason, I am finding myself dreaming of continued escape through the means of a little Internet research.


Click to open this Google Street View location on Mexican Highway 200.

If you follow this blog at all, you may be familiar with my recent infatuation with Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Coconut trees just seem agreeable to me. Of course I've nothing against a Douglas fir. To me the future will have to include spending summers and autumns in British Columbia but winters and springs somewhere more tropical.

Puerto Vallarta offers familiar amenities like a Costco and a Walmart Supercenter. I do think it has successfully managed to retain its small town feel though. It also offers abundant lifestyle opportunities. Yet, I really long for rustic rather than luxury. The real estate market in Puerto Vallarta has not yet come to terms with the realities of the current economy. The properties we could afford there are not cute and authentic, but simply down-market. So, I have figured we must explore the area south of there during an upcoming vacation.

I've become a little fascinated with the town of La Manzanilla, Mexico from today's research.

Day 4 - Between the Islands

Yawn. It must have gotten light quite early. We eventually got up about 7:30. The first task was breakfast. We ended up eating breakfast at the Happy Lobster. I uploaded several pictures to Flickr on their dangerously slow Internet wifi. There is no Internet at the place we're sleeping.

After walking along the beach we bought speedboat tickets to San Pedro. That is another, larger island north of ours. Most of the express boats make that entire trip stopping here near the middle of the journey. So in around a half an hour we got out of the boat. The time wasn't much past noon, but we looked for a place to eat lunch. We ate at a small place frequented by San Pedro office workers.

I am sure we made the right choice by staying on Caye Caulker. San Pedro is more developed and even has cars! On the other hand, the main mode of transportation here is golf cart. One can be hired as one would a taxi. San Pedro is also quite 'built up' and therefore not that pleasant. I'm sure the 'all inclusive' hotels along the southern part of the island are fine, but really they weren't what we were looking for. We got a 2:30 ferry back to our caye. The sun is too strong. Just finished an afternoon nap.



In a bit we'll go back out. Another purchase today was the bus tickets to Flores, Guatemala. That's the jumping off city to the Mayan temples of Tikal.

Day 3 - Van, Planes, Boat

This was a continuation towards our real destination. As we flew into Costa Rica, we will fly away from there. Yet we kept looking at the time frame of two weeks and finally figured it was more worthwhile to fly to Belize and work our way back overland. That would avoid us needed to retrace routes and give us more time in each place. Today we did that. We got up at quite a normal time and arranged for the Best Western bus to take us back to the airport at 10:00. It took a half an hour to get there and it was an easy trip through the check-in procedures for the 12:20 flight.



How nice it was that for some reason, we were bumped into first class. We actually had a complete, in-flight meal on our first flight to San Salvador. I don't think in thirty years of flying, I've ever sat in the first row before. The one hour connection in El Salvador was easy and smooth. In fact the whole day felt as though things just 'clicked". We got into the Belize City airport 3:30. We took a taxi down directly to one of the express boat marinas and bought tickets on the final 5:30 boat.

We arrived in Caye Calker after sunset at about 6:15 pm. In fact, I watched it set over the water between us and the mainland. We just walked from the terminal towards a cheap backpacker type hotel that Jay had corresponded with online. Unfortunately, a group of six Australian kids walked in the door of the Blue Wave Guesthouse a few minutes before us and got the cheap rooms. The owner was kind enough to suggest another place just a few doors down called Jememiah's Inn. It was sufficient with a fan and private bath with hot water. It cost Belize $45 which means only half of that in $US dollars. The beach is across the road. There are no tarred roads, just three sandy lands. It's so perfect knowing that there are still beaches like this nowadays!

The had dinner down the road. I had fish and shrimp kababs. Jay ate seared barracuda which is much better than the reverse, I'm positive.

Dear Realtor,

I came to find your email address via Facebook. That's perhaps the first time I've followed a linked advertisement there!

We've recently started thinking about buying an inexpensive condo apartment in Puerto Vallarta. We live in Vancouver and most recently visited PV in May of last year. We are in our mid-50's and have a little bit of saved cash which could go into a retirement apartment for future winters.

I expect the market isn't as affected there as in many warm-weather US spots. Being no mortgage meltdown, I know many owners are willing to 'wait out' this period of declining prices in the US sun-belt. Still, the market must be less active than several years ago. Eventually, sellers will probably have to encounter a little more reality when they cannot sell at the 2007 bubble prices.

We do not desire anything posh or large. We are simple folks with a modest lifestyle. We are looking for a small, simple apartment in the centro area of PV proper. I absolutely hate the McBox-type apartments out by the marina and hotel zone. We have travelled the world and are perfectly happy 'roughing it' a bit. The charm of PV comes from the real Mexican-style, vintage buildings on the slope behind the Romantic Zone. As we are not seeking any mortgage, we must stay within the budget price range. (Have you seen what $70,000 buys in a place like Palm Springs, California nowadays! Quite a lot!) We especially want to be within walking distance of the town, the river, and beach. I wish there were resources where I could read up on all the old town developments from the 80s and 90s. I would imagine that there are no cheap listings to the south, but we did see how easy it would be to live anywhere along Route 200 as far south as Mismaloya.

Anyway, we'd love to hear from you about what you think of current market conditions and the availability of the type of property in which we're interested. We're not desperate to get into the market immediately and wish to pick the best time over the next several years.

We look forward to your suggestions and thank you for your time.

Dennis S. Hurd

Weather or Not

This morning, I received an interesting photo from friends who are currently staying on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Jiwan took this from the hotel with his iPod.


Upon opening the email, I had to immediately run to my own balcony with my mobile phone to snap a return photograph. My subject line simply read, "SAME". Yet in my heart I know he won!

Quite a Ways Down the Coast

I just got an email from friends. They'll be getting in a plane and leaving rainy Vancouver for two weeks away. They're headed to Puerto Vallarta! I don't know whether to wish them well or be very jealous! I guess it will be nice to be able to share my interest with someone who's been there.


I could easily make it a habit to go to the beach and watch the sun slide over the Pacific every evening! I took this picture when we were in Mexico in the spring.

That city is one of my favourite spots. In fact, I frequently find myself checking for a retirement condo. Unfortunately, the real estate market there may have slowed, but prices didn't decline much. As most foreign buyers had paid cash, there are few delinquent mortgages. It seems that those with property seem willing to hang on to it and wait for better days. Damn! I'd love to jet up and down the Pacific coast throughout those golden years, especially if they could start in just a few more!

Day 28 - The Final Day is a Beach

With the end of the vacation rudely staring at us, we welcomed a day at the beach. I have developed a real infinity for places where abundant sun meet slices of sand and water. If there are coconut or date trees, so much the better. Add to that the tolerance usually found in people who live near ports and the mixutre makes a recipe for a great vacation spot.

I didn't used to think of myself as a beach person but I've always enjoyed beach vacations since the early days of my career in Thailand, or Bali. Trips to Sri Lanka, and most recently Puerto Vallarta have reinforced my fondness. Being able to consider early retirement, of course, allows one mind to wander to such possibilities.



Torremolinos is the perfect, aging tourist example. Starting years and years ago as a fishing village, it was discovered. With the advent of cheap airfares came waves of people bringing the desire for amenities of home. Huge hotel development ensued. Now you've got a place that still has the original sun and water, and an infrastructure that, although no longer quaint, can meet the needs of plane-loads of people on packages. These places can be fun. I liked what I've seen of Spain's Costa de Sol.

BTW / It was about 25C - 77F today.

Day 27 - Settling in at Torremolinos

With bodies still on Morocco time, we didn't get up today until 9:30. (Crossing northwards near near Gibralta means a two-hour time zone change. Spain at this time of year favours light in the evening but it doesn't seem to get bright in the mornings til quite late. Of course, this may have something to do with standardizing the entire country.)

The breakfast buffet at the hotel stopped at 10:30, so we did our best to make sure they didn't have any left-overs to put away.



By the time we'd checked out and walked to the bus station, it was 11:30 and we bought tickets to Terremolinos on the noon bus. When we travelled westward last week our bus had taken a new upper, toll road. Today we went though most of the towns of the Costa del Sol. It took two and a half hours to get to this town. We didn't have reservations, so we checked several hotels and stayed rather upscale (for us) at a newly renovated place called Hotel Adriano.

Between the hours of our check in and now that it's time for bed, we walked the "Calle San Miguel" a number of times. I like beach resort towns even if a little dated and overbuilt. I guess there's not much Mediterranean that I don't find attractive.

Day 20 - The Slow Boat to Africa

We got up and had our second buffet breakfast at the hotel. Things were packed, so right after we walked across the road to the Algerceras port. We decided to take one from there rather than from Tarifa. We bought tickets for the 11 o'clock boat but it really didn't leave until about 11:30. We didn't know that Morocco time is two hours behind.

We didn't know the police on the boat were supposed to stamp our passports before departing it. Then, when going back to have it done, there was a supprise inspection or emergency drill for fire and safety. We missed the first free bus into Tangier. It was a long trip of a bit more than 50 kilometers.

In Tangier, the bus dropped us right off at the old port. We walked a few blocks to the Valencia Hotel and got a room for 300 Dirham. Because of the time difference it was only 2 pm. We did a pretty good job of looking around the city. The beach section was very long and we even went to the train station and bought tickets for tomorrow's night train to Marrakech.

We found out the medina is up on the hill. Tomorrow we have most of the day free to explore before getting on the Marrakech Express.

Day 13 - Beach Day

It was probably the hottest day of our stay with a high of about 30C. It was also a Sunday, so we took a trip to the beach. There are kilometers of beaches nearby but we went to Costa da Caparica by bus. This allowed us to cross the bridge that looks just like the Golden Gate of San Francisco and past the huge statue of Jesus modeled after the one in Rio. The sun was amazingly hot although we just walked the boardwalk for a short ways.

It was a nice way to spend the last full day in Lisbon, Portugal.

Who (Not What) Are You?

I was going to make the title, Work Sucks. Well that'd get an audience's attention even if not strictly my own thoughts. I had expected to teach classes during the summer but, unfortunately, I only had one class. That has left me with a copious amount of down time. On first blush, it's great. There's no planning to do and no getting up early or getting back late. Best of all, there's no correcting!

After these weeks, though, I have had quite a bit of extra time. As well, we leave for Europe for a month on September 6th. I am strong, however, and I can deal with it. I can keep myself occupied. I enjoy being with my own thoughts. That, I fear, is a situation that far too few people have a chance to experience. People run hither and dither often not so much because they have to, although they kid themselves into believing that. Honestly, people usually make the choices to make themselves comfortable and I believe that many people cannot handle extra time. They're wired for constant action and create stress where none needs to exist.

Relaxing does take practice but I'm getting pretty good at it. I bet that when some folks retire from work, they go absolutely nuts. I have been on contract and therefore semi-retired since I turned 36. Yet, I'd so like to make it completely permanent right now! Alas, I'll probably keep taking on classes until at least 2014. I hope when I'm 55, we will be able to travel between a summer and winter destination and make use of the nearest patio, balcony, porch, park, plaza, or beach!


For example, this is Unawatuna Beach from last autumn's trip to Sri Lanka. It wouldn't be so bad to sit there from November to April every year. There's just something about coconut trees ...

Note to Self: Be More Spontaneous

Today was a good example of how things can go well when not planned. We didn't have much in mind at the start. We thought it might be interesting to see some religious, Buddhist relics from Nepal at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC. There seemed to be a fair number of people out for a Sunday drive but it took just a half hour to drive to the University via Marine Drive. We spent less than a half hour there and it seemed too early to drive directly home. We exited the Endowment lands by driving on 16th towards Vancouver. The weather was unsettled with a lot of sun and clouds but as we passed Kitislano Beach, there was an easy parking spot right on Cornwall. We walked past the volleyball players, through Hadden Park, and out to the spit of land near the Maritime Museum. It's good to get out and realize what a spectacularly beautiful place in which we have chosen to live.



On the way home, we headed up to 41st. Then as we approached Fraser Street, I thought we should stop at a small shop selling Sri Lankan foodstuffs. We'd not been for a while. As well as picking up dried fish and retail products, we got some fresh, take-out food. The fish cutlets, wada, beef rolls, and roti are too much work to make at home. They sell lots of homemade foods there but mostly on Sundays, I suspect. We took it home and had the items with regular rice and curry lunch.



Sometimes not planning too much in advance makes for a more enjoyable day. I have to remember this as in just two weeks from tomorrow we'll be on our way to Spain. We must strive to travel like we used to in the 1980's. In those days, there was no choice but to get off the airplane and search for a place to stay and explore. Damn the Internet for making it far too easy to plan every little detail in advance.

Perfect Weather

It's hard to beat the second week in August. Today appears to be the beginning of a really dry, sunny streak. It was so the day to use some sick leave. Jay did, but hey, I'm not teaching anyway! I was surprised more people weren't out at Wreck Beach. We walked down #7 trail and found out that it's a little blocked getting to #6. We found our usual spot although things always change a lot from year to year. My phone showed that it was about two miles down and back from where we parked the truck. And from the water, the road is very, very up.

Cloth Lasts

I saw that Jay had this tank top in his bag in Puerto Vallarta this month. This evening I was searching through my Flickr collection. I noticed the same outfit. The thing is, this image was scanned from an old photo taken on the beach in Pukhet, Thailand in 1991. Those were Bahrain days.

Obviously we are maturing. I too have clothes older than an adult student I'm currently teaching.