One of my favorite ways to spend a day here in sunny Puerto Vallarta is at the beach. A leisurely 10-minute walk from our apartment and the waves are lapping at your feet. Stan and I usually hang out at a little beach club, where Rafael takes good care of us. Depending on your mood, there are lounge chairs, palapas, or proper tables if you want to be fancy. The bartendress mixes great drinks and the kitchen turns out tasty and beautifully presented food.
We usually go at midday, have some drinks and lunch, and then stay for a lazy afternoon. You can indulge in a margarita on the rocks, a blended mango marg, a decadent pina colada, plain ole cerveza or a glass of Mexican Chardonnay (surprisingly not bad). Lunch is often an order of fish tacos or a smoked marlin burrito for Stan and maybe a Caesar salad with anchovies or a shrimp stuffed avocado for me. But guacamole is ALWAYS involved!
This chilled spot is the unofficial gathering place for any Kansas City Puerto Vallarta mafia in the house. On a recent afternoon Stan and our visiting friends Jennie and Laura joined me after their zip line canopy tour for a de-briefing drink. I had whiled away the early afternoon hours lunching and chatting with Kay, Bill, Linda, Mary Lou, Martha, Marty and other KC vacationers. It’s a small world.
It’s great to relax on the Banderas Bay and watch the pelicans. They fly overhead in perfect formation then kamikaze dive in for a catch. Their human counterparts, crazy parasailors, take off and land near our spot too. Vendors walk up and down hawking their wares: jewelry, pareos, fruit empanadas, fish on a stick, raw oysters (ya right) fresh fruit, almost anything a tourist might or might not want. Every now and then a group of mariachi musicians wanders by; some are definitely more talented than others. It truly is a wonderful assault on the senses.
In between being served fruit drunks and delicious food by Rafael, chatting with friends, gazing for whales and watching the sea birds, we usually squeeze in time for a bit of reading (I’m loving Love in the Time of Cholera and Stan is chuckling through Catch 22) and a light snooze.
What can I say? We are so lucky and blessed to be down here on the beach soaking up the sun. Today those of you stuck back in KC are enduring yet another snowstorm. Jennie and Laura accidentally got a day added to their vacation due to the closing of KCI. Luckily, they don’t have to be back at work until Tuesday. They aren’t complaining.
Stay warm. We’ll have a drink for you. Join us next year?
2 comments:
I just finished Love in the Time of Cholera! Great book.
Sounds like paradise, sign us up for next year.
We're up for a yoga retreat!!! Sounds like a great place.
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