Draft February week 3

Lots more to come here.

Monday 15^th

Gillian had another dentist appointment this morning, and since her temporary crown came off last night she decided to forgo breakfast. The car was still in the shop so she walked to the taxi stand at the end of the lane--no taxis. Fortunately the bus stop is here as well but going by bus made her late and another client got in ahead of her. By the time she had her new crown done the gym was closed until the afternoon so she caught the bus home and advised Art that it was lunch time!

This was a great excuse for lunch on the beach once again, this time at El Pirata Restaurant, just down the Andador (walk way) just outside the entrance to the RV Park. The photo was taken from our table, a couple of Beto's crew sitting on the seadoo waiting for customers, their parasail tow boat bobbing at it's mooring.

On the beach we ran into Peter who was just getting his Davidson Dinghy ready for a sail. The boat is carried on the roof of the truck, his little home made trailer disassembles and is carried inside.

(Photos)

Peter sailing off Playa La Ropa.

Later that afternoon we took our happy hour drinks over to Peter and Celine's trailer and stayed so long they invited us to stay for supper! After a few false starts we figured out how to work the timer on the camera. They don't appear to be too upset with us.

Next day we took a panga across to Playa Las Gatas for a gathering of people that post on the local message board. We met a few and were able to put faces to a few names. We joined our good friend Julia and others, had a few drinks, lunch then headed back to the dock for our 2:30 pick up. No Boat. We were 15 minutes late.

Gillian decided to take the beach "trail" while Art stayed behind to take a few photos and enjoy the ambience. Gillian would send the boat when she reached Playa La Ropa. If you click the far left picture you will be able to see Gillian and her route along the rocks.

Photos taken from the pier at Playas Las Gatas

Left photo; Pelican on the bow of a panga, Center: Pangas in the foreground, Zihuatanjo in the distance. Right, telephoto of Playa La Ropa. Click to enlarge, you can just see the end of the footbridge to El Manglar Restaurant at the far right of the photo.

The boat arrived in good time, they didn't even want extra money for the extra trip. We have become good friends with Beto and his crew over the years and got a good deal for the ride. Art felt a bit guilty so he gave the crew an extra tip.

Wednesday afternoon Peter gave Art a ride into the GM agency to pick up the car. It was ready to go except for the fuel filter which had been plugged. They didn't have one in stock, it had been ordered from Acapulco and would be here in a week! They had washed out the original filter and put it back in temporarily.

During the evening we again went out with Peter and Celine to an Art show at La Sirena Gorda, a restaurant on Paseo del Pescador. There were some excellent works; we were tempted but didn't buy. Since the Sirena Gorda (Fat Mermaid) was closed for business – just the Art Show – we dined at Valeria, a new restaurant a few doors away. They are struggling to become known—the decor is quite bland, the waiters have minimal English (read “none”) and less knowledge of wine. The waiter was able to tell us that they had red wine and white wine. Not from their exclusive cellar either!

To entice us in the waiter had told us that if we didn't like the food we wouldn't have to pay. At the end of the meal Art told the waiter we hadn't liked it but the empty plates showed he was joking. The food was quite good, not the best on the strip, but good, and prices very reasonable. If they can to something about the décor they will probably do all right.

There had been a bit of light rain so the cover went on the car before bed!

Thursday morning about 1:00 AM a strong wind began to rock the motorhome —Art's turn to wake up and bring in the awning. Fortunately it is all electric and there weren't too many things (like Christmas lights) hanging from it so he was able to tend to it without going out side.

At a more normal waking hour Art woke up with sniffles, sore throat and sinus headache—bit of a cold. Colds don't usually bother him too much, with any luck will feel better tomorrow. The day continued with rain and wind on and off, clearing in the evening.

It was a good day to lay around and watch the Olympics—Canada Gold in ladies 1000 meter speed skating, then watch Canada's women's Curling team go to 5-5 in the regulation 10 then in the extra end Canada managed to get an inch or so closer to the centre for a 6-5 final. This puts them in a 3-0 win-loss position. Later that evening the men's team took on France for an impressive 12-3 win in 8 ends. StarChoice Satellite HD TV from home—now that's camping!

That evening we stayed home for dinner, Art having been unable to walk by some good looking steaks in the CM yesterday; 1 inch thick nicely marbled steaks less than $10.00 a Kilo! The load on the BBQ set us back about $5.00.

While was tending to the BBQ Gillian was setting the table and opening the wine. Or trying to. CM obviously stores their wine bottles upright as the corks are frequently dry and the cork screw often just turns the cork in the bottle. This one was particularly bad and she ended up pushing the cork into the bottle which of course caused a small fountain of wine. Art heard comments coming from the motorhome very similar in nature to what Gillian frequently hears coming from Art's workshop at home! Fortunately we had already planned to replace the carpet

Friday Art returned to his vet for more needles. It helped some but there was not such a noticeable immediate improvement as after the first visit. We'll see how it progresses.