Casa Blanca

Aaaariba, Jamaica, oooh i want to take you to.... Acapulco!

Pie de la Cuesta to be precise. Which is about 45 times better than Acapulco actually. It is this amazing and beautiful and pristine and not-at-all crowded beach on Mexico's West Coast where the water makes a bathtub look chilly and the most difficult decision you have to make is Pacifico or Corona; Mojito or Margarita.

Now, normally i am not really a beach girl. There's just not a lot to do but lay around in the sun. Which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that I am pretty much incapable of focusing on only one thing at a time. I am a busy-body. I prefer to have multiple projects going at once-- say, cookies in the oven while I'm doing laundry while I'm talking on the phone while something is cooking on the stove while a movie is on. For example. But this was an absolutely fabulous mini-vacation. For starters, it was hot and humid enough that I always had at least one thing I could be thinking about. And the setting was unbeatable: the pool looked out over the ocean, with nothing but some palm trees, hammocks and big comfy lounge chairs between poolside and toes in the ocean. It was the most serene, naturally beautiful setting. Since it was rainy season the tides were quite high and the water was fairly rough so the waves were absolutely mesmerizing. We spent our morning walking Xoco (the sweetest one-year-old chocolate lab) along the beach and trying to keep her from a) being lost at sea and b) eating horse poop....don't ask me why dogs do this... and then would spend our afternoons swimming, reading, tanning, napping, and trying to decide which variety of fresh squeezed juice was our favorite that day. We even fit in some time for a few extreme watersports aka handstand competitions, somersaults underwater, and backflips until our ears were so clogged with water we could barely hear one another. I am proud to say that I can still do seven somersaults in a row before coming up for air. And that I have not lost my childhood desire to be a synchronized swimmer. Although that might have to wait for the next life...

The pool was essentially where I lived during our stay. The only thing I had to get out of the water for was the occasional bite to eat. And seeing that my stomach had shrunk to about 1/3 of its usual size due to the 12 hours I spent sick and vomiting on the couch the day before we left (no mas chicharones!), I did not have to do this often. I did make sure that I was out and lounging often enough to a) completely engross myself it some fabulous literature that the wonderful Sylla (yay for Third Street Books) recommended and b) freckle myself to the point that I am almost, practically, one large, brown spot. Except for the parts where I am one large, red spot. But what does mamma always say? No pain, no gain. Beauty has a price, people.

I am in Mexico for a grand total of 22 days and so far, besides the whole vomiting thing, it has started off quite well. I mean, who can argue with being swept away to a beach-side resort with a swim up bar and fresh, drink out of the shell, coconuts? Not I! Here though, I do need to make a little footnote: I don't know who you are, Mr. Inventor of the Swim Up Bar, but let me just tell you that I am raising my glass and toasting your ingenious, fortuitous, carpe diem attitude towards life. The only person who could possibly rival your invention is the man that decided bar stools should also be in the pool. Budweiser, take note: These people need to be the subjects of your next 'this Bud's for you' campaign. And I want at least a ten percent cut. But I digress. I am in Mexico two more weeks now and it should prove to be a busy and blustery two weeks. My fabulous friend Hallie and her equally fabulous husband are moving back to Oregon, he for the first time and her after 3 years being here in Mexico City. The task at hand to to dismantle their last three years and somehow fit it into 5 meters squared. Right. I'm glad I'm in charge of organizing and the power drill. That I can handle. In the meantime, I will be consuming a lifetime supply of tacos and tequila because with my favorite Mexicans moving back to the states, I just do not know when the next opportunity will be. Although I'll be keeping my distance from the pesky chicharones....