Today it was a real privilege to go to the beach with a few of my co-workers, who share the same day off. Max, the young bartender/university student with impecable manners, Luisa, the lovey and joyful young woman in inventory, Jorge, waiter, music lover & poet. I was honoured to have been invited.
After packing up a bunch of stuff I thought we might need, I took the bus to a shopping mall where we planned to meet. The were waiting for me. I seem to be the only one in mexico who is late for anything. How surprising. Not.
It was kind of cloudy and Max drove his van to Punta Mita, on the way we stopped at Oxxo for coffee and then at Jorge's to pick him up and his 19 yr. old son Ivan who was visiting. Jorge also has a child in kindergarden and a baby on the way. We stopped at Mega, a superstore in Nueva Vallarta and was greeted by a high heeled young sexpot hostess who I'm not sure why, but showed us to the shopping carts. A hostess is a big thing in Mexico, it seems everyone has them. Hm. I stopped asking questions a long time ago. Even the mexicans don't know why there is a need for a hostess in a grocery store.
We discovered that because it was municipal voting day, a sunday always, that there was NO SALE of any alcohol allowed. All the shelves had tape over them like a police line. No manchas guey - we were bummed that we couldn't even get beer for our beach picnic. Nueva Vallarta is in a different state, Nayarit. Not Jalisco like Puerto Vallarta is. We were NOT going to drive all the way back to Jalisco, so just accepted that coke would be the drink of the day. The only one bothered was Max i think. He stopped in all the little villages and tried to find a bootlegger or someone's abuela (grandmother) who had some beer for sale, but to no avail. On the way, we got stuck in a big muddy tire rut, and all had to disembark. Thankfully, a truck stopped by and the guys helped push us out. How mexican to be so helpful.
All the way there, we had fun in the van, gabbing and for me it was such a language experience. They were all so sweet to make sure I understood everything. God, I should have taken notes.
I was the only one who was NOT mexican on the whole beach and I made a conscious effort to stay under the umbrella and out of the sun. It was mostly cloudly also, which I thought would be helpful. The girls and I started making food, and I set things up on the sand to be comfy and organized. Seafood ceviche, tuna with tomatoes, avocados, onions, mayo, on tostados. Also pork rinds in a vinaigrette salsa. Very yummy. I had made sure we'd got a papaya and I was the only one who ate it. For them its like an apple would be for me. Big deal, there are lots of them and they are boring. People were shocked that I brought the stuff I did; like a knife, some plastic containers, paper towels, garbage bags, etc. Thank god I did. All those years of camping in the middle of nowhere have been useful I guess. Had it not been for my stuff, we would not have had anything to eat out of! "Wow, they said, we're so glad you thought of garbage bags.!" Too funny. There was nothing but wild beach there, no fresh water, or bathrooms or anything. I did go into the water for 15 minutes or so, and at the end of the day, I was burned. Yes, I got burned under an umbrella in the shade. How embarrassing after almost 6 months in mexico.
It was fun and just nice to lie down and be. My ipod and speakers were also a hit, and it was worth hauling that around for the last 5 months just for today. There was a river behind us with a crocodile sign posted. And a family with kids was hanging out by the river, swimming in it . You wouldn't catch me NEAR it.
At the end of the day, Max buried Luisa in the sand and well, it was my idea to sculp the big sand boobs on her. She laughingly acquiesced and we all had a good chuckle. So much to learn in one day. . . new words, new experiences, new music, and new friends. It was a real pleasure. It also rained on the way home, and that evening looking out on the balcony, I had never see it pour down like it did. . . the streets were rivers.
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