Another Day in Paradise

 

The next morning we walked over to a nearby mall to find a bank machine for pesos.  The condo is right next to a river (dried up now in the dry season so more like a slough).  

Rob told us that last year he saw a crocodile on the beach in front of the condo.  So we thought the slough would be a place the crocs might hang out.  On our way back we stopped on the bridge to look for signs of crocodiles.

We did see some very suspicious footprints.

Heading back to the condo 

Later we were looking out from our room toward the slough and sure enough we spotted a crocodile in the water.

Our field trip today was to a bar called Café Roma to hear a band called Shadrack.  The singer was from Kentucky and the rest of the band were locals.

The filled player was late because his car broke down but eventually he showed up.

The music was country-rock with standards like Margaritaville and the devil went down to Georgia and some of his own tunes.  The place was packed.  At the end the singer gave a heartfelt speech about the friendships between Canadians, Americans and Mexicans and how he regretted the current political atmosphere. 

Condo Resort Life

 

View from condo

On our second day in Mexico we started off with a walk over to Costco to pick up food for the week.

Later we took a walk down the beach.

In the afternoon we hung out at one of the six swimming pools.

For supper we walked about 30 minutes to a nice lively neighbourhood to check out a restaurant that Mark and Gina really liked.  But the owner was apologetic, they were closed today as they had no water.

We wound up at another neighbourhood restaurant that specialized in seafood called Raya ( as in manta ray). I had a marlin taco and a machaca mantaraya taco (like saltcod). They were both good.

Leo had a large shrimp burrito which he wound up trading half with Rob who'd also ordered one but wound up with arrachera (grilled marinated beef) by mistake.  So they both got some of each.

Burrito almost finished.

This restaurant was a big hit because the beers were only 35 pesos ($2.45 Canadian), the cheapest we found in a restaurant here.

Greetings from Puerto Vallarta

View from the condo

We are off on a spur of the moment week's vacation in Puerto Vallarta.  Friends were staying in a condo with a spare bedroom and invited us to come along.

We drove up to Prince George the night before then got up at 4 am for our 6 am flight.  The airline suggested arriving 2-1/2 hours ahead but we figured an hour was plenty for a regional airport. We got there just in time.  One of the xray machines was down and soon after we arrived the lineup snaked down the terminal.  In the end we were delayed by 1/2 an hour to let the last passengers get through security.

Our friends Lorraine and Rob arrived in Puerto Vallarta from Winnipeg an hour ahead of us and were waiting with Mark, one half of the couple who'd rented the condo for a month.

We caught a taxi back to the Grand Venetian Condominiums where we were staying on the 16th floor of one of 3 highrises.

Our room on the 16th floor.

We went for dinner in the resort restaurant.

Leo, Rob, Lorraine, Mark and Gina

I had shrimp tacos

Shrimp Tacos and empanadas in the back

And Leo had tortilla soup and shrimp empanadas.

 

Kitchen Reno

 

Before

It's been 30 years since we last renovated our kitchen.  We put a dishwasher in, replaced the counters, removed the wallpaper and replaced the linoleum.  We painted the 70's dark brown particle board cabinets terracotta with white doors and the walls a bright sunflower yellow (very popular in 1995!).

In recent years our sink started leaking so we replaced it last year.  When we removed the old sink the countertop was damaged so that needed replacing.  Meanwhile the vinyl flooring became unglued either because of the leaking sink (I think) or because of the heat dome (Leo thinks) and buckled near the sink.  So that also needs replacing.

Since we weren't planning any winter travel this year we decided to tackle the kitchen.  We've painted the cabinets and the walls.  It's a lengthy process as we had to remove the cabinet doors, wash and sand them, then prime one side, turn over and prime the other side, lightly sand again, paint one side, let dry, turn over and paint the other side then do the same for the second coat.  Also, I spray painted the antique bronze cabinet hinges (made even more antique looking by 30+ years of kitchen grease and grime) a brushed nickel. I was a bit trepidacious about this but they turned out nicely and the paint is not chipping.

Kitchen in an uproar!

The kitchen was in an uproar for about a week but now it's back together again. We got a quote for a new countertop but they are so busy we don't know when it will be installed.  We are going with an arborite top again to stay true to our kitchen's 70ish charm.  

We will probably put in vinyl plank flooring (despite it not being in keeping with the 70s charm).  I plan to paint the kitchen door a darker green this summer.  We're keeping  our funky resin-coated kitchen table.  I'll replace the curtains when I find some fabric I like.

By the way, we still have the stove and fridge we purchased when we moved in in 1990.  And the globe lights date back to 1977 when the house was built (we replaced one of the globes when the original shattered.

It's hard to tell in the photo but the cabinets are all the same colour and the walls are a lighter green.  It was supposed to be sage green but maybe it's more of a celadon.  For the record, the colours are Sico (Rona) Pine Scent (walls) and Green Resin (cabinets).  I considered replacing the doorknobs with nickel but I couldn't bear to throw out the perfectly good white porcelain knobs.  

More 70s charm in the living room!  I love the rough hewn plank wall enhanced with a light char from a blowtorch.  I won't be bringing back the orange and avocado shag rug any time soon though.

Oh and we are keeping our harvest gold telephone even though it doesn't really match anymore.  Also we still have to reinstall the chair rails.

Can you tell I'm really into this renovating? If I wasn't so lazy I'd do the master bedroom next.  Actually, the next project is to paint the exterior of the house.

Escape to Vancouver Island

 

My sister Sybille was invited to a book club getaway in Victoria in January. She planned to spend the rest of the week visiting my other sister Dorothea so she suggested I come down and make it a sisters' reunion.

We don't often all get together so I checked out the price of a flight to Victoria.  $600 with a 10% discount! It only cost $700 to fly to Chile.  But Leo convinced me I should go so I did.

We drove up to the Victoria Observatory on our way back from the airport.

One day Dorothea and I drove up to Nanaimo to look after her grandson while his mom had a break.  No pictures because I couldn't find my camera before I left home.  All these pictures were provided by Sybille.

As you can see the weather was pretty fabulous the whole week.

Yellowpoint Lodge through the trees

Dorothea also made a reservation for 1 night at Yellow Point Lodge near Nanaimo.  They have a loyal clientele who reserve the same cabin every year.  Dorothea has been coming for a week in October for 8 years and now she too has a standing reservation for her own cabin for that week.

She reserved Sybille and I on the White Beach (see below) and she stayed in the Lodge.

We saw a seal swim by our window and watched a kingfisher dive for fish.  Immediately when it dove a group of mergansers would hightail it over to find some fish for themselves.

We went for a cold water dip in the ocean and then warmed up in the seaside hot tub.

Meals are included in the room rate and everyone gathers in the dining room at communal tables.

Most of the patrons were gray haired but we did meet a young woman who'd been coming since childhood.  She was with a friend and her mother and the mother's new husband who were on their honeymoon.  

View from the lodge

The Lodge has a big lounge with a giant fireplace with board games to play.  No wifi and no cellphones or laptops in the upstairs lounge.  You can use your devices in the basement lounge.  We stayed up late working on a jigsaw puzzle.  Action packed evening!

View of Valdez Island and container ship waiting for harbour access.

The next morning we borrowed kayaks and went for a short paddle. It was cold and the wind came up so we cut it short.  Then we walked the trails around the resort.

Saltwater pool and Lodge in the background

Sunset view from cabin

Some Nature

 

We were walking at Scout Island and ran into enthusiastic (and patient) birder Lubna, who pointed out this northern shrike in the distance.  

Meanwhile in our yard, a downy woodpecker

a Cooper's hawk,

And a mule deer.

Winter arrived.

 Snow finally arrived after Christmas.  There's not a lot of snow but conditions on the cross-country ski trails are surprisingly good.  Since we went for our first ski on December 29 we skied every day except New Year's Day.  

I looked be on track to complete my New Year's resolution of 10 skis this year in order to pay off my season's pass, but Leo needed a rest yesterday and today the temperature is above zero so our streak is over at 7 days.

That may not seem like a very ambitious resolution but last year I never skied at all (no snow) and the year before I only skied once on the day I caught covid and that was it for the ski season.

Worse, the club's fancy new ski lodge was completed last year and then there was basically no season due to the lack of snow.  We've popped in twice so far this year to chat with friends and warm up.  

Anyway the forecast is for snow tomorrow and colder temperatures so we should be back on the trails by the end of the week.