Blog #9 from Puerto Vallarta

On Tuesday we headed off to Tequila with friends. The first part of our journey was to take a bus from San Blas to Tepic. Tepic is the capital of the state of Nayarit and has had considerable trouble in the last few months with you know who so they have set up these "Welcome Centres" to try to prevent the bad guys from getting in. Hmmmmm......Don't seem to be working so well!!!!
The next adventure was on a bus from Tepic to Tequila. There was only one bus available and it was the milk run. I love bus travel. I find it really interesting. I have to admit it was a little hair raising going through the mountains at a high rate of speed and looking down over the side to the valley thousands of feet below. I told Ray there weren't any guard rails to which he replied, "They wouldn't help. If we go over, we die." "Oh, ok, I'm good with that. Hey stop this bus, I'm getting off right now!!!!!!!!"

Tequila is a lovely city. We took a tour of a tequila factory and old town. Our guide, Angel, was a real angel and if you go to town, look him up. He hangs around the square and Hotel Jardin.

We ate breakfast at this wonderful food court place behind the church. I've never seen anything like it in Mexico before. It was a square structure with many food places around the center where you ate. We got freshly squeezed orange juice from one stall, coffee flavoured with cinnamon from another and our actual breakfast from another.

On Saturday my art classes are supposed to start at 1:00 but over the weeks the time has been changing slowly. This week I had 7 little dears on my doorstep at 11:30!!! We hadn't had lunch yet or prepared the house for the onslaught. I tried to explain to them that they were way to early and to come back later but then they all sat down on the patio. I got my young assistant from across the street to interpret for me and after she explained to the kids the situation and they spoke back to her she explained to me that, "They are going to sit here and wait." The full sun was on the porch by this time so I just couldn't peacefully eat lunch with 7 kids baking on the porch so we quickly got the house ready and moved them in.

At 1:00 after the first batch had left, 5 more arrived so now, art classes come in two sittings!!!

A couple of hours after the second class ended the two kids from across the road came over, with 3 other friends to show us these adorable Mexican dog puppies. You know the breed, I can't spell. They left and a few minutes later came back to tell me they were for sale - 900 pesos or about $75. What a deal!!! I wanted one until Ray told the kids that his cat would eat it!!!!! Probably the truth!!!!

This is the view from our condo here in PV as the locals call it. We are here until Wednesday and then return on the 16th and stay until our flight leaves on the 29th.

We were both restless sleepers last night. Ray is one of those people who wakes, sits, puts his feet on the floor and he is ready to to. Unlike myself. At one point he got up in the night as above and went to the kitchen and started making coffee. I could hear every sound as our bedroom has half the wall missing over looking the living room. Don't ask. "Ray what time is it" "I don't know." "I don't think it is morning. Find your watch." Lights go off. coffee maker is turned off. "Ok, what time is it? "1:45." As he lays down he crashes his head into the metal headboard yet again. "And stop crashing into the headboard. It is also keeping me awake." "No, I like it. It makes me dizzy and I can see stars!!!!!!" Why, why, why have lived with this man for more than 40 years???? I guess the main reason is we always have had lots of giggles!!!!!!!!