We returned from Mexico on Friday, February 28, tanned and in need of detox. Seriously though, we had a great holiday. Four weeks was a bit too much. We were ready to come back after three weeks.
San Pancho was absolutely charming and I would go back there in a heart beat. We stayed in a suite with an amazing ocean view. Our friends, Ken and Gwen, were staying on the same property. They have been going to San Pancho for 12 years so they knew a lot of people and knew where to go and what to do. The fresh produce in San Pancho was very reasonably priced and there was a fresh fish market supplying us with mahi mahi every day. The little grocery store provided all the items we needed at a reasonable price. There were several restaurants and bars with a variety of entertainment.
The highlights of our stay:
1. We attended an actual polo match that was accompanied by a Sunday smorgasboard.
2. We hiked nearly every day. The longest hike was to Sayulita. We also hiked to a mountain top north of San Pancho where there is a Buddha statue and a platform built into the mountain where people can do yoga.
3. I took along acrylic paints and some brushes in my luggage because I like to gather rocks along the ocean, then paint pictures and designs on the rocks. After I finished painting the rocks, I placed them along the road ways toward the beach. Of course, they went missing which is totally fine with me. One painted rock was transported to the Buddha statue I spoke of earlier.
4. We accompanied Ken to the facility where he usually plays pickle ball. I believe we played 4 or 5 times while we were in San Pancho. Ken knows several people who he has met playing pickle ball so we met many interesting people and made some new friends that way.
5. We had daily routines like coffee on the patio, swimming laps in the pool, reading at the beach, guacamole/margaritas at happy hour, seafood meals under the palapa, and watching the sunset over the Pacific.
6. We went on a whale watching tour in Banderos Bay. We saw several humpbacks and were able to witness a particular whale calf who loved aerial acrobatics. Amazing! We also followed a large school of dolphins. Back in San Pancho, seeing whales was a regular occurrence.
7. Tuesdays in San Pancho are market days. Of course, there is the usual tourist stuff, but there are delicious treats and baked items. Every place north of PV has a market day. We went to markets in La Panita, Santa Cruz, and Bucerias too.
8. There is a music festival in San Pancho in late February. Although we had moved to Bucerias, we took the bus to San Pancho to enjoy the festival.
9. Linda and I became more comfortable with the local buses, but we also gave lots of our business to our personal Uber driver, Alberto.
The last 12 days were spent south of Bucerias in a unit that must have been built in the 70s. The unit was rustic and somewhat dated. On the up side, we were close to the ocean and walked thousands of steps along the ocean. Our friends, Greig and Brenda, were next door in a high rise condo. As luck would have it, there were other couples from Saskatoon in the condo building so we had a gang to hang out with. There was a live band playing on the roof of the condo building on Tuesday nights; therefore, we enjoyed two evenings of dining and dancing 10 stories up with beautiful views of the surroundings.
And now we are home... I think we are finally caught up on our sleep. My birthday was Saturday so I celebrated by installing a new water heater. Water was gushing out of the old one. Fortunately, the old water heater crapped out when we were home and the clean up was minimal.
Linda prepared a birthday brunch on Sunday and we had the crew over for a birthday celebration.
We have already enjoyed a pickle ball session. I start hockey next week.
Tonight is grandparenting time so I better sign off until next entry.
Stay hopeful. Shine light.
