How
do you survive in 90+ degree temperatures with 74+% humidity? Our answer is by
taking it slow and getting things done as early as possible in the morning. While
the heat and humidity aren’t a surprise, they didn’t seem as oppressive when we
visited a couple of years ago. But then we weren’t dealing with getting green
cards, getting the car serviced, sorting out faster Internet, Mexican phones,
utilities, bank accounts and all of the other things that go with establishing
a new home. Yesterday, the humidity level topped our previous days’ level. As
we walked into old town, the temperature was only 84°F but the humidity was
85%. Not a comfortable walk, especially since the return home is uphill.
Following
a hasty trip back to Nuevo Vallarta the first week, the rest of our immigration
process has been relatively easy. We got our photos taken, complete mug shots
but better than the visas in our passports, completed yet more documents and
turned in our passports. Next we had to go to the Immigration office to get
finger prints done and get passports back long enough to open a bank account.
They had to be turned in again until we were officially legal. Our attorney has
led us through the process and taken care of the correspondence and legwork, making
it relatively easy. Bottom line – last Friday we received our green cards (they
really are green, unlike the American ones) and got our passports back. Now we
just have to visit the Customs office to extend the import permit on our car.
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| Where's my lunch? |
It’s
not all work and getting day-to-day things put in order. The days seem to
disappear, yet at the end, I can never figure out what I’ve accomplished. Steve
and I both have started getting some exercise by taking some walks to the beach
and into town. Because of the heat and humidity, other than our exploratory
walks on Sunday mornings and a few other times, I prefer to go to the gym and
get my exercise in air conditioning. The gym is beautiful; fully equipped and
has ceiling to floor windows facing the bay. The other afternoon, there was a
large iguana, at least a 3 foot body with a tail even longer, who leisurely strolled
by the windows to some plants. After eating a bit he went running back for
cover. What other gym gives you such a view?
And
only last week as we were having lunch on the balcony, we were entertained by a
school of dolphins playing out in the bay. They were jumping up and having such
a good time until some of the tourist boats noticed them and had to try and get
closer.
Thursday
is the maid’s day at the condo so we try to plan a day out on that day. Graciela’s
service came as part of our rental agreement. Steve wasn’t sure about it but I
finally convinced him that she is used to having the weekly income and most
probably needs it for her family. She is such a lovely person and we’ve had
some pretty funny “almost conversations” with her tiny bit of English and our very
little Spanish. It took us 2 weeks to figure out what cleaning supplies she
wanted. Our Thursday outings have been mostly walking but a couple of weeks ago
we visited Punta de Mita, about an hour’s drive North, to have lunch at a great
restaurant on the beach. We were just down the road from Sayulita where the Bachelor
in Paradise series is being filmed, and we briefly thought about driving over
to Sayulita but we aren’t interested in the TV program so we gave it a miss.
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| View from lighthouse |
Last week we took a walking tour of old town
PV and learned a lot of the history of the town and surrounding area. Our guide
also pointed out good taco street vendors but I’m waiting to take a food tour
that will take us to several stands so I’ll know which ones are safe.
We’ve
had a couple of incredible lunches at typical Mexican restaurants where the
locals go. The food was fabulous and nothing like the “Tex Mex” that you get in
the US. The beef in my tacos and burritos was so tender it melted in my mouth.
Both came plain with no peppers or sauces but the meat was so good, I don’t
need anything to go with them. We’ve also had some good fish but we need to be
a bit more adventurous. . I’ve already learned the words “birria”, meaning goat
or sheep or a combination and “menudo”, the word for a stew made with animal
intestines. Both are consider delicacies but they are the ones I’m going to
avoid. My adventurous food tastings have a limit!
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| Complete with Malt Vinegar |
The
people here are unbelievably friendly and helpful. The security guys are always
so friendly and helpful and speak to us when we come in the gate. Our neighbors
next door sent us a huge and unique bouquet to welcome us to the complex. I’ve
never seen a bouquet that was over 6 feet tall! Our second week we bumped into
an American woman at a local market and she invited us to join an expat group,
Friday Foodies, that meets on Fridays at a different restaurant each week. We
went to our first one a couple of weeks ago and met the nicest people! Last week we went to a restaurant that served
fish and chips. Who would have ever thought that we’d find fish and chips here
in PV. Of course Steve and I had to try it - it wasn’t bad or as Steve said, I've had worse in the UK.
Some
of the Friday Foodies gave us contacts for a Vet for the cats and since a few
of them are heavily involved in a cat rescue project, we’ll be getting involved
too. We also got a contact to assist us in getting local medical help (doctors,
dentists, etc.). We’ve been told there
isn’t really such a thing as a GP so you have to go to a specialist for
everything. Living in a new country means there’s so much to learn every day
but with the help of the Friday Foodies, hopefully, there will still be
adventures but fewer mistakes.
We
are now in the rainy season and get thunder storms almost every evening. Most
of these are torrential and are accompanied by spectacular lightening shows. While
they vary in length we usually get a nice sunset around 9pm. This time of year
is much less busy with tourists so it’s a good time for doing some sightseeing
if you can bear the humidity.
I’ll
post more adventures as I get to grips with metric measurements in cooking and
get back to being able to think in Celsius, rather than Fahrenheit again. It’s
been a few years. I’ve remembered the conversion for kilometers rather than
miles for some reason and of course now I’m constantly converting pesos into
dollars. In addition to learning Spanish, the biggy will be to “think” metric and
pesos! Stay tuned for more of our challenges!
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