And.....we're back home

 The morning went by quickly. Caro went for a run and then had one last swim in the ocean.

I stuck around our place so that Serge and Marthe could move their stuff into our apartment (soon to be "theirs") as their place was already being cleaned for the next guest to use. Also I really didn't feel like doing a run and getting all sweaty anyway. We said our "good-byes" to Serge and Marthe shortly after 10 A.M. and they left to do whatever they planned to do for the day. We heard later that when they returned at 3 P.M. the cleaning lady was still preparing "their" apartment (doing a deep clean to prevent covid transmission between guests).

At 1:30 Caro walked out to the main road and got a cab to come up the mini street to the apartment building and we loaded our suitcases. 

By 2:15 or so we were at the airport and started the check in procedure. It took quite a bit of time as all passengers had to show they had completed the "ArriveCan" app on their phones and then prove they had had their negative PCR test.

Our plane came in shortly after 4 PM

One thing we noticed as we watched the arriving passengers deplane was there were a more pre-schoolers than had come on our flight in January. Perhaps it is something to do with less covid restrictions?

We were on the plane and ready to go by 4:45. The stewardess got on the intercom and asked "are you happy to be going home" and there was NOT ONE CLAP!  Too funny!

The flight to Calgary was uneventful. On the flight I noted that the Westjet App had internet options. Well that was something new for me so I purchased an hour of texting (only) for $3.15 and so after entering my credit card number I was "activated" and spent the next hour texting family and friends from 34,000 feet. It is a nice little perk but I am not sure if it is of any real value unless some really important information needs to be relayed.

The Calgary airport is not very convenient at all. Poor directions for getting people to security and onwards to their appropriate gates (it might be better in daytime but certainly not at night) . It also didn't help things  that MANY on our flight were "randomly"chosen to get covid tests. The testing itself was routine and didn't take all that much time but still...one more thing to stress a guy out!!

Unfortunately we also had to leave the secure area after clearing immigration and customs and getting our luggage which meant going through security again. What a pain in the a_s! I don't ever put my computer or CPAP machine in checked baggage and these items need to be open and visible and in their own trays. On top of that I need two trays for my normal things and need to show my boarding pass AGAIN while trying to get all my stuff in the appropriate trays which lead to a mini panic as I had misplaced my boarding pass in the  chaos (completely my fault-I shouldn't worry so much about holding up the lineup behind me as I fumble my way through this task). 

The flight to Edmonton arrived at 12:30 AM and it wasn't too much time later that we were greeted by Lisa and Chelada who then took us home, arriving at about 2:15 AM.

It was a wonderful time, but too long away from the family. 

Last full day in Manzanillo

 This morning we each had a massage from the same lady who gave us one a couple of days ago. 

While getting "beat up" by Lupita (the masseuse) the palm trees seen in almost all the sunset photos were getting trimmed back. They sure look different now, and I don't think it improves the view at all. We were however able to get a couple of fresh coconuts to enjoy.

We received our results back from our PCR tests and both of us are negative.

By mid afternoon it was time to go to LaComer store to pick up more candy gifts for the grand-kids.

We stopped at the Carnita's Asados restaurant on the way back and had a very good (and super filling) supper.

We needed to walk back just to try and burn off some of the supper calories.

We were able to check in for our flights tomorrow. Fingers crossed that all goes well!

To finish off today's blog here are two sunset photos just taken.

Unexpected Event

 This morning Caro walked out the door about 9:40 going to her 10 A.M. haircut and pedicure appointment.

I was quite surprised to see her back shortly after eleven and it turned out the stylist never showed up at the salon to do the job. Caro had waited over half an hour before giving up.

A short while later we were back out walking to a restaurant we had been to before, to enjoy a brunch. Yummy!

In the afternoon we went swimming in the big "salty pool" with this time being only the second time for me but a daily occurrence for Caro. After I was out of the ocean and at the pool Serge came over and we chatted about getting together tonight. All the while I was watching Caro to make sure she was doing OK bobbing up and down in the waves.

It was a great day talking to family on Facetime. I caught up with Dad, and later Lisa connected with us from Mike and Michelle's house. Hannah and Will are becoming very articulate and Rachel is rolling over! Once off the Facetime call we received a video message from Vanessa and Nathan showing Beckett getting ready to crawl soon. It is really time to get back and enjoy the kids "in person".

As per Lisa's suggestion here is Caro enjoying one of our last beers (beer and Chelada mix). Very shortly after the above photo was taken I took the following photo;

This is not a drone but a full size military helicopter that THUNDERED directly over top of us.

We have noticed a greater number of military and police in the area. We haven't heard about anything happening as far as the drug cartels or anything, just a greater degree of "authoritative" presence.

We finished our supper and watched another mind blowing sunset.

Busy Day

 We had a busy one today!

We left the apartment shortly after 10 and by 10:30 we were at the Barcelo hotel where we got our PCR tests taken. It was quick and relatively painless.

With that done we started walking towards Las Hades resort. We had to walk up into the hills and then westward.

In the center of the photo is Las Hades and down at sea level is the marina. We walked all the way to the marina where we stopped in a restaurant for some sparkling water. As we were walking out of the resort a cab came by so we caught it and had the driver take us to Miramar beach which is part of the bay north of ours (but is still part of Manzanillo).

The beach there is perfect for walking as the seas are very calm and the beach is hard and flat.  After a short while we decided to grab a snack at a beach restaurant.

After we left the beach (in a cab of course) we were dropped off at LaComer food store where we picked up some supplies for our return trip home on the airplane. We were back here about 3 P.M. and we both had long naps.

Tonight we went for supper with Serge and Marthe. We all walked to a restaurant about a kilometre from here. Caro and I were there two years ago and Serge/Marthe had been there earlier in their trip. It was a great supper with great food and drinks at very reasonable prices. There was an excellent guitar player providing live music which further enhanced the beautiful evening "ambience". 

Unfortunately the photo below isn't that good. There is a big sunset happening in the background and the reflection off the ocean doesn't help either.

We walked back together and said our "good nights" shortly after 8:30 P.M.

Getting our Massages

Last night there was another party just outside our apartment building. The owners have video cameras set up to view the area and because of the ongoing issues with people partying at night when they (the owners) saw there was a party they called the police so it was cleared soon after. At least it wasn't too late.

Lupita, "our" masseuse was here at 11 A.M. and after setting up, Caro got her massage.

After Caro was done it was my turn. I said I wanted "fuerte" (hard) so she gave me a good working over! It was great, especially as I had completed a good walk/jog this morning so my legs were tightened up. Anyway the experience was so good (and the price with tip only $25 each) that we have booked her for Thursday morning at 10 A.M.

Tonight we went to a restaurant near the traffic circle. 

It was excellent. I imagine we will go they again. We had a couple of drinks each and the meal for a total cost with tip of only about $26.

Afterwards we sat on Serge and Marte's patio and chatted for a couple of hours. A lady from the apartment at the back joined us. She is from Leon, Mexico and her father is a retired army general. 

Tomorrow we get our PCR test and after that we plan to go to a beach near the hotel where the testing takes place.

Start Your Engines !!

 I forgot to mention last night we watched the whales breaching. They weren't super close but it is always exciting!

Today was a busy day on the beach with many families enjoying the day. The noise of just lots of kids having fun and no boom boxes blasting away was very nice!

This afternoon was the start of racing season. The Daytona 500 was run in Florida. A great race with a rookie winning it by 1/2 a car length. I slouched so long on the couch my butt is killing me. 

After supper and clean up we headed down to the pool area. Caro went for a walk on the beach and I took the following photo.

Caro had been speaking to the owner of the house next door . He is down from Los Angeles for the weekend (he is originally from here). Somehow it came up in conversation about him getting a massage tonight from a local lady he knew. When Caro stated she might want a massage as well the fellow called out to Caro when the masseuse arrived. We are both booked tomorrow starting at 11 A.M!

We had three games of rummy tonight with Caro winning two games to one with the last game won by one move. Can't get much closer than that!

Caro and I have been commenting to each other the last few days that it is time to go home. Right now it looks like six weeks is the longest we want to be away from all the family (and we are in our seventh).

Our last Saturday here

 Today was a great day because for the first time since Caro broke her foot six weeks ago she did a run!

She wasn't able to complete what she would consider a normal distance but about a third or so. Progress!

In mid afternoon there was, what appeared to be, a homeless woman using the pool to wash up. Caro realized what was happening and questioned the lady (from the balcony). She  (the lady) quickly took off. Meanwhile Caro had contacted the owners and Adrian (the co-host) was over a few minutes later to confirm nothing had been stolen from the area and to clean and re-chemical the pool.

We had a quiet afternoon just being lazy and then tonight after supper we got together with Serge and Marthe at the pool side table.

After the darkness came our furry neighbours came out to visit.

We really get along well with Serge and Marthe and I imagine we will spend as much time as possible together before we leave.

Tomorrow afternoon is the Daytona 500 race. I believe I will have to watch it in Spanish but at least I can watch it!

Thursday and Friday

 Thursday-we had a very quiet day with nothing out of the normal happening throughout the day.

The evening was spent watching the series "Inventing Anna" on Netflix.

In the late evening a party started on the street below us when a couple of unknown cars drove in (supposedly this street has parking for only the few residences located here). There were four guys whooping it up and blasting their stereos. Caro had wanted to say something to them but I felt it was unsafe to do so as "you never know what kind of loonies they may be".

Anyway the party carried on until 2:30 (I was able to sleep through most of it, but not Caro). We heard this morning that the neighbour called the police who must have come to break things up.

Today, Friday, for the first time on this trip the navy marines did some training in the water out in front of us.

Every few seconds a marine would drop off the back of the boat and eventually make it to shore. There was a small group of marines learning (?) to fly a drone from the beach and there were the usual personnel with guns standing around to protect these marines. They eventually loaded up in a truck that had backed up to the beach entrance.

After the marines cleared out Caro went for a swim in the ocean however she was soon out after getting many stings/bites from something in the water.

Serge and Marthe have returned from a couple of weeks of travels south of here. We are getting together tonight to catch up. They are back in apartment #2 as before.

Our cleaning lady came today so we went downtown to LaComer food store for one last bulk pick up of food. We also took the opportunity to get cash from an HSBC ABM machine located there. I think we are good now for food and cash for Mexico although we will have some restaurant charges.

After our return and unloading of all our provisions we went back by cab to the same general area as the big stores to LaSonrisa taco restaurant where we enjoyed some awesome tacos. At about a $3 charge for the cab each way it is not a big deal to go back and forth. Our bill for three ice cold beers and five tacos was $18 (including a tip).

 Tuesday was so quiet there was not much to write about. 

I spoke to Dad on Facetime (video) while he was at Boston Pizza so I was able to show our regular server Melissa my little bit of paradise. Caro was Facetiming Vanessa at the same time. We love modern communication!

Interesting about the conversation with Dad was that his Facetime call came through both on my phone and the Mexican phone so after the call was finished I had to change a bunch of settings on the Mexico cellphone  (as it is my old iphone and still has my old settings). 

At suppertime we sat down at the table on the veranda for another great meal Caro had whipped up. Also we love the gas stove here and that gets me thinking that maybe we will consider one of those in the future. I never really thought about it in the past but now.....

After I had finished doing dishes we played three games of tile rummy. Caro beat me two games to one. We finished the evening with another two episodes of "Inventing Anna" on Netflix. We are enjoying this limited series quite a bit and are about half way through.

This morning (Wednesday) Caro was up about 6:30 AM and took this photo.

Today we did our usual walks and later, in the afternoon, Caro wanted to set up the umbrella on the beach.

We rented a couple of chairs from the restaurant people (the owners of the apartment here asked us to rent from the restaurant rather than bring the apartment chairs to the beach in order to help out those people). I brought out one of the apartment umbrellas (stored in the pool area) and put it up on the beach. We managed to 'somehow" find a good spot for us to enjoy ourselves....

Caro spent quite bit of time in the ocean today (and I did not!). I must have listened to three or fours hours of podcasts throughout the day (awesome!).

The paleta guy came buy and Caro bought another ten paletas. I wonder if she has enough to last her until we come home. Seriously I wonder!!

Tonight I imagine it will be more Netflix (lately this is our way to finish off the day). Caro is chatting with family in Mexico City so we might not get to any games.

Valentines Day

 Today was a great day.

It started with me having a long walk and even though I couldn't find flowers for Caro I did find her strawberries which I did my best to put into a heart shape before presenting them to her.

After my return and after Caro's exercises we walked back up to near the traffic circle and went to a restaurant that Caro has had her eyes on for a meal. Who am I to reject going there on Valentines Day?

The lunch was quite good and we both really enjoyed it.

It didn't surprise me that I had walked 9.3 km today according to my cell phone.

This afternoon was a quiet one putzing around the apartment until late in the afternoon when Caro made supper. By then we had Facetimed Vanessa, received  photos from Michelle and had a text conversation with Lisa.

Another (typical) awesome sunset.

Tonight is another Netflix night. We have given up on "Squid Game" (completed two episodes). We may get back to it if nothing better is on but as of now "Inventing Anna" has our attention.

SuperBowl Sunday

This morning Caro noticed what looked like a BC Ferry in port. Hmm? Compass malfunction maybe? LOL

 We walked down to the container port entrance and I took this photo across to the cruise port. It is a BC Ferry and turns out that we are seeing it before BC residents will because it is on a 55 day trip from the ship building yard in Poland, through the Panama Canal up to BC. I imagine it has to hug the coasts and only move when conditions are perfect as it is not meant to be used in rough weather.

In the afternoon we caught up with all the family via Facetime and texting so that was great.

After an afternoon of reading, internet and a bit of swimming (Caro) it was time for the Superbowl.

It is half time at the game as I write this and so Caro has come in from watching another spectacular sunset and is going to see the halftime show.

She was mentioning that her foot hurts so I think we overdid it yesterday. It could be another slow day tomorrow.

Friday and Saturday

 Friday was a very quiet day. In the evening we invited Darlene up for a visit.

It was her last night here and we spent quite a few hours talking about our lives and places we've been. She gave us her leftover food and beer and was gone to the airport before we got mobile this morning.

Today we putzed around the apartment until 2 P.M. when the cleaning lady showed up. At that point we took a cab to the Barcelo Karmina hotel as Caro had read that they can do PCR tests for us. The hotel is fabulous but at $225 a night we will pass on ever staying there.

It turns out that we can get our PCR test there when needed in about 11 days. The cost is 1800 pesos each ($112.50) so now we just wait and see if the Canadian government changes its mind on vaccinated people needing it or not. Our other option for testing was at the airport (which means a $25 cab ride each way). We don't know the price there however I suspect the better overall option is the hotel.

We started for home. We walked to laComer store where we picked up a few items. Caro wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant and so, with one in mind she had seen earlier, we continued walking.

We finally got to the place and the seafood was awesome. We had a couple beers and a filling meal each. Caro had a special fish dish and I had bacon wrapped shrimp smothered in cheese. It was a little on the pricey side ( for us on this trip anyway) at about $45.

We were right beside the ocean and  the waves come pounding in. Scary at times. The two little kids were having a blast however if it were my kids I would have been stressed right out.

By now it was about 5:30 so we continued walking. Tonight was carnival night so there was a parade of many different dance groups. It started at about 6 P.M. and was a cacophony of different LOUD music types with dancers of many ages so we waited and then watched the groups "do their thing" as they slowly went by us.

Caro's foot was still OK so we continued walking but soon she was getting sore.  By this time there were no taxis we just had to slow down and keep going. We finally got here about 7:45 and immediately had a glass of ice cold coke (me) and a glass of ice water (Caro). 

My cell phone shows the walk back at 9.4 kilometres (including the shopping).

I think tomorrow will be a quiet one as Caro needs to rest her foot and I will be watching the Superbowl.

A day trip to Colima

 This morning both of us were up relatively early (Caro is usually up long before me but I had a bad night so was up as well).

Both of us were getting kind of itchy to do "something" so we decided to go by bus to the city of Colima (one hour and 10 minutes away). Round trip tickets ($21.25 per person) were purchased at the bus terminal and we were on our way at 10:25.

At Colima we took a cab to the Zocalo where we walked around a bit and took a few photos.

After a quick snack at a Zocalo restaurant we decided to go to the nearby town of Comala (we were there two years ago). We walked around, bought some items for home and of course "had" to stop in at an ice cream place. Caro had a paleta....

....and I had a double scoop of maple walnut ice cream. Both items were so good we had a second helping. I knew as soon as I got my second helping that I had made a mistake and really didn't need any more but I "manned up" and ate it anyway- I mean it is ice cream after all! 

We weren't that long in this little town before we headed back to Colima. At a cab fare of $9 each way it didn't hurt the pocketbook too much.

The photo below is interesting because the sun's corona seems to be magnified by the tower of the cathedral.

The sun is not that big!, mind you it was another 30 degree day so it was still powerful!

We decided to have an early supper at another Zocalo restaurant. I had queso fondido while Caro had something else. Whatever it was she loved it. Mine however was not very good and I didn't each much. Of course I had a belly full of ice cream from an hour before. 

While on our way to the bus terminal the cabbie was telling us that it has gotten dangerous in Colima and that tonight is night three since the drug cartels have warned people to stay in their houses after 9 P.M.. We had noticed that there weren't many people around in the zocalo so I guess that is why. We didn't have any issues anywhere but still it reminded me that Mexico can be dangerous if you are in the wrong place.

We were back "home"shortly before seven and I am relaxing by writing this and listening to the waves pound on the beach. Caro is watching TV in the living room. Usually we watch some Netflix at night but I asked Caro to hold off on that tonight. We are trying (for a second time) to get into "Squid Game". We have completed two episodes so far. Someone was telling us it gets better and it was the number one rated show world wide last year on Netflix so we will hang in there.

Grocery shopping

Around noon today we saw a large container ship coming into port and Caro had wanted to see one up close so we walked down to the container port entrance (500 metres from here)

The ship doesn't look all that impressive from a distance but it is huge. This one holds 10,000 containers when fully loaded. According to info on the internet this load originated in Korea.

It is really close as it passes by.

While returning from the port entrance we heard the paleta guy honking his bicycle horn just down the street from us. He did pretty good off us again as I got a chocolate frudgesicle style paleta and Caro bought two other flavours for herself. All three were finished in no time at all. 

We were running out of food so we got a cab down to LaComer food store. Not only did we restock on veggies, meats and some fruit but also rum,beer,and vodka. It certainly doesn't take long for liquid refreshments to disappear in constant 28-30 degree days that we "struggle" through on a daily basis.

While we were waiting for our turn in the checkout line I asked Caro what she thought the bill would be. I guessed 2,000 pesos and the total bill was 1998 pesos. Lucky guess; (and for the record Caro was very low in her guess).

Unlike last time we were here two years ago there are more short term rentals occurring in the other apartments. Only Darlene (Seattle) and us are long term and she leaves on the 12th. A bunch of guys showed up tonight for our old apartment. Fingers crossed it is not party central!

The other night when I went down to the pool area about 9 P.M. I saw one of the raccoons running across the road here. To my great surprise the raccoon jumped straight (see photo below) between the security railing and the window of a small house a few metres from us, scurried straight up the window to the top of the window then turned 90 degrees to the right and went along to the wall before jumping over into the next yard.

I was amazed at its' agility and strength. I mentioned this to Caro and together we started noticing many paw prints all around the outside of our apartment. We hadn't really paid attention before that but it sure seems to me those guys can go pretty well anywhere they want.

Another great day!

Two in the salty pool

 Caro had to mail a package to Tete so we went to old downtown to the post office. It was nice to go to a different part of town for a change. We have been going to the big box stores such as Soriano's or Walmart to help prevent us getting covid but today we had to go to the busy old part of town where there are lots of people (with about 60% wearing masks).

After mailing the package we went to a hotel that has a nice restaurant where we had brunch (Meh- OK but nothing extraordinary). The location is wonderful.

After our meal we did a little shopping for the grand-kids and continued our walking to the old port (which is the cruise port now)

Caro completed her shopping "fix" for the day and in all honesty I also bought some candy covered walnuts so it wasn't all boring for me. We got a cab back to our place. The price of the cab is four times the cost of the local bus but at five dollars a cab ride it doesn't really "hurt" at all!

The view towards our part of the city (across the bay) from the old downtown.

Caro went down to the ocean and after a bit I joined her for my first time in the "salty" pool. It took me all of two minutes to remember why I haven't been there this trip-BORING!  Bobbing up and down in the waves no longer has the appeal to me that it did 40 years ago when it was a novelty. 

We talked to/saw the grand-kids and their parents via Facetime and while extremely happy that Nathan is feeling better we were sorry to hear that Vanessa now has covid. Also Will is still feeling bad  : ( 

We have been contemplating our next winter's get away and while it all comes down to what covid is doing world wide we are thinking maybe next winter is Ecuador/Colombia. If covid is still creating grief we anticipate being back here.

Hmmm. Where to go?

A Quiet Monday

 You know it is a quiet day when the high-lite is a walk to Oxxo to buy an ice cream bar (and it was yummy!).

Serge and Marthe left about 11 and we used our Mexican phone for the first time to give them a quick call.

We completed our usual exercises and essentially read and/or were on the internet. We were sorry to hear about the sicknesses in both Vanessa's and Mike's homes. Get well soon Nathan and Will!

After supper we did a second walk to Oxxo for pop followed by playing a couple of games of crib. Tonight we will finish the series we are watching on Netflix.

As I write this I am listening to people playing on the beach and in the ocean and the sun is starting to set.

A gorgeous day in paradise.

Sunday

Sunday started as just another typical quiet day for us. 

I did a beach walk and Caro did a long walk on the streets, exploring some residential areas off the main road.

In the middle is Darlene (from Seattle) and on the right is Marthe and Serge (Quebec)

Caro and I went to the pool around 4 P.M. and it wasn't long before Marthe joined us, followed by Serge and later by Darlene. Everybody has such interesting stories and have been many places. Serge and Marthe are checking out of apartment 2 on Monday to go visit friends in nearby towns but are leaving some of their things with us as they will be back in town next week ( staying at a cheaper place). We enjoy their company so it will be great to see them again They will be renting our place the day after we leave.

After a quick supper we got back together, sitting outside apartment 2 where Caro and I spent a lot of time two years ago when we stayed here.

Nestor came by and I paid him the extra money that Emma (the owner) had requested. He also brought Caro a big container of Pozole soup. I am not a fan of that soup but Caro loves it.

Our group conversation carried on til midnight but Caro had left a bit earlier to Facetime with Lisa and Vanessa.

 

Lots of walking

 Last night, being a Friday, has usually been noisy with a party or two on the beach but nothing this time.

We woke up to see the Ruby Princess in port. 

We did a walk down to the traffic circle again in the morning (about 5 km round trip) and after our lunch we sat around enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine.

At 2 P.M. the cleaning lady arrived and that was our cue to head out. We first went to the Oxxo store and got a sim card and some cellular time for my old iphone 6s. We should have done this earlier as it would have saved Caro time and energy getting her doctors appointments set up. We now have a Mexican phone number that we will use as needed to make appointments etc and we will keep using it in the future.

A cab dropped us off at the Fedex store but they were closed. We need to send a package to Tete in Mexico City and Fedex were one of the options. From there we walked a few blocks back to La Sonrisa taco restaurant where we had gone earlier. We had a cold beer and some tacos that were just excellent. 

We decided to walk back towards home (about a five km walk) but Caro's foot started hurting so that was the signal to get a cab to cover the remaining distance. A check on our "Mexican" phone shows that we walked 3.1 km. this afternoon.

We came back to find the cleaning lady still finishing up so Caro headed out for an ocean swim and I listened to podcasts while at the pool deck.

Sparkling clean!

The beach is the busiest we have seen it in the four weeks we have been here with many families enjoying the day.

I redeemed myself in rummy tonight, winning three games.

Friday night-Maybe party night?

 We went for a walk together this morning ( for the first time since we got here) and close to the traffic circle Caro asked if we could go to a breakfast cafe nearby. We had a very filling meal that kept us going all day. Caro had enchiladas and I had American style hot cakes with an egg, bacon and ham. 

In early afternoon Caro got her swimming "fix" in the ocean. She was extremely happy! I don't really care for the ocean so I stayed either at the pool or up on the veranda. 

While Caro was in the shower cleaning off the salt I heard the street vendor for paletas blowing his horn to announce his arrival. I asked him to wait a couple of minutes. He's no fool! He is the same fellow that came here  a week or so ago. Very quickly Caro was out of the shower and out on the street seeing what he had.

The fellow left with a big smile on his face as Caro had made her usual big purchase.

That should keep her going for a few days I think!

Tonight Caro made another awesome meal that she remembers her mother making many years ago.

After Caro whooped my butt twice in tile rummy we sat back to watch another typical sunset

It is Friday night at 7:30 as I write this. No signs of parties yet but the night is young.

Doctor update

 After watching another fabulous sunset.....

....we left the apartment about 7:10 to catch a cab to the doctors office. Well we waited... and waited...and waited for a cab and nothing was happening, meanwhile time was marching on. In desperation we decided to catch a bus down to the traffic circle (where there is much more taxi traffic) and shortly thereafter a bus came by. At EXACTLY the same time a taxi showed up (literally five seconds before we stepped on to the bus!). The taxi guy was great and while we ended up going through a couple "suspect" side streets in order to bypass all the street traffic he got us to the doctors office only five minutes late. We asked him to wait for us, which he did.

The doctor was very good (Caro had asked on the local Facebook page for recommendations). He explained everything about the foot and what had happened. He looked at both x-rays and said everything was looking very good. Caro has to be a little careful for two more weeks and then she is good to go. And really good news for Caro is that as long as I help her get across the beach she can go swimming in the ocean!

The taxi guy was waiting just outside the door of the doctors office (about a 30 minute wait). He got us home quickly. When it came time to pay the bill he wanted only 150 pesos ($9.40). We were so pleased with him (and grateful) that we gave him a 25% tip. i.e. 200 pesos ($12.50) which made him very happy.

The doctor's bill was 550 pesos ($34.40). 

Thar She Blows!

 Today was one of those awesome, never to be forgotten days, for us.

It started out as usual and then after lunch we took a cab to Walmart where we did some shopping.

While in Walmart I decided to follow a piece of advice from Serge/Marthe. They NEVER use their debit card to get money from an ABM; instead they use only their credit card and then pay it off a couple days later after the bill gets posted in the credit card account. When I used my debit card earlier in the trip I got an "OK" (I guess) exchange rate of 15.3 peso's/dollar (official rate is 16.1) plus an ABM cost of 80 pesos here and $5 service charge from ATB. With the credit card (at the same ABM) I only got "dinged" the 80 pesos and the charge (when posted) should be exchanged at about 16.03 peso's/dollar. 

Tonight Caro made a great Mexican steak/onions/potato stir fry. Yummy yummy.

While we were finishing up supper Caro happened to look to the sea and saw the momma and baby Humpback whales nearby. The "really" cool thing about this was they started breaching and tail slapping. OMG, to see the whales coming out of the water!  We could occasionally hear the "thump" as they landed back down. They were moving outwards toward the main ocean so we were soon sharing our set of binoculars to see. They kept on doing this for quite a while. One theory I was reading on why they do this is to create a loud sound so other whales could hear them and know where they were. There may be something to this as we could see another whale "blowing" in the distance.

Tonight we are going to see the foot doctor. Caro has a 7:40 P.M. appointment and because of the late hour I will be going with her and we are going to ask the cabby to wait for us at the doctors before bringing us home. Caro is feeling better and better and the visit is just a reassurance on our part that all is well. She really misses going to the ocean and is hoping to get some advice on when she can start swimming etc. again.

A Windy Day

 The morning progressed as it usually does with Caro doing her veranda exercises and me doing a walk (this time on the beach).

In the afternoon I was relaxing on the veranda couch when I heard a helicopter approaching, getting louder and louder until I thought maybe it was going to crash on top of the house. When it flew over it was higher than I thought but my heart was still pounding. The naval base is very close to us so helicopters are not unusual but this one seemed faster and lower than normal.

I decided to put in a claim with Westjet with regards to our last minute cancellation in Calgary. I suspect we might not get far with it because of the covid situation so we will see. They have 30 days to get back to us on it. Their website suggests we could be eligible for up to $1000.

We got an unexpected communication from our landlord today. I had paid her cash in Canadian dollars for the seven weeks and thought all was good but she sent a request for about $188 more as she exchanged the dollars for pesos at a horrible rate and we are also reserved for 50 nights (not 49 as originally expected). It looks like our nightly cost is now about $48 instead of $44 which is not a big deal.

We had a very windy day again but at least we were ably to eat outside. 

We have gotten into the routine of Caro cooking supper and me doing the cleanup afterwards. 

Tonight we were playing tile rummy and at the end of the second game we called it quits for the night and enjoyed this;

Half Way

 Today marks the half way point in this year's time in Manzanillo.

The temperatures are so consistent here. What a great climate (at least in January and February).

This morning we did the usual exercises with the added bonus that Caro spotted the Momma Humpback whale and baby relatively close so we watched them for a while.

Shortly after noon we took a taxi to the lab so Caro could get an updated x-ray of her foot. They took her in immediately for the x-ray however it wouldn't be ready until 3 P.M. to pick it up. Rather than waiting there we went back  home where Caro got on-line to a local Facebook group asking about specialist foot doctors. 

About 3:30 Caro went to get the x-ray and then to a recommended doctor's office where she was able to get an appointment for Thursday at 7 P.M.

The x-ray isn't very clear (IMHO) but here it is;

Some progress but really hard to tell. Caro is feeling better and better all the time so the doctors visit is just a visit to confirm "all is good".

Tonight we caught up with Serge and Marthe, the Quebec couple staying in the apartment we stayed in two years ago. We had a great conversation (including a visit into "our" old place). 

They are leaving next week for a while (out of town) and have put an offer in to rent our place after we are gone but as of now they have not had a response from the apartment owners.