Pat is slowly feeling better after many days of coughing and weakness. Zumba loosens up the muscles, a brow waxing lifts the spirits, and laundry says normalcy is returning.
Over the years the locals have kept many of their usual rituals. Swimming in the river isn't private but is great family freshwater fun. Fishing from shore has replaced netting from boats but both put dinner on the table. Boys still dare each other to jump 50 feet into the ocean. Some oddities stand out, such as shouldn't the propane tank be on the ground instead of the roof?! There's lots of street performers doing native dances, Mexican humour, and plain old busking to make a buck.
But the culture is invaded by cruise ships dumping 2,000 tourist wallets in town for 8 hours! Predictably, the locals try to appeal with broken English, prices in U.S. dollars, and samples of tequila at 9 in the morning. The resulting Mexican middle class is huge ----- taking a limo to the wedding, or trading the taco for a strange round thing with cheese and pepperoni.
PV is also a major stop for all kinds of touring stage and music shows. Especially big this season are "tribute" artists --- you can see faux Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Brittany Spears, Ricki Lee Jones, Mamma Cass, Frankie Valli, Annie Lennox, etc. All are Boomer icons; Elvis is passe and Justin Beiber is just some kid from Stratford. We saw a Vegas lounge act that was surprisingly impressive. (Find "Married and Looking" among the posters...) Lorena Peril with an amazing vocal range and her husband on searing boogie guitar. Sold-out crowds nightly --- Google their cred!
Shocking to see is the daily erosion of the shore near us. Huge waves have turned a mile of sand into acres of rock, with no end in sight. No one knows why --- El Nino? rising sea levels? but it's a preview of what climate change will be doing to a sea shore near you. Better hurry for the shrimp specials at the ocean front --- by next month these restaurants may be at the bottom with the shrimp.
Over the years the locals have kept many of their usual rituals. Swimming in the river isn't private but is great family freshwater fun. Fishing from shore has replaced netting from boats but both put dinner on the table. Boys still dare each other to jump 50 feet into the ocean. Some oddities stand out, such as shouldn't the propane tank be on the ground instead of the roof?! There's lots of street performers doing native dances, Mexican humour, and plain old busking to make a buck.
But the culture is invaded by cruise ships dumping 2,000 tourist wallets in town for 8 hours! Predictably, the locals try to appeal with broken English, prices in U.S. dollars, and samples of tequila at 9 in the morning. The resulting Mexican middle class is huge ----- taking a limo to the wedding, or trading the taco for a strange round thing with cheese and pepperoni.
Shocking to see is the daily erosion of the shore near us. Huge waves have turned a mile of sand into acres of rock, with no end in sight. No one knows why --- El Nino? rising sea levels? but it's a preview of what climate change will be doing to a sea shore near you. Better hurry for the shrimp specials at the ocean front --- by next month these restaurants may be at the bottom with the shrimp.
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