The last couple of weeks have been full of friendship and love for us. It began with friends, Tammie & Jimmy McDowell, that we met in Cuenca, Ecuador, coming to visit PV to consider moving here. This was after following my blog since we met in September, 2013 while they were living in Cuenca and we were there for a visit.
Our visit began by meeting at Nacho Daddy for some Sunday football. We picked up right where we had left off, exchanging funny stories. So incredible that it had been a full year already since that night at San Blas for "singles" night. LOL
As their 10 days here unfolded, the McDowell's shadowed us on many errands, taking the local busses, learning where the most economical places were to eat, drink, and be merry! In general, getting a feel for what it's really like to live here.
We went out looking at apartments with the McDowell's and saw some great places. After looking at several with a terrific rental agent, we showed them an apartment in another building on our street and then invited them to look at one in our building. Long story short, they will now be our neighbors starting in December in the unit above us. Love being able to choose our neighbors!!
As their 10 days here unfolded, the McDowell's shadowed us on many errands, taking the local busses, learning where the most economical places were to eat, drink, and be merry! In general, getting a feel for what it's really like to live here.
Dinner at Fusion Gourmet on their 50% off night.
Tammie, Jimmy, Me & Mike.
Happy Hour at Signature Lounge with another couple that live in Ecuador & are considering PV that knew Tammie & Jimmy. Me, Tammie, Bill & JoAnn.
Jimmy & Me enjoying the music & a dance at Nacho Daddy.
Tammie got "touristized" !!!
Expat Happy Hour at Langostino's. Tim, Georgina, Jan, ?, Nelson & Me.
A great photo of Tammie & Jimmy.
We had been searching FaceBook for a small dog for our property caretaker, Reuben, to adopt for many weeks. Rueben is a wonderful man with a wonderful soul and lots of love to be given out. His previous companion had passed and he was a very lonely.
The stars aligned for him finally after several false attempts by us. A post came on FB that presented a perfect opportunity! After speaking with the owners several times, they came to bring Zsa Zsa to our home for Rueben to meet her and for them to meet him.
All I can say is that it was love at first sight for Rueben. Zsa Zsa not so much except she did eat out of his hand a couple of times before snarling and barking at him. Little miss is a very spoiled, one owner dog. All others stay away until she gets to know you.
But it was agreed that Rueben was a good person and he would take her home to see how things would go. Suffice it to say, there is now lots of love going around. They are both smitten with each other and Zsa Zsa has control of the bed. It's absolutely endearing to see Rueben's face light up when talking about her and, as you can see, Zsa Zsa is one happy dog!! We are thrilled to have a part in this pairing.
Zsa Zsa
A happy baby going for a ride on the bike. He takes her everywhere!
A week ago Sunday, Mike and I headed out by bus to Bucerias, about an hour north via 2 bus rides up the Bay. We were invited to our new friends, Tessa & Jim Armstead's, new home. They moved here from the west side of WA and we're all Seahawks fans. So a fun day spent at their home watching the Hawks not play well enough and a good BBQ meal of cheese burgers, my deviled eggs, and luscious homemade baked beans.
Tessa, Jim & Me.
On Monday evening, we had made plans to have dinner at other friends' home in Gringo Gulch, Judy Snow & David Kamp. As it's more than a comfortable walking distance if you want to arrive without being drenched in sweat, we took a cab. Since another couple, Georgina & Tim Drummond, that live more in our area were also going, we made arrangements to meet and share a cab. Another fabulous evening of sharing and having good conversation.
Georgina, Me & Tim.
Beautiful sunset from the terrace.
We had to say "Hasta Luego" to the McDowell's on Wednesday morning knowing that it would be a short period of time before they'll be back to begin their full time life in PV.
We then quickly grabbed a bus and headed to the dentist's office for Mike to get his permanent crown on the tooth that broke. To get to the office, we must take a bus to the Costco stop and then walk about 2/3 mile. We've really gotten used to these walks and believe, even in the heat, that they are good for us.
That evening, we met up with other FB friends, Linda & Manuel Orozco, who were on vacation in PV. Linda and I had been fb friends for quite awhile and they are also from WA. They, too, have been following my blog and are making plans to move here when the time is right for them.
Mike, Me, Manuel & Linda at CC's.
No, THANK YOU, Linda & Manuel!!
One of the wonderful things about having friends visit from the states is that they can "mule" items for you that you just can't get here. I had purchased a new/used iPhone 5s off of EBay and Linda was gracious enough to let me have it shipped to her in the states for delivery to me. The duty to have it shipped to me here is quite expensive. THANK YOU, Linda & Manuel!
Again, we have been delighted to meet such wonderful people who we now call "friends"!!! Sharing good places to eat, drink, and be merry plus having them visit us in our home is tremendously fulfilling for us. It's going to be awhile before they're ready for the move but we know we'll see them on their return visits, hopefully, every year.
Mike needed to go back to the dentist for a minor adjustment last Thursday, so we decided to use the opportunity to go to the movies. Albeit, a little bit of a hike at the height of the day's heat especially when you walk about 8 blocks out of your way trying to find a shortcut. It put a strain on my patience. But, oh so worth it in the end!! We saw The 100 Foot Journey with Helen Mirren and it was exquisite!! Highly recommend it to all.
BUT, the most wonderful thing that happened a week ago was that we FINALLY and successfully received our security deposit back from our previous landlord!!! This was 7 months of being persistent, a pain in the butt to anyone we could find, and just stubborn gringos!! It took us finally finding the "right" person to talk to that had a real connection to the true owner of the property. I can't tell you how incredibly satisfying it feels to WIN !!
In addition to getting our security deposit back, which was a full month's rent of $1,050, I also received out of the blue a couple of commission checks from my real estate business that I left in the hands of other REALTORS 2 years ago!!
With these few extra pay checks, we decided to buy 4 Mexican Talavera dinner plates and a serving platter, that we use as a wall decoration also. We had been wanting them but just couldn't justify the cost even though they were truly quite inexpensive considering.
Large serving platter.
Dinner Plates.
It's been a great month all around and it's not over! So looking forward to Halloween this coming Friday, which is highly celebrated here along with Day of the Dead on November 1. Plus, our good friends Shauna and Rob will be returning from their month in the states. And, we have more people coming to visit PV wanting to meet up with us that have been reading my blog.
Of course, we continue to enjoy the beautiful sunsets!!
Hasta Luego, amigos!! Have a GREAT week everyone!
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