As you might know, we spent Christmas in Mexico this year in the small town of Platanitos in the Nayarit Riviera, about two hours outside of Puerto Vallarta. Our dear friends Paul and Robyn built their oceanfront dream house Casa Lagarto about three years ago and ever since we have been anxious to visit. It has been a trip in the making until all chips fell into place a few weeks before Christmas this year. What a great experience this was.
We got to really see and experience a real slice of Mexican life. No American resort with American food buffets, but real rural Mexico with local produce markets, freshly-caught oyster stands on the side of the road and even mariachis at 6 o'clock in the morning. Needless to say, I was blown away by the hospitality, generosity and natural beauty.
We spent our time in the pool, at the beach, cooking and baking, conversing, watching the whales swim close to the shore, napping and some sightseeing. We had no watches or clocks and any time any of us asked what time it was, all we would do is look at the sun and try to guess how much time we had until sunset. We woke up with the roosters at 6 o'clock in the morning and went to bed soon after sunset.
This was my first time ever in Mexico and I had heard about how poor some areas of the country are. I can say it is true. Small towns like Otates are very poor with no paved streets, tin roof homes, living off fishing and agriculture, barefoot children on the streets, but what I noticed is that these people are happy to live this way. I realized there is no real desire to accumulate things and that it is ok to live day to day as long as your friends and family are close. These are people who really appreciate friendship ties.
I was blown away by the generosity, which was very clear one morning when at 6am I was woken up by the mariachis who had surprised Paul and Robyn's neighbor Richard on his birthday. The mariachis showed up at Richard's door with a guitar, an acordeon and a bottle of tequila to wish him a happy birthday. That was a gesture that really said a lot.
All the kids had a fantastic time running around naked, swimming, enjoying hot chocolate at sunset and feeling free. This trip has made me reflect on many things and I have come away from it realizing that it's ok to let go sometimes and just live the moment a bit more. This will be my resolution for this new year. Live my life a bit more.
I wish you peace and health this new year and thank you.
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→A Mexican Getaway and A New Year
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→http://mercymadame.blogspot.com/2008/12/mexican-getaway-and-new-year.html
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