Perfecto Febrero

February is definitely nearly perfect. The temperature is in the 80's with low humidity and lovely breezes, and some mornings there are no clouds, just total blue sky. Others are partly cloudy creating spectacularly beautiful sunsets. Nights cool off for good sleeping with only a sheet and maybe light blanket. If one were to visit this part of Mexico for a vacation, so far February seems the best month.

We got to attend our first beach wedding in Puerto Vallarta recently. The ceremony was at 6:00 pm and ended as the sun was setting over the ocean. Absolutely gorgeous. I was aware of the popularity of this area for weddings, with couples from the U.S. for example, marrying down here. Now I know why they do it and here is a photo to show you just how lovely it can be. We started out the day earlier, trying to locate this beach so we would know how to get there later. The walk from Zona Romantica on the beach south over rocks and up and down trails brought us to beautiful intimate beaches among condos and houses perched up on the hills and cliffs. I loved finding pretty shells to add to my collection when we finally reached Playa Conchas Chinas, site of the evening wedding.














Old Town, or the Romantic Zone in Puerto Vallarta is fun to walk around to explore, for there are many restaurants and cafes, art galleries, and shops. One we like is Page in the Sun for lunch or dessert and it has a book exchange, so Victor is enjoying a new book here. In our town too there are several book exchanges fortunately, as traveling to cities looking for English language books to buy is time consuming and expensive. I did plan ahead and order a supply of books from Amazon and other booksellers online which I had shipped to my daughter's house in the states last summer and picked up from her on our road trip there in August. Our bookshelf currenty contains enough novels in English to last for many months. I chose a number of them from a website called IMPAC.
My thinking was that rather than try to read award winning books mostly written in the U.S., it would be fascinating to read books written from all over the globe. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind. Libraries from all corners of the world nominate books written in any language, published or translated into English. So I looked at the winners and those titles making the short list, from the past years, and bought a number of those titles. Victor just finished reading one from Nigeria, called Graceland, by Chris Abani which he liked very much. It also was one of 25 Best Books of the Year, Los Angeles Times. When Emily and Luke came to visit in October, they left some books here with us they had no room to carry on their backpack trip through Mexico and Guatemala, so we have their books also to read til April 7.

Have a look at these wonderful old photographs of Puerto Vallarta before it got discovered and changed so dramatically to become what it is today (overdeveloped). Go rent the 1963 movie "Night of the Iguana" too, starring Richard Burton and Ava Gardner filmed in PV.

While in Puerto Vallarta, I went out early Sunday morning in search of a good cup of coffee and ended up walking many blocks in my search. I came across a bridge over Rio Cuale and took this infrared shot. Since my Polaroid SX70 film is going to be all shot up within a few months, I need a new photo interest, so I think I will take up exploring infrared and black and white photography next. Take a look at these great infrared shots that were in a contest.

While in PV, we saw the documentary film nominated for an Academy Award, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". If you haven't already seen it because you thought it would be boring or depressing, just wipe those assumptions off your brain, and just go see it, right now. Don't wait, don't think you won't like it, or whatever. It was very interesting, well done, inspiring and motivating. I came back to my house and started unplugging appliances not in use, researching hybrid automobils, learning more about conserving energy. Don't keep your head stuck in the sand, listening to what others say about "oh, it's not true, it's just a hoax, about global warming". Educate yourself and tell others. Wake up and act now. Al Gore's film should be shown in all classrooms everywhere and if the film were delivered to every household in the U.S. maybe some of us would wake up.

On our drive home, I took a photo of this colorful truck carrying all these cleaning implements for sale. I see so many interesting vehicles carrying things in Mexico that you would never see in the U.S. Sometimes the "stuff" is piled up so high, with furniture for example. After being here nearly one year, I still am amazed at some of the ways things are transported here, whether by truck, bicycle, or tricycle.