Meh-Hee-Co

Why has it been so long since I've written? In a word (or two) - "Puerto Vallarta." Yes, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta... (yada yada yada). Our little growing company held our first class outside of the U.S. last week. We chose Mexico because we wanted to go somewhere exotic yet not too long a flight, and because my dh speaks great Spanish and is always looking for an opportunity to practice it. Boy, we were not disappointed. Neither of us had ever been to PV before, and it was really breathtaking. Amazing beauty, warm hospitality, and incredible views - I was really overwhelmed both by the place and the people.

There are very few places I visit that make me really want to return. PV was one of the few. Here's a few reasons why...


The pool at our hotel...



The cathedral downtown...


The view from our hotel room...


The view from the tapas restaurant (one of MANY great food experiences)...

Everyone had warned me about the poverty I was likely to encounter, and I did. It struck me especially hard when I went in search of reading materials. I wanted a paperback or a magazine to read by the pool - nothing too heady, just a little mind candy to enjoy along with the breeze and the view. There were three, count-em', three choices in the little sundries shop (and I had already read them all). So a little later I visited the only bookstore in town. Borders it was not. One little boutique-style shop sandwiched between a bar and a clothing store, the bookstore carried maybe 50 magazine titles and a few small tables of books, including one rack of the top ten paperbacks. That was it. Now there were some classics there - Shakespeare and Melville, in Spanish - but I was saddened to realize that the everyday life of most of PV's citizens (and visitors) probably does not hold much room for reading. Poverty takes many forms, I guess.