a day in the 'hood

I have been in Melaque now for almost three months. Some of you have been asking: So, how does a regular day go?


The first answer is: There are no regular days. But, yesterday may be a good example of what does (and does not) happen around here.


In Salem, Jiggs would usually wake me up around 4:30 in the morning. And the day would start.


He is a more lenient task master in Mexico. He lets me sleep until 7:30. But there is almost always something of interest on the beach (passerby, horse, dog) that requires a good barking.


I take him for a walk that can range from 10 minutes to two hours -- depending on how he is feeling. The combination of his recent surgeries and our high temperatures has kept each of his walks short this past week.


I then have a leisurely breakfast on the balcony, where I watch the sea and simply enjoy one of the great pleasures of living where I can see water.


There are then dishes to do and straightening. And then I read until I head off to my Spanish class.


Spanish class is one hour a day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. There are two of us in the class -- along with our teacher, who was raised in Costa Rica.


The method is rather simple. Recently, our teacher has been giving us words, and he then requests us to make up sentences, changing the verb tense and the subject.


This Friday, we are meeting with his English class. We will be expected to carry on conversations in the languages we are attempting to learn. it should be an interesting experience.


One thing I knew, but I am rediscovering: I know a lot of Spanish vocabulary through my high school Latin. At least, I know the roots of the words. That has been very reassuring. My conversations with Marta, the maid, have been more successful, but they are still hit and miss -- on my part.


On Wednesday and Saturday, I try to get to the vegetable and fruit store -- their delivery days. I did not get there yesterday because my gate lock became the latest victim of living by the sea. It simply seized up.


I helped replace that, and took a nap. I have enjoyed my naps here. I have not had a full night's sleep since I arrived. The luxury of a nap in the hammock is a true joy.


And then I read. I have finished off all of my current batch of magazines. So, I am back to reading the books I brought along. And the reading is slow. There is something about watching the ocean that distracts me.


Around 7, I eat my lunch-supper meal. Lately that has been a ham sandwich or something light along with some fruit.


Yesterday, it was mainly water. My digestive system decided to go into purge mode, again. The track switch was set to Big D (maximum). I could set a watch by my semi-hourly trips to the bathroom.


That did not deter Jiggs from wanting his late night walk. Fortunately, for me, he was interested only in going to the corner and back. Had he decided to go further, he would have had his revenge for all those years I left him in the house and came home late.


One thing I miss at the house is the ability to read at night. The owner has taken the green step of lowering the light demand in the house. As a result, once the sun goes down, my books close.


The ideal place, of course, for reading would be a light on the balcony. But the light would attract the type of bugs that give the tropics a bad name for night activities. Even if I had a hot tub here. I could not use it for night time reading. I may as well choose to sit in the laguna.


And then I strart blogging around 10 or 11. And the cycle continues.


Wednesday night I discovered that Melaque is prone to brown outs. I was not certain I would get any of this saved between screen flashes.


But here it is. A rather normal Wednesday.


For those of you who think that sounds boring, you are not ready for retirement.


Frankly, I think there was too much activity. Those dishes, for instance -- cutting into my nap time.