coming home

If only a few circumstances had played out differently in 2007, I would now be writing you from my house in Puerto Escondido.

I read a small library of books on retiring in Mexico when I was looking for a place where our whole family could live.  One of the authors (I cannot remember which) had rated Puerto Escondido as one of his favorite places in Mexico,

He was persuasive enough that I started looking at real estate on the internet.  I even found a house that was within my price range and met whatever needs I felt eight years ago.

Well, I finally made it here, and the place is everything I thought it would be.  Of course, we have seen it in full tourist bloom these last two days.

Last night at dinner, I was thinking just how fortunate I am.  Even though I get a bit jaded about the beauty that surrounds me in Barra de Navidad, it is has been nothing but pleasurable to share all of this trip with Dan and Patty.  You really get to know people on trips like this.

Now, let's be honest here.  I am no walk in the park when it comes to personal relationships.  It is no accident that I am still single.  I tend to be a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to any topic that interests me.  And I know that can be grating.

Yesterday morning, I suggested that Dan and Patty might like to have a day to themselves.  They love spending the day at the beach.  So, I arranged to meet with the Calypso couple of blog fame.  You, of course, know them through Viva Veracruz & Viva Puerto Escondido.  They are now in the latter.

I wasn't going to give up this opportunity to meet them.  I have been following the tales of their adventures in Mexico before I moved down.  Several of John's suggestions were incorporated into my move.

There was a time when I faced the prospect of meeting fellow bloggers with some trepidation.  After all, just because a person writes an interesting journal does not mean that they are as fascinating in person.  After meeting several bloggers, I have abandoned the sense of caution.  Most bloggers are exactly what they seem to be on line.

John and Anita picked me up at my hotel and took me to breakfast at one of their favorite spots.  We were then off to their very comfortable home here.  You undoubtedly recognize this view -- one that John often discusses.

I was going to summarize our conversation, but you really had to be there to appreciate the breadth of John's knowledge.  We ranged from the debate about analog vs. digital sound to the travails of home ownership in Mexico to the vagaries of internet speeds.  And we talked about our experiences with blogging.

Several times I thought how lucky I would have been to have the two of them as neighbors in Puerto Escondido -- if that scenario had played out.

They then dropped me off at my hotel.  But before we leave Puerto Escondido, I need to tell you about my funky little hotel room.  The hotel was almost totally booked when we arrived on Saturday.  But there was a special room -- if I wanted it.  A small casita at the entry of the hotel.

Patty called it a "cave."  But it struck me more as a Hobbit hole.  Just look at that door.  Doesn't it scream Tolkien?

Well, maybe a Moorish-Spanish Tolkien.  If you look closely at the door, you will notice that it is about an inch narrower than the opening.  This is not a room for a private Hobbit.

I am guessing that the casita was once occupied by the hotel manager.  There is a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a large bedroom.  In its current configuration, the living room is a bedroom -- my bedroom.

The room has turned out to be one of the more exotic experiences of the trip so far.  But I am certain it will slip down the list as we head inland later today -- with Oaxaca as our next goal.