October 19, 2004

Busy busy busy...Flew out of a cold and rainy San Francisco to Paradise on a 100% full Alaska Airline jet. bit bumpy but uneventful and landed at 3pm PV time to a welcome from Diana, great way to enter Mexico and be driven to your casa and stop wherever else you desire, as to pick up pesos. Checked into Boana Torre Malibu with dear ofice lady Suzanne and headed up the elevator with Hermes lugging my bags and a jug of water. Yes, it is hot and humid, clear and sunny. Lovely. My unit has two good fans, which run all the time, plus a sliding door onto the balcony allowing brisas from the Bahia de Banderas and a super unblocked view north and south. Almost all the units here are one bedroom with two baths each with a shower, hall sink area, kitchenette, table for four, two couches, one of which pulls out into a double bed, balcony facing west with table for two to three. Cable TV, CD player, microwave oven, more amenities. Good rates, too! Unpacked all my lightweight clothes and settled in briefly before hitting the sidewalks, looking at what had changed in the past 5 months and planning on a dinner of enchiladas at Cafe de Olla where they make some of the very best...but they are closed on Tuesday. Roamed up and down Restaurant Row, ending back at a small indoor spot, which I had never entered. Takos Panchos is a delightful simple 7-table eatery with a chalkboard of various very good quick and tasty light foods, to go also. Tacos el pastor [shaved pork] 5p, quesadilla chorizo 15p, combination tacos 4 for 30-45p, queso fundido 25p, parillas 12-20p, fajitas 55p, horchata or Jamaica 5p, National beer 12p.

It has been 6 hours since landing so time for a stop at my Internet Cafe! Troubles with AOL, so worked only on Yahoo. Stopped at a number of places and wrote notes from menu with prices for my guide. Home, tired, and ready for sleep after some reading and planning.

garyrbeck