Day to Day

I usually am up about an hour or so before Mark. I sit out on the balcony with my breakfast and my thoughts. Then I read for awhile. When he gets up we go for a walk on the malecon and then go up to the roof for a swim. The days pass by seamlessly. It’s morning, and soon afterward, it’s evening. In between are small excursions to pick up groceries or the New York Times which arrives three times a week at Roberto’s (a minimarket on Olas Atlas, the Zona Romantico main street, whose proprietor Mark has befriended), lunch, supper, a nap, lots of reading, some Sudoku. It’s a life fairly devoid of incident but in no fashion boring. I have joined the local library which boasts about 5,000 books in English – and, they are very excellent books. I am currently making my way through Victor Klemperer’s diary from 1942-45. It is entitled, “I Will Bear Witness.” Married to an Aryan wife he was protected from transportation to a concentration camp but from little else. His almost daily writing of life in Dresden as the war progressed gives the most nuanced account imaginable of the physical and moral conditions of not just the remnant Jewish population but of the Aryan community as well.  For his astute commentary, his humanity, and his courage, Klemperer has entered into my personal pantheon of heroes.

I think about our life in Toronto and of my family and friends there. Yesterday we had a video Skype visit with Elizabeth and Billie which was wonderful. How great to not just talk but to see their beautiful faces smiling out at us! Billie showed us all of the great books that she had received for Christmas. Elizabeth, our Toronto secretary, went through the bills that had arrived so that I could pay them by e-transfer, and told us of the latest happenings in the on-going tangle of politics at her current place of employ. Lots of interesting possibilities opening up for her. She and Al and Billie are looking for a place in or near Barrie.

Today Catherine is having the family: Eliz et al, Mo, her friend, Darryl, her housemate Emily Smith (Eli’s sister and so Theoren and Emily’s Aunt) and her son, their cousin, Gregory, for a traditional Christmas dinner. Catherine opted to work on Christmas and Boxing days to earn in two days what she would have made in five – a smart move – and will now celebrate Christmas in style at her home at Jackson’s Point. We will have a video Skype visit with them later today. I look forward very much to seeing all of them.

Tomorrow Mark and I are renting a Jeep from a local dealer – just up the street from us – and plan to drive over to Sayulita, a beach neo-hippie community about 60K from here. We’ll also take advantage of having the car to check out some other places along the bay (the Banderas Bay on which Puerto Vallarta resides, stretches along almost 200K of the Pacific coast).

On our walks on the malecon in the morning when only the walkers and joggers and dog people are out and about, there is alot of nodding, helloing, and good morning or buenes dies happening. All very friendly. Periodically we stop to chat with someone who has in particular been greeting us for awhile. Today we talked with Karl, a tall, likeable fellow who lives in Vancouver but who emigrated from South Africa in the sixties. From working in a mortgage office he moved on to buying real estate himself and, it seems rode the market into a fair amount of capital. He has become the go-to fellow for much of his family who, over the years, also wanted to escape South African politics and who joined him in Vancouver and in his business. A thoroughly interesting and pleasant fellow.

As I mentioned above, our life here is simple but is very textured, shot throughout with the music and colour of Mexico and the Mexicans, and with the special diversity of Puerto Vallarta itself.