On Friday I will return to Toronto via Westjet. We have had a wonderful, delicious even,
four months here. Two years ago we had two months, at the end of which we could even have enjoyed a third. So last year we stayed
three months, which easily led to this years’ four. Who knows where all this could
lead? Six months eventually? There are people from Canada and the USA who
basically live here year-round, travelling to visit family and friends, but
basically stationed here. I think that the most difficult months for northerners like us to bear are in the late summer/early fall when the humidity escalates
tremendously. There are places in Mexico away from the ocean and at higher
elevations where this is not so, places near Mexico City and Guadalajara, for
example. Still, Toronto has a strong pull for us for so many reasons that it is
unlikely that we could ever totally relocate ourselves.
Our building was
designed and built by a Mexican architect and a Mexican contractor/engineer, it
is built not like the newer condo buildings around Puerto Vallarta in
Americana-style, but with clearly Mexican sensibilities. It is a lovely and
special place and though relatively new, it is one of the older condo buildings in
the city. It has a special heritage aura of its own, one that the
administrator, and the board want to preserve. Many of the owners, especially
those who live here a goodly portion of the year, are very committed to the
building and to the community that it houses.
As our time to
leave draws near, my mind is naturally turning toward Toronto and our life
there. We look forward to seeing people and to re-settling into our
neighbourhood. The big question for us there is whether or not we will move
from our current apartment and if so, where. We have a loose agreement with our
landlords to have a month-by-month tenancy. We must give them two months notice
if we decide to leave and they must give us three, if one of their two children
wants to take over our place, a possibility to which they have alerted us. We
plan to investigate a couple of rental buildings on Prince Arthur, and, who
knows what else we’ll get up to once we are in situ.
I have been working
away over the past couple of months at flight, touring, and hotel arrangements
for our long trip in December-January. There are many pieces to the plan as we
will be staying in several places – Istanbul, Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Hanoi,
Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles. In Toronto I’ll put all of this
together and look into visa arrangements for the places where they are needed. It’s
fun and exciting to make these plans and we look forward to executing them.
Over the next months we will get more information about each of the places that
we will be visiting and will refine our agendas.
All the best to all
of you. I look forward to seeing people in Toronto and in Michigan soon.
