Down in Ol' Mexico

Are We Having Fun yet?

Monday morning we were there at the Pitahaya Restaurant for the “free” breakfast bright and early. It was free and it was good. We then spent the next 3 hours listening to the presentation. The first presenter was Elizabeth, a very friendly middle-aged lady who along with her husband had purchased first a suite and eventually a penthouse on the property. She was probably too nice for the job. Time to call in her boss, Gregor. I thought maybe Gregor was a native Mexican. Probably in his mid thirties with a smooth, but commanding presence, Rudy had dark hair and eyes and spoke with a slight accent. You knew he was a natural salesman. We were later to find out Gregor’s last name was Yankovich and his parents were immigrants from Yugoslavia to the US.

We were led on a personal tour of the facilities, looking at the array of accommodations available. Prices ranged from around $19,000 and up. The tour was followed with a sit down eye-to-eye discussion with Gregor doing the talking and Elizabeth sitting by with a compassionate expression. They even offered us a drink out of the kindness of their hearts. We accepted a mango cocktail sans alcohol. They called it a “virgin” mango cocktail. This was our introduction to a drink we enjoyed almost every day while at Hacienda del Mar.

At this point they left us alone with a questionnaire that asked questions leading to: “what would it take for you to purchase a time share?” Our sales resistance was holding up. We set impossible conditions for them to meet for a sale. When they returned after a few minutes absence, we gave our clear declaration of “no”.

It was a good breakfast, a good virgin mango drink and a pleasant day to sit in an open restaurant for a morning. But now we were ready to get out to the beach.


The Vacation Routine

The next few days were spent having fun in the sun. Every day was sunny with temperatures in the upper 70’s. The temperature dropped quickly at sunset. Usually, this was when we were seated in one of the open-air restaurants enjoying our evening meal overlooking the ocean. Upon request, the wait staff would bring a blanket for each to slip over our head, snug against the mid 60-degree evening. The food was excellent, abundant and expensive. We did learn to save a good portion for the ‘doggie bag’. This we put in the refrigerator in our suite for the next day’s lunch.

Our day would begin about 6:45 am right on the button for me; a bit early for Eve. We would go out to our veranda facing the ocean and check out the sunrise. I would start off the day as I do at home – by going for a 15-minute walk. I could walk uphill to the entrance gate and then about a quarter mile down the palm lined boulevard that led by the golf club. I would then go to the court of the Tomatoes Restaurant and pick up a couple of cups of coffee to bring back to our digs. A couple of times Eve joined me on the walk. We would then enjoy a simple breakfast out on the porch or in the adjoining sitting room/kitchen. Following that we would go off to the activities of the day.

“Activities” were nicely plain and simple. We would take a book and sit by the pool or on the beach, sometimes walking along the beach watching for whales or the 3-mast sailing ships that could be hired by tourists.

One day we took a shuttle bus to San Lucas. There, we walked along the large marina taking in the sights. We had arranged to take the “Yellow Submarine”, a boat that had a lower deck with large picture windows for viewing the fish and underwater scene. We also decided to live dangerously by having lunch at one of the many marina side restaurants. We didn’t get sick. Praise the Lord!

Another day, we rented snorkeling equipment and took a cab to a nearby beach. Playa Del Chileno is a public park on a sheltered beach, ideal for snorkeling. It was very nice there with decent restrooms and large thatched umbrellas for shade. I snorkeled to my heart’s delight, enjoying the colorful beauty of a myriad of fish of all shapes.

That is just a quick view of a fun and relaxing time vacationing in Mexico. We will put a few photos on the blog for you to se