Breathing a sigh of relief....and starting a new year

Today is the first day that Gene and I have been without visitors staying with us since November 30th.  It's great having visitors here especially when they are family or friends who enjoy all that the area has to offer.  And of course there is that wonderful feeling of having family with you at Xmas...but like the town itself, I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.  My shelves are empty, my recipes exhausted, my towels were all used up, my energy was flagging...  We had resorted to watching movies in the evening, because I was just a little tired from all the fun!  Of course, watching movies here is also a bit of an adventure, as there is only one store where you can reliably purchase these "offmarket" DVDs of first run Hollywood movies in a quality worth watching. 

The town has had a similar experience.  After the much needed crowds arrived, then it appeared to me that every worker just strives to cope with the extra work that thousands of visitors make.  Every garbage collector, beach/street cleaner and waiter was working at their maximum capacity.  Taxis were finally busy, restaurants that normally sit empty had crowds at midnite and yet were opening again by 8 a.m. with fresh table cloths, fresh flowers and the same cheerful Buenos Dias as when they had no work to do. 

But by Sunday, January 2nd, the crowds had diminished and now we are back to the normal winter tourism in this beachside town.  There are still some Mexicans who have the luxury of taking a lengthy break and they are staying at the upscale hotels in our neighbourhood.  But the new tourists are the middle-aged or older Canadians and Americans who wait until after they have had Xmas at home, to arrive here for their winter escapes.  They have arranged longterm rentals at the many hotels and condominiums where they have friends and familiar staff to welcome them back.  I can almost hear "the sigh of relief" that they make as they walk our colonia.

Then of course, we have another reason to feel gratitude.  We have read the news that the Famila, the drug cartel that has been the cause of much of the violence in the state of Michoacan where we plan to travel in a few days, has issued a directive that they are ceasing any violent protests against the drug war for one month.   The month of January - the month we are driving to Melaque, La Manzanilla, Colima, and Guanajuato and the butterflies in the mountains.   How did they know that we needed them to behave so we can see more of this beautiful country?  

Feliz Ano Nuevo to all....and especially to Mexico, cause you really do need a year where the world can begin to gain faith in this country as the beautiful place it really is.   

p.s. No one has told Cori that he's staying home without us for 2 weeks...gracias to Jim and Gaya for allowing us to take this little adventure without Cori again!