Our First Week

So, we've only been living in La Cruz for a grand total of 5 days, but we're already settling into our new digs nicely... I keep saying, "Vivo en La Cruz" to myself, but it still doesn't feel real yet.  I'm sure the fact that all of our friends and family are like 2,600 miles away will hit me soon enough and that may or may not come with a bout of homesickness, but for now...we're just in shock and awe that everything we've planned over the past 9 months has finally, and pretty seamlessly so far, fallen into place.  It's hard to feel sad over dreary Seattle when you're in a place this beautiful...

We're currently shacked up in "Jardines" one of the beachview casitas at Simply Baku for the off season and we're helping Marianne and her staff spruce up the place a bit over the summer.... Baku is already stunning, but Marianne wants to make it even better by giving it a bit of a "face lift" this summer before the busy season starts up again in the fall.  

Our casita is perfect and exactly what we need for right now.  It has a large kitchen overlooking the swimming pool in the front yard, two huge sliding glass doors that open up completely so during the day you feel like the inside and outside are one big space.  Every room is decorated with authentic Mexican decor, tiles and colors.  We also have our own covered, locked parking spot, we're surrounded in palm trees and tropical flowers...and Bloo totally loves his new home and new best friend, Pancho.  Todo bien en Casa Engvall. 

We arrived at Baku late Sunday evening to a generous spread of cold drinks, dinner and breakfast items for the following morning... Monday and Tuesday were spent unloading the van, unpacking, going to Mega (about the equivalent of Fred Meyer) and Walmart for groceries, food staples, dog food and household items.  Wednesday we made the 10 minute walk to the marina/fish market next door and bought 800 grams of camarones for about 148 pesos (almost two pounds of shrimp for about 8 bucks) and sauteed them up for dinner.  Last night we went to our favorite taco place in the entire world (Tacos on the Street!!) to celebrate our house funds (aka retirement funds) coming through....  

Today we made the 20 minute drive into Puerto Vallarta to pick up a few things at Home Depot and Ty wanted to check out Costco.  Funnily enough, when we walked into Costco this afternoon...I felt like I was back at home.  It looked exactly the same (minus the surfboard aisle, of course.)  The surprising thing about Costco here though, is that everything is the same price, if not more expensive than, back home.  Needless to say, we don't really have any reason to go there anymore...we can get everything we need closer to La Cruz for a better price.  (Which is fine with me, because I've always hated crowded, chaotic, sample-happy Costco!)

We've also been practicing our Spanish with flashcards, label stickers, workbooks and Google translate for an hour or two every day, and purposely ordering and speaking in (really bad) Spanish at restaurants, stores and with the staff at Baku.  And in an effort to live and thrive here long-term, Ty has quickly adopted the Mexican way of driving which is about the equivalent of "wingin' it."  As a person who likes organization and calm, the drivers and traffic "laws" here stress me the hell out.  Hopefully I get used to it quickly...

Tonight we decided to wander around the cobblestone streets of La Cruz until we find a bar with live music and pop in for some dinner and entertainment before coming home and falling asleep to waves crashing and birds chirping.  Yes, life is rough indeed!!  Adios!