Archive for December, 2004
My good friend Molly invited Justin Pass, Marcia and I to go on The Los Veranos Canopy Tour: a zip line adventure course, just south of Mismaloya, guided by her husband Lalo. We had a great time and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I am not actually scared of heights. I did scream like a little baby on the first of the scariest zip lines, but after I realized that it was the acceleration that was really scaring me, I began to enjoy the height and the scenery.
Here are some more photos.
The tour basically went back and forth over a very tall gorge. One of the zip lines was 1300 feet long and 350 feet tall. that was the one that I screamed the loudest and enjoyed the most. Lalo was a great host and guia (guide) and I owe Molly big time for getting me to come out to the tour.
you know when you get that feeling about someone? i have that feeling. this photo was taken at Las Carmelitas, a beautiful little shanty shack restaurant, way above Vallarta. gorgeous view, don’t you think? Like Stevie says: isn’t she lovely…
Wednesday, Dec 29th, 2004
Categories: surfing
The Pass’ and the Smits came to town for the holidays and while they were here I taught Brian and Justin how to surf. This is a shot of us at Playa Destiladeras before making the long trek down the beach to “Dinosaurs”. not many good waves there this time of year, but perfect for beginners.
For Christmas, my mom gave me Kiteboarding lessons and yesterday was my first class. My teacher is a world class windsurfer and kiteboarder, his name is Jorge Tarzan (as in “George of the Jungle”). The class was awesome. I learned how to fly several different kinds of kites, large and small and learned the zen artistry behind trying to fly a kite that can lift you 50 feet off the ground, while trying to stay attached to a surfboard, while navigating on water. Well actually, I haven’t made it onto the board yet, but Jorge had me take the kite out into the water so i could have it drag me around for awhile and I was surprised at how much easier it is to fly in the water, then it is on the beach.
Tomorrow is my next lesson and we’ll probably go directly to getting on the board, in the water. Jorge says I’m a natural at this. I can’t wait to get out there and learn tricks. here are some great photos that i found online.
this is the kite. looks small, but this thing was intense. at least 8 feet across.
Saturday, Dec 25th, 2004
Categories: Uncategorized
Happy X-mas / Chanukah / Kwanzaa / Pagean / Vegetarian / what-ever-you-call-it Holidays!
All is well, down here in mexicoland. it’s a bit cold today, like 70 degrees, i’m in a long sleeve t-shirt (again) with a layered polo-ish looking shirt layered over it. believe that?! the horror. the fam and I are doing a “simple” christmas this year where we only buy/make each other one present. we’ll see who breaks the rules and who doesn’t. we actually have a christmas tree but it’s our first fake tree and for all those of you thinking about making the jump to the fake side, DON’T, I literally had to pose every “branch”. but it does look pretty cool for a fake tree though. We’re having a 25 person extravaganza tonight, every orphaned gringo in Bucerias will be here tonight to help us celebrate. Hopefully I’ll be able to get away from the hussle and bussle of setting up, to catch the decent swell that will be peaking at noon, ah yes, surfing on Chistmas day, sorry kids, but it beats the snow any day!
So I’d like to take a moment just to say that I love you all and care about you and hope that you’re well and happy where ever you may be.
muchos besos,
// edmundo
Giving the San Francisco bay area a run for it’s money, Vallarta has been experiencing the worst case of latent low hanging cold cloudy funkiness for the past week. At present it’s 70 degrees and super cloudy. DO YOU KNOW WHAT 70 DEGREES WILL DO TO A PERSON WHO IS USED TO LIVING IN A TROPICAL HUMID CLIMATE? it’ll drive you in-@#&$-sane! I went to the beach yesterday and the temperature topped out at 80 degrees at 1:00pm and then the clouds rolled in, heavier then they already were and my beach day got the KIBOSH put on it, Jimmy “Super Fly” Snucka style. I feel sorry for all the gringos, like my sister, that are down here to catch some good weather and they could be in the bay area where at least there is a good restaurant on every corner.
(L) Marcia y (R) Edmundo
It’s mid-december now and there’s a slight chill in the air, I can actually wear a long sleeve shirt at night and sleeping with all the windows and doors open is no longer an utter necessity but a good way to catch a cold. The humidity and heat of the summer that makes Vallarta feel like a dense sweaty jungle has given way to an arid heat during the day and dry, brisk, breezy nights reminding me of the desert outside of Los Angeles. The lush, wet, green vegetation is now brown and scraggly. and where roads were once land mines of puddles and rivers now only inches of dust and rock remain. The fine gritty polvo (dust) now covers everything and the road side cocinas (dusty chicken vendors) constantly spray the roads with water to keep the dust from covering the food.
This is My Empire of Dust.
Monday, Dec 20th, 2004
Categories: working
So we’ve been working hard lately on finishing up the remodeling job in La Cruz. The client came into town Saturday and I spent most of last week making sure the crew was working hard to finish things up, as much as possible. We planted the garden on thursday and what a sight it is. The client showed up Saturday and all hell proceeded to break loose. Suffice to say that this client is crazier then I care to mention here on the world wide super info net. Things culminated yesterday with a rude call from the client to my house in which she yelled at my father, presuming it was me, because she had no hot water. My father tried to reason with her and when that didn’t work, he hung up on her. So mom had to go to La Cruz this morning to face the music and I’m still not sure, as of right now, how things turned out. I had to go with Pinky, today, to sign my working visa and get finger printed and then I was supposed to go to La Cruz today to over see the jardinero who is laying in the “pasto en rollo” (rolls of pre-grown grass), when I called mom she pretended like all was good and then whispered in the phone, in the infamous “I’m-far-too-pissed-to-be-acting-this-nice” voice to not come to La Cruz today. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. mom’s cell phone is kicking over to her voice mail. So I assume all is not well.
In the end, it just sucks that we are doing such a beautiful job and the person we are doing it for will never be able to fully appreciate it.
Monday, Dec 20th, 2004
Categories: food
My new favorite drink. One part rum and one part sparkling mineral water with a splash of coke: The Ron Pintado. Pinky introduced me to this wonderful low sugar tasty beverage. It’s perfect for nights out on the town when you want to pace yourself and make sure you drink enough water. and that little splash of coke adds just enough sugar to sweeten things but not enough to give you that hung-over feeling the next day like the Ron Pintado cousin beverage the Cuba Libre (rum and coke w/ lime).
Tuesday, Dec 14th, 2004
Categories: my photos
Marcia and I at Playa Descondida in Pazquaritos, just outside of Sayulita. This photo was taken by my sister and über-photographer Beth Fladung (and photo touch up work by myself, because Beth is such a good photographer she can’t figure out how to operate a point-n-shoot).
This picture we took ourselves after a short photo shoot with Beth, today at Destiladeras, where my eyes look terrible in every shot because it’s bright and I have very sensitive blue eyes. So this one is us with me (and my sunglasses) and Marcia looking stunning as always:
Here are some photos from a night out in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, a beautiful little town just north of Bucerias. On Saturday nights we like to go to a cute little taco joint that we call “tacos in the street” because the tables are literally in the street. The tacos are the best in mexico for sure.
Today I ran errands all day in Vallarta with Marcia, tying up the loose details for a remodeling project I am doing for a client in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. The past few days of last week and today, Marcia and I have been running these errands, getting a ton of stuff done. Running errands in any country can be tedious but I’ve been having tons of fun with Marcia, the errands are painless and they allow us to spend quality time together and be productive at the same time. Marcia is a very pragmatic chick and she likes to multi-task so helping me and my pigeon spanish speaking self out is a natural for her. And she gets to laugh on an hourly basis as we go to each new place and I start trying to communicate and she laughs at me for asking for 5 large chickens (”gallones” as in “gah-yones”) of outdoor sealer instead of 5 gallons (galones). She says she can see my spanish improving day by day. Marcia has been helping me with my terrible accent, getting me to accentuate the proper words and to develop a sense of flow in a sentence. We play with spanish and english like pieces of putty, creating new levels of intimacy in our relationship. People always told me the best way to learn a language is with a new lover.
Those people were very wise.
It’s Sunday night and my sister, Beth, arrived last night from big, bad New York City. The parents had a little birthday function to go to, so Marcia, Beth and I went out to dinner at Mark’s, the local posh eatery. The girls had a ricotta and goat cheese ravioli with a great sage butter sauce. I had a macadamia nut crusted red snapper with a thai peanut sauce. It’s giving me a stomach now, so I just a had a delicious slice of apple pie and a scoop of real vanilla ice cream to soothe my poor stomach.
The point of this story is that as I write this entry, Marcia is sitting next to me on my bed, looking over my shoulder. I’ve asked her to write an entry for me, even in spanish. of nothing in particular, just to say “hi” or describe something she casually likes about me, but she’s feeling a bit reluctant and shy at the moment, so this entry will have to do. Maybe in the future she’ll outgrow her shyness and write an entry for me. Just between you and me, I hope to have her join me on this weblog thing, now and then, so we can document our life together (so far). that would be very cool and very very romantic. no?
So I guess this will have to do for now. So “hi” from me. and “hi” from Marcia. I’m gonna go now, so I pay some attention to that soft, sweet smelling girl sitting next to me.
adios,
// edmund
ps. most gringos pronounce “adios” as in “adi-os”, but it’s really pronounced like “ah-dios”. as in “to the gods” - so now you know!
Here are some photos from my trip to the nameless beach with Marcia, Pinky and Maria Inez:
[ link to photo set ]
At the 3 month mark, mexico has been a truly incredible experience and continues to get richer and more varied by the day. Through the ups and downs, mexico is a wonderfully chaotic and anarchic dreamscape. When I go to sleep, I never know what i’ll wake up to the next day. and i like it this way.
edmund y marcia
photo set
the first rule of Secret Surf Spot is that there is no Secret Surf Spot.
Hence, you shall not know the name of this beach. I am now considering myself a local. this beach shall rename nameless.
This was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. The waves were 6 feet high, not too powerful, but nice rides with 3 different breaking points. the only drawback was that the day i went, the water was literally infested with Malaguas (jellyfish) and I got lightly stung around my forearm and small stings all over my hands.
But it was sooooooo worth it.
part 1:
As I’ve been in Mexico, everybody and their brother has tried to hook me up with their niece or friend or cute girl down the street at the coffee shop. and every time i’ve said yes (all 3) have turned into complete disasters. Combine those experiences with a really bad relationship I had, about 3 years ago, with a girl from guadalajara (the daughter of one of our neighbors} and that spells “Ed doesn’t do blind dates and hook ups.” Yeah, I’m sure your friend is cute, but I’m just not into it, thank you.
part 2:
So this chick I know, Pinky, she works for a lawyer’s office in Bucerias and helps gringos out with visas and stuff like that. She’s a sweet chick about my age. My mom asks her about once a month to set me up with one of her friends and sometime even in front of me. I roll my eyes and tell her not to listen to mom. So about two weeks ago, we go to Pinky’s office and Pinky tells me she wants to introduce me to her friend and that she’s on vacation from Guadalajara and thinks we would be good together. I was really shy about it and basically told Pinky that I’m sure her friend was cool and all, but I didn’t want to put myself in that kind of situation again. Pinky doesn’t seem like she understands me and I have to go, so I leave the office. A few days later I see her driving with her friend, I don’t get a good look at her, but I can see Pinky pointing to emphatically like “Hey dumb-ass look what you missed out on!”. And so a few days after that, I see Pinky at the bank (this is a very small town) and Pinky says to me, so look what about my friend? and I say to her that i’m just shy and that i didn’t mean to insult her or her friend and that I’m just not into the hook up thing but that i’ll stop by her office sometime to talk about it, since I’m in the process of getting my working visa. A week or so passes and I go to Pinky’s office to give her the passport photos she needs for the visa. and she’s not there so I talk with her husband Indalucio. He calls her to let her know that I came by and she asks me to wait for her because she’ll be back in 5 minutes. Indalucio and I haven’t really met before this and he asks if i’m a surfer and of course I say yes and we talk about the current swell that’s coming in right now. he’s a boogieboarder. and he shows me a really cool website for determining swell patterns, while we wait for Pinky to arrive.
A pedantic note here: I thought that Pinky’s friend was on vacation for a week, and by now she has surely gone back to Guadalajara. I am not in her office to be hooked up.
So Pinky returns with the most beautifully stylish mexicana. shoulder length brown hair with red highlights, shorter in the back fading to longer in front. an amazing red skirt with funky embroidery. this girl has STYLE. believe me, this is something new for me. most of the chicks with style, in Vallarta, have that house club 1995 hip chick look. Stylish enough to be in the glossies, but no one is on the cutting edge. this chick was so so subtly on that edge I thought she was european, I was like “Pinky! why aren’t you hooking me up with your co-worker!” And she introduces me to Marcia (as in Maaaaaarrrzya), her way-beyond-cute friend who has moved here to Bucerias from Guadalajara. And they want to learn how to surf, so can I teach them? and Pinky can’t go today, so if I’m going, can Marcia come with me? I’m like suuuuuuuuuure.
And so for the past five nights, Marcia and I have been hanging out. and little by little getting to know each other. Last night we made dinner together at her apartment: a nice pasta with homemade primavera sauce with fresh broccoli. and a salad with my own special dressing, that we were both too full to eat.
so before I geek out and get too cheesy, the point of this story is that after having such bad experiences with the “i wanna hook you up with my friend” crowd, meeting this girl was totally unexpected. and delightful. we’ll see where it goes….
Life seems to happen in the strangest ways.
I had dinner with a rather sweet mexican chick tonight. We met unexpectedly, through a mutual friend. we went surfing at Burros, the waves were rather big and she wasn’t able to make it out to the break zone, so we paddled back to the beach and she watched the surfers and a pretty good sunset while I braved the surf. and then we had dinner at The Mango Grill in La Cruz. They serve the best Spinach Salad. It was very nice. She reminded me just a wee bit of an old friend of mine. she’s slightly sassy and sophisticated, but subtly so. not flashy and she’s easy on the eyes. Lived in Italy (speaks spanish, english and italian) and traveled around Europe by herself. She’s a quality chick for sure. I’m gonna teach her to surf, tomorrow possibly, in Sayulita. so, it was an interesting first date. we’ll have to see….
moms n pops are in Mexico City for 5 days or so. and I have the place all to myself. woo-hoo! slight tone of sarcasm here, for those that don’t know me, i really only have 2 friends here, so the idea of throwing a party is not feasible unless said party involves a mellow night of Boggle. It’s been an interesting couple of days. The last time they left town, I couldn’t really do any work without mom. I’d eat alone at some roadside taco joint and I felt disconnected from Mexico. This time I seem to be keeping myself busy with myriad work things to do and meeting new people, seeing friends and surfing etc.. Basically, I’m learning to experience Mexico on my own terms now, whereas in the beginning my experience was heavily influenced by my parents. It’s nice to regain some of the independence I had in LA. I really am making a home for myself. I think in a few months I’ll be ready to move out on my own.
i live in Bucerias, Mexico.
On my street, there is a busted water pipe that is slowly leaking “agua negra,” sewer water on to my street. it’s been this way for 2 weeks. I have been to SIAPA. the water municipality. twice. and still the water seeps onto the street, made of dirt and cobblestone. the water has penetrated the dirt and now the street is black and smells like a combination of dirty toilet and laundry soap.
And even through all this, I love Mexico. a truly 3rd world country.
