Getting There

A journey often starts before a person steps out their front door. And this trip was no exception. Of course, there are the months of planning. Of internet searches about where to go and where to stay when you get there. And what the possible activities are once you get to your destination. After some negotiations between Rudy and me and talks with friends and family we decided to spend the first of our two travel months in San Miguel de Allende. We learned it was a beautiful colonial city with loads of visual art, dance and music. The climate was moderate (with cool nights and sunny warm days) and perhaps an important factor was that neither Rudy or I had been there so it was a place we could both experience for the first time. The second month we would spend in Sayulita. My brother Wes lives there with his partner Bridget as well as one of their daughters, Tessa and her children Luca and Chia. Tessa’s sisters and their families would be there as well during some of the winter months. Also Augusta and James and their sweet son, Callum (my grandson) would be staying in Sayulita for January and February.

But, before I get further, I need to start with the night before our departure. Amidst the frantic washing of floors, emptying of dresser drawers and making of lists in preparation for the young refugee man who was arriving to stay at my place, I periodically tried to check in for our first leg of the journey to Edmonton (on our way to Puerta Vallarta). To make a long story shorter and an even more frustrating evening abbreviated, Rudy and I found that our flight to Edmonton was cancelled and I had never received notification of this. Phone calls, waiting in queues, internet searches for alternate flights and finally a realization that we would pay just as much to get to Edmonton the next day for our connecting flight than to book a direct flight to Puerto Vallarta. So, we bit the bullet and bought a direct flight for the morning.

We ferried ourselves in on Saturday morning to Ana and Carlo’s and Ana drove us to the airport. The flight was uneventful other than we both had middle seats so it wasn’t the most comfortable. Because of our evening arrival we decided not to try to head on to San Miguel de Allende (SMA) but rather take the bus to Sayulita. There we would stay in the loft at James and Augusta’s place and decide how to proceed from there. It would also give me a chance to offload the baby food (half of my suitcase) and some random presents for Callum (after all I had not seen him for a week and I needed to bring him a little something). (Am I right, Gramas of the world?)

James picked us up at the bus station and we headed to James and Augusta’s place which, by the way is just across the street from Wes and Bridget and Tessa and Luca and Chia.

Although we were grateful to Gus and James to put us up, we basically slept just above them in a loft. Each and every baby sound (not to mention the snores and grunts of the adults) could be heard by all. After regrouping in the morning and checking flights to San Miguel we decided to stay until Tuesday and Wes (after broad hints from James and me) graciously “invited” us to sleep at his place for the next two nights. (Plans and adjustments are easy to make as it just requires a shout from one balcony to another.)

We spent Sunday and Monday listening to live music at a beach café, cuddling and playing with Callum, visiting with Wes and Bridget, (Rudy had a little jam session with them), and hanging out at the beach. (We also ran into Mark and Bonnie and the whole Loewen clan and spent some time with them.) It was a nice way to start the vacation but by Tuesday when we boarded the bus to Puerta Vallarta airport we were ready to get to our own place and set up house. We will be seeing all the Sayulita people in a month so we would get to enjoy them all later.

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