January 17, 2009

Well, it's officially my last day in Mexico.

It is 1:00 a.m. here and we've just returned from a visit to the hot springs. Mitch took me there during the first couple of days I was in Troncones and what a gift to get to go again on my last night! It is such a magical place....you leave the highway and bump along a very rural "road" for a few minutes before you arrive in a clearing where there stands a cluster of palms. The palms line the banks of a shallow river that you walk across and then it's just up a very small hill to the oasis that is a natural hot springs coming from a source higher up the hill. The higher you climb the hill...the hotter the pools become but the one that we visited is the largest (it's been helped along a little with a few sandbags to shore up one side so the pool is about 3 feet deep). It is so beautiful when you realize that the only light source you have is the stars overhead that peek through the palm fronds until Mitch lights the tea lights he's brought along with him and then it becomes downright magical!! What a perfect way to end my last day here......

Actually, the entire day has been pretty perfect. Had a great spinach and mushroom omelet at Cafe Sol this morning with Lynda, Lindsay and Jared and then stopped by Roberto's as Lynda had made arrangements for Lindsay, Jared and Viri to go for a horseback ride on the beach. As Lynda's luck would have it....the horse guy brought an extra horse and so there was nothing she could do but.....hop aboard and join her kids for an adventure on the playa (beach). It would have all been a good thing except that she had not planned for horseback riding and so her bare feet in flip flops and her dress (which means she had nothing to protect her inner thighs from getting seriously rubbed) and ... this part is maybe the best of all.....no bra.....creates quite a picture huh?! I'll jump to the end of this story and just say that she survived the ordeal and I give her total credit for giving it a go. She did end up walking part way back but all in all....I'd say she earned some major points with her kids today!!

While Lynda was off pretending to be a Lady Godiva look alike....I was sitting on the beach meeting some new people who were just up from Ixtapa for the day and wishing they didn't have to go back to their all inclusive. That's a pretty common conversation here...people stumble across Troncones from their vacation in Ixtapa and before you know it...they're converted to Tronconians.....must be something in the water here! Anyway.....I visited with my new friends until Lynda and the rest of the gang returned from their ride. Of course their ride was hot and dusty so there was nothing else to do but order a bucket of beer and then we just had to sit down to drink it and then of course it was important to have some guacamole to go with it and by the time the guacamole arrived.....yes you guessed it...the beer was gone and so we just had to order another bucket and so the afternoon progressed....it was yummy!!

I had to cut my participation in the 'after ride party' a little short .... but for good reason. I had booked myself a massage with Maribel and all I will say about that is that it is a good thing that I didn't do it sooner during my time here or I wouldn't have been able to control the urge to visit her for a daily treatment. It was an hour and a half of pure bliss....with the ocean waves as the background music for my heavenly session with Mirabel.....aaaahhhhhhhh........

I crawled off the table and guess who crawled on right behind me.....yep.....Lynda was next in line and so she too had an hour and a half of heaven right there at oceanside.

Tonight, we went to Roberto's for dinner and in my typical lucky fashion, I was treated to a wonderful send off that included: Lynda, Mitch, Viri, Lindsay, Jared, Connie, Maureen, Roberto, Bertha, and Jose. Limon, Beto and Jeff from Juno all arrived a little later so the party just kept on growing. It was a great party and I got to have my coconut shrimp for dinner and then afterward discovered that Viri had made arrangements for us to have a flan for dessert. She had ordered the flan from Rufie's and it was amazingly delicious and there was more than enough for everyone. In addition, Mitch had contributed wine for the table so it was a very festive evening all the way round.

And...that's about the end of the story as I started with the end of the evening at the top of this blog....our visit to the hot springs. It's been a wonderful 70 days in Mexico. I am so lucky and I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you on this, my first blog. Thanks for reading along and I look forward to the next time I set out on a new adventure that I can share with you all again.

Till next time,
Lorrie