Boca Chica, baby
So, yeah, the noise won and we moved. We didn’t go far, though, just about a kilometer away, and to an all-inclusive resort on the beach. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All-inclusive. It wasn’t a terrible price considering there was going to be four of us for a while, and it included food (yay!) and alcohol (don’t care). I haven’t quite figured out what the majority of the clientele is. Definitely Spanish-speaking, but I haven’t a clue from where. Not many gringos, but there was an entire college baseball team from a uni in Pennsylvania our first night. I didn’t seen them again since they were in their uniforms at breakfast the next morning. Maybe they’d finished up their games and headed home.
The beach is nice, and the sunrises outstanding!
The sunsets aren’t terrible either.
So what’s my take overall after two nights? I’m indifferent. On the plus side, it’s on the beach with decent chairs. The food is decent. It’s an easy walk to the dive shop. On the negative side, my room has no hot water, the AC drips a huge puddle in just a few minutes, and it’s damn near as noisy as the apartment was, with a stage and nightly effing shows about 30 meters away. I guess I’m old, and don’t appreciate the boom boom boom of techno-latin at midnight in my room. I’m sure other rooms are better situated regarding noise and have their amenities fully functional, I’ve just been lucky that way. As for the maintenance issues, I’ve whinged at the desk a couple of times, but I’m getting the idea they don’t care. A few words to placate me and get me gone, and poof! out of mind. Vegas has the odds of either issue getting addressed at 60:1 against.
So, yeah, I’m resigned to cold water showers for the next couple of days. As long as I get all hetted up outside in the sun beforehand, it’s not bad. We’re booked here until Saturday with the weekend open. The -cub is talking about taking a road trip to another town for the a couple of nights. The posse will decide; I’m along to drive and pay, apparently. We’re definitely staying in the original apartment Tuesday night, though, for convenience to the airport, since we then start trickling out of the country beginning early Wednesday. Might be two nights since it’s got good WiFi, and one of the kids needs to do some remote work. Sucker.
The she-cub is progressing nicely on her way to her PADI Open Water certification, and she’ll wrap it up today. I think we’ve created a monster. She’s already talking about getting a dive computer. Whee. Nothing like getting hooked on an expensive hobby when one doesn’t have income. I found it interesting the dive shop only takes credit card payments if they can add a 28% surcharge. That’s steep. I went to the ATM around the corner instead. Most places here would rather take cash than a card, and almost all charge something extra, but 28% sounds a bit over the top.
I’m going to tag along on her final dive. I haven’t been below the surface since I did a dive in Tahiti a bit over a year ago. It’ll be good to go again even if my once burning with the fury of a thousand suns-hot enthusiasm for the sport has waned. Need to keep pushing and doing and going and seeing, right? Otherwise, I may as well be sitting in a rocking chair just waiting to die.
The dogs and cats on the property are nice, too. There is a pack of dogs that roam and carouse on the beach during the day. They’re all friendly, and sleep in the shade under the chairs. As for the cats, I’ve made a friend of one. He’s a youngster I’m calling Mongo. He hung out with me for a bit.
Last night I saw him on our way back from dinner. He mewed at me in that high-pitched kitty voice and I stopped to give him a scritch. He took it as an invitation to play, since as I started to walk away, he launched himself at my leg and foot. Ha! I still retain my ninja-like reflexes, because I stopped abruptly, and he missed, sailing past my foot, forelegs and claws outstretched. Yeah, that’d be just what I need as I leave: Cat Scratch Fever. I thought about linking to the song, but Nugent is whackadoodle, and I’ll not.
Be kind and take care of yourselves. If you can, care for someone else, too.
Slang, out.
Sleeping in the shade and under cars is ok.