Monday 2/15-Thursday 2/18 ... where did the time go?

We had a good flight from Chicago; the plane left almost an hour late but the flight crew managed to make up the time while also getting us around a wide variety of bumpy-air opportunities.  The flight deck was very communicative, which assisted the passengers in being very cooperative.  Nice!

We piled into a van and discovered the massive transformation that's happened here since 2012.  No longer does one simply drive up and get dropped off.  There is a l-o-n-g and winding road (seriously, gotta be a mile) through lush landscaping and the occasional large construction site.  The trees and other foliage are so thick you can't glimpse the buildings that you KNOW are out there "somewhere."

Once we arrived at the designated drop-off place (pretty much a huge bus shed), our suitcases were tucked into a canvas-shrouded cart which was sealed with a security-coded zip tie.  The number of the canvas shroud was also noted on our claim slip.  We're to schlep over to our building and, once a room is assigned, call for luggage delivery.

Well, of course we still have our carry-ons 'cuz they have minor conveniences like our ID and credit card.  A l-o-n-g walk later, we finally arrive at checkin around 4P, to discover that our room won't be ready until the designated hour of 5PM.  We ramble over to the lobby bar ... where they're mixing up good Margaritas and it's 2-for-1.  Salvation!

An interesting twist on resort ID this year -- programmed wrist tags that open your door and also identify you for purposes of charging items to your room. No more wondering where to put that little piece of plastic!  Once upstairs, the luggage arrived quite promptly.

As usual on Day 1, we dined at the venue; in this case a nice setting right beside the pool.  The menu options were quite varied, and we'd purchased a coupon package that covered a starter, an entree, and dessert.  We ordered salads to start, and frankly they would have sufficed quite nicely as dinner.  Entrees came and we took half home; then ordered up 2 cheesecake slices to go and split an interesting strawberry & mango concoction three ways to top off.

The next day, we made connections with a member of Martha's clan (she'll be our hostess up in Tepic) who kindly took us to Walmart to lay in groceries.  We had a nice easy list-maker as most of the Rick Bayless recipes we enjoy are now committed to Excel.  I took the produce list, Linda and Claudette handled general groceries & housewares.

Well.  Walmart that day.  Just tragic:  no serranos, no tomatillos, no oranges.  Half-a-dozen three-quarters dead, tiny Mexican zucchini.  REALLY?  It's Tuesday afternoon, for Pete's sake.  Met up with Linda, who found pepitas in produce this year (last time, they were in bar snacks), and we all moved towards the back of the store.  I was now to deal with finding green sauce (made from tomatillos), some missing herbs, and the protein purchases.

Patriotic Mexican Produce

Of course, not much meat is labelled as one might expect in the U.S., but I was able to snag some chicken breasts, what appeared to be pork shoulder, and skirt steak.  So far, so good.  But wait!  At the end of the refrigerated area, there's a huge dump table with a little ice remaining ... covered in cut-up chicken parts.  Naked to the world (and to the shoppers and no doubt to the occasional flying creature).  O.M.G.  Needless to say, I was NOT tempted to put back the nice shrink-wrapped package I had in the cart.

Some attractive spare parts

Our chauffeur was grabbing some dinner on his own, and we reconnected easily after remembering to tip the bagger (apparently baggers here work essentially for free, relying on the tips from customers for their real income!).  Back in the bus barn, our purchases were packed into 4 big totes plus the cooler that had come back to us from Tepic.  We whimpered some and got a golf cart ride back to our room.  The bellboy had a good time unloading all our produce, and even paid enough attention to the conversation to find the sanitizing solution in which all produce needs to soak.  That allowed me to soak lettuce for a base salad; we added last night's leftovers and had a fine meal...cheesecake for dessert! 


Wednesday we had our obligatory "free" breakfast and review of ownership, which turned out to be useful AND filling.  By the time we finally got back to the room, we really didn't need dinner!  Some nibbles and wine, and sweet sleep.

Now it's Thursday and the week's almost gone -- yikes!  Linda and Claudette did their thing down at the pool, while I cooked up the protein to be sure nothing went bad. We have poached chicken breasts and stewed pork awaiting finishing touches in the MUCH upgraded refrigerator.  Later we enjoyed arrachera with a zesty chile sauce, beans laced with onions & garlic, and pickled red onions for dinner.  Dessert was a casual strawberry-and-yogurt parfait, sprinkled with dark chocolate pieces.  Pretty good eating!

What's left to use

Having eaten early, we rambled over to the entertainment center, where a tightly-packed program of varied acts was planned.  A folklorico dance troupe was expected, but things must have changed as we saw a pop-song cover band, a pair of strength performers doing impossible things, a Cuban quintet in white patent-leather shoes, a "sand artist" who drew on backlit glass with her hands and (yeah) sand, and a crooner who meandered around involving just about everyone in the audience at one point or another.  Enjoyable, if not what we came for.  And, oh dear, 2-for-1 Margaritas again (though the ones at the lobby bar, AND the snacks there, were MUCH better).

Now it's Friday, and the well-traveled cross-stitch piece is beginning to fill out.  We're not done yet though...more tomorrow!