She Said...

September 2, 2007

Tropical "depression" Dean has left Mexico, finally. Following its departure, the skies over Puerto Vallarta were once again a deep, deep blue, the sun shone brilliantly, but the waters in the Bay of Banderas looked like a well-made frappuccino, thanks to all the silt and such that Dean washed into the rivers that pour into the Bay.

In the past, much of that silt/earth/whatever was held in place by the root system of the plentiful old trees that surrounded the town. Now, with all the new construction around, the rains just rush over the concrete and cement, sweeping with them everything they encounter along the way. Sometimes, it goes into people's houses before reaching the Bay…

I can't complain. I'm lucky to have Carlos as a friend. He's my neighbor who runs a cleaning company, and he came over the very next day after Dean's visit, and got rid of all the caked mud and silt that covered the floor of my house. It took him and his workers a day and a half, but now my son tells me that my house is "cleaner than it's been in 13 years." It may very well be. The only souvenir I will have will be the legs of the wooden dining room table I purchased in Cuanajo, Michoacan, a couple of years ago, two thick, solid wood pedestal thingamajigs, carved and painted. Now that they've had a chance to dry out, they've split.

My kitties were perched on top of my sofa when the waves entered my house. On the other hand, my dogs had a blast cavorting in the mud-filled waves… I guess they wouldn't "fit in" with Leona Helmsley's dog very well. Did you read that, according to her will, her little Maltese gets $12 Million while two of her grandchildren get nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate? She also wrote that her mausoleum must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." The "Queen of Mean" who was once quoted as snarling "Only the little people pay taxes" left behind no less than $3 Million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County! I'm sure that Carlos would be very happy to get that contract…

This week marks the 2^nd anniversary of Katrina and the devastation she caused two years ago. As I said, I can't complain.

By the way, for those of you who are thinking of visiting the beautiful state of Michoacan one day, and especially the area around Lake Patzcuaro (famous for its Day of the Dead celebrations), I highly recommend you make time to spend in Cuanajo. That's where the artisans make all the beautiful carved and painted furniture, chairs, tables, hangings, etc. you see in some of the better restaurants, hotels and condos in Vallarta - and all over the country.

Getting back to the complaining thing, my friend who went out to Pitillal the other day complained vociferously as she related to me how she had to take her 4-year old niece to the washroom in the new underground parking garage that replaced the once-upon-a-time park in the main square there, the largest suburb of Puerto Vallarta. The whole parking area was flooded …but the washrooms were clean. What surprised me too was when she told me that she had to pay 3 Pesos to get toilet paper PRIOR to entering a stall. 3 Pesos! An entire roll doesn't cost more than 4 Pesos, and that's for those soft, double-ply, 500-sheet jobs. I would complain too. What do you do if you have no small change, but a serious urge to use the facilities? That happened to me once, at the airport in Rome, Italy, many, many moons ago, in my "other" life. I ran to the washroom and into a cubicle, only to find out -too late- that there was no paper there. One had to "purchase" it before going in. I hadn't noticed the attendant sitting there, with the six little squares in one hand and the other hand outstretched, waiting for some coins. I wonder if those attendants laugh at those of us who whiz past them without paying for the paper…

Lucero, our astrology guru, is back in PV, and so is his horoscope column, in this issue. He’s even started his own “Ask…” section, like Mama D.’s …but different. That should be fun.

And talking about heavenly bodies, I understand that there was a total lunar eclipse last Tuesday night, August 28/29, but the skies over Vallarta were overcast, so we didn’t get to admire what was announced as the longest such event in no less that seven years: a full hour and 30 minutes … Not that I would have gotten up at 4:50 a.m. to watch it anyway.

posted by Anna Reisman @ 5:21 PM