She Said...

This time around, I would like to share with you certain statements made by people who contribute to this publication from time to time. As I have often mentioned in the past, I do depend to a great extent on input from such people. Not everything is published in the local daily papers, so here goes:

On the subject of the varying exchange rates offered in our town, one lady by the name of Pam Thompson received $10.99 Pesos for a US Dollar last week. Our friend T. J. posted a couple of interesting observations… He talked to someone who exchanged dollars for pesos in Chicago, before coming down here. They got 9.65 for an exchange rate. At the casa de cambio in the airport, they got 10.10. He noticed that the casas de cambio in town varied between 10.20 and 10.50. HSBC bank was 10.58, while Santander was 10.52. All on the same day. He also overheard someone ask a taxi driver at the curb (at the airport) for the price to Paradise Village. He told them 450 pesos for 2 people. The taxi booth inside the airport has the rate posted as 225 pesos for up to 3 people (not per person).

For my part, I noticed that many of those exchange booths I pass during my «newspaper route» have finally realized that the Canuck Superbuck is worth more than the U.S. Dollar… It’s about time.

With regard to that shift in the value of the dollars, I thought that this would bring about an increase in the number of Canadian tourists coming down to Mexico. However, I might be wrong in that assumption. I recently read that their numbers would DEcrease, anywhere between 15 and 20%! It appears that this would be due to the couple of Canadians who were murdered in Cancun and the young man who lost his life in Acapulco. Sounds like the Canadian government is following the example set by CNN… If we depended on that network for the truth, we would be led to think that Cancun, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta are all within an hour’s drive of each other. Consequently, many Canadians believe that Mexico (as a whole, the entire country) is not safe to visit. To quote Paul, «Of course, it is ridiculous to generalize about a country as large and diverse as Mexico. But, perceptions in tourism often matter more than reality.» Couldn’t have said it better myself, Paul.

The other evening, a bunch of us went for dinner at Boca Bento (super yummy, finger lickin’ great fare!) One of us parked in the Lazaro Cardenas garage. Yes, it is true that the sign says open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., but that is not accurate, as he found out to his great disappointment. So beware or be aware: if you try to leave at 10:58 p.m., you will not be allowed to do so …unless you pay for an entire night’s parking, i.e.: an extra $64. Pesos! I’m sorry, but that really baffles me. Why oh why would the operators of that garage set hours that are so out of sync with those of all the excellent restaurants around it?

I had a «revelation» of sorts the other day. It suddenly dawned on me that one of the reasons why we see so many young mothers, grandmothers and big brothers carrying little ones in their arms in this town …is because of the cobblestones and the lack of sidewalks in the areas surrounding the center of town. It is quasi impossible to push a stroller, with a little one in it, along those cobblestones. Sure, it can be done, but no one would want to put a tike through such agony – even if the money needed to purchase the stroller were of no consequence.

On the other hand, I have the highest respect for all those young ladies who do walk around so effortlessly in those high stiletto-type heels. I’ve been wearing wedge heels since moving to Vallarta, but the other day, my dog ate one of them – of my favorite pair. So with no suitable shoes to suit what I was wearing, I resuscitated a 15-year-old pair of real high heels. All I can say is that I’m glad no one saw me try to walk in them…

I don’t have much space this week as all sorts of stuff kept on being sent in, filling up the pages faster than we could lay them out. So, have a fabulous week, check out all the special Thanksgiving Dinners being offered around town, keep well, and I’ll see you Tuesday night for a fun Bingo night! Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com