She Said...

Did you happen to look around lately at the majestic mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental that embrace our beautiful Bay of Banderas? I ask this as I chuckle at the fact that once again, all of us who live here and have gotten to ‘know’ them, have been proven right. Ten days following the first real rains of the season, they have metamorphosed into the lush, verdant beauties we’ve come to love so much.

Ten days, that’s all it takes for Mother Nature to drink in the blessed rains that revive her from six months of dormancy, that help her blossom, so exuberantly. Even though I’ve been lucky enough to see it happen fourteen times now, it never ceases to amaze me. I just stand there, looking at them, admiring them, in awe. And I pray that some intelligent beings will appear to enact the laws and regulations needed to preserve them, to avoid any further damage at the hands of thoughtless, greedy developers.

On the clear nights between storms, the fireworks of the Marigalante are even brighter than usual. A couple of friends of ours who had never taken the evening cruise on that superb replica of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships, did, finally, after years of talking about it. The next day, they couldn’t stop talking about it… the fun, the music, the filet mignon and the jumbo shrimp and the wines… And I should tell you, these are two really picky gentlemen! It was all I could do not to tell them, “I told you so!”

We need to enjoy, folks. There’s just too much bad news around, and we cannot let it get us down. We need to do all we can to keep ourselves and our loved ones happy – and healthy.
Talking about which, according to an article that appeared last week in the Vallarta Opina, one of Puerto Vallarta’s top two dailies, the State’s public Health authorities have “strengthened” the measures they’re taking to combat the infamous dengue-carrying mosquito, with the “active participation” of volunteers and the local authorities – in order to involve the community in general. Words are all well and good, but they still haven’t managed to force the owners of a quasi-abandoned condominium project near my place, whose pool has been filled with stagnant water for over a year now, to drain that source of infestation. And this despite repeated requests. I wonder what one has to do to in order to get some sort of “active” response from all these eloquent authorities.

Still on health-related matters, did you catch that bit on the news last week, about the benefits of coffee? Well, it seems that the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that coffee lowers heart risk and overall death rate. “Drinking up to six cups of coffee a day may lower the overall odds of dying prematurely, mainly because it cuts the risk of dying from heart disease.” But the study found that heavy coffee drinking doesn't cut your chance of dying from cancer.

The study examines the relationship between coffee and mortality. It is based on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. The men were followed for 18 years, the women for 24 years.
The results show that as coffee consumption increases, the overall risk of death decreases. The association is explained mostly by a decrease in CVD deaths. Women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day, for instance, had a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers. Hmmm… good to know for anyone who loves coffee as much as I do.

If I could have one good double espresso every day, I would be a very happy camper indeed. On the other hand, it’s my fault if I don’t. I’m just too lazy to go through the hassle to use my espresso machine… Did you ever notice how absolutely delightful the youngsters working at the Starbucks locations are? All of them, so friendly, so polite, so nice and helpful. I tip my hat to the people who hired them.

I enjoy one particular blend of their coffee, but they were all out of it when I went in to the downtown location to buy some one night. One of the young ladies took it upon herself to call the Peninsula branch. They had some. She offered to pick up a couple of bags for me on her way to work the next day. Now I think that was super nice on her part, don’t you agree? She didn’t have to do that. We’ve been friends ever since.

I just don’t get the whole hoopla with that Kopi Luwak coffee from Indonesia, the one featured in “The Bucket List”, made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet. I’ve seen it at Starbucks, but I never checked to see how much it cost. Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound, mainly in Japan and the U.S. According to The Gospel According to Starbucks, only 1,000 pounds (450 kg) at most make it into the world market each year. It sells for $50.00 a cup… I think I’ll pass.

We all went out to celebrate Father’s Day at Café des Artistes ‘cause that is where this particular daddy wanted to go. Good choice! Though it’s not the kind of place we mere mortals frequent on a regular basis, it is very nice indeed to be waited upon in the manner of royalty. And the food… well, we all know about the food at this internationally-renowned dining establishment. Few are willing to treat their clientele to Valrhona grand chocolat and Illy espresso… Yet one more way to pamper ourselves, to enjoy life. At the risk of being a tad too repetitive: we need to do that, live as if today were our last. Just look around. We don’t even know what awaits us around the corner, never mind down the road.

About faraway places, the folks at the Tourism Promotion department have been in the news again. Seems that Boss Francisco Salas has been making an extra effort since last year to promote our town in Europe and South America. The latter I can understand. After all, they all speak Spanish except for the Brazilians, but Europe? Without any promotional material in French, Italian, or German? Oh, well.

My heart goes out to the folks along the mighty Mississippi River. They're not responsible for causing Mother Nature's wrath. Why doesn't she go after the culprits? Now there's a thought... Wouldn't that be great, if she only targeted those responsible for doing all that damage to her... Let’s just hope the rains don’t do too much damage around our little corner of the world.The Summer Solstice for 2008 has come and gone. Although our days will be getting shorter from now until December, our sunsets promise to be spectacular. So have fun, keep healthy and happy, and do take care of yourselves and of each other. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com