She Said...

It all started when I had to go to Plaza Caracol in an Nth attempt to cash a check at Bancomer. I drove into the parking lot, took a ticket, parked the car and walked over to the bank. No luck – again. The line of people waiting to be attended to wound its way around the cordons, filled the bank, and spilled over to the sidewalk outside. No way. I don’t have time for that. So I walked back to the car and drove towards the exit. When I reached the booth, I handed my ticket along with a 10-peso coin to the young lady inside …and that’s when everything stopped.

People were running, screaming, past me. The robbers separated as they exited the lot; one went straight while the other turned towards the highway. The one who ran straight looked back, realized how many people were running after him, and threw the backpack he had stolen off someone onto the ground. The other one disappeared.

All the while, the young lady was petrified, still holding my ticket in her hand, her mouth gaping open. Once the first robber had been apprehended about a block up, she started breathing again. And then she turned to a companion who was in the booth with her, to express her emotions, her excitement, her fear, at what she had just witnessed. After a while, she remembered that she still had my ticket in her hand, gave me two pesos change, and I drove out.

The next day, the papers reported the incident. Turns out that there was around $ 20,000. US Dollars in pesos in the backpack those boys had stolen off a certain Luis Alberto Ayón, who had just left the bank.

Not only had they robbed the money, but they had also forced poor Señor Ayón to remove his shoes and his pants – at gunpoint - prior to taking his backpack! That explained why there was a semi-nude man running among the security guards and the other folks… This is one time we can say that “all’s well that ends well”.

While still on the topic of criminals… There was another fatal incident involving a Canadian tourist, this time in the resort town of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California. I guess that will clinch it as far as Canadian tourism to Mexico goes. After all, there was a tragedy in Cancun two years ago, then another in Acapulco a year ago, then one in Puerto Vallarta this past winter, and now the one in Cabo San Lucas. Now the Canadian authorities can scare their citizens from visiting Mexico, simply stating that such acts of violence (four to be exact) are commonplace because, after all, they happen from one end of the country to the other…
On to “lighter” matters, can anyone out there tell me what the story is with the lights they installed on the extension of the Malecon, on the south side? Those things have the intensity of searchlights, the kind they use to look for survivors in the black of night out on the open sea. At first, it was so dark there once the sun had set that residents complained for years to the authorities. The posts were there, but without lights. Now they’ve gone to the other extreme. If you haven’t done so recently, take a walk down there one night. You will be “blinded by the light” … literally.

I also received another interesting tidbit from one of our readers. It appears that taking photographs anywhere near or in the Costco store is VERBOTEN! (That’s “prohibited” for those of you who are not familiar with the German word.) No kidding. This young man had gone out to take pictures of trees around town. Walking along the Fluvial boulevard-promenade, he got to Costco, where he wanted to take a photo of the tree in the parking lot. Oh, no! A security guard promptly approached him to inform him that this was not allowed. He seriously thought the guard would confiscate his camera, or at least make him erase the photo …but he didn’t. So here’s the “illegally-taken” photo of the tree, for all to admire. If anyone can find some secret code in it, please do let us know. We’ll send in the Mexican equivalent of the CIA, FBI, CSIS, or whatever, to investigate.

In case you’re interested, so far my friends and I have visited Barcelona Tapas, Tikul, Hacienda Alemana Frankfurt, and La Palapa to enjoy the “Restaurant Week(s)” offerings. All excellent, without exception. Still on the list: Boca Bento, Alfredo di Roma, Daiquiri Dick’s, the River Café and of course, Café des Artistes. By the time it’s all over, I’ll be surprised if we haven’t all gained a few pounds here and there.

(I would like to extend my very best, sincere wishes to Mike and Debbi Egan of Banana Cantina. Mike is very ill, and they’ve had to close the restaurant until further notice.)
For the time being, I’m just looking forward to the Paco Rentería concert. We’ll have to miss this year’s edition of the Altruism Festival that falls at the same time, but with all the amazing food around town, it was an easy choice to make. By the time you read this, it will be all over but the memories. I’m also looking forward to the fireworks this Friday. That’s going to be some show! I understand they’re going to build a castillo some 12 meters high. That’s around 36 feet, the highest ever built in Puerto Vallarta!

That’s all for now, folks. If you’d like a yummy, furry four-legged companion, please don’t forget the adoption days at the animal shelter on Thursdays and at Los Mangos Library on Saturdays!

I wish you all a wonderful week. Have lots of fun, take in as many events as you can, and don’t forget your sun block! Hasta luego.

posted by Anna Reisman @ 12:08 PM