Rain is Coming, in Chacala,

It’s a Monday evening in Chacala, about 11pm. It looked and smelled like it was going to rain most of the evening. It hasn’t really rained much yet, only a few minutes of light drizzle. But there was enough lightning, and thunder, to blow out the electricity again. Third time so far this month. The power went off about 9pm, then back on a few minutes later, and then off again. And it’s still off.

(Update, Tuesday am) The power came back on about midnight. It rained most of the night. The dirt around Chacala is nice and wet, and there’s a lot on mud and water on the dirt roads. And the paved road),

One of the good things about Gordon’s house, where I housesat for my three previous six-month summers in Chacala, was that the bedroom had a couple of 12v lights powered by a solar system on the roof. So when the power went out I could still read, and see the insects and bugs, etc. Of course, that system tended to fail, but when it worked it was great.

I have some candles here, and a great wind-up flashlight that Serena and Richard, the Hornsby Island pizza makers, left me last winter. But reading by candles is a pain, so I am computing instead. The hardest thing about no power is not fans. It’s hot and humid and still. Ugh.

The other problem with no power is no refrigeration. And of course, for the first time in months and months, I bought a big package of frozen chicken breasts at Sam’s in Puerto Vallarta today. Now the fridge, with it’s tiny freezer section, is slowly warming up. Darn! I hope I don’t have to cook a dozen chicken breasts tomorrow morning.I got a chance to go to Sam’s Club today, because a woman here in Chacala who I really like, wanted some company driving into P,V. She was picking up some furniture at Sam’s, and we spent some time shopping too.

I checked to see if the pharmacy there had Byetta, an injectible diabeties med, not insulin. But they don’t. They did have another drug that might work for me, but it’s $5 a day for the lowest dose, which probably wouldn’t be enough.

I have been off my diabetes meds for almost a month now. My blood sugars are higher than they should be, but not terrible. I am kind of waiting to see if I can fake it with diet and exercise. We’ll see. It feels so good to be off all meds. It’s the first time in about six years. It seems like the problem I have had for the last five years or so, with going down steps, has faded away in the last few week. The problem was needing to take one step at a time. Both feet on a step, and then both feet on the next step. It felt as though I would lose my balance if I went down the steps the normal way. Whatever.

It was a very nice ride in the P.V. and back. (Aside from maniac truck drivers in semis passing in the middle of curves,etc). My friend speaks more English than I speak Spanish. We seemed to be able to communicate pretty well. It was a nice day for me. She is a really interesting person, and we seemed to share some opinions about some aspects of life in Chacala. And what’s valuable in one’s life.

I am hoping the power will come back on before I go to bed. The storm has passed. Usually the power is back on in a couple of hours, and it’s almost that long now.

I love being out on the patio, looking at Chacala and the ocean, when the power is off. Chacala looks so nice. Little bits of candle light here and there. A car’s headlights coming thru town occasionally.

The folks who are building their new home up the paved road, are leaving for a week for some family business. I went up to say goodbye and to go over my check list. For keeping an eye on the house they are staying in during construction of their new house. We sat on the patio and chatted and enjoyed just being in Chacala. They said it’s hard for them to leave to go back to Canada, even for a few days.I think maybe a new breed of folks are starting to settle in a Chacala. Planning to stay here for the long-haul. Nice folks with a social conscience. People who want to find a way to fit into life in a small Mexican community. And to pursue their own interests, and enjoy life in Chacala. With the beach, the slower pace, and the stronger family life, and the semi-tropical climate. And maybe to make some friends among the residents of Chacala, local and gringo. I can think of three couples who have settled in here this last last year who might fit that description. One couple is renting long-term and the others are building, or just finished building.

It sure feels different around here the last couple of weeks. But maybe it’s just where my head is at.This is Aurora's downstairs rentals, two units, private baths, shared patio.

Something else that’s different around here right now is how many gringo tourists there are here now, in June. I think there are four families here right now. Maybe some other people too, who I haven’t run into yet. It’s certainly more than have been here in my three previous summers in Chacala. Kind of a mixed blessing for me. Nice people though.