Day 6: Catching up and lying back

So, it's Friday morning, and now that our mission is accomplished, we can spend a relaxed kind of day. I was surprised to hear from David last night that he too is interested in the spa experience; Elliott knows a place where you can get a 100 peso massage and they do mani- and pedicures, too. However, first I need to catch up.

Yesterday we went on a home tour sponsored by folks who donate money to the local school for the deaf (I'll fill in captions later). So David walked me down to the lake as best he could--funny how even an inland lake has a sort of fishy, oceany smell. I recorded some birdsong, too, but we'll see if I can figure out how to post it. Right next to the Ajijic pier were a bunch of cars and people scattered around. We were eventually assigned to Dick and Doris. Doris had her arm in a cast, so I was relieved to see Dick was driving. However, he wasn't driving just yet--when he went to start the car, it turned out his battery was dead. These folks had made the news in California, by the way. They had brought their car back "home" (Escondido area, I understand) for some dealership type repairs, and the thing was stolen off the dealer's lot!

Anyhow, someone gave Dick a jump, and we were on our way. The first house we looked at was in the Chula Vista neighborhood, which you reach by a winding uphill road (cobbled, naturally) along a golf course. The house itself was quite impressive, but the biggest thing about it was the view.

The second house was a bit to the east of the first, just north of the main drag through town (Carreterra Oriente, which David refers to as Carotid artery). The first thing I saw on entering was the mosaic lion fountain. Again, spacious, airy, tiled, and to my taste a bit sterile. Perhaps because it is staged for sale. The flyer said they are asking $449,000. This would no doubt be a million dollar plus house where I live.

The third house was a bit odd. It was on the Camino Real in what appears to be a very posh part of town, but the house turned out to be a quite, er, cozy two-bedroom with a very small living room and kitchen. It was nice enough, and the fellow who lived there seemed lonely: he gave us each his "calling card."

On the way to the next house, Dick wanted to show us a new development, west of Ajijic and just south of the main road. There was a restaurant they both heartily recommended, something about "art," and you could see that some very fancy architecture was in play as boutique-type buildings were being constructed. I got the feeling, though, that the whole endeavor was not exactly eager--perhaps the general slowing down of real estate is affecting this area as well.

The last house on the tour (well, the very last house was our B&B, which Dick and Doris had known under the previous owners) was in a development called Las Christinas, I think, even further west and again between the main drag and the lake. This was a stunning house, designed from the ground up by a couple of men who had really thought about how to incorporate the outdoors into their living space. They had two adorable dogs, too, Honey and Sugar.

Then Dick and Doris offered to show us their house, which was also pretty fantastic. Doris had just about gutted and redesigned it to suit herself. She left the well that remained when she demolished the old spiral staircase, thinking they might use it for an elevator shaft later; in the meantime there's a giant ceramic parrot hanging in there! Once again, a lot of outdoor space, including terraces off the master bedroom and another on the west side of the house.

Then Doris and Dick brought us back to Casa Flores, where they could see the changes that Steve and Fernando had made. David and I made sandwiches for lunch and then had a 2-hour or so nap.

For supper, we ventured out onto the main street, but almost everything was closed except a hole-in-the wall taco joint that was apparently run by a 14-year-old boy. We both had two pastor tacos and a diet coke. It was steamy and brighly lit with fluorescent lights, and oddly decorated by a goldfish tank. I think David paid $5 for our entire meal.

Read The Alienist and drank too much tequila before enjoying a long sleep.

This morning the Irish couple are off to Guadalajara and points beyond to pick up their adopted child's birth certificate and passport, before taking off to finally return to Ireland next week. We were all sad to say goodbye to the baby.

Have now retired to the inside patio to work on some website stuff. It's 11:36, and I'm still in my pyjamas. I think David slept until 11:00, when Elliott came by with some clients. From the aromas coming from the kitchen, I'm guessing they are feeding David breakfast in spite of his late rising. ;-)