The Forecast

It's been cloudy and a lot cooler the last couple of days here on the Riviera Nayarit (west coast of Mexico). We don't mind too much as we've had two straight months of sunny hot weather to this point.

I do feel sorry for the "fly-and-flop" folks who are only here vacationing for a week - this weather will be disappointing for them. It's great for local businesses though - when it's cloudy, all the tourists leave the beach and shop. There is literally a "silver" lining in the clouds, as a lot of Mexican silver jewelry gets bought when the weather is overcast!

We giggled yesterday morning when we saw the fellow, who checks us in at the gate of the country club, was wearing woolen gloves! Temperatures in the low 70s Fahrenheit are freezing to the locals.

Apart from the weather, not much else has changed. The driving is still beyond crazy (Mexican and gringos alike) every time we go out. The goal is not just to get to and from your destination - it is to get there in one piece!

The huge grocery store ("Mega") still doesn't have any coffee cream or lemons, and they don't carry any brand of chili powder, period. They have chili salt, and chili flavoured with artificial lime, but no plain old chili powder. Same with Walmart and CostCo - no chili powder. I will have to bring some down with me next winter. Of course, if I do, it will have since appeared on store shelves here.

We revisited a favourite restaurant from last year - Prime 159 - a steakhouse in Paradise Village, Nuevo Vallarta. It was as great as we remembered...until I realized, when synptoms later hit, that their food is totally laced with MSG. I learned I am MSG and glutamate-sensitive from Vibrant Nation blogger Debi Drecksler, who recognized and e-diagnosed my symptoms, as her husband has the same ailment. I've been much better able to manage my condition and completely avoid these painful attacks since Debi alerted me to the likely problem. Thanks Debi! And, adios to Prime 159 - sadly, we won't be going back to that restaurant.

We have a month left on this winter's sojourn, and plan to make the most of it. We'll be exploring the Costa Allegre area south of Puerto Vallarta, we'll head north to explore San Blas on another junket, we'll be celebrating Valentine's Day at a mucho exclusivo PV beach club (once featured on "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" - remember that show?), we'll take in a polo match and have dinner at the La Patrona Polo Club in San Pancho, and, of course, we'll fit in a few more trips to our favourite restaurant, Mezzogiorno.

And the forecast says the sun will be back with us full time by Tuesday - vive el sol!

Todo bien. (It's all good.)