Sylvie's Travels Home

January 23 and 24, 2024

Pogo, Derrick and Dan went to play pickleball at 7:15am and the rest of the crew gathered at 8:45am in the parking lot and I drove us to the Tuesday market. We all bought a few things but Sherry was the winner with a linen jacket, some pants and a beautiful macramé purse.

We returned to the condo, picked up the husbands then went to La Cruz. We went for lunch at La Cruz Inn then went to the fish market and Deidre bought shrimp and mahi mahi for a dinner party planned for that night. On the way back, Derrick, Andrew, Dan and Mom drove to Sonigas to fill the propane tank. It took forever because the tank needed the neck rebuilt because of a leak. Meanwhile the rest of us, on our way to the grocery store, were stopped for “speeding”, apparently going 86 in a 60 zone. We filmed the policeman to make sure he wouldn’t try to bribe us, he kept Pogo’s driver’s licence as is the custom here, Pogo got a little cheeky with him but the ordeal went very fast. We went to the grocery store, going in circle looking for certain items and couldn’t find a few of them at all.

By the time we got home, everybody was stressed out and tired and the dinner party was rescheduled for the next day. We rested, went to the pool and Pogo and I invited everyone over here for a simple dinner of burgers.

Wednesday morning, Sherry and I went to the penthouse to have regular coffee with Moira and Andrew at 6:30am. The almost full moon was setting on the horizon. We chatted for a while then they went in the pool and I went back home. I had finally caught the cold the day before and I didn’t have a lot of energy myself.

We went to Mama Nena for breakfast at 9:30am. Mom stayed home and Derrick and Andrew decided to go biking instead. After breakfast, Pogo dropped the girls and Dan in Bucerias for a little shopping spree. He went to pay the speeding ticket which ended up being $75 and then went to the grocery store to get lettuce and decongestant for the two of us. He also needed to be home for the repairman who came to fix the drain in the shower and the air conditioning in our bedroom which had stopped working a few days ago. The AC worked for a little while then stopped working. Great!

Deidre, Moira and I took a taxi back from Bucerias around 3pm. The center of town was extremely crowded because it was the celebration of the Benediction of the Boats. We could see native dancers in front of the church and dancing horses competition and it would have been fun to stay and check it out but by then, our hands were full and we were tired. Dan and Sherry stayed an extra hour or so.

We went to the pool for a little bit then got ready for the dinner. Pogo made a Spanish rice, we grabbed some wine and went to the rooftop. Deidre and Moira had put a nice meal together for us: local cheeses appetizers with grapes, fresh marinated shrimp, mahi mahi and salad. Moira was the bartender and was serving a spicy margarita kind of drink. During dinner, Mom entertained us and our friends Mario, Josée, Alain and Diane with some of her lifetime experiences as a kid. I learned a few more things. I wish she would write her memoirs! She has had such an interesting life! The rest of the evening was spent dancing, Mom was the belle of the ball, and everyone had a great time!

Maxime’s travels update:

She and Luna have been in Brunei for the last few days. She said it is a very strange place. There are no tourists. They have very strict Islam law. They are ruled by an absolute monarchy, the same family for 600 years. They have a lot of weird laws, like karaoke is illegal for example. People have been so loving and accepting of them. She said they are probably the nicest people she has ever met anywhere in her travels. Everyone were sharing food with them, letting them go in line before them or letting them sit at their tables. Everyone spoke English. She went to two mosques: Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and Jame’ Asr Hannanil Bolkiah Mosque and when she sent me the picture of the two of them wearing the red robes, I told her that they looked like they were in a Harry Potter’s movie. She said Luna had said the same thing! Haha!