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| Beach Scene Picks Up in the Afternoon Lately |
Much of Sayulita appears quiet, at least on the surface,
since the beaches are technically not open yet and many businesses are closed. But when we get out and take a
walkabout, we see people socializing and construction going on as if nothing is happening in the world.
Pandemic?
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| Volleyball on Fisherman's Beach (No Masks) |
In Sayulita, most of the internationals are gone, having
flown away as soon as they could get flights. We see very few people wearing masks here. The locals walk around to do
their shopping and errands, few wearing masks. Most restaurant employees and
food delivery people wear masks, as required. A few Norteamericanos who
remain here wear masks when out shopping, but most don't. Most cashiers at the tienditas (little grocery stores) do not
wear masks. The bank has signs posted at the ATM requiring masks, but most people don’t wear
them, though people in line do space themselves apart. It actually looks odd when we do see someone in Sayulita wearing a mask.
We think we may have already had COVID-19, but we may never know for sure. That nasty cough and cold with chills Jon and I had in late February before the label of "COVID-19 pandemic" was used? Thinking back, we had flown from Tucson to Puerto Vallarta on February 17 and then gone to Nuevo Vallarta on February 19 to have INM fingerprint me for my Permanent Residency visa. Who knows where we picked up that infection, or what it was? Does it really matter? Once the symptoms started, we stayed in bed, took Cold-Eeze and Emergen-C to build our immune system, Tylenol for the aches and pains, and used Ventolin inhalers for the cough. I hope we’ve already had the coronavirus infection so we're finished with it. Though we are careful to wash our hands often and distance from people in public, we don't plan to live our lives hiding behind masks from the virus. This worldwide infection could go on for years.
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| Intercam Bank ATM has Signs Requiring Masks |
A trip to Home Depot in Puerto Vallarta revealed that
businesses are taking the pandemic more seriously. Signs are posted, masks are
required, people in line stay separated, and sometimes temperatures are taken.
Only one person per family is allowed into the store at a time unless you are elderly
or handicapped. Jon was told we couldn’t go in together, but he quickly
informed the security personnel that he is 70 years old so I was allowed to go
in with him. The Mexican people give extra care to those of the "Third Age"--anyone over 60 years old. I guess I was allowed in as Jon's helpmate, though he doesn’t seem elderly or handicapped to me!
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| Masks and Separation at Home Depot in Puerto Vallarta |
We’ve stayed home a lot, as recommended, doing home
projects,
yoga classes with Jim Gallas through Zoom or with
Adriene on YouTube, and
Zumba with Debora P through Zoom to keep our mental and physical health good and our
weight down. We're happy that we have a large garden patio for exercise. We exercise at home four days a week and walk around town every other day.
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| Practicing Yoga is Good for Jon's Parkinson's |
It has been a good time to hire the locals to help us with
projects at our home since they are in need of work. They don’t wear masks and
neither do we. Some would say we are irresponsible in this behavior, but as a
pharmacist who has been coughed on for 30 years, I believe exposure to viruses
and bacteria, in general, is how we build our immunity, not hiding from it. (Don't get me wrong--we wash our hands more often than most people and practice safe distancing) Our housecleaner still comes to clean once a week. She doesn't wear a mask and neither do we. This is common in Sayulita.
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| Painters Paint Our Golf Cart-port Wall (No Masks) |
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| The Painters Give Our Garden Wall a Fresh Coat of Paint |
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| Our New Air Conditioners Were Installed (No Masks) |
Condo construction in Sayulita has continued throughout the pandemic,
giving men jobs. Most don’t wear masks. One shocking construction project popped
up unexpectedly at Playa Los Muertos, piers poured right up to this
popular beach at the ejido cemetery. A peaceful demonstration was successful in
shutting the job down, but for how long?
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| Condo Construction Filling Every Available Space |
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| Another Condo Stair-stepping Up the Hill with Ocean Views |
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| Construction at Playa Los Muertos Up to the Beach |
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| A Peaceful Demonstration Shut Down the Job! |
Some restaurants are
opening for sit-down service and we eagerly go there for dinner, partly because
we miss them, partly to support the many families who depend on the jobs in
this tourist town. Some of our favorite restaurants are closed permanently.
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| El Break Cafe is Open with a Nice Ocean View |
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| This is All That is Left of Miro Vino Restaurant |
We have donated to the food bank in town twice and they
expect to need to feed families here at least through July. A free food line
serves food to the needy every afternoon at 2:00.
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| Free Food For the Needy People Out of Work |
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| Fisherman's Beach is Full of Idle Boats |
Fishermen's Beach is usually full of idle boats since there are no tourists here to pay for fishing trips. Some fishermen can be seen going out at times to feed their families.
Our biggest home project was to order an adjustable bed with a Memory Foam mattress from
Lunela. While we waited the two weeks for it to arrive from Leon, Mexico, we had the bedroom repainted. We were so excited when it arrived, as it will help minimize some of Jon's Parkinson's disease symptoms, particularly pain and restless legs.
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| Jon Unpacking and Preparing to Assemble the New Bed |
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| Testing the Bed with Its Zero-Gravity Position |
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| Waiting Two Days for the Memory Foam to Expand |
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| Bella is Happy that We Are Home So Much |
Take a Look at My New Book Release!
(In Sickness and In Health #2)
Pickle Jar Test Book Description:
Strong and healthy from years of working as a carpenter, Jake is now in denial about the new symptoms plaguing his body. Are these annoyances simply medication side effects, or a new condition? Should he tell Lindsay or fight this battle alone?
Tremors, loss of sense of smell, pain, stiffness, and other changes in Jake’s muscular body bring fear for both Lindsay and Jake. Could this be Parkinson’s disease?
Read more at:
