I had Dad post this, since with the laptop out of order and the weirdness of computers down here I couldn't access the text box on mamasboy). Thanks, Dad.

I have a list of 100+ things we love about PV, in no particular order (well okay, it was the order in which we actually thought of them) and though some of them are cryptic, I promise to explain them later. Really.

-geckos

-sometime between 8 and 9:30 PM, there are large fireworks out our window for ten minutes or so

-the way the woman at the sarong shop smiles so genuinely at us now

-Luis, with the pugs, who bought toys for Sputnik

-the man at the fruit stand, sweet and friendly, who loves that Sol is the one who stays home and cooks

-the fruitstand

-tomato, cactus, tomatillo, and kalamata olive salsa

-having to pick sand out of our ears because we spent the afternoon rolling around in the warm Pacific Ocean waves

-the sweet old man on the sidewalk who sat with us and gave a Spanish lesson

-trading a cigarette for fresh limes

-coconuts grow on tress along the street

-fresh banana-mango smoothies every morning -tropical chickens

-chartreuse butterflies

-flowers as big as your face

-rainstorms that flood the streets (and looking for cobblestones that stick out above the water so you can cross the street)

-50 cent packs of the best tortillas ever

-the way the whitewashed buildings turn pink as the sun goes down

-siblings in school uniforms walking each other home from school for lunch and siesta

-school kids commuting on horseback -the old man with the burro

-the cigar factory

-Victor

-La Fuente del Puente

-the Rio Cuale

-Guadalupe's special blessings

-the man that owned the restaraunt in Yelapa

-Adrian at 69 Tattoos

-they roll up the sidewalks on Sunday

-everything closes from 2-4PM daily

-our hosta is blooming

-palapas

-people don't yell. At anyone. Even the drunks don't yell.

-the way the city smells after it rains

-sharing our house with geckos, moths, shiny bettles, a locust, bubblegum-flavored antibiotic consuming ants, the occassional bed bug, and fleas (who must die)

-a new apprciation for the 45 uses for vinegar

-there is actually an element of danger from falling coconuts

-warm rain

-they give you the prescription paper back (apparently so you can use it again...)

-the OTC stuff - Soma, Tramadol, etc...

-great vet care - actually affordable, as opposed to the several thousand US dollars this would have cost otherwise

-Lisa finally getting Sputnik belly

-mmm, ceiling fans

-being able to read food's ingredient lists (most of the time) -commuting by speedboat

-blue water, not grey, blue

-if we were gutsy enough, we could jump off the balcony of our new house into the ocean.

-the (absolutely necessary!) drain holes in every wall of the house

-the lack of distinction between inside and outside - no glass in the windows!

-powdered chocolate soymilk in bulk

-the man at the bulk food store, trying to teach us the real names of the stuff we're trying to buy.

-the man across the street who comes over every evening with his dog to watch soap operas in our hotel lobby

-the exchange rate -the propane gas truck commercial -the water truck bells

-solar panels

-very little light pollution

-clothes lines. Everywhere.

-tile everything

-hammocks

-exposed beams in our house

-Dia de Los Muertos

-the rockabilly tattooed man

-Lisa's new handmade dancing shoes ($10US) and teaching her how to dance.

-peach juice ice cubes

-lime cubes

-being able to find tofu - in the fancy food section!

-tiny rolls of toilet paper

-each other

-$10 US Cuban cigars

-Sput's little toes, and the fact that they're still warm

-our new house is smushed in between the tropical jungle and the waters of the Bay of Banderas

-white sand beaches -palm tree forests

-the crazy "foot thing" pelicans do when they land on the water

-the teradactyls, fresh out of the dryer

-doves

-yellow-footed white storks

-dragonflies

-walking around barefoot

-jumping into the ocean with our clothes on and walking home barefoot -snorkling

-chubby-legged crabs on the rocks -feeling like home

-carrying hankies (which *does* make us different from the tourists) to wipe sweat and rain off ourselves

-supportive friends, family, and lovers - even the ones who tell us to come home

-finding bagels

-siesta

-writing postcards

-loose cotton pants

-those neat wrap-around pants we keep seeing

-low bug count (mosquito) thanks to the geckos

-we are so resillient and strong, including Sputnik -the cultural importance of family -we get to have visitors who otherwise couldn't see Yelapa and PV

-the air smells good. All the time

-whales!

-the double sunrise, first the light, and then coming over the mountains

-the relaxed attitude folks have toward time

-vendors calling their wares from trucks, including five gallon jugs of water, propane gas, or buyers of recyclable glass, aluminum, etc.

-our copies of the Oxford Spanish Dictionary and the Lonely Planet guide to Mexico

-time to read and take care of ourselves

-Aire-Acondicionado ATMs -no traffic jams

-it's getting better

-house rules for more egalitarian card games

-giggling `till 3AM again (about: drunken geckos, whores named Consuela, puns, Sol being a big ol dork) -mango salsa