Harold got the outside Christmas stuff up in plenty of time. We had a big inflatable snowman on the roof, rope lights and our Feliz Navidad sign. Downstairs we had snowflake lights, candy canes, and an inflatable Santa. When we mentioned to people we met where we lived, several people said, oh the house with the Christmas lights!
We have a little Christmas tree that hangs on the wall and we have many snowmen and other decorations.
It still doesn’t really seem like Christmas when it’s hot and sunny though. The stores do their best to keep everyone in the mood even with live Christmas trees for sale.
We were invited to a Christmas Eve party at the Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (RISE) where we have done volunteer work in the past. It was a pretty low key event. First all the children were fed dinner. There was turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, tamales and more. We all helped feed the kids since there are so many little ones there now. The kids just love to have people there who can pay individual attention to them. They all ate a big dinner then went inside to watch videos.
The 15 or so adults then ate dinner out in the courtyard. I guess before we went I thought a dinner at an orphanage would not include alcohol, but I was wrong. There were soft drinks and wine, plenty of food and good company. It was a nice way to spend the evening.
Our friend Alex is a fireman and had to work a very heavy schedule through the holiday period. Called Operative Blanca Navidad, the fire fighters worked shifts of 36 hours on, 12 hours off. Alex’s wife and daughter decided to go to Guadalajara to spend the time with her family since Alex would hardly be home at all. Each fireman got one day off in the 3 week period, and Alex was off December 24.
We invited him to stay at our house since not only was his family gone, but so were most of the neighbors. He went to the Refugio with us and had a nice time. After the wine was gone, he decided to try the whiskey. Apparently other times he had whiskey it was not very good and he wasn’t very hopeful but decided to give it a chance. Someone had brought a bottle of Johnny Walker which Alex decided was excellent. So excellent in fact that we had to stop at a liquor store on the way back to Bucerias to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker and some Coke. Yes, the liquor store was open as we headed home about midnight on Christmas Eve.
One reason Alex went with us is because his parents live right across the street from the Refugio. But they didn’t get home until late so we only had a chance to say hi.
The way the week went was that each fireman/paramedic worked his normal 24 hour shift in the fire station, and then the next day worked on beach duty. The civil protection department also provided lifeguards for the holidays. A group of college kids volunteered to help as well.
When Alex got off after his 36 hour shift he went home, cleaned up the house, fed the birds, washed his lifeguard uniform then came over to our house. We usually grabbed something to eat then when we got home, Alex spent most of the night drinking beer. He seemd very happy to be able to relax, visit with us and drink some beer. Several times he said he was really enjoying his few hours offf work. This repeated for most of the vacation period. We helped him out some by taking care of a few bank tasks and taking his clothes to the laundry since he was at work so much.
On Christmas Day we had a pretty quiet morning then had a cookout for some of our friends. We had probably 20 people altogether and everyone brought something to share to eat. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
We had plenty of leftovers so we packed them up the next day and took them to the fire station.
On New Year’s Eve last year we went to the beach in Nuevo Vallarta with Luis and Monika. This year, Luis said they had some new rules prohibiting bonfires and they weren’t going to go. We all decided to have a bonfire at the beach in Bucerias.
Joann and Patricia had guests who wanted to celebrate on the beach so we decided to do that. Altogether our group had 20 people or so and we all had a great time. At midnight we could see fireworks all across the bay. Some of the displays went on for a long time. It was cool out, but not cold enough to keep anyone home.
Mary Lou and BZ were here for 3 weeks staying at Casa Tranquila. We met them last year and were glad to see them back. They plan on moving to Bucerias in the late spring.
They were here for 3 weeks and it seemed like the time just flew by.
We have a little Christmas tree that hangs on the wall and we have many snowmen and other decorations.
It still doesn’t really seem like Christmas when it’s hot and sunny though. The stores do their best to keep everyone in the mood even with live Christmas trees for sale.
We were invited to a Christmas Eve party at the Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (RISE) where we have done volunteer work in the past. It was a pretty low key event. First all the children were fed dinner. There was turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, tamales and more. We all helped feed the kids since there are so many little ones there now. The kids just love to have people there who can pay individual attention to them. They all ate a big dinner then went inside to watch videos.
The 15 or so adults then ate dinner out in the courtyard. I guess before we went I thought a dinner at an orphanage would not include alcohol, but I was wrong. There were soft drinks and wine, plenty of food and good company. It was a nice way to spend the evening.
Our friend Alex is a fireman and had to work a very heavy schedule through the holiday period. Called Operative Blanca Navidad, the fire fighters worked shifts of 36 hours on, 12 hours off. Alex’s wife and daughter decided to go to Guadalajara to spend the time with her family since Alex would hardly be home at all. Each fireman got one day off in the 3 week period, and Alex was off December 24.
We invited him to stay at our house since not only was his family gone, but so were most of the neighbors. He went to the Refugio with us and had a nice time. After the wine was gone, he decided to try the whiskey. Apparently other times he had whiskey it was not very good and he wasn’t very hopeful but decided to give it a chance. Someone had brought a bottle of Johnny Walker which Alex decided was excellent. So excellent in fact that we had to stop at a liquor store on the way back to Bucerias to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker and some Coke. Yes, the liquor store was open as we headed home about midnight on Christmas Eve.
One reason Alex went with us is because his parents live right across the street from the Refugio. But they didn’t get home until late so we only had a chance to say hi.
The way the week went was that each fireman/paramedic worked his normal 24 hour shift in the fire station, and then the next day worked on beach duty. The civil protection department also provided lifeguards for the holidays. A group of college kids volunteered to help as well.
When Alex got off after his 36 hour shift he went home, cleaned up the house, fed the birds, washed his lifeguard uniform then came over to our house. We usually grabbed something to eat then when we got home, Alex spent most of the night drinking beer. He seemd very happy to be able to relax, visit with us and drink some beer. Several times he said he was really enjoying his few hours offf work. This repeated for most of the vacation period. We helped him out some by taking care of a few bank tasks and taking his clothes to the laundry since he was at work so much.
On Christmas Day we had a pretty quiet morning then had a cookout for some of our friends. We had probably 20 people altogether and everyone brought something to share to eat. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
We had plenty of leftovers so we packed them up the next day and took them to the fire station.
On New Year’s Eve last year we went to the beach in Nuevo Vallarta with Luis and Monika. This year, Luis said they had some new rules prohibiting bonfires and they weren’t going to go. We all decided to have a bonfire at the beach in Bucerias.
Joann and Patricia had guests who wanted to celebrate on the beach so we decided to do that. Altogether our group had 20 people or so and we all had a great time. At midnight we could see fireworks all across the bay. Some of the displays went on for a long time. It was cool out, but not cold enough to keep anyone home.Mary Lou and BZ were here for 3 weeks staying at Casa Tranquila. We met them last year and were glad to see them back. They plan on moving to Bucerias in the late spring.
They were here for 3 weeks and it seemed like the time just flew by.
