Sunday, 3/17

Not too much attention paid to St. Pat here in Mexico, which is OK by us.  We were, of course, deluged with commercial email from home offering 17% off, but we were able to delete...delete...delete.

Our exercise plan was different this morning as it's forecast to be the coolest day of the week.  We took the two shuttle buses up to the little store, though the second driver was very concerned because he knew the store wasn't OPEN at that hour.  Eventually we communicated to him our intention to walk down the beach, back to the crossover point for the two routes.  He enthusiastically endorsed our plan, and we set off southward with the sun still somewhat behind the mountains.

The beach is wide and beautifully pristine.  Though there were footprints and pawprints (and the occasional avian footprints as well), there was almost NO litter ... until we got close to our hotel's area.  SIGH.  We had a fair amount of company but it wasn't crowded; people jogging together or with their dog, others walking.  Occasionally a dune buggy.  The informal beach vendors mostly had not set up yet, so we didn't need to fend them off ... a blessing.  The surf rolled in, the sky was high-overcast, the temperatures mild.  Beautiful.

When we got back to the southerly end of our grounds, we pulled up a couple of chairs in the shade and just watched the water for a while.  By then, there was a surfer out hunting for waves and a group of horseback riders working their way along the tideline; pleasant viewing.

Eventually, we felt it time to work our way back to the room.  More menu-and-execution planning, and a salad and some of the green rice for lunch.  The next task was making the various sauces required for the remaining planned dishes, Linda took the lead.  We rapidly agreed to nix the griddling of the dried peppers, though, as first she and then Carolyn started choking up on the chile fumes.  We will soldier on without the layer of smoky flavor!

With the room well-aired, and sauces in the entire spectrum of chile-red, we turned to the skirt steak that was to be the star of dinner this evening.  And indeed it was, tender and well-flavored.  With zucchini in red sauce and a red rice flanking it, we tucked into some seriously good eating ... and so to bed.