On the Road Again with Mrs. V: Grande Centro Casa

Monday, 1/19/15 After our long day yesterday full of both travels and lots of walking, we decided to have a low-key day today. We slept a little later and had our brunch omelets. Then the doorbell rang and thus began not "Grand Central Station", but "Grande Centro Casa"! First Marina, the housekeeper, arrived. We had not expected her till Wednesday, but with our deficiencies in Spanish, one never knows, and "Go With the Flow" is the standard operating procedure. Marina is not only pleasant and polite, she is one fantastic worker. She worked hard cleaning the casa for four hours! Antonio, the pool man, also came again. He had with him a worker to look at the leak by the kitchen sink. So now it DID begin to feel like "Grande Centro Casa"...ha! Antonio speaks both Spanish and EXTREMELY great English. I joked and asked him if he wouldn't mind moving in with us during our stay to be our translator! Antonio laughed understanding both the joke and my usually too-speedy speech!

When all the workers left Ladd and I walked down to the beach. On the beach we walked all the way to Bucerias Centro and back to "Casa Lucia", about 4-5 km. It was such a hot day that when we returned to the casa I decided to go into the pool. From the pictures we had seen online, we thought the pool would be just a wading-type pool. Not so. The pool water comes up to my shoulders, so I could actually swim! It was so refreshing...and a luxury to have right at our place!

After dinner at the casa, Ladd and I walked down to the little corner bar/restaurant, "Mi Lola", just a 2-minute walk from the house. I had my first two real Mexican Margaritas, sin sal (without salt), and Ladd had "the best" Mexican tequila, "Herradoro Reposado Tequila". But even better than the drinks were the incredibly friendly and fun wait-staff and the cool, funky decor and atmosphere! Our waiter was Mario, along with his friend/helper, Lia. After about 10 minutes of talking with Mario, he made us feel not only welcomed, but also that we were friends. A painted sign on their wall says,"Seamos felices! Locos ya estamos"...roughly translated, "Everybody be happy! We're all crazy!" Perfect atmosphere...perfect for us! Needless to say, we shall return...to "Mi Lola"!