We spent time on the beaches around Huatulco, including a day at the Dreams Resort with bungee jumping, rock climbing and hobee catting, and a day ATV’ing. We did an afternoon outing on the boat and went into town a couple of the nights and managed to have a rip-roaring time as we took over the bumper cars at the local fair. We spent a lot of time at the house they rented overlooking the ocean, and ate well! There was some good cousin bonding time, and I can spend hours talking with Sandi – especially about healthy eating, as she has launched a new career as a holistic nutritionist. Not only is she exceptionally knowledgeable and passionate about it, but she has a knack with people which serves her well.
Great excitement came on the last morning when a swarm of bees came closer and closer to the pool at their house. We all holed ourselves up in Sandi and Paul’s room with our snacks and books and games, and hung out there as Sandi emailed the property manager who promptly sent a bee exterminator. It’s those unexpected ordeals that make spontaneous bonding so fulfilling. 
Next came our friend Bob and his kids Elana and Maya. They visited with us last year as well with wife/mother/friend Mimi, who passed away this past July. While we spent lots of time talking about Mimi, the visit was in no way sombre. In fact we had a great time – swimming at anchor in one of the many bays around Huatulco, another day at Dreams, and celebrating New Years with a raging game of Mexican Train while watching the fireworks practically from a front row seat aboard out boat.
Danielle especially benefitted from some good close friend time. 
All four kids as a group interacted beautifully together. Elana’s bat mitzvah was in December, and Danielle and I were holding out until as late as the Wednesday before in the hopes we could go up for it, but because of our delays in Mazatlan, there was no way we could swing it (we watched via live videocam though). We celebrated it again with them on the last night they were here with cake and candles.
My first day of 2011 was spent in bed. I never drink alcohol, other than a light beer here and there, but on New Year’s Eve I indulged in a little Amaretto on ice. I heavily paid for it on New Year’s Day, though, so have sworn off alcohol again until maybe…. hmmmm… the next time.
Today, January 2, 2011, I started off right: protein smoothie, 90 minutes of yoga, and then, WHAM. We found a zen-shattering leak in a water hose and spent the rest of the day emptying our food lockers and drying everything out. Projects always seem to expand, so we also cleaned out the bilges, and dusted and vaccumed and brought in our laundry in preparation for our next guests. We had over 40 kilos of laundry - that’s about 90 lbs! We’ll finish the cleaning job tomorrow, hopefully with some time left to relax at the beach before our next guest arrives on the 4th (my mother-in-law Fagel).
Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year filled with fulfillment and adventure!
Barb
Bahia Chahue, Huatulco, Oaxaca
Except for the laundry and the bees, it must have been a fun and great bonding time ...
ReplyDeleteI envy those times together with you guys...