Category: Blogging Break

Margs and me

D.G. Kaye Returns from Puerto Vallarta, #Mexico

Published on by dgkaye86 Comments

I’m back! I’m going to be sharing some info, pictures, highlights and observances from my winter escape away to Puerto Vallarta. As per my usual, I’ll begin with ‘travel day’ – never one of my favorites.

What a trip! I left home in a blizzard and minus 30F with zero sleep because my plane was to leave at 6:30 am, which meant I had to leave home at 3am to allow for airport madness. It turns out that I was lucky to have that early flight because it was the early flights that were getting out of Dodge that day as I noticed most other flights on the board all listed as cancelled. It took us 45 minutes to de-ice the plane, and gratefully, I was off to the sunshine and warmth, leaving behind what has been consequently named ‘the worst winter in eighty years’.

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I took this photo from inside the plane as they were de-icing the plane.

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I’d learned from my previous year’s flight, to never fly in to Puerto Vallarta on a Saturday – the airport is just too busy in high season. I left on a Thursday, and after once again having to disembark on the tarmac to pick up bags and proceed through the antiquated customs system, I was asked to open a suitcase there for the first time ever. Most likely that was because the universe must have heard me bragging to a fellow passenger how I’d never caught ‘the red light’. Yes, Mexican customs agents have booths set up before where we exit to the outside. There is what looks like a stoplight at each booth that we must press the button – if the light is green, keeping walking, if it’s red, you must open up whatever bags they want to search. My bags were HEAVY, and one was soaking wet when it came off the carousel, undoubtedly, left out on the tarmac at Toronto airport during the blizzard until it was loaded on. With no sleep for almost 36 hours and the mile walk at Toronto airport to the gate, and no strength left to carry another bag, the agent asked me to lift my suitcase onto the three foot high table. I told him that if he wanted to see what’s in there, he’d have to lift it himself. And he did. The usual time suck and I was out in a cab to my rented condo.

Ten minutes later I arrived at security gates of the condo in the blazing hot sun and the cab driver proceeded up the quarter mile drive up to my tower and helped me put my bags on the luggage cart I’d borrowed from the lobby. I was to meet my condo manager upstairs, but when I finally finagled that heavy luggage cart in and out of the elevator and down the winding hall to the condo, nobody was there. The door was locked and my manager was a no-show. As I sweated in my travel clothes from the sun’s rays beaming directly on me from an open hallway window, my mind was rolling with how I was to get in, and how was I to try and phone him while my mobile was turned onto airplane mode and I hadn’t yet got my Mexican Sim card, not wanting to turn on my phone to track a missing manager and cost me $20 just to make that call from my Canadian Sim card. Then an idea sparked.

I remembered that the previous year, the manager had Whatsapped me the wifi password for the condo unit. I inched right up to the door, scrolled through his old messages, and found the password. I hitched onto the condo’s wifi from outside the door and messaged him. His reply told me that he was sorry he couldn’t be there but he left the key at the quarter mile away security gate and advised me to go get it. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I told him I was not leaving my luggage, nor was I walking that far pushing a luggage cart, and asked him to give me the digital combination to open the door. He told me the owner had changed the code, and I told him he’d better call the owner and GET IT! And so he did, and ten minutes later texted it to me. I was finally in.

Not ten more minutes had passed when my friend Shelley, who was already there for two weeks with hubby John, texted me to tell me she’s on her way over so she can walk with me to the grocery store and get me a Sim card. I opened my luggage, changed into shorts and a Tshirt, left it all and headed out for a hot walk to the supermarket. By the time I got back, finished unpacking, and had something to eat, it was evening and I still hadn’t slept. All I wanted was a hot shower and bed. I got in the shower and turned the dial to hot water, only to discover – there wasn’t any. I knew it! Once again my manager was ill-prepared and didn’t instruct maintenance to turn on the hot water tank. I literally thought I was going to freeze to death, but I needed a shower and bed, the hot water tank turn on was going to wait till the morning.

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This is a picture of me and Shelley, a.k.a. Shelster, on one of our later shopping expeditions with a Margarita pitstop.

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The next morning, I had hot water. Although I noticed the condo was missing face towels, face cloths and kitchen towels. The safe had the same corroded batteries that were there last year, so I once again replaced them with my own I’d brought from home, knowing what to expect. The wicker chairs on the balcony were in bad shape. some broken right through the seats, and the living room furniture looked like it was long overdue for a cleaning, so as I did last year, I covered one of the couches with a clean sheet so I had a place to park myself and my laptop without sitting on the unknown. I made a note to buy some towels on a Walmart walk with my friends Brenda and Saul, and remember to take the towels back home with me when it was time to leave.

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My friends, wild woman Brenda And her husband Saul

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I noticed how much the prices had gone up in the stores and restaurants. Quaint little PV is fast becoming a big Americanized tourist town. Condos are going up quick, and I know Covid has put a hit on costs globally, but I also know that Mexican local cost of living could never afford such prices. The tourist areas were catching up with prices back home. Alcoholic beverages used to cost $3-$4 Canadian pre-Covid that are now $10. A restaurant meal for $15 now with a tip was costing $30. Grocery prices have doubled too, and not to mention, our already crappy Canadian dollar was down from 16 to 13 Pesos to the Canadian dollar – costing more, and getting less at the bank machine. But still, it was cheaper for me to live there for two months than what I spend at home to live.

Most days were spent at the pool, except for a few shopping and Margarita trips downtown a few times for the day with my galpals, and another group trip north to La Cruz Sunday market and Punta Mita beach for lunch (which I’ll share later). My good friends, Shelley and John were staying next complex over, and Brenda and Saul were staying in my building. I’d get my exercise many days walking to groceries, Walmart, Costco, and/or the fish market where I got some delicious Sea Bass for about $3 a fillet, now that was a good deal. I don’t eat shrimp, but you could get a kilo, fresh, and hand cleaned while you wait for $14 Canadian dollars! There seemed to be a mysterious week or two where no store had any gluten-free bread – or coffee creamer.

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I took this short video clip of the Fish Market

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Fresh Catch of the Day – Mahi Mahi

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I saw a lot of familiar faces at the pool and spent the afternoons in the water gabbing to them all, as well as made a few new friends. My friends Patty and Jamie were there too, although Pat came a few weeks late because of a host of health issues. It didn’t help that a week after finally arriving, she got Shingles. Oye! Poor Pat. She had to stay in, out of the sun for two weeks, and even when the blisters healed, she was, and still is suffering lingering nerve damage on her back. I also made some new good friends to add to my roster, Lucie, Liz and Grant, and the last week, I met Liz’s sister, Chris. And my girlfriend from home here, Alyson, also came down and stayed with me for ten days – more girl time!

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Me and Alyson, Al, as I always call her, out on the town

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Pat a.k.a Patty Girl, and Jamie out at a fancy restaurant up in the hills

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Me and Lucie at Margarita Grill Bar (More about that to come)

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Me and Liz and my water float

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Grant and Liz – my new friends and chair savers

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Liz’s sister Chris took this selfie of us three. Clearly, she has been fired from selfie photography. LOL.

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Now that I have introduced you to some of my friends, you’ll be able to put the names to faces in my stories.

I also had good intentions to read a lot of books while away, but February was a write-off for that activity because the socializing took precedence. But I managed to get through ten books in March, despite my busy schedule, and a few of which were added into my reading roster when a friend offered me two books she finished at the beach, which sparked my fancy. I’ll be posting my reviews for those books on Goodreads and Amazon as I finish editing my reviews from rough written notes, and I’ll be sharing each book on my Sunday Book Reviews here, each week. A few great reads to mention were books by: Lauren Scott – More Than Coffee, The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle, and Frank Prem’s latest book (not sure if it’s out yet), a powerful interpretation of the war in Ukraine, From Volyn To Kherson.

For now, I’ll share a few more pictures below of some of my favorite scenic captures – from my balcony. I’ll be sharing more pictures, outings, happenings and mishaps here, weekly. Stay tuned!

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©DGKaye2023

Mexico

Bon Voyage, Travel Tips, A Lesson in Geography – Why? #Mexico, #Blogging Break

Published on by dgkaye133 Comments

Welcome to my Bon Voyage post, I’m still here but frantically getting things ready for my winter break. My Canadian friends are all already there in Puerto Vallarta, and I’m looking forward to kicking up my social life notches, and drinking Margaritas.

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I’ve had a few people ask if I’m concerned about some of the recent goings on in Mexico. No. The friction going on there is not in the State of Jalisco where PV is in. It’s funny how some people get a picture in their heads when they hear things on the news before doing their geographical homework. That doesn’t mean that anywhere I travel to, that I’m not being diligent. Yes, Mexico has Cartel, but typically, the big honcho Cartel aren’t looking to disrupt tourism, and their headquarters are in known States that are mostly rated dangerous and at your risk places to visit. It’s the newer, ‘wannabe’ gangs that infiltrate certain places and instigate turf wars that are causing these crime incidences, particularly on the Caribbean side, ie: Cancun and Playa. These gangs emmigrated from further south in Central America. And this isn’t to say I’m okay with Cartel, but some of these Cartel want to keep tourist areas safe because they build and invest there for money laundering purposes. As bizarro as it sounds, it makes me feel safe too, in a strange kind of way.

Mexico is a huge country with over 126 million people. That’s three times the population of Canada, and just over one third the population of the U.S. It’s always important to do our homework on where we are traveling, to keep abreast of travel warnings etc., because people ‘hear’ things, but don’t always put them in perspective. And with this said, we still have to remember we’re tourists and must always keep aware of our surroundings.

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Where I’ve been and Why Mexico?

I’ve been to Mexico many times since I was in my early twenties. Back in the 80s, Acapulco was the hot tourist spot of Mexico. And it was great fun and safe. I went there many times in that decade with girlfriends, once with a boyfriend, and later, with my husband. By the early 2000s, we noticed things weren’t feeling the same there and began hearing whispers of a few killings and kidnappings on the news, and we began exploring other parts of Mexico.

We went to Ixtapa, which we loved, Manzanillo, and finally found our new happy spot in Puerto Vallarta. We had our winter vacations there for about five years in a row before we got antsy and wanted to try new places. We started vacationing in various islands in the Caribbean – my favorites being, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Curacao. And then we became cruisers, which we loved taking every February. We’d spend a week in Fort Lauderdale and go on a two-week Caribbean cruise, and meet up with same friends every year. When my husband’s health issues became apparent, we stopped cruising after 2014. I worried about something happening to him while on ship, and couldn’t live with that. So we talked about where we should start going on land instead. We loved Las Vegas and had gone there many times, as our autumn getaway. But we needed a new winter getaway spot. We loved the desert climate. And we had once taken a helicopter tour from Vegas, over the Grand Canyon, and we decided on that day, that we were going to start spending a chunk of winter in Arizona. We did that for three years and as US politics were heating up, and our Canadian dollar getting crappier, we decided to go back to Puerto Vallarta, because we always enjoyed it there, and it’s guaranteed sunshine. And we rightly assumed after not being there for some fifteen years, how much it was growing. And when I went to book at our favorite hotel for two weeks, air/hotel, all inclusive, the price was almost $9000.00 CAD for two weeks!

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That was the beginning of learning about renting a condo instead. My brother had been renting a condo in a beautiful complex right on the beach for less than $3000 US, for a month in PV. I got the details, and we went there and stayed in a different complex, just down the beach from him and had wonderful trips. So economically speaking, I can vacay for two months for what it cost me two weeks in the hotel package deal. Flight is covered with my points card and cost of living there is way cheaper than here in Toronto, so I spend less there than I do staying at home. That is the story of how I ended up in Puerto Vallarta. Right now I have wonderful friends who are already there, and I can’t wait to see what sunshine looks and feels like again. And it’s still a place I can feel my husband there with me. We loved it there.

There are crime hotspots everywhere in the world. Heck there are parts of my own city I wouldn’t venture through to alone. Yes, there are plenty of dangerous places in Mexico. The trick is to learn the safest places and States. Cartel central is in the State of Sinaloa. You may have recently heard of the capture of El Chapo’s son in Mazatlan. Mazatlan is in Sinaloa. There’s one State I have no interest in visiting. If you ever watch Cartel movies/series, you will hear of some of the Cartel infamous places – in the State of Sinaloa, Juarez, in the State of Chihuahua, and some other border towns.

Puerto Vallarta is still touted as one of the safest places to visit in Mexico and to my investigative knowledge, no tourists have been harmed or mamed there. And I much prefer Pacific Mexico to Caribbean Mexico. On the west coast I am 99.9 % guaranteed hot beautiful weather with almost a zero chance of rain. Plus, I find, even though the city has grown so much, adding Costco, Walmart and some fantastic shops, some North American things that North Americans love, that PV still has that Mexican charm and hasn’t gone as Americanized as some other Mexican destinations on the eastern, Caribbean/Yucatan Penninsula side. The added bonus is that I do not need US dollars to stay there. Only the rentals charge in US funds. But our Canadian dollar goes a good way there.

No matter where we travel, we must always be diligent. Saying one wouldn’t go to Mexico because of crime in one State is like saying there’s a shootout in Quebec so don’t go anywhere in Canada, or a shooting in Chicago, so you wouldn’t go to California. Oranges and apples comparison. Also, we have to pay attention to our surroundings wherever we go. Most tourist populated places are known for pickpockets. Awareness of our surroundings is always a good thing. I’m like that in my own city. And petty crime is everywhere now.

So, with that all said, my bags are almost packed, health insurance – check, fifth Covid bivalent booster shot – check, travel anxiety riding high – check, and soon I’ll be walking in flip flops for the bulk of this Canadian winter.

Although I won’t be reading blogs regularly as I normally do, don’t be surprised to find me landing on some of your posts as I randomly get a chance to pop by. I do follow Sally Cronin’s posts while away as I drink my morning coffee, because even though I can’t spend valuable vacation time on all the blogs I follow, I at least feel like I’m staying up-to-date through reading her posts, as Sally is a great sharer to and of our writing community, and it’s my second ‘blog home’. I will also post intermittently on Facebook.

Flying off to Mexico

So, happy winter blogging to you all, and I will no doubt, have much to share with you all upon my return.

©DGKaye2023

Mexico

I’m Back! Puerto Vallarta – The Trip

Published on by dgkaye85 Comments

Hello Everyone! I’ve recently returned from my two-month getaway to sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was a whirlwind trip to say the least, as usual – beginning and ending with horrendous travel day experiences to both start off and finish off my vacation.

I’ll just mention the day before and travel day home. My province conveniently lifted Covid airline testing – the day after my return. I had to pay $40 Canadian to have a rapid test I was already doing free, myself, a few times a month. I had to fill out an ArrivCan app with Covid vax info, etc., that nobody even checked for. I went to check in online and discovered the upgrade seat I’d paid $54 for last May when I booked the trip wasn’t showing and proceeded to award me some new random seat and auto sent me the boarding pass. There was no way to contact them. I’d already been warned to get to airport now 4 hours early instead of 3. I knew I’d have a problem at checkin. Online didn’t even let me fill out how many bags I was checking. I knew I had to pay $50 for the 2nd bag. Somewhere in the kerfuffle, they did forget to charge me.

The airline wasn’t lined up yet but the airport was packed. Thanks to only having two days a week our airlines fly out on, instead of the old daily flights. The agent apologized, even with the confirmation email I showed her on my phone, for my paid seat. Plane was full, nowhere else to sit, and take it up with Air Canada for my refund was all the sympathy I got. Which of course, I am currently waiting for some response from them before I have to go on another Air Canada rant. This flight wasn’t assigned a gate – the only flight in the whole airport which NEVER got a gate listed on the board. There are two floors in PV airport. I dragged my carryons up and down and back again, and I was far from feeling friendly. Finally, after inquiring for the umpteenth time, I was told a gate – back downstairs, and boarding in 20 minutes! I stood in line to get the bus that would take us to the plane. I stood in front of a lovely family of three, who happily told me they all had the Covid two weeks ago. I was glad to be wearing TWO masks. Naturally, the plane was late forty minutes. I landed into an absolute craziness and archaic system at customs, after walking about another mile from the hangar to customs. Seriously, there was a moment I thought I was going to pass right out as I trudged along with two carry bags. I can’t imagine older people with mobility problems being able to travel the unbelievable distance, only to arrive at zigzag lines set up to wait in for the automated kiosk to fill out life story, then to join a smiliar set up in new lines to actually pass through a customs officer. WHY the 90 minute lineup crap twice? Then, finally off to get baggage (porter -$15, limo $72 to get home.)

I’ve taken many photos on this trip which I’ll be sharing here in various posts of highlighted moments of my trip, but since my SIM card holder in my phone cracked while replacing the Mexican one with my home card, and my storage card full of pictures included, I’m now awaiting a new one that apparently, will take a week delivery from Amazon, I’ve been busy trying to fish out copies from the cloud download. It seems technical woes are like a magnet with me. So I can presently only be contacted by Whatsapp call and texting, while home on my wifi, until I can get my SIM card working

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About the beginning… I was very apprehensive about even taking this ‘solo’ trip, and for the first two weeks of it, I was contemplating coming home early as I learned old friends really weren’t, until I met some new, ‘real’ friends.

Travel day was hard. Of course I had to play, the ‘weighing the suitcases’ game. Without my husband, this was a whole new travel experience in many ways. I had a lot of things to bring along and with 50 pound max per bag, I had to do some fancy footwork, as well as ultimately, having to leave some gluten-free food items behind because there was no way I could pack it all. I had finally opted for a carryon bag WITHOUT WHEELS, because it was a good size bigger than the one with wheels, and that became an albatross on my back.

As usual, the gate to my boarding upon departure was the furthest gate. After all the checkin and security longggggggggg lines, I must have walked a good mile, plus. Wearing a mask and gasping for air, about halfway, I’d finally decided to drag the carry on by it’s shoulder strap, like a leash on a dog as I could barely walk anymore. I was running out of steam. No sooner did I sit down at the gate, they announced GATE CHANGE….the complete opposite end of all the gates. After two flight delays, I finally landed.

The driver I’d hired to pick me up at airport was long gone and/or nowhere to be found. No surprise as I’d spent two and a half hours in Puerto Vallarta airport between immigration lines, then customs. Who would have even thought there was a pandemic going on with soooooooo many people. I must have landed along with ten other flights! Hence, my driver had vanished and I was standing in the hot sun, new lineup for a taxi. Thankfully, the agent was at my condo rental when I finally got there.

The condo: Up very high, 25th floor, beautiful view, could tell a man owned it, kitchen supplies were sparse. Grateful for the height when it came to not having to hear the crazy music on weekends from the ‘shady’ club the next building over.

Long elevator waits, especially when one is constantly out of service and never anything being done. Rinse, repeat, at least three times a week. But was happy to see mask protocol signs on the elevators. The Mexicans are mask abiding citizens, which made me feel that much more comfortable.

I came back from my first massage in two years, to a flooded front hall. Had to call manager to get maintenance up there pronto, but pronto is the complete opposite of manana time.

The condo door swelled on humid days, requiring a tug upon closing…only there was no outdoor handle on the door. The door lock is automated and won’t sense the door closed. The first episode had me standing in a hot outdoor hallway trying to devise ways to tug on a handleless door. After wasting two of my precious sun hours, waiting for assistance, it was a temporary remedy. The second time it happened, I thankfully, already had friends. I called my friend Shelley and she sent her husband John with mini tools. He took the handle off the inside of the door and put it outside the door – where it belonged! No more problems with that.

Wifi is always wonky in that building, this time, no exception. I magically managed to lose the capability to connect to the bedroom TV, after being able to for the first week. Thank goodness the TV connection worked in the living room, as I needed my night time Netflix. The Wifi sucked when it came to video calls on Whatsapp, but at least worked without video.

The view from my living room/balcony with a cruise ship coming in

My apprehnsion about even going on the trip was a mixed bag of emotions. I was going somewhere familiar where I thought I’d had friends I’d spend time with, but I quickly found out, once I had become a single from a couple, there was no room for me.

People my husband and I knew previously acknowledged condolences and then pretty much disappeared. I became nothing more than someone you’d casually pass on a lounger and say a quick hello to. Sure I talked to people. Everyday I’d sit at the pool and chat with whomever was sitting beside me. Casual chat and company to pass the day with until lonely nights came along and I had nobody to pal around with except one funtastic night with our old ‘Dakota’ friends, Kathy and Fred, and Jackie and Paul. We’d known them for a few years and the guys were pals with my husband. They had a lot going on and visitors at different times and I was never one to impose on other people’s vacation. But they had kindly invited me out with them for an evening of dinner and a tribute live show to Gladys Knight. We had a blast! We also drank too many Margaritas that night and were all a bit hung over the next day. That was week one.

Jackie, me, Kathy
Fred and Paul

We laughed a ton and enjoyed ourselves at the pool together.

A few more days rolled by and suddenly it was Valentine’s Day. The girls were out shopping when I noticed Fred (Kathy’s husband), walking across the length of the pool carrying roses in a vase. I shouted out to Fred about how beautiful the roses were as he seemed to be making his way over to me, and he then handed them to me, gave me a hug, and he whispered, “George asked me to give you these.” I had never felt so touched by someone’s kindness as in that moment as tears welled. It seemed the whole pool of people were watching where those roses were going, and once Fred presented them to me, there was applause from the spectators. It was quite a moment.

My Valentine’s flowers

That day will stay in my heart forever. And not long after that day, the universe had sent me some new wonderful friends – Canadian friends, it turned out, who I laughed with all the rest of my vacation days. My social life picked up big time and some great friendships were made. And soon enough the days were turning into nights. Up early daily by 7am, outside all day, back up for quick showers and out again, that’s how my days began to pass. I made great friends with 5 different groups of people, and before long I’d introduced them all to one another and let’s just say, there were plenty of Margaritas to be had – some better than others.

On the malecon boardwalk, margariting with a galpal

Next time, I’ll be sharing stories about my other new friends, places we went to, and observations about what had changed there since my last visit in 2020. Needless to say, my writing time evaporated, condensed to journal notes, and not nearly enough books read when busy blabbing all day and night.

In the meantime, I’ll share a few more photos:

Sunset from my balcony
Sunset taken down along the boardwalk
Stellar sky at sunset from my balcony
Another beautiful sunset
Sunrise capture from my bedroom balcony – mountain view

Stay tuned for next week’s continuation of friends and fun!

©DGKaye2022

Happy New Year

Happy, Happiest of New Years as we Kick This 2020 to the Can

Published on by 82 Comments

I don’t think there are enough words to say about this past year of learning, loss and lack of real living, but I can honestly say, I’ve never been happier to kick a year to the can and to ring in a new one.

Yes, we cheer and always wish others well for a Happy New Year, but I think I can speak for the world when I say, we’ve never had a year like this one we shared globally, and each of us has swam our own waters and no doubt encountered our own sharks. I hope for all the world has been through this year we’ve all learned lessons whether great or small, if only for gratitude for the very things that sustain us and the freedoms we have.

give it the boot

 

 

May we celebrate the welcoming of a newer, better and kinder year for us all

 

champagne toast

 

 

Welcome In!

 

welcome 2021

 

 

I’m counting as fast as I can, only a few hours to go

 

Countdown to boot 2020

 

 

Join me in ushering this year out with a big heave ho, and open our arms with wishes of joy, health, peace and happiness for the new year and forward!

 

Joy to the world

Happy and Safe New Year to you all. I’ll be joining a few of my writing friends in a bit of a break from the blog world for a few weeks into mid January, but don’t be surprised if I show up from time to time till then. 

 

©DGKaye2020

Happy New Year

 

 

Margarita time

Almost that Time! #Blogging Break Approaching and a Tip!

Published on by 77 Comments

Just a short note to let you know this will be my last post here until mid-March. As our winter escape to Mexico draws nearer, there are so many loose ends to tie up, not to mention – packing! As some of you who have read my little travel book, Have Bags, Will Travel, you can appreciate that getting ready to travel for me is a temporary full-time job, lol. First I pick all the things I want to take (just about everything except the kitchen sink) then I get out the old scales and start purging backwards what won’t fit in the weight allowance. It’s a science and an art I tell ya!

 

Don’t even get me started with the new Coronavirus .

There isn’t a mask left for sale in the city! We always wear masks when we travel without this new global threat, after contracting Influenza on the plane ride home from Arizona 4 years ago. I had one left in my carryon from last year’s trip and went on a mad hunt to no avail – until I tried my local independent pharmacy nearby where I have a good rapport with the owner, after scouting out several big pharmacies and Walmart. My friendly pharmacist told me he held back one box of surgical masks to sell them individually to those who were in desperate need of a mask – the sick and those traveling on airplanes. He generously sold me 4! No doubts I’ll have lots of travel stories to share upon my return!

This vacation is going to be a luxurious, well-needed busy getaway. We have lots of visitors coming and going to stay with us and many regular snowbird friends who rent in the same complex to socialize with. Plus, I’ve been checking out the real estate market in beautiful Puerto Vallarta where we are contemplating purchasing a condo for ourselves to possibly rent out and possibly even move to in the future, so I will undoubtedly be a busy bee having some look and sees and the lay of the land.

So for those of you who are used to seeing my gravatar around the blogosphere and social media, I won’t be doing my regular visits, but may pop by occasionally when time permits. I also won’t be posting here till I’m back settled because I don’t like to leave comments unanswered. So don’t forget me!

Before signing off here I’m going to leave you all with an important tip when taking out travel health insurance – Do your homework!!! If you’re traveling, never go away without travel health coverage, and never take the first quote!

If your country isn’t offering a good price, check into global travel health insurance companies, where you can search for your best rate. I learned this year how much the insurance company we’ve been using for years ‘exclusive’ members only from our bank was ripping us off – well my husband’s insurance for sure! It’s a fact once seniors turn 80 rates are considerably higher for travel insurance – especially with pre-existing conditions. I trusted my bank for too long. I went on a 2 day comparison search before insuring my husband and much to my delight, I found that our Canadian Blue Cross  gave a fair and just rate in my comparisons. How much of a difference? Are you sitting down? My bank wanted $2500.00 to insure my husband. Thank you Blue Cross. I have never been happier to fork over $720 FOR THE EXACT SAME COVERAGE!!! One third of the price!!! So don’t be fooled for ‘exclusively for you’ bullshit!

So take care everyone. Keep writing and stay safe as I plan on doing both. Adios!

 

©DGKaye

 

 

good news

Believe You Can and You Will – Yes! A Well Anticipated #Blogging Break!

Published on by 108 Comments

Did I Say Blogging Break?

 

good news

 

Sunshine, sea and sand. I hear the ocean calling.

 

After a veryyyyyy long 2018 and much of 2017, I am ecstatic to share that we are heading off to Mexico!

We had planned our 2 month getaway last year – supposed to have spent February and March in sunny Puerto Vallarta, but my husband’s health had taken a turn for the worse in January, which had me cancelling our trip. I’m wondering if my angels were at work when I phoned to cancel the beautiful beach condo we rented, the lovely woman told me they would still hold the March reservation until later in February until my husband’s followup scope took place and we’d find out the results of his surgery and if he could fly.

We went back to the hospital for followup 2 weeks ago and we received a good report from the doctor. In an instant my husband piped up and asked Dr. B if we could go to Mexico.  Dr. B said he didn’t want to say yes or no because of my hub’s ongoing condition and he pretty much left the ball in our court. I’m a worry wart every second of every day and had already resolved myself to the fact that this would be the first winter since we’ve been together that we weren’t getting away for a dose of sunshine. But within 2 days later my husband declared that he was sick and tired of sitting on a couch all day looking at darkness, snow and cold and said he’s got to live his life instead of sitting around waiting and wondering what might lie down the road. We both need a boost from winter and illness. So he asked me to call the condo lady and tell her we’re coming.

So I was busy last week re-booking our flights, with a minor penalty we had to pay, which I was more than happy to, and confirmed with Mexico that we will be coming. Of course, there was a lot of work involved to put this trip together, getting everything ready here, ample medications, travel insurance, and checking out the medical availabilities in Mexico should we need them, and HOUSE SITTING IN PLACE. Hubby can no longer walk for long distances, such as the good mile walk between airport checkin to the gates so I told him I’ll put him in a wheelchair and push him to the gate along with carting our carryon baggage. I’ve been sharpening my packing skills for sure, as carrying and lifting luggage is now all on me. I suppose going to the gym a few times a week will be paying off soon!

So, now that I’ve updated you all, I just want to add that I’ve never taken a vacation and stayed away from the computer, maintaining blogging while away. I can honestly say I am burnt out from the last year and particularly these past 2 months and want to inform you all that I have no set plans to post blogs for the month of March . . . maybe. We are leaving this weekend to spend the month down in Mexico.  All I want is to be in sunshine and do nothing but walk the beach, read books and write. There will be no big adventures other than looking at the ocean (from the front view of our condo) and the mountains (from our bedroom). My brother and sister-in-law are already there staying in the building next to ours so it will be lovely to spend some time together.

Don’t be surprised if you see my ‘mug’ show up to read the odd blog if I should get ambitious.I just don’t intend on spending my precious vacation time reading 4 hours of blogs nightly, but I’m sure I’ll catch a few posts as I will be checking social media and may be tempted to click on a  few posts via Facebook. Come on, I can’t stay away completely!

Most likely I’ll put up a few posts while I’m gone – after all, I may have to share a few photos of spectacular sunsets and such, so stay tuned!

Bon Voyage