I have to confess that I haven’t written my blog for well over a month. It’s not for lack of enthusiasm or things to share with you. My problem is finding the time to do it. Mexico is often called “The Land of Mañana.” I can tell you, though, that doesn’t always apply, particularly when you’re a working expat. Time is precious for working expats in paradise.
Let me tell you why. Throughout the 28 years I’ve lived in Puerto Vallarta, I’ve been lucky enough to meet wonderful people from all over the world with different backgrounds, different cultures and different languages. There always has been one common denominator: a love for Puerto Vallarta and the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Those who visit our paradise, tend to return to Puerto Vallarta often, with many coming back year after year, often to the same place.
When I was a recent arrival in Vallarta, saying good-bye to the new friends I had met there was often difficult, not knowing when or even if I was ever going to see them again. As the years went on, I realized that I could set my calendar to the visits of some of my friends and looked forward to seeing them year after year. But when people come on vacation to paradise they are in the mood to relax, to celebrate, to live! Every day. All day.
Some friends come down for a limited time, so I find myself trying to squeeze as many plans into a single day as possible: breakfast, late breakfast, early lunch, drunch (drinking lunch), happy hour, cocktails, dinner and then again the next day. I am one of just a few of my friends who still works, so I have to fit my work into all of this. And, since the vacationers have left their work behind, I am often expected to do the same. This is a dance that I have perfected over the years but it can be exhausting.
With the introduction of social media and the Internet, I’ve been reconnecting with friends of mine from grade school, high school and college. I’m surprised at just how many of my friends and acquaintances come to Puerto Vallarta, and I must admit that it has been huge fun catching up with people that I have not seen in well over 30 years.
However, as much as I love my social life and seeing all my friends when they vacation in paradise, I must confess that I look forward to the end of the high season so I can stay home, read my books and just relax after a long day at work.
I guess what I’m saying is that I need a vacation from everybody else’s vacation! I’m not complaining because I love my friends, but it’s all part of the life we working expats have living in Puerto Vallarta, a vacation paradise for vacationers but not so much for us, at least during our high season!
