Continuum

“ I’m restless. Things are calling me away. My hair is being pulled by the stars again.” – Anais Nin

Travel is in the air again, it’s September 1st and we head back east to Toronto (Ontario) at the end of the month for an almost 3 week visit with Terry’s family. The last time we flew back east was in the Spring of 2011, we had an exciting whirlwind visit to New York City (one of those bucket-list destinations!) as well as spending time with family up north in Ontario near Haliburton surrounded by lush forestland, rivers and many lakes. We also spent time in the charming town of Paris, voted “the Prettiest Little Town in Canada” by Harrowsmith Magazine, it is also known as “the cobblestone capital of Canada” for the number of older cobblestone houses in the town. The rest of our trip found us in Ajax, situated on one of the Great Lakes (Lake Ontario) just east of Toronto and in downtown Toronto proper not far from Yorkville, a wonderful area to explore, filled with coffee bars, bookstores and shops.

My thoughts are filled with the anticipation of seeing the incredible colours of Autumn at this time of year, the leaves will be showing off their finery in shades of scarlet red, soft burgundy and golden yellow. I will never forget the undulating parade of those very colours as far as the eye could see, up in the Haliburton Highlands on a previous visit,  it was breathtaking! I will once again hear the low sounds of the mourning dove and see cheeky magpies sitting on top of fences along the highways. Perhaps this time, I will finally see a moose, which has managed to elude me on every other visit – I did see a fox one very dark night as well as wolf and moose tracks on a trail that we were on while riding ATV`s through the Haliburton forest feeling wild and free…

It is the ebb and flow of nature in this great continuum that calls to me, the familiar becoming new as the years spent away dissolve like wisps of smoke allowing us to pick up the threads again among cups of tea, a new grand-niece to hold and the warm embrace of family.

One of the many beautiful homes found in the charming town of Paris, Ontario.

Walking through the town of Paris, Ontario, yields another beauty.

Journal Entry: November 25, 2005 (Fall) – Olas Altas

These past eleven days have been spent organizing our small studio that we have rented for one month. It is our third time renting from Salvador at the “Janitzio” – we are in studio #203. We are always given the second floor, we have previously stayed in #204 in 2000 and #202 in 2001. This studio has been the best so far, very sunny and bright. It’s been 2 years and this studio now has A/C and a T.V., luxurious touches that have made our stay more pleasant. I have been sleeping the very best out of our 9 years of experiencing Mexico.

The last few days we have been apartment hunting. We planned to stay in Mexico for 11 weeks and after December 15th, we needed to find a new place for at least another month. Friends of ours (who used to rent at the “Janitzio”), Isobel and Frank, are now staying at a hotel called the “Paloma del Mar”. We met them on the malecon and they told us about this hotel, it’s situated in a very Mexican part of town near the hotel zone. Yesterday, we ran into a Mexican friend (Alex) who also mentioned this hotel. We decided to check it out and visit our friends, too. What a funky place! Big, airy walkways and cozy rooms with fabulous ocean views. There are also king-size beds, A/C and beautifully tiled kitchens with small balconies.

There is room at the inn! We’ve reserved one of these rooms for 1 month, we may have to stay in two different rooms as the hotel is fully booked for the high season. We have been savouring our Olas Altas area – our only worries are whether we enough fruit (papaya, oranges, bananas and avocado) and cervesa each day. Our fridge is stocked with yogurt, cheese, limes and hearty bread – there is tea, juices and jars of salsa, we feel very blessed.

This morning we did our laundry ( hand-washing); we plan to do some e-mailing and will probably have some shopping to do after lunch. Another wonderful day, I cannot get enough of them.

A few observations to jot down: how incredible Los Angeles looked flying in to LAX, it’s so immense – we even saw the iconic Hollywood sign on the hill! Our pilot was also a fantastic tour guide. And as we left LA for PV, the beautiful sight of Mission Bay below us; California is an amazing state, it’s terrain is very haunting, it’s become a favourite destination. The rush after we landed in Puerto Vallarta and boarded a local bus to take us to our old neighbourhood, the glow of the sunset, the Mexican people and all the new yet familar sights…

The view from our second floor studio at the “Janitzio” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A charming view of our Olas Altas neighbourhood in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Our door is always open in our serene 2nd floor studio at the “Janitzio” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.