Greetings from the land of no stoves

We'll no heating stoves that is. We're in San Fransisco (aka San Pancho, MX, a bit north of Puerto Vallarta), soaking up some much needed sunshine and rest. The weather has been identical every day. Warm, sunny, in the low 80's during the day and high 50's at night. The thick walls of the house we're in soaks up enough warmth during the day to passively release it at night, so no stoves in sight. The closest fire I have seen is in the wood fired pizza ovens.

Sadly this is our last day here, so I will be ambling down to the beach shortly. Hope all is well up north. I understand we lost power at home for almost a day which probably means a freezer disaster awaits. Have to say the simpler life down here certainly has its attractions. The people and food have been great and the ocean is wonderful. It's been great to get a good vitamin D shot of sunshine.

(And yes, I have raised a shot and few margaritas in salute to the crew of Hearth.com)

Thanks, I'll post some pictures on return. Here's some shots on the house's website posted by the owner.

http://www.ourdream.info/gallery/

We used to import those wood burning hot water heaters from Mexico - used them to supplement solar DHW systems!

Man, that time passed quickly...I thought you just left!

Glad to hear the trip is going well. Sounds like perfect weather and the pics of the digs look fantastic.

Finger's crossed on the freezer.

pen

I just had a TV dinner and had to put wood in the stove. I hate you. :-/

No worries, I will be in the big chill soon enough and it'll feel twice as cold to me.

No whales spotted yet. The Humpbacks come down to birth their calves in Bandares Bay, but none spotted so far. However, I did spot a few Walmarts, a Costco and a Sam's Mart around PV. We have stuck to patronizing the small shops and locals. They have been hit by the double whammy of a slow economy and fear of drug wars. It was a pain in the butt in PV. Normally the Malecon (boardwalk) is full of tourists, but so far it is pretty quiet which was nice, but not so nice. With two young men along, we got offers for free tequilla about every 5 steps. One could have gotten seriously plastered without buying a thing in about a block. Lots of cabbies pushing 'la cucaracha' (weed) too. So we walked the side streets and went into the communities including Gringo Gulch which is where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's now derelict houses are. It was good to get out of PV.

Up here is San Pancho we sat on the beach all day. There couldn't have been more than 50 people in the 2.5 mile stretch, so we had palapas, surf and cervezas to ourselves essentially. Add a good book and fun waves and it was just perfect. Only sunset pushed us away.

Back from the land of chiles to the land of chilly. It was a nice vacation, but too short. Here's a few pictures. The west coast of Mexico is great for sunsets and margaritas.