A car alarm was sounding in the early morning stillness. It pulled me from my dreaming and I found myself instantly alert and wondering if it was our camper. It wasn’t so much a worry about bring broken into, it was more a feeling of not wanting to be that guy whose alarm is waking up The entire neighborhood. I went out to the balcony long enough to ascertain that it wasn’t us but some vehicle in the adjacent campground. I was heading back to bed but the sun was rising in shades of pink over the mountains so I lingered on the deck and watched as our star made its appearance to warm the surface of the planet and bring forth another opportunity to experience life as it presents itself.

PJ was in full work mode, nesting she calls it: setting things up, moving things around, hanging things on walls and making the space bend to her will. I had a cup of tea and breakfast on the balcony while watching the compound start to wake and tentatively move around. We went over to the office and talked with Miguel & Nancy. We picked up a garafon and figured out where the laundry is located.

I hung the hammock and gave it a good testing out. Wouldn’t want to risk anyone taking a spill. Read my book and enjoyed the shade. We spent most of the day up in our tower hiding out from the bustling and noisy world. The vegetable truck came by and I wound my way down the stairs and picked up some veggies for dinner and a watermelon to snack on. We sat on the north balcony and munched on the melon while PJ took a break from her project.

We took a stroll through the back country to give the hounds an outing and to see what’s what. Lots of livestock roaming around. A pair of mismatched bulls came strolling up to the fence. The smaller, curly haired guy was sporting an egret on his back like a badge of honor. A skinny band of mixed equines followed the bulls down to the water trough. Some looked like ponies, others like mules or burros. We explored the countryside for about 45 minutes then headed back to our little paradise to take a peaceful afternoon nap.

We cooked up some rice and steamed the veggies from the vendor’s wagon. It made for a tasty and light dinner before heading over by the beach gate for the open mike night on the patio area by the ocean. Lots of residents got up and displayed their musical talents, some very experienced and others maybe a bit more green at the performing thing but not afraid to get up and give it a go. Some played old classics, some performed Spanish ballads and others made up humorous lyrics about their day at the beach. 

There was a crowd of about 50 people cheering them on and everybody was really enjoying themselves and getting into the groove. Miguel got up and jammed a couple of tunes holding nothing back and having a blast belting out the music. A group from Winnipeg called Mike and Nancy up to do a song with them and everyone went wild. Locals, visitors, people of all ages and styles braved the stage to express themselves. Tons of fun and totally entertaining. Miguel’s been hosting this for years and it is a definite hit with the winter snowbirds. Everyone loves Miguel and Nancy, with good reason. They live life to the fullest and give each person the kind of attention that makes you feel at home.

We slid out a couple of hours into it and took the dogs for a walk down the empty street. Returned to the tower and did some yoga on the deck and listened to the music as the remaining partiers joined together on stage to sing classics like la bamba and twist and shout together getting a little drunker and more boisterous as the night went on. Lots of laughter and hoots. Things wound down around 11:30 just as I was wrapping up this post. Salud amigos!