Bye Bye, Bambi

On the morning of the fourth, Eduardo and I drove P.J. into the airport in the Los Arroyos van. He waited outside while I walked her in to make sure everything was as scheduled and that her exit papers were properly looked after. P.J.’s mom had surgery and there is some recovery involved so she is flying back to Rhode Island for a visit. Said our goodbyes at the luggage check in and I ran back out to the van and we drove over to Home Depot so Eduardo could pick up some supplies for the resort. I grabbed a few hardware items for Lexi and then Eduardo left me at the Mega store where I loaded up on groceries.

Back at Los Arroyos, a lethargy set in. I’m not sure how long P.J. is going to be gone and it’s just me and the dogs. Cali was anxiety ridden the first day but that is her perpetual state. The next day, she was a little more settled and so was I. We took a long walk down towards the red compound with the spooky looking mannequins leaned against the back wall. I decided to hang out another day basically out of laziness and having no desire to pack everything back into the RV and bounce my way out through the back neighborhood. Did some yoga and a minor workout in their little gym then swam some laps in the pool. The weather is warming up especially here where we are slightly inland. The difference is equal to being on the boardwalk in Carlsbad or being out by El Camino Real. Maybe a ten degree increase in temperature. 

On Saturday, I got things organized and packed into Lexi. Said my goodbyes to the folks in the office, threatening to come back soon. They promised to save me a spot and I loaded the dogs into the motorhome and rattled my meandering way through the colonia in order to avoid the low reaching trees. Koda got comfortable but Cali stayed on her feet fretting the whole way. It was an easy drive back. Traffic in places but nothing too horrific. I usually come upon a slower truck and then just set that as my pace and relax for the drive. Forty minutes after pulling out of LAV, I was rolling down the black top entry to Lo de Marcos. It is going against the supposed one way traffic, but no one seems to mind and it beats thrashing the house on the cobbles of the main road in.

I knew by the closed gate at El Pequeno Paraiso that Bambi must still be in residence. That’s the name that the skeleton crew left here have given the wayward deer that had stumbled into the campground. I toted a few loads of stuff up the stairs then decided a dip in the ocean was needed to rinse the sweat off my brow. There are a few visitors down on the sand for the Cinco de Mayo long weekend. A group of teenagers had rented the stand up paddle boards from Oscar and had a small armada floating around by the anchored boats. No waves to be seen at the point. I strapped on my goggles and swam past the boats and dodging the SUPs I made my way out and around the rocks at the headland. The water was crystal clear. More visibility than I’ve yet to see here. I swam back along the coast past El Caracol, then came in and parked myself on a beach chair in the shade. 

Bought a cocada from a passing vendor and sat reading my book into the evening. Things are way quiet in the compound. It’s down to me, the young couple below Miguel and Nancy, the housekeeping couple and Miguel’s family. The dogs and I took a long walk through the back neighborhood just after dark and noted all of the empty houses. 

Today, we slept super late having had a hard night sleeping. Cali was fidgeting and some loud music was floating in on the breeze from somewhere towards town. Had a nice stroll, then sat in the palapa area down by the beach before going up and eating a leisurely brunch on the balcony. I was watching the deer cautiously grazing around the RV sites when Nancy came walking down with a large gentleman in a red shirt. It turns out that Bambi was indeed acting so tamely because she is somebodies pet and this particular character was that guy. He carried her bleating, a hauntingly human sounding cry, as she squirmed and tried to free herself from his grasp. They loaded her into a pick up truck and drove down the trail kicking up a cloud of dust. I heard the guy calling out to the deer as he was rounding her up. Guess what the true name is, you guessed it, Bambi. Originality is not always at a premium out here in the campo. Hung around on the deck reading my book and taking it lazy today. Dogs too, they have no problem napping all day. A shiftless bunch if there ever was one.