Boy, will I miss this balcony! Our departure from Mexico is fast approaching – we leave here on February 7, with a quick stopover in the U.S. to switch suitcases (regrettably, we’ll need winter clothes for Italy) and visit family before heading off to Italy on the 12th. We both have exciting news to report: this weekend I (Diana) finished the first complete draft of my nutrition book for teens, and Allen finished a near-final draft of his screenplay! The next step is much less fun: finding agents. If anyone knows a book agent or publisher who specializes either in health or in young adult non-fiction, I would be ever so grateful to get the contact information. I also suspect that my manuscript will be taken more seriously if I can find someone with the “right” credentials (a pediatrician, nurse or licensed nutritionist) to write an introduction or serve as a co-author. If you have any ideas, I’m listening!!!
We’ll be leaving here in the knowledge that this is someplace we could live happily, at least for part of the year, while pursuing our new lives as writers. Puerto Vallarta no doubt bears little resemblance to the real Mexico – it’s filled with tourists and expats, you can get along fine without speaking Spanish, and there’s no need to sacrifice any of the comforts and conveniences of home. But for those same reasons it’s a fine (and more affordable) alternative to living in Florida or southern California or anyplace else in the U.S. with nice weather and a view of the ocean. And unlike Cancun, it hasn’t been overrun by chain restaurants and sports bars and shopping malls (except out in the so-called “hotel zone” and marina and northern suburbs, where there’s a Wal-Mart and we never venture). In the city center and the south end, where we spend our time, there is still the charm of cobblestone streets, corner taco stands, church bells with no rhyme or reason and stray kittens who’ve learned not to mess with the roosters. No one except the time-share salespeople is in much of a hurry. The prices here have risen dramatically since our first visit in 1998, but one can still find a magnificent condominium overlooking the ocean for about half the price of a similar-sized place in DC. Food in fancy restaurants costs about the same as at home, but there are plenty of equally delicious but less expensive alternatives, and food in the supermarket is practically a steal. Then again, if we hadn’t been shopping at Whole Foods at home, we might have been able to fill a cart for $50 there, too.
