Brisas Del Mar, MX

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Hello again everybody,

Almost a week away from phones and computers has suited me just fine. It was last Thursday that Matt and I arrived at the Ixtapa-Zihautenejo airport to meet our Dad and Stepmom, Peter and Beth. As I travelled across Canada last fall, me and my Dad joked all the time about meeting in Mexico for Christmas. We missed Christmas, but its been a swell little family reunion on the Pacific Coast...

Denny and Maribel, the couple that owns the Casa del Brisas del Mar met the four of us at the airport. From there, it was about an hours´ drive south to Brisas del Mar. The community consists of about fifteen people, thirty goats, five pigs, and five kilometers of beach. Denny and Maribel have spent the last three years buying their property, designing and building the two-storey house, and teaching some of the locals the ways of customer satisfaction. This´ll be about as much luxury as me and Matt will see for a while; a pool, shady hammocks, king size beds and our own bathrooms, prepared meals and plenty of cold coronas. I´ve no complaints.

A friend from upstate New York wrote to me recently, and asked if I was still on a minimalist quest. I said yeah, something like that. Staying at a place like Casa del Brisas feels a little wierd for me, but I´ve grown pretty comfortable with my family´s level of wealth, and the comforts they expect for their money. We´ll see how my life goes, and if I end up pushing them more in the direction of voluntary simplicity, but everyone makes their own decisions right? As I learned from a very happy man in Halifax,¨Guilt is a bag of bricks baby, just but it down¨.

Last Sunday a very kind man named Edmundo, making a name for himself in the tourist service and sportfishing business, took the four of us out on his boat. We spent six or seven hours trolling for a big one. Sailfish, tuna, and dorados are caught regularily around here. We had to settle for a brief visit from a school of dolphins, and on our way back to the port, Matt reeled a Skipjack Tuna, probably 10 pounds, and enough to feed the four of us last night.

Mostly, the last week has been full of lying in hammocks reading crime paperbacks, walking down the beach, swimming in breakers that are a little bit scary, and going to bed early. Enough to make my snowbound family a little jealous, I´m sure.

On Thursday, Matt and I will send Dad and Beth on their way, and head for the youth hostel in Acapulco. Our deal was that he´d go to Mexico City if I´d go there. Personally, I´m looking forward to surfboard rentals and cheaper places to stay in Puerto Escondido, and continuing through Oaxaca and Chiapas, but it´ll be good to have a point for comparison.

Hasta Luego!

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Photos

Una Vista de Brisas del Mar
Yup, life is tough

Matt and Dad
gone fishin'