On the
second Sunday of our time back to Salinas we decided again to go to Will’s
Score Sports bar but this time for dinner which was scheduled to be served at
6PM.
We watched
football at home for the afternoon on an internet site we had discovered some
time ago that was UK based and gave us access to every sport event shown- golf,
NFL & CFL football, soccer, baseball etc etc. http://www.thefirstrow.eu/
As well,
Eddie and Paola came over to our condo to have a couple of drinks with us and
then come with us for dinner. There was quite a crowd at Score and dinner that
Sunday was either barbecued ribs or drunken chicken. Our group all opted for
the ribs- excellent!
This week
was also the first time we had a few days in a row of perfect sunshine- yes,
it’s spring 2 degrees south of zero! We spent almost every day taking 1 ½ hour
walk along the beach which during the week is wonderfully peaceful and empty-
just us and the birds.
During one
of the more sunny days, we spent a couple of hours sitting on the beach and
swimming in the clear waters of the Pacific. None of our condos’ cabanas had
been put up so we rented 2 chairs and one umbrella- $3- and sat looking at the
great scenery- nothing like looking at the ocean to calm your nerves and
complete your day.
Our favorite
beer lady, Defina, recognized us immediately. After ‘how are you’s’ , hugs etc
she let us take her picture and of course sold us more cervaza- $1.25 each-
brought to our chair nice and cold.
On Friday
evening, Kimberley, our Real Estate person, had a party for her visiting
daughter, Jackie, at the Score bar. Naturally we all went- Uwe, I , Eddie and
Paola along with a large crowd of fellow gringos.
Kimberley & her daughter
Jackie
There was a
great local band playing everything from Santana, Pink Floyd to Stevia Ray
Vaughn.
We also met
a couple of Canadians there who had been reading this BLOG and had contacted me
with the info that they were coming to Salinas to check things out. Richard and
Ping live in Montreal but spend most winters in the warm part of China.
They came
and visited us the next day at our condo and we had a great afternoon
discussing our travels, investments, Ecuador etc etc. It’s so amazing that you
can meet online and then in person- there are many many positives about the
internet.
During one
of our many walks through town, we met yet another Canadian whom we had heard
about. We were walking by his house, saw him outside and introduced ourselves.
He invited us in to check his place out- very nice- and chat about where we
lived in Canada etc.
Well, not
only was Andy from Collingwood, but he had owned a restaurant in Craigleith a
block from where we had our house! I’m forever amazed at how very small this world
really is.
On
Wednesday, we went with Eddie to the CNT office, the local state-owned
telephone company. Over the summer, our dish TV service had disappeared ( was a
pirate company), plus our internet service was the pits. We were supposed to
get 1meg of service but we were rarely above .5, making NFL game downloads
almost impossible. So we were applying for internet and TV service with this
company. After waiting about 25 minutes for our number to be called, we sat
with a young lady while she filled out what we required, our address and one of
the phone numbers in our building. Within 8 working days an installer should be
contacting us re a visit- I’ll believe it when it happens.
American
Thanksgiving was on Thursday and Will’s Score Sports bar was having a potluck
dinner. Guests would each bring a side dish or desert and Will supplied the
turkeys. There was a huge amount of expats there and everybody brought
something- WOW- the amount of food was amazing! The turkey, stuffing and gravy
were a wonderful taste of home.
Guests
arriving with food.
The desert table
The many many side dishes
Our happy group
As you can
see our days are flowing pretty normally, shopping once a week at Supermaxi,
the large local grocery store where everything we need is available, long walks
along the beach, dinner or lunch with friends, cooking and cleaning at home-
much the same as life anywhere. We just happen to live in a place with
perpetual warmth and NO snow.
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