Recap: Good Morning, From Here, June 07 – 13
Monday
A beautiful Monday morning with clear skies for a change! The air feels lighter, a good start to another week in Vallarta.
What I love most about any conversation is to hear people’s opinions and thoughts about Vallarta. Particularly the ones that touch on serendipity and ‘coincidental’ moments, which are a rite of passage for newbies and – if you are aware – will continue to happen almost daily here in Vallarta.
One such conversation took place over mango smoothies with Deborah Cole last Friday. I met her at The Palm and sat beside her and Matt Karimi a couple of weeks ago. A quick exchange of names and business cards before a performance, then emails, finally led to an opportunity to sit and get to know one another. We wound story after story about mutual friends and how people from ‘up there’ (Texas and Canada) and the two of us in Mexico are inextricably bound. It was such a lovely couple of hours. Our paths will cross again this evening at Georgia Darehshori’s house.
Vallarta Mirror columnist and dear friend of mine, Sandra Bradley, joined me for dinner at Richard Burton’s glorious old house overlooking the city for dinner last Saturday. We had plenty of time to chat before the mariachi began entertaining the booked-solid crowd at Hacienda San Angel. We enjoyed their Restaurant Week Menu with beet salad, vegetarian entree, and dessert, which we washed down with a delicious raicilla made close to El Tuito. Restaurant Week ends tomorrow, so get out there and choose one of the participating 50 eateries this year and indulge!
The First Saturday at Arte Vallarta Museo is always a party with Mexican food, fabulous live music, exhibitions of art, loads of wine, and conversation. The Museo is like a beacon, and last Saturday, three friends I adore finally made it for the first time, and I am sure, not their last! It was lovely to see Janet Simmonds, Brian Bott, and Jody Wolk enjoying the enormous patio and open air.
Monica Miller and Vicki Walters Paulin joined our table just as Sharon Gerber, her hubby Rob, and John and Barb McKinney strode in the front door. Sydney Clark and Fatima were there and, of course, Bradley and the missus, who never miss an event at the Museo. William Haydon tended the bar with purpose, Director Nathalie Herling and husband Javier Nino made their way to every table to say hello, as did Curator Richard Di Via.
I was at the Museo the next day for a Workout and Caridad (Charity) fundraiser. There were puppies and dogs everywhere, all behaving like the best of friends – it was quite remarkable. Nathalie and I sat waiting for Colette Zarry to arrive with Roxy, a dog she has been fostering for two years that my sister, Patrice, wants to adopt. It was my job to assess if Roxy would be a good addition to my sister’s life. I think she will be a fine fit From Here.
Tuesday
It doesn’t matter how enlightened you are—or how enlightened you believe yourself to be. It doesn’t matter how many hours a day you devote to meditation or prayer, how many ashrams you have visited, or if you’ve spent a silent 28 days in contemplation. It also doesn’t matter how fervently you follow the teachings of figures like Buddha, Moses, Mohammad, or Jesus. At the very core of all that exists among us humans, there is one singular truth that unites us: the essence of our being lies in our ability to come together in peace. When we create a space where we can sit together, basking in the soft, gentle light of late Spring, and openly share our love, everything falls into place. In that moment, we are capable of crafting a world in which everything is harmonious and right because it is a world we have built collectively.
Last evening, nearly 50 of us gathered at Georgia Dareshori’s inviting apartment, drawn together by the promise of a unique experience—a sound healing session led by Gloria Fiona in her latest incarnation as a healer. Gloria has often shared that throughout her life, she has been the master of her own voice, guiding it on what to express, which notes to hit, and what songs to share. However, this night marked a pivotal moment where her voice took center stage, liberated and vibrant, resonating with pure energy.
The atmosphere was rich and textured, enhanced by a handpan drum, singing bowls, the occasional gentle chime of a bell, and the fragrant smoke of burning herbs wafting through the air. Gloria commenced her first public offering of sound healing, a venture that felt both magical and transformative. Meanwhile, on the terrace, painter Rene Nieto was diligently working on a piece that would soon be auctioned off, adding layers of creativity to the evening’s ambience.
As Gloria weaved her sonic tapestry, words became sparse, and what was once a crowded living room transformed into something boundless. The music enveloped us, transporting our collective consciousness to a space where stars communicate silently and planets navigate their orbits in perfect harmony, avoiding chaos through mutual resonance. Images of quasars with their swirling black holes and vibrant quarks danced in my head, accompanied by the electric energy of change pulsating through the universe.
The experience was truly ethereal and soothing, a balm for the spirit. I found myself hearing echoes of Muezzins calling to prayer, layered with the harmonious sounds of an enormous Georgian choir. Sanskrit incantations and powerful mantras, close enough to the resounding OM, filled the air of that late Spring, sunset-lit living room, creating a rich sonic landscape. As evening descended, we became one—a unified heartbeat resonating in rhythm with the cosmos. In those moments, we transcended individuality and experienced a profound sense of connectedness, reinforcing the idea that in sharing love, support, and understanding, we truly create a love-filled world From Here.
Wednesday
Humpday is usually the busiest day of the week for me, but with summer moving in, it has become less, and today will be full of joy as I get to do two favorite things – play Scrabble for fun (HAH! I say this often: Lose at Scrabble, Lose at Life.)
The second is to eat with someone I rarely see. In this case, my old editor from the Vallarta Tribune, Madeline Milne. You’d think we lived in other countries. Our lives collide once or twice a year, and we spend some quality time getting caught up, then go our separate ways, keeping half an eye on Facebook for unusual movements. It’s lovely. We are planning to go to Tacos Now on Lazaro Cardenas for baked potatoes; if you have not had that particular pleasure, go. It is the best comfort food ever! A full spud report in the morning.
On my way to Nacho Daddy last night for Open Mic, which was a non-event, I stopped in at Coco Cabaret. Chris Lopez and Sebastian Coronel are teaching a theatre workshop in the dark cabaret for the next few months, on top of putting together their own shows, plus the others they will be co-producing and directing.
They have 20+ students who are learning to act, and sing and dance – at the same time. The plan is to mount a spectacular show at the beginning of the 2025-2026 season.
There were a handful of girls, including Canadian Wendy Warhol, who kindly came over to say hello. A few others I recognized from various venues around town, or they recognized me; at any rate, it was a high-energy, super-friendly atmosphere as the students sang and danced to “Footloose” over and over again, taking turns as soloists and chorus. The applause was deafening as each singer finished, often after mangling the lyrics and the key—a superb learning environment.
The students and their master teachers meet twice a week for three hours each day, often right before or immediately following a full day at work for the students. There is definitely star power in the mix. I plan to pop in and keep an eye on Vallarta’s future show stoppers and will keep you abreast of what’s shakin’ at Coco’s off-season.
I made my way over to Basilio Badillo for the last Open Mic of the current season at Nacho Daddy. I saw Mike Owens and his enormous dog sitting outside of his wildly popular bar, “Studs” and stopped to say hello. We agreed that commerce in town has come to its usual grinding halt, as it does every year. The momentum of the past crazy busy season has left a lot of us with something called “spare time” on our hands. It does feel weird! It’s an uneasy transition – reverse energy, where your 100+ seating capacity is serving five dinners a night or 40 thirsty bears instead of 200, but it is life in a “tourist” town. And it takes a month to adjust to the apathy that’s as widespread as the humidity levels with no rain for respite From Here.
Thursday
Every night before I go to bed, I check the next day on my calendar to see what’s on the list of activities. See if I have to sleep fast for morning goodies or if there’ll be time in the afternoon for a sustaining nap for evening events. There it was: Thursday, June 12. Empty.
Woo-hoo! That means I don’t have to get out of my jammies. I can graze all day long on whatever I have in the fridge without worrying about eating “properly” to sustain me for two or three back-to-back events. So, I am starting with another cup of strong coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit and heavy cream – eating dessert first. I’ll get to the real nutrition in a bit.
At 7 am, I was deeply immersed in laying out Elke Zilla’s latest poem, choosing photos to go with, and suddenly remembered that I had to write this column first before anything else got done! (Me yelling at myself, let’s gooooooo!) I get lost in her words every week, so I scheduled her poem, and here I am.
My brother called from Sweden yesterday and asked if I was getting excited about going to see him and his family in August. The answer was (finally) a resounding Y E S! All of the practical reasons why I should NOT go have been dealt with one by one – by far the most important – what to do with my darling Bogie for nearly a month – have been resolved. Now, with all the major decisions made, all I really want to do is pack and GO!
Murphy, with his Perfect Law, laughs aloud and shouts, “W A I T.”
At yesterday’s appointed hour, I picked Madeline Milne up at her tiny and perfectly appointed real estate office – MexHome, across the street from Intercam. We walked up to Tacos Now on Lazaro Cardenas. I had been longing for another baked potato feast since the last time I was at the new chi chi restaurant/art gallery. Mads and I split a large Russet, and she augmented it with a pork taco that was bigger than the spud. It was flawless once again.
Besides selling real estate, Madeline is the newish owner /operator of the Living Room Bookstore & Cafe in the Marina. She has great plans in the works that I won’t spoil here, but keep reading over the next little while or so for some exciting news for those who read and love to trade in used English language books.
It was great to see my old Vallarta Tribune Editor again, swap stories, and catch up. Mads and I bumped into Georgia Darehshori and Hardy Madhur on the street; the two of them were on their way to be entertained. Mads got on a bus home to Fluvial, and I turned the corner onto Guerrero and home to my Bogie From Here.
Friday
How superstitious are you? I should Google why people are freaked about Fridays falling on the 13th, but I don’t want to take the time; if I ever knew the reason, I have forgotten it.
It’s a fairly clear, still morning, and it may turn out to be a ‘beach day’ like yesterday. Not that I left the house for two seconds, but I did take some fabric onto my teeny patio and, while ripping seams, got some sun on my face. An hour of that energizes me for hours and hours.
So much so that I didn’t bother with a siesta. I plowed through my 15-hour waking day, futzing and getting a ton of little things started, but nothing major finished. In other words, I had a perfect day and did precisely what I wanted and nothing else. Those are rare and welcome days that make me grateful.
Some interesting writing came to me yesterday, including a possible new columnist who walks all over Mexico and has a talent for writing about what he sees. You can read him on Monday. Another long piece by a dear friend who had a rush of inspiration and asked me to read and comment on what he had written. You can do the same on Tuesday!
The biggest news came from Carla Piringer, who usually writes about migraine headaches and submitted an article on an assisted-living facility that is having an open house next week. She was so impressed after seeing the place she wrote about it and sent it to me. She is not a ‘gushy’ individual at all, but gush she did about Pacific Home in the hills overlooking Vallarta. Carla’s enthusiasm spilled over her written article, and it took two extended phone calls for her to flesh out what she had written down. Okay, I am sold and will have a look-see at the Open House next week. You can read all about that fabulous facility today in Vallarta Mirror.
I am meeting Brian Bott today for mango smoothies. We met at a Garden Club Gala three years ago and became fast friends. He is such a light in my life.
This coming Sunday is the last Vallarta Garden Club presentation of the Music in the Park series on the Isla Cuale at 4 pm. For 90 minutes, you will be entertained by Angeloo, Vallarta’s musical prodigy, who will sing songs in multiple languages, including Mozart’s ‘Queen of the Night’ in German, one of the most challenging arias in opera.
At 12, there is no genre or language Angeloo won’t try. And ace. He is a remarkable and charming young man on many fronts. He is a top student, loves martial arts, and has never met a song he couldn’t sing.
You should bring a chair or blanket and come early to get a great spot. The Garden Club will have some refreshments available, and you are welcome to bring a picnic and make an afternoon/evening of it. See you Sunday on the Isla Cuale by the Iguana Bridge leading up to Gringo Gulch, From Here.
