DIFFERENT BED, DIFFERENT COUNTRY        

Tonight I sleep in my own bed.  It is getting old and has various hills and craters that wrap themselves round my body when I get in.  My pillow is equally old, is stuffed with feathers and can be screwed up into a tiny ball or shook out into a full sized, but flat, head rest.  What is great about my old sleeping situation?  It knows me, it welcomes me in and wraps itself round me like an old friend.  The blankets are exactly the right weight and warmth for cosy nights and settle around me as I lie down, what could be nicer?

We have just arrived back from our annual pilgrimage to the sun, two weeks in Mexico with good friends, perfect for the middle of winter.

I really love my winter vacation, it is perfect for getting rid of the winter blah’s and when I return I feel that winter is almost over and it will soon be time to get out into the yard and do some updating for the summer months.

We have been taking this yearly trip for quite some time so we have it down to an event of no fuss and very little excitement. Two weeks ago the four of us drove to Kelowna to our usual overnight motel, it is handy to the airport and looks after our car for the time we are away.  We always seem to catch a flight that departs at some ungodly hour of the morning, this time it was 7.00am which means arriving at the airport around 4.30, yuk!

Arriving in Kelowna after supper we book into the motel, Dave parks our vehicle in its reserved spot for the next two weeks and we go to our rooms.  The usual soulless motel room is clean, very comfortable and quiet.  We book wake up calls for 4.00am, and a cab for 4.15.  It is then the time I do not look forward to, that of getting into a strange bed with horror of horror, strange pillows.  I thought I had solved the pillow problem this year by taking my pillow from home but, in the transfer of luggage, leaving heavy coats in the car and getting into the rooms, I had forgot to take my pillow indoors.

Neither Dave nor I wanted to leave the warmth of the room to go back to where the car was stored so I didn’t bother getting it.  This is not to be confused with suffering in silence, I complained loud and long about the pillows being hard, too fat, the wrong shape and various other ills but to no avail, Dave pretended not to hear and I decided to shut up and make the best of it but knew I would never manage to fall asleep.  However sleep I did as the next thing I heard was the wake up call rudely bringing both of us from our slumber.

After the usual waiting around for the plane and then five hours in a sardine can we emerged into the sun filled world of Peurto Vallarta, where our tour bus was waiting to take us to our resort, half an hour later we were deposited at the check in desk and within twenty minutes were in our room and changed into summer clothes.  The inconvenience of the early morning flight gives the advantage of arriving mid afternoon and being able to get right into the Mexican lifestyle.

Our resort has everything we need, basic but very clean rooms, big buffet meals that seem to go on all day.  The food is sometimes strange but there is always lots of choice and we always find lots of nice things to eat.  The gardens around the various buildings are kept in immaculate condition and it is a beautiful place to stay. The beds are a bit of a nightmare as they have rubber mattress covers which make for a really hot, sweaty sleep and once again there is the nightly fight with the pillows.  However, as we spend so much time lying on loungers, by the pool, there is lots of time for afternoon naps, and even a few morning ones.

The waiters are wonderful and the US dollars left on our table every meal is much appreciated and ensures that we get lots of fuss and attention.  The Mexican wages are very poor but many of these waiters have been working there for years so must be a good place to work.

Two weeks of swimming, strolling, watching glorious sunsets over the ocean, eating and chatting to the many repeat customers that we have got to know over the years, goes by quickly and it is soon time to be repacking the bags to do the return journey.

I try to put myself into a self induced coma for the flight as I find it the easiest way to survive the knee crunching from the seat in front of me and the garlic breath of the person sitting next to me.  Less than five hours later and we are waiting for luggage in Kelowna.

One more night at the motel and we are ready for home.  Great news, the highway closed by the landslide near Summerland has been opened, with a short detour, this means we do not have to take several hours out of our way to get to Oliver.

A quick trip into the supermarket on our way home and here we are safe and snug in our own home.  Tonight we sleep in our own bed, however, at the moment it has two suitcases lying on it that need to be unpacked before we can get in it.  Not only that but the smiling waiters are nowhere to be found and there is no enticing smell of food drifting out of the kitchen.

Having my own bed does have it’s drawbacks but I guess I will survive.