More Pipi's

First, we have been losing our internet connection periodically and yesterday our elevator went out. And yesterday was the end of a fraction (four week period) so lots of moving in and out. Our porters were working their butts off lugging bags up and down the steps. On the bright side, they probably did okay with tips.

Tomorrow is February 29th and because our fractions are set to run so they always start and end on the same date, every four years the people who have fraction three, which runs from February 27th to March 27th, get an extra day. Tomorrow we are throwing a "Free Day" party.

I am sure many of you have heard about the 22 cruise ship passengers who were robbed while on a side trip here in Puerto Vallarta. Nobody was hurt but the disparity in news coverage is simply amazing. Reports ran from a group of heavily armed hooded men stopping the bus and robbing the passengers to an unarmed drunken man who attempted to hold up some passengers but failed. The most plausible story is that the 22 passengers were off the bus and hiking along a jungle trail when one or more armed men held them up. Puerto Vallarta remains safe unless you are wandering around drunk at 4:00 A.M. in the morning and trying to buy drugs. Not that I would know this first-hand, of course.

Okay, back to Pipi's. As always the drinks are big, if not particularly powerful, and the food is plentiful and more than decent.

But I Will Eat It All


I got the tamale and enchilado combination.

I Didn't Eat The Whole Thing


And Bill's standing in for Peter didn't end with him being serenaded. There was the obligatory cake on the face and the downing of shots of tequila to deal with.

Does The Humiliation Never End?


Drowning His Sorrows


Soon the merriment was over. Well, kind of over. When Allison heard that a few of us were going to stop at a couple of bars on the way home she was raring to go.

More Tequila, More Tequila


The couple of bars turned into six, including Murphy's Irish Pub, La Bodequita Del Medio, a little bar in the flea market where Allison and I shared a mouth numbing shot of tequila while Bill and Marcie shopped for a blanket, an island bar (really, it is on an island), Steve's Sports Bar and El Torito's where I stupidly placed a bet on the Knicks to beat the Heat (hey, I was getting 9 points, and I had drunk six shots of tequila plus a bannana daiquiri and a beer at Pipi's).

The Crew At La Bodequita Del Medio


The Tequila Taking Hold


And here is a group photo of us at the bar on the island, the name of which escapes me.

The Island Bar


This is kind of a sad picture, though. As you can see, I am wearing my custom made "Drinks Well With Others" cap. Unfortunately the cap did not make it home with me. I must have left it at either Steve's Sports Bar or El Torito's and when I went back the next day to see if anyone had found them I had no luck. And it isn't like I can just go out and buy another one.

Oh well, life goes on and this too shall pass. Meanwhile it is another beautiful day here and I have tomorrow's "Free Day" party to look forward to. And tonight, of course, the always amusing coverage of yet another couple rounds of primary voting and the posturing and spinning of the winners and losers. The fun just never ends.

And if anyone sees that cap of mine, grab it and let me know.