PV, pesos, and peace and quiet

My week in Mexico was pretty awesome. I don't have any pics yet to post, and I probably wouldn't post any pics even if I had some on hand to post. Puerto Vallarta is a lively city that was named after a former governor of the state of Jalisco (as far as I can tell). It boasts a beautiful boardwalk, a flea market the likes of nothing I have ever seen before, and hundreds of thousands of Canadians. The resort my mom and I stayed at was wall-to-wall with Canucks. Only a handful of Americans and three handfuls of Mexicans (from the interior looking for cooler weather on the coast). I'm a little surprised the state of Jalisco has not become a Canadian satellite province. It probably wouldn't hurt its rep any, and it might even raise its rep as a great place for Canadians to go.
10 pesos to 1 USD. That is common knowledge, although there were a few differences depending on where one goes. I found myself very fond of the local OXXO, as it reminded me of the local 7Eleven. They were everywhere! Not big in the way of chocolate though, which leads me to wonder; Mexico is considered the birth place of chocolate. With this in mind, wouldn't Mexico seek to capitalize on this rep by stocking their OXXO's and other stores with chocolate? I came across a few Milky Ways (American version of the Mars bar), which were good. Back to pesos, however... it cost 15 pesos (roughly $1.50) to surf the Net for an hour at the local Internet cafe. It was much cheaper than renting a laptop and connection from the resort. We probably only used between 15-20 minutes of that hour, but that was all right.
Had a couple of high adrenalin moments during my stay in PV. First one came while my mom and I sweated our way through Downtown PV. We had finished looking through the Municipal Flea Market and were looking for a restaurant Mom was fond of. Our walk took us over a lagoon across a footbridge made of wood and wire mesh. What a heart-racer that was! The second event came when I parasailed for the first time ever. $40 USD saw me strapped into a tight harness and hurled up like a kite into the air. The view was stunning and I was incredibly amazed by the feeling of freedom that coursed through me as I floated high over PV. No pics of this amazing event (shrug), but I have several witnesses.
More than once, my mom and I likened the resort to a sort of Fantasy. However, I quickly got to thinking about Reality, and how easy it was for Reality to creep and trickle through the Fantasy. Much like Gautama taking his chariot ride and seeing Reality for the first time. Reality is armed police and soldiers on nearly every street, making sure the tourists aren't harmed. Reality is decay just beyond the resort walls. Reality is Time-Share fiends nipping at your heels. Not something that our resort's staff would've wanted us to see (especially the decaying, cracking walls just outside). Sometimes I wonder if the locals are ever resentful about their economy being steered by so much pasty-white flesh. The vibe never came to me at all, but it still makes me wonder.
I'll probably have more to say about my trip later, but maybe not. BYE.

Worth 520 pesos

One of my goals during my family's fun under Cancun's sun was to buy some books. My parents have always been able to pick some CD's on past vacations, but they never seemed to be able to find books. I don't know enough Spanish to do the language justice, but a book in both Spanish and English would be both great and helpful. Anyway, I got hunting in the resort's gift shop for books, and I turned up an English copy of 'Popol Vuh'; it's a book that contains the creation story of the Quiché Maya. Their Bible, for lack of a better word. As the title suggests, the book costed 520 pesos, or $52.00 U.S. The high price kept me wavering on whether or not I wanted to buy it. I wouldn't buy a book in Canada or in the U.S. at that price, but I've never come across such a find and I wanted something special from my trip. I could not find anything like it in Playa del Carmen or at the little shops just beyond the resort, so I went ahead and bought it.
The other day, I finally got around to reading this book. Sometime in the 16th Century, a unnamed member of the Quiché Maya wrote down as many oral legends as he knew and eventually, this book reached an open-minded parish priest who translated the manuscript from Latin into Spanish. This book goes through the creation story and recounts legends that really would have come in handy during that tour we took of that newly excavated palace two hours or so from our resort. Anyway, the story is similar in some ways to the one found in the Bible, but because it is a new experience, I am finding it a great story. The creator gods of the Maya tried several times to create humanity, and destroyed their mistakes and false starts. This proves that not all gods are perfect.
To my folly, I must say that I am not yet done reading this really fascinating book, but I am close. Most of the book's space is taken up by the Introduction, but the narration is pretty easy to follow. I admire Fr. Francisco Ximénez for being so open-minded and respectful of the Quiché Maya. Most of those priests tried to drive anything not Christian out of the world. Take that, small-minded fools! This book is definitely worth 520 pesos.