We are here and staying in a beautiful Casa (called Casa de Bamboo) perched on a hillside that overlooks the jungle and the beautiful Tenacatita Bay.This is where our friends from Nevada City/Grass Valley have built a gorgeous casa where they come here to Mexico from November through March every year.

The casa WE are in has five levels. (Check out the Photo Gallery of more pictures of our Casa and surrounding La Manz.) Bottom level is the garage with bikes and snorkeling gear for us to use. On top of the garage is the 1st level which is the guest room that has a small sitting room and a large bedroom and huge bed and a really nice bathroom with shower. Beautifully decorated with colorful rugs, and artwork and sculptures with a rock floor like big slabs of slate.

The 2nd level is the great room with a palapa roof (made from palm fronds and bamboo). It's a large area with an area like a front room with seating, couch that is also a bed, four main pillars that hold up the palapa roof and are lighted at the top so they "glow" upwards into the bamboo and fronds. Beautiful decor and artwork all around. Then a dining table that seats eight. Then the counter that seats five which separates the living area from the kitchen. This whole area is kind of like a patio nestled in a tree house. It's open to the outside all the way around with palm plants and flowers planted all around the edges. This level is way up high overlooking the jungle, the town and the bay. There are birds singing, hummingbirds in the flowers, Mexican music wafting up from the casas below, church bells ringing, dogs barking, and the surf breaking!

The 3rd level is our master suite which is two levels in itself; the gigantic bed being on the upper platform with a view of the bay, which at night is quite beautiful with the lights out on the water and the moon and the stars shining. We open all the doors and windows and the evening breeze is fresh and cool. The bathroom is also open to the jungle in our back patio with no windows, just bamboo poles spaced about six inches apart from counter to ceiling; then an open area with plants in pots spilling their greenery over the edge of the counter down the outside wall. The shower is above a large two person spa-like tub made of stone with steps up into it.

It's all very different living in a treehouse with everything open to the sun, wind and sea. There has been no noticeable insects, so no worries about getting bit.

The 4th level is like a rooftop patio. Again, it is open to the sky with a large umbrella over the patio area and a palapa palm frond roof over the kitchen and the area that converts into another sleeping platform. It also has a bathroom and shower. Up there you feel like you're on top of the world! All of these levels are connected by a spiral staircase winding its way up to the sky. It is also protected from the rains with a palapa roof over it. I'd love to be here while the rain was pouring down experiencing the roaring sounds and the fresh cool breezes.

As I sit here writing, the music and voices singing from the church are floating up here on the breeze. Today is Sunday, so the town is more quiet than usual for the time being. The casa up the hill in back of us is playing jazz and another casa down below and to the south is playing slow melodic songs that make me feel relaxed and lazy.

Chris has been under the weather for the last three days with a cold and cough, so he's not feeling very perky. Today I woke up with a sore throat and cough so I guess today we will take it easy and not do anything too crazy.

Yesterday, Cat and Ron took us to the crocodile preserve at the north end of town. It is a jungly area where they have built an elevated walkway over (and a swinging bridge). The crocs were so cool. . . great big ones, medium ones and a little baby one which we got to hold (I'll post a picture after I get the photos downloaded off the camera). Their textures are amazing, and their beady little eyes keep a keen watch of everything around them. It was only 10 pesos (.80 cents or so for admission). They also have boats you can rent to go through the swamp to see them up close and personal.

After the crocs, we headed to the beach to one of the Mexican restaurants in the sand at the ocean's edge; waves crashing, kids swimming and playing up and down the surf. This is one of Cat and Ron's favorite places for Heuvos Rancheros. We all had a great breakfast while many of the Mexican "entrepreneurs" tempted us with their many treasures (jewelry, hammocks, toys, purses and much, much more). I was guilty of getting an interested glint in my eyes and they had my number every time. It got to where I had to lie my head down and not look to avoid them bombarding us. What fun! My sister would have been in hog heaven too!

It seems like every thing we do, no matter how small or how large, at the end of the day we are exhausted. Might be the high humidity or that we are just plain out of shape (probably both). We are here in La Manz for 11 days and the time if really passing too quickly. There is so much we want to do and see, and not enough energy to do it all. This is a really great little village with wonderful people, beautiful homes, flowers everywhere, and a good supply of fresh food just minutes away.

Cat drove us to the nearby town of Melaque which had lots of shops, restaurants, banks, bus station and more friendly folks. We went in search of a "skull" to be her protector in her casa's courtyard. She actually found a little restaurant back in a shady covered alley area, where the cook had a large pot boiling a goat's head while the meat was just falling off the bones. He scooped it out with a large ladle and Cat was thrilled with her "fresh find." She took it home and baked the rest of the meat off, and like an interior designer with a keen eye, placed it in just the right setting in front of the courtyard gate grouped with three lovely potted flowers.

Tonight, if all of us are feeling up to it, we will be going to a soccer game in town with some of the better teams playing. Then tomorrow morning Cat and I will be walking the beach for exercise and breathing in the beauty of the surrounding palm trees, flowers and mountains. . . and chatting to our heart's content solving the worlds problems (well maybe only ours).

So I will bid you adios and hasta luego until I can get all our pictures downloaded and ready to post. We miss all of you and are looking forward to being home in June.

Be sure to check of the Photo Galleries for new pictures posted.