You may have noticed a problem this past week accessing San Pancho Vida. So did I. Typepad experienced some sort of a hack-attack, which they handled bravely and communicatively, keeping their bloggers well-informed with reports every few hours on their status page.
It must have been a frustrating and miserable time for them, solving problems just to have others arise. But they succeeded and likely came out of it knowing more than they did before, which I suppose is all we can ask of a crappy situation...that we emerge with more knowledge and understanding than we had going in. My thanks to them for all their hard work and persistence.
I received emails from several of my readers about the problem. I checked in regularly for several days, monitoring the situation. Then the week sort of got away from me, as it often does. But now that I have access again, I'm in the mood to write a bit.
I want to express my appreciation to all of you for your patience with the temporary disappearance of sanpanchovida.com, and to the many who wrote such thoughtful and kind emails and blog comments regarding my Only Reflections post last week. I enjoyed writing it and enjoyed even more hearing your own reflections.
We had a sweet week here in San Pancho. The sunsets have been glorious, the weather beginning to warm but most nights still cool enough to sleep happily.
The season is winding down, people preparing their houses and themselves for settling in for summer or for heading out to their northerly homes or for a few months of adventure. It's always a time of year that touches our emotions: the realization of the depths of friendship, of how quickly (in retrospect) the months have flown by from October to May and how we'll miss being together.
My reflections these past few days have been on how affectionate this culture is. People touch each other. No matter whether people pass on the street, or see each other in a restaurant, on the beach or at a front door, there are always hugs, kisses, cheek touches, eye contact. The younger men, and even some older ones, greet one another with a hand-slap fist-bump, an acknowledgement of comaraderie. The women often find times to slip away for a private moment, a "how are you?" that holds meaning. Even the dogs, especially Gypsy, Glenn's border collie, come over for a smile, a wiggle, and a hug.
This time of year, meetings at sunset are even better than usual. Lazy chats as the sun goes down are often followed by a meander down the street to one of our little taco places and more conversation, discussions of summer plans and reminiscences of times spend together in our months here.
Last weekend was one of the busiest weekends of the year, Easter being the major Mexican holiday. The beach was packed, the town bustling. Even San Pancho experiences gridlock during Semana Santa. But people helped out, volunteering to direct traffic in a creative loop-de-loop around town and to pick up the inevitable trash left behind. All in all, it was a fine celebration.
There's also been dancing this week. Chas and what's left of the Dos Bertos y Las Musas combo played at Maria's on Monday evening. The energy that night was perfect, with lots of big tables set up, some in the street; excellent music; and most everyone who's still in town jumping up to dance simultaneously at the first good dancin' song. Our musicians played an extra long time as no one was in the mood to stop.
Carol's family from California is here visiting, so we had the opportunity to show her daughter-in-law Laura and her grandchildren how and why we enjoy our little pueblito.
Later in the week, we were treated to a different kind of dancing when some beautifully costumed indigenous dancers showed up at the Malecon. People trooped up from tables in the sand to watch.
Coming back up from the beach yesterday, friends pointed out a new addition to the town. Luis from the rib restaurant had taken the initiative to paint a sign on the little footbridge that crosses the arroyo just up from the Malecon. You did know, didn't you, that San Pancho's real name is San Francisco?
Well, if not, you do now.
Have a great week. Get out there and dance...and keep your anklets tied.
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