On a schedule

Even days in Mexico have a schedule, although it's not quite as stringent as life back at home. Goes something like this: wake up early-ish (sometime around six thirty), have a few pieces of toast with peanut butter and jam, put on surf clothes and head to the beach. Go surfing. Either come back to the house for another go at breakfast, or hang out on the beach chatting, people-watching, or working on Sudoku, depending on how early we left the house. Sometimes we’ll surf twice. Usually we do lunch at home, quesadillas with fresh avocado and tomatoes. Then it’s nap time, when most of the family sleeps and I tend to read or work in ‘the office’. Maybe a hike before dinner at seven-ish. In bed by nine-ish.

There are variations, of course – we might drive to ‘the other side’ to surf there, we might sleep in and surf late, we might have lunch at the beach – but the days progress in a generally orderly fashion. Getting into the routine is just part of the whole lifestyle here. On some trips you plan out every day, getting the most of the museums, the culture, the scenery, and that’s what makes the trip special. Here, it’s about finding the rhythm and settling in. As our friend Jackson likes to say, “Well, I started slow and then I tapered off.” Nap time here is more than a habit, it’s a scheduled part of the day. Few decisions equals little stress. We sit at the same spot on the beach, run into the same people at the same times, and revel in the little things. These traditions change so slowly from year to year (this is our twelfth winter here) that it’s strange to look back and think, “huh, we didn’t use to do _____.”

Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt, but sometimes it’s just comfortable.