Here we are...fifteen days from our visit to Huatulco.  It has been twelve years since Chad's last visit, and I forget how many for me.  Twenty-one? Twenty-two?  I don't recall years like some people do.  I can't say, "oh yes, I was in Huatulco in 1990 something."  My only benchmark is that Chad and I weren't married yet.

Our suitcases are packed already.  We had to find out how well (or not so well) everything that we are bringing down will fit.  Six pairs of shoes, many, many outfits, teddy bear, two porcelain dolls, a box of 96 crayons, a large coloring book, a set of kitchen knives, two frying pans, two cutting boards, plus all of OUR belongings.  The aforementioned are for our friends, Anabel and Venancio, and their kids and grand-kids.  We take access to things like tennis shoes for granted; Venancio is still wearing the pair of Nikes Chad brought him twelve years ago.  The last time I saw the family, the kids (Abraham, Isaac, and Katia) were small, one in diapers. Now they have their own kids! (Amea Michelle, Marley, and Joel)

This is our first REAL vacation since our honeymoon (I don't accept Chad's claim that camping counts as a true vacation).  It seems like it's all I can think about. We will be there for just a hair shy of FIVE weeks!  It seems like a long time, but we will be renting an entire home in La Crucecita, so we won't get tired of the eating out scene (not that I could get tired of that in Mexico).  We will also spend a few nights in Puerto Escondido, about forty-five minutes up the coast from the Bahías de Huatulco (the nine bays that make up the area; there is no true town named Huatulco).  While there we will also visit Piña Palmera, a rehabilitation facility and La Escuelita, a school for children and adults who want to learn English.  Our reason for doing this is that perhaps in the future we will spend three months each year there, in which case it may be nice to have something to do, like teach English (me) or work as a massage therapist helping disabled people (Chad) other than just being beach bums.

My intention is to document our adventures so our friends and families can be informed of what and how we are doing.  I will do my best to update the blog on a regular basis, but it will depend on having access to a computer and wi-fi, which theoretically shouldn't be a problem, but then again we will be in Mexico where things don't always happen the way or as soon as we are used to them happening here.

We will be traveling down with our friends DJ and Amber (married a little over six months so still on their honeymoon), who will be staying two weeks.  This will be their very first visits to Mexico, and I couldn't think of a more perfect way to introduce them to the culture than via our wonderful friends Anabel and Venancio. We are hoping to squeeze in a three- or four-day trip to Oaxaca City, which is a five hour drive from La Crucecita.  When I was an exchange student in Puebla in 1984 my host family and I drove from Puebla THROUGH the mountains all the way to Acapulco, which I just barely survived (thanks to the tranquilizer my host mother gave me) so I should be able to survive the trip to Oaxaca City, especially since Venancio will be driving, and he drives cab for a living.

If you haven't heard of the Bahías de Huatulco, I strongly encourage you to google it.  It is a beautiful, pristine area with miles and miles of beaches and calm lagoons.  

I hope you will enjoy this blog!  Perhaps it will entice you to vacation in Huatúlco some year soon. We would love to host you when we are there!

Michelle and Chad