The Blue Chairs

Yesterday, I went to the beach area in front of the Blue Chairs with my pal Luis for some late afternoon sunbathing and ocean dipping. We saw Kirk, a drama teacher in a Catholic school from Peoria, Illinois. He asked if he could join us and I said, “Yes, of course.” He had a towel and we all laid down on the sand, since there were no more Blue Chairs available.

Kirk stroked his chest hairs absently as he chatted with us. He had Luis’ rapt attention, and he regaled us with tales of his life as a drama teacher.

Then Luis and I went into the ocean. Well, let me rephrase that. Luis went right into the ocean and waited impatiently for me to wade in.

“Come on!” he yelled. “Let’s see the girls in here.” Luis has been speaking to me in English and Spanish, but he defaults to English. Two Mexican women and a few men bobbed up and down in the high waves. It was around 6 p.m. The waves were getting stronger, so I was waiting for the right moment for them to flatten out so I could run in. The water was up to my knees, and was I screaming.
“Tengo miedo! Tengo miedo!”

“Come on, stop being scared and just look at the girls.” Some tall thin Mexican guy with a short buzz cut and a big tattoo on his upper shoulder came over to me and took me by the arm and gently led me in. I started laughing because I felt so embarrassed. He didn’t say a word as I thanked him profusely. When we reached Luis, the guy turned around and waded back to the shore.

Meanwhile, Luis was standing up to his waist between the waves and commenced making fun of me. He mimicked my face as he opened his eyes and mouth really wide with a mock, shocked look on his face.

“This is your face!” The more he mimicked me, the more I laughed as I kept a nervous eye on the waves crashing around us.

“Stop looking at the waves and pay attention to the ladies!” I couldn’t stop shrieking and laughing. Eventually, I had enough and rushed for the shore before I got knocked down on my culito. We talked to Kirk for the remainder of the daylight.

I went home and took a shower. I went back out to Café San Angel, located in the heart of Olas Atlas, the main strip in la Zona Romantica. Olas Atlas is one of the best people-watching spots. I listened to my Spanish lessons on my iPod Nano. Luis came by again and we hung out and I glanced at a group of women close by. Luis kept insisting they were gay while I dismissed him.

“No sweetheart…They are gay.”
“You’re crazy. You think everyone here is gay and on the make.”

Yet another lovely day Vallarta.

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