In February 2009, the three of us went on a cruise down the Mexican Riviera - that's the Pacific coast side of the country. Our final port was Puerto Vallarta. After our excursion, we were back at the cruise ship port area where there are a lot of little shops selling t-shirts and jewelry and miscellaneous souvenirs. We went back to the ship and T decided to stay in the cabin and watch a movie, so MT and I went back out to the shops to look for t-shirts.
As we were walking around, we saw this sculpture-type thing depicting the Spanish and Aztec conflict. I think the shopkeeper wanted more money than we were willing to part with, so we left the shop and kept walking around.
Pretty soon we found a bar, so we sat down to enjoy a couple of ice cold Pacifico beers along with some chips and salsa. Soon enough the couple of beers turned into many beers and we met up with some people we'd been chatting with on the ship that had been on a couple of excursions with us, including the one we'd done earlier in the day. Drinking makes people friendly and we were having a lot of fun with this couple, laughing and chatting and drinking beer which soon turned into tequila shots.
I think it is safe to say that afternoon in Puerto Vallarta was as drunk as I have ever been. Ever. I'm not proud of it, but it happened.
MT and I decided that we absolutely had to have the Spanish/Aztec sculpture thing, so we set out to find the shop that had the piece. Needless to say, many a shopkeeper were willing to separate two drunk gringos from their money. We bought the ugliest hats and t-shirts imaginable on our quest to find the sculpture shop.
We did find it and were able to negotiate a price we were willing to pay for the piece. The shopkeeper wrapped it all up nice and secure for us. We somehow made it back to the ship as the horn was blowing. I really think we were among the last people to get on board.
I'm still embarrassed to think of my son (10 years old at the time) seeing me in such a drunken state. Oh my God. Disgraceful.
Anyway, we left the sculpture wrapped up until we got home. Imagine our excitement as we prepared to unwrap our treasure, certain that we had a wonderful piece of authentic Mexican artwork to show off in our home, an amazing souvenir of our family vacation, an heirloom to pass on to T.
In our memory, the souvenir was beautiful and artistic. The colors were brilliant, the carving detailed and intricate. The struggle between the old and new world shown in a single piece of artwork we could hold in our hands.
Check it out. Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it and admire the stunning detail.
Talk to you tomorrow :)
1 comment:
i SHUDDER TO THINK HOW MUCH YOU PAID FOR THIS "WORK OF ART" ;)
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