Day 1 in Valle de Angeles

Enjoying a break

Exhaustion led the Frog Family to sleep soundly until about 2 AM, when we all woke up from very loud music and voices which we soon figured out was from the TV in the next cabin over.   After unsuccessfully trying to ignore it for a while, DaddyFrog got up to go ask the neighbors to turn it down.  They didn’t answer after multiple knocks, so DaddyFrog turned on their front porch light and eventually gave up knocking and went to the front office.  He found only the armed security guard there (asleep), and by the time they made their way back to the cabin, the TV was off.

This was presumably the same security guard who had come through, rifle slung over his shoulder, during dinner last night when the hotel alarm went off, (relayed by a baby monitor) to check things out.  It made me feel a little better to know there was security, but it certainly struck me that no one but our table found it at all out of the ordinary to have an armed man come in to a restaurant during dinner.   We are so lucky in the United States to live in such relative security.

Aviary at Villas de Valle

The place we are at at the moment, Villas de Valle has a little play area for the kids complete with a plastic play structure, a teeter totter, and swings.  The girls had a great time playing this morning.  In addition to the little playground, there is also an aboveground pool (but brrr!), and an aviary with red birds called guaras, and green parrots.  The girls were enchanted to find that the parrots say “hola!”

We snagged some milk as a morning snack for the girls, and they were flabbergasted to see that it came in a plastic pouch.  Why, Mommy?

Milk comes in a bag!

It’s been fun to see them processing all sorts of different ways of doing things.

Frog Family at El Asado Don Juan

We slept through breakfast, so we walked into Valle de Angeles for lunch, which we had at a fabulous BBQ place, El Asado Don Juan.   Picklebee is proving to be a Hispanic food pro, downing rice, beans, and pretty much everything else you put on her plate.  MonkeyWrench was a little pickier, but both loved the refresco de platano (banana soda) that was a special treat during lunch.

We walked around Valle de Angeles after lunch, checking out a few shops and local color.  In the Central Plaza, they have erected about a 15 foot long beautiful nativity scene, complete with the three wise men, shepherds, Mary and Jesus, (and a donkey, as Pickelbee pointed out), but no Christ child.  I was baffled by that at first, and then realized that he probably shows up Christmas Day.  Duh.

Part of the nativity scene downtown

We made our way back to the cabin hotel where Picklebee took a nap, and MonkeyWrench had to try out the pool.  Too cold even for her, but she needed to try.

On our walk back to our lodgings, we passed a typical hardware store (ferreteria), and I was struck by how absolutely polarly opposite this hardware store was to our typical Home Depot or Lowe’s in the US (see the yellow shop in the adjoining photo).   But I really have to wonder, even with, or perhaps even despite, all our material advantages, is our way of life any better, or makes us any happier?  We certainly consume more resources.

Local Hardware Store

After our siesta, we moseyed back into town to eat again, this time at Restaurante El Anafre, which was even better than lunch.  I’ve been very impressed by the food here so far.  I had a pork chop plate, and DaddyFrog had a steak.  GrandpaFrog and the girls had spaghetti, although Picklebee preferred the rice and beans.  Go girl!   We even made a little friend at dinner – she was very well mannered.

A new friend at the restaurant

After dinner, we made our way back our lodgings, stopped to chat with the armed security guard at the gate, and are now ready to crash.  We hope you are all doing well!