We are packing up and heading home. We leave tomorrow, March 23.

LAST POSTING

Packing for home - boo hoo. Three months in a blink of an eye. Between hunting up our stuff, organizing it, and packing, we could still sneak out to the La Cruz Market for eats and a concert. And we indulged in one more glorious swim at Playa Destiladeras.

Our schedule went like this: yesterday, we started to assemble our stuff to pack. Today we are putting things in the bags. Tomorrow we leave.

One last concert at the La Cruz Market.

This Cuban band featured the Cuban tres guitar. It is a three-string guitar; however, each string is doubled up like a 12-string guitar. The tone is incredibly full, and this guy could play it masterfully.

Check out the string arrangement. He said most production 'tres' guitars are made in Cuba; however, a handful of luthiers make handbuilt models outside of Cuba.

On the main stage, another Cuban band played rousing sambas. Wouldn't you know, this guitar player also had a Cuban tres guitar? I had never seen them before, and then I saw and heard two of them in one day. These guys were excellent, adding trombone and flute to the mix. Again, the La Cruz Market has the best musical acts.

We bought a kilo of sweet grapes.

This cute family band was surprisingly good.

Wanda got a balloon poodle from a passing clown as we waited for the ATM bus to Playa Destiladeras. We still wear masks on the bus as they can be extremely crowded. It is overkill, but we have not gotten sick yet - knock on wood.

We usually get a fruit plate from this beach vendor at Playa Destiladeras. He has been there for years. His wife also sold us a miniature strawberry pie and a pineapple pie. They were all scrumptious.

Goodby Playa Destiladeras.

Our flight ends in Chicago at 6 pm. We have to figure out how to get home to central Wisconsin from there. If we are super lucky, we might catch the American Eagle to the Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA), which is just 15 minutes from home. It leaves at 7:20 pm. That is very tight; however, we have Global Entry status. This means we do not have to go through the customs line. We just scan our passports at a kiosk, and off we go to baggage. We will have to go through security again, but we are automatically in the Pre-Check line, which only takes a minute or two. The hold-ups will be getting our baggage, procuring our standby boarding passes, and racing from Terminal 5 to Terminal 2.

I mention all this to tout the Global Entry Program. It is expensive, $100 every three years, but if you do a lot of international travel, it is awesome. Besides, our Capital One and Chase United Explorer credit cards reimbursed each of us the fee as part of their travel promotion, along with our frequent flier miles and other benefits.

Anyway, if we miss the CWA flight, we might try the Green Bay flight. My sister and nieces live there. There is a bus that we can take from there to Stevens Point. One way or another, we’ll figure it out.

Home as we left it in December.

Home as we hope to return to - wishful thinking, I am afraid to say.

CORRECTION

I have one minor correction to make. The other day I mentioned that our friends, Donna and Brent, recommended the Miguel Angel Restaurant Bar. We thought we went there for nachos, but we actually went next door and upstairs at The Goalie Sports Bar. How could we make such a mistake, even before we had margaritas? Someone moved the portable Miguel Angel sign right in front of the stairs going up to The Goalie. That faked us out.

So, to set the record straight, we ate at the real Miguel Angel Restaurant Bar. We enjoyed the parrots, which seem to be the restaurant's theme, and the chicken fajita we split.

This is the portable sign that faked us out. It was moved right in front of the stairs going up to The Goalie Sports Bar.

Of course, I should have figured it out with this mural painted halfway up the stairs and with all the TVs in the bar tuned to various hockey games.

This is the real Miguel Angel Restaurant Bar next door.

They had two giant 24-year-old parrots. We were warned that they could be aggressive. There was also a smaller and very friendly paroquet (or is it parakeet?) that crawled onto my arm and shoulder.

A plate of chicken fajita. We also got six hot tortillas with the fajita. On the side, we ordered freshly made-at-the-table guacamole, chips, and an excellent freshly made salsa. Wanda ordered a mango margarita and custard dessert infused with Kahlúa. She generously shared both with me. I walked out pleasantly stuffed.

The brand new street, Avenida Pacifico, parallels the beach. All the potholes are gone.

Dave and Wanda

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