I have a friend who plays a very pivotal role in my travels. Over the last 6-7 years or so, my friend has driven me to and from the airport for many of my oversea departures. My friend’s name is Gerry P; an elderly lady in her mid 80’s, I have known her since I was a little tyke of about 6 years old. Without revealing my exact age, I guess you could say I ain’t no spring chicken. Gerry P was my mother’s best friend and she has always been considered part of the family. After Gerri’s husband died in the early 1990’s, whenever I took my parents out to eat, we always invited Gerry to come along with us.

Without Gerry, my trips would not go quite as smoothly. Even at a relatively advanced age, she’s still a fairly good driver even though she has a tendency to speed a bit. More importantly, Gerry P is always on time and very reliable. Whenever I return from my travels, I call her from the airport and she promptly picks me up in the loading zone with a smiling face and takes me home. Sure beats the impersonal service of a taxi, furthermore it saves me about 35USD on a roundtrip basis. Just so you get a better idea - Gerry lives about 5-6 minutes from me, and the airport (SFO International) is less than 10 minutes away by car. As a token of my appreciation, I usually bring Gerry P a nice little gift from overseas - a tea set from Thailand, an exotic decorative table runner from Laos, some oolong tea or something else I feel that Gerry will appreciate. Not too many people have as a big of a heart as Gerry P. Let’s face it, they just don’t make them like they used to. She’s a very special lady and friend.

Who needs a taxi anyhow?

On my recent trip to Mexico’s Costa Alegre, I had a very interesting experience on my final night in Barra de Navidad. Located just down the coast from La Manzanilla, ‘Barra’ is a small picturesque beach town, very popular with ‘spring breakers’ and families. Looking for a nice wholesome meal for dinner, I went to Casa Sol, a small garden café that I read about on the Internet. Some previous visitors gave this place some very favorable reviews - according to the press clippings, the small cafe featured live music nightly by some of the local musicians in the area. In addition, there was a hint of some vegetarian entrees being available. Just what the doctor ordered!

Walking into the café, I was given a friendly welcome by the proprietor, a middle aged lady who was stationed in the small kitchen. With a variety of colorful indigenous arts and crafts decorating the place, the small restaurant had a lot of ambiance. The place was virtually deserted and I was the only customer for the night. I asked the proprietor who was doubling as chef and waitress, if she could prepare me a nice vegetarian dinner? No problem she said, suggesting a Mediterranean salad and a spicy vegetarian pasta dish (not on the menu). Situating myself at the best table in the house, I began chatting with the proprietor whose name was Olga as she began preparing my meal. It’s always interesting to hear the stories of expatriates from North America, Europe and other ‘first world countries” who have relocated to the tropics to developing third world countries like Mexico.

Olga was born in Holland, but moved to the California during her ‘free wheeling hippie days” sometime in the mid 1970’s. She eventually settled down in Mendocino, a small coastal town in Northern California. Sometime in the late 1990’s, she bolted to Barra de Navidad after the dissolution of her marriage to start a new life. A light bulb went off in my head when she mentioned she had lived in Mendocino. I passed thru the area with a friend sometime in summer of 1998, staying overnight at a beautiful private home in the forested hills overlooking the coast. The house was owned by a client of mine by the name of Richard Redfern, who worked as a medical doctor in nearby hospital. Almost everybody in the area knew Dr. Redfern, who had the deserved reputation of being a very friendly and hospitable fellow, who often invited musicians of touring bands to crash at his place when they passed through the area. Of course, Olga, having lived in Mendocino for so many years, also knew the good Doctor fairly well, having visited him at his home on a number of occasions. What a coincidence!

Continuing with the story - Before heading to Richard’s house, my friend and I had an early dinner at the Mendocino Café and Grill. Shaking her head in disbelief, she related to me that during the 1990’s she was part owner (and a chef) at this very same establishment, before bolting to Mexico sometime after the summer of 1998. I distinctly remember my dinner there - I had one of the best salads that I’ve ever had, all the produce was organic and locally grown.

It is definitely a small world after all!

As a sidenote - there was no live entertainment that night, as the musicians pulled a no show. Boo…..