View from the Palapa

Most days while in Nuevo Vallarta we spend a considerable amount of time at the beach. We walk along the clean white sand, one day heading south and the next day north. We go into the ocean, which is as warm in January as our lake at home ever gets in the summer. And we sit at our palapa and read, watching people come and go. There is always a procession of tourists like us walking the beach from morning to evening, in bathing suits or shorts, back and forth all day, soaking up the sun and enjoying their vacation. But while we relax there are countless locals, usually in long pants and sometimes long sleeves, working away, either raking the sand to keep it clean, tiding up the lounge chairs, picking up trash, or taking and delivering food and drink orders. They work hard, are very pleasant, and help make our visit enjoyable. There are also vendors, young and old, walking the beach back and forth, in and around all the palapas, all day, hoping to make a sale. Some have stacks of hats on their heads, some are loaded down with shirts or dresses, some have sunglasses, or fancy wooden hand painted bowls, some have blankets or table cloths. One old gentlemen has small wooden sewing machines, while lots of men carry large trays of jewelry. Pablo is quite gregarious and offers to make everyone personalized bracelets. Rosa, limping along with her cane, greets me in Spanish every day, asking how I am and seems pleased as I now respond in my very limited Spanish, even though I still don’t buy from her bowl of brightly painted toys or bracelets. These people work so hard back and forth all day under the blazing sun while we sit in the shade under our palapa. Occasionally we see them make a sale, but it doesn’t seem to be often enough to compensate them for the hours they spend each day. They must make a living as we see the same people day after day, and recognize many of them from prior years. They aren’t pushy, and are always polite, as they encourage us with ‘almost free’ or ‘how much do you want to pay’ if you appear interested. But what a hard way to make a living.