Erin's Journals

Just a thought… Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. [Isaac Asimov]

Well, this isn’t the blog I had planned for you today; that will have to wait until next week. I hadn’t intended to be in an area that is the focus of much of North America’s attention today, but here we are.

Sunday began early but pleasantly enough: Rob and our friend Chris FaceTimed the hockey game with me from the condo in Sidney, BC so I could watch. But shortly after shutting down the feed and writing today’s journal, I got a message from my Airbnb host:

I hopped on Google to find out just what was going on. Apparently a high profile drug lord was taken out (permanently). How big was El Mencho, a nickname derived from his first name? Well, there was a 15 million US dollar bounty on his head – that’s a record amount and who knows if it’ll be paid. But it’s believed that rather than a war between factions, the aftermath of his death was an explosion of rage from his followers. At least, that’s what we’re hearing from people with their ear to the ground. And cbc.ca. They’re doing a great job from their post in Mexico City.

Visitors and residents of a wide swath of Mexico, from Puerto Vallarta to more than four hours down the highway near where my sister Cindy lives in Lake Chapala area, are advised to stay indoors until we get the “all clear.” Roads were blocked by burning vehicles. Some WiFi was out (at least according to Cindy and to hockey fans who lost their hotel lobby feeds yesterday morning in the middle of the first period). Cars and buses were burned and used to set up roadblocks to stop military vehicles, shots were fired, and airports and all transportation in, out, and around the areas ground to a halt.

One poster on my Facebook page told of a friend who was two hours away from PVR when their plane was turned around. Aw, man! Porter, Air Canada and WestJet all halted flights in and out of the main PVR airport; anyone travelling here is advised to check before heading out. Which you are smart enough to do anyway, I know.

You can imagine the pandemonium this caused as hotel guests gathered in their lobbies, thinking they were departing, and were now awaiting word on where to go and what to do in order to stay safe. Everyone, from residents to visitors, was told to remain indoors; my host reminded me (as did a few ex-pats down here) to make sure my phone and extra chargers were all fully juiced, and asked if I had enough food and water. My fridge and freezer are basically stocked for the remaining 3 1/2 weeks I’m here, while any water I drink is either from a water service that delivers weekly, or simply boiled in the kettle. I’m just fine, the dogs are paper trained and we have a tiny fenced yard should a biological emergency arise. So all is well.

In fact, between occasional updates on Facebook, I spent most of yesterday cosy in bed watching season two of ER and cuddling with the dogs. As of this writing Sunday evening I have no worries; our neighbourhood is gated with a man at a booth by whom any cars have to pass in order to enter or leave. I doubt he could stop cartel members but that’s not something I’m thinking about right now, as it would appear that tourists are not being targeted.

We’re in a quiet neighbourhood and from what I’m seeing and hearing around us, it is certainly staying that way for now. I see images of the destruction near the famous Malecón in downtown Puerto Vallarta, the nearby Costco and – in the other direction from us – even in bucolic Bucerías. I count myself extremely fortunate to be as cocooned as I am.

Already people are saying they’re changing their future travel plans from Mexico to other countries like the DR. My opinion is that this too shall pass, and I would expect the area to return to order quickly; tourism means a lot to the wonderful Mexican people, especially from Canadians who are now skipping right over the US. As Lisa said yesterday, “Boy, this didn’t happen in Palm Springs!” but I responded with a photo of a neighbour’s across the street from the house where we stayed last year in nearby Cathedral City, California.

Violence can, and does happen everywhere. And without being foolish, I’m not letting an aberration – if indeed this is what happened yesterday, time will tell – keep me from living my life. I’ll pay attention to our government’s warnings and do as I am told. But I’m not afraid. Call it naïveté or the innocence of living in Canada, where a mass shooting draws together leaders of all political parties in grief and renewed calls for gun safety, but I’m hoping for the best. I choose to believe the beautiful locals who say this is definitely not the norm.

And so, on we go, waiting for the green light to head out and carry on with our lives, trusting the Mexican government to get a hold of the bad guys who brought fear and death to the streets of this usually serene part of North America. Mexico needs our love and support, and I’m going to continue to hold the good people of this country in my heart.

Got a different opinion? Please let me know: call the voicemail line at gracefullyandfrankly.com (it’s a little microphone icon on the bottom right) and Lisa and I will discuss this further on Thursday.

Also, there’s also a new story at erindavis.com and Drift with Erin Davis tomorrow: part two of the supremely sleep-inducing History of the World by H.G. Wells. Don’t worry – I won’t tell you how it ends. (That was a joke.)

Sweet dreams.

Just a thought… Don’t be afraid to try something new. It might be the best thing you ever do. [Author Unknown]

As we all settle in for more great sports entertainment from Milano-Cortina, here’s another diversion for you today. It’s more of a travel edition that I hope you’ll enjoy.

Marisa, Sheila, Barbara and more readers whose queries I answered, but whose names I didn’t save, inspired today’s blog. Who knows? You might find some things in here that come in handy as well.

You know by now that I’m down in Nuevo Vallarta (about a 20 minute drive from the main Puerto Vallarta airport) on Mexico’s west coast. (Nuevo Vallarta is the small black dot just a little northwest of PVR.)

I arrived in mid-November and, although I’m getting homesick for BC and the adventures that await with a new cottage that Rob and our friend helped move all of our stored house stuff into two weekends ago, I’m going to stay until March 19.

I realize as I write this that you may think I’m muy loco for considering returning early. But look at the view that awaits! Rob shot these deer (in the only way he’ll ever do that, by the way) as he was moving a few things in on Friday. Nice that if I can’t be there watching over him, they are!

I’ll answer the questions I’ve received via email and social media messages and posts about our stay in this beautiful country. Here goes.

Why Mexico?

It’s a direct flight from Victoria (on WestJet – sadly not Porter…yet) and we had to break our habit of going to California to escape the grey winters and the blues they bring. My sister lives a 3-1/2 hour drive away in the Guadalajara district, so I’m also familiar with how easy the living here can be. Plus it’s much warmer than the Coachella Valley of California, with far less rain. Nearly zero.

Do I feel safe?

Yes. Absolutely. Now, like anywhere, you don’t go out at night alone, and you stick to areas that you’re familiar with, but I’m also staying in a gated community with a combination of visitors and residents. And I know that in an emergency I can call and ask to be put through to an English-speaking operator.

Is language a barrier?

I wouldn’t say so. Plenty of visitors know little more than “please, thank-you, good day and how much?” and they get by with the help of apps that translate on the spot. I dove into Spanish lessons on a paid app the moment I had chosen Mexico, so with 228 days of practice under my belt (tongue?) I’m more than able to converse. Let’s just say I know enough Spanish to get into trouble, but not enough to get out of it!

How did you find your accommodations?

This is the question I get asked the most. Although I am not a supporter of the politics of apps like AirBnB or VRBO, both of whom have contributed to the despot ruining things south of the Canadian border, I didn’t have too many choices. So I used AirBnB because it had far more options.

Search filters are your biggest friend. You put in the dates you want to go (flexibility is a great help), the area you prefer (more on that shortly) and what needs you have: AC, a pool, how many bedrooms/bathrooms, is it pet-friendly, etc.. Your options are pared down for you (and yes, you can specify how much you want to pay) and then you read the reviews. I cannot stress this highly enough. I found a homeowner who was great at communicating and even offered me a bit of a discount on top of the long-stay cost cut that exists for some listings. To say she’s been incredibly helpful (to the point of picking us up at the airport!) would be an understatement.

Location, Location, Location

As with any stay, where you are is as important as your preferred accommodations. Some like having their meals made, their rooms cleaned and their towels regularly changed. Rob and I prefer privacy as we don’t care for loud surroundings with oblivious visitors (including door slams, heels on marble floors above us, pounding poolside music, etc.) and love being able to bring the dogs for long stays. I don’t like all-inclusive because I’m paying for everyone else’s booze, plus enjoying a keto lifestyle, I prefer to make my own food. Walkability for us is a plus. I learned where to find local stands for produce, use shopping apps for bigger needs, and hire ride shares for large grocery shops.

The issue of choosing a neighbourhood was a challenge, so I read websites and asked around. For example, that’s how I learned that Zona Romantica in Puerto Vallarta is noisy. Having visited there this trip I can’t imagine navigating the dogs on walks through the busy streets and uneven sidewalks. It’s a recipe for a broken ankle. I wanted a quiet area that’s an Uber ride from things I need (more on that next) and that’s where Nuevo Vallarta came in. Readers who are staying in nearby Bucerias (boo-ser-EE-as) love their area too.

Do you need a car?

I researched whether we did and the overwhelming consensus was DON’T rent a car! Yes, the drivers are more erratic than we’re used to at home, traffic moves quickly (until it frequently stops to a crawl for whatever reason) and it’s an awful lot to take in for a newbie to the area. Plus, it’s expensive, of course, unless you look into Uber, where you can rent a car for about 50 pesos (or less than $5 Canadian) a day. Now that’s just preliminary research – do your own – but it’s an option.

I was not too familiar with Uber before I came, but for ride share it’s my new friend: often less expensive than a cab, you get a price before you even order your car. Taxis are less predictable and I’ve encountered drivers that only want cash, which isn’t always convenient. Uber is your pal, amiga. There is also a bus system that gets residents around, but that’s just a few steps beyond my comfort zone. Download the Uber app before you leave Canada and everything goes straight onto your credit card. Easy peasy.

If you choose to catch a taxi at the airport, there can be long waits. So if you order an Uber (which aren’t allowed on airport land) you have to traverse an over-the-highway walkway and wait on a sidewalk until your ride arrives. It’s not hard once you’ve figured out where to meet. Just remember their plate numbers or letters you’ve been texted, and away you go.

Can I use my cell phone?

Rob and I have a Canada/US/Mexico plan that allows us to phone freely. But whatsapp is most frequently used by businesses and people alike down here as a viable alternative to a local phone number.

Are the people friendly?

Well, as I like to think about Canada and US tourists, “You get the Canuck you deserve.” If you are polite and make an effort, especially in situations where service people don’t speak English, you’ll be treated well and we all muddle through. Learn the customs a little. Excuse yourself a lot. Always greet according to the time of day, or simply say “hola” (silent H). Say “thank you” often. Learn to ask if they speak English and go from there. We are not entitled to be here, and we are grateful for their hospitality, from the gardeners in the neighbourhood to the men who work seven days a week at the security booth. Learn names. It really matters to them and makes Canadians look good.

What Do You Do for Fun?

There are cinemas that have films in their original English on certain showings, but nothing has lured me into a theatre. Besides, what language would you watch the Melania “documentary” in if you wanted to understand it, anyway, LOL? Go to local restaurants and street vendors if you want great homemade cuisine, or you can safely order in via Uber Eats (which I’ve never used) if that’s your preference. Of course there are regular street markets galore for food, people-watching, crafts and adventures; all you have to do is search for them on Trip Advisor or Google.

How busy you are – from golfing, to beach visits, to exploring area restaurants, to shopping – is entirely up to you. Someone asked about beaches: I’m not a sand-in-my-toes kinda gal so I can’t honestly say. But there are public beaches and if there’s not one to walk to, you just call a car to get you there. At home, you can watch your favourite shows on Netflix, bring an HDMI cord to plug your computer into the TV, or view on your device. Your options are pretty much limitless.

Finally, a Fashion Tip:

Find a Canadian flag patch, pin or sticker and affix it where people can see it. Not only is it a great conversation starter among fellow Canadians (and a few Mexicans who have been happy to let me know what they think of Trump), it also lets your hosts know you’re not from a country that is a threat to them or their loved ones in the US. I bought my supply at a dollar store in Canada and have taped a stitched Canadian flag patch on my purse and a sticker on my cell phone cover.

Am I virtue signalling? You bet your frozen bum I am. As Canadians, we’ve earned it. Funnily enough, at a restaurant a few weeks ago, my pal Lisa and I were asked if we were actually Canucks, or (as I called it) poser hosers. Um, no, buddy. Ask me what I think of Danielle Smith, Wayne Gretzky or Kevin O’Leary. That ought to answer any citizenship questions!

So that, my friend, is a little bit of inside information for you. Would I come back later this year? Not for a four-month duration; it’s too long to be away from my home on Native land. I’ve been fortunate to have a few guests while I’m here (not to mention Rob’s three trips down – the final one coming to get the dogs and me in March) and the rest of the time has been quiet and restorative. I’ve gotten a little lonely, but between you, another visit from my Mexican-based sister, the dogs and recording Gracefully and Frankly with Lisa Brandt, I’m busy enough. Plus it’s a great time to binge all of those series I never had time for, like MAID and Younger on Netflix.

I hope this answers your questions – you can email me a follow-up if you have any. Until we talk this Thursday on the podcast, have a gentle week. We’re almost a third through it already. You can do this!

Just a thought… I’m proud to say, we all make each other laugh. In my home, growing up, I learned that from my parents. They made each other laugh to the end, God bless ‘em. How great is that? [Catherine O’Hara 1954-2026]

Note: I had planned to answer a number of queries I’ve received about spending a prolonged period in Mexico – particularly in the Puerto Vallarta area. I have that blog written but it will wait until next Monday, if you don’t mind.

Today I’d like to stay here in my memories of one incredible Canadian woman, and I know you’ll understand.

Many of us are still struggling to make sense of Friday’s news of the passing of Toronto native, Canadian icon and comedic gift to the world, Catherine O’Hara. In leaving us at only 71, we can’t help feel like “Canada’s Mom” had so much more to give, so many more laughs to spark with that incredible imagination, spirit and talent of hers. How tragic for us all, but especially for her family and her close friends and co-workers.

Two other things stood out to me this weekend: it seems that every generation has a different version of the Catherine O’Hara they loved – from SCTV to everything up to and including Schitt’s Creek and, most recently, The Studio with Seth Rogan.

And there is not one person – not a single voice anywhere – who does not say what a fine, kind and generous person she was in real life, whether as a co-worker or someone they met in passing. What a legacy she leaves behind! This year’s Oscars In Memoriam is going to be unbelievably heavy.

Okay, now a confession: I really didn’t give CBC’s Schitt’s Creek (available on CBC Gem) enough of a try, largely because I found Chris Elliott’s character, Roland Schitt, gross and annoying. I’m told you have to stick with it past six or seven episodes, so when I get back to Canada in six weeks, I’m most definitely going to make it my comfort food viewing for 2026. Millions of fans and a near sweep of the comedy Emmys during Covid can’t be wrong. I can, and I know I’ll soon be admitting it.

As for films, the fans of Home Alone 1 and 2 are countless, but my absolutely favourites are any of the collaborations she made with the director Christopher Guest, from A Mighty Wind, to Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. In so many of the scenes, the unparalleled cast (including Eugene Levy) was just allowed to improvise. And it is gold. Please indulge in these incredible gems.

I lost count of how many times Rob, Lauren and I laughed ourselves to tears while watching these quirky comedies. Lauren even picked up playing the autoharp after A Mighty Wind! We raised our daughter in a house filled with laughter and music, and anything helmed by Christopher Guest and featuring his stellar casts gets a lot of the credit for that. The connection is so strong that, yes, it’s going on 11 years since we could bring ourselves to watch any of them without her.

Rest peacefully, dear Catherine. You gave the world so much but we all got the feeling you were having just as much fun as we were. What a joy you were! I cannot imagine the loss those close to you are feeling, when we who admired you from afar are saddened so.

I leave us all with a prayer on this Groundhog Day: that February in its brevity offers us more grace and kindness than January did. My most fervent wish is for consequences where they are most deserved, and comfort where it’s most needed. We can hope, can’t we?

Just a thought… Gratitude doesn’t mean loving everything. It means recognizing what’s worth holding on to. [Carl Olsen]

What a week it’s been! I won’t even mention the absolute bone rattling cold and deluge of snow that you’ve been going through if you’re reading this in Southern Ontario or parts of the prairies; we do keep up with the weather even though “home” is BC and our current address is near Puerto Vallarta.

I check to see what the grandkids are enduring, and what my sisters see when they look our their windows in the morning. (Is this what it means to be in our sixties? The computer and phone weather apps taking the place of the weather channel that our parents constantly had, or have, on?)

It’s easier to watch the weather these days than the news, you’ll have to admit. Living through it all is painful, with the bright exception of our prime minister’s reception in Davos, Switzerland and his “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu” speech. In case you haven’t heard yet, only two other speakers have been given the same standing ovation earned by Mark Carney last week: Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Some august company, to be sure, no matter what the bots, trolls and US-backed Maple Maga accounts try to say. We have every right to be proud.

It was, as I say, a happy moment in a week that was filled with despair. Another fatality at the cruel hands of ICE in Minneapolis, to name just the worst of the moments, which was then followed by a barrage of government lies making Alex Pretti somehow responsible for his own murder.

For me to be feeling sadness at the departure of my friend from our two week cocoon of closeness feels somehow, not just out of sync with the world, but downright selfish. Yet that’s how I feel as Lisa Brandt prepares to board her flight home to Hamilton after 7 pm today. (As of this writing she’s still due to go; watching the weather has taken on another more urgent purpose the last few days for reasons of her travel.)

But as we walked the dogs under the gentle glow of street lights, a half-moon and distant stars, we talked about how the moments we shared are the ones that we have to dwell on to keep going. To fight the darkness that comes, not from the setting of the sun, but from the destruction of our 250-year old neighbour to the south. Our world is changing and not for the better, but as we lean into the stoicism of changing what we can, we cling to happier memories and hope to make more of them.

And as always, we are grateful – as I am for you coming here today, my friend.

Safe travels, dear Lisa. Along with that suitcase and carry-on we lugged twice across a bridge and ramps to find our ride two weeks ago from the PVR airport, you take with you a piece of my heart, the scent of our dogs and a lot of wonderful moments. May they keep you warm as you step out of the airport in Hamilton and wave down a taxi, your blue words hanging frozen in the night air. And may the gods of travel shine down upon you, as the gods of friendship have for me.