11 a.m. I am sitting on the patio at Mar-a-Villas, shaded by our awning and by the bamboo, but today there is no need for a shade. The sky is overcast, and I’ve been expecting it to rain since we got up this morning. So far, though, there hasn’t been a drop. When we pulled in here, R went to hook up and discovered that there was no water coming out of the spigot by our rig. I went next door and asked, rather apprehensively, whether they usually have water here. I was told that the pump had gone on the fritz the night before, but that yes, they usually have water. Much relieved, I turned to go home, and just then the man I had asked turned the water on at his place, and it ran perfectly. I came back to the rig and reported that all was well. We now have water, the hydro is hooked up, our table and chairs are set up outside, the Canadian flag is fluttering in the breeze, and we are thoroughly at home.

Within half an hour of our arrival, both the water truck and the veggie truck had come through the park. I asked the veggie man for chile verde, and he pointed at some bell peppers. Excuse me? He assured me he would have some proper chiles tomorrow.

There are no iguanas today, probably because of the lack of sunshine, but there are doves, and there is a lovely bougainvillea right across from us. Our next-door neighbour on the right is a man from B.C. who has a very friendly golden Lab named Rocky.

We took a long walk on the beach - right up to the top, where there is a rock face. Somebody has painted the words Playa Bruja on the rock, along with a picture of a surfer. If I remember correctly, bruja means witch, so R promptly renamed it Witchipoo Beach. If we walk in the other direction, it appears that we can walk all the way downtown without leaving the beach.

The Englishman at the other park turned out to be Ian, a very kind man who gave us afternoon tea and played me a Charlotte Church album. He has promised to come over here for a visit.

Meanwhile, I’ve discovered the secret to the internet. There’s a fellow in the park who has a wireless network. He charges 100 pesos a week ($10ish) for access. I carried laptop and chair up to his trailer, only to find that he isn’t at home. When he comes back, I’ll give him his $100 and send this away. Watch. That’s when it will start to rain. His trailer isn’t actually very far from our place, so maybe, with luck, the signal is strong enough to use here. The laptop is detecting four different networks, all requiring keys, but I’m not sure which one is his. If I could sit here on the patio and play online, I would be a very happy camper indeed. All digits crossed, here.

The internet man came home. I paid for a week's service, which I can only use (ordinarily) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which means I can't be on for Skype this week - but I'll keep posting, and if anybody is Skyping while I'm here, they should please yell.