:::pinch:::   :::pinch:::

We’re pinching ourselves in disbelief. This can’t really be happening to us.

We have arrived at our home-for-six-months in Puerto Vallarta and we’re dumbfounded. Dumbfounded and a bit bruised from all the pinching. This place has to be seen to be believed.

Given those circumstances, what else is there for us to do other than show it to you?

Los Tules in a condominium development occupying a twenty-acre coconut-palm plantation. Many of the trees remain, gravid with coconuts. (Soon, I’m sure, we will overcome our fear of falling coconuts. Coconuts are big and the trees are high.)

The beach is a half mile long fronting Banderas Bay. We hear surf all night out our bedroom window.

Our bedroom window is directly above the patio; the patio overlooks our pool and the bay beyond. (I say our pool because there are eight of them here. The one outside our patio we consider our own.)

The bedroom (located upstairs, by itself) is a study in hedonism, with its own air conditioner, an ensuite bathroom, and a soaking tub.

A spiral staircase takes you to the ground floor and two more bedrooms.

The guest room sleeps two, has a private entrance, its own air conditioner, and another ensuite bathroom.

The “grandkid room” is small but private.

The kitchen features a dual sink and a six-burner gas range.

There are ceiling fans in the dining room…

…and the living room. Excepting the heat of the day — around 4:00 PM — the fans are cooling enough.

I have saved the best for last, and her name is Aida (pictured with Louise, above). Aida arrives every Monday morning and spends the better part of the day cleaning the apartment and patio, changing the sheets and towels — she even washes dishes! She’s included in the rent.

So there you have it. Hopefully, you can see why we’re pinching ourselves. Welcome to our home.

(Image at the top of this post courtesy Los Tules Resort.)