IT WAS A REALLY GOOD YEAR!

2020 was really a good year for us. 

 

 

 

Although I was stranded in Germany for almost 6 months, I had a wonderful time, renewed old friendships and fostered new ones; formed a new band; created new music and earned money in a time when so many things seemed impossible.

        

Except for Rey's horseback riding tours, the New Years holiday was pleasantly quite for us. We started our day by walking the dogs before greeting our first clients at the crocodile monument where we usually take our first photos.

  

The tour is really exciting as we ride up to El Eden, the famous site of the filming of  the Predator movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. We ride through swarms of butterflies, banana trees that seem to touch the sky, magnificent palms, giant aloe and jungle vegetation that you normally only see in pictures and movies.

  

Our one year old puppy Melania makes the trip no matter how many times in the day Rey tours. She's as agile and graceful as a panther. Although she is a domesticated animal, she has all the attributes of a wild wolf sprinting about 32 mph and defying the current as she seems to skip through the deep rushing waters of the river. The guests are always delighted to meet her and experience her on the trip. 

 

 

 

New Years Eve we had two tours with 10 satisfied clients who gave Rey 5 star reviews except for one dysfunctional woman who in the style of Barbeque Becky maliciously ruined our perfect 5 star streak. After coming 1 ½ hours late for her scheduled tour, Dysfunctional Debbie (“DD”) declared that she has a “blended family” - “my son”, “his daughter” and forced them to wear masks during the entire tour although they were riding horses with 15 to 30 feet between each of them.

When they got to the final destination, a beautiful restaurant on the side of the water fall where Arnold Schwarzenegger filmed the Predator back when he still had muscles, DD and her family suddenly started dumping food and drinks from their back packs on their specially reserved table located on a rock 8 feet above the dinning area to insure their safety from COVID-19. It was like watching the Beverly Hillbilly's do an episode of Be'Be's kids. Even when Rey´s friend (the restaurant owner) scolded him about their behavior, Dysfunctional Debbie defiantly continued eating her sandwich saying she thought “no one could see her”. She exemplified the “ugly American” and made it clear why Gringo is not an endearing term.

Her family, totally embarrassed by her obsessive determination to act ghetto finally convinced her to put the food away and order something from the menu, inspiring the next Beverly Hillbilly's episode with Dysfunctional Debbie and her son loudly slurping down food in a way that would gross out even the most insensitive person. I didn't even know you could slurp dry food.

When the circus was finally over, Rey returned the happy, satisfied family to the stables where they said cheerful and giggly goodbyes, only to be confronted with a one star review and fabricated complaints about the tour from DD.

Initially we were both shocked and angry at this woman who maliciously and for no reason single handily ruined our perfect 5 star record. However, realizing how sad and insecure Dysfunctional Debbie actually is helped us overcome the desire to acquaint her with the real ghetto and school her on the “social distancing” she's created between her and her own family. Rey did, however, bless her with some clarity that should making reading his response to her review fun for our future clients.

After the tour, which was the second that day we were much too exhausted to prepare dinner so we treated ourselves to a wonderful evening at one of our favorite restaurants. COVID-19 has kept the multitude from dining out so right now the restaurant experience is even better than usual because the chef's and waiters take extra special care of the few clients who dare to go out.

New Years day was just as busy with two more horse tours up to El Eden. But no rest for the weary until Monday. Horseback riding lends itself naturally to social distancing, and we were happy to bring our guests into the New Year with a healthy outdoor sport.

  

  

I learned many things in 2020, the most important being you manifest everything that you experience. I have learned to use my words consciously and wisely. We're on a flight to success on every level. We're living in paradise. We wake up in the morning and thank the universe for showering us with its abundance that we are attracting all the time. We're surrounded by people with good energy, good intentions and lots of love wherever we are in the world.

We hope that the new year will bring you an abundance of love, health and wealth and all things that make you happy!

GOING WITH THE FLOW

2020 has finally come to an end and I am grateful to be alive and enjoying the abundance of the universe. There is a long list of people I have to thank for blessing us with their love and support. I'm starting today with a big thank you to our Patreon subscribers – those who were able to stick with us through the year and are still here, and those who supported us as long as they could in the devastating wake of COVID-19. 

Update
As you know, our goal when we started was to open a cultural center that would include a jazz club/restaurant and two luxury vacation apartments that we could offer to our subscribers. Those of you who've followed us continuously know that we faced some obstacles acquiring the property and our plan has been delayed, but not abandoned.

In the year that you have supported us with your subscription we have been able to start a touring business offering horseback riding (https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/944345?location=Mismaloya), spear fishing and snorkeling. Soon we will be able to add diving to the list of Rey Spearo Adventure Experiences.

We've endeared ourselves to the community in many ways. Your support allowed us to keep time free to volunteer at Pasitos de Luz whom we continue to support, a non-profit facility that provides free education, health and social support for special needs children.

It has given us the time to present our music and meet local and international musicians active in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We have formed coalitions with people and businesses to help us achieve our original goal and now have a strong network of supporters and fans who want to be part of our project. In spite of COVID-19 set backs that have affected us all, we can thank you for helping us keep going.

This month we will thank all of you who have supported "Jazz in the Jungle" thus far, including those who suspended their subscriptions due to financial challenges brought on by the pandemic. We are so grateful and excited! Look for your gift package which includes our new "Jazz in the Jungle" t-shirt and a surprise in the mail. 

Our guests will soon be able to purchase merchandise from our Patreon page or my website: www.empressalyasha.com.