Our Little Piece of Heaven That is how I've begun to think about our living quarters here in El Sargento.  We are directly upstairs from our land lady, two blocks from the grocery store, one mile from friends' house, and we are literally a stone's throw from the beach.  Our front entrance, a sliding glass door, opens directly onto a large terrace overlooking the Sea of Cortez.  When entering the apartment we step into the small seating area defined only by coffee table, couch and rocker.  Behind the rocker sits a queen sized bed, positioned with a view of the sea.  Opposite the bed is a nice sized bathroom and large bookshelf.  The kitchen/dining area (for two) juts out onto the terrace and is outfitted with very basic, but quality cook gear and ceramic dishes.

The terrace boasts small shaded seating area right outside the main door.  Sun screens and the indoor cooking area provide necessary protection from the afternoon sun and winds.  Ten steps closer to the sea two chaise lounge chairs sit side by side with small table and umbrella stand in between.  Comfortable folding chairs stored near the umbrella at the top of the staircase are available for our use.  

Next to the chaise lounges is a big open space.  It was here that the sister-in-law of some friends of ours led us all on an impromptu (and brief) yoga session.  Thanks to her, I can now do several Salutations to the Sun every morning on this private terrace as the sun crests the horizon over the sea.

The lounge chairs offer a perfect spot for morning coffee and yogurt.  By 9AM, however, the sun's rays are so direct and warm, we find it necessary to donn our swimwear, walk down the stairs, through the gate and down two more short fights of stairs to the beach.

Oh, but our picture of this particular piece of heaven is not yet complete.  Easy access to the sea and lovely accommodations are not everything it has to offer.  Last year our landlady showed us her storage closet located halfway down the stairs to the beach.  From it she extracted a couple of beach chairs, inviting us to help ourselves as often as we liked.  "Oh!  And here is the paddle.  Take it with you.  I keep my kayak at the bottom of the stairs.  Go ahead and use that too." This year I happened to mention that I'd been wanting try stand-up paddleboarding.  Our landlady cheerfully replied that now she has two stand-up paddleboards and I should use the bigger one if I'd never done it before.  She gave me a quick  little lesson there by the storage shed and recommended which paddle to  use.  She suggested I go out early in the morning before the wind came up and that I pick a day when the water is nice and glassy so I could learn how to balance myself on the board.

I'm not foolish enough to ignore the advice of an 85 year-old woman, so on the next glassy morning I bravely entered the water with broad paddleboard under my arm (sort of).  The board was so big and so heavy I wondered if our landlady could get it to the water without assistance.  I had to stop once to get a better grip and rest my arms in the 20 foot walk to the water's edge.  Following the instructions I'd been given, I paddled from a kneeling position until I got out to where I could see a sandy bottom beneath me.  So far, so good, but now comes the challenge:  I must carefully move to a standing position, balancing myself on the three foot wide board.  Yes, I was nervous enough my knees had a bit of a shake to them.  I had to remind myself that a tumble into the ocean would probably feel pretty good and I should just forget about my pride and relax my knees.  It worked!  I was standing on the board!  (Never mind that my toes strained trying to hold on to the flat board even though I lacked suction cupped feet). Soon I was paddling and peering down into the clear and glassy sea.  What fun!

After two days of wobbling adjustments, I was beginning to feel fairly confident.  At that point, our generous landlady suggested I try her "tippy" board.  I questioned why I would want to do that and she explained how much easier it is to paddle and maneuver........once you get used to the "tippy-ness" of it.  New adventures await.

But until then, we will just continue on enjoying our little piece of heaven.  We originally planned only one week here, but we are enjoying it so much, we paid for another week here in heaven.