Happy Birthday

Our friends Deb and Dave from Iowa have some friends who live near us in Puerto Vallarta. Deb told Harold that it was Maria’s birthday and she wanted to send Maria flowers. She was asking if there was an FTD type place so she could have them delivered. Instead, Harold offered that we could go buy them and take them over. We called Monika and asked where we should buy them. She suggested the Aramara market, so that’s where we went. We ordered a flower arrangement to be picked up the next day. We also bought a card for Maria and Rafael. We were pleasantly surprised when we went back for the flowers. An arrangement which cost 200 pesos would have easily cost twice that much in Texas. We delivered the flowers to a very surprised Maria. Both she and Rafael were shocked that Deb had arranged the personal delivery! We were glad to be able to be a part of this fun surprise.

Dia de los Ninos

Quimixto

April 30th is Dia de los Ninos, Day of the Children. For this holiday, a field trip had been arranged for the kids at RISE. Since she knows we have car –will drive, Chris Amo asked if we wanted to go to Quimixto with the kids.
We all met at the shelter at 8:30. Kids, madres and volunteers were piled into the cars for the drive to Boca de Tomatlan. There we loaded everyone plus all the supplies for lunch into 2 pangas. The water was fairly calm and the trip to Quimixto went quickly. Once in Quimixto, we carried all the lunch supplies to the house where the party was being held. One of the board members of the Children’s Shelter of Hope, Jim, has a small place there and was hosting the group.
After bathroom stops, a cold drink and a snack, the kids were ready to go. First Jim showed them the huge iguana that lives in his garden. Another, even larger iguana was also there for the kids to feed and touch.
There is a waterfall in Quimixto accessible by hiking or horse. Some of the group rode up on the horses and some hiked up. Once at the top, almost everyone went swimming in the pool below the waterfall. The water was really cold but felt great after the dusty walk up. Even though it is the dry season there was plenty of water in the waterfall. After swimming, everyone headed back down. Luckily, those of us who had walked up got to ride down!
Once all hikers and riders returned, lunch was served. Hotdogs, chips and fruit were popular with the kids. Poor Jim’s house looked like a tornado had gone through!
After lunch, we took the kids to the beach. It was almost like having a private beach. Two guys gave the kids kayak rides, the bigger kids swam in the ocean and the little ones played in the sand.
The kids all walked down the beach to get back to the boat while some of the adults went back to Jim’s house to get the things we were taking back. Amazingly, the house had been cleaned up and looked as good as new. There was a lot less stuff to go back! The boats were loaded and we returned to Boca. Once back in the cars, almost all the kids went to sleep on the trip back to the shelter.
It was a wonderful day in the little town of Quimixto. Quimixto is a step back in time, there are no cars and it is accessible only by boat. The kids all had a great Dia de los Ninos.

An evening in Bucerias

We went home after the Quimixto trip and took a siesta. After the short rest we headed out to check on our construction work in Bucerias. When we got there, the workers had already left for the day. We went to the main plaza to see what was happening. A show was being held for Dia de los Ninos. There were 3 or 4 clowns performing, handing out balloons and running contests for the kids. Apparently there had been a parade as we saw some floats parked on the street. After watching the clowns for a while, we decided to have dinner. El Lugar is located on the north side of the main plaza near the church. It is on the 2nd floor so we decided to eat there and watch the action in the plaza. We heard a band playing and there were many people in the plaza. Harold had a calzone and I had shrimp pasta. The food and service were both good.
After dinner we walked around the plaza. The band we had heard was now playing in another part of the plaza. It was a 16-piece band named Banda Perla Negra. It appeared they were playing at a family event. Some of the little girls who had been in the parade and show were there in their princess dresses. They had food, drinks and were dancing in the plaza. We sat and watched the dancing. We particularly enjoyed watching the kids dance. After about an hour, the band packed up and was headed to a nearby restaurant to play at a wedding reception.
We were worn out after the long day but we had a great time at the events.

What can you get for 100 pesos?

100 pesos
We have spent a lot of time in the area of town called El Pitillal. Monika and Luis live there and Luis’s bodega is on the other side of Pitillal. The central part of the town is just filled with shops of all kinds. Our dentist is also there about a block from the square.
You can find almost anything you need in Pitillal and the prices are usually good. Here are some of the things we have found there for 100 pesos (less than $10 US)
We had our teeth cleaned for 100 pesos each. Unlike the US, the dentist himself did the cleaning. Harold’s wedding ring had shrunk over the years and he couldn’t get it off his finger. So we went to a jewelry store to get it resized. They had to cut the ring off his finger, add material to it and resize it. This took about 45 minutes and cost 100 pesos.
Our camera stopped working while we were here. We took it to a shop that opened it up, examined it and determined we needed to take it to the Fuji repair center in the US. He didn’t have access to Fuji parts. The cost to check the camera – 100 pesos.
I had a pedicure at a shop recommended by several friends. It was a very good pedicure and the polish lasted for a long time. Cost – 100 pesos.
Harold got this hair cut at a shop near the dentist office. The cost – 35 pesos. He would have gone to the 30-peso shop, but they were too busy.

Cooking lesson
Until a couple months ago, neither Harold nor I had eaten ceviche. The thought of eating raw fish didn’t appeal to either one of us. But then we ate at Beto’s restaurant in Pitillal. They served a ceviche tostado with the meal. We didn’t realize what it was and ate it. Both of us liked it. We mentioned to Monika that we liked it. She said it was easy to make and she would show us how.
Sunday we picked up Monika to go buy fish. We went to the Aramara market. It is on the road that goes between Sam’s and Pitillal. We bought a type of fish called “bota”. They have a machine right there to grind the fish up for ceviche. We also bought some shrimp. They were headless large shrimp for 125 pesos/kg. That is about $5.50 US a pound.
Back at Monika’s house, we made the ceviche. We squeezed many limes on the fish, shredded carrots, chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro. A dash of Worchester sauce and some kosher salt were also added. It was all stirred up and put in the refrigerator to “cook.” We all enjoyed plenty of ceviche with tostados and avocado slices. Everyone ate so much that only Luis and I had any room for the shrimp scampi he cooked.
After lunch, Monika and I took the kids to the Krystal to the pool. Harold and Luis went to pick up a large round wooden table top for the fiesta grounds. It had been discarded by Carlos Slim in a vacant lot near ourhouse in Bucerias. It will now be used for parties at the fiesta grounds.

Construction work, etc

Construction work
Bucerias has a problem with city water. At times, demand exceeds supply so there is little or no water to the customers. As a result, everyone has aljibes (cisterns) and/or tinacos (roof-top water tanks). Our house has both, but the cistern is small so occasionally there is a shortage of water.
We decided to have a larger cistern installed. We got a bid from a Bucerias contractor and also talked to Rafa, the man who has been doing work on Luis’s bodega project. Since Luis was at a good point for the workers to go elsewhere, we hired Rafa.
The first thing to be done was to shop for materials. This entailed visits to several plumbing stores. The cistern, pump and pressure tank were selected. Next on the agenda was to dig the huge hole for the cistern. The plans were to dig the hole by hand. But as they got to the site, Harold and Cesar (one of the workers) saw a backhoe for hire. They went to see about it and found that the hole could be dug in about 2 hours so the man and machine were hired. 2 hours later there was a very big hole in the yard at a cost of 700 pesos, or less than $70 US. In the process of digging the hole the main water line to the house got broken. Luckily, the city water was not running at the time so the repairs were done before the yard flooded.
We had to go back to the plumbing supply to pay for the parts. The supply house allowed us to pay by check, which was good. It only took 2 tries to fill the check out correctly. You must do everything absolutely correctly. Speaking of that, we needed cash for the project so we got our bank account number from Joann and Patricia and headed to the bank. Well, without our checkbook there was going to be a 115-peso charge to get cash out. On the next trip to Bucerias we got the checkbook and returned to the bank. To get cash out, you write a check to yourself. Mexican banks seem to have a way to charge you for everything!
In addition to the cistern, the workers are installing a new roof coating. The roof is concrete so has to be treated for waterproofing.
So far, the project has been going well. The cistern is in the ground and filled with water. They have started backfilling around the cistern. The hole needs to be filled up, the plumbing and pressure pump installed and the whole thing tested. The roof work is also well underway. We have been to the worksite every day to check on the progress and pay the bills. Many times it seems like there would be a more efficient way to do the job, but the work is moving along. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.

Juanito’s
When Kathy was here last month she brought us a bunch of Lance Armstrong Foundation “Livestrong” bracelets. The ones sold here in PV are pirated copies and are also expensive. Brenda wanted some, so we dropped off a bag for her. Another All Vallarta board member, Renee, wanted some as well. We had a plan to get together one day, which had to be postponed by our construction project. We decided to meet for breakfast and go to Juanito’s in Ixtapa.
We picked Renee p at the Villa del Palmar complex and headed to Ixtapa. At first it seemed she didn’t know where the place was, but lo and behold we found it. Juanito, the owner of the restaurant, used to work at Memo’s Pancake House in PV. The menu at Juanito’s is similar. The restaurant itself looks small from the outside. It has a very pretty garden location. You can tell the family is fond of gardening by all the orchids, cactus and other plants in the yard. We enjoyed a nice relaxing breakfast on the cool patio. Thanks, Renee, for showing us this cool little place.

You look familiar
People often comment on how vendors, hotel clerks and waiters remember them from ear to year. It is amazing that they can remember you a year or more later. Harold was on the street in town one day when he heard someone calling “Senor, senor”. He didn’t recognize the voice so didn’t respond. Pretty soon he heard the guy say “Senor Harold”, so he stopped to talk. The guy calling him was the OPC (off-premise contact) timeshare guy who works at the Alamo counter. It has been at least 2 years since he sent us on a tour. Not only did he remember Harold’s name, he said, “your last name is Sokolove, right?” Harold was very amazed!

Mom and Dad's visit

Mom and Dad come to visit!
Mom and Dad booked a cruise on the Holland America ship the Oosterdam. They came to Puerto Vallarta on April 20. Ahead of time, we had scoped out where the tenders docked and where the passengers came out and picked a meeting spot. We arrived a little early for our 10 o’clock meeting time and there were Mom and Dad, also early. Since the dock here can only take one large cruise ship at a time, the Oosterdam had anchored in the bay and the passengers were shuttled to the dock on the tender boats. There had been no wait to board the tenders. Sometimes you wait and wait while the ship’s tours go first but not this time.
First we headed into town where Mom and I went to Curves. After I enrolled in the Baylor Curves study and really enjoyed going to Curves Mom decided to join as well. Part of the membership is that you can visit any other Curves location and exercise there. Harold and Dad walked down by the beach and went to check on the Malecon construction.
After that, we brought Mom and Dad to see our house where we have been staying this winter. We gave them the grand tour of the house and neighborhood. Next we went to visit Luis so Dad could drop off the welding mask and gloves he brought for Luis’s welder.
For lunch we decided to try a place in the Marina. We have heard many good things about a restaurant in Ixtapa called El Coleguita but had never been there. They now have a location in the Marina. Mom and Dad split a shrimp plate, and Harold and I split one. Each person received shrimp broth, tequila shots as desired, a fried banana dessert and Kahlua and cream with their meal. The cook had nicely divided the orders so that each of us got a plate with vegetables, rice and half the shrimp. It was a nice touch that they serve the meals that way. Altogether, El Coleguita was as good as we heard.
After lunch we went to the Krystal to swim, relax and use the hot tubs. Too soon it was time for us to return Mom and Dad to the Marina. We had a very nice, fun and relaxing day. But most importantly, it was nice to see Mom and Dad!

Lucha Libre

There is a free biweekly magazine here called Bay Vallarta. It always has lots of information about new restaurants, events in town, music, etc. In the last edition, there was a contest. There was a Mexican wrestling match coming up. It is called Lucha Libre hear. The event was happening at the Demonio Blanco Arena in El Pitallal. The contest was to answer the question, “Who is Demonio Blanco and why is the Pitallal arena named after him?” I tried looking on Google but had no luck so I took a guess. My guess was that the Demonio Blanco was a Lucha Libre fighter and the Pitallal arena was named for him since he is from Pitallal. I was correct and won a free ticket to the match. Harold decided to enter, too, figuring they might not have given out all the prizes. He won, too.
On the day of the match, we picked up Luis, Melissa and Rudy. Monika decided to stay home and visit with her mom instead of going. In typical Mexican fashion the 6 o’clock start of the match was a little delayed. We waited outside with the other fans until ticket sales began, enjoying a beer from the local deposito while we hung around on the sidewalk. There was a vendor selling T-shirts, wrestling magazines and wrestling masks. Of course, the kids had to try them on and get one. We also bought one for our grandson Joshua. In Lucha Libre, all the fighters wear masks or paint their faces. Pretty soon the ticket window opened so we got the tickets and went inside to wait for the big event
The Demonio Blanco Arena is a fairly small place. We had our choice of downstairs ringside, or up in the balcony. The kids wanted to sit up in the balcony so we did. The even actually started around 7. First there was the introduction of the Demonio Blanco himself. He was there enjoying the festivities and had VIP seating.
This Lucha Libre even was sort of like farm league baseball. The first match was definitely beginners. The matches are pretty similar to WWF. The fighters knew all the moves, but they were still working on their timing. It was comical. The second match was tag team. Just like WWF, there was the good guys and the bad guys. Naturally the bad guys cheated while the refs were busy scolding the good guys for some minor infraction.
The third match was a woman’s tag team event. The crowd was getting more and more into the fights as the event went on. Could it be the guy coming around selling cold beer? The final event we watched was the more polished tag teams. The Chivas were the good guys and the crowd loved them. Their costumes were great, it must be really hot wrestling in a full faced goat mask. This match even featured bashing each other with folding chairs and fighting outside the ring. Too bad we couldn’t hang around lng enough for the final match which featured midgets.
We all had a really good time. The kids loved it even though it was less polished than the stuff on TV. If you ever have a chance to catch the Lucha Libre, go for it.
Be sure to look at our Webshots pictures of this cultural experience at http://community.webshots.com/album/328178253spLlEs

Tacos under the trees

One day we were in Bucerias at the beach with the dogs. We stopped by Casa Tranquila to say hi to Patricia and Joann. After visiting a little while we decided to go eat dinner. Harold asked them for a recommendation; Joann said we know a great place and we’ll show you where it is.
We went up one of the main dirt roads on the east side of the highway. Down one of the other dirt roads is a little place that is really more of a restaurant than a taco stand. Inside the gate of what looks like someone’s yard is a very nice little garden restaurant. We each ordered a large type of taco called a “gringa” and an agua fresca. I think for the 4 of us the bill was under 150 pesos. The waiter was so cute, too. He is learning English as he wants t go into the tourism industry. Joann has been helping him with his English. One day, he told her he wanted to learn how to take orders in English. First he asked, how do you say taco in English? Joann said taco. Then he asked, what about quesadilla? Joann said quesadilla. He managed to pick a few more words like that and they both got a big laugh out of it.
I don’t know the actual name of the place but Joann and Patricia call it Tacos Under the trees.

The food court
Yesterday we were hungry for a quick dinner. In the area on Francisco Villa Ave. where we buy chicken, there are several taco stands. We went to the Hamburguesas Gigantes stand. We each had a “chica” burger, she was out of “grande” size. The chica size, 20 pesos each, was pretty grande itself. It was actually a bacon burger with lettuce and tomato. While we waited for the burgers to be ready, we looked around the street. There were 2 or 3 taco stands, the hamburger place, the 2 chicken places across the street and another small restaurant all within a short block of each other. Around the corner there is a bakery. Bakeries are very common here, not like in Waco where almost all baked goods come from the grocery store. Harold bought some really good-looking chocolate croissants at the one on Fco. Villa. He ate one as soon as we got home and said it was more like chocolate bread, but said it was really good.
There were so many little eating places in that one area we were joking and calling it the food court. There are many taco stands, hamburger carts and small restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. You often don’t even notice them until you are walking right by.

Hot Springs revisited

After our first attempt at going to the hot springs, we really wanted to go try them out. We recruited our friends Paul and Maureen and Maureen’s mom, Hetty, to go with us. First we went to La Desembocada to eat lunch. We were all stuffed after that big, delicious meal. I wanted to show them where the river crossing was where you would begin the hike to the natural hot springs. I expected to show them a pretty and peaceful setting. Well, that didn’t happen! First we saw 20 ATVs (4-wheelers) cross the river, obviously a tour group from Dona Engracia. After the ATVs went by, a yellow Vallarta Adventures truck came across the river. Next was a group of about 20 horses, followed a few minutes later by a group of 20 – 30 hikers. When we thought we had seen every possible form of tour, a group of mountain bikers came up!
We all agreed that a hike up to the hot springs was in order for the next trip and headed out to Las Palmas. As I mentioned before, the road to the hot springs is about wide enough for one car in many spots, and is a bumpy dirt road. After riding a while on the dirt road, Paul commented that the only reason he believed there was anything down that road, much less a hot springs, was because Harold said it was there.
We paid our 30 pesos each for admission, set up “camp” and tried out the water. After sticking a toe in the hottest spring, we were sorry we didn’t bring some potatoes to boil! That spring is super hot! We did see 2 people immerse themselves in the water. They both looked like langostinos (lobsters) when they came out. Harold put his feet in the hottest water about 3 minutes and it looked like he had on red socks!
The other pools are progressively cooler. We enjoyed the next-hottest pool and a couple of the cooler ones. The water has a slight sulfur smell and seems to be very soft. It felt good to lounge in the pools.
After we spent the afternoon relaxing, we dropped our friends off in Nuevo Vallarta and headed home. You wouldn’t think all that relaxing could wear you out, but we both laid down and took a nap when we got home.

So typically Mexican!

I told Harold today that we need to take a series of pictures of things that are so typically Mexican that you just don’t see in Hewitt, Texas. Soon we will have pictures and descriptions of things that now seem normal but have caught our interest. Stay tuned!

El Asadero, and relaxing

The past week we have been taking it pretty easy. We went to Bucerias one afternoon. The plan was to stop by the house for a minute to see if Glenn and Liana were there. They were not at home, so we told their teenaged son Brandon we would come back later. Next we were going to Casa Tranquila to visit Patricia and Joann then go to the beach. We ended up sitting on the nice, shady, cool patio at Casa T and not ever getting to the beach. After leaving Casa T, we went by the house again but Glenn and Liana were not home then either.
On the way back home, we stopped at Gigante (a grocery store) to pick up a few things. Well, who did we run into at Gigante but Glenn and Liana! We are often amazed at what a small town PV can be.
We met a couple, Gil and Maria while volunteering at the RISE shelter. They are a retired couple from Calgary and have been spending the winter in PV. They began volunteering at RISE after some people were walking through their neighborhood on the way to visit the shelter but had gotten lost. Maria offered to help them find the place and they have been volunteering there almost daily since.
Since meeting Gil and Maria we have run into them twice while walking in town. Neither time was particularly close to either our house or theirs.

Sunday afternoon Harold and I were looking for a place to eat lunch. We had several places in mind wanting to go to more to an out-of-the-way place than somewhere downtown. We’ve seen some places in El Pitallal that looked interesting.
The one we picked, El Asadero, is in a large brick pavilion. It is on what has been referred to as the back road to Pitallal. It is surrounded by farm fields and is on a dusty road. (Well, they are all dusty right now!) There is the main pavilion, another area towards the back, and a playground area with more tables for families wanting to eat while the kids play.
We got there around noon and it wasn’t very busy yet. There was a menu board by the door, but we didn’t get a menu at our table. The waiter asked if we wanted the mixed plate. (70 pesos each ) We decided that sounded good so we each ordered a limonada and the mixed plate. First we got beef tacos, followed by chips and salsa. Next we got a bowl of beans and a plate with radishes, onions and a little guacamole. The main plate featured carne asada, grilled chicken, chorizo, pork and lamb. Of course there were plenty of hot, fresh corn tortillas. We could barely finish the plate of food we got but it appeared to be all-you-can-eat.
El Asadero doesn’t have a lot of ambience. It seems to be a place for local working folks to bring their families for a nice Sunday lunch. It is very clean and the service was good. At least one of the waiters speaks English.
Altogether we had a great meal for a total of about $15 US!

The fire department

Harold has been working with the PV fire department arranging a safety inspection for the kids shelter. After the kids field trip to the fire station, one of the fire fighters was asked to go to the shelter to make an inspection. His report didn’t seem to make a lot of sense as to what was needed. Harold made several visits to the station to talk to Braulio, the chief, to talk about fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, etc. Harold and Chris thought the inspection needed more detail. Harold asked Braulio to make an inspection himself. So at 7 o’clock on a Friday evening, he went over to look at the shelter. The next morning, we had a comprehensive list of requirements.
The fire department is very different than one in the US or Canada. The chief is almost always at the station and goes on most of the fire and rescue calls. He’s a very hands-on guy. The department covers a huge area from the very far south near Boca de Tomlatan all the way to Las Palmas. It is lucky most houses here are built of concrete which keeps fire damage to a minimum.
Next week a volunteer is bringing smoke detectors from the US were they are easier to find and much less expensive. Harold, Chris and Braulio are going to go buy fire extinguishers, too.

board members and shopping

Meeting board members
Saturday evening there was a benefit concert at Cuates y Cuetes for a local musician who needs back surgery. We stopped by there for a few minutes before meeting up with Dave. The three of us went next door to Langostino’s to meet Marsha (MysteryMs), Bill (Wills) and Bill’s wife Pat . We just stayed for a drink as we had planned to go to a photo exhibition by another board member, Astrid (todopoderosa). Her show was at Vacas Grill, which is one of our favorite places for a burger. We ate dinner then looked at the photos. Astrid is a whale-watching guide and has taken some fabulous pictures. We met her and her boyfriend Azael (nickname Acey). He is also a tour guide but he does canopy tours.

Lamp shopping
Our friend Deb (pvdeb) lives in Dallas. She has always wanted a pair of Talavera lamps for her living room. She had priced them, but never bought them because she had no way to carry them home. Shipping would cost almost as much as the lamps. She asked us to shop for lamps and bring them back to Texas with us. We had been to the World of Tiles store looking at lamps last month. A very nice sales clerk told us that we could order the lamps with the color scheme we wanted and they would be ready in 3 days. I emailed Deb photos and we discussed colors, designs, etc. Since Marsha had the money for the lamps, we went this week to order them. Well, lo and behold, you can get lamps made to order, but it takes over a month to get them. And, they can’t do dark red, which is a color Deb wanted. So we were back to square one. We found a pair of matching lamps as close to what Deb wanted as possible. They are now purchased, wrapped and ready to go to Texas.

taking the kids to the fire station, and concerts

Visiting the bomberos (firemen)
Harold arranged for the kids at the RISE shelter to visit the fire station. They were out of school for Easter vacation and the madres were happy to have an activity for the kids. There were 5 cars available to transport kids, volunteers and madres. The kids and madres enjoyed their tour of the station, climbing in the ambulance and sitting on the fire truck. The firemen gave the kids a lesson on fire safety. Each kid also got a cardboard cut-out fire truck to put together. At the end of the presentation the firemen planned on making popcorn for the kids. They were somewhat embarrassed when the microwave would not work. One of the guys went to a nearby store, popped the corn and brought it back for the kids. The firemen seemed to enjoy having the kids visit. As a result of the visit, the fire department scheduled a visit to RISE for a fire inspection.
After the fire station we took the kids to Burger King. Just like kids everywhere, they got kids meals with toys and wanted to ignore their food in favor of plying in the play area. I did get quite a look from the cashier when I ordered twenty kids meals. He rang it up as one kids meal, I repeated 20 kids meals. He had a questioning look on his face, I just told him I have a big family.

The concerts
We have never lived in a resort area before so we aren’t used to the number and variety of things going on. We saw an ad for a big concert on the beach so we went to check it out. I think we were 30 years or so older than their target audience. Even on a Friday afternoon there were lots of people on the beach. On stage when we arrived was a bikini contest. Next was a Mexican rap group. We saw a police officer in riot gear on the beach. When we were there everything was pretty calm. Apparently the next afternoon or evening there was a big fight that took many police officers and firemen to control it.
That same day, we went to a concert at the Los Arcos amphitheater on the Malecon. It was sponsored by WOW Records and featured artists from Vallarta. The concert was form 6 until midnight. We heard quite a few very good local groups. It was crowded but we found good seats. They were selling CDs from the participating bands. A percentage of the sales went to a scholarship fund. We bought one CD.

The hot springs

Hot Springs

We have been out to La Desembocada and Las Palmas several times. People mentioned hot springs in the area but we hadn’t gone looking for them. Last time we saw a sign just outside of Las Palmas. Today we decided to go see where it was.
There is a little metal sign alongside the highway. It looks old and rusty and beat up. By the looks of the sign you can’t tell whether the place is still there or if the sign is just old and abandoned. We drove out a dirt road about 2 miles following the arrows and signs along the way. We weren’t sure what exactly we were looking for. But lo and behold, there it was! The fee for admission to the hot springs is 30 pesos per person. Because I forgot to bring my swimsuit, we asked if we could just come in and look. The attendant said that was fine.
Don’t expect anything fancy here. The pools flow from hotter to cooler and there are about 6 or 7 pools. They are concrete pools which we were told are emptied and cleaned twice a week. The water flows up through a small spring in the hottest pool and it is very hot and somewhat sulfur smelling. There are barbecue grills for people to use, seating areas and a small snack bar. We didn’t check to see what they sold.
While looking around, we started talking to a Mexican family that was enjoying their afternoon at the hot springs. We met Salvador, Trini and Sylvestre who are brothers. Salvador and Trini both live in PV and work at the Canto del Sol hotel. Sylvestre lives in Ixtapa and works building palapas. Trini’s wife Margarita was also there and a handful of primos (cousins). All three of the men spoke English and invited us to sit with them and visit. We had a good time talking to them about their jobs, about the hot springs and also about PV in general.
I learned that Mexicans judge a restaurant by the three B’s – bueno, bonito, and barato. Translated it means – good, pretty and cheap. Sounds like a good rule of thumb.
We also learned that although all-inclusive resorts say that tips are included, the amount that is considered tips is very small and is divided among many staff people (waiters, bartenders, maids, bellmen, etc.) Unlike some resorts, Canto del Sol does not have a policy prohibiting staff from taking tips. So, if you are going to an all-inclusive and think the staff works hard, tip the ones who help you.
After enjoying a cold drink with the group, and turning down their offer of sharing their carne asada we headed back toward the Rio Mascota. We drove a little bit uprover from Guero Palancas and followed a trail along the river and across the river. We saw families out enjoying the afternoon, swimming and doing their laundry. We also saw some people on a horse riding expedition from a nearby tequila tour operation called Dona Engracia. We gave up before finding the hot springs, but were assured they are up the river a little farther. The river is very shallow and easily crossed by foot. It actually looked like it could be crossed by car in several places and we did see a truck drive across. Another day!
We followed a road that looked promising. It was paved and seemed to be in good condition. After a bit, the road had very nice high curbs but a dirt surface. We drove along and saw streetlights on dirt roads and some that seemed to be on no road at all. It still remains a mystery to us what the development was or was planned to be.
It was a very fun day exploring some of the surrounding areas. The Las Palmas area looks very different than the coast.

Kathy's visit

Kathy’s visit

Since before we arrived in Puerto Vallarta for the winter, our sister-in-law Kathy had been planning a trip here. We had been busy thinking of things to do while she was visiting. Kathy arrived on Palm Sunday and left on Easter Sunday. We packed a lot of activity into that week. I’ll do my best to remember what we did.
We were supposed to pick Kathy up from the airport at 4:15. Earlier in the day, however, we heard from her that she had gotten bumped from her flight and would arrive at 10:15 instead. We met her at the airport. Late at night there was no crowd to deal with. She was among the first out of customs. Apparently she got an upgrade to first class as well as a $400 voucher for agreeing to be bumped. That was a good start for her trip.
From the airport we drove down to the Malecon to look at the crowd. The vacationing Mexicans had begun to arrive and even at 11 in the evening the Malecon was hopping.
Since Saturday was her birthday, we had a cake for Kathy when she arrived. She was surprised!
Shopping was one of the main things Kathy wanted to do. We all went a few times and one day Kathy took the bus into town and shopped till she dropped. Not quite, just until we met her for lunch at El Torito for the rib lunch.
One evening we went up to Las Carmelitas for sunset and dinner. Harold and Kathy agreed they have the best guacamole there. We had a nice leisurely dinner at a perfect table. The weather was beautiful and the sunset was gorgeous.
Paul and Maureen invited all of us to visit at their condo in Nuevo Vallarta. We walked along the beach to the Rio Ameca. From there we could see the cruise ships at the Marina. While relaxing on the balcony, we saw the replica of the ship the Nina which is docked in Nuevo Vallarta. Paul prepared a delicious dinner and we all enjoyed the food and company. Thanks again Paul and Maureen for the fun evening!
Since Kathy likes shrimp and adventure, we took her to the restaurant Guero Palancas in the small town of La Desembocada. We each ate a huge platter of shrimp and were totally stuffed. The restaurant is located right on the river and is a fun place to eat. After that lunch, we went to Bucerias for the afternoon. Our tenants were nice enough to let us show Kathy the house. Deb, you better watch out, she thinks that second bedroom is hers! We also showed Kathy around the town and we strolled through the little street market. Afterwards, we relaxed on the beach for a few hours.
Like most neighborhoods, there are plenty of little stands and restaurants near our house. One night we intended to go to a small seafood place. Turns out it was closed but the owners have a hamburger/hotdog cart, too. Kathy and I had shrimp burgers, Harold had a hamburger, we had a couple orders of fries and each had an agua fresca. Cost of all this – less than $10 US. We were thinking it should have been more, but that’s what the guy charged us. Maybe math isn’t his strong suit?
Our “last supper” with Kathy was at the Pacifica Grill. It is a very nice restaurant on the south side of PV. Harold and I had been there before, but not recently. We were pleased that it was every bit as good as we remembered. Each meal comes with soup (onion or a shrimp broth), garlic bread, hand-cut fries, a great tossed salad and all-you-can-eat shrimp. Kathy ordered the ribs and shrimp, I had the steak and shrimp, and Harold got the teriyaki steak and shrimp. The shrimp comes in boiled, breaded and coconut varieties. We all were stuffed when we left and it was a wonderful meal.
It was Semana Santa (Holy Week) while Kathy was here. There were crowds of people on Los Muertos Beach. Even in Bucerias the beach was busy. Everyone cautions how difficult it will be to find a parking spot in town, but Harold must have the magic touch and found them easily. On Friday evening, I talked him into taking the bus into town since the crowds would be huge. It turned out to be one of those plans that sounds good on paper but doesn’t work out quite right.
The bus ride down was interesting. A fellow got on the bus with his dog, Bingo. I questioned him that I didn’t think dogs were allowed on the bus. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “it’s a holiday.” Bingo was well behaved but wanted to visit everyone on the bus. His owner called him Bingo Coqueton, meaning Bingo the flirt.
We planned to ride the bus to the south side to go to CyC for the Friday sunset meeting of the All Vallarta board. The plan started falling apart when the bus stopped a couple blocks north of the Pemex station north of downtown. We started walking towards CyC, which was probably close to two miles. The Malecon street was completely closed to traffic and was full of people. We got to CyC, had a couple drinks with Postie, Dylan and their wives and Jeff and his girlfriend. After that, we strolled back down the Malecon enjoying watching the people and listening to the entertainers. We got back to where we thought the bus would pick us up. Well, we never saw the bus for our route so we were thinking of taking a cab. Well, they were all full. So plan 3 became catch the bus that gets close to our house. We did that and ended up having to walk about ¾ or a mile from the bus home. We sure got our exercise that night! Needless to say, the next night I agreed when Harold suggested we drive downtown.
Kathy did a lot of walking in our neighborhood as well. She even had an offer of a house for sale. We didn’t get to go see which one it was, but will try to figure it out. We took one long walk way up the mountain from our house. Seemed like every time we thought we were as high as we could get there was another trail. The views were fabulous!
We tried to allow enough time for reading and siesta as well. The Big Lots airbed we brought from Waco worked well.
Sunday morning came and we delivered Kathy back to the airport. The week just flew by and there were so many things we did not get to do. I guess she will have to come back.
Any one else who is reading this, you too can have the full PV experience by visiting us, too. But first, we need some time to rest and diet!

The wedding, Palm Sunday

The wedding

We were invited to the wedding of Joe and Monica. Joe is Pam Thompson’s son and he, Monica and their son Nicholas live in Puerto Vallarta. They had a beautiful wedding at Rancho El Ojo de Agua. We had arranged with Pam that we would pick up some beer and sodas for her and take them to the ranch in the afternoon. We didn’t have an address, we were told “everyone knows were it is.” So, off we went with the skimpiest of ideas of the location. About 45 minutes later and having asked about 6 people, including some policemen, we finally got there! I think what happened is that some people were thinking of another ranch, so we were traveling back and forth between the two ranches. But, we got there and dropped off the stuff.
The invitation was for 7:30. We know that “Mexican time” comes into play here when deciding when to arrive. But for a wedding we thought we ought to arrive at the appointed time. When we got there about 7:15, the ceremony was already going on. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. Both the bride and the groom looked great and very happy. It turned out that many people are invited for the party and would be arriving later. We sat with another American couple who are also friends of Pam. As you sat down, the waiters brought bottles of mixers to the table and would bring a bottle of tequila, whiskey or rum to the table. There were also big dishes of ceviche served. After a while, many more people arrived. There was a good DJ and dancing. Of course the drinks were flowing! We enjoyed the fajita buffet and wedding cake. Everyone was having a good time. We left around 11 and the party was going strong. It was a beautiful wedding, a great setting and the couple couldn’t have looked happier. Congratulations Joe and Monica!

Palm Sunday

There is a church on the hill at the end of our street. It is a fairly rustic looking church with an excellent location high on the mountainside. Rigo, our landlord, mentioned that on Palm Sunday there would be a palm procession down the street. I went to the corner and found the vendors selling palm crosses and other palm items. I got my palms and got ready to watch the procession. Many people gathered in the street, probably 150 or so. Most were dressed in white and all had palm fronds or crosses. A young boy was dressed as a king complete with a crown of thorns. The priest spoke and blessed the crowd. There were guitar players and songs were sung. The entire group walked up the hill to the church for the Palm Sunday mass.
On Good Friday, the church had a “stations of the cross” procession around the neighborhood, too. They went to a number of houses in the area, sang and prayed.

more goings-on

Sorry this is late, I haven't been spending much time on-line recently. Harold is being a Web-hog, and also Kathy (our sister-in-law) is here visiting. So this entry is late, I promise more soon!
Curves
I have been going to Curves three times a week while we have been here. The Curves gym in Puerto Vallarta is near a very popular restaurant, Chile’s, but I have only gone to Chile’s once. Shelley, the owner of Curves, has been very nice about letting me continue my workouts for the Curves study. After one month here, I had lost 1 kg, which is 2.2 pounds. At least the beer drinking hasn’t overcome the exercise!

Children’s Parade
This week I saw several parades of little children dressed in costumes. Most of them were butterflies, bunnies and birds. There were a few Tiggers and Poohs in the mix, too. I asked Melissa if her school did that, too. She said the kindergarten kids had a parade and that it was for the beginning of spring. The parades I saw downtown were really cute.

Tom and Marsha
It seemed like the time went really fast and then it was time for Tom and Marsha to return to Nebraska. We will miss waving to them at their balcony over Olas Altas and sitting up there watching the drama that goes on in the evenings. See ya next year!

Tia Maria
We saw an ad for a little place called Tia Maria in the hotel area. It is just south of Plaza Caracol, almost across the street from the new KFC. We had comida corrida there for 35 pesos each. It was good and we would recommend it to anyone staying in that area or shopping at Gigante.

Fox
Our dog Fox has discovered that she can sit in the windowsill of the front window of our house and get a good view of any action on the street. Now she spends plenty of time perching up there and watching the world go by. The kids in the neighborhood like to come up and pet her and talk to her.

Palm Sunday
This morning there was a procession on our street to the church up the hill. Several vendors set up early selling crosses and other items made from palm fronds. There was a boy dressed in a king costume complete with crown of thorns. He and the priest let the procession up the hill. Many of the people were dressed in white. Two guitar players let a few songs before the procession and while they were marching. The priest also spoke and blessed the parishioners while they were waiting to march. There were probably 150 people in the procession.

Car Wash
Our landlord’s on, Rigo, offered to clean our car. He and Harold agreed that Rigo would wash and dry the car, clean the windows and wheel, and clean the interior. Rigo did a great job and the car looked better than it has since we arrived. An the cost – 30 pesos, or less than $3 US!

Dog Show and Ranch Capomo

Dog Show
We saw the advertising for Puerto Vallarta’s first Perroton (dog show) so we wanted to see it. It was at the sports stadium near the Sheraton. Friday we just went to watch. There was a demonstration of police dog skills that was quite impressive. There were drug sniffing dogs and attack dogs. Another demonstration was a dog and his handler who are national champions in French Ring skills.
Saturday we took the dogs to the show. It was pretty unclear what categories there were so I registered Sarah for agility. As it turned out, they ran out of time and didn’t have all the categories. They had golden retrievers, Labradors, Chihuahuas and poodles as separate groups. Then large, medium and small dogs had their own groups. It was funny because the whole show had a very informal feel to it, except the judges seemed very serious when looking at the dogs. There was a competition for costumed and trick dogs and one for obedience.
Sarah, the 3-legged Dalmatian, got special recognition in the show. She and Harold were in the ring with the MC while she told Sarah’s story. She used it as an example of how well a dog can adapt to injury and how much people love their dogs.
The dogs enjoyed the show because there were plenty of things to sniff, plenty of new dogs to meet and they got out of the house for a day. There were quite a few people at the show Saturday, Mexican families with their dogs, ex-pats with their dogs, and some tourists who just came by to watch. Of course there were food and beverage vendors and displays by vets and animal groups.

Rancho Capomo
We volunteered to drive a group of kids from RISE, the children’s shelter, to a field day at Rancho Capomo. We met at the house and found that we had 5 cars to transport 20+ kids and an equal number of adults. We loaded 4 adults and 6 kids in our Mazda Tribute for the 45-minute drive to Las Palmas. As soon as we got there, a group of kids went horseback riding. The other kids played on the playground while they waited their turn for the horses. The second group of kids and one madre rode the horses later. The ranch greeted us all with glasses of Jamaica. After the riding, lunch was served The restaurant is set up with mostly table for 4 and 6. Volunteers sat at the tables with the children and ate. Harold and I ate with Beto and Chuey. They are two adorable little boys. Beto kept saying “yo quiero” as plates of food went by, and licking his lips loudly. The waiter brought him a big plate of chicken, rice and beans. Both boys had good appetites and enjoyed their dinners. After the chicken, plates of shrimp were also served.
When the kids finished lunch, they went down to play in the river. Almost all the kids and madres went wading in the river.
After the fun-filled afternoon, we all headed back to the Refugio. Many of the kids slept soundly on the return trip. Harold and I really enjoyed spending time with the kids and meeting the other volunteers.

Visitors

One of the most fun parts of being in Puerto Vallarta is spending time with the people who are visiting here. We have lots of “Internet friends” from a couple different bulletin boards.
One of the boards I read is the Tepic board. Tepic is the capital of the state of Nayarit, which is the state Bucerias is in. Cliff is the host of that board, and is assisted by his wife Alice. This week, Alice made one of her periodic trips to Puerto Vallarta to enjoy the shopping, restaurants and general atmosphere of PV. It’s lucky she didn’t come for the sunshine as it’s been unusually cloudy and cool!
Harold and I had the pleasure of meeting Alice for lunch at Chile’s. This south-side restaurant is known for their hamburgers and roast chicken. We enjoyed a very nice lunch with Alice. We all shared stories of the trials, tribulations and rewards of moving to and living in Mexico. Thanks, Alice, for the fun afternoon and for lunch. We hope to be able to visit Tepic before our return trip to Texas.
Some other visitors to the area are Missy (MadisonMissy) and Ron, from the Madison, Wisconsin area. We met Ron and Missy a few years ago at a board get together and have kept in touch. It was great to see them again. And thanks, Melissa, for bringing me the “foot care package.” Wearing sandals all the time has been taking its toll on my feet and Missy has rescued me with foot scrub, nail polish, a callous-remover and some great lotion.
There have been many other board members we have met, including some who live here full or part time. As a result, we have had a busier social life here than in Waco. But we will have plenty of time to visit with you, too, if you come to town!

More adventures

Tom (known on AllVallarta as Sky King) and his wife Marsha are in Puerto Vallarta for 3 weeks or so. We had volunteered to make a dentist appointment for Tom and gave him a ride out there the first time. We have taken several adventurous trips with Tom and Marsha. We went to the Marina one night (OK, not that adventurous) and walked around looking at all the yachts. We ate at Victor’s and had a good meal of fish fillets. We have also eaten at Taste of Italy, one of their favorites and a place we hadn’t tried before. The sub sandwiches and spaghetti are all good and the prices reasonable.
The kids from the RISE shelter are going to go on a fiend trip next week. There is a ranch along the river outside of Las Palmas called Rancho Capomo. They have a restaurant, river access, horseback rides, a playground and plenty of room for the kids to run around. Chris had the name of the place and the location, but no phone number. We went to the ranch to “warn” them that 40 kids and 20 adults would be coming next week. Harold, Tom, Marsha and I walked down to the river, enjoyed the scenic surroundings and had a snack at the ranch. The terrain near Las Palmas is not at all like the coastal area. Many trees, huge rocks in the river and very scenic!
After lunch, we thought we’d see if any progress is being made on the mythical new road to Guadalajara. There is a lot of road construction going on, so maybe the road will be a reality some day.
We drove through the small town of Las Palmas and ate lunch at a restaurant Harold had seen an ad for in the paper. We shared coconut shrimp dinners. The price was reasonable and the food was good and filling. Great mango sauce for the shrimp, too!
Another day, we drove up the very steep hill near our house. The houses at the top have a fabulous view. We watched a kid scrambling up and down a hillside that would have been a recipe for disaster for any of us it was so steep.
We have also sat on the balcony at their apartment on Olas Altas. They have a perfect spot for people watching.
Twice we have taken the dogs to walk along the Pitallal River. Denny told us there was a dirt path along the river all the way over to Pitallal from the Holiday Inn. It is really more like a dirt road, very wide and smooth. No cars can get on the road, at least from the west end. We walked down a ways and then there is a place you can easily walk to the river. The dogs have a great time running around leash-less and chasing birds. Both times we have been there we have see very few other people. It appears a number of workers use it as a short cut to bicycle from Pitallal to the hotel zone.
The weather has been very strange, many days have been cloudy. And don’t laugh you northerners, but one night it was actually cold in the wind! This afternoon, after walking the dogs, Harold and I were going to go to the beach but it is overcast and cool. He is squeezing oranges for juice instead. I bought the oranges this morning from a guy driving through the neighborhood in a pickup truck. A couple days ago we bought strawberries from another truck - 20 pesos a kilogram. That’s about 80 cents US per pound.
Since I haven’t yet figured out how to put pictures in the blog, you will have to look at my Webshots http://community.webshots.com/user/sioux4noff for photos of this stuff!

Out on the town

Sunday night is the best night to walk on the Malecon, Puerto Vallarta’s oceanfront walkway. It stretches right along the beach in the center of town. Originally, the Malecon was only on the north side of the river that runs through the center of Puerto Vallarta, the Cuale. Now there is a pedestrian bridge across the river that connects the main part of the Malecon to a “mini-Malecon” on the south side of the river. Well, part of it is under construction now, but it will b nice.
On Sunday evening, we ate a fairly early dinner at Machi’s Barbeque. Machi’s was recommended by other members of the All Vallarta board. We enjoyed our meal there, I had tortilla soup and Harold had the chicken special.
After dinner, we started at the south side and walked to the north end of the Malecon. There are always several musical groups playing along the way. The Folkloric ballet was performing at the Los Arcos amphitheater, 2 different pan flute bands were performing, a talented duo of keyboard and violin was there, and the Voltadores. They are a Mayan group that has an act where they fly around what looks like a big May pole, hanging by their ankles. We walked along listening to the music, stopped a few times to sit and watch the performances and to watch the people go by. There is always a mix of local families, tourists, teenagers and others to make the people watching interesting. The weather was perfect, warm enough to wear shorts, but cool enough to be comfortable. Altogether we probably spent three hours on the Malecon.
Last week, we got a phone call one day. It was a woman inviting us to the El Dorado Restaurant on the beach for cocktails. She mentioned the name of Nelly, who was someone we me through the RISE fundraiser. We went to the event not really knowing what it was. It turned out to be an art show of Nelly’s work. We had cocktails, ate a few snacks and looked at the paintings. We saw a few people we knew and visited with them. Nelly’s brother, Julian, was visiting from California. We enjoyed talking to him, also.
For dinner we went to Tia Catrina. It is a small restaurant on the south side of downtown Puerto Vallarta. The food and service were good and the prices were reasonable.
Another evening we went to Chris and Keith’s condo for dinner. Chris is the lady who chaired the RISE fundraiser. They live in a very nice condo in Conchas Chinas. It has a beautiful view of the bay. We had a fun evening visiting with them and enjoying the great meal that Keith cooked.
James, who posts as “earlyretire” on several boards, planned a beach party for Thursday afternoon. It was at the Lazy Lizard on Los Muertos Beach. There weren’t as many people there as James had hoped, but those of us who went had a good time. I think if another party like that is planned, a smaller time range would help. Some people apparently didn’t show up until after most of us were gone.