Carnitas
Our friend Luis is building a bodega (storage building) on a lot he owns in El Pitallal. The lot is probably ¼ acre or so and has a mango tree and a bunch of palm trees along the wall around the property. The bodega is on one side of the lot, there are 2 palapas being built in the center of the lot, and in one corner is a kitchen area with a sink, fridge and wood-cooking pit.
The building is now 2 stories tall. Yesterday, Luis and the construction crew had a concrete truck come out to pour the roof. The building, while not finished, is now basically closed in. After pouring the roof, Luis hosted a party for the crew and some of their families. They cooked carnitas. We had heard of carnitas, but didn’t know what it was. It is basically a bunch of various pork parts boiled in lard. Now if that doesn’t stop your heart on the spot, what will?
The carnita cooking took place in one of those giant copper pots you see for sale along the side of the road. A 55-gallon drum was split in half. One half was fashioned into the base for the copper pot. A gas burner was placed in the drum and the copper pot on top. The other half of the barrel became the cooking surface for the tortillas. Another gas burner went under that half.
The lard was put into the pot and then heated up some. As the pork cooked, it provided more lard for cooking. The pork was cooked for a while just in the lard. It had to be stirred with what looked like a wooden oar. As the meat got almost done, the cook added Coca Cola, beer and salt to the lard. He then put some fruit on a huge fork that looked like Neptune’s spear. There was pineapple, oranges, limes and onion. All that was cooked in the lard, too, to give the meat a different flavor.
While the meat was cooking, the corn tortillas were being made. First, the cooking surface was prepared by spreading a mixture of lime (the powdered stone kind, not the fruit) and water on it and heating it. The tortillas were made by forming balls from the dough and pressing them in a wooden tortilla press. The woman who was cooking them flipped them by using her fingers, not a spatula.
I helped press the tortillas but wasn’t very good at flipping them. Ouch! My fingers aren’t insulated enough.
The woman who was making the tortillas also made several different types of salsa. They were varying degrees of hot-ness and all were very good. A pot of beans was coked, too.
When the meat was done, it just fell apart into shreds. The meat went into the tortillas along with salsa and beans. They were very good! There was way more food than we could eat so the workers took some home to their families.
Along with the carnitas, plenty of beer was consumed. Since the lot is enclosed, the kids could run around without any worry as to where they were. The only thing missing was the hammocks that Luis will add between the trees after construction is done.
We also got to see how palapas are made. The palm fronds that are used must be green when they are put on. They are tied in place with baling wire. It is a lot of work!
When it is all completed, Luis and family will have a great place for fiestas. They will also have a nice large storage building of 4 or 6 units. We hope to store some of our extra things there at some point. Our Bucerias house doesn’t have a lot of storage space, so maybe out of season things like Christmas decorations, etc could be stored in the bodega.
The biggest downside of the day was that Monika was not feeling well so she and the kids did not come to the fiesta. I guess we’ll have to have another one!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Friday, February 25, 2005
The dogs
Our dogs love going to the beach. Neither one of them really likes to get in the water but they love being able to run around and play. They really like it when they see birds and they chase them very enthusiastically. Wednesday we took them to the beach. We stayed about 3 hours. After the beach, we took them to the Doggy Banos. We saw an ad in the Mano a Mano, which is a Thrifty Nickel type publication, for a veteranarian’s office that would give them a haircut, flea bath, clip their nails and clean their ears for 100 pesos. That’s less than $10 US. Because they didn’t need a haircut, it was only 80 pesos each. Sarah now looks like a proper white Dalmatian, and Foxxy is very clean plus lost a lot of the fur she has been shedding all over the house.
While we were at the beach today, we saw a large group of dolphins. They were pretty far off –shore, but we had our binoculars. They were visible for a long time. It was cool to see them.
Our landlady cleans our house once a week. It is a one bedroom, one bath house and it takes her a couple hours or more. She also changes the sheets on the bed and washes the linens. For this, we pay her 100 pesos a week. She will also do our laundry if we want, for an extra charge.
I’m sure the landlord’s family and the other people on our street think we are unusual. We walk our dogs instead of just letting them out loose. We even have leashes. We also are gone a lot, shop at the grocery store instead of the local tiendas, and Harold picks up trash out of the street.
Harold had his last dentist visit today. He now has 2 nice new permanent bridges. While he was at the dentist’s office, I walked around the nearby area with Melissa. We ran into her dad, Luis, as we were getting to the dentist. Melissa hung around with us for a while then we went to see the progress Luis has made with the bodega and the palapas on his lot.
Tonight at CyC there was a big crowd of board members. People were spread out over 3 or 4 groups. After CyC, Harold and I went to have birthday cake with another All Vallarta board member Tom. He and his wife have a great view of the street action on Olas Altas from their apartment.
This afternoon, we went for a drive with the intention of finding a local animal shelter. Instead, we drove to an area called La Disembocada. We had heard about this pretty area and great restaurant from several other board members. We decided to have a light lunch there. What we had was a combination shrimp plate. There were shrimp Diablo, breaded shrimp and shrimp cooked in butter. There was also rice and French fries and vegetables. The plate probably had 24 shrimp and they weren’t small! For just about $10, we were both full. Add a couple more bucks for some soft drinks, and we were out of there for less than $15 US total.
We had heard there were hot springs nearby but didn’t have time to investigate. Guess we’ll just have to go back!
While we were at the beach today, we saw a large group of dolphins. They were pretty far off –shore, but we had our binoculars. They were visible for a long time. It was cool to see them.
Our landlady cleans our house once a week. It is a one bedroom, one bath house and it takes her a couple hours or more. She also changes the sheets on the bed and washes the linens. For this, we pay her 100 pesos a week. She will also do our laundry if we want, for an extra charge.
I’m sure the landlord’s family and the other people on our street think we are unusual. We walk our dogs instead of just letting them out loose. We even have leashes. We also are gone a lot, shop at the grocery store instead of the local tiendas, and Harold picks up trash out of the street.
Harold had his last dentist visit today. He now has 2 nice new permanent bridges. While he was at the dentist’s office, I walked around the nearby area with Melissa. We ran into her dad, Luis, as we were getting to the dentist. Melissa hung around with us for a while then we went to see the progress Luis has made with the bodega and the palapas on his lot.
Tonight at CyC there was a big crowd of board members. People were spread out over 3 or 4 groups. After CyC, Harold and I went to have birthday cake with another All Vallarta board member Tom. He and his wife have a great view of the street action on Olas Altas from their apartment.
This afternoon, we went for a drive with the intention of finding a local animal shelter. Instead, we drove to an area called La Disembocada. We had heard about this pretty area and great restaurant from several other board members. We decided to have a light lunch there. What we had was a combination shrimp plate. There were shrimp Diablo, breaded shrimp and shrimp cooked in butter. There was also rice and French fries and vegetables. The plate probably had 24 shrimp and they weren’t small! For just about $10, we were both full. Add a couple more bucks for some soft drinks, and we were out of there for less than $15 US total.
We had heard there were hot springs nearby but didn’t have time to investigate. Guess we’ll just have to go back!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The RISE fundraiser
We have become involved in the organizing group for the RISE orphanage/children’s shelter. The event is an evening party with food, open bar and entertainment. This year is the 3rd annual event. The hotel being used this year has much more space and it was all on one level. That made planning the layout much easier.
Harold and I were busy on Friday picking up things from RISE to be taken to the hotel. We loaded our car full, almost as full as on our trip down here! After all the work, we took a siesta and went to CyC (Cuates y Cuetes) to meet All Vallarta board members. All of us in attendance were local or temporary locals. After a drink and some good conversation, we went to Sr Sweeney’s to see if our friend James was working. He wasn’t there, but we stayed to eat anyway. After dinner we walked over to the Malecon for some fresh air, and who did we run into but James! He needed a ride home, but our car was full of piñatas and trash cans.
Saturday was the big event. Starting at 9 a.m., we loaded and moved lots of stuff! Harold made several trips to restaurants and homes to bring things in. We helped set up tables and chairs, decorate and organize. During the event I was in charge of selling tickets and Harold was a go-fer. Everyone seemed to have a great time. There was plenty of food and booze to go around. The weather was perfect. After we chased the last guest home, we had to clean up the area. There were plenty of volunteers so it went quickly.
Sunday morning we thought we had to help some more, but ended up not having to do anything else until Monday.
Since we were already in town, we walked up and down several streets to look for interesting shops and restaurants. It was somewhat overcast so it wasn’t really hot.
For dinner, we went to a small, out of the way place called La Parota de Pancho Villa. It was good, we had a combination seafood platter. But it was disappointing in that the prices were much higher than we expected.
Monday morning we met the event organizer, Chris, and picked up another load of things to be returned. After Harold’s dentist appointment we took things to RISE and returned pans to restaurants. Finally, we went to the Krystal and took full advantage of the hot tubs they have.
By the evening, we were rested up enough to meet a group of folks at the Burro Bar. There were some All Vallarta board members and some people from another bulletin board. Everyone had a great time.
We met one man whose family was getting an unexpectedly long vacation. The day they were scheduled to leave, their daughter was ill. They went to the airport anyway and while there, she became sicker and was getting very weak. A doctor was called and she was admitted to the hospital. Needless to say, they did not go home. She was in the hospital for 2 nights with a bacterial infection. Now they are awaiting word of when they can get a flight home. It is looking like their trip will be 6 days longer than expected. Thank goodness for travel insurance!
Harold and I were busy on Friday picking up things from RISE to be taken to the hotel. We loaded our car full, almost as full as on our trip down here! After all the work, we took a siesta and went to CyC (Cuates y Cuetes) to meet All Vallarta board members. All of us in attendance were local or temporary locals. After a drink and some good conversation, we went to Sr Sweeney’s to see if our friend James was working. He wasn’t there, but we stayed to eat anyway. After dinner we walked over to the Malecon for some fresh air, and who did we run into but James! He needed a ride home, but our car was full of piñatas and trash cans.
Saturday was the big event. Starting at 9 a.m., we loaded and moved lots of stuff! Harold made several trips to restaurants and homes to bring things in. We helped set up tables and chairs, decorate and organize. During the event I was in charge of selling tickets and Harold was a go-fer. Everyone seemed to have a great time. There was plenty of food and booze to go around. The weather was perfect. After we chased the last guest home, we had to clean up the area. There were plenty of volunteers so it went quickly.
Sunday morning we thought we had to help some more, but ended up not having to do anything else until Monday.
Since we were already in town, we walked up and down several streets to look for interesting shops and restaurants. It was somewhat overcast so it wasn’t really hot.
For dinner, we went to a small, out of the way place called La Parota de Pancho Villa. It was good, we had a combination seafood platter. But it was disappointing in that the prices were much higher than we expected.
Monday morning we met the event organizer, Chris, and picked up another load of things to be returned. After Harold’s dentist appointment we took things to RISE and returned pans to restaurants. Finally, we went to the Krystal and took full advantage of the hot tubs they have.
By the evening, we were rested up enough to meet a group of folks at the Burro Bar. There were some All Vallarta board members and some people from another bulletin board. Everyone had a great time.
We met one man whose family was getting an unexpectedly long vacation. The day they were scheduled to leave, their daughter was ill. They went to the airport anyway and while there, she became sicker and was getting very weak. A doctor was called and she was admitted to the hospital. Needless to say, they did not go home. She was in the hospital for 2 nights with a bacterial infection. Now they are awaiting word of when they can get a flight home. It is looking like their trip will be 6 days longer than expected. Thank goodness for travel insurance!
Monday, February 21, 2005
A trip up north
At the wedding, we met Mary, one of Jeanie’s friends from Denver, and her friend Jan. We all decided to go to visit Jeanie and Dennis at the hotel where they were honeymooning. (Yes, we were invited!)
We met for breakfast at Andales. After a leisurely breakfast we headed towards the north. First stop was Bucerias so we could show Jan and Mary our house. We also looked at the beach and visited Casa Tranquila. Jan really enjoyed seeing Bucerias and will consider it for a future trip.
I thought the hotel was in La Penita. Mary thought it was in Rincon de Guayabitos. Well, Mary was correct but we got a mini-tour of La Penita when we were looking for the Villas Buena Vida. It only took asking two people to find the hotel. Jeanie and Dennis were not in their room, by the pool, or on the beach. We walked down the beach for a little bit then ate lunch at a restaurant next to the hotel. It turned out to be a nice meal. Jan and Mary didn’t like the margaritas and Mary sent hers back. The waiter brought her a replacement which she also didn’t like. The waiter told her that the restaurant had used the same recipe for 17 years and everyone else liked them! He did end up not charging her for the drink.
Our waiter as not very friendly at first since the place was very busy. After most of the crowd cleared out, he loosened up and was joking with us. He had very red hair and explained that yes, he is Mexican, but his grandmother was from England.
After lunch, we checked back at the hotel. Still no Jeanie and Dennis. We drove around Rincon and looked at some very nice houses in an area where we saw very few people. Actually, we didn’t see many people in town at all. We stopped for an ice cream cone before heading back to Puerto Vallarta.
Jan and Mary wanted to see more of the area, so we drove through El Pitallal. We also drove by Monika and Luis’s house to show them the development. Rudy was outside so we had to stop and visit, We kidded Monika about her house being on the home tour. We also showed them our house.
It was a very fun day, really relaxing and cool to see a different beach town. Rincon de Guayabitos seems like it would be a cool place to spend a few days. Plenty of hotels, some shops and restaurants. The beach was very flat and the ocean calm.
We met for breakfast at Andales. After a leisurely breakfast we headed towards the north. First stop was Bucerias so we could show Jan and Mary our house. We also looked at the beach and visited Casa Tranquila. Jan really enjoyed seeing Bucerias and will consider it for a future trip.
I thought the hotel was in La Penita. Mary thought it was in Rincon de Guayabitos. Well, Mary was correct but we got a mini-tour of La Penita when we were looking for the Villas Buena Vida. It only took asking two people to find the hotel. Jeanie and Dennis were not in their room, by the pool, or on the beach. We walked down the beach for a little bit then ate lunch at a restaurant next to the hotel. It turned out to be a nice meal. Jan and Mary didn’t like the margaritas and Mary sent hers back. The waiter brought her a replacement which she also didn’t like. The waiter told her that the restaurant had used the same recipe for 17 years and everyone else liked them! He did end up not charging her for the drink.
Our waiter as not very friendly at first since the place was very busy. After most of the crowd cleared out, he loosened up and was joking with us. He had very red hair and explained that yes, he is Mexican, but his grandmother was from England.
After lunch, we checked back at the hotel. Still no Jeanie and Dennis. We drove around Rincon and looked at some very nice houses in an area where we saw very few people. Actually, we didn’t see many people in town at all. We stopped for an ice cream cone before heading back to Puerto Vallarta.
Jan and Mary wanted to see more of the area, so we drove through El Pitallal. We also drove by Monika and Luis’s house to show them the development. Rudy was outside so we had to stop and visit, We kidded Monika about her house being on the home tour. We also showed them our house.
It was a very fun day, really relaxing and cool to see a different beach town. Rincon de Guayabitos seems like it would be a cool place to spend a few days. Plenty of hotels, some shops and restaurants. The beach was very flat and the ocean calm.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
The wedding
The wedding
On Valentine’s Day the weather was beautiful. It was a great day for Jeanie and Dennis’s wedding. We met Jeanie through the All Vallarta bulletin board. Last year, she and her daughter Christa were in PV on vacation the same week Harold and I were here. She told us then about her wedding plans and the plan she has to relocate to this area.
The wedding was on the beach in front of the Playa Del Sol condos. They got married under an arch of flowers in front of a beautiful sunset. After the wedding, a buffet reception was held. All the tables were located right on the beach. It was a beautiful night for a beautiful wedding. Thank you Jeanie and Dennis for including us in our special day.
I also read the Jerry and Anne’s Mexico Board. Tuesday, Feb 15 was a party for Jerry and another board member Candace. We were only able to spend a little while at the party. It was a fun event at a really pretty house. Casa de Reyna is right on the beach in Bucerias. There are many features of mosaic tile throughout the house and pool area. We were sorry that we couldn’t stay longer. Happy Birthday Jerry and Candace!
On Valentine’s Day the weather was beautiful. It was a great day for Jeanie and Dennis’s wedding. We met Jeanie through the All Vallarta bulletin board. Last year, she and her daughter Christa were in PV on vacation the same week Harold and I were here. She told us then about her wedding plans and the plan she has to relocate to this area.
The wedding was on the beach in front of the Playa Del Sol condos. They got married under an arch of flowers in front of a beautiful sunset. After the wedding, a buffet reception was held. All the tables were located right on the beach. It was a beautiful night for a beautiful wedding. Thank you Jeanie and Dennis for including us in our special day.
I also read the Jerry and Anne’s Mexico Board. Tuesday, Feb 15 was a party for Jerry and another board member Candace. We were only able to spend a little while at the party. It was a fun event at a really pretty house. Casa de Reyna is right on the beach in Bucerias. There are many features of mosaic tile throughout the house and pool area. We were sorry that we couldn’t stay longer. Happy Birthday Jerry and Candace!
another week gone by
After meeting Pam and Scott, the sailors, we were interested in seeing what kind of boat you would sail around the world on. We went to the Marina and got a tour. They have solar panels to generate electricity, a small (galley) kitchen and of course everything is carefully organized. We gave them a bag of Skittles, M&Ms and Starburst to eat while crossing the Pacific.
While at the Marina, we also called on one of the restaurants that are donating food to the orphanage fundraiser. Christian, the manager of Las Palomas Dorado was very glad to sign up to help. He even gave us each a T-shirt as we left! It looks like a very nice restaurant, too.
Friday, we went to La Cruz for the Bubba and the Bottom Feeders. The place was super crowded so we ended up sitting our on the sidewalk. The best part was that we ran into our Bucerias neighbors Rita and Oliver and had a chance to visit with them.
After that, we went to CyC (a bar on the beach in town) to see which All Vallarta board members were there. We ended up seeing some old friends and met some new ones. After that, our friend James, who also lives here in PV, came over for dinner.
We did get to the pool at the Krystal this week. The weather has been really good, clear and sunny. We plan on taking the dogs back to the beach this week.
Saturday evening, we attended a pre-wedding dinner. One of our All Vallarta friends, Jeanie, is getting married on the beach on Valentine’s Day. She and Dennis, her fiancé, hosted a very nice dinner at Café Bohemio. We met lots of her wedding guests and heard about their fun, but rough day out on a boat tour. The ocean looked pretty rough and they verified that it was!
Sunday is market day in an area called Remance. The tianguis are street markets which set up in different areas each day. Brenda, the All Vallarta web goddess, went with us and a couple other friends to shop the market. There were some great clothing buys (Harold got a pair of Dockers shorts for 50 pesos, or about $5 US). We also bought some vegetables.
In the evening, we had volunteered to help at the Rhythm and Ribs fundraiser in Bucerias. A few people in the area are raising money to build and run an orphanage. We ended up helping at one of the two bars. We served probably 25 cases of beer. I almost got good at pouring a beer quickly without spilling or running it over. We had intended to leave early, but were there until after 9. It was lots of work, but very fun.
After the event, we went t see in Rafael’s fiesta was still going on. We figured that since it was for one of the kids, they would be all done. Boy were we wrong! We got to the party and it was going strong. There was food left, and cake and plenty to drink. We stayed until close to midnight before we wore out. The singing and partying was still going strong!
While at the Marina, we also called on one of the restaurants that are donating food to the orphanage fundraiser. Christian, the manager of Las Palomas Dorado was very glad to sign up to help. He even gave us each a T-shirt as we left! It looks like a very nice restaurant, too.
Friday, we went to La Cruz for the Bubba and the Bottom Feeders. The place was super crowded so we ended up sitting our on the sidewalk. The best part was that we ran into our Bucerias neighbors Rita and Oliver and had a chance to visit with them.
After that, we went to CyC (a bar on the beach in town) to see which All Vallarta board members were there. We ended up seeing some old friends and met some new ones. After that, our friend James, who also lives here in PV, came over for dinner.
We did get to the pool at the Krystal this week. The weather has been really good, clear and sunny. We plan on taking the dogs back to the beach this week.
Saturday evening, we attended a pre-wedding dinner. One of our All Vallarta friends, Jeanie, is getting married on the beach on Valentine’s Day. She and Dennis, her fiancé, hosted a very nice dinner at Café Bohemio. We met lots of her wedding guests and heard about their fun, but rough day out on a boat tour. The ocean looked pretty rough and they verified that it was!
Sunday is market day in an area called Remance. The tianguis are street markets which set up in different areas each day. Brenda, the All Vallarta web goddess, went with us and a couple other friends to shop the market. There were some great clothing buys (Harold got a pair of Dockers shorts for 50 pesos, or about $5 US). We also bought some vegetables.
In the evening, we had volunteered to help at the Rhythm and Ribs fundraiser in Bucerias. A few people in the area are raising money to build and run an orphanage. We ended up helping at one of the two bars. We served probably 25 cases of beer. I almost got good at pouring a beer quickly without spilling or running it over. We had intended to leave early, but were there until after 9. It was lots of work, but very fun.
After the event, we went t see in Rafael’s fiesta was still going on. We figured that since it was for one of the kids, they would be all done. Boy were we wrong! We got to the party and it was going strong. There was food left, and cake and plenty to drink. We stayed until close to midnight before we wore out. The singing and partying was still going strong!
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Observations on life in Mexico
Those of you who live in Mexico, or have lived here, may find this section uninteresting. I think most people new to Mexican day-to-day life notice these same things.
Life here in many ways is like living anywhere. You have to cook, clean the house, go shopping, etc. But there are some things which are really strikingly different.
Life on our street – we live across the street from a small store (called a tienda here) and another small store that looks like it sells beer but we never see people in there. The tienda gets many deliveries a day. Tortillas come in a cooler in the back of a pick-up truck, the milk company delivers, the soft drink truck comes, and so on. Our street is very narrow, so this all causes a traffic jam of sorts. Each truck comes with a driver and a helper. Sometimes we have to wait to leave the parking spot while a delivery is made.
People walk through the neighborhood selling many things. We have a pan man (pan is bread) who calls out “El Pan!, El Pan!” as he walks by with his basket balanced on his head. We have had flower vendors, a tamale lady, a Popsicle guy and others. Then there are the gas trucks. There are 3 different gas companies that come by. Each has their own distinctive little song or bell. We also have a water truck that just rings a bell as it goes by. A fruit and vegetable truck comes by once in a while. We have also had several vendors that we had no idea what they were selling.
There are 2 schools within a block of our house. In the mornings, many mothers walk their kids to school and after school the kids are very glad to be out. They play outside until well after dark.
For about a week or so, there have been 2 trampolines set up on the next block. Each night, they take in the bouncing portion and leave the frames there. Whose they are, why they are there, we don’t know. The neighbor kids love them!
Several of our neighbors wash their cars every day. Harold gets out and does ours pretty often, too. He also picks up trash from the street and puts it in a plastic bag. To keep dogs out of it, he puts the bag up in our tree. We have trash pickup 7 days a week. Everyone in PV does. We are supposed to put our trash out no earlier than 9 p.m. each night. Our neighborhood stacks the trash on the corner across from the taco stand. Some neighborhoods neatly stack all the trash in the middle of the intersection.
We walk our dogs several times a day. We are the only people we see with dogs on leashes. There are plenty of dogs in our neighborhood, though. So far we haven’t had any bad experiences with them. We also have chickens in the streets at times. No horses or donkeys.
Grocery shopping here takes adjusting to. You have to remember which stores get new stuff which days, and which days the sales change. If you hit the store the day before the new produce comes, it almost looks like they are going out of business!
Well I am going to post this and then we are heading to a festival in Bucerias. Thanks for reading our blog! Stay tuned, more to follow soon.
Life here in many ways is like living anywhere. You have to cook, clean the house, go shopping, etc. But there are some things which are really strikingly different.
Life on our street – we live across the street from a small store (called a tienda here) and another small store that looks like it sells beer but we never see people in there. The tienda gets many deliveries a day. Tortillas come in a cooler in the back of a pick-up truck, the milk company delivers, the soft drink truck comes, and so on. Our street is very narrow, so this all causes a traffic jam of sorts. Each truck comes with a driver and a helper. Sometimes we have to wait to leave the parking spot while a delivery is made.
People walk through the neighborhood selling many things. We have a pan man (pan is bread) who calls out “El Pan!, El Pan!” as he walks by with his basket balanced on his head. We have had flower vendors, a tamale lady, a Popsicle guy and others. Then there are the gas trucks. There are 3 different gas companies that come by. Each has their own distinctive little song or bell. We also have a water truck that just rings a bell as it goes by. A fruit and vegetable truck comes by once in a while. We have also had several vendors that we had no idea what they were selling.
There are 2 schools within a block of our house. In the mornings, many mothers walk their kids to school and after school the kids are very glad to be out. They play outside until well after dark.
For about a week or so, there have been 2 trampolines set up on the next block. Each night, they take in the bouncing portion and leave the frames there. Whose they are, why they are there, we don’t know. The neighbor kids love them!
Several of our neighbors wash their cars every day. Harold gets out and does ours pretty often, too. He also picks up trash from the street and puts it in a plastic bag. To keep dogs out of it, he puts the bag up in our tree. We have trash pickup 7 days a week. Everyone in PV does. We are supposed to put our trash out no earlier than 9 p.m. each night. Our neighborhood stacks the trash on the corner across from the taco stand. Some neighborhoods neatly stack all the trash in the middle of the intersection.
We walk our dogs several times a day. We are the only people we see with dogs on leashes. There are plenty of dogs in our neighborhood, though. So far we haven’t had any bad experiences with them. We also have chickens in the streets at times. No horses or donkeys.
Grocery shopping here takes adjusting to. You have to remember which stores get new stuff which days, and which days the sales change. If you hit the store the day before the new produce comes, it almost looks like they are going out of business!
Well I am going to post this and then we are heading to a festival in Bucerias. Thanks for reading our blog! Stay tuned, more to follow soon.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
a week in Paradise
We’ve been here a full week now. We are all getting into the routine of getting up in the morning and going for a short walk before breakfast. The dogs usually get 3 or 4 short walks a day. They are learning about the other dogs in the neighborhood but it seems like ever day we see at least one new dog. Most of them look like they are fed and cared for. The kids in the neighborhood talk to us and the dogs, too.
Monday we took the dogs to Bucerias to the beach. We wanted to start out with a less busy beach than in town. We went to the area south of the Royal Decameron and it was pretty deserted. Many people walk up and down the beach so the dogs got some attention. They also barked at horses on the beach, chased birds and ran around a lot. Sarah eventually got so she would walk in the water part way up her legs. She would go back on the beach when a wave came. Fox ran through the water twice and then would have absolutely nothing to do with it. When we got home they both sacked out after all the running.
On Tuesday Harold went to the dentist to get his bridgework started. Dr. Raul seems very knowledgeable. Unlike our dentist in the US, once the Novocain took effect, the dentist worked on Harold without leaving the room to check on any other patients. Right now Harold has a temporary front tooth. Next week he goes back for more work.
We finally got Internet service at the house. Now at least we can check our mail, etc.
Wednesday we had another meeting of the committee for the RISE orphanage fundraiser. It should be a fun event. Chris, the chairperson, is a former teacher and you can tell by the way she keeps everyone on task.
This evening we went to Philo’s in La Cruz. Pam Thompson had told us about a couple who are attempting to sail around the globe and they were the featured speakers. They are also both legally blind! After their talk and a performance by the Marimba-playing family from Canada, we gave the sailors a ride back to the Marina. Tomorrow we are planning on visiting them at the Marina to see their boat before they go back to sea. You can read about them at http://www.blindsailing.com
Monday we took the dogs to Bucerias to the beach. We wanted to start out with a less busy beach than in town. We went to the area south of the Royal Decameron and it was pretty deserted. Many people walk up and down the beach so the dogs got some attention. They also barked at horses on the beach, chased birds and ran around a lot. Sarah eventually got so she would walk in the water part way up her legs. She would go back on the beach when a wave came. Fox ran through the water twice and then would have absolutely nothing to do with it. When we got home they both sacked out after all the running.
On Tuesday Harold went to the dentist to get his bridgework started. Dr. Raul seems very knowledgeable. Unlike our dentist in the US, once the Novocain took effect, the dentist worked on Harold without leaving the room to check on any other patients. Right now Harold has a temporary front tooth. Next week he goes back for more work.
We finally got Internet service at the house. Now at least we can check our mail, etc.
Wednesday we had another meeting of the committee for the RISE orphanage fundraiser. It should be a fun event. Chris, the chairperson, is a former teacher and you can tell by the way she keeps everyone on task.
This evening we went to Philo’s in La Cruz. Pam Thompson had told us about a couple who are attempting to sail around the globe and they were the featured speakers. They are also both legally blind! After their talk and a performance by the Marimba-playing family from Canada, we gave the sailors a ride back to the Marina. Tomorrow we are planning on visiting them at the Marina to see their boat before they go back to sea. You can read about them at http://www.blindsailing.com
Sunday, February 06, 2005
our first days in Puerto Vallarta
We have spent our first days in Puerto Vallarta settling in to our house and neighborhood. There was unusual weather and it rained and/or was overcast the first five days we were here. We have stopped by to see Pamela at San Javier, Luis at Los Tules and James (earlyretire) at his house. We have run into Brenda on Olas Altas, Louis and Barbara at Los Muertos, and Juliana on the street near her house.
Wednesday morning, we jumped right into community service work like we are used to doing in Texas. We attended a meeting of the organizing committee of the fund-raiser for the RISE orphanage. The event is going to be on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 5 – 9 p.m. Tickets are 450 pesos each and include food and drinks. It will be held at the Molina de Agua Hotel that has a very beautiful area for it.
On Friday, we picked up James at his house. We went to La Cruz to see Bubba and the Bottom Feeders and attend their annual auction. Because of the rain, it was postponed until Friday, February 11 at 4. It will be at Britannia bar in La Cruz. We stopped by Casa Tranquila in Bucerias to visit with Patricia and Joann. After that, we headed to CyC, but weren’t able to find any other All Vallarta members. We had the filet dinner at Que Pasa and watched a little bit of “Fake It With Fox.”
2/6
I have been to Curves a couple times already. If any of you coming to visit are planning on working out, let me know and maybe we can go at the same time. Saturday, after I worked out we walked down to the beach. It wasn’t raining but was extremely windy. While standing on the beach near Ritmos (just south of the Blue Chairs) we heard kind of a ripping sound and then saw a palm tree fall over. It was planted up on the second floor and came crashing down, landing between 2 palapas. Because it was still cool and cloudy there weren’t any people on the beach right there so no one was hurt.
We walked south from Los Muertos over the rocks towards Conchas Chinas. It was a nice hike since it was still cool out. We saw several police trucks and a couple bomberos (firemen) but weren’t able to see what was going on. Looked like possibly a water rescue since one of the bomberos had a shorty wetsuit on and had a floatation device with him.
Today the sun finally came out! Harold washed the car and we swept the house. Deb had sent a car-top carrier for her friend Rafael and we delivered it to his house. Turns out we live very close to his family. We visited with him a little and ended up being invited to a fiesta next weekend.
We bought a chicken from Pollo Feliz on Honduras and walked down to the beach there. Since it is sunny and has warmed up there were people on the beach. The water looked great! We are thinking that might be a good place for us to take the dogs to the beach.
As I am finishing this up, Harold is watching the Super Bowl. Thanks to Denny, we have Star Choice TV at the house. After a little mix-up, we now have a phone, too. The number is (322) 223 3529. We don’t have Internet yet, but will soon. So I am writing this at home and will post it as soon as we go to the Internet place. I have all the photos ready for Webshots, too. If there are pictures in this blog, I have figured it out. If not, check my Webshots!
Wednesday morning, we jumped right into community service work like we are used to doing in Texas. We attended a meeting of the organizing committee of the fund-raiser for the RISE orphanage. The event is going to be on Saturday, Feb. 19 from 5 – 9 p.m. Tickets are 450 pesos each and include food and drinks. It will be held at the Molina de Agua Hotel that has a very beautiful area for it.
On Friday, we picked up James at his house. We went to La Cruz to see Bubba and the Bottom Feeders and attend their annual auction. Because of the rain, it was postponed until Friday, February 11 at 4. It will be at Britannia bar in La Cruz. We stopped by Casa Tranquila in Bucerias to visit with Patricia and Joann. After that, we headed to CyC, but weren’t able to find any other All Vallarta members. We had the filet dinner at Que Pasa and watched a little bit of “Fake It With Fox.”
2/6
I have been to Curves a couple times already. If any of you coming to visit are planning on working out, let me know and maybe we can go at the same time. Saturday, after I worked out we walked down to the beach. It wasn’t raining but was extremely windy. While standing on the beach near Ritmos (just south of the Blue Chairs) we heard kind of a ripping sound and then saw a palm tree fall over. It was planted up on the second floor and came crashing down, landing between 2 palapas. Because it was still cool and cloudy there weren’t any people on the beach right there so no one was hurt.
We walked south from Los Muertos over the rocks towards Conchas Chinas. It was a nice hike since it was still cool out. We saw several police trucks and a couple bomberos (firemen) but weren’t able to see what was going on. Looked like possibly a water rescue since one of the bomberos had a shorty wetsuit on and had a floatation device with him.
Today the sun finally came out! Harold washed the car and we swept the house. Deb had sent a car-top carrier for her friend Rafael and we delivered it to his house. Turns out we live very close to his family. We visited with him a little and ended up being invited to a fiesta next weekend.
We bought a chicken from Pollo Feliz on Honduras and walked down to the beach there. Since it is sunny and has warmed up there were people on the beach. The water looked great! We are thinking that might be a good place for us to take the dogs to the beach.
As I am finishing this up, Harold is watching the Super Bowl. Thanks to Denny, we have Star Choice TV at the house. After a little mix-up, we now have a phone, too. The number is (322) 223 3529. We don’t have Internet yet, but will soon. So I am writing this at home and will post it as soon as we go to the Internet place. I have all the photos ready for Webshots, too. If there are pictures in this blog, I have figured it out. If not, check my Webshots!
Tonala - PV
Once again, we got up, walked the dogs, put gas in the car and headed on our way to Puerto Vallarta, 211 miles away. The hotel was just off the autopista so we found our way out of town easily. We stopped at a 7-11 for donuts and coffee before getting on the toll road to Puerto Vallarta. The trip from this point was straightforward, as we had driven it before. We had great luck crossing the mountain passes and didn’t get stuck behind too many slow vehicles.
We took a quick detour to look at our house in Bucerias and arrived at Denny’s house. After a quick call home to my parents, we went to the house we are now living in. Denny, Barb and their renters helped us get the car unloaded very quickly. The owners weren’t expecting us until the next day, so the house wasn’t quite ready. Marta, the wife of the couple we are renting from, swept and mopped the house after we unloaded the car. The living room furniture was not there, it had been sent out to be reupholstered. It came back the next day. We still got settled in and began unpacking. For our first dinner in Puerto Vallarta we went to Vacas Grill. After dinner we went over to see Luis, Monika, Melissa and Rudy.
Trip highlights - 1,238 miles, 24 hours driving time including gas and walk stops, $90 US in tolls, total cost of our trip $420 US.
We took a quick detour to look at our house in Bucerias and arrived at Denny’s house. After a quick call home to my parents, we went to the house we are now living in. Denny, Barb and their renters helped us get the car unloaded very quickly. The owners weren’t expecting us until the next day, so the house wasn’t quite ready. Marta, the wife of the couple we are renting from, swept and mopped the house after we unloaded the car. The living room furniture was not there, it had been sent out to be reupholstered. It came back the next day. We still got settled in and began unpacking. For our first dinner in Puerto Vallarta we went to Vacas Grill. After dinner we went over to see Luis, Monika, Melissa and Rudy.
Trip highlights - 1,238 miles, 24 hours driving time including gas and walk stops, $90 US in tolls, total cost of our trip $420 US.
Matehuala - Tonala
We got up, walked the dogs and headed towards Tonala, a suburb of Guadalajara, 333 miles away. Based on advice we got, we took a cuota (toll) loop around San Luis Potosi. North of San Luis, it was well marked for the bypass to Guadalajara and Mexico City. The part leading to the Mexico City highway is pretty heavily traveled but the part past that highway to where it meets back up with the highway to Guadalajara is pretty desolate. That part is one lane each direction. Almost all the rest of the trip was 4-lane highway. Once we got back to the highway to Guadalajara, it was still 2 lanes until near Lagos de Moreno. As we approached Lagos de Moreno, we noticed people bicycling along the highway. They were in small groups at first and had signs indicating they were part of peregrinations to San Juan de los Lagos. Pretty soon, we were passing large groups of bicyclists and large groups of marchers. Altogether we passed thousands of people heading to San Juan.
Off the trip topic here – the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos is one of the 3 Jalisco virgins. The others are Talpa and Zapopan. The Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos restored a dead child to life. Each of these three Virgins has a basilica built in her honor and attracts millions of faithful to their festival days. If the car hadn’t been packed to the gills and the dogs with us, we would have stopped to see more.
The hubbub on the highway slowed us down some, but we still arrived in Tonala in mid-afternoon. We stayed at the Hotel Hacienda del Sol. It has a big parking garage and they were tolerant of our two dogs. A room with king size bed was 340 pesos. We ate dinner nearby at Jalapenos restaurant, looked around the square a little, and called it a day.
Off the trip topic here – the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos is one of the 3 Jalisco virgins. The others are Talpa and Zapopan. The Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos restored a dead child to life. Each of these three Virgins has a basilica built in her honor and attracts millions of faithful to their festival days. If the car hadn’t been packed to the gills and the dogs with us, we would have stopped to see more.
The hubbub on the highway slowed us down some, but we still arrived in Tonala in mid-afternoon. We stayed at the Hotel Hacienda del Sol. It has a big parking garage and they were tolerant of our two dogs. A room with king size bed was 340 pesos. We ate dinner nearby at Jalapenos restaurant, looked around the square a little, and called it a day.
Laredo to Matehuala
The second day we got up, ate our continental breakfast, walked the dogs and hit the road. We crossed the border at the Columbia Solidarity Bridge just outside of Laredo, got the green light both places, and drove 371 miles to Matehuala, in San Luis Potosi state. Anyone who wants details of the border crossing experience and the paperwork involved, just email me at sioux4noff@gmail.com.
Interestingly enough, we met another couple at the border that was traveling to Bucerias. They had been traveling for a couple days having left from Ontario on Thursday.
We took the loop around Monterrey and turned south before Saltillo. You climb up into the mountains for quite a while, but there are no difficult roads. Between Monterrey and Saltillo, we passed quite a few roadside vendors selling strings of huge garlic.
The dogs rode very well today. The both slept some and looked out the windows. We made several walk stops when we stopped for gas. After climbing the mountains, the road is fairly straight and level for a long time. The scenery doesn’t change much.
In Matehuala, we stayed at the Hotel Sol y Luna. It is located on the southern edge of Matehuala between KM 0 and 1. It is a small, family run hotel with maybe 10 rooms. We paid 250 pesos for the night and had a nice large room with 2 double beds and a twin bed. The owner of the hotel and at least one of the employees speaks English. We ate at a restaurant on the square called Santa Fe. It was very good. We were the only non-Mexicans we saw in the area but our limited Spanish got us by. There was another American couple checking into the hotel when we were there.
Along highway 57 in the south part of Matehuala is a factory called Las Sevillanas that makes dulce de leche candy. They also have a factory store selling their products and a cafeteria selling tortas that smelled very good.
Interestingly enough, we met another couple at the border that was traveling to Bucerias. They had been traveling for a couple days having left from Ontario on Thursday.
We took the loop around Monterrey and turned south before Saltillo. You climb up into the mountains for quite a while, but there are no difficult roads. Between Monterrey and Saltillo, we passed quite a few roadside vendors selling strings of huge garlic.
The dogs rode very well today. The both slept some and looked out the windows. We made several walk stops when we stopped for gas. After climbing the mountains, the road is fairly straight and level for a long time. The scenery doesn’t change much.
In Matehuala, we stayed at the Hotel Sol y Luna. It is located on the southern edge of Matehuala between KM 0 and 1. It is a small, family run hotel with maybe 10 rooms. We paid 250 pesos for the night and had a nice large room with 2 double beds and a twin bed. The owner of the hotel and at least one of the employees speaks English. We ate at a restaurant on the square called Santa Fe. It was very good. We were the only non-Mexicans we saw in the area but our limited Spanish got us by. There was another American couple checking into the hotel when we were there.
Along highway 57 in the south part of Matehuala is a factory called Las Sevillanas that makes dulce de leche candy. They also have a factory store selling their products and a cafeteria selling tortas that smelled very good.
Hewitt to Laredo
1/29
We took it easy on the trip down. Traveling with a car full of stuff, a car-top carrier with more stuff, 2 bikes on a bike rack and 2 dogs, it seemed that we didn’t want to attempt a land speed record.
The first day we left Hewitt, Texas at 11:30 in the morning. It took the dogs most of the day to adjust to riding in the car. Neither one had been farther than 10 miles from home before. Sarah, the three-legged Dalmatian, loves riding in the car and acts just like a kid who keeps saying “are we there, are we there?” bouncing from side to side. Foxy, the little brown terrier just sits in the car and has no interest in looking out the window or anything that would give you the idea she likes it. Like good parents, we separated them in the car so Sarah wouldn’t trample Fox.
We drove to Laredo without incident. We made one stop at a lovely Texas Highway Department rest area. The THP designs rest stop buildings to be maintenance free - stainless steel prison style fixtures, open-air without heat or A/C. The buildings look nice, but they are quite Spartan. Since it was a cold, drizzly day you didn’t want to linger there.
322 miles south of Hewitt, we arrived in Laredo. We stayed at the Family Garden Inn right along I-35. The room was big and was fine for the dogs and us. As a bonus, a snack hour with hotdogs, popcorn, nachos, beer and lemonade and a continental breakfast were included. Price was $57 including the tax.
We took it easy on the trip down. Traveling with a car full of stuff, a car-top carrier with more stuff, 2 bikes on a bike rack and 2 dogs, it seemed that we didn’t want to attempt a land speed record.
The first day we left Hewitt, Texas at 11:30 in the morning. It took the dogs most of the day to adjust to riding in the car. Neither one had been farther than 10 miles from home before. Sarah, the three-legged Dalmatian, loves riding in the car and acts just like a kid who keeps saying “are we there, are we there?” bouncing from side to side. Foxy, the little brown terrier just sits in the car and has no interest in looking out the window or anything that would give you the idea she likes it. Like good parents, we separated them in the car so Sarah wouldn’t trample Fox.
We drove to Laredo without incident. We made one stop at a lovely Texas Highway Department rest area. The THP designs rest stop buildings to be maintenance free - stainless steel prison style fixtures, open-air without heat or A/C. The buildings look nice, but they are quite Spartan. Since it was a cold, drizzly day you didn’t want to linger there.
322 miles south of Hewitt, we arrived in Laredo. We stayed at the Family Garden Inn right along I-35. The room was big and was fine for the dogs and us. As a bonus, a snack hour with hotdogs, popcorn, nachos, beer and lemonade and a continental breakfast were included. Price was $57 including the tax.
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