On the Road Again with Mrs. V: February 2015

So it took us a month to find.....

...but find it we did indeed!!!

The Bucerias Sunday Market that is.

Between being overwhelmed by the daily market at Centro (which is open every day), and us being constantly "on the move" most Sunday mornings since our arrival, we just never seemed to "connect" with the Sunday market - until today.

Cliff notes version: yet another completely "unique" Mexican experience, totally different than virtually all the other markets, mercados, we've visited, truly a "one-of-a-kind" experience.

The Bucerias Sunday Market, unlike the Sunday Market we've frequented in nearby Las Cruz, is all about the "locals". It's where THEY shop for literally all of their daily needs (and wants): everything from the proverbial "soup to nuts" and pretty much anything you can think of.

Need parts for your bicycle, plumbing parts or fixtures, burners for your stove, a "new" stove, parakeets, chickens or goats? - They've got it.

CD's, DVD's, video players, phones, shoes, clothes of any sort? Yup, they've got that too.

Fruits, vegetables, hot sauces, tequila, juices, etc, etc, etc. You guessed it, it's there (somewhere).

Oh, and did I mention the ever-present food vendors? You name the food item and it's there. (It's the "naming" thing that's a problem for us Gringos not the availability of most anything you desire.) Many of the items are things you've likely never seen, or even heard of back home but not "trying" something, simply because you don't know what it is or because you can't pronounce the name, is a BIG mistake!

But yet again, I digress. (One of the not-so-great things about the "golden years" is the "memory" thing.)

Before we found the Bucerias Sunday Market, Ladd, Bob, and Sandy had already hit the Sunday Las Cruz Market in search of a few items that Bob and Sandy had neglected to purchase the first time around and wanted to go back for. Of course, Ladd also made an additional purchase of some Mexican bowls. (I stayed at the casa to try to catch up on blog entries.)

After that, while Bob held down the "fort", Sandy, Ladd, and I revisited Bucerias Centro in search of a parade of the Charro Ladies (and Gauchos, and an elephant float) that they had seen on the way home from Las Cruz.

Only then were we able to figure out where (well, "sort of" where) the Ladies were headed - across the highway, which our Bucerias local "advisor" told us " is not Bucerias." "That's Mexico!" he said. (Maybe just a touch of parochialism or the Mexican version of "snob zoning"???, LOL).

Oh, and did I mention that tonight is Sunday night "date night". The four of us are all "dolled up" in our recently purchased Mexican duds. Perhaps now we will not be so easily identified as "Gringos"...yeah, right!!! LOL
But we do love the clothes and are sure we'd be very comfortable buying and wearing more Mexican outfits! What do you think?

Bob, Sandy, Ladd & I met our new Canadian friends, Darlene & Rick, at a steakhouse called "Sonora al Sur". Before you are seated at your table, you go to the butcher to select your type of steak, how thick you'd like it, how many ounces you'd like, and how you'd like it cooked. All six of us selected prime rib, in varying sizes.

Then at the cashier station you order any sides you want and pay for your meals. We ordered baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, salads, grilled onions, grilled mushroom, and portabello mushrooms.

When we were seated at our table, our drink orders were taken and we were served a cup of bean soup, which I thought was good, but not great.

Our steaks and sides arrived. When we tasted our prime ribs, the word "good" went back to "great". They were cooked perfectly and were delicious. The place was crowded, and we could see why!

We enjoyed our conversations with Darlene and Rick as we ate. Thanks for recommending "Sonora al Sur", Darlene and Rick, and for sharing dinner with us!

St. Valentini's Day on the Beach

OK, so it's not "quite" official YET, but Valentine's Day sure does feel like Valentini's Day!

After our long day and long, long drives yesterday, we all agreed to sleep a little later on Saturday and ease into the day with our brunch omelets.

Since it was another sunny, gorgeous day, Sandy and I went to relax with some beach time on "our" Bucerias beach. We snoozed a little in the sun, read, walked the beach, went in the ocean, and did lots of people watching, too. The waves today were bigger and more forceful than we've seen in this spot before. They were crashing on shore and almost knocked Sandy and me down. The surfers, however, loved it and were out trying their skills. We also had fun watching lots of people para-sailing. At one time we counted 12 para-sailors up at once!

Ladd and Bob ran some errands and came to meet us at the beach for happy hour at "Karen's Place". Sandy and I tried a new-to-us drink: "Miami Vice". It is our new favorite drink...LOL!

At happy hour we met, Marta, the owner of the suites/condos named "Suites Costa Dorada". (They are next to "Karen's Place" on the beach.) Marta spoke both excellent English and Spanish, and we had such fun chatting and laughing with her and her friends & family! Happy hour flew by learning about Marta and her interesting life. Thanks, Marta, for being so nice to us and for spending the time with us!

Without a doubt the highlight of our day was our "Valentine's/Valentini's Day" treat at "our" corner cantina: "Mi Lola". Every day "Mi Lola" looks great: colorful, interesting, and "funky". For Valentine's Day it was decorated with roses, rose petals, candles, and heart-shaped balloons on the tables!

It was very crowded in "Mi Lola", and we did not think to make a reservation, but our very special amigo, Mario, found a table for the four of us. Thanks, Mario!

We wanted to make sure we tried "Mi Lola" pizza before we leave, but treated ourselves to appetizers first. We just couldn't resist having our now favorite "munchies": "Horus con Chistorra" - a melted blend of cheeses, spices, sausage pieces, that you put on tortillas and top with a variety of sauces! Wowie-zowie!

As you probably can tell, we tend to over-order, and our pizza order was no exception. Ladd & I ordered a Margharita Pizza with bacon. Bob ordered a pizza with oysters. Sandy ordered a pizza with goat cheese and veggies. Yum! Yum!! Yum!!! Needless to say, we took home leftover pizza!

Even though everything we ate at "Mi Lola" was super, that is not what makes our time there so much fun. The awesome atmosphere is created by Mario and all the hard-working, friendly staff!

Ladd and I got a little sentimental at the end of the evening because we feel like Mario could be our "second son" and thought it might be our last visit with him before we leave. (Sorry, Mario, for our sentimentality...comes with old age, we guess.) We hope our paths cross again!

Thanks to Mario and everyone at "Mi Lola" for making ALL our trips there so special and so much fun! You've helped us make forever memories!

P.S. I apologize to anyone reading our trip blog for the lack of pictures for this posting. I'll take the blame for forgetting to take the camera to the beach, and then we all forgot to bring cameras to "Mi Lola". Sorry!

Mexico's version of "Where's Waldo?" would be "Where's Bob?"

Valentine's Morning Brunch

Signs behind the bar at happy hour at "Karen's Place"

Sandy & I with Marta at happy hour

Mexico's version of Stewart's is called "Oxxo". Sandy may be staying and using her management skills here at "Oxxo"!

Mexico = Tequila (+ a WHOLE LOT more!)

It's ALL ABOUT TEQUILA (at least for today and perhaps the rest of our lives...LOL!)

On Friday morning we were up bright and early...honest! For the first time since we've been in Mexico we left the casa just before 7 AM! The motivation for getting up and out so early was our excursion to the town of Tequila. (Bet you can tell without any assistance what the town of Tequila is famous for...ha!) It was a 4-hour drive to get there, and a 4-hour return drive, too, but definitely worth the trip! (Bob, Sandy, and I all thank Ladd for his incredible driving skills! We never could have and never would have done it without you, Ladd!)

In Tequila there are two major companies that grow the agave plants and produce/distill the tequila: Sauza and Jose Cuervo. So upon arrival we located those to find out the times of the tours. Then we set off to explore the town until tour time.

The town is larger than we expected and as with all Mexican towns it expands out from the "Centro". In "Centro" there is a beautiful, very old cathedral that we visited.

There was a large crowd of Mexicans gathering in "Centro", and they appeared to be "in line" for some reason. So, of course, the interested (nosy?) Americanos had to try to figure out what was going on. From the banners that said "65 +" and from our observations, it seems the Mexicans were signing up for the equivalent of our "Medicare" health benefits.

We had not eaten anything before we left, so we roamed around to check out the MANY, MANY places to eat. Inside one open-air building we located the "food court". It is NOT like the "food court" in our malls, but all individual Mexican "eateries". We decided not to make a hasty decision and walked on. Boy, were we glad we did walk on! We ended up having our "desayunos" at a cafe called "Unni K'fee" looking out at "Centro". It seems this is a cafe for the university students and locals. Our young waitress spoke both excellent English and excellent Spanish. The four of us had delicious brunch meals that included omelets, beans, quesadillas, pancakes, bacon, sauces, hot chocolate and coffee!

Now fortified, we continued our walking to explore the town. We went up and down many interesting streets looking at the businesses, the shops, and the people. When we spotted a local "FAX" business, I decided to go in and see if they had a phone to call my mother. (I've been calling my parents each day from the casa with the Magic Jack on the computer, but would not be able to do that from Tequila.) Well, they DID offer that service, so I told the lady in the shop I wanted to call "mi mama". She did not speak English, so I was trying to tell her my parents' phone number en Espanol. I would have made a good segment for a comedy show as I was thinking their phone number in English in my brain, trying to be sure I said each number in Spanish correctly, then trying to remember what numbers I had already said and what number was next! Ay, carumba! Talk about funny. It was a miracle that it was my mother's voice I heard when the call went through! Ha! My mother said, "It sounds like you are right next door", so it was a great connection and worth being a comedy act.

Back in "Centro" we cruised the street vendors, visited the beautiful Municipal building, interacted with quite a few of the natives, and totally enjoyed our "people watching".

Then it was time to head to the "Jose Cuervo" distillery for our tour. We were guided through all parts of the factory so we could actually see the tequila-making process in action from start to finish. The only disadvantage to this up-close-and-personal tour was that we all had to wear hair nets for parts of the tour. We all looked like "Lunch Ladies from The Black Lagoon"...LOL!

We saw the process, learned the history, saw the "pinas" being cut, tasted the sweet "meat" from the "pinas", learned about the wooden casks and aging, saw how they use misting to keep the environment correct for the casks, etc. Our tour guide taught the group the correct way to sip tequila shots without feeling "the burn" and so we would "survive" the sampling of tequila at various stages of development. We can tell you from experience that his technique DOES work!

We also visited the incredibly beautiful, stone "cellar" which holds many antique glass bottles, casks, etc. of Jose Cuervo tequila. One special case held one of the famous bottles of tequila that Jose Cuervo produced years ago for their 250th anniversary. It was, of course, a limited edition with only about 400 bottles produced. The guide told us that only 2 bottles were left there at the Jose Cuervo factory/gift shops. We were honestly surprised that any were still available, so I asked how much they would sell for. We had no idea what one might cost, but were thinking one would cost $50,000-$100,000. We were again surprised when he told us $2,000. So we decided to buy the last two bottles...JUST KIDDING!

For the ending of our tour we headed upstairs to a table in a beautiful courtyard. The table was set up with special tequila glasses and accompaniments needed to learn about the colors, aromas, tastes of different tequilas. We learned how to hold the tequila glasses properly, what to look for on the glass when you swirl the tequila, how to tilt the glass and move the glass from nose to mouth to get the aroma, etc.

We were "testing" and sampling three different tequilas: Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo. When testing for aroma, we held limon pieces under our noses for the Blanco, "pina" sweet-meat pieces for the Reposado, and cinnamon pieces for the Anejo. Then we did taste testing to determine our favorite. All four of us liked the darkest, longest-aged Anejo the best. Of course, the one we liked the best is the most expensive...ha!

We walked to the Sauza distillery for what we thought would be our second tour, but the information that we got when we checked earlier was not correct. The only tour left for the day was in Spanish, not English. Although we have learned some Spanish during our trip, not quite enough to do a tour completely in Spanish. We weren't really too disappointed, as we felt the tour would be very similar to the one at Jose Cuervo. Plus, we were still able to walk around and look at the beautiful Sauza buildings and grounds.

Just before leaving we visited the Sauza gift shop. You'll be surprised to hear that neither Sandy nor I bought anything! But, do not panic: Ladd and Bob bought several bottles of tequila to bring home!

It was a long, long, long day, but such fun, fun, fun, fun! (Please notice there are more "funs" than "longs"-ha!) We made more great memories today!