On the Road Again with Mrs. V

Thursday, February 12, 2015

San Sebastian del Oeste round II

That we've only 6 full days left in Paradise hit us like a ton of bricks this morning, and we rededicated ourselves to making the best possible use of each remaining minute.

First step is always a "plan", so plan we (tried) - did.

We've gone back and forth on the idea of a day trip vs. overnight trip inland to Guadalahara and the town of Tequila for the Jose Cuervo farm and distillery tour as well as visits to at least a couple of the nearby, smaller distilleries.

Some have advised us that the smaller San Sebastian del Oeste Distillery was best, while others said it is just not the "same" as Cuervo and the trip to Tequila was well worth the time.

So, in typical "do-it-all" fashion, we figured we'd try and squeeze in both, just on different days.

San Sebastian it is today.

But first things first.

As Antonio was working on the pool, we had a "sneak attack" to invite him in for our "omelet time" and coffee. We were glad he joined us because we enjoyed our conversation with him. Thanks for taking time from your busy schedule for a short visit, Antonio!

After brunch we drove to San Sebastian Del Oeste. When we left Bucerias, it was sunny and HOT! As we drove up into the mountains to San Sebastian, not only did the elevation change, the weather did, too. It got cloudy, cooler, and then started raining. This put a little "damper" on our walking-around-San-Sebastian plans, but with our FEARLESS, talented driver (Ladd) we still managed to give Bob & Sandy "the tour" and the flavor of this incredible, back-in-time town.
This picture is one from inside the impressive, old cathedral in the center of San Sebastian.

On our way out of San Sebastian and down the mountain, we stopped at the Tequila Destilaria. They were just closing up early due to the heavy rain. Despite the rain, despite the fact that the English-speaking guide was not there, and despite the fact that the four of us were the ONLY ONES there, they let us roam around for a look. They also offered us samples of different kinds of tequila, too! Mexican hospitality!

Driving further down the mountain, we stopped for a "photo op" of this cool-looking spot. Neither Ladd nor I had spotted this on our former trip to San Sebastian when Dallas was here with us. Seems like we're always discovering new things in already-visited places!

As we were taking pictures, we were greeted by the two owners, pictured here. They told us to feel free to park and look around. Of course, we took them up on their offer! Ha!
They talked to us for quite awhile and told us about their new establishment and the many adventures they now offer and plan to offer in the future. The setting and scenery were breath-taking! The next two pictures show their incredible tables and outdoor kitchen.

Our Canadian friends, Darlene and Rick, told us about a great seafood restaurant called "Marisco's El Colequita" in Puerto Vallarta. When we were out of the mountains and in Puerto Vallarta, Ladd surprised us and pulled into "El Colequita" for dinner! To us this seemed like a GOOD idea BEFORE we ate and seemed like an AWESOME idea AFTER we had eaten!

The food was ALL delicious with lots of special "extras", and the wait staff was friendly, efficient, happy, and fun! As we looked at menus and ordered drinks, we were served homemade salsa, large nacho chips, and different sauces. Then we noticed a bottle of tequila with little cups already on the table. It seems that dinners here include a shot of tequila "on the house"! We then found out that a cup of shrimp broth before the meals, and fried banana desserts and coffee liqueur after the meals were ALSO "on the house"! Wowie-zowie! Mexican hospitality strikes again!

Ladd ordered a "Shrimp Turnover" appetizer...which was large enough to be an appetizer for all four of us! For our main meals: Sandy had "Coconut Shrimp", I had "Shrimp Quesadillas", and Bob & Ladd both had "Lonja 'Coleguita' ": a thick cut of fish fillet topped with shrimp. We ALL loved our meals! With all the "extras" the restaurant provides, we ate way too much food, but loved every bite!

Not only was the food excellent and the staff super, the prices were very reasonable, too. We would definitely recommend "El Colequita" and would love to go back there again!

Our 4-person appetizer: "Shrimp Turnovers"

Marilyn's Shrimp Quesadillas...yum! (Plus, leftovers for breakfast!)

Bob REALLY DID enjoy himself...just harder to get the muscles to smile with both wine AND tequila...ha!

"On-the-house" dessert of fried bananas and coffee liqueur!

You can see from this "shot" (pun intended) how the wait staff made this so much fun! A special thanks to "our" waiter, Ivan!

After-dinner mints, labeled "Viagra", served only to Bob and Ladd! LOL

Thanks to Ivan and everyone at "El Colequita" for the awesome meal and all the fun!

Construction, Kids, Schools, and Clothes

Some things are the same, (or similar), the world over.

Day broke with doorbells ringing - our Amiga (and housekeeper extraordinaire), Marina and her esposo, David, here to repair the roof.

Marina doesn't just "do" windows, sheets, towels, laundry, and overall cleaning tasks so well that we are still trying to figure out a way to sneak her past the INS and bring her home with us, she also "does" roof repairs and skylight sealing!!!

Marina & David on the roof of the casa

"The Shadow Knows..." roof repair needed

From Ladd's vantage point "up on the roof" as the old Drifter's song title goes, he noticed what appeared to be the start of construction for a new casa near ours.

The lot is on the street between us and "Mi Lola" and much like the only remaining lot on our side of the block, was most aptly described as a mini "jungle" as of 8am this morning.

BUT - that was before the arrival of the "trabajadores con machettes".

Check further down in the blog to see the fantastic results of their efforts.

Have machettes, will work

Even in all the heat, Marina & David still at work

We headed to "The Conrad Center" in our town of Bucerias for their "Roots" Intercultural Community Expo Market held on Wednesdays. This market has local artesans, producers, artists, and chefs. The sales benefit local charities.

Bob & Sandy at the entrance to the "Conrad Center" Market

Bob & Sandy admiring a great "Beetle"

We all had excellent empanadas from this local chef/vendor. From across the room he spotted me "bopping" to the music, and he started smiling & "bopping", too. When we went over to his stand again to chat with him, more fun began!

Our new amigo started doing really great magic tricks! Guess who the "volunteer from the audience" was! LOL

More fun, more amigos in Mexico!

Bob's new office in Mexico

This wonderful, interesting participant in the Bucerias market was raising money to help a poor community build a school.

This is the organization helping to fund the building of the school.

They are using recycled plastic bottles as "bricks" to build the school! (Can you see that in the picture?) Talk about TRUE reduce, reuse, recycle!!!

Sandy bought an ADORABLE handmade Mexican outfit for her little grandson!

Next we headed to Bucerias "Centro" to walk around. These words painted on one of the buildings really does convey the feeling the Mexican people have shown.

The importance of family and community shown everywhere

Across the street from "Our Lady of Peace" church, a nun sits working on what looked like a dissertation/term paper of some kind. What an awesome spot to do "homework"-ha!

A cute little girl passing through "Centro" on her way home from school.

Riding dirt bikes in the mud! Boys will be boys??!!

This is the lot down from "our" casa totally cleared after only ONE day's work by three men with machettes!

After our Bucerias outing, Sandy and I headed down to the beach for some reading, relaxing, and sun time! Ladd and Bob came to the beach to let us know it was time for happy hour at "Karen's Place". We met up again with our new friends, Darlene and Rick, and we seemed to pick up right where we left off with the nonstop chatting and fun!

We had sausages, peppers, and onions for dinner at the casa and called it a night after a busy day!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

All bets are off...or on...

For the past couple of mornings I've been hearing music and what sounded like the voice of a dance instructor. Yesterday when Marina was here cleaning, I asked her about it. She said there was a dance/exercise studio a block from here. So today, Tuesday, 2/10, even before our omelets brunch, Sandy & I took a walk to check it out.

We walked down the block, found the building which is both a fitness center and dance studio, and went in to take a look. The place was jumping! The first floor fitness room was crowded, as was the second floor where a zumba class was in session. The zumba class had about 20 participants, mostly older (read: my age) "gringos". We watched for awhile, but could not take pictures of the class in session. The studio also offers pole-dancing classes, so on our way out Sandy snapped a picture of my first, (and only!), self-taught mini-lesson...LOL!

Across the street is a bakery/cafe called "Pie in the Sky" that is ALWAYS busy, so that was next on our list to explore. Anyone who has even a touch of a "sweet tooth" will begin salivating immediately upon entering! We brought some mini-scones and mini-pecan sticky buns back to the casa to have with our bacon omelets. Yum!

We were glad to be able to introduce Bob & Sandy to Antonio, the hard-working pool man, when he came today. Then we took off for Puerto Vallarta to give Bob and Sandy a chance to try their luck at some Mexican casinos!

The first casino we went into was located in a complex called "Peninsula Plaza": a very pretty group of fancy shops and the casino - "Yak". It was a relatively small and clean casino, and all four of us played some machines for awhile.

Then we headed to central ("centro") Puerto Vallarta to an older casino. While Bob & Sandy tried their luck there, Ladd and I walked on the malecon and enjoyed the sun, the sights, and the shops. (Well, one of us enjoyed the shops more than the other. Can you guess which one? Ha!) I got a little gift for my mom and one for my dad.

Ladd actually DID get excited about one shop we discovered: an awesome tequila shop called "Tequilera Azteca". We learned a lot of interesting facts about tequila from the interesting, kind, and fun shop-owner, Judith. Her shop has only special tequilas that are NOT mass produced and therefore do NOT have chemical additives. We knew Bob and Sandy would love this place, too!

As soon as we met up with Bob and Sandy outside the casino, we headed back to Judith's "Tequilera Azteca". The tequila samples were awesome, but we enjoyed our chats with Judith just as much. We left with two kinds of tequila, some cool tequila glasses, and with a new friend. Thanks for a great time in your special shop, Judith!

Then we headed down the malecon to a place we'd heard about called "Cheeky Monkey". "Cheeky Monkey" is a bar and restaurant that covers a second and third floor and looks out over the malecon and the ocean. Given the location and the view you really shouldn't need another reason to frequent this establishment, but if you do: How about margaritas and beers for $1.00?? We settled in at a table overlooking the malecon and the ocean, and enjoyed our drinks, stuffed mushrooms, and excellent, huge coconut shrimp! (If I keep up this eating streak, my new Mexican dress will be too tight before I even get to wear it! Yikes!)

We've been to the Puerto Vallarta malecon three times and have experienced new things each time. Today was the first time we've been there at night. New at night was the "food court": a line of about 15 tents, each with different, homemade foods! No, even I did not have room for any of the tempting treats after our feast at "Cheeky Monkey"! Next time, maybe??!! Ha! We watched a cruise ship sailing out of the port, the sunset, the lights on the malecon, the fireworks across the bay from Bucerias (where "our" casa is located), and a performance by Native Mexican dancers.

As we headed back to the casa, we were having withdrawal symptoms and so just HAD to stop at the "Mega" store! LOL We really DID need eggs for brunch tomorrow...honest! As we walked down the aisles, we ran into Rosa, our friend and awesome bartender at happy hour at "Karen's Place"! This was a happy surprise...and a treat because we got to meet her ADORABLE and polite little boy and her husband. So glad we got to meet your family, Rosa!

Back at the casa: a nightcap of our new cafe tequila, then off to sleep!