Well, we have been in La Cruz almost a month now and have had the opportunity to travel both inland and on the water. It is quite easy to see how cruisers "get stuck" in Banderas Bay for years...
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| Sunrise in La Cruz |
Robin Craft, one of Rosie's best friends since Jr. High arrived on November 13th from Seattle to join us for a week of fun on land and sea...
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| Robin Arrives in La Cruz...great meal at the Marina Restaurant! |
Everyday in La Cruz now begins with a walk on the Malecon and around the town, followed by kayaking around the Marina.
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| Morning Kayaking Around the Marina |
This next couple pictures falls under the "Small World" category. The owners of Charlies Restaurant are actually from Seattle, more important they went to Queen Anne High School, John's Alma Mater. How wierd is that??? Great food here too!!
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| Great Food and Sunday Football (ribs and burgers) - 4 screens!! |
Charlie,the chef, is the son of Jim and Melinda
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| Chef Charlie and another Rosie, his assistant. |
The beaches in Banderas Bay are very walkable....so a beach walk to Bucerias, only 3 or 4 miles east along a beautiful beach was in order!!
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| Beach Walk to Bucerias |
Bucerias is slightly larger than La Cruz but still very "Mexico". The street vendors are quite the attraction here...Robin got a chance to "barter".
Local craftsman making jewelry from a coconut shell and local hardwoods.
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| Shopping Bucerias |
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| Everything you don't need ...and it's almost free! |
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| Cold cervezas and lunch at Claudio's on the beach. Shrimp stuffed avocado is the best!! |
This is what we call "The Gauntlet" ...... side streets lined with vendors ready for shoppers as you pass by.
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| A local shucking fresh oysters....common along the beaches. |
We met a young Brit in La Cruz, Matthew, quite by accident (he wanted to buy our older kayak). In talking with him we found he also did small guided tours and we decided to a join him for a trip to the mountain village of Las Palmas and a hike into a beautiful waterfall in the mountains above the town. He also asked a local friend and fellow boat Captain, Pisto, to go along who is familiar with the area, plants etc...Las Plamas is an hour and a half drive east (inland) from Puerto Vallarta in the Sierra Madre mountains. After a walk through the town, we followed a river some 3 to 4 miles up into the jungle.....no real trail...just follow the riverbed! Many stream crossings, old suspension bridges to cross and scrambling over landslides from last seasons torrential rains....great fun (and a workout to boot!!). Not really a "tourist" hike....just what we ordered....!!
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| Our Guides..Pisto and Matthew (you might recognize him from Pirates of the Caribbean...he was one of the British soldiers) |
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| Local resident of Las Palmas |
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Las Palmas Town Square
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| Zipline runs along the route |
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| At least 10 crossings as we worked our way up...what did people do before the plastic water bottle was invented?? |
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| Gorgeous valley with jungle on both sides. |
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| Wild orchards growing in the trees |
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| Won't see suspension bridges like these in the States!! |
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| Fresh water lobster traps |
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| The Falls..still running well for this time of year |
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| One of the suspension "boardwalks" along the route |
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| Large landslide actually blocked the river for some time. |
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| "That was a great hike...lets sit down and talk about it" |
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| Pisto, our local guide walked the entire way barefoot!!! |
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| Locally popular, it's juice from a local tree...medicinal too!! |
The following day, Rosie and Robin ventured into Puerto Vallarta. Last years heavy rains actually caused one of the main highway bridges to collapse...it is being repaired but all traffic is now routed over a single 2-lane bridge. With some 180,000 people in PV, it is common to be held up for 1 to 2 hours as traffic is funneled over the bridge. The alternative is a Water Taxi.... about the same price as car taxi it delivers you in downtown PV.
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| Central Church |
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| Along the Malecon |
The PV Malecon is lined with very interesting sculptures....many of which seem to be "Alien" inspired.
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| This is a beach "mime"....pretty creative don't you think!! |
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| Water Taxi |
The weather has been beautiful so far this fall.... so it was out of the Marina for a few days on anchor across the bay, in a place called Quimixto (key-MEEKS-toh).
The movie director John Huston filmed the 1963 film "The Night of the Iguana" in Mismaloya, near our anchorage. During the filming, the US media gave extensive coverage to Elizabeth Taylor's extramarital affair with Richard Burton, as well as covering the frequent fighting between Huston and the film's stars. The subsequent publicity helped put Puerto Vallarta on the map for US tourists.
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| Giant Mantas are common in the Bay |
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| The common escort in Mexico |
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| Giant Sea Turtles are also plying the waters of the bay |
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| Anchored in about 40 feet of 78 degree water!! |
We spent 3 days kayaking, snorkeling, boarding and just enjoying the anchorage...life is good!!
Because we had such a great trip to Las Palmas with "The VanMan" and his partner Pisto, we decided to join them on another trip back into the Sierra Madres to the town of San Sebastian. This trek included 4-wheeling!!!
San Sebastián was founded as a mining town in 1605 during the Spanish colonial period. Gold, silver and lead were mined in the hills around the town. More than 25 mines and a number of foundries had been established by 1785. The town was declared a city in 1812 and reached a peak population of some 20,000 people by 1900. The prosperity of the city declined after the revolution of 1910. Now there are 500 to 600 living there. It is a beautiful setting!
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| Bridge over a deep canyon enroute to San Sebastian. |
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| Pisto and his youngest son... |
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| Pisto's house (and his wife and daughter) in San Sebastian. |
One of the great benefits of travel is meeting and experiencing other cultures. Pisto and his family are extremely happy, as we have found most of the locals we meet.
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| The streets are steep narrow and reminded us of Europe |
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| Every town or village has a central church and a town square. |
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| The church had a museum with Mayan artifacts that pre-dated the Spanish period. |
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| The local "eatery"...Believe it or not...the pizza here is really GREAT. They also make excellent liquors and wines as well. |
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| You wouldn't think we were in a small town in the hills of Mexico...Cappichino anyone? |
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| San Sebastian Town Square |
After refreshments...it was time to "mount our trusty steeds and head for the hills"
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| Pisto has both is older son (back) and daughter (in front) aboard for the trip |
First stop was a Spanish Hacienda...dating back to the 16th century. In its day, 80 to 100 people lived and worked here processing sliver and gold brought down from the mines. The hacienda is 3+ miles from San Sebastian and the Spaniards had built a tunnel from the main house shown here all the way back to town in the event they came under attack. They now rent rooms for around $120 USD/night.
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| the kitchen has modern appliances now..but on the right the wood fired stoves are still intact. |
From the hacienda we headed into the mountains to find some of the original gold and silver mines. The scenery was wonderful!!!
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| Rosie and her "ride" |
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| Old mine...couldn't get in very far due to last seasons rains...need a kayak now!! |
After 2 1/2 hours on dusty roads, it was time to return to San Sebastian for lunch and refreshments!!
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| Well controlled parking... |
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| Sampling the local wines and liquors....Great Day!! |
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Cisco and Poncho!!
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Well, that's what we have been up to. Robin flies back to the States today and we will start getting ready to head south next week. Hope you are all well and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We will be having traditional turkey with all the trimmings at Charlie's Place.
Hasta Luego Amigos!!
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