A Week and Counting

One and all,

Very little to report. We have been concentrating on deepening our tans with daily trips to the beach. Actually, we are being sensible by spending about 30 minutes each day in the direct sun. Amazing what age and a couple of bouts with skin cancer can do for your feelings about tanning. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many people put themselves in the direct sun for hours on end, day after day. WE see their wizened little carcasses lying about the sand looking like old lost wallets. Not pretty.

One piece of news was that on March 21st my nephew became a dad and my brother and his wife, Dave and Katie became grandparents. With modern technology, we were able to share the moment of proud dad and newly arrived Blake David Bowen


Now we await word from Jeff Gauthier and Noelle Guest who are due on April 8th, Easter Sunday!

Aside from new arrivals in the world, we have been busy seeing old friends who are, one by one, abandoning PV and heading home. Friday we had lunch with Gene and Gay Tennis from Georgia. Thursday evening it was dinner with Pat and George. Pat and George don't head out until early May, but we so enjoy them that we hope to get a couple of meals in with them before we leave, a week from tomorrow, April 3rd.

Last night was our regular Sunday dinner at Vitea. We were joined by Portland friends, Neal and Judy Higgins. They head home on Friday. The town is getting quiet as the days get warmer and a bit more humid.

Polley and I continue to read piles of books, now made less burdensome with our Kindles. I think we will have plowed through nearly 30 by the time we get home! Also we have been enjoying the countless PV sunsets. Both the Romantic


and the dramatic


WE are mostly focusing on enjoying these last few days and continue to remark on how fortunate we are to be able to afford (some times just barely) these prolonged adventures and to have met so many nice people here. We also very much look forward to seeing old friends at home and, except for the prospect of cold and rain, are happily anticipating our arrival in a week. Not sure if this is the last message from here, but tune in and see.

Checking In and Checking Out

One and all,

Not much to report as life has been pretty slow the last few days. We did have a nice dinner with some friends from Vancouver B.C., Rolf and Richard, who lived in our apartments last year. They were passing through PV for about a week and we met them at Hacienda Allamand, a Mexican/German restaurant that we had not tried before. On Monday nights all entrees are 50% off, so we went for it. Food was alright, but not sure it would be worth the full price. Did have a lovely evening with the two Canadians, although we learned that Rolf is actually from Finland and was also raised in Sweden. Both interesting guys.

I know I keep promising that enough is enough with the sunsets, and it probably is. But lately there have been some impressive ones based on the combination of sun and clouds that we have been getting. The clouds seem to provide the dramatic element, much better than a simple clear sky. So, I give you these:








Yesterday, we met Raphael, the waiter who works at La Fuente del Puente, the little restaurant down the hill. Last year I went hiking on two pieces of Raphael's property. Yesterday, Polley tagged along to visit the little village outside of where his property is, Boca de Tomatlan. Very rural and small, we stated the day with a very energetic 30 minute bus ride south of PV. Then it was off for a hike around the bay


It is a lovely setting and we might try and spend a couple of days there next year.




Polley was a game hiker and we covered a couple of miles or more in the hour of so we went up and down hills, steps and stones.



Then it was time for lunch. Raphael has a friend who owns a little place just down the highway from Boca. We hiked there and enjoyed some beers


a delicious shrimp and avocado salad and the house special, a whole fish cooked on a stick over a bed of coals.


All was very good and we finished off the afternoon with a special tequila called raicilla (a kind of Mexican moonshine). Raphael poured us off the bus about 5 and we were done for the day. Feel into bed, woke up about 10 that night, and can you believe it, had a little more tequila and then turned the lights out both figuratively and literally. Good Night!

Quiet Time and Social Time

One and all,

NOt a great deal to report as we try to enjoy the last couple of weeks to their fullest. We have become boringly regular. People that we know nearly know where to find us at particular times of the day.

We did get away on Wednesday afternoon to El Rio BBQ, just the two of us. It was a quiet day on the river with only about 25-30 people there. They were, I will admit, a chatty group so we tried to distance ourselves so we could read. I struggle no to eavesdrop on others and have difficulty focusing on my book. Polley is suggesting earplugs for next visit. It, however, was a nice afternoon and, as always Kurt's food was excellent. We enjoyed this potato salad I have talked of before, and some chicken tacos. Jut the right amount.

That night we met Estephon and Dora at El Patio down the hill. These are two young people(we now call mid-30s young) who live in our building. They are both Mexican (photos to follow), but lived in Colorado for nearly a dozen years, so language is not a problem. They are very fluent. Had a couple of glasses of wine and some good conversation. Despite just living up the hill from El Patio, they had never been there. We really enjoy introducing people to this place for the first time. It is always one of our favorites.

Thursday was a quiet day. We did run into Rolf and Richard, two men from Vancouver, B.C. They stayed in our location last year and we got to know them a bit. They had just arrived and we recommended El Patio to them. They had never gone there as well. Later, when Polley and I dropped in for a last glass of wine, they were there having dinner. Got to know them a bit better

Another Thursday event, was the applying of a name to a couple of tables at La Fuente del Puente. Because the restaurant is open to the sea air, a couple of the tables have warped




and if you are not careful your glass of wine can slip right off the table. One of the waiters quickly dubbed these La Mesa Gotcha! (The Gotcha table). Goes very nicely to the refrain of "La Cucharocha!"

As we came down to head for dinner Thursday, we also came across two of Polley's little cat friends - -


having a nice nap in the tree just outside our gate. They are an adorable group of cats and kittens.

Finally, yesterday we met Estaphon and Dora as she got off work to take them up to El Rio BBQ, another place we have enjoyed introducing people to. We took a cab up and had lunch. We really enjoy these two and they seemed to like everything about El Rio.




The day was lovely and, as always on Fridays, there was good music with Roberto and Bobby. Here I captured the owner, Kurt, coming in for his specialty number, "Under the Boardwalk."


Always a hit with the crowd. After the two hour music set, we took the adventure ride, the city bus through the cobblestone, dusty, village road. Exhausting, but fun in some sort of perverse way. We were, however, done for the day. Ate in and stayed in bed for about 11 hours. Over and out!

One and all,

The days rush by and I can’t seem to get back to the computer to update everyone. There actually has not been a great deal going on. WE are now inside of 3 weeks until we return home. Somehow as the days dwindle down to a precious few, time seems to speed up as well. As I said last entry, the weather has really stabilized and now is actually turning quite warm. Yesterday we spent an hour at the beach and it was really hot and it was just barely noon.

Sunday evening we had a great meal at Vitea with our new Canadian friend, Reg Bartel. A very nice guy, funny and insightful.


WE truly enjoyed the conversation. I think I mentioned that as he returned home from PV, he was leaving immediately for China. Reg is about 60 and has been single all his life. But he has traveled everywhere: Panama, South America, Cambodia, Vietnam, to name just a few. Look forward to more time with Reg next year.

Monday we met Neal and Judy Higgins and took the bus south to Mismaloya. 15 years ago the whole family, kids, wives, grandkids, everyone celebrated Polley’s 60th birthday at the big resort in Mismaloya. Back a few years after that a hurricane struck there and wiped out a large portion of the beach. We were curious to see how it had recovered. While the beach is certainly smaller, the resort has certainly come back. We did not actually get into the resort as it is now an “All-Inclusive,” and is not open to the general public. The beach is public access, so we made our way down there to see how the place had recovered.




While were there, we saw these baby pelicans


Not the most attractive children, but mom was there caring for them despite their appearance.

WE then wandered across the little stream to a restaurant.


Food was ok, but the waiter was quite a guy. He was Mexican, but has worked in Canada and was fluent in English, Spanish, and French, plus some Italian, Portuguese and even Greek. Nice fellow, but he nearly monopolized our table conversation.

After lunch we just wandered up the beach. We did come across this amusing sign at the end of the beach


Always read the small print!

Last night we went down to the Malécon to watch the sunset from the roof of Las Palomas. I keep swearing I have taken my last photos of sunsets, but last night I was sucked in once again. For some reason the air was the clearest it has been and the intensity of the sun was quite amazing.






Even the conditions after the sun had set left vivid colors in the sky.


We then went back to El Patio de mi Casa for a glass of wine with two young people who live in our unit, Estaphon and Dora. Very nice, bright, creative energetic people, both Mexican. Polley has bought some earrings from Dora who makes them and sells them at the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays. She also works in a very nice gallery here in town. Had great fun, but drank a bit more than we had planned, coming as the wine did on the margaritas at Las Palomas.

Today, we are headed up river to El Rio again. This time our hope is to be alone with just our beers and our books. More on that later.

Becoming Paradise

One and all,

Again, not a lot to report. The primary news is that everyday has become perfect. While the weather has generally been very nice on this trip down, this last week (and by the looks of it, the days to come) just gorgeous! Clear skies all day long and beautiful pleasant evenings with some breathtaking sunsets. This one I captured last night from the roof of Las Palomas where we frequently take advantage of their 33 peso key lime margaritas.


Friday we went up river to El Rio BBQ. As I said, the weather was beautiful and we introduced our friends, George, and Pat and their friends, John and Molly to the place.


We had a terrific lunch and listened for about an hour to the music of Bobby and Roberto. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, the atmosphere and the tunes. It was a very nice day.

While there we ran into Reg Bartel,a real nice guy from Winnipeg, Canada. WE have crossed paths on several occasions. Reg had some friends in town and asked Polley and I to join him and two Canadian women, Karen and Brenda, at Los Arcos Hotel for their buffet breakfast. Reg, being single, roams all over town and knows every bargain to be had. The buffet is 2 x 1 from 7:30 to 8:30, so Reg had us there at 8. It was amazing! I had just told Polley that I was really needing my fix in terms of Mexican food as we had been snacking and eating in our place for the last several days. Well, this had it all. The Mexican craving should be satisfied for a week!. Frijoles, chiliquinos, pork stew, chicken salsa verde, empandas; it was a feast and I helped myself to it all -- TWICE! They also had wonderful looking French toast and made on sight omlettes. Next time, I guess. And as it is 2 x 1, even Polley eats nothing, it's not a bad deal.

We followed that with our meeting Neal and Judy Higgins at the farmers' market. You may remember the confusion in our trying to meet last time. This time we ended up at the same place. It was larger than the other, with lots more food offerings. Of course, we could appreciate the samples based on what we had had for breakfast! Next week, I guess. Actually, we did get a few things, some chocolate, some homemade pickles, and a delicious tart. Polley also found a very nice pair of abalone shell earrings. It was a nice morning, but no food until dinner for sure.

Today, should be very relaxed with nothing scheduled until we meet Reg at Vitea at our usual table. He is joining us as he is about to leave on Tuesday. He flies from here to Vancouver for an over night stay before heading off for 3 1/2 weeks in China! Compared to some people down here, we are just amateur travelers. More later about our planned bus trip to Mismaloya. Coming soon.

Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!

One and all,

Not a great deal to report as life has been relatively quiet. Polley picked up a sexually-transmitted disease - - my cold! Otherwise we have been very well. Since our friends, Ray and Mary Anne left, life has been easier and less frantic. Polley and I are promising ourselves that we are going to really slow down and take advantage of our last month in paradise. WE are getting to the beach each day for about an hour, then strolling back to La Fuente for a drink and home for lunch. We have actually backed off eating out. We so enjoy the kind of appetizer dinners, getting salsa, ceviche, and guacamole from the grocery store and more exotic things like paté, cheese, salami, etc from a wonderful little deli called Mikey's. Of course, there is the occasional "Happy Chicken" (pollo felice) as well. Instead of dinner out we have been heading down to the beach about 6 in the evening and watching the sunset. That, of course, means another photo


Or as we say to one another: "AFGPVS"

Monday evening it was drinks right on the beach, and last night it was 2 x 1 martini night at El Patio de Mi Casa. We never do martinis, but last night was an exception. Lovely evening in the courtyard with a full moon overhead. What could be better?

Yesterday at noon we grabbed a city bus with Neal and Judy Higgins to go up to El Rio BBQ. We had been there on Fridays when there was music, and last Sunday for the buffet. We wanted to experience it on just an uneventful day. It was truly lovely. There were about 30 people there (compared to 240 at the buffet), scattered in various places along the beach. We sat under two umbrellas and just chatted, drank and had a delicious lunch. It was so peacful. No music, just the sounds of birds and the river running by. I think Polley and I are going to try and get up there once a week on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. It is so different from the constant hustle and bustle of downtown PV. It also serves to remind us to continue to work on simplifying our own lives. PV proves to us we can do it. We are going back up river tomorrow with our friends, George and Pat and two of their friends, John and Molly. We want to introduced them to this wonderful world just 15 minutes from the tourist craziness of the beach. I will report on our day later.

The Whirlwind Never Ends

One and all,

Mexican life continues to be busy. Since the last blog offering of the sunset sequence, which was last Thursday, we have been busy socializing, even when we hadn’t intended to. I did pick up a cold and we did not go to Nacho Daddy’s Thursday night as I was at the low point of my cold. It was about then that I realized that I stopped working on December 15th and since then have had 1 healthy week up until now. Also was sorry not to go, as Gene and Gay, from Atlanta, had one of their sons in town. Would have very much like to meet him, but just was not up to the prospect of socializing that night.

We did make it as far as La Fuente down the hill. While have some liquid refreshment, the cook, Angie, gave us a rather generous sample of a traditional Mexican drink (non-alcholic), Tejuino.


It is a corn-based drink. They take the same ground corn that is used for tortillas and mash it up, add lime juice, and brown sugar. Surprisingly, it is not very sweet and certainly would be very refreshing on a hot Mexican afternoon.

Friday joined a group of friends to go back up to El Rio BBQ. I have talked about this previously and it is sort of becoming a regular Friday excursion. The owner sends a shuttle for us and we spend about 4 hours sitting in the sun, drinking, enjoying lunch and listening to Roberto and Bobby play the hits of our generation for a couple of hours. It was not quite as crowded as last week, but it still was a good turnout. Met a few more people, as always. Had lunch with a very nice couple from Victoria, good friends of Ray and Mary Anne (as you doubtless know by now, “the Dancing Couple”) . A fun time, lots of dancing and good conversation. At 5 we got in the shuttle to return and 4 strangers jumped in, robbing us a proper farewell to Ray and Mary Anne who leave on Sunday morning.

Saturday looked like a free day, at last! I, of course, screwed it up. I felt that we had not really had closure with Ray and Mary Anne, who had been so gracious to us for the last 6 weeks. So, despite a free evening, I decided we should hunt them down and say good-bye. One thing you come to find after some time here, is that people become very predictable and establish set routines, as do Polley and I. So, about 5:30 we headed for a place called Coco Tropicale. The Happy Hour is a particular favorite of Ray and Mary Anne. Sure enough, there they were. So we had a drink with them and officially bid them adieu, promising to come to Victoria in the next few month and looking forward to next January. I also, while promising myself that I had enough sunset photos, had to take yet another.


As we left the bar, I said to Polley, “Now we can have the rest of the evening to ourselves.” Fat Chance!

I had made a reservation at Baccon de Vino, a little Italian place that we had experienced once with Neal and Judy Higgins. We had very much enjoyed it, especially the Niçoise salad. So I had booked a romantic table for two in the secluded courtyard at the back of the restaurant. We had no sooner sat down and ordered some wine, then Neal Higgins, Judy and two friends of theirs walk in, having had the same idea. Soon our table for two was two tables for 6. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun and we always enjoy Neal and Judy. Their friends, the Tedermans, Jim and Jane, we had met before. In fact, when I first came to UP, Jane was in charge of Information Technology. It was fun, but not what we had planned. As I believe I have said before, “the unexpected is the only thing you can expect in PV.”

Sunday was another event. We were going to return to El Rio BBQ. Every Sunday, Kurt offers a BBQ Buffet along with a Mariachi Band. So we decided to join Gene and Gay for a trip up river. At the last minute, our landlord, Alfred Grieg and his partner, Elli, asked to join us and they would drive. So about 1 we headed up the Rio Cuale to a little Mexican village called Paso Ancho. I have shown pictures of El Rio before. Sunday was a whole different experience. When we arrived there must have been a couple of hundred people, many of whom were already standing in the buffet line. We had a reservation and were escorted to a lovely table. Here you see everyone: Going around the table from left to right is Gay, Gene, Alfred, Elli, and, of course, Polley.


It was a bright sunny day and we sat and had 3 hours of animated conversation and some food as well. We were unsure of how Gene and Gay and Alfred and Elli would interact, but our theory held up once again: if we like this couple and we like this other couple, the two couples will doubtless like one another. It proved true again. However, I am not sure we will do the BBQ again. There must have been about 300 people there; the line for food was slow, and the food, while good, was nothing special enough to wait in line for. Not surprisingly, given the crowd Kurt must prepare for, the Friday food off the menu is better and it arrives right at your table!

About half way through the afternoon, the Mariachis arrived and provided some lovely music through the remainder of the afternoon.






I have become a fan of the Mariachis! They are wonderful musicians, very versatile and largely the music is uplifting. It was a great day and Alfred and Elli were kind enough to take Gene and Gay out to their place, north of downtown, while Polley and I trudged up the hill, full of food and tired of body. We would be in for the rest of the night! More soon.

A Evening Sunset on the Malécon

One and all,

After yesterday's report on us as social butterflies,today I paint a very different picture of life in Vallarta. Wednesday we had nothing on our calendar. So after a leisurely morning and a stroll down to the beach for an hour of sun, a bit of lunch and a siesta, we decided to drift down to the Malécon for a drink and a view of one of the first sunsets we have watched on this whole trip. Since Época, our favorite sunset viewing spot, has gone away, we just have not had the excuse to get down to the ocean around 6:30 or so to observe it. So, last night we finally made it.

I thought it might be fun to just give you the visual progression of what we experienced from the roof of a restaurant Las Palomas (the doves). First, however, as we made our way to Las Palamas, we encountered a young woman who had created some very impressive standing stones:


From there it was up to the roof of Las Palomas to watch the yellow ball sink slowly into the blue. Enjoy:






















A perfect night. MOre photos of the newly altered Malécon to come soon.